Two bitter enemies reveal their true selves to each other. Time will tell how they truly feel.
————————————————————
Day 30 of the Great Tree Moon
Santaniel yawned lazily as he sat upon a luscious green hill overlooking a valley. The sun rose behind them as the early morning scrimmage soon began. "Hey Xavien, wanna make a wager?" He bumped into the assassin, his hammer slumped against his side, a blunt spike attached to the head. It wasn't his favorite weapon, but it worked for subduing people."Hell no, you're psychic with this shit. Every time we do, I always lose, the only way I'm in is if Arti is too." A soft sigh came from beneath the mask and Arti turned up ten pieces of gold, "You never win any of our wagers because you bet with your heart. I have the Blue Lions, ten gold."
"I have the Golden Deer, thirty gold."
"Guess I have the Black Eagles then, seventy." Santaniel watched the predictable strategies of the fledgling commanders, swiveling his head from time to time to check the coast, then straight back to the match.
When it ended, it was a disappointing result for his two guardians, both forking over their gold. "Thank you for your business fellas, now, let's get out of here before we get caught. Shall we?"
Santaniel turned his eyes back to the valley and locked eyes with the house leader of the Black Eagles. Her purple eyes weren't as interesting as the silver hair.
Too bad they'd never meet again eh? Well, it was also unfortunate when he heard the heavy footsteps of armor on grass but he could get out of this easily.
He picked up his hammer and avoided an axe strike, jabbing the burly man in the chest with the hammer head before knocking their lights out with a literal iron first.
Next was an archer that was subdued by a rare show of Arti's physical skills. He gave a bow to the audience watching below and disappeared into the thicket with Arti and Xavien, back home they went!
Wait…
Fuck.
Where's the mirror?
———
Day 1 of the Harpstring Moon
"Who are you and why are you in my house?" Xavien came from the other room and had his hands on his daggers, ready to fight if the situation called for it. The teal haired man simply handed him a note, he'd read it later. "Ok, that still doesn't explain how the hell you got here, or who the hell you are."
"My name is Byleth. I'm a Professor at the Officer's Academy in Fódlan." Santaniel blinked and rubbed his temples, "Ok. Xavien, where's Arti and Hephaestus again?"
"Arti is out foraging, I think, and Hephaestus is… Blacked out. Let me guess, came through the monastery mirror in the training grounds?" The man nodded and Santaniel sighed, "No more alcohol for him. Alright, just tell me what you want so I can move on with my day. If its gold for a fine, we have it,
"The house leader of the Black Eagles would like for you to enroll at the academy… If you do, it will spare you from the punishment of assaulting a knight of Seiros." Santaniel rolled his eyes and Xavien gave a small chuckle, "This is karma for always winning the bets."
"Yeah, you're coming with me, asshole. All three of you are." Xavien whined and drew a groggy Arti from the other room. His face didn't change when he registered the man in their house, but he was still somewhat surprised. "Awww, c'mon!"
"You owe me."
"Ugh, fine." Santaniel turned back to… Byleth? He thought so at least. "So I'm assuming you'd be the Professor huh? Uh, sure. Give me the paperwork and stuff so I can fill it out. I'll be there on the… hm. Twelfth? Does that sound ok?"
"It will work, yes."
"Ok, well you can expect to see us then Professor."
After the man left, Santaniel took out the note and read it out loud, "You are formally invited to join us at the Officer's Academy as a part of the Black Eagle this year. It would also assist you in being removed from countless watch lists around the monastery for stealing-" Both Arti and Santaniel glared at Xavien, raising his hands in surrender, "My bad." Santaniel shook his head and read further, "- And the crime of assaulting a knight. You will be registering as a house, so please choose a name and mascot for the house."
"It's going to be a snake." Santaniel sighed and nodded, he wanted a whale honestly, they were common off the coast of the island. At least he was picking the color. "Well, Veridian Vipers sound alright?"
"Yep."
"Good." Santaniel sighed and his mind wandered back to the woman's face. He'd seen the hair before. But where? Was his memory giving out on him or something?
———
Day 12 of the Harpstring Moon
"So, just pop through for about six days a week, then a free day? Sounds a bit harsh on the free time but this'll make me a better fighter. No offense, Xavien, but I have to spread my wings eventually with magic or swords and such. Daggers and axes just don't mesh very well."
"None taken. Coulda asked Hephaestus for help with your magic though… Nevermind. Dude couldn't teach a four year old how to tie their shoes without losing his mind."
Santaniel nodded his head and moved to pull his jacket over his arms, snagging in the metal folds of his prosthetic, "Goddess bless Fódlan I'm gonna slap someone." Xavien laughed and assisted him with removing the fabric from the metal, patting him on the back when it was done. "There, now hurry up and get to class so you don't spend the entire day staring at arches and making your own map like you do at every other town."
"You idiots will have to come to the later classes, you realize that right?"
"Eh, true. But right now I'm the boss of you, so get movin!" Santaniel rolled his eyes and slipped through the mirror to the marketplace, startling Anna. "Oh, hey Cousin! Have any vials for today?"
"Nope. Sorry, gotta hustle though, I'll stop by later to visit!" He gave her a fist bump and squeezed through the crowd. He had an anxious feeling in his stomach, or it was hunger, but nonetheless he'd listen to it. Keep people at arms length. He eventually stumbled his way through the entrance hall and released a breath he'd been holding since he entered the bustle of the crowd. "Well, that's done- oof. Sorry." He had stumbled backwards from the impact and helped a woman with white hair to her feet, "I apologize once again. Mind pointing me to the mess hall?"
"Over there."
"Thanks. Uh, what's your name?"
"Lysithea Von Ordelia."
"Thank you Lysithea. Have a nice day." He let her pass and went into the dinning hall, picking up a plate of food and sat down to eat. He cut open the omelette and let it pour down on the potatoes, taking large chunks out of his meal at a time. At least the food was good. "Oh, I assume you must be a new student here!"
'Oh boy, here we go.' He leaned forward a bit before straddling the bench, one leg on either side. "Mhm. Nice to meet you. Your name is?"
"Dorothea Arnault. May I ask for your's?"
"Don't mind the formalities. I'm a commoner too. Well, I assume you're a commoner if you aren't giving me a bogus middle name. My name's Santaniel Blessing." She clapped gleefully and smiled from ear to ear, "Oh! Wonderful! Finally another commoner in the Black Eagle house!"
"Hm. New house, kind of a special case. But, if the rest are like you, I'm sure it'll be fine."
They were not.
———
"Oh! You're the new student?" A blue haired man got up into his personal space and he really did not appreciate it. He was a physical person too, but he didn't appreciate the lack of restraint. Next was a jade haired man, a similar shade to his old Shrine Knight armor, "Your hair is a mixed color… how odd…"
"Uh, yeah. It's called hair dye." A purple haired woman with tanned skin introduced herself with a bright smile. She also had a few familiar marks from Brigid and he smiled at her broken greeting, "It is the nice to be meeting you!"
'It is my pleasure to meet you.' She gasped at the greeting and he could tell he had taken her aback with it. His parents making Brigid's tongue his first language was nice for surprises. Got him out of sticky situations too.
He changed his line of sight to a frail looking woman in the corner, peering at him with interest. "Eeeeee! Please don't hurt me!" He scrunched his nose and was about to ask a question, getting cut off by an orange haired man, "My name is Ferdinand Von Aeiger! Let me know if you would wish to join me for a cup of tea and conversation."
Dorothea spoke up and he had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing at her blunt dislike of the noble, "Ferdie. Please be quiet."
Santaniel clicked his tongue as he assigned names to faces, all the while feeling quite overwhelmed, "Uh huh. Well, it's nice to meet you all. My name is Santaniel Blessing, if you wish to know more just talk to me at lunch or sometime after the day ends." The doors opened and two new people, with four familiar faces walked in and he thanked the Goddess for the rare blessing.
"And allow me to introduce you to my family as well." He moved around the room and stood next to his brothers. Ignoring the starting speech of the white haired woman.
"The tallest one with a shitty beard is Hephaestus Von Trinity, he's a former royal of the Kingdom and was raised in Remire for a good chunk of his life." Hephaestus gave him a glare, but smiled nonetheless, "It's nice to meet you all. I'll be assisting with the basic academics and dark magic. If you need any assistance, feel free to ask."
"The oldest one is Xavien Catacomb, a well known assassin that was born in the Alliance, but takes to the border of the Alliance and Empire to do his trade." Xavien clapped loudly, startling Linhardt awake and Bernadetta let out a squeak from her corner. "Yep, my name is Xavien, I'll be assisting in close range combat, such as axes and daggers. If you can't find Byleth, just find me."
"The last but not least, is Arti, he's another commoner from the Alliance but he has the Crest of the Beast. It's rare to see him without his mask, and he's not very talkative, but he's very reliable." Arti nodded, "To keep up with the theme, I'll be the main White Magic instructor whilst Byleth learns his own. I'll also be the instructor for lances, riding, and flying on the free days. If you need me, find me at the stables."
Santaniel hooked his arm around Xavien's neck and broadly grinned, finally at ease with some people he knew.
"Thank you for introducing them Santaniel. This is Edelgard Von Hresvelg, the future Empress, and Hubert Von Vestra, her vassal." Santaniel's alarm bells were ringing about these two, and Hephaestus could sense it too, the temperature in the room turned up a couple degrees.
They were familiar. It was frustrating he couldn't place it and it seemed recognition crossed Edelgard's face, not Hubert's. Oh well, he might as well make a good impression right? "Nice to meet you." He stuck his hand out and shook Hubert's hand, moving on to Edelgard who was very hesitant. Strange. Though, she did witness him put a knight out with a couple punches.
"If you don't mind me asking Santaniel, what happened to your arm?"
"Oh. Suppose I should explain that huh? The place where I live is currently occupied by some people who are very aggressive. They finally got the better of me last year in combat and practically took my arm as a prize, these idiots behind me saved me though. I can always rely on them, you guys can too." He started beaming and Caspar returned it, Linhardt offering a pencil thin smile while Dorothea looked positively glowing to have a new friend around.
She was going to treat him like her little brother, wasn't she? He didn't mind. Everyone else did. "So. What's the plan for this month?"
Edelgard began her painfully rehearsed speech, obvious to anyone who had heard one beforehand. Hephaestus was guilty of doing so when they initiated a counter raid for supplies or just to get them off their back. "We're heading to Zanado to take care of some bandits that had originally attacked us last month. It'll be our first real battle experience."
Santaniel smiled playfully and made a statement that shocked at least three of them, that being Ferdinand, Dorothea, and Linhardt, "Speak for yourself princess. Me and my brothers have been fighting for nearly a decade now." Edelgard took the joke a bit too seriously for his tastes and began a hasty apology. "I apologize for making assumptions." He giggled a bit, bumping into her shoulder, "It's a joke. You're fine."
"Oh… Well."
———
Day 18 of the Harpstring Moon
"Ok… Not the best selection of novels in the world. I can make do though." He combed through books and occasionally climbed the shelves to reach a book that caught his eye. "Santaniel."
"Hi. What ya need?" He was halfway up a shelf and turned around to see Edelgard, her purple eyes searching him and his soul. Would be unnerving if he had more than one secret to tell, huh? "I would like to know more about you."
"Gimme a minute please. Book up here caught my interest, I've been searching the entire time for novels. Shockingly rare here." He turned around and the only thought running through Edelgard's head was, 'He reads novels?' Scry was helpful for talking to others secretly, and finding out the occasional loose thought.
He finally reached the book and dropped to the floor, flipping the cover open and reading the inside. Looked like a romance novel. He'd read it. "So what do you wanna know?" He tossed the book on a growing pile, consisting mainly of tomes, battle tactics, and the occasional novel.
"Well, for starters what house you hail from, if you have any Crests, and what weapons you tend to use in combat."
"Oh. That's all? Sure. I don't hail from any particular house, my one Crest is of Ernest," He summoned forth the small symbol in his palm, illuminating the room in a faint green light. "And lastly I prefer to use Axes, swords, daggers, and the occasional spell like Fire. Uh, little side note though, don't expect me to ride a horse or wyvern. I don't trust much other than my own two feet to carry me."
She nodded and was about to walk away until he said something, "Since I told you about myself, why not tell me some stuff about you? I know you're the future Empress and everything, but not much else." Seemed she didn't expect someone to be so… Forward with her. Maybe prying would be a better word.
"Oh, I suppose I should tell you. I have inherited the Crest of Seiros, and I'm practically identical in my weapon choices as you." Santaniel nodded and hummed, "Well, that's good to know and all, but I meant you as a person. I can't follow someone I can't get along with now can I?"
"Well, I'm very studious and quite distant, some might say arrogant-" Santaniel groaned and rubbed his temple, "Quit with the prepared speech. Real you. Try again." She blinked, surprised, 'I suppose he's better at reading people than I thought.'
Almost right.
"My pastimes usually consist of either reading or eating sweets with tea. I'm afraid I don't have very many interesting hobbies…"
"Do you like to cook?"
"I've never tried before, so-"
"You'll be learning how to, I have dinner duty next month so you'll be my partner. Besides, you can't have an accurate wage for cooks and workers if you don't know how hard it is, right?" She nodded and hid a surprised face, she didn't know much about him.
--
'Just how different is he from the brutal beast on the island?'
———
Day 31 of the Harpstring Moon
Santaniel hummed as he dodged arrows, the missiles flying around him and he darted forward, cutting into many archers, blood rolling off his jacket and collecting at his feet. His daggers caught in flesh, and then his hammer shattered bone.
He turned and waited for someone to catch up, Arti and Hephaestus were doting on some of the students and Xavien just wasn't a front liner. Guess he'd just chill here eh? He gazed around and noticed a bridge to the West… Hm. Contingency plan number one has been set.
"Santaniel." He turned and nodded at Caspar and Ferdinand, returning to his scry of the battlefield. 'Hey. Coast is clear. Get a move on.'
'Counseling Bernadetta and Linhardt. Move on without us for a bit, Xavien's already on his way.'
'Alright. Take care.'
"Why ya so silent over there?" Santaniel tilted his head and answered, "This is just work for me. I've taken so many lives in self defense that it's just bothersome to fight. I never forget the fallen, their faces had value to ones they loved and will never see again. Someone has to remember them. I do so by respecting their newest, and their last resting place."
He hefted his hammer back on his shoulder and walked down the north bridge. He took in the scenery, the first time he was in his ancestor's home after all. "You're distracted."
"Obviously. Not very much to worry about after all, at least for me." He turned to Byleth and looked in his eyes, something else he was focusing on. Strange.
"Keep your guard up."
"I know Professor. Don't have to dote on me like the others. Had my fill already."
Santaniel raised his shield and caught an arrow aimed at his jugular, "Damn cowards… Xavien! Get on it!"
"Got it!" Santaniel unsheathed another pair of his own daggers and danced through the enemies ahead, glowing strikes tearing at skin and sparks danced off his arm. He lodged one between an enemy's eyes and the other found a home in between ribs, penetrating a beating heart.
He wiped sweat and blood from his eyes and jumped back at a wild axe strike, wielding his own now. Just a simple hand axe, but anything was effective on a battlefield if you were experienced enough.
He blocked the next trio of strikes and his axe finally bit into strained flesh and muscle. He might not have the finesse of some warriors. But he had the required strength. He ripped the axe from their hands and drove it into their ribs, tearing their laterals and ruining ribs.
They kept standing, they kept clawing. So he kept at it, he would until they went still. He drove his smaller low into their leg, deep into one of their kneecaps. It kept biting more flesh off their body, their screams filling the air. "Do you wish for mercy?"
"Yes! Sweet Goddess please, yes!" He looked in their eyes and saw the will of an animal.
'He's just a beast.'
'Nothing more than the bounty on his head.'
'He's just an animal.'
There was no soul behind these eyes, this wasn't a man. This was a beast. A beast who attempted to hurt his friends and has taken advantage of the innocent… He slid a dagger across the throat and let him fall to the ground, twitching.
"Then let me put you out of your misery." He hesitated, his joints locking up as he stared down at him. His anxiety was making him lock up again… No hesitation. They didn't hesitate to strike at him. He took his life with a single swipe. Straight through the base of the neck, no more resistance from the exhausted muscle.
He hated killing. He really did. But when he saw into their soul, and deemed them their death through that. "Goddess… Why did you…"
"Those who attack and prey on the innocent or weak gain no sympathy from me. I started with that innocence of mercy a long time ago. It left me when my arm was severed from my body, and it nearly got me killed more times than I care to count."
"I took the brutality from my enemy and drove it up a level to show them I don't show privileges to people who wouldn't give the same to me." He took a cloth from his back pocket and started cleaning the gore off his axe, sitting on a small boulder, in the reflection a red cape came into view. "Yes?"
"What was that?" She leaned forward to emphasize her question and to try and look bigger, more in charge. Too bad she was eight inches shorter. He stood up and answered her rhetoric, "The death of a bastard who preyed on innocent people."
"That doesn't justify your actions-" He cut her statement off at the head, asking a question to throw her off. "Then I guess you aren't as innocent as you seem, huh?"
"W-what?"
"You don't disagree, do you? You were the innocent I was referring to. You can learn a lot from someone in the heat of a moment, sweetheart. Learn that and you'll make a good ruler, you might not be innocent, weak, nor very open, but you're naive."
The statement seemed to bewilder her, normally it'd come from someone under her boot. But he was trying to get under her skin. "Naive?!"
"Yes. You sure catch on quickly huh?" He replied as snarkily as possible, he was already under her skin. It'd be a good time to get some kind of info on her. Maybe where he knew her from. A memory was hidden behind something, he needed to blast it aside. "Why I should-"
"You should do what?" His tone was sharper than his axe. He glared through her, having a silent conversation with his family, 'Santaniel. Tone it down.'
'You're someone to talk Hephaestus. Xavien taught me to kill without mercy. Arti tells me no hesitation. I did what I've been taught.'
'Don't drag us into this. You said that the brutality is derived from people who'd kill you without a second thought.' He shook his head and leaned back, "If you can't handle the gore of a battlefield you shouldn't be on one."
"That wasn't necessary Santaniel!"
"Neither is hunting a child down for their blood like a rat but people thought that was ok with me. I don't know what you've been through Edelgard, I won't pretend I do. Just as long as you don't do the same with me."
He turned his back on the group of Eagles and walked up the steep hill. Hephaestus would yell at him later, he knew that, but he wouldn't take bullshit from someone who's been spoiled a majority of their life.
'I know you're frustrated but that isn't how to act around new people. Please calm down. I get you have panic attacks and that leads to you expressing them like that through your actions, mainly how you spoke to Edelgard, and losing the Holy Twins didn't help due to it being your way out of it, but you have to control yourself while around them. We'll meditate on the island and help you calm down.'
'Thank you Arti. I apologize for my actions, but no one has the right to speak about my past without even knowing me. She wouldn't understand in the damm slightest.'
'I know Santaniel. No one can speak of anyone's past like they did. It's wrong. Just don't do the same with them, alright? For all we know, with that hair she has, she's an experiment too.'
'I'll apologize tomorrow. For now, I need to calm down.' Xavien spoke up, a quiet whisper of his soul, 'Can always do some training.' Santaniel laughed mentally at the challenge, ushering him into fully committing, 'Xavien. You'd just get your ass whooped again.'
'Try me.' Xavien was boasting and it was because he'd taken that side path he'd seen earlier to take out the mages and archers. Byleth probably praised him, but they were easy kills for an assassin. 'You're on, asshole.'
————
Day 2 of the Garland Moon
"Uh, hey guys. I have to apologize for the mission. My emotions got the best of me, I've been without my coping mechanism for the better part of a year now and it's really messing me up now. Kinda lost them with my arm last year." Santaniel rubbed the back of his head on the training grounds, eyes at the feet of the people in front of him. "Ah, it's ok buddy! We all get like that sometimes."
"No you don't. It was out of control and won't be happening again."
"If you don't mind me asking, what is your coping mechanism, and shouldn't you be able to get a new one?" Santaniel shook his head, "It's an heirloom from my mother. It's a pair of axes called the Holy Twins. They absorb the adrenaline and other sorts of chemicals that keep my imbalance in check."
"Imbalance?"
"Long story." Santaniel sighed and put a hand on his hip. "So, the mission for this month is what, Edelgard?" She took his handoff effortlessly and moved to the center of the group without a second thought. Hell, he envied that.
"Our mission for this month is to assist in quelling a rebellion by Lord Lanato, a noble in the Kingdom. It's said he is outraged by the loss of his son after the church executed him for his involvement in the Tragedy of Duscur. He is a cavalry general and if we take him down the knights should win the fight fairly easily."
She took a breath to continue and Santaniel shifted his weight to the other foot, making her flinch. She had a serious problem with him and he didn't know what. "It is unlikely we shall actually fight him though, as realistically we'll be in the back with the higher ranking knights to clean up the stragglers. As for this months tasks: Petra and Caspar for flying duty, Bernadetta and Dorothea on laundry, Hubert and Ferdinand for cleaning duty, me and Santaniel for cooking duty, and Linhardt has to organize the library."
Santaniel clicked his tongue and wrote down the information mentally. He searched the grounds with the scry and didn't find any souls after a majority of people left. Only him and Edelgard stayed in the training grounds. "Hey Edelgard." She turned rigid and turned to him, "Yes?"
"I… I want to apologize to you specifically about yesterday. If you don't want to take cooking duty with me right now I understand." He didn't know why he felt like this. He was a very blunt person, so why was he apologizing? He meant what he said, maybe he was just feeling bad for how he delivered it?
"It's alright Santaniel. I was insensitive about your situation at your home. I'll still happily take cooking duty with you this month." Santaniel had a thin smile crawl across his face and he nudged into the white haired heir, "Good. Now let's head to the kitchen, I can start teaching you the basics. You'll need them to keep up."
