9/19 Horsebow moon
After departing from Galatea territory the wind had grown colder, but fortunately there was no sign of clouds menacing rain. To her side Petra was already covered in fur clothes, only her eyes to be seen. A few meters from her Ingrid was wearing her usual equipment apparently unaffected by the increasing harsh conditions.
"Fódlan is too cold"
"When we fight those bandits you will forget about the cold" reassured her Edelgard.
"Despite being born in the Empire you are resisting quite well this weather, Edelgard" commented Ingrid.
"I was once in the Holy Kingdom, but I must admit that it isn´t my favorite environment."
"Oh I see, when winter comes is going to get worse, fortunately we won't be here by then."
Her Professor approached them. He was wearing his usual battle clothes and he seemed unaffected by the increasing cold wind.
"I´ve talked with Felix, we are a few miles away from our objective. Fly higher and use the clouds as cover. We need to discover the enemy position before striking them"
"Finally the moment of fighting has come"
"I told you Petra, it will be done"
"I will tell the others. If we are lucky we could finish this problem today"
"I´m sure we will smoothly end this"
"I have the same feeling" Byleth nodded to her before changing the course of his flight.
"I will head to the north, Petra you can go to the northwest"
"Then the northeast is mine" confirmed Ingrid, before heading in the aforementioned direction.
Gaining height, she was soon engulfed by clouds. She could feel the coldness trying to enter her body, but she didn´t shiver. "Petra is in a worse situation and I´m sure that she is doing her best. I mustn´t show any weakness" she thought. After a short while the clouds around her disappeared and she could see the world beneath her.
The green landscape that had accompanied them since they left the monastery had turned yellow and red, especially in the forested areas. The villages in the distance were small dots surrounded by vegetation, although she could see some smoke clouds from the distance. "One of the villages must be under attack"
It didn´t take too much time to fly to the affected area. Spirals of smoke were ascending. She realized that the fires were taking place beyond the walls of the village. "If we can arrive here in time we might save them" She then flew the fastest she could to report Byleth about her discovery. In her way she found Petra and Ingrid that were too returning to inform about their findings.
She found him flying next to Dimitri and the rest of the students. "Professor, I´ve spotted the location of the bandits. They are trying to attack a walled village. There is fire outside it, but I didn´t see any fires inside yet. We could still arrive there before the situation turns dire"
"Thank you for your report Edelgard" he then looked to the rest of the students. "You´ve heard that. The villagers need our help. March faster to our objective. Prepare your battle equipment, we will need it shortly. I will spearhead our advance with our flying units. Edelgard, Petra and Ingrid with me"
"Understood, my Teacher"
"You have heard the Professor, prepare the battle equipment and our battle formation" commanded Dimitri.
"Finally! The time to battle has come!"
"I don´t understand how you can enjoy something like that Caspar. I will be doing my healing work" said Linhardt
"I will contribute for the wellbeing of our group too Professor" promised Mercedes
"Attacking fellow commoners… That is something I can´t stand" commented Dorothea
"You are right, it doesn´t matter what their motives are. If they have resorted to killing then I will take them down" promised Ashe with a strong look on his eyes.
"We will protect them all, together" promised them Byleth, before gaining height. He was closely followed by her.
Could you see how big their forces were?"
"The smoke blocked my vision, but judging by the amount of fire surrounding the village they must be quite a force"
"We must be careful then"
"The fact that the bandits are trying to raid a fortified village surprises me. They must be reckless or desperate if they are doing something like that" commented Ingrid.
"They will pay their actions with their life"
A few moments later, they left the sea of clouds behind them and they could see the spirals of smoke in the distance.
"The smoke is increasing; we must aid them as soon as possible. They might be trying to force the villagers to open the gates." She said
"You are right Edelgard. We must alleviate the pressure. Faster!"
Flying as fast as they could, they approached the village under siege. As they grew closer she could hear the sound of the battle unfolding around it. What appeared to be soldiers from the Holy Kingdom were fighting to death against bandits at the walls of the city. They are evacuating the civilians into the city" she thought. But it was a dangerous bet, if they succumbed to the pressure of the attack and the gates were taken from them a massacre would happen within the walls of the village.
"We have to ease the tension at the gates. Spearhead formation with me!"
They dived into the battlefield following her Teacher´s command. The impact of their weapons and the weight of the Pegasi sent flying the advancing forces of the thieves.
"Who are you?" said a middle aged man riding a war horse.
"We have come to aid you; the rest of my students will arrive shortly"
"Students? That means Felix had received my message, I thank you Professor!" He then looked to the remaining villagers. "Hurry up; we must close the gates before they gather their forces again!"
The surprise attack had shattered their enemies advance, but they were quickly preparing a counteroffensive against them, sending their archers.
"Fly higher now!" shouted her Professor. "We will meet later"
"Thank you and don´t die out there!"
They flew to the heights to avoid the round of arrows directed at them and then they counterattacked. She hit with her axe one of the archers and avoided a new round of arrows. To her right, her Professor was doing the same with a silver sword, neutralizing the main menace to their Pegasi. Petra was using her throwing axe with a great accuracy and Ingrid was hitting her enemies and moving with an impressive speed. However, the numbers of their enemies were increasing.
"They are too much of them. The entrance has been secured. Retreat to the village to prepare our following steps and give some rest to your mounts.
"Understood my Teacher. Everyone! Retreat to the village"
They landed in the middle of the square. The activity around them was frenetic.
"Archers to the walls! Secure the gates. We can´t let them get through. Is that oil ready?"
"It´s not hot enough my lord" said one of the soldiers.
"I can help you with that" offered her Professor, using his magic, the oil started to boil.
"Not only a Pegasus rider, but also a mage and a swordsman. You are really surprising me Professor" laughed the commander. "I´m sorry I haven't presented myself properly. I am Rodrigue, head of House Fraldarius, father of Felix and shield of Fhaergus, although I fear that I won´t be able to hold such tittle if this village falls."
"We will defend the village at all costs" nodded to him her Professor. "My name is Byleth"
"You can count with me too" said Ingrid.
"Oh, Ingrid! It´s been a while since the last time I saw you. I appreciate your help" he then looked to Petra and her. "I appreciate all of your help. You have the gratitude of my house"
"What are your instructions now, my Teacher?"
"We have mobility on our side. We have to exploit that advantage. Fly high and attack from behind. Don´t stay too much time within their reach to avoid being exposed. Edelgard, you will attack with me the right rearguard. Ingrid and Petra will take care of the left rearguard.
"Understood."
"My forces will slow them down at the walls. Kill as many as you can. We may be able to make them retreat."
Riding again their Pegasi, they flew into the sky. The smoke clouds were irritating her eyes, but they hid their presence. She led her Pegasus into it and a short while after they were behind the enemy lines. When the enemy realized they were charging at them it was too late. Edelgard cut through the flesh and the armor of her enemies with her axe as she used the body of her Pegasus to smash some of them with its weight. Her Professor was using his sword to the same extent and Petra and Ingrid were fighting as if they had been born with a Pegasus between their legs.
"Fly higher now!" her Professor commanded to avoid the attacks in retaliation.
They avoided the arrows, although the aiming of the enemy archers was getting better. "We won´t attack them as easily as before"
"It´s true, but the more time they spent focused on us the less time they have to attack the village"
"Professor, they are moving something!" pointed out Petra.
Edelgard looked to the place Petra was pointing. A group of brigands were moving a cart full of barrels.
"They must be carrying explosives" she murmured. Her worries intensified when she saw more than one cart heading to the walls of the village. "They plan to blow up the walls!"
"I will stop them, give me coverture!" shouted her Teacher as he rushed with his Pegasus to the center of the enemy formation.
"Cover the Professor!" she shouted following behind him.
The enemy was closing its lines to avoid being overcome by them, but she didn´t plan to give up. Using her inner strength and the power of her dual crests she crushed the enemy formation. Exploiting the breach Petra and Ingrid shortly joined causing havoc between the enemy lines.
Taking a break from the fight she looked to her Professor, who was casting a fire spell to one of the carts carrying the barrels. The explosion that followed engulfed in flames the thieves within the radio of the explosion. She was relieved to see that her professor was unscathed. With every explosion the battlefield was turning into a blazing inferno. Her Professor was heading to one of the last carts when a javelin came from the flames piercing one of the Pegasus´s wings. The creature panicked and he felt to the ground.
She rushed to his position, despite the resistance of her mount, which was afraid of the flames. Noticing that one of the thieves was approaching Byleth from his back she jumped and crushed him with her axe.
"Thank you Edelgard. I owe you this one, allow me to reciprocate" he said casting a fire spell to an enemy approaching her. They fought back to back, awaiting the incoming enemies.
"If we fight together there is nothing to fear my Teacher"
"You are right, stay close, the more enemies we take down the fewer that will go to raid the village"
One after one the thieves that came to them fall and died, but there were still plenty of them.
"It is even bigger that Miklan´s gang. The thieves of the entire region must have joined forces"
One of the carts was already arriving to the gates. It was only a matter of time that they forced their way into the town, although Lord Rodrigue´s forces were drowning them in arrows and boiling oil. Petra and Ingrid were still flying around, trying to exhaust the enemy forces.
It was then when the left side of the enemy forces was engulfed in magic explosions of different sizes and colors. Edelgard couldn´t avoid smiling when she saw her fellow classmates at the other side of the hill.
"The reinforcements have arrived my Teacher"
"Just in time" he said with a light smile on his face. "Let´s press on this side too"
Dorothea, Hubert, Annette and Mercedes continued to cast spells covering the advance of the rest of the students. Dimitri, Dedue, Ferdinand, Caspar, Felix and Sylvain were charging and Bernadetta and Ashe were neutralizing the enemy archers.
The unexpected arrival of new combatants had turned the left flank of the enemy forces into chaos. She and her Professor were making their way to rejoin the rest of their forces.
"They are just a bunch of kids, kill them all!" said a brigand charging at her. He was stopped by her Teacher´s sword and swiftly decapitated.
"I won´t let you touch her. Only a few more meters Edelgard"
She could already hear the voices of her classmates.
"Attacking innocent villagers? Unforgivable!" shouted Dimitri, releasing death with his lance.
"I am Ferdinand von Aegir!" was shouting Ferdinand as he charged through the enemy lines.
"Stop getting into trouble. I need to take a good nap after this" complained Linhardt.
"Sorry for making you wait Professor, it is time to show these weaklings the strength of our swords" said to her Professor a confident Felix.
"I´m counting on you"
The explosion that they heard made them realized that the thieves had destroyed the gates, but the troops of Lord Rodrigue were already waiting for them.
"Defend the city, don´t let them kill the civilians" he shouted charging at them.
Attacked from the two fronts and from the air the enemy troops were losing their morale.
"We should run away!" shouted one of the bandits.
"Idiot, if we can get the Hero´s relic our lives will be resolved!"
"A Hero´s relic?" Edelgard thought. "I guess that House Fraldarius has another relic"
The battle continued in two fronts, but as the fight progressed the enemy forces started to disband. At first small groups of soldiers but it quickly turned into a stampede.
"Don´t let them escape. They must pay for the crimes they have committed in this land with their life" Dimitri shouted.
Some of them could escape, but most of them were intercepted and neutralized by the combined efforts of her classmates and the village troops. When the fight had already ended Edelgard looked at her surroundings. The battlefield was filled with the corpses of the thieves and some of the village soldiers. Some crows were starting to arrive to fest on the fallen, but luckily all her classmates remained alive"
"So much death, for what?" murmured Dorothea, next to her.
"We saved the village, they were not innocent"
"I know, but I can´t get used to something like this. I envy your strength Edie"
"Don´t push yourself too hard Dorothea" Edelgard comforted her. She knew Dorothea was one of the most affected by the battles they have experienced. She and Linhardt were among the most affected, but they have perfectly fulfilled their role.
She searched for her Professor and he saw him accompanied by Dimitri and Felix, talking with Lord Rodrigue.
"If you can excuse me I will be going to the Professor´s place"
"Don´t worry Edie, I´m alright. I just needed someone to talk about" she weakly smiled to her.
They were talking about the results of the battle.
"Thank you for assisting us in such a dire situation. I feared for the situation of the village, but thanks to you and your students the outcome was better than expected. Only the gate had been destroyed and although the lands around here will take some time to recover that is still recoverable. I doubt those bandits will stop any time soon. But at least this village is safe and most of his forces had been destroyed. This village was important to the late king. If we hadn't saved it, I wouldn´t have been able to face his Majesty"
"There is no need to say something like that. You and your soldiers fought with honor. As the future king of this land I can only express my gratitude to you. My father would surely be proud of you too if he could see you" assured him Dimitri.
"How foolish!"
"Pardon me son?"
"We were protecting the villagers, not your ego. I can´t care less as to whether you can bring yourself to face a dead king"
"Felix, your brother died protecting him"
"And he died like a true knight" laughed Felix, although his voice was filled by resentment. "Both of you…no… All this land is obsessed with dying for honor. Don´t you see how wrong is that way of thinking?"
"Felix, I won´t tolerate that you stain the honor of your brother, he died…"
"Protecting the king. I´ve already heard the story a dozen of times father. I suppose if I had died, you would be saying the same thing you did after Glenn´s death. If you want to die why did you call for my help? I came to improve my skills and to save civilians. There is no need to lecture me on honor. I did my duty, now if you excuse me" He left without looking back again.
A complete silence fell between them until it was broken by Felix´s father.
"I must apologize for the behavior of my son. You have been witnesses of an embarrassing behavior."
"It is in part my fault. As the leader of his class I was unable to control him"
"There is no need to apologize" said her Professor to both of them.
"The Professor is right; the most important thing right now is that we could save the village. That is all that matters"
"Felix blames me for not feeling sorry about Glen´s death, but he is wrong. I remember him every time I open my eyes and every time I go to sleep. However, I am proud of him because he decided to protect His Highness. He was true to his word and died serving the royal family. Felix cannot understand that, he is young and foolish, but I cannot really blame him. He admired his brother, after all."
"I understand Felix as well" the Professor said, briefly looking at Edelgard and Dimitri.
"So that´s how you feel about it. Felix is fortunate to have met someone like you. I hope that you can keep taking care of him."
"You don´t have to worry. I will protect all my students to my last breath"
Hearing such commitment into his words, she was moved by them.
"My Teacher, I don't want you to die for us, battle to live with us"
"Edelgard is right Professor. I appreciate your kind words, but I hope that day doesn´t come"
"I wouldn´t want to ask one more time for a favour, but I need your help to bring the injured into the town. In compensation I wish you could stay this night with us. I´m sure the villagers want to thank your assistance with a banquet"
"We don´t mind helping you. Edelgard, Dimitri, with me"
They took care of the injured soldiers while Rodrigue was bringing the dead bodies spattered around the battlefield. His forces buried the soldiers that died fighting for the village and burned those who had died attacking it. The sun was starting to set when there weren´t more corpses or injured outside.
"You have done a great job, all of you! Now let´s forget our worries for a night! This victory was obtained thanks to all of you" Byleth congratulated all of them, before heading to the gates of the town.
Listening to his words Edelgard wondered if her Professor had learnt to give this kind of speeches from his father. Looking around her she knew that his encouraging words were having effect around the students.
"After a good battle it's time for a good meal!"
"You are so simple Caspar. But I guess that a hot meal would do wonders for me. That and a good bed." yawned Linhardt.
"After a big battle we do the same in Brigid. To pay respect to our ancestors"
"My people hold the same believing. It is interesting how similar we are in some matters" unexpectedly commented the serious Dedue.
"It doesn´t matter where we come from, if our objectives are the same we can reach new heights" she said. "Let´s follow the Professor to enjoy the celebration!"
"The way you are giving us speeches definitively makes me suspect that someone is spending too much time with the Professor" giggled Dorothea. "I agree with Edie, let´s follow the Professor"
…..
The air was filled by all kind of scents. They were staying in the biggest building of the town. The students and the villagers were sharing the same table while her Teacher was sharing the bread with Lord Rodrigue and his soldiers at the bottom of the hall. He was sitting at the middle of the table and when he noticed she was watching him he raised his cup and faintly smiled to her. Feeling these little changes in her Teacher was filling her with happiness. Looking around her table she could see how the students were interacting with the locals without a different treatment between them. "If something like this works maybe in the future we could live in a world with no discrimination depending on the place and family you were born." She knew it was a fleeting event, but she wished it could work in a greater scale.
"Lady Edelgard, you should eat"
"Forgive Hubert I wasn´t focused"
"Caspar you must eat slowly, I won´t be helping you if you suffocate"
"This is too good!"
"The food around here is scarce, but we can do some great things with it to compensate" laughed Sylvain.
"Since when you have turned into a culinary expert Sylvain?" asked Ingrid.
"You should leave that title to Ingrid, eating is one of her qualities" grinned Felix.
"That was rude, but since we won today I forgive you"
"Even outside here you can find edible plants that are tasty enough to alleviate your hunger. Nature is harsh, but it can be generous" said Dimitri
"Please don´t eat the weeds" said a worried Dedue
"Looking at everyone together I feel happy" said Mercedes with a gentle smile.
"It makes me want to sing!" said an energetic Annette.
"Do you sing too Annette? I fought I was the only songstress here."
"I do it from time to time as a hobby."
"How about we sing together?"
"May I sing too?" asked Mercedes.
"Of course, the more the merrier!"
The three of them started to sing but there were quickly followed by other students and the villagers. Edelgard looked at her surroundings. Bernadetta was covering her eyes, but it was clear she was seeing everything, Linhardt had already fallen asleep next to his dinner and Hubert, who was drinking a cup of coffee, almost dropped his cup when Ferdinand started to sing next to him. She then looked at her Professor. He was looking at them with a smile on his face, wider than the one she had seen before. Treasuring the moment she let her worries slip from her mind for the time being.
…..
"We will be spending the night here" Byleth announced to his students. "However we will be leaving tomorrow. We mustn´t abuse the hospitality of the villagers since winter is getting closer. I hope that everyone gets to rest and thank you for your efforts today"
One by one they headed to the rooms the villagers had prepared to them, except Edelgard.
"Do you want to say something Edelgard?"
"I must congratulate you for our victory, with your distraction you allowed time to our main forces to arrive."
"It wasn´t a perfect plan, I fell from the Pegasus, but I thank you for assisting me"
"Talking about the Pegasus, have you found it?"
"Yes, Lord Rodrigue told me it had returned here again while we were eating. It must be injured so I plan to treat it. You are free to accompany me if you want to"
"It will be a pleasure"
He left the building accompanied by Edelgard and headed to the place where their Pegasi were staying. His own Pegasus was still there. It had an injury in his wing, but it appeared to be more embarrassed than nothing else.
"I think that it is ashamed of leaving you in the middle of a battle. It is interesting how intelligent they can be" commented Sothis inside his head.
"I´m not here to blame you" he said caressing the Pegasus´s head. "I´m here to heal you." He applied magic in the injured area and a few seconds later the injury disappeared completely.
"I must admit that your magical capabilities had increased a lot my Teacher"
"I can say the same about your flying skills. You should have some rest. We will be leaving this place tomorrow morning"
"You are right. I must admit that at first I doubted we could cooperate with the rest of the students, since we already had our own problems within our group. The fact that we were able to work together is thanks to you."
"I´m glad that all of you were able to cooperate despite your backgrounds" he said feeling happiness inside.
"However, that doesn´t mean that we have to soften. Next month we will have a difficult mock battle, but I´m confident that under your guiding we will achieve victory" she said smiling to him.
"Of course, I haven´t forgotten it. I will make sure that all of you will treasure that memory even when you leave the monastery"
"My Teacher"
"Yes Edelgard"
"Even if I leave the monastery I promise I will come to visit you. Will it be ok for you?" Edelgard asked, toying with her hair.
Hearing her question made him heart ache.
"Of course Edelgard, nothing would make me happier" he said patting her head.
"I fought you had already forgotten to resort to such technique, but I must admit that I don´t hate it" she laughed, her cheeks a bit red. "We shall be returning, you must rest too my Teacher"
"You are right"
They returned together, Byleth still feeling a light ache in his heart.