The sky was still dark when Byleth woke up. He took some bread and headed towards his student´s class. It was empty, although that wasn´t rare since he had woken up two hours earlier than expected.
"How are you feeling?"
"I´m fine. I just don´t want to let them down"
"You heard your dad. It is only a mock battle. Furthermore, it doesn't matter the results, but the way you travel to achieve them".
"You are right" his expression was the same, yet he found a bit of warmth inside him.
He spent the next hour preparing the weapons that his students will use in the imminent battle. When he was about to finish, he sensed a presence behind him. It was Edelgard, already wearing her battle armor with a crimson cape; which he has got used to seeing.
"Good morning Professor, how long have you been here?"
"I´ve been here for an hour to make sure that everything is ready. How are you feeling?"
"I have to admit that I´m feeling a bit nervous, not for you Professor, who has trained us the best you could, but for me. Even if it is a mock battle we may be eventually in a real battlefield and as their leader I will have to look for them all. It is my duty after all."
Her matured response moved him a bit, although it shouldn´t have surprised him. He knew very little about her, but he sensed she was a world apart from the rest of the students.
"Edelgard…"
"Yes Professor?"
"As you said, you are here just another student. I know that your burden is heavy, but that time won´t come until you have left this place. Until then I will be by your side and I will try to help you if you ever need me."
"Professor…" for the first time he could catch a glimpse of the true Edelgard behind the mask of the heir of an empire.
"My heartfelt thanks for your blunt, yet sincere words. I´m not used to this amount of sincerity. I´m glad that you treat me no different than any other student." Said with a faint smile on her face.
"By the way, I´m sorry"
"Sorry? About what?"
"About what I tried to do in front of you yesterday"
Edelgard blushed a bit
"You should forget about that and please Professor, don´t take someone´s words that literally, it would be an uncomfortable experience".
"Oh Edie, Professor, you are already here!"
"Good morning Dorothea" Byleth nodded at her.
One by one the rest of his students came to the class, Linhardt being carried by Caspar.
"Now that everyone is here, let´s review our strategy" Byleth said in an adamant voice. "Edelgard, Petra and I will be the vanguard of our force, Ferdinand and Caspar will protect our flanks, Bernadetta, Hubert and Dorothea will stay on the rear and Linhardt, you will stay at the center to maximize the use of your healing. Beware that we will face two different teams at the same time. Stay together and focused and victory will be ours. Understood?"
Everyone nodded; even Hubert had nothing to say against his plan.
"The time has come, let´s head outside".
The two other teams were heading to their respective positions.
"Good job Professor, I can sense the strength in your voice" Edelgard smile. "I´m sure this battle will fall on our side".
"I´m sure about that"
"Hey Teach, how are you doing?"
"Good morning Claude"
Claude was wearing light clothes and a wooden bow. "Speed over defense" he thought.
"I´m glad to see you well Professor. Your fight with Instructor Jeritza was a memorable experience." Said Dimitri, a solemn tone in his voice.
"It was eventful"
"Anyway Professor, try to be easy on us. I don´t want to be punched like that" laughed Claude.
"Why should he be easy on you? I´m sure you have some dirty schemes ahead for us"
"You are too harsh, Princess. You already have Teach, you don´t have to put more salt on the wound".
"I hope we have a fair fight. The Blue Lions won´t surrender easily"
"Students! Go to your positions! The battle is about to begin!" shouted his father standing on a hill.
"Good luck Teach!"
"I hope to have a memorable fight with you Professor, take care too Edelgard"
"The same for you"
Byleth and Edelgard headed towards the place where the rest of the students were waiting.
"The time has come, victory is at hand, let´s get it together" Byleth said, imitating his father when he encouraged the troops before a battle.
The sound of trumpets marked the start of the battle.
The first enemies to appear were Lorenz and Ignatz, from the Golden Deer House. Arrows were already falling on them. Ignatz may be feeble, but the amount of arrows he was shooting was something to remark.
"Petra to my right, Edelgard to my left! He can´t focus on everyone if we take distance between us. Ferdinand! Take care of Lorenz".
"I´m glad to face you on the battlefield Ferdinand. A worthy opponent indeed."
"It is the same to me Lorenz".
"Ferdie, focus, you can talk about your nobility later" Dorothea shouted while using magic against a white haired girl similar to Edelgard.
When they were about to catch Ignatz. A shadow appeared to the right of Petra. It was Raphael.
"Petra! Your right!" Byleth shouted
"She avoided the wooden axe by the skin of her teeth. Losing his balance, Petra saw an opening and she hit Raphael´s head with all her strength, leaving him unconscious.
"Good hit!" said Byleth while taking Ignatz down.
There was no sight of the Blue Lion´s students yet. He wondered where they might be when an arrow passed a few centimeters from his face.
"Professor! The forest!" Edelgard shouted.
"We can´t lend them time to react Petra, Edelgard, Caspar with me! Run in zigzag!" Arrows kept coming over his head but they were closing distance really quickly.
They weren´t the only ones who were charging. The Blue Lion´s students were charging at him, turning into a chaos when the two teams and the squad Byleth was leading clashed.
Byleth avoided an axe aimed to his head by Dedue, while Edelgard was holding her ground against Dimitri, who had a fierce expression on his face. Claude and the rest of the Golden Deer Students had changed their bows to training swords to defend themselves.
Dedue was a formidable opponent. His strength was impressive but he wasn´t as fast as Byleth. Hitting his hand with all his might he disarmed him and he knocked him down.
Edelgard and Dimitri were still fighting. Edelgard had the power of an axe but Dimitri had the reach of his lance and he wasn´t showing any openings. Then he disarmed her. Sensing the imminent danger Byleth rushed to her position and threw her his sword.
"Edelgard take it!"
Being surprised by the proximity of Byleth´s voice, Dimitri lost his focus for a split of a second, enough time for Edelgard´s fierce counterattack. Landing on the ground Dimitri surrendered.
"I wasn´t strong enough, I´m looking forward our next battle."
The battle between the Blue Lions and the Golden Deer had ended in favor of the Golden Deer, though only Claude and Hilda were remaining.
"It seems that we are the only ones left Teach" Claude winked at him.
Byleth start running towards him, when a fireball came from one side, he blocked it with his shield, which was destroyed as a result.
"Oh my, did you forget about me?" said a teasing Manuela.
"That means that Professor Hanneman might still be around here too" he thought.
It was at this moment the rest of his students came rushing at them. Caspar had a purple eye and he had lost his axe but he was shouting with all the strength of his lungs. Dorothea had lost her hat and Bernadetta was hurrying to avoid being left behind. Linhardt was carrying Ferdinand, who had contusions on his face, yet he had a proud expression on his face.
"And Hubert?" he thought.
The answer came as an explosion of purple light, followed by Hanneman´s scream.
Being distracted by the surroundings Byleth took advantage of the situation and punched Claude in the stomach, while Edelgard finished a complaining Hilda. Manuela simply surrendered, she didn´t want to have bruises on her face.
"And the winner of the mock battle is the Black Eagles" shouted his father, Byleth recognizing the proud tone of his voice.
"Good job the victory is ours and only ours!" shouted Edelgard a joyful expression on her face. Their eyes met. In the depths of her eyes he could see a mixture of pride, joy and admiration.
Seeing his students with such brilliant faces, made him feel strange feeling of warmth. Perhaps this was the emotion his father felt the first time he fought alongside him.
…
"Professor Byleth"
"Yes Edelgard?"
"I just wanted to say that I´m glad that you have chosen to teach us. Even if the upcoming battles get tougher with you by our side I´m sure we will have nothing to fear".
"You did well too Edelgard" said Byleth slightly patting her fear
"Professor, may I ask why do you do this?" asked a slightly embarrassed Edelgard
"My father used to do it to me every time we won an important battle or just because he felt like doing it. Am I making you feeling uncomfortable?"
"Don´t worry about that, it´s just that I don´t see you doing it to the rest of the students."
"You are right, then I must pad everyone´s heads".
"I don´t mean it like that! I don´t mind if you do it to me, but don´t do it if Hubert is watching"
"Understood"
"By the way, we are going to celebrate our first victory at the academy. It would be an honor if you can accompany us".
"I will, but first I have an audience with Rhea".
"Ah ok then, see you later Professor"
After leaving Edelgard, Byleth headed to the archbishop´s audience room.
"Your puppies did a good job today huh? Patting everyone´s head really got me. I´m happy to see you are getting used to your new life, but you have a lot to learn about human interactions"
"I guess you are right"
Rhea was waiting inside the room, a brilliant smile on her face when she saw him.
"In a short period of time you have achieved a lot Professor Byleth, choosing you was the right choice"
"It was thanks to my students".
"Anyway, the real battle won´t be until the battle of the eagle and the lion, until then keep training your students as always" spoke a serious Seteth.
"The reason why you are here is to inform you about your next assignment"
"Assignment?"
"Yes, every month you and your students will leave the monastery to assist the different regions of Fódlan on behalf of the Church of Seiros. Your first task will be to assist the knights of Seiros in getting rid of a group of bandits who have established their base at Zanado´s valley. They are the same group that tried to kill your fellow students".
"Why do I have to bring my students?"
"As you can see, this academy is focused on the training of the future leaders of Fódlan. These assignments will allow them to develop their battle techniques and develop bonds between them and the Church for an everlasting peace in Fódlan".
"I see", although a part of him was uncomfortable with using his students as mere soldiers on behalf of the church.
"That will be your task for the following month. I hope great results from you" Rhea smile was sweet, but he thought she wasn´t looking at him but someone past him".
…
On his way back to the dining room Sothis was murmuring.
"Zanado, Zanado, I feel like I have heard that name before".
That term was also familiar to Byleth, may it be related to the dreams of war he had?
Lost in thought, he didn´t pay attention to the little girl who was on her way.
"Kyaa"
Recovering his senses he looked at a girl with green eyes and green hair, who had fallen to the floor due to the impact.
"I´m sorry" said Byleth while lending her a hand to get up.
"No need to worry, I was just lost in thought. Oh, you are the new Professor. I´m glad to have finally met you in person".
"Are you a student?" She looked about the age of the rest of his students, but he hasn´t seen her during the mock battle.
"No but I wish I could, it looks so fun. I´m the sister of…"
"Flayn! I was searching for you!"
Rushing to her place was Seteth.
"No need to worry brother. I was just talking with the new Professor. My name is Flayn and he is my brother".
"My name is Byleth, nice to meet you" a little surprised at the reaction of Seteth, compared to his usually composed self.
"I have something to discuss with my sister, please go ahead".
Leaving the siblings in what appeared to be a discussion he headed to the dining room.
….
"You are too late Professor!" Caspar cried "I was about to start without you"
His class was sitting, still waiting for him. Even Bernadetta was there, though nervously staring at imaginary threats.
"As the main responsible of our victory today it was our duty to wait for you" said a confident Edelgard
"You have quite the capabilities Professor, but of course Lady Edelgard´s aid was decisive to the victory" Hubert chuckled.
"What are we waiting for? Let´s eat!"
"Caspar, don´t eat like that I won´t heal you if something gets stuck" said an awakened than usual Linhardt.
"Forgive them Professor, even if they are nobles they don´t know their manners. I will show you how Ferdinand von…"
"Enough Ferdie, we are here to celebrate, right?"
"Fódlan´s celebrations are different to Brigid. In Brigid we dance around the fire after a good hunt".
"That sounds so exotic I would like to see it!"
"Of course Dorothea, hunting and celebrating are the best!"
"Everyone looks so excited, well I guess that for one day it doesn´t matter" Edelgard smiled. "For our victory and for the Professor!"
"For the Professor!"
"Look at them; they are happy thanks to you. I´m proud of you too!" said Sothis inside his head.
He felt a sudden warmth inside him. Perhaps this life wasn´t that bad, after all.
I have completed the DLC (Hard/Classic) and I intend to use it for this writing, with a few differences. It will take place after Jeralt´s death and it will be darker. I have something on my mind and I can´t wait to execute it.