"Hey. natsu." caspar said as he came to me.

"You're less energetic than usual. What's wrong?" I asked.

"It's about petra." caspar replied.

"You got a crush on her?" i asked with a grin.

"No! It's just…it's about our fathers. Mine killed hers during the dagda and brigid war. And i'm afraid she hates me for it." caspar said.

"Hmm…yeah that was the battle that made your father a hero for the empire…but a monster in the eyes of brigid. But it's wyvern crap for her to hate you over it! You weren't even there! I'll help." I said. We then approached petra on the training grounds.

"Hey petra!" caspar yelled. She just completely ignored him and kept swinging her sword.

"Petra!" i yelled.

"Yes natsu?" petra replied. Yeah she's definitely resentful of who caspar's father is.

"Caspar is worried that you hate him over his fathers actions. So he's asked for my help." i said.

"There's nothing to discuss. Your father murdered mine. We will never be friends." petra said coldly.

"Wow. I thought the people of brigid were proud warriors. But you're proving yourself to be a weak coward!" I yelled. Shocking both caspar and petra. She then put her sword to my neck.

"And how is that?" petra asked. Anger in her voice.

"Because you're blaming caspar for something he didn't even do. Nor even had a hand in! He wasn't even there. He was too young to even put on a pair of iron gauntlets. You're hating him. Just because he's the easier target! Don't get me wrong. I get it. Count bergliez is a terrifying man. Hell, I still have nightmares about his brutal hand to hand combat training. But that doesn't give you an excuse to blame someone who hasn't done anything to warrant hatred! Point your sword at bergliez. Not caspar!" i yelled. She then lowered the sword from my neck.

"You…you're right natsu…please forgiving me caspar." petra said.

"It's alright petra…" caspar said with a smile. Well my work here is done. Time to head for Byleth's sword training seminar. Never hurts to have a backup plan in case I can't use inferno. As the day continued, Ferdinand approached me.

"Natsu…can i ask a favor?" Ferdinand asked.

"Sure." i replied.

"Dorothea seems to dislike me. Can you help me understand why?" ferdinand asked. What am i? The black eagles relationship counselor? I sighed.

"Alright…let's go." i said. We approached dorothea.

"Natsu? Why are you here with him?" dorothea asked.

"I know you dislike nobles dorothea. But ferdinand is really trying to prove he's not like the arrogant pricks we all both know and hate. So why can't you make an exception like I can?"

"...I grew up an orphan on the street. And scavenging just to stay alive. The nobles constantly locked down on me. And one day. I was lucky enough to have someone from mittelfrank hear me singing. And then the very nobles who looked down on me wanted my hand in marriage. A noble who once kicked me. Gave me the most gorgeous pair of shoes. I almost asked if it was a joke." dorothea said. Venom in those last words.

"Ha! Something I know all too well. There were alot of nobles at the palace that weren't fond of a lowly commoner like myself standing by the side of the adestrian princess. Everytime edelgard wasn't around. They'd push me to the ground. Hit me. And call me awful things like urchin. Alley trash. Or parasite. And every time i'd dared to hit back. I'd be the one in trouble while they got off scott free. At least that's what they thought. The emperor always let me go. When those bastards left the room. Of course. That changed when I started leaving the palace. And helping the common folk of the empire. I started to get respect from the very nobles that tried to make my life hell. Not because they actually cared about the real problems of the common folk. They were just glad they no longer had to hear about the problems that they had nothing but contempt for." I said. Anger in my voice.

"So that's why you both hate the nobility. But why do you think that I'm the same as them dorothea?" Ferdinand asked.

"That's a good point. If you want an aegir to fire laser eyes at. His father is free real estate. And ferdinand has shown that he's a diamond in an arrogant and egotistical rough. So what's the deal?" i asked.

"A diamond you say. I remember things quite differently. It was the very day i was discovered. I was in high spirits. Nothing wrong with the world. I secretly bathed in one of the towns water fountains. Hoping to wash off some dirt from the streets. I sang the same song the opera composer overheard. That's when you appeared." Dorothea said. I quickly remembered ferdinand telling me about when he saw a beautiful water nymph when he was a kid. I thought that story was complete baloney. And it was…because that wasn't a water nymph…it was dorothea.

"Well ferdinand. Looks like we found your beautiful water nymph." I said with a grin.

"What?" dorothea asked.

"Ferdinand here told me a story from his childhood. About how he saw a beautiful water nymph with the voice of an angel…honestly i thought it was baloney…and i guess it was…because it wasn't a water nymph…it was you." i said.

"Is this true ferdinand?" dorothea asked.

"Yes…i was hypnotized by your beauty. I couldn't take my eyes off you." ferdinand said.

"Stop it. Don't lie to me." dorothea said in denial.

"No it's true. i was only a child. The vision overwhelmed me. That's why i ran. I plucked up the courage to return. But no one was there. I thought perhaps it was a dream." Ferdinand said.

"I get the feeling that you assumed the worst dorothea. That the stare he was giving was the same of those other noble dipshits. A look of disdain. But it turns out. It was a stare of a kid dumbfounded by a beautiful sight. So this grudge was based off a misunderstanding." i said.

"Maybe I can believe you. If natsu. A man who's been through what I have can believe you. Then I can. There's a lot I have to let go of. ferdie." dorothea said.

"Well. you gave him a nickname. So it proves you consider him a friend. Letting go of years of scorn and being looked down on by noble pricks. It's gonna take a bit to let that hatred go. Something we both have to work on dorothea." i said.

"Yeah…thanks natsu." dorothea said with a smile.

"And you have my thanks as well. For helping us clear up this misunderstanding." ferdinand said with a smile.

"That's what friends are for." I said as I walked away. The weeks went on. Petra and caspar alongside ferdinand and dorothea started to get closer. Glad to see the walls break. Monica sat behind me and edelgard. Though I'm pretty sure she's giving me death stares. I've been constantly having chills up my spine since she showed up. after a week it was twenty-second of the garland moon. edelgards birthday. i grabbed the present i was hiding since the start of the garland moon. and finished the day. i then went to edelgard. who invited me to a tea party. i made sure there was a lot of sweets.

"so how's your time here?" edelgard asked. as she took one of the treats

"it's been great. made a lot of friends. not just in our house. but the other two as well. and you know. i noticed that the laincaster alliance would be an great ally. claudes ambitions are similar to yours. plus shujinko has had his own run in with...them! he knows and feels my hatred." i said. edelgard than looked down to her tea.

"let's not talk about them...this is supposed to be a nice time." edelgard said as she sipped her tea.

"right...sorry. but i now do have another dream...of an united fodlan." i said edelgard looked at me with surprise. "mainly due to a selfish reason...i made so many great friends from the blue lions and golden deer houses. so i don't want to say goodbye just because of this divide. it's selfish. i know." i said with a smile.

"there's nothing selfish about not wanting to say goodbye to a friend natsu. and there is a chance that your dream could come true." edelgard said with a smile. i than handed her the gift.

"happy birthday. el." i said with a smile. she blushed.

"you called me el...that means more than i can say..." she said as she opened her gift. revealing it to be a ruby necklace. one side is the adestrian empire logo. and the other side is my family crest.

"i made that to tell you one very important thing...no matter what happens. i will always be by your side." i said with a smile.

"natsu...thank you." edelgard said with a blush. i stud up.

"i think it's time to call it day...i'm glad i got to gave you that...and celebrated your birthday with you." i said. edelgard did something that shocked me...she kissed me on my cheek.

"so am i...my knight." edelgard said with a smile. as she walked away. i stood there holding my cheek. for what felt like an eternity. i noticed dorothea looking at me with a brig grin.

"don't say anything." i demanded.

"my lips are sealed. edie's knight." dorothea said with a wink. stupid romance obsessed girl. As the final week of the month approached I heard a lot of commotion coming from the blue lions room. I entered the room to find ashe in an awful state. And everyone supporting him.

"Athro! What the hell is going on!?" i asked.

"It's ashe's adopted father. Lord lonato. He's staging a coupe against the church of seiros." athro replied.

"Why…would he do this…why lonato…" ashe said in utter shock and sadness.

"...mercedes would you please take him to his room…he needs rest." i said. Mercedes nodded. And helped him to his room. "I'll explain this to edelgard and the black eagles. And i'll tell shujinko to do the same. But does someone have any idea why he did this? Doing something as reckless as going against the church of seiros is nothing short of suicidal. So there must be some reason to pull this kind of stunt. Something like the death of a loved one." I said.

"The death of a loved one…lonatos eldest son. Christophe. He was implicated as one of those behind the tragedy of duscur. And was captured and executed. By the church of seiros." dimitri explained.

"His involvement in the tragedy was a lie. In truth. He was targeted for participating in a plot to assassinate rhea." sothis said in my head. And judging from that look of disdain on Athro's face. She got the same message.

"Our next mission is most likely going to be dealing with this…which means we're most likely going to have to kill lord lonato…" athro said with sadness in her voice. I put my hand on her shoulder.

"We'll find a way." i said as i walked back to the classroom. The week passed ashe was still down. But mercedes tried her best to help him. I smell a romance blossoming. And it was the time all the blue lions dreaded. The mission to stop lonatos rebellion.

Athro pov.

"How are you doing ashe?" i asked.

"Not well…" he replied.

"You could just go back to garreg mach. We have everyone here. So we have plenty of archers. You don't have to do this if you don't want to." i said.

"If lonato is going to die today…i need to see it…so that he could be remembered and buried." ashe said as tears started to form in his eyes.

"He won't die today…i promise…we'll bring him back to the kingdom of faerghus for a fair trial." i said. Ashe looked at me and smiled.

"Thank you athro." ashe said as we reached the mission point. And found the knight of seiros accompanying us. The wielder of the hero's relic. Thunderbrand. Cassandra rubens charon. Or thunder catherine. Her preferred name.

"I have to say. It's a real honor to accompany such a brave and distinguished knight. None other than catherine. Wielder of thunderbrand." dimitri said. He's really showing her respect. Well she's not going to get any from me. She maybe one of the strongest in the knights of a seiros. But her lips are permanently attached to rhea's left ass cheek. That kid Cyril has got the right cheek. From what sothis told us about the "crimson flower" timeline. Wouldn't be surprised if natsu started calling edelgard "my crimson flower." it's a sweet and fitting pet name. But back on topic. Even when rhea was torching the city. Putting innocent people in danger. This idiot and Cyril still stood by her side. I get that she idolizes rhea. But you gotta call people out on their bullshit. Even if you love them. Otherwise they won't learn a thing. There's such a thing as being TOO loyal. And Catherine here. Fits that bill.

"Thunderbrand? What's that?" i asked. I already know thanks to sothis. But we got to avoid suspicion if we want to rewrite history.

"You don't know? My weapon is called thunderbrand. It's one of the heroes relics. A long long time ago. The goddess bestowed Divine weapons to ten heroes which passed down to their descendants. It's an honor to wield. But i'm afraid there won't be a chance for that today. We're here to clean up the aftermath. Not to fight." catherine said. It took every fiber of my being to not cringe at the bullshit story. Sothis told me the truth. The heroes relics are NOT weapons granted by the goddess. There weapons made from the dead carcasses of the nebatans. The same species rhea seteth and flayn belong too. Hell. byleth's main weapon. The sword of the creator. Was made from sothis's spine! The ten heroes thing is also a load of crap. The ten elites were not heroes! They were bandits and power hungry scum. Who used their hearts for power. this is the truth of the crests. It really is no wonder why the crest system is so corrupt. It started with a bunch of dragon scalping and power hungry scumbags. Which makes it more clear that rhea is insane! How can she turn the bastards who killed her race for power into heroes!? Why this fake history that heroizes scum!? No point in worrying about it now. Got a rebellion to stop.

"Report! The enemy is approaching! They can't be avoided!" a knight of seiros said.

"Looks like the mission just changed." catherine said.

"Yeah. everyone. Prepare for battle!" I yelled. The battle began. It was really hard to see through the fog. Which made ambushes incredibly hard to avoid. And harder to keep our classmates alive. Thankfully mercedes marianne and linhardt know physic. That's been a life saver. As i made my way through the fog. I saw a mage wearing a plague doctor mask. Was he the one creating this fog? I threw an dagger at his arm. Which hit. And then ran my sword though his chest. Killing him. And sure enough the fog began to clear. Shortly after the fog disappeared completely. I saw that natsu and shujinko got the other two mages. They gave a thumbs up. Which i returned in kind

"Those three really seem to work well together…" dimitri said.

"I hope all of fodlan will cooperate like that someday…" edelgard said. Dimitri nodded. With the fog clear. Catherine made her way to lonato slashing down two armored knights like they were nothing.

"It's you…thunderstrike cassandra!...it was your wretched zealotry that killed my son!" lonato yelled as he readied his lance. Catherine than chuckled.

"The only name i answer to is catherine. Prepare to taste the blade of one that serves the goddess. Now you face a knight of seiros!" catherine yelled. I than intervened and froze lonato to the ground.

"ENOUGH!" i yelled.

"Release me at once girl! I must avenge my son!" lonato demanded.

"Have you forgotten that you have another son!? One that doesn't want to see you die!?" i yelled as i pointed to ashe. "I know you lost christophe. But don't throw away what you have left for revenge. Leave that with people who have nothing else but revenge." i said as i looked down.

"Young lady…what is your name?" lonato asked.

"Athro diamond kotta." i said.

"Athro…i can tell from your eyes that you have indeed experienced the pain of losing everything…is revenge all you have to keep living?" lonato asked.

"It was…at one point…but then i met them…" i said as i turned around and looked at the blue lions students. Mercedes patching everyone up. While ashe looks at lonato with relief. "And i found a new family…a new reason to keep moving forward." i said with a smile.

"Well done in capturing lonato…now let's take him back to lady rhea…"catherine said.

"No." I said.

"What?" catherine asked.

"I said no! This is a faerghus matter. Thus it'll be handled by faerghus. That way he can get a fair trial." i said.

"Are you saying lady rhea would give an unfair trial? That is–" catherine tried to say but interrupted her.

"Did christophe get a fair trial? Or was he immediately sent to the gallows?" i said. Catherine was in utter silence. "I thought so." i said as i put lonato on a horse. Which was not happy about the heavy and cold load. I then got on and rid. The trial was over. And lonato was sentenced to the rest of his life in the fearghus dungeon. Ashe could visit him. As we rested at ashes home. I heard a knock on my door. To see ashe.

"Hi ashe." i said. He then hugged me.

"Thank you athro…thank you!" ashe said.

"Hey. what are friends for?...it's late…you should get some rest it's been a long day for all of us." i said he then let go of me and nodded. And went back to his room. I was about to go back to my room but was stopped by catherine. Who also wanted to talk to me.

"Athro! I hope you realize I'm not particularly happy with you! You disobeyed an order from the church!" Catherine yelled.

"...unlike you. I do what I believe is right. And not just blindly obey the archbishop." i said.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" catherine asked.

"Let me make this clear for you thunder catherine. I have no respect for you. Your strength. Your skill with thunderbrand. It means nothing to me. Because you won't get your lips off the archbishops right butt cheek!" i yelled.

"so my faith to lady rhea is a bad thing!?" Catherine yelled, offended.

"It is. Because rhea is blind to the world! She's blind to how the crest system is allowing corruption of the nobility. How it's causing people to suffer. And causing fodlan to fall apart!" I yelled.

"You're wrong about lady rhea! She's doing what's best for the world!" catherine yelled. I sighed in annoyance.

"This is why I don't respect you…if rhea did something utterly evil. Like order all the puppy and kittens to be killed. And have all the orphanages in Fodlan burned down! You'd still be the good loyal knight! You're an ass kisser! Start using your own brain instead of blindly following rhea's orders like a good little dog! And I'll consider giving you some respect!" I yelled.

"So what!? You want the church destroyed!?" catherine yelled.

"I never said that…i don't want the church of seiros destroyed…i want it under better leadership. There's a prime candidate literally right next to rhea!...seteth! Unlike rhea! Seteth actually knows what he's doing! Isn't blind to the world around him! And isn't prejudice and psychotic enough to axe anyone who dares to disagree with him and using the "will of the goddess." excuse to get away with anything!" i yelled

"Enough! You can insult me as much as you want…but don't you dare insult lady rhea! You will show her respect!" catherine yelled.

"That psychotic and prejudiced mama's girl will never get any respect from me! Unlike she cleans up her act!" i yelled.

"That's it! Tomorrow you and i are dueling! I'll teach you what to happens to those who disrespect lady rhea!" Catherine yelled. As she stormed off.

"That wasn't very smart athro…" sothis said.

"I know…just think of it as a battle of idiots." I said as I went to bed.

The next day/natsu pov

"Do you know why we're not leaving yet?" I asked edelgard.

"No. do you know professor byleth?" edelgard asked.

"Athro set some pretty nasty things about rhea. Which angered catherine to challenge her to a duel." byleth said. Clearly sothis gave her that message.

"What things did she say?" dimitri asked.

"About how rhea is blind to the world. Doesn't know what she's doing. And is a psychotic and prejudice mama's girl." byleth said. Goddammit athro. Just couldn't keep your cool could you?

"Well she's not exactly wrong…but it wasn't a good idea to say that to thunder catherine. One of rhea's most loyal…but what is with that mama's girl part?" claude asked.

"I don't know." byleth lied. We know why she calls her that. But we gotta keep sothis a secret. Athro than walked up to one part of the field. While catherine was on the other side. Athro and catherine stared each other down. But to everyone's shock…they weren't using training weapons. Catherine had thunderbrand drawn. While athro had her diamond katana in hand. This really was a duel.

"Yeesh! She looks hecka mad!" hilda yelled.

"May the goddess watch over them both." marianne said.

"Yeah…this isn't gonna be pretty." caspar said.

"I certainly hope athro will be okay…" Dorothea said.

"A fight between the ice queen and thunder catherine…should be interesting." felix said.

"Felix you jerk! This isn't a friendly spar! Athro is in trouble!" ingrid yelled.

"Yeah. catherine looks like she's ready to the death!" sylvain said.

"Apologize now. And you won't face my wrath!" catherine yelled.

"Ready your sword! And go back to using your mouth for the only thing it's good for…kissing rhea's ass!" athro yelled. Making everyone gasp.

"Oh my!" mercedes yelled.

"That girl has got some fire!" leone yelled.

"The angry is running through them both." petra said.

"Now you face a knight of seiros!" catherine yelled as she charged at athro. She quickly blocked the blade covered her arm in ice and punched catherine in the stomach sending her flying. Catherine quickly got up. And charged.

"Foudroyant strike!" catherine yelled. As she charged at athro with lightning coursing through her blade. She jumped high and aimed her sword downwards. But athro kicked her in the face before the sword connected. Sending her to the ground. And knocking thunderbrand out of her hand. She tried to grab it but athro quickly caught up to her and put her sword to her neck.

"We're done here." athro said as she holsted her blade. And walked away. Catherine looked a her with pure anger.

"I'll make you pay…you disrespectful little bitch." Catherine said quietly. But not quietly enough. As athro quickly came back and punched her in the face. Sending her to the ground.

"I heard that!" athro yelled. An kingdom soldier quickly ran up to dimitri.

"Your highness. We found this note on lord lonato." the soldier said as he handed dimitri the note.

"What's it say your highness?" dedue asked?

"It's describes a plot to assassinate archbishop rhea!" dimitri yelled. Everyone gasped in shock.

Sothis told us about this…i was excited…cause it's time for professor byleth to get her sword back.