Day 1 of the Harpstring Moon

"Ok, get out some bowls for me. I'll be taking control for about the first week until you get it perfect, alright?" Edelgard nodded and she honestly looked intimidated by the kitchen. Or him. Same difference.

After she pulled the bowls from the counter, Santaniel pulled some fresh fish from the ice box. He laid them on a clean counter and turned back to Edelgard, "Here, think you can grab some ingredients while I get the fish started?"

"I suppose, yes." Santaniel frowned, and she seemed insulted at his concern, "I-" She cleared her throat. "I am perfectly capable of figuring this out on my own!"

Santaniel sighed and he surrendered, "Ok. Get a cup of milk, two and a fourth teaspoons of yeast, two tablespoons of sugar, a large egg, a teaspoon of salt, three cups of flour, and a fourth cup of butter. If you can do it by yourself, I see no issue as to why you can't make the dinner rolls. By yourself."

He left her alone in the kitchen and he snagged spices from the cabinet, just some salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, cayenne, and… there it is. Garlic powder!

He turned and went back to his prep station, Edelgard still wandering around looking for the milk. "Underneath the counter. Ice box." She blinked and nodded, searching right where he told her, a large clunking ringing out around the kitchen, a large metal jug being pulled from the box.

"Good. Now check the drawers for measuring cups." He pulled the rest of the sixteen salmon out and sighed. Loads of prep work.

He started by scraping the scales and ripping the bones from their bodies, tossing them into the garbage shortly after. He trimmed the fat and decapitated them all after, "You find 'em yet?" He heard a clinking of a metal ring and he smiled. He cut the salmon into their fillets to grill and he tossed them on, humming a bar song while Edelgard struggled with the ingredients. "Ready to admit you need help?"

"I won't admit that… until I prove I can't-" She fell backwards on a cup she dropped and nearly cracked her head open, Santaniel caught her inches from the ground. "Yeah, sure. Wait until I finish prepping the salmon and I'll help."

She listened to him begrudgingly, and waited for him to finish. He dressed the plates with a lemon ring each, plus the salmon obviously, and walked her over to the pantry. "Ok. Let's take this slow. Find the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. They look similar, but they all taste very different, and have different properties."

"Ok…" She looked up at the shelves and found the flour, pulling a new bag down, getting stopped by Santaniel, "We have an open bag already. Make sure you look down as much as you do up. You won't trip or hit your head that way, not that you have much worry about the latter, shorty."

She grumbled at the tease and grabbed the open bag, putting it next to the door. "Ok. Now find the rest." The sugar and salt were easy for her to find, yet it seemed she had no idea what yeast looked like. "Can you give me a hint?"

"It's a fine, brown powder." She nodded and saw it on a higher shelf, looking around for a step stool. "Here, I got it." He reached over her and put the container in her hand, letting her take it to the counter. "Now, we need the eggs."

They continued on, mixing the ingredients, and Santaniel led her through most of it, doing so slowly so she could memorize it. Eventually they got to the point where they went into the oven. "Nice job Edelgard. You learn quickly." Edelgard had a small upturn of her lips and his first thought was just, 'Cute.'

'Awww, Santaniel has a little crush?' The younger brother ground his teeth and tensed at the sudden intrusion to his own thoughts. 'Damn guard slip.' Hephaestus brushed through the door and pulled him outside. "Oh ok. I guess I'm going over here now." He swatted Hephaestus' hand away from his shirt collar once they were in the dining room, "The hell was that for?"

"We found a lead about the island labs. Arti was out foraging this morning and he found some Agarthans poking around the cave." Santaniel nodded at Hephaestus' information and felt prying eyes that shouldn't be around, he searched with his scry and found only Edelgard.

It meant someone was using a ward to protect from the spell… Hm. Too many secrets, too little time. Santaniel picked at his hair dye and flicked away a fading speck, "Wanna dye my hair at the end of the month?"

"Sure." Santaniel smiled and turned around, practically nose to nose with Edelgard. He felt a blush kick across his face and he stepped back a bit, noticing the faint pink racing stripe on her cheeks. He smiled and asked, "Hey. What do you need?" She sheepishly looked down at the ground and mumbled something, "Uh, sorry Edelgard. Couldn't hear you, what'd you say?"

"How do you take the biscuits out of the oven?" Santaniel brushed past her and beckoned her into the kitchen, "C'mon. Thankfully you're smart enough to not take the pan out bare handed."

"Did you do that when you were younger?"

"Yep. Still got the scar. Just use the oven mitts."

———

Hephaestus laughed at his little guy trying his best to be social. Not easy, he knew that, but in the end? Those two would go far. Well. If they don't crash and burn in those oh so passionate flames…

He was starting to sound like Manuela already.

———

Day 11 of the Garland Moon

"Ok. So that's a load of Agarthans." Santaniel sat in a tree with Xavien and Hephaestus, both with similar reactions to him. "We'll have to thin them down for a couple months before we attack. At least two months, we don't stand a chance with that amount." Santaniel grumbled under his breath and put his chin in his hands, eyes glowing luminous subconsciously.

"I agree. I know you want your Holy Twins back right now Santaniel, but this is insanity." Santaniel groaned and leaned back in the tree, his eyes catching on a glint in the bushes. "Xavien, you sense that too?"

"Ambush on our way back?" Xavien drew some daggers from his sleeves and Santaniel pulled the hand axe from his belt loop. "Hephaestus, have Rescue on standby and be ready if you hear a scream."

"Got it."

Santaniel and Xavien dropped silently from the tree and fanned out across the brush, stepping carefully around twigs and rocks, quietly rustling the bushes. He heard and felt a presence that ruled out Xavien. He jumped through and drove his knee into the Flame Emperor, "You blow at hiding." Xavien slung his daggers into their back and they warped away like a coward, "And good riddance. Nice aim, Xav."

"Why thank you very much. If I had some more time it would've been poisoned ones." Santaniel shrugged and picked up a shard of the broken mask, "Well, got this little keepsake now. Let's get back to the house and start planning our attack routes, shall we?"

———

Edelgard grunted as Hubert pulled the daggers from her back, patching her up with simple bandages and rubbing alcohol. "Lady Edelgard. I'm afraid this little experiment of your's isn't worth the risk. He offers us nothing more than an expendable pawn."

"Hubert. He has a slew of utilities at his disposal along with some of the best mages on the continent. Even if you believe he is subpar on your own analysis, he still offers valuable connections."

"As you wish, Lady Edelgard." She winced as he pulled another dagger embedded in her back out, the blood dripping from it like ruby rain. She knew Santaniel was more than a fighter though, he was smart.

He had a way of making people lower their guard. Yet he was brutal on the battlefield. She'd experienced it first hand. He wasn't elegant like most, he was far from a noble, but he brought too much to the table to be ignored as some outlier.

He was also full of surprises. If she knew Rhea was not to be trusted, a widely benevolent person, then what did that mean Santaniel was? Or was this just some sort of wishful thinking? Ugh. At least she had her birthday coming up.

———

Day 20 of the Garland Moon

"Oh. Hey Lysithea. Heard there's a festival today?" Santaniel was walking with the small girl and helping her move some books back to her room. "Yes. It's where you give someone a flower crown as a sign of liking them, whether as a friend or as a lover. I will not be participating as I don't have time for such niceties."

"You realize you have more time than me right?" She turned her head so fast he thought she snapped it, "What?!" Santaniel covered her mouth and glared at her, "No shit. I'm a year older than you after all."

"That's not what I- Ugh." Santaniel pulled back the wild brown mess on his head and showed her the snow white roots of the original pigment, dropping her jaw. "But that means-" Santaniel rolled his eyes and kept walking, "We can compare that experience later. Now c'mon. You're giving someone a flower crown today Ms. Niceties."

———

"Bernadetta. Do you think you can come out of your room please?" She tapped her foot outside the door, getting a bit impatient with the more than eccentric girl.

"N-no way! You'll just be mad at me!" She sighed and was about to leave when Santaniel popped into her peripheral. She knew he could get people to let their guard down… Maybe this could work on Bernadetta too. "Santaniel, do you think you could assist me with something, quickly?"

She noticed he was already in conversation with Lysithea and she decided to observe, the words carrying just close enough to hear. "Ok. So pretend I'm the one you want to give the flower ring to."

"D-Don't say it so loud…" Edelgard kept watching and heard a door creak open from behind her, the lone archer of the Black Eagles finally creeping from her room. She watched from behind Edelgard and she pretended not to notice her, watching Santaniel try to give Lysithea a confidence boost.

"Who did you want to give a flower crown to anyways?" Lysithea got close to him and whispered into his ear her crush and Santaniel nodded, "Ok. Let me talk to him, and I'll help you out."

'Who is it?' Her interest was piqued and Santaniel prodded into her mind, 'Buzz off. It's a secret for Lysithea and her alone. You too Bernadetta.' The purple haired woman screamed and ran into her room again, the door slamming loudly. She took her leave and her mind was still on the festival, but not for Lysithea's crush.

———

Santaniel sighed and tapped his finger to his chin. Of course she'd have a crush on fuckin Byleth of all people. What to do, what to do… Well. Byleth is blunt and not very good at catching jokes, nor is he very perceptive to people's hidden feelings or intentions… Unless it's murder.

Lysithea is a wuss when it comes to giving up her feelings to someone… Goddess this was going to be a tough nut to crack. Well, she could always just be blunt and give him the crown. That'd probably work.

'So. If I were Byleth, what would I… OH!' The light flashed in his mind, taking off towards the market place, "Oi, Anna! Gimme two flower crowns! Lilies and Roses!" She tossed him the ringlets of flowers and took off again, this time back towards the dorms.

He caught his breath as he arrived at Byleth's door, knocking politely, "Hey, B! I need ya to do something tonight." The teal haired man came out of his room and looked up to his eyes slightly, "Yes?"

"You know how there's a festival tonight? I want you to give this to Lysithea, say it's a gift from yourself. Remember, I have nothing to do with it, got it?" The Professor nodded and returned to his study, now with an extra aroma of lilies about him.

Santaniel let out a breath of relief as his plan started to roll out perfectly. "What to do with the last one…"

———

"Caspar. What are you doing?" The blue haired boy was very fidgety as of late and she wanted to know why. It was accurate to how he'd normally act, but it seemed more nervous than energetic. "Uh-uh nothing!" She sighed and saw the petals falling from his not-so-delicate touch, "Of course. May I ask who it's for?"

"It's for Linhardt." Dorothea strolled by, talking with Santaniel, both seemingly playing matchmaker today. Caspar grumbled under his breath and held his head in his chin, "I thought I hid it pretty well…" Santaniel snickered at the statement, but that wasn't saying much with how he looked through people like glass. "Go and ask Anna for a crown, try violets. Works for people with green hair, color contrast 'n' all that."

"Oo! Get me one too! I want to give one to Petra!" Santaniel nodded and Caspar asked, "Hey Santaniel, want me to get you one?" Santaniel shook his head, "Already got mine. Thanks for asking though."

'Hm. Seems he's still full of surprises.' Santaniel talked to Dorothea about what to do with purple, suggesting yellow, and she squealed happily when she found they grew Marigolds in the greenhouse.

"Perfect!" Santaniel sighed and grinned, "You need a recommendation for someone Edelgard?" She shook her head, a thin line of red on her cheeks that didn't go unnoticed by the duo. "Awwww, Edie has a crush!" Santaniel grinned but it seemed he knew one person teasing her was enough. "Hey, you think we can get Hubert to give Ferdinand a crown?"

"Nah. Those two are water and oil. At least for now, they have no chemistry." Dorothea nodded thoughtfully, "Yeah. I don't think we can get Bernadetta to participate this year either… Unless you want to try and get her out of her room, Santaniel?"

"I can take a crack at it. C'mon. Edelgard try to keep Dorothea busy so she doesn't ruin my chance at luring Bernadetta out." They walked at a steady pace, Dorothea's chatter filling the air. Santaniel left the trio and knocked on Bernadetta's door softly, beginning his attempt. "Sooo Edie, who do you have your eye on?"

"I- I don't have the luxury of such things as 'crushes'." Dorothea giggled at her attempt of a deflection, pressing on, "Oh, C'mon Edie. We all get those butterflies in our stomach for someone."

"See Bernadetta? No one here is going to hurt you. Just go ahead and have a fun day, ok? I'll get you that piece of cake tomorrow, I promise."

"You better…" Santaniel sighed and smiled as Bernadetta ran off to the fishing pond, a gleam in his eyes. A gleam that's different from on the battlefield. "Ohhh… I see now. It's-" Edelgard covered Dorothea's mouth quickly and glared at her, eyes piercing into her soul.

All that appeared in Dorothea's eyes was a playful matchmaker, she mumbled something under Edelgard's hand, she hesitantly lifted it and allowed her to speak. "It isn't so bad Edie. He's a solid fighter, a good person, and evidently pretty patient with people like Bernie."

"It isn't that-" Santaniel turned his head at the sound of something and she swore she saw fire leave his mouth, just a quick tongue of it. "I've met him before… I just don't know much about him and I'm uncertain." Dorothea nodded and hummed harmoniously under her breath, "Well… you could always go out on a 'date'. I'll distract Hubie for you too."

"I appreciate the offer Dorothea, but it's also unlikely he feels the same about me." It wasn't entirely a fleeting glimpse of love, more so curiosity about the man she was supposed to get on with beheading so the Agarthan's could do their work. Yet he was full of surprises, and the Agarthan's weren't to be trusted either. Could this be legitimate feelings for him? Unlikely, but Dorothea was pretty spot on with her accusations of feelings.

The songstress giggled and shook her head, "It's unlikely he's ever felt that way about anyone Edie. He's been isolated on an island a majority of his life with his brothers, and if he did go out in public, how much social interaction do you believe he had?"

Well. It was true. Even during the few times they were alone it was mostly silence, she didn't mind, but it was unnerving how he conveyed pretty much everything through bodily movements.

"Hey, the festival is starting soon. Go get your crown from Caspar, Dorie. Edelgard, I'm assuming you aren't giving one to someone?" She shook her head no and he frowned, "Well. That's lame. Who wouldn't want one from the future Empress?"

Her cheeks felt hot and a thin smile danced on his lips, "C'mon. Let's go get at least one for you. You don't have to necessarily give it to someone you 'love' after all. Just give it to someone you like."

She nodded and was dragged off to the greenhouse, a large crowd gathering. "Ah, it seems people are taking the pre-made… here. Take some of the ones I've been growing. They actually kind of match your eyes…"

She looked down at the large patch of purple and pink, growing in star-like patterns across the plot of soil. "Go ahead and choose which you like, then talk to Anna over there and she'll tie it up for ya."

She nodded and kneeled on both knees, lifting the beautiful heads of the flowers. 'These are wonderful…' Santaniel returned with the red headed merchant, who was grumbling about possible sales, "Anna. You know you owe me still. Just do the damn flower crown, one won't kill ya."

She groaned and waited for Edelgard's selected flowers, delicately tying them into a circlet of flora. "Thank you Anna."

"No problem!" The merchant returned to her queue and the ash haired duo returned to the cool night air, eyes always searching and analyzing their situation.

"Any plans on who you're giving it to?" She shook her head, sighing, "No. I heard it's customary to only accept one crown and then spend the rest of the night with that person… I'm personally not expecting any." Santaniel nodded and clicked his tongue, seemingly something came to his mind as they walked, eyes lighting up. "Hey. Have you ever wanted to go to the island?"

Her mind wandered back to that failed trip a little over a week ago, the pain from her back radiating. She decided she'd say yes just to appease his question, "I have. Though I don't think there would be enough time for a boat ride." Santaniel laughed at her statement, pulling on her hand to lead her. She accepted hesitantly, and let him lead her to a mirror on the training grounds. He slit open his finger, no wider than a paper cut, and she gave him a feigned, confused look.

All he had on his face though was an amused smile, pressing it to the mirror and uttering a small, ancient spell, almost impossible to either hear or repeat from his soft whispery voice.

The surface rippled like water and he stepped through, pulling her with him. They came up in a small, cozy, wooden house. The faint smell of the ocean near the front door. She knew where they were.

"C'mon. If I remember correctly, there should be a nice view of the stars this month. It'll be a bit of a hike, so I hope your royal legs don't hurt much from it." She rolled her eyes at the jab, following him reluctantly.

They mostly walked in silence, the nightly calls of bugs filling the air. "I'm sorry for pulling you away from the festival." She shook her head as she walked beside him, speaking clearly, "It's no bother. Hubert would have been guarding me too closely anyways. He might actually get some time to relax for once."

Santaniel snickered at the half-joke, responding with one of his own, "I doubt that. Man practically runs on coffee and stress."

"He has good intentions, though he can be over protective." Santaniel shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck as they entered a small clearing, "Well. He's not as bad as someone like me or Arti. We practically have scry open 24/7 due to wanting to keep people safe."

She nodded and finally noticed that he stopped walking, looking up at the sky. "Well. We're here, princess." She looked up and nearly gasped in awe, millions of stars in swirling patterns, twinkling in a random yet mesmerizing way, hypnotic almost. It was… just beautiful.

The only word that could come to mind as she stared up at the black canvas of the night sky, the hundreds of thousands of diamond like specks in the air was enough to entrance anyone into staring at it.

She was only snapped out of it by a light weight pressing down on her hair, barely noticeable to her sense of touch. She looked down slightly and met Santaniel's gaze, a bit of red coloring his cheeks, yet a smile danced on his lips. "Happy birthday."

She blushed and put the crown of flowers on his head, the shades of purple blending into his wild forest of hair. "Thanks Princess…" He leaned down and placed a small kiss on her cheek, another, darker shade of red pulsing across both their faces. She accepted this birthday gift wholeheartedly, but… This was an enemy, right? Then…

Why did she feel this way?

———

Day 30 of the Garland Moon

"Hephaestus, got word of the positioning of the enemy?"

"Not yet." Santaniel sighed as he stood in a forest alone, awaiting his next orders from Byleth. If he had his way it would have been over already… Nonetheless he obeyed. "Stay in the forest… Don't rush ahead…"

Hated feeling like a damn pet. He paced and listened both magically and physically for any enemies, never finding anyone. He decided to move ahead, just because he felt like it. He came out into a clearing, the fog having cleared and he was face to face with a man riding a horse, "Huh. So you're Lanoto. I'd say it's nice to meet you but more than likely I'll be ending your life today eh?"

'Shatter.' The magical energy filled his body and fueled his movements, launching like an arrow precisely to kill.

———

Edelgard slammed her axe into the skull of a sword fighter, dislodging it and getting the red river of blood in her hair. She groaned at the idea of washing it out later but focused on the task at hand. "Units, advance on Lonato!"

Her Professor's voice carried over the combat and she listened, coming into view as Lanoto was already locked in combat with Santaniel. His eyes glowed and his movements flowed like a river, eventually throwing the man from his steed which bucked and ran away.

Santaniel stood over him and glared seemingly through his soul. The man accepted his death which came swiftly, a silent and solemn movement. A single slash across his neck that left his head still connected to his body, but assured a near painless death.

His lips moved in a sort of prayer in Brigid and he came back to the group, splotches of red in his hair and on his armor. It was worse around his leg where he was cut and she grimaced, calling over Linhardt to assist him. "I'm fine. Arti will patch me up with some bandages, I'd rather let it heal naturally."

"I noticed you gave him a much less brutal death… Why?" Santaniel looked into her eyes and a faint glow of green and purple remained, locking her in place, "I searched his soul and looked for his sins, deeds, and intents. He was a good man driven to madness by the death of his eldest son. He couldn't accept it and craved his own twisted version of judgement. It's a shame he couldn't move past it, but not all our paths can be cut."

She nodded her head, still somewhat affixed from his eyes and she finally broke his gaze, his eyes back to their usual hazel when they heard his name be called out. "Santaniel!"

"Oh boy, here we go." Xavien rushed over with Arti and Hephaestus hot on his tail and they started tearing into him with their worries. "Guys, I'm fine. I got this cut from tripping in the forest anyways." Arti groaned and examined it, pulling some gauze and medical cleaner from his little pack, spreading it on his leg and then wrapping it tightly.

All the while Hephaestus asked him about the battle and she couldn't help but snicker, it was like watching three Huberts dote on one person. Speaking of which… "Lady Edelgard."

"Hubert."

"Do you require any assistance?" She shook her head and he slunk back into the crowd, watching her from a distance as always. "Guys! Quit it! I'm fine, I swear. No panic attacks or anything during the fight, if anything, I'm getting better."

"Panic attacks?" Santaniel sighed and nodded, "Yeah. During fights I tend to have panic attacks if I can't sense these idiots around. Bad memories are all. Then afterwards I tend to isolate in my room for a bit just to reflect. Then they barge in and check on me every five minutes!" Xavien laughed but Hephaestus delivered a solid reasoning back, "Because the last time we didn't, you snuck out and killed an entire encampment of island raiders."

"So? I still had some energy left in the Holy Twins, and I did something productive with it. Plus, I protected my home!" Edelgard watched the family squabble and felt sick for her siblings. She was hoping they were watching from the sky.

Santaniel finally drove them off and sighed loudly, "Goddess be damned they worry too much. Sorry you had to witness that, but it likely won't be the last time either." She shrugged and responded to him in a somewhat joking tone, "I suppose you were correct, they do get overprotective. Still not as badly as Hubert though." Santaniel grinned and brushed past her, their fingers barely grazing, just a moment to seem tender, but it sent an electric shock down her spine, "C'mon, let's go celebrate with the others. A win is a win."

"Sure thing."