8/22 Verdant rain Moon
"Good morning everyone" said Byleth greeting his students, that were already assembling at the gates of the monastery. "We will be leaving shortly, don´t forget your weapons and provisions. You will be at the vanguard with me. Gilbert, the mercenaries and the church members will stay at the rearguard of our group. The provisions at the center"
"Understood Professor"
He then approached Gilbert, who was already on his war horse.
"Good morning Professor. The archbishop has ordered me to accompany you in this quest. I will act as your guide until we arrive to our objective"
"The weather won´t be merciful on us" commented Byleth, looking at the sky, which was already getting darker.
"The rain season is particularly strong in the north, but your students aren´t ill equipped. Now if you forgive me" he said as he excused himself.
Byleth noticed Annette, the blue lion's student watching them from the distance. She and Gilbert shared similar physical traits that made Byleth suspicious about Gilbert´s identity. "I will have to ask her after I return. If she doesn´t mind" he thought.
They left the monastery under a cloudy day, which only got worse witch each mile that approached them to their objective. Among his students, Felix and Sylvain were barely affected by the rain, as they were the students that were the most adapted to these conditions. However, the rest of the students were quickly starting to suffer the consequences of the rain, especially Petra.
"This weather is horrible" commented Sothis inside her head. "You should check your students if you don´t want them to get ill"
Byleth approached Petra, who was shivering from the weather.
"How are you doing Petra?"
"I don´t like cold" she admitted. "But I must be strong, for the Professor, for my classmates"
"That´s the spirit, but don´t push yourself too hard. If you need to stop tell me"
"Thank you Professor" she nodded at him.
After a few hours they entered Kingdom territory and the rain got worse. The visibility was also poor, but the village they were trying to arrive was still too far away.
"We need to go faster" he shouted to his students.
"That´s impossible" complained Linhardt. "The visibility is poor and it's raining cats and dogs. I really miss the monastery"
"Our advance is slowed down by the rearguard" observed Hubert. "I can´t really blame them, since they are the responsible of our provisions too"
"I will tell Gilbert that we are advancing on our own. This is not a place to establish a camp"
After informing Gilbert about the change of action, he pressed his students to advance forward. The sun was starting to set when they arrived to the gates of the village, but he didn´t really know since all he could see was rain. The locals were intrigued by the composition of the group, but when they understood that they were coming from the monastery they relaxed. Getting of the horse he approached one of them.
"We were informed that you will be coming here" one of the locals said. "We have some free beds, but the rest of the army must wait outside of the village. We don´t have enough space for them here"
"Thank you for your hospitality"
"You are coming to take care of those bandits so it is the only way that we can thank your efforts"
"Rest all of you. We will continue at dawn."
"That´s tough Professor" complained Dorothea
"The sooner we end this, the faster we return, think it that way"
"Aren´t you coming too Professor?" asked Caspar
"Not yet. As the commander of this expedition I must wait until everyone else arrives. It wouldn´t be fair to them"
"Let me accompany you then" said Edelgard "As a future ruler and commander I shouldn´t take luxuries while my troops are still fighting against the elements"
"You are free to stay" although Byleth was worried about her health, her face almost covered in fur clothes.
The rest of them slowly enter the Hostel, although Hubert eyes lingered a bit more of him, as if they were reproaching him Edelgard´s decision.
"I told you before that I enjoyed the rain, but I must admit this is completely different. I don´t like this cold"
"Is it because the empire is warmer?"
"It may be. To be fair I was once in the Holy Kingdom, but my memories of that time are blurred. What do you think about our task ahead Professor? I sense that some of my classmates are nervous about it"
"I can understand why, but no matter what happens I will protect all of you"
"Thank you for your kind words. I must admit that the fact that we have grown as a group is thanks to you."
"I´m glad to hear it, but you are also responsible of that"
Edelgard was about to respond when a freezing wind came from the north, making her shiver.
"It´s too cold"
Byleth rubbed his hands and placed them on Edelgard´s cheeks.
"My Teacher?!"
"It´s a fast way to stay warm. Did you hate it?"
"Saying that I hated it would be inappropriate, but you surprised me" she said, her face getting redder.
"It´s only natural that I worry about you Edelgard"
"I recommend you to not do it with any other student, it may cause a misunderstanding" she said avoiding his eyes.
"My father used to do it to me all the time in winter while we were travelling around Fódlan"
"The fact that the Blade Breaker can act like that is heartwarming" smiled Edelgard. "Could you tell me more about your adventures around Fódlan? I would like to hear more about them"
"I have no problem to tell you" he said with a light smile on his face.
They chattered until the rest of the expedition arrived.
….
"I will go to speak with Gilbert. Thank you for accompanying me Edelgard, see you tomorrow"
"Good night my Teacher" she said as she headed to the hostel.
Everyone was having a modest dinner in the main hall. Linhardt was sleeping on the table while Caspar was eating with such speed that it was a miracle he could breathe. Ferdinand and Hubert were sitting next to other, but the tension between them was evident. On the other side of the room Dorothea smiled when she saw her.
"Edie, over here, we were waiting for you"
"Thank you"
"Edelgard is strong. You resist very well the rain" complimented her Petra.
"The rain has messed all my hair" complained Dorothea "I would like this to end soon, but that would mean another fight" she sighed. "When I joined the academy I didn´t expect something like this"
"That´s the world we live in Dorothea, but that doesn´t mean it will always stay the same" Edelgard comforted her.
"I just want to stay in my room. There is nothing that can hurt me inside it" complained Bernadetta.
"Look on the bright side Bernie. I´ve seen you taking care of the plants in the greenhouse. If you weren´t outside you couldn´t have done something like that" said Dorothea.
"You have noticed it. I´m happy" Bernadetta shyly smiled.
"Why wouldn´t notice something like that, you are too cute for your own good! Although I must say that Edie is also cute"
"Me?"
"Of course and I´m sure that the Professor thinks the same" Dorothea giggled.
"Why do you have to mention him?" Edelgard said a little embarrassed
"You look more relaxed when you are with him, you even smile more often"
"The Professor makes sometimes jokes" observed Petra
"I know Petra, but they aren´t funny at all. Although I guess that that is also cute"
"The other day I saw him cherishing his flowers he didn´t look scary at all" said Bernadetta.
"The Professor is strong, but cute? I´m confused"
"Don´t worry Petra, this conversation has already lost its sense" sighed Edelgard.
They kept chatting like that for a while, forgetting the rain outside there. That kind of conversations relaxed her mind. She had to admit she was growing fond of all them.
Byleth appeared at midnight, closely followed by Gilbert.
"It is late. Time to go to sleep. Tomorrow at dawn we will march again"
"That´s the same for you Professor, you shouldn´t go to sleep too late" said Dorothea.
"I have some questions to ask Gilbert about the geography of this land" he said as he extended a map on the table "But thanks"
There were two rooms prepared for them, one for the girls and one for the boys.
"I fear for the security of our Professor if he has to sleep next to Hubert"
"I fear the same Dorothea" said Edelgard. Hubert was the only student that didn´t seem to enjoy the company of the Professor. Imagining them sharing the same room at night was enough to make her shiver.
"The Professor is strong, he will survive" assured them Petra
"If you say so Petra" said Dorothea. "I would like to talk a bit more, but I´m sure that the Professor will notice if he sees us with eye bags"
"You are right" said Edelgard "I must admit I´ve had fun talking with all of you"
"I enjoyed it too Edie" smiled Dorothea
"Me too, I think that I´ve learnt more about Fódlan with this conversation"
"I must say that sometimes talking is not that stressful"
"Good night then" said Edelgard to all of them.
"Good night!"
….
Edelgard opened her eyes when she heard a thunder.
"It is still completely dark. It looks like it is getting worse outside"
She looked at her surroundings, but the rest of her classmates were asleep.
"I guess that I´m the only one that woke up by the storm"
She tried to sleep again, but she couldn´t, incapable of ignoring the sound of the rain and the wind hitting the walls of the building. She then decided to leave the room and headed to the main room.
There were still small flames at the fireplace, but apart from that there wasn´t any source of light. Edelgard thought she was alone, but she was surprised when she saw her teacher sitting at the table, his arms crossed on his chest.
"My Teacher, I didn´t expect to see you here"
"…."
There was no response from him, so she approached him.
"He is sleeping" she realized. It looked like he had fallen asleep while he was checking the map in front of him. Even in dreams he had a serious expression on his face, although he looked more relaxed.
"I wonder what he is dreaming of"
Looking at him she couldn´t avoid recalling the conversation she had with her classmates. "I guess that you could consider him cute" she thought to herself, the mere thought embarrassing her.
She never really knew why she did what she did, but she went to the armchair where the food was stored, picked a glass and filled it with milk, placing it in front of her Teacher. Feeling too embarrassed to stay in his presence, she returned as fast and silently as possible to her room.
"Why am I acting like this? Hubert is right, regarding the Professor I am too reckless" she said to herself as she tried to sleep again to cast aside those embarrassing thoughts.
…..
8/23 Verdant rain Moon
"Everyone get up! We can´t abuse the hospitality of this people" said Byleth opening the door of her room.
"Professor you should have more tact, you are entering a lady´s room" complained Dorothea, who was combing her hair. "And you should eat your breakfast at the table. You are going to split it all over here"
Edelgard looked at what her Teacher was holding and she felt that her cheeks were getting hot when she realized he was holding the glass of milk she had place in front of him the night before.
Noticing her, the Professor looked at her.
"Do you want some Edelgard?"
"No thank you" she said avoiding his eyes.
"10 minutes and we leave. Don´t make me wait" he said as he went to knock the door of the other room.
"So harsh" complained Dorothea.
"5 minutes more Professor" she could hear Linhardt´s voice
"Get up Linhardt or I will carry you to the horse"
"Ok ok, no need to threaten me Professor"
"He might be our Professor, but he is acting like a sergeant right now" sighed Dorothea
"It may be his background" commented Edelgard
They left the village with a grey sky above them. The roads were covered in mud after the heavy rains of the last days, nevertheless they continued their path.
"The rest of the way gets easier, we only have plains from now on" explained her Professor to her.
"The faster we complete this task the faster we return"
"You don´t have to worry about that Professor, Edelgard" said Sylvain, joining their conversation. "My brother tried many times to kill me as a boy, yet he failed. I´m surprised that he is able to lead an army seeing his dumb attempts to kill me"
"I´m surprised that you can talk so lightly about attempts of killing you"
"It´s the price to pay for having a crest I guess" he sighed. He then turned to Byleth. "I must admit that I hate you Professor, despite having a crest you don´t seem to have any problems with that"
"I´m sorry"
"Just joking" laughed Sylvain, although Edelgard noticed that his eyes weren´t smiling. "I can´t wait to return to the monastery. Ladies will fall for the stories of this adventure"
"You are delusional if you think you are going to do something remarkable" scorned him Felix, who was riding next to Sylvain.
"No need to be so unfriendly Felix, the Professor might think that we aren´t friends."
"I wouldn´t like to be considered the friend of a womanizer" Felix said, taking distance from him.
"I guess that everyone changes with the pass of time." Sylvain sighted again. "Don´t worry about us Professor, we have known each other for a long time. He is just like that"
"Can I ask you something Sylvain?" asked suddenly Byleth
"If you say it like that you sound too formal. Go ahead"
"What´s love for you?"
Hearing that question from her Teacher completely surprised her.
"That´s a difficult question Professor." Said Sylvain scratching his head.
"Isn´t love what you do when you are trying to seduce girls?"
"Not completely, that´s just a bad habit I have. Of all questions you could have done you had chosen one of the most difficult"
"Then you don´t know?"
"I guess that it depends on the person. Why are you asking this? Are you interested in someone?"
Edelgard found herself waiting for her Teacher´s answer.
"I was just curious"
Edelgard felt a mixture of relief and disappointment. "What´s happening to me these days? I may be sick" she thought.
"The answer I expected" laughed Sylvain. "I think that if you looked at a girl with those eyes of yours she would fall head over heels in love with you Professor. You are free to accompany me to the town someday"
"You shouldn´t contaminate the Professor with such behaviors Sylvain" warned him Edelgard "You should change yours too"
"You are just a beast in heat" said Felix, who seemingly had approached them again.
"Ok, ok, just forget about it. Let´s be friends"
….
8/26 Verdant rain Moon
The sun was starting to set when they arrived to the closest village to Conand´s Tower. The mood was completely different to the first days of the expedition, only a handful of conversations taking part at a time.
"We will stay here this night. Rest and be prepared at dawn."
"Finally! I was getting tired of this endless rain!" shouted Caspar.
"Be quiet Caspar" said Linhardt. "The rain is giving us a break right now, don´t call it"
Edelgard left her things in one of the rooms that the villagers had disposed for them and searched for her Professor. She found him talking with Gilbert.
"This weather is unfortunate, but the villagers were more worried about the bandits. We have to defeat them as soon as possible before they start causing havoc" commented Gilbert
"You are right about that Sir Gilbert, but we shouldn´t underestimate their forces. The fact that Miklan was able to seize Conand´s Tower means that he is more dangerous than your average thief." she said, joining the conversation
"This area was the site of a massive battle several hundred years ago when invasions from the north were at their highest. The tower was built for surveillance and as a barrier. Taking it will take some sacrifices"
"Are you from the Kingdom?" asked Byleth
"I am, but I´ve been working for the Church for a long time. It is regretful that we have to resort to violence, but Miklan gives us no other choice."
"The existence of a Crest shouldn´t dictate your destiny. I hope that one day these meaningless fights will end"
"It´s a beautiful idea, but I am afraid that it´s meaningless in this case." He then looked to the Professor "I will trust you the security of the students. You have the full support of the Church and the mercenaries you have contracted. We will cover your back. Now if you forgive me" he said leaving them alone.
"Forsaken by the Goddess, who now demands his execution"
"You are right about the irrational importance that Crests have in our society Edelgard, but you mustn´t forget that Miklan has committed many atrocities by his own will"
"I´m not justifying his crimes. It´s just that it leaves a soar taste in my mouth that most of these problems wouldn´t exist if there weren´t Crests."
"Humans would still fight and kill each other. The nobles are an example of that"
"I´m afraid that you are right about that my Teacher, but removing a part of the problem would certainly bring a redistribution of power across Fódlan. But now it's not the time for this kind of conversation I guess"
"I don´t have any problems listening to your ideas, Edelgard. If you end up being a better ruler than your predecessors then I have nothing to say against you"
"I thank you for that" she gently smiled to him.
Byleth nodded at her as a response. He then looked at her "You should go to rest Edelgard, tomorrow is going to be a hard day. Check that the rest of the students go to sleep"
"Are you going to stay outside?"
"Only for a while, there is no need to worry about me"
"If you say so"
She returned to the building where they were allowed to stay. Everyone was more silent than usual. Even Dorothea had nothing in particular to say.
"I guess we should just go to sleep. Thinking about our next battle tomorrow makes me feel anxious"
"I promise I will keep you safe Dorothea" Edelgard promised to her. She couldn´t avoid feeling sympathy for Dorothea, a commoner that was in the middle of so many confrontations based on the ruthless ambitions of the nobility.
"You have sound like the Professor, Edie. I guess that spending so much time together has its effects." She giggled. "I thank you from the bottom of my heart Edie"
They talked a bit more, before everyone focused on their inner thoughts.
…..
"He hasn´t returned yet" Edelgard thought after two hours had already passed. She was having trouble to sleep so she decided to search for him.
Outside the building everything was completely silent, only the occasional wind could be heard. The visibility was poor so she decided to pick a torch. She walked through the woods for a while until she saw a golden light ahead of her.
"Is that the Sword of the Creator?" she asked herself "He may be training"
She approached him and hid behind a group of bushes. Despite the torch she was carrying her Professor seemed focused on the other side of the woods.
"I must use the power of this sword to protect all of them, but I promise I won´t abuse it"
"Is he speaking to someone?" but she couldn´t see anyone, she tried to advance a bit more but she stepped on a branch.
"Who is there? Show yourself" Byleth ordered, pointing the Sword of the Creator to the origin of the sound.
"It´s just me, Edelgard, my Teacher"
"Oh Edelgard, I didn´t expect you here" he said lowering his sword.
"I thought you were talking with someone"
"I sometimes talk aloud alone. There is nothing particular about it. You should be sleeping"
"I should say the same about you. What were you doing here?"
"I was just practicing a bit. I will have to use this sword tomorrow"
She could see marks of hits in the trees and rocks around her. It was starting to rain again.
"I really appreciate your hard working personality but we should return"
"I guess that you are right"
They started to return, but when they were in the middle of their path, the storm that was brewing until then finally exploded.
The torch that Edelgard was carrying rapidly extinguished. Byleth casted then a small fire on the palm of his hand, but the path they were following was quickly turning into a swamp.
"With poor vision and with such terrain we aren´t going to make it" Byleth commented. He quickly looked to his right and started walking that way. "There is a cavity in this rock; we could use it as a shelter until the storm weakens"
She followed him into the small cave. The ground was hard but it wasn´t wet. "At least something good about this" she thought.
She could hear the wind violently blowing around them and she couldn´t avoid shivering.
"The north is too cold"
She then felt familiar hands surrounding her.
"My Teacher?!" she could feel an extreme warmth accumulating in her cheeks, her heart pounding faster than usual.
"I can keep you warm if you want"
"T-Thank you, but…"
"I don´t want you to catch a cold" he said, embracing her slightly tighter.
Her heart was fighting to leave her chest and she was feeling dizzy. Feeling weak she sat down. Byleth sat alongside her. She didn´t dare to look at him.
Byleth took off his cloak and offered it to her. "We could use it as a blanket"
"Too close!" she thought, but she shyly accepted his offering.
They stayed silent for a while, the rain and the wind the only things that could be heard.
She was confused about her reactions. She didn´t like to lose control, yet regarding her Teacher she was defenseless.
"Is something bothering you Edelgard?"
"N-no my Teacher."
"You should rest. With this storm the best find we could do is sleep"
When she was young she used to sleep with her siblings, but this was completely different. She could imagine Hubert´s horrified expression and Dorothea´s smile.
"I-I will try"
Trying to control herself she focused on sleeping until tiredness took hold of her body.
….
When she opened her eyes, she wasn´t next to her Teacher, but in a dungeon. It was the place she had grown to hate. She could hear a door opening and a sound of footsteps approaching her. She didn´t dare to open her eyes until the footsteps stopped in front of her. When she opened her eyes she could see nothing but a brilliant light. Dazzled by the light she couldn´t see the person standing in front of her. The mysterious figure extended its hand to her as if it was offering to help her. She reached for it. The moment she did the dungeon disappeared as if it was mere smoke.
She then found herself standing in the middle of the Cathedral. There was snow falling. When she looked at the ceiling she realized it was partially destroyed, but it was a familiar figure a mere meters in front of her what caught her attention.
"Byleth?"
He didn´t react to her voice.
"It doesn´t matter what I say, that´s what everyone wants me to be" he simply said starting to walk to the entrance of the Cathedral.
"What do you mean?" she asked, but silence was the only thing she received. She ran to him but as she started to approach him, his figure began to dissolve.
"Don´t leave me here!" she shouted reaching for his hand, trying to stop him.
She opened her eyes.
The wind had stopped but the rain was still falling outside and it was completely dark. "I´ve had fallen asleep" she thought. She then realized she was grapping her Teacher´s hand. She quickly released her hand, feeling flustered about it when she noticed the Sword of the Creator slightly glowing between them.
"Was my dream related to this sword?" she wondered. She then looked at Byleth, who was deeply asleep. A feeling of tranquility ran through her body the moment she saw him. She gently took the sword and placed it in front of them. "For now it doesn´t matter, there is nothing that can harm me here" she thought as she fell asleep again.