Mala Fide- Part 3.
AN: No beta reader this time. We're all busy and she's not even remotely familiar with FE3H.
Byleth yawned as she stretched her arms, enjoying the early morning breeze at the head of the Airmid River, watching sailors emerge and disappear into the fog around the harbour.
"We should be ready soon," a voice called out from behind her. "Your soldiers have mostly boarded the ship."
Byleth glanced over to the approaching form of the woman who had spoken.
"Olivia, was it?" Byleth asked, to which the dark haired woman nodded. "Did the messenger say anything else?"
Olivia shook her head, and in the dark, Byleth noticed a sneer appear on her lips. "I highly doubt he's willing to speak to me, even if he did have information."
Byleth nodded and turned back to the path that led back to Garreg Mach.
"I'm surprised you remembered my name," Olivia continued. "Most people don't."
"I used to teach at Garreg Mach," Byleth replied, turning back to Olivia. "I would need to remember the names of my students."
"I see," Olivia replied, pulling her cloak tighter over her body before continuing. "If the winds are good, we should be able to reach Myrddin before sundown. If they're bad, we could be on the water for days."
Byleth nodded at the information. "Have you ever been to Myrddin?"
Olivia paused before she let out a slow sigh. "Once."
"With the company?" Byleth asked.
Olivia shook her head. "Before Mittlefrank. I was on my way to Enbarr."
"I see," Byleth murmured as she heard a throat cleared behind her.
"Good morning Hubert," Byleth turned to face the pale, gaunt man emerging from the fog. "Did you sleep well?"
"Well enough," Hubert said to Byleth before he turned away, his voice vaguely threatening as he continued. "A moment of privacy, if you would."
Byleth didn't see her go, but Olivia hurried into the fog, leaving Hubert and Byleth alone.
"Our prisoner has said little," Hubert admitted quietly as the guard captain's footsteps faded into the fog. "Once we deal with Gloucester, we should have a few more days, at most, to pull answers out of our prisoner. After that, we'll need to order more doses of the serum."
Byleth nodded as she glanced at the ship. "What did El want with… her?"
Hubert's face twisted and he glanced back in the direction he came from. "I was not in the room, so for that you would need to ask Yuri, or Lady Edelgard herself."
Byleth nodded as she noticed an approaching light, likely a lantern.
"Is that them?" Byleth asked Hubert.
Hubert frowned, and Byleth watched as he stepped forward.
"Dorothea," Hubert called a moment later. "We'll be leaving for Myrddin soon."
Byleth squinted as the figure came forward, and it was only when Dorothea stepped within a few paces that Byleth could see her face.
"How did you know it was me?" Dorothea asked as she greeted Hubert with a small smile.
"The way you hold your lantern," Hubert said. "Yuri holds a lantern in front of him, Lady Edelgard would not hold a lantern so high, and Shamir prefers to patrol without a lantern."
"True," the voice of Shamir called from the fog, her heels clicking against the cobblestone path, revealing her presence for the first time. "I don't see the need to be noticed."
"Are we all gathered?" Dorothea asked as she came within a few faces of Byleth.
"Yuri and Lady Edelgard are still in Abyss," Hubert said. "They requested that I leave early to oversee the… operation."
"Olivia said that the ship should be ready soon." Byleth offered. "We'll just be waiting on Edelgard and Yuri."
"I see," Dorothea said. "Is Bernie or Linhardt coming?"
Hubert shook his head. "There's no need to get Bernadetta involved, and Linhardt is currently involved in treating Lysithea. Their presence will not be needed."
"What about Marianne?"
"She should be here shortly," Hubert replied. "Once we are all here, we should head down the Airmid River to Myrddin."
"How many soldiers are we bringing?" Byleth asked.
"A general purpose battalion," Hubert replied. "In case Gloucester tries something. Given that we've made a very clear example of past rebels, I expect this will end very quickly."
"And messily," Yuri added, his face grim as he and Edelgard joined the group. "No luck on Anselma. She's a ghost."
Byleth glanced over to Edelgard and the two of them shared a glance, with the tired look in Edelgard's eyes confirming Yuri's words.
"Are we ready?" Olivia asked from behind them, the dark haired woman taking a moment to bow to Edelgard before she continued. "The ship and your soldiers are abroad. We're just waiting on you."
Edelgard shook her head. "We're still missing one member."
Olivia nodded and glanced back at the ship before speaking. "It would be best if we left Garreg Mach as early as possible. It would be rather dangerous to try to navigate the Airmid River at night time."
"Is it not dangerous to navigate through this fog?" Hubert sneered.
"It would be," Olivia admitted. "But the sailors report that there are a series of lanterns that will help with navigating the head of the Airmid River."
"Good," Hubert said, his head turning as he finished. "I believe that is Lady Marianne."
Byleth glanced over to the bobbling light coming towards her, and she could almost see Marianne's blue hair through the fog.
"We're ready," Hubert announced as Marianne arrived, turning on his heel. "Shall we depart?"
Byleth watched the group shuffle toward the ship, but stepped to the back of the group, walking next to Edelgard.
"Good morning Professor," Edelgard murmured under her breath as she gave Byleth's hand a slight squeeze. "I… I just didn't want you to see me like that."
"Did you get anything at all?" Byleth asked.
Edelgard paused as she stopped, her eyes darting around to the foggy ground in the harbour they were in.
"No," Edelgard admitted, shaking her head. "She laughed at me and I suspect she insulted me."
Byleth squeezed Edelgard's hand back before she started walking toward the ship again. "Let's deal with the Myrddin issue. We'll find the truth one day."
The ship was a tall, bulky ship, and Hubert and Olivia waited at the top of the gangplank.
"That's everyone," Olivia barked to a nearby man Byleth assumed with the ship's captain. "Set sail, let's get this over with."
"Is there a place for us to go until the journey is over?" Edelgard asked Hubert.
"Officer's quarters are to your right," Olivia replied, pointing to a hatch leading to the belly of the ship. "But as I understand it, it's rather cramped and rather dark."
Byleth felt Edelgard flinch at the words, and looking at the expression on Olivia's face, she saw it too.
"I think I'll stay on the deck," Edelgard murmured, her face having turned a shade paler.
"Is there any means for the room to be cleared out?" Hubert asked, his tone heavy as he took a step toward Olivia.
"Hubert, that's enough," Byleth hissed. "We'll just remain on the deck."
"I asked you a question," Hubert repeated, taking another step closer to Olivia and the boat's captain. "Is there a means of clearing the room?"
The woman paused and gestured toward the boat captain before she sighed. "Have some of the sailors and have them clear the room out."
"Good," Hubert said as glanced at Edelgard, giving a slight bow before leaving Byleth and Edelgard alone on the deck. "See it is done quickly."
Byleth said nothing as she listened to Hubert's footsteps moving off into the distance, waiting until she was sure they were alone to speak. "El, are you alright?"
Edelgard seemed to shrink and fold inward as she let out a long breath, shaking her head slowly. "They said she was… close to my mother. Yet, nothing."
"We'll find the truth," Byleth promised as she squeezed Edelgard's hand tight. "Even if we'll need to turn over every stone in Fodlan to do it."
Edelgard nodded and Byleth could still see pain in her eyes.
"It's hard," Edelgard admitted as she leaned against the railing of the ship. "I thought she would know something about what happened to mother, but…"
Edelgard trailed off and Byleth shook her head. "Do you think it's possible we might find something related to the Tragedy of Duscar?"
Edelgard paused at the question before she nodded. "It would be… difficult. I doubt that House Kleiman would have any records relating to the incident."
Byleth was about to respond when she heard a hatch on the deck creak open.
"Hubert," Edelgard called, her eyes focusing on a tall figure emerging from the hatch.
"Lady Edelgard," Hubert greeted. "I am pleased to inform you that the officer's cabin is now cleared out."
"That was unusually quick," Edelgard murmured, her lips turning down into a small frown.
"It was," Hubert replied, a ghastly smirk on his lips and a sadistic gleam in his eye. "Fear is a great and powerful motivator."
Edelgard nodded as Byleth felt her hand brushing against her own.
"Shall we?" Edelgard whispered as Hubert stepped aside.
"We'll have until the ship reaches Myrddin to rest," Hubert chimed in. "I believe it would be good for us to do so, for a confrontation with that vile traitor is likely to be bloody."
Byleth grimaced at the thought of more bloody war, and she felt a slight squeeze from Edelgard's hand, perhaps as reassurance.
"Let's go," Edelgard said softly as they walked toward the open hatch.
The belly of the ship was surprisingly open, with little cargo in sight, but no shortage of grim-faced soldiers on benches around the hull of the ship, the men rising to salute them as Byleth and Edelgard climbed down the ladder.
Byleth nodded in their general direction, but mostly kept with Edelgard as they were shown to a small, dimly lit room, unoccupied with the exception of Yuri.
"Teach," Yuri nodded, dark circles visible under his eyes, the result of the hours long torture sesson he had overseen. "Heading to bed?"
Byleth nodded as she noticed Yuri glance at something behind her, and when she turned around, she recognized Hubert looking as regal and emotionless as he tended to be.
"Hubert, did you just-"
"Professor," Hubert replied in a neutral tone, though he sounded far too smug for his words to hold any true meaning. "I'm not sure what you are about to suggest, but the answer is no."
Byleth glanced back to Yuri, now having hurriedly stepped aside, gesturing at the small bed tucked into the corner of the room.
"Enjoy your rest," Hubert said with a small bow as Yuri stepped past Edelgard, a moment before he was grabbed rather forcefully by Hubert and dragged out of the room.
Edelgard let out a slow sigh as she took off her crown, setting the precious crown down next to her head.
"Byleth?" Edelgard whispered, her voice so low she wasn't sure if Edelgard had spoken.
Byleth blinked at the word. Had Edelgard ever called her by her real name before?
"Yes?" Byleth asked as she crouched next to the bed, her eyes on Edelgard's.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there in the morning," Edelgard said, her voice mournful. "I thought… I thought the serum would give us a breakthrough."
Byleth said nothing, but reached out and held Edelgard's hand, squeezing gently until Edelgard returned the motion, though she noted that Edelgard's eyes were struggling to stay open.
"I… I thought I had missed you when I woke up," Byleth confessed after a moment of silence. "But the gatekeeper told me that you had been with Yuri in Abyss."
"Kyle," Edelgard whispered, her grip on Byleth's hand fading as her eyes fluttered. "He… he was close with Ladislava. I think one day he wanted to propose."
"El," Byleth started as Edelgard's grip faded.
"Promise me…" Edelgard whispered as her eyelids fell, "Promise-"
Byleth grimaced as Edelgard's grip finally fell away, pausing to squeeze Edelgard's limp hand one last time.
"I promise," Byleth whispered before she stood up. She debated for a minute if she should blow out the weak lantern above Edelgard's head, but decided against it. It would be terrible for Edelgard to wake in utter darkness.
It was some time before Byleth headed up to the top deck, smiling when she realized that the early sun had cut through the fog, clearing a path for the ship to sail smoothly.
"Professor," Hubert's voice called from the port of the ship. "Has Lady Edelgard fallen asleep?"
Byleth glanced over to Hubert, and blinked when she noticed Yuri and, surprisingly, Olivia standing next to the tall man.
"Hubert," Byleth nodded as she walked over to the side of the ship. "She's asleep now, but I'll head below deck soon."
Hubert nodded as he turned to Yuri and Olivia. "I was just asking a few questions about the owner of this ship."
"Peri?" Byleth asked.
"Correct," Hubert said, pausing for a moment. "Our friend here is the only member of the entire opera troupe to know what he looks like."
Olivia shrugged. "He's just another boring noble, apart from the fact that he has an unconventional method to finding security for his properties."
"He's also amusingly successful," Hubert said, his tone slow as a cruel smirk spread over his face. "Do you know how many noble houses were culled five years ago?"
"Enough to cut into our profit margins," Olivia scoffed.
Yuri laughed at that, but quickly began an exaggerated cough.
Hubert nodded. "One in every four houses escaped without… castigation, some through what I suspect was trickery, some because they had something the new order needed of them."
A question popped through Byleth's mind. "And what would you need them for?"
Hubert paused before he turned to Byleth. "A variety of things as a matter of fact."
"Rumour on the street was that you strangled your own father," Olivia said, her tone surprisingly neutral, as if she was commenting on the weather. "And poisoned half your household."
"You are very well informed," Hubert said with a slight nod. "But we did show mercy, even when I strongly disagreed with such an option. I would have liked to have made an example of Varley or MacLeod, but both of them live still."
Byleth paused as she ran the names through her head. She knew about Count Varley and his crimes against Bernadetta, but who was this MacLeod?
"You seem lost, Professor," Hubert observed.
"Who is this MacLeod?" Byleth asked, the name drawing a blank.
"The messenger I sent to Peri," Olivia cut in, her lips twisted in disgust. "He came up with the riot from Enbarr."
"Correct," Hubert said. "Lord Rudolf MacLeod, a disgrace of a nobleman, and hopefully the last of his line."
"A noble without children?" Byleth asked. "I thought nobles kept trying for children until they got one with a Crest."
"MacLeod was somewhat like Miklan," Hubert explained. "Except unlike Miklan, he would never have to get his hands dirty, for his brother was burned to ash in a house fire some time ago, rendering their line practically extinct."
"You think he set the fire?" Byleth asked.
"I would be more surprised if he didn't," Yuri scoffed. "Something like that, the town guard should have turned to him first."
"Except the fire left no evidence to charge him," Hubert explained. "And there were no witnesses willing to come forward."
Byleth nodded. "I see."
Hubert paused for a moment before turning to Yuri, then Olivia, then Byleth herself. "There is another reason I despise the man, but I must ask you to keep it a secret."
Byleth glanced around the ship, but found that the top deck was deserted apart from the four of them. "I don't think we'll be disturbed."
"I was confirming some of the facts with Olivia, but as I understand it, the dead Lord Norman MacLeod had sired a child before his… demise."
Byleth blinked as a thought struck her. "I'm not sure what-"
"The timeline fits," Hubert said, his voice falling to a conspiratorial whisper as he leaned forward. "I believe Norman MacLeod was Dorothea's father, and the surviving Lord MacLeod her uncle."
Byleth glanced down at the hatch that led to the belly of the ship and Dorothea, thankfully shut tight. "I see."
"I intended to interrogate Mr. MacLeod when the war ended," Hubert explained, his tone low. "To, at the very least, ensure that he is to never come into contact with Dorothea, not if he wishes to avoid an agonizing demise. If he does understand the fact that his competence as an administrator is inferior to Dorothea's well being, perhaps he will feed the fish."
Byleth nodded before she looked Hubert in the eye. "You care for Dorothea more than you seem to acknowledge, in your own little way."
"We all have our enemies," Hubert replied, glancing at the two criminals next to him. "Enemies who would have no restraint to act against those we have shown favour to. To be dispassionate is merely a means of ensuring that our enemies are blind."
Olivia cleared her throat. "I do apologize for interrupting, but is that pegasus knight one of yours?"
Byleth spun around and squinted at the distant sky. A moment before she was about to dismiss Olivia, she saw the flying knight, just a marble sized speck of white in the blue sky.
"No," Hubert muttered. "But it seems to be coming closer."
"Should we be worried?" Yuri asked as he stepped forward.
"It's not attacking," Olivia added, her voice tense. "If you want me to bring it down, I can try, but I doubt I'll be very accurate with my fire."
"Spread out," Byleth barked. "And get the ship to go faster. If this is Gloucester's man, then whatever element of surprise we might have is gone."
"This is a sailing ship," Olivia called back. "We're at the mercy of the winds."
Byleth clenched her teeth as the pegasus came close, her heart skipping a beat as she made out the icon on the soldier's armour.
It was a crimson eagle, the unmistakable signature of the Adrestian Empire, not a rebel army like the House of Gloucester.
"Who are you?" Hubert barked, even before the soldier had climbed off his mount.
The man bowed as he extended his arms, a letter in his hands "A request from Duke Holst."
Hubert growled as he tore the letter from his hands, his eyes scanning across the paper before tearing the letter in two. "Denied."
"What was it?" Byleth asked as Hubert scrunched the paper into a ball.
"Same request as last time," Hubert replied with a growl as he threw the ball onto the deck. "Overruled. Return to your post, soldier."
The man nodded as Olivia cleared her throat. "How long has it been since your horse has rested?"
"That is a good point," Yuri said as Byleth glanced over to the flying pegasus on the deck, clearly strained under heavy armour. "It's a long way back to the fortress, and I doubt Gloucester will be too keen to help him."
Byleth nodded as she turned to Hubert. "How about we let him go to Garreg Mach and see her, calm Holst down so that he stops sending these letters, and make sure he doesn't run into… his forces on the way back."
Hubert grimaced, clearly outnumbered three to one, but nodded. "Very well. I'll draft a note to Garreg Mach."
"Is there paper on the ship?" Byleth turned to Olivia.
"Possible," Olivia said. "It would have to be in the lower deck, but you would need to ask the captain for any supplies of paper. Worst case, you could use the back of the note on the ground."
Byleth glanced down at the scrunched paper before she reached for it, frowning at the faint scent of leather mixed with a note she couldn't identify. "No, I think we should find a new piece of paper. It would be difficult, if not impossible to write on this."
"As you wish," Hubert nodded as he turned to the hatch.
Byleth wasn't sure how long she had slept, but found that Edelgard was still sleeping peacefully in her bed, her chest rising and falling slowly, though the light blanket she had left with Edelgard lay in a heap on the ground.
Byleth grimaced as she shifted her shoulders, and winced as something hit the deck behind her. When she turned to look, she saw the heavy coat that Hubert wore, day in and day out, folded into a simple semicircle behind her seat.
Byleth smiled at that, thinking of her conversation on the deck. Hubert might have been different compared to his classmates, but he cared, and that was good.
"Byleth?" Edelgard's voice came softly from the bed.
"Did you sleep well?" Byleth asked when she turned back to the small bed.
"I did," Edelgard replied, yawning gently. "Did you?"
Byleth nodded as she stepped close to the bed, wiping a stray strand of Edelgard's hair from her face. "I'm not sure what time it is, but we should still be on the water."
Edelgard nodded as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed. "Has there been anything that's happened?"
The thought of Dorothea's alleged uncle and the messenger from Holst came to mind, and Byleth realized too late that Edelgard had seen it too.
"Is the news bad?" Edelgard's voice was low, nervous.
Byleth shook her head. "Hubert has this theory, about Dor-"
A clearing throat from the hallway interrupted Byleth, and she glanced over her shoulder to see Hubert pick his fallen cloak off the deck.
"Good afternoon Professor, Lady Edelgard," Hubert greeted, his tone neutral. "May I explain in person?"
Byleth nodded as she stepped away from Edelgard, sitting back in the chair. "How close are we to Myrddin?"
"Close," Hubert replied. "If all is well, we can dock within the hour."
"Was there something related to Dorothea?" Edelgard asked. "Is she alright?"
Hubert grimaced as he glanced at the hallway behind him. "I believe I've tracked down her birth family. I was asking questions to our… guide about a certain nobleman in Enbarr."
Edelgard nodded. "Have you informed Dorothea?"
"I would prefer not to," Hubert replied. "The family is of poor repute, and its current master has escaped the purge by the skin of his teeth. It would be best if this would never get out."
"And who are we dealing with?" Edelgard asked.
"The former Lord MacLeod," Hubert said, his voice dripping with scorn. "You would remember him as the lord who so graciously donated his land before we could seize it."
"This is her father?" Edelgard had stood up, her arms crossed against her chest, her face inquisitive, as if she had remembered the stick-like man at Garreg Mach.
"No," Hubert paused, as if searching for good words. "This individual, if our theory is correct, is the younger brother of the former Lord MacLeod, who burned to death in a mysterious fire some years ago."
Edelgard's eyes narrowed. "Murder?"
"Almost certainly," Hubert replied. "But it was a nearly flawless crime. It would be impossible to bring to a conventional trial."
"You believe he should be dealt with regardless," Edelgard guessed. "How capable is this MacLeod?"
"Quite," Hubert's lips were tight. "I believe he could also be a key source of information against...them. Not to mention that he has a reputation as a skilled administrator."
Edelgard drew in a gasp as Byleth spun around to stare at Hubert. The sheepish man she had seen at Garreg Mach could be used to get at Thales?
"How?" Byleth asked, her mind racing.
"I was informed that before the war broke out, he was a key figure in Enbarr's social circuit. It is likely that he has many drunken secrets hidden within his mind." Hubert explained, his features twisting to a cruel smile. "A session of torture could break him rather quickly."
"If our source in Abyss fails, you have my permission to act," Edelgard paused for a moment before she continued. "But not before that."
Hubert bowed before he took a step back into the hallway of the ship. "As you wish, Lady Edelgard."
"Edelgard?" Marianne's voice called from somewhere behind them. "The captain says that we're close to Myrddin."
"Good," Edelgard said with a nod. "Let's go then. I want to get some fresh air."
"As you wish," Hubert said, taking a slight bow before leaving the room.
"Are you hungry?" Byleth asked as Edelgard reached for her crown.
Edelgard paused before she shook her head. "I think I can wait for a few hours. We need to deal with the Gloucester situation first. Then perhaps we can talk about finding something to eat."
Byleth nodded as she reached to help Edelgard with her hair. "Let's hope this can end without too much bloodshed."
Edelgard sighed and closed her eyes as Byleth finished with the last touches of her hair. "Let's go then. To fresh air."
Byleth nodded again as she extended her hand, waiting for Edelgard's hand to close with her own before taking the first step out of the room, into the dim hallway.
"Were you up on the deck earlier?" Edelgard asked as she turned to shut the bedroom door behind her.
"I was," Byleth replied, taking three light steps to the ladder leading to the main deck of the ship. "It was pretty sunny, and it's cooler here than at Garreg Mach."
"That's good," Edelgard said as Byleth began to climb the ladder. "I'm glad that the winds were favourable."
Byleth nodded as she cracked open the hatch to the top deck, and winced as the setting sun blinded her for a brief moment. Crawling up, grasped at the deck frantically until a strong hand held her up.
"Hey teach, you good?" Yuri's voice came through as Byleth stabilized on the deck of the ship.
"I'm fine," Byleth replied as she crouched down, grabbing Edelgard's outstretched hand. "How close are we to Myrddin?"
"We'll be within view after this next bend," Hubert explained as he turned to Edelgard and Byleth. "We should be able to make contact with the garrison soon."
"We see Myrddin!" a voice shouted from the bow of the ship. "There's-"
"For Lord Gloucester!" a voice cut in, cut off by a powerful explosion
Byleth spun around at the source of the voice, but was unable to see anything, given the three men of Edelgard's bodyguard taking a position before her.
"What's going on?" Byleth shouted over the din. "Guards! Let me through!"
But even as the unit of soldiers parted, Byleth could smell the unmistakable stench of burnt flesh and the coppery smell of blood. She could also see two unmoving bodies on the deck, with a third kneeling over one of the bodies.
"Olivia," Byleth hissed as she took another step forward. "What are you doing?"
"You've been betrayed," Olivia replied, her voice grim and tinged with anger, rising from the body of the dead man with a bloody dagger in her hand. "And Peri is short a ship captain. He's not going to be happy."
Byleth glanced down at the other corpse on the deck. "Was he-"
"Take a look for yourself," Olivia snapped, pointing a long figure at the distant bridge in the distance as she kicked the scorched corpse on the deck. "Gloucester banners. This miserable maggot was sailing us into a trap."
"Then we will turn this ship around and return with an army," Hubert snapped. "And we will deal with these rebels as they deserve."
"Even if we were to cut the sails, we wouldn't be able to row against the wind," Olivia hissed. "This ship is doomed."
"Then what do we do?" Byleth asked.
"Evacuate the ship," Olivia replied without hesitation. "If we're lucky, we can get back to Garreg Mach on foot, preferably if these traitors of yours don't spot us."
"Too late," Hubert growled. "Flying soldiers moving in from the north."
Byleth glanced over to the direction of the bridge, and grimaced at the sight of the two flyers. Even at a distance, it was clear that they were Gloucester soldiers rather than more of Holst's men, wearing armour plates that proudly showed the rose she had come to associate with Lorenz. For a minute, she wondered where Lorenz was, and if he was within his father's rebellious force.
Then a fireball lashed out, so close to her she felt the heat of the magical flames as the fiery missile flew into the sky, smashing into one of the airborne soldiers above and throwing him to the water below.
"Professor!" Hubert shouted as another magical missile, this one radiating with a fell, evil power, roared into the sky. "Evacuate with her majesty! Leave the fighting to us!"
"El!" Byleth called as she ducked down, diving through the confused crowd as the ship shuddered.
"Go! Now!" a voice, one that Byleth didn't recognize over the din, shouted. "We've hit land!"
A strong hand grabbed Byleth and forced her up, and she looked into the hard, dead eyes of Yuri, his grip firm as he pulled her through the crowd. "Ship's not going to last long once we start taking on water. Our Edelgard can't swim, so she needs to be off the boat by then."
"Right," Byleth muttered. "Where's El?"
"I'm here," Edelgard called from behind a wall of a half dozen heavy infantry, her small stature making her almost invisible behind the wall of tall, heavily armoured soldiers. "We'll need to rendezvous somewhere in the forest."
"Evacuate the ship!" Hubert's voice, somewhere in the foredeck, roared, followed by a moment of deathly silence, as if the entire ship had frozen in time and space.
Then Byleth spotted the tiny specks of pale fire rise up against the orange afternoon. Hundreds, maybe thousands of them, blotting out the sky.
"Take cover!" a distant, disembodied voice screamed as the burning arrows fell.
AN: The first act of bad faith (Mala Fide) has been revealed.
Read, Review, Follow etc.
Seriously, review this stuff.
AN 2: Ah, thanks to the review for the error. The original note was supposed to go to Marianne, but I made a last minute change. Oops.
