9/23 Horsebow moon
The sun was starting to rise when Edelgard opened her eyes. She felt tired, since she had spent most of the night awaked, but that wasn´t related to the nightmares that came to visit her from time to time.
It was all fault of him. Her Teacher, who had saved her life without knowing anything about her. He, who had taken care of her even when she still kept things hidden from him. The presence of her Professor in her head had increased as time passed, but the events of last night were a tipping point. "It makes no sense to hide it anymore. I´m falling for him". The fact that she was capable of having feelings like that despite all her suffering relieved her, but it was also problematic. She wanted to share the burden of her fate with him, but she knew that it would be unwise. She also knew that in a few months everything would change irremediably. The only thing she could do was to hint her plans to him. Her Professor had demonstrated her that he worried dearly about his students, but she was unsure if he would side with her when the time came.
"The archbishop is unnaturally fond of him, but I really wish he would choose me" she thought as she sighed. "Whatever it happens I will treasure these moments for the rest of my life." These months at the monastery had been a ray of hope in her life, but no matter what she would pursue her path. "Even if I have to face you in the battlefield, my dear Teacher" she said to herself, although her heart ached as she said it.
….
"Why did you do that?"
"What do you mean Sothis?" asked Byleth while he was changing to his usual clothes.
"Comforting the little Princess like that"
"I just wanted to share her burden for a while. She has too many worries on her."
"Are you sure it is only that?"
"What are you trying to say?"
"I felt the aching of your heart. That rarely happens, but when it had happened it has been related to her."
"She is important to me"
"In what sense?"
Byleth remained silent for a while to find an answer. He had been guiding all his students during months, but it was obvious he was fond of her. The burdens she will have to endure and the future that awaited her made him feel he had to do anything to release her from her burdens, but that couldn´t possibly explain that strange sensation he had been recently feeling.
"I can´t explain it, but I wish she could be happy"
"Perhaps what you are experiencing is what humans call love"
"Love?" He had been hearing different versions of it since he started to work at the monastery so he didn´t know it that was the term he could apply to his situation. Maybe his father could resolve his doubts. "I don´t know"
"I think that there is no universal answer to this, but I would be happy if you could feel something like that. That would mean that your humanity is starting to show up"
He had to admit that he was noticing those changes too. After years travelling around Fódlan, fighting and killing he thought he would never get used to his new life, but he was wrong. The contact with his students had made him learn a lot of things and the more he knew about their backgrounds and dreams the more he wanted to protect them from any harm. Thinking about his students Edelgard´s face appeared in his mind. Feeling the increasingly familiar pain in his heart he left his room.
The first person he came across was her.
"Good morning Edelgard"
"Oh, good morning my Teacher. I must apologize for taking so much of your time last night."
"You don´t have to worry about it. I´m glad I could help you. If you ever need my help I´m here for you"
"You really mean what you say" she said, looking directly at him before directing her gaze to her feet. "I really appreciate it, when the time comes I will remember your words"
He suspected there was something more to her words but he didn´t press the matter any further. "We should be going to the main hall"
"You are right, let´s go, together"
They walked through the aisles until they reached their destination. Dimitri was already waiting there accompanied by Dedue.
"Good morning Professor, Edelgard. Since we are here I want to take this opportunity to guide all of you around the city."
"We will be leaving tomorrow morning, but for the time being I don´t have any problem"
"Let´s wait for the others"
They didn´t have to wait for too long.
"Aren´t we going to have breakfast first?" asked a confused Caspar.
"In the market there is plenty of food and I think it is a good opportunity to taste the kingdom´s gastronomy."
"If you say it like that it sounds very sophisticated, but it is just a bunch of meat with some vegetables around it" laughed Sylvain.
"Do you have something against it?" asked Ingrid.
"Not at all. You haven´t changed a bit Ingrid. At least someone hasn´t" he said as he looked at an approaching Felix.
"What are you looking at?"
"Nothing in particular"
"You have to come with Mercie and me to the magic academy Professor" said an excited Annette "It is a place worth a visit"
"Last night I went to the kitchens and prepared some sweets. There is plenty so I hope that everyone can take a taste of it"
"You are really nice" smiled to her Dorothea.
"And your sweets taste delicious. Won´t you try some Felix?" asked Sylvain
"I don´t like sweets. I´m going to get tired of saying something like this"
"I don´t get it, but more for me, thank you Mercedes"
"I´m glad that you liked it" Mercedes smiled with such a nice smile that Sylvain couldn´t keep looking at her for too long.
"Let´s leave. First I want to show you the main market and then we could go to the magic academy. The handcrafters of this city are really skillful so I´m sure all of you will find something of your liking"
With the sweet flavor of Mercede´s sweets they left behind the castle.
…
"Wow this looks so tasty!" was shouting Caspar.
"You should stop shouting every time you see some meat, my ears already hurt" complained Linhardt.
The market was filled with activity. Most merchants were from the different parts of the kingdom, but there were also merchants from the Alliance and the Empire. In the square there were jugglers throwing daggers for the amusement of their public.
"Look over there Professor" Dimitri said pointing to an armory. "That armory sells the traditional weaponry of the Holy Kingdom. They are specialized in halberds and lances. Do you want to give it a look?"
"Of course"
There were some soldiers guarding the shop that had a royal banner in front of it, but they bowed when they noticed the identity of Dimitri. One of them entered the shop and shortly after its owner, a middle aged man with strong arms, approached them.
"It´s an honor to see you, your Highness"
"The pleasure is mine. Could we get a closer look to the weapons you have here?"
"Of course. Regarding weaponry I think that it is better to try it yourself. Take this" he said throwing a halberd to Byleth. He expected it to be heavier, but he was surprised by its low weight.
"It isn´t heavy at all right?" laughed the middle aged man. "All the handle and the low top of the tip are made of an alloy that grants it weights as least as possible. It isn´t as strong as a silver weapon, but it is extremely durable. We even use it for construction here."
"In the Holy Kingdom, knights are always wearing heavy armor and shields. On top of that the war horses we use are trained to hold their own armor thus making our cavalry extremely heavy. In contraposition to this, our weapons are light weighed. We resist the attacks from our enemies using our defense and we counterattack with our light weapons." Contributed Dimitri.
"If we were using heavy weapons as well as heavy armor most of our soldiers wouldn´t be able to move an inch"
"Even if the Kingdom troops are strong, their armor would make them vulnerable to ranged attacks" pointed out Edelgard, who was standing next to him.
"That´s why we have our own mages, to take care of the enemy´s mages" laughed the man. "In times of peace they spend their day doing nothing but little tricks in the main square of the city, but when the situation gets bad they are a trustworthy ally, even if they are quite eccentric most of the time."
"They are not that eccentric" complained Annette accompanied by Mercedes.
"Oh, you must be one of them, I didn´t mean in a bad way, little girl." He then looked at him. "Since you are a friend of his Highness I can lend you one of these. Which one do you want?"
Byleth looked at the different lances and Halberds in front of him and chose one that had a longer reach.
"That one is usually used two handed, since is heavier than its counterparts, but I´m sure you will give it a good use. Your Highness, you are free to come here every time you want to. I always feel honored by your presence"
"Thank you. I promise to come soon to your shop"
After leaving the weapon shop they sat down next to a fountain.
"Where are the others?" Dimitri asked.
"They are still around the market. Should I go to tell them to come, your Highness?" Dedue offered.
"It´s not necessary, I guess they are enjoying their time around here. Then that makes our group the Professor, Edelgard, Annette, Mercedes and you"
"Then it is the perfect time to go to the magic academy. There are a lot of people I want to meet again that I can´t wait!" said a happy Annette.
"Me too"
"I guess that our next destination has already been decided, don´t you think Professor, Dimitri?"
"You are right about that Edelgard. Let´s go to the magic academy then, I wouldn´t want to spoil the illusions of my dear classmates"
"Hearing you say those words makes me happy" Mercedes smiled to Dimitri.
"It´s only natural since we are friends" said Dimitri, a bit blushed by Mercede´s pure smile.
"Friends" thought Byleth. Looking at all of them he had the hope they remained like that for the rest of their lives.
"Of course the Professor is also our friend. Even if he isn´t our Professor he is taking good care of all of us. Besides, he really looks like someone of our age" said Annette.
"Don´t let Professor Hanneman hear about that Annie, we don´t want to make him feel sad" giggled Mercedes.
"Even if I´m not your student you have always helped me. You could say that your actions match the very definition of a friend Professor" said Dimitri with a sincere smile, his solemn aura casted away.
"If you are friends with your Highness I will be your friend too"
"Thanks everyone" he sincerely thanked them, moved by their words. He then looked at Edelgard.
"Of course you are of great importance to me, my Teacher" she said avoiding his gaze and toying with her hair. "Besides, I owe you my life, I won´t forget that" slightly blushing as she admitted that.
Hearing those words from her made him feel that familiar aching inside him stronger than before.
"We should be heading already to the magic academy. There is so much I want to show you Professor!"
Feeling that strange warmth inside him he followed their group. Annette and Mercedes were lively chatting between them and Dimitri, Dedue and Edelgard looked more relaxed than usual.
"I´m glad to see them like that" he thought.
"I know that, but you seem to be happier about a particular someone words" commented Sothis inside his head.
"You are right about that" he admitted
"For now let´s follow the little puppies, they would be sad if you didn´t follow their rhythm"
Hearing that, Byleth couldn´t avoid smiling.
"What are you laughing about?"
"It´s had been a while since you used that word. It sounds cute coming from you"
"Are you implying that I´m not cute? How disrespectful. If you continue at this pace I will have to label you as a turtle"
"I know, I know"
…
The magic academy was guarded by two mages wearing dark clothes. They had a distrustful look on their eyes as they approached them until one of them appeared to recognize Annette and Mercedes.
"It´s been a long time since we last met Annette, Mercedes"
"Master Edmund! I´m glad to see you well"
"You were always nice to me" smiled Mercedes.
"The pleasure is mine. It seems that you have brought some friends…" when the mage looked at Dimitri he quickly bowed. "Forgive my lack of modals your Highness, I didn´t expect to see you here"
"There is no need to apologize. We are just visiting this place on behalf of my friends."
"Feel free to visit our building as you please" He then touched the steel gate in front of him that started to open by itself.
The interior of the building was strangely warm. The lamps around them were emitting different kinds of lights and the students in the room were wearing similar clothes to the mages outside the gates.
"It hasn´t changed a bit, right Mercie?"
"You are right, some things never change I guess"
"I must admit that it is the first time entering this place, but I sense a strong energy coming from it"
Dimitri was right. Byleth could feel it too. The academy was filled with magic users and he could sense in his body an electrifying feeling.
"Let´s go to the courtyard. It is a good place to take a look to the surroundings"
The rest of the group followed Annette and Mercedes through the labyrinth of aisles that unfolded in front of them the moment they left the common room.
"This place is bigger than expected" commented Dimitri.
"Not at all, most of the aisles you can see are mere illusions if you choose the wrong path…" Annette´s explanation was interrupted when Dedue crashed with a wall.
"You will get a headache"
"Are you ok Dedue?"
"I don´t really like magic" he said, touching his head.
After that they closely followed Annette and Mercedes through the labyrinth. After a short while an open space covered by a dome appeared in front of them.
"We have finally arrived. Isn´t it nice?" smiled Annette.
Nice was a strange description of the place they had just arrived, all kind of architectonical styles appeared to be used in the construction of the area. The presence of orbs of light of different colors floating above them made him think about a world closer to a dream.
"I´ve never seen a place with so much divergences combined" commented Edelgard besides him.
"Each director had applied his own personal preferences to this place. You could say that we are travelling through history when we look to the different styles around here. The dome was the last thing to be built, but that was at least fifty years ago." Mercedes explained to them
"Since we are here how about we do some training Professor?"
"You don´t waste your time Annie" smiled Mercedes.
"I don´t mind if you want to train a bit. This place is so big I´m sure we won´t get bored" Dimitri said.
"I will" he couldn´t refuse someone so eager to learn.
They started practicing all different kind of spells while the rest of the group walked around the room. Annette´s hard working personality made her try her best even if they were just practicing for a short while. Mercedes soon joined them, although she was more interested in healing magic.
"You both have done a great job" he told them when they finished and the rest of his group had already returned.
"It is a strange feeling to have a lesson from you in a place like this." Mercedes smiled.
"I can´t wait to train with you again!"
"That will have to wait, the battle of the Eagle and the Lion is next month and we can´t let you learn about our strategy. Right, my Teacher?"
"You are right Edelgard. We can try to practice after it, but next month I will be busy."
"By the way Edelgard, does the Empire have a similar place like this?" asked Annette.
"There are plenty of academies around the Empire, although I´ve never been to one of them."
"Oh I see. I´ve heard that the Empire treats in high regard its magic users. Do you have any experience using magic?"
"I´m afraid not"
"If you want you can try casting some magic. You just have to focus and canalize your energy to your hands. I´m sure that you can get great results. Give it a try"
Edelgard did as she was told, but nothing happened.
"I expected it will end like this" she sighed.
"You only need to correct a little bit your positioning." He told her correcting the position of her shoulders and back. "You need to use your hand like this" Byleth said touching her hand.
As he did a small fire orb appeared a few centimeters above her hand.
"That´s the energy I was talking about!" smiled Annette. "Are you alright Edelgard? You are a bit red"
"This place is too hot" she excused herself, avoiding his gaze. "We should be going to another place" she said, starting to walk.
"You are right about that, let´s go outside. I know a place where they sell all kind of sweets, although they can´t compared to Mercie´s sweets"
"I´m happy to know that you like them that much Annie"
"I don´t like this place too much. It´s too strange"
"Don´t worry Dedue, stay closer to me to avoid crashing with another wall"
"You did great Edelgard" Byleth said, walking besides her. "You must have a hidden talent in magic. It took me more time to cast a flame of that size"
"It was unexpected to me too" she said, her cheeks still a bit red.
"We could train that too if you want to"
"You are training with me and you are even giving me swimming lessons. I don´t want you to grow tired of me, my Teacher. I may be taking too much time from you."
"It isn´t a burden to me and I´m not tired of you"
Edelgard´s ear grew redder the moment she heard his response.
"I will consider it. This place is too hot, we should be leaving already" she said walking faster.
…..
"Nothing like a good meal after a session of work"
"I have bought some ingredients so I can make some sweets when we return to the monastery"
"That sounds wonderful Mercie. These morning´s sweets were really tasty"
"I will go to check where the rest is. As the host of this expedition it is my duty to make sure that everyone stays out of trouble."
"I will go with you then"
"Don´t worry Professor, I want you to enjoy the most of the city. With Dedue it will be enough for my safety. Take care of the rest for me. See you later" he said as he left accompanied by Dedue.
"Now it is time to buy some accessories and cosmetics. Don´t you think Mercie?"
"Like the old times" Mercedes gently smiled.
"Do you want to try something Edelgard, Professor?"
The fact that he was included made him curious.
"I don´t use any makeup"
"I must admit that would be worth seeing" laughed Annette. "But we could search some accessories. I´m sure you will find something you like. Besides, I want you to have something to remember of our little trip to the capital of the Holy Kingdom"
"I will accompany all of you then"
The four of them started to go from one vent to another. Byleth took the opportunity to search a present for Dorothea, whose birthday was approaching. Finally he found a bracelet she may like.
"You seem to remember everyone´s birthday, my Teacher" Edelgard, commented quickly understanding the purpose of the purchase.
"Not at all" complained Annette. "You didn´t remember mine"
"I´m sorry." He apologized. Making a list with everyone´s birthday had taken him some time.
"Just joking. I know if you knew you would have congratulated me. I heard that yours is in the wolf moon, will you celebrate it?"
"I don´t know". Until now he had spent his birthdays with his father and the rest of the mercenary group and everyone around him just patted his back and drank beer until they fell to the ground in his name. It didn´t see suitable that kind of celebration for the monastery.
"Even if you don´t celebrate it, I will make sure to give you something with Mercie. Oh, I´ve just realized I forgot something in the academy. Please continue with me!" she said, starting to run.
"Wait for me Annie! Professor, Edelgard. We will meet again at the main square. See you later" Mercedes said chasing her best friend.
"Should we continue?" asked Edelgard, looking at him.
"Yes, of course"
They continued walking, stopping in every place that caught their attention.
"Are you searching a present for Dorothea?"
"I already have one so there is no need to worry. I was searching something for me"
They stopped in front of a shop managed by an old man that was reading a book. There were all kind of bracelets, pendants and earrings of all sizes and colors. His eyes attention was caught by a pair of indigo earrings that had three yellowish raindrop decorations on each one of them. When he looked at Edelgard he realized they were looking at the same pair of earrings. Taking it he handed it to her.
"Do you like these earrings?"
"I do, thank you" She took the earrings and put them in her ears. "What do you think of them?" she asked a bit embarrassed.
"They look good on you" Byleth wasn´t sure his fashion senses were the best, but he didn´t dislike the design of the earrings.
"I guess that I will keep it then" she said, a bit blushed.
After buying them they headed to the main square. They didn´t have to search for too long to find the rest of the group. They were sitting next to the public fountain in the middle of the square. Most of them were already tired, yet happy. Caspar was boasting about how he had caught and beaten a burglar that had tried to rob an old lady. Ashe and Ingrid were holding a pair of books that by the look of their cover were tales of chivalry. Ferdinand was holding a new set of tea based on the national symbols of Fhaergus and so on.
"It looks like everyone had a good day" he thought.
"What did you think about your day around the city, Professor?" Dimitri asked.
"I enjoyed it"
"I´m glad to hear that. It is a pity that we have to return tomorrow, but you are free to return every time you want to. Even in winter this place has its own beauty"
"I will certainly return someday" he promised him.
"Now it's time to rest. Let´s return to the castle. Tomorrow we will start our journey back to the monastery"
….
9/24
As the sun appeared in the sky they left the castle behind them. A committee of soldiers accompanied them to the gates while Dimitri was cheered by those who had come to see him one more time before he left.
"We are treated like heroes thanks to you, your Highness" Sylvain joked, riding a horse.
"It is only normal. Loyalty is one of the treats of the people from the Holy Kingdom, you should apply it to your daily life too Sylvain" Ingrid said.
"You are saying that because you consider me a womanizer, right" he sighed.
"I don´t think you are a womanizer, it is a fact"
"Calm down you two, there is no need to keep these quarrels for our return" Dimitri ordered.
A few meters away from them a group of mages was waiting for them.
"To speed up our return I thought we could use the warping abilities of the most skilled magicians of the capital. It is not a usual means of travel, but we can save a pair of days of travel and we can avoid the most troublesome terrain for our horses"
"In that case you could have done it to arrive here faster" complained Sylvain.
"It wasn´t prepared until my arrival"
"You just wanted more time to play with the women of the capital"
"You too Felix? Both of you have a personal vendetta against me. My hands are clean, I promise. At least for now"
"That response gives me no confidence" Ingrid sighed.
"Don´t move and in a few seconds we will have shortened our return quite a bit"
Doing as he was told Byleth didn´t move and suddenly the plains around him disappeared and were replaced by groups of hills, greener than the ones he had got used to.
"Thank you Dimitri. Now the rest of the way depends on us. Follow me" he commanded as they returned to the monastery.
The earrings are the ones that appear in the PS outfit of Edelgard.