Chapter 2: Red Velvet Cheesecake

Ingredients

Cookie Crust: 18 crushed chocolate cookies, cup melted butter, 1 tbsp sugar

Cheesecake: 1.5 lbs cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, 3 tbsp cocoa powder, 1 tbsp corn starch, salt, cup sour cream, 1 oz red food coloring 1 tsp vanilla extract, 4 eggs

Frosting: 4 oz cream cheese, cup butter, 2 cups confectioner's sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract

Recipe

Preheat oven to 350F.

Mix cookie crust ingredients in a bowl. Transfer to pan and press evenly. Bake 10 minutes or until crust is slightly browned. Remove and let cool to room temperature. (Note: Bake in a springform pan for shape)

Cheesecake: Mix cream cheese, sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch, salt until creamy. Stir in sour cream, food coloring, and vanilla and mix. Add one egg at a time and continue to mix until smooth. Pour batter over crust. Place the springform pan into another roasting pan, then pour water into the outside pan until about the height of the cake. Bake 1 hour.

Frosting: Mix ingredients until thick and well combined. Remove cheesecake (when done baking) and apply frosting as desired after allowing cake to cool, first to room temperature, then in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

The figure led them to Jeritza's room. Byleth and Lysithea stopped and hid behind a bush as it looked around carefully before sliding through the door.

Lysithea waited a few seconds before whispering into Byleth's ear, "What in the world is going on here?"

"No time to explain. I need to follow him. You stay here; there's no guessing what might be waiting behind that door."

"Wait here? As if! I'm coming with you; whatever's hiding there, it's better if you have someone watching your back."

"No, Lysithea. I can't rope a student into this; it's far too dangerous. Go back to your dorm."

"Professor, even if you send me off, I'm just going to come back. I'm far too curious about what is going on."

"Lysithea, you don't understand; it could get dangerous-"

"I am not a child! I can handle myself in a pinch. Didn't you say you had no doubt about that? Or was that more empty talk. And I thought you were different…" Lysithea folded her arms.

"Fine, fine. But on one condition. If I tell you to run and leave me behind, you have to do it."

"I-"

"No buts."

"Fine. I accept. Now let's go, before he gets too far away." They carefully scanned the vicinity before quietly stepping out from the bush and hurriedly checking the door. The knob turned and the door swung inwards, letting them into Jeritza's room.

The room was bare, save for a rack of fencing swords against the wall, a plain bed, and an empty desk in the corner. Lysithea pointed to the floor.

"Look!" A woman was sprawled on the floor. She wore a backless green dress with gold ties, and her white shawl was unclasped and thrown off to the side. The dress itself was cut suggestively down the chest and had two large openings for the legs, leaving far too little to the imagination. "It's Professor Manuela! And she's pointing at...something." Lysithea's eyes followed the unconscious woman's finger towards the wall behind the desk. She poked two fingers behind it and pushed it away from the wall. "Look! There's a hidden passageway…"

Byleth nodded, quickly kneeling down to inspect the Manuela and putting two fingers to check for a pulse. Lysithea drew her tome, eyes vigilant for any surprise attackers.

"She has a pulse, but it's faint. We need to get her to the infirmary...but if we leave and come back then we may miss out on this chance to investigate the passageway," Byleth sighed.

"What are you going to do?" Lysithea asked. "I would offer to carry her but…" she glanced at her thin arms and sighed. "If there's one thing I do need to work on, it's probably physical strength."

"No worries. I can warp her." He quickly took out a white tome and, muttering a quick spell, summoned a green light which surrounded the unconscious professor. She faded in an instant and was gone. "That should do it. Now let's go."

Wait, he knows white magic too? Just who is this guy?

Lysithea bent down and crawled into the passageway, Byleth behind her. As they proceeded, darkness swallowed them.

"Fire," she whispered, igniting a small flame in her palm to light the way. The passageway had opened up, allowing them to stand, and Lysithea could see a chamber not far ahead.

"Be prepared for anything, Lysithea." She nodded as they approached the room.

"I never would have imagined there was something like this underneath the monastery," Lysithea said. "Wait, what's that?" She noticed two lumps on the floor. "Are those..is that Flayn?" She dashed towards the lumps. "It is! But what's she doing down here? And who's this other person next to her? She's wearing the school uniform, but...I've never seen her before."

Byleth knelt next to her and shook his head.

"I've no idea. But we've found Flayn. Hm...they're in similar condition to Manuela." Byleth sighed. "Lysithea, I'm going to have to warp them out. That's going to exhaust my tome for tonight."

"And?"

"And that means you have to-"

"No! I am not leaving! Not after we've gotten this far!" Lysithea's voice echoed in the empty passageway, and she heard armor clinking in the distance.

"Who's there?" A gravelly voice yelled out, and the distinctive clack of plated boots began moving towards them.

"Oops," Lysithea said sheepishly.

Byleth sighed and quickly warped the two girls away.

"Just be careful. Whoever is coming has the advantage of knowing this area far better than we do. Best if we keep the fighting right here."

The steps became louder, and a dark figure materialized in front of them. Its eyes glowed red, and Lysithea felt pure terror as it came into vision.

It wore dark gray armor, cracked from what Lysithea assumed to be many battles. The shoulderplates were outfitted with racks of sharpened spikes, and the helm was made in the shape of a skull with two long, curved horns protruding from each side. Its cape was blood-red and tattered, but it was the weapon that Lysithea was drawn to: a scythe with a wicked curved blade.

The knight looked like how Lysithea imagined Death itself would look.

Byleth drew his sword, the Relic known as the Sword of the Creator. Its snakelike blade, usually in segments, snapped back into a single one as he readied it.

The armored knight spoke.

"That sword. You must be...One of us will die, and the other will live. I will enjoy this dance of damnation." The voice was deep and guttural, searing itself into Lysithea's senses.

Without warning, it attacked, swinging its scythe at both of them. Byleth leapt over it, while Lysithea rather less gracefully tumbled backwards, fumbling for one of her tomes. Byleth had re-engaged and his sword clashed against the scythe, the sounds ringing in the tunnel. Lysithea shot off a quick Miasma but it was easily dodged. The knight turned its attention towards her, landing a kick on Byleth that sent him sprawling. Lysithea backed up, releasing more purple balls of energy, but the knight dodged each one. Finally, one hit square in the chest.

And bounced right off? Huh? Lysithea turned heel and ran as the knight's scythe began to near her. Crap...I need to use Luna to get through his resistance. But I've never actually cast it...

Lysithea kept running until she found herself backed up against a wall. The knight continued its inexorable march towards her until she was in range of its weapon. She finally managed to turn her tome to the right page.

Here goes nothing.

"Luna!" She stretched out her hand, but nothing happened.

Ah, crap.

The knight was on top of her.

"I have no need of you," it said, raising the scythe for a strike.

She closed her eyes and waited for the impact. She felt a gust of wind brush by her, blowing her silver hair back, and her eyes shot open. Byleth's sword, with its unique ability to extend like a whip, had managed to tangle itself around the knight's scythe, pulling it aside. Byleth dashed forward, dropping his now-tangled sword and landing a punch to the knight's helm with his own armored hand. The knight stumbled back, dazed. Byleth mouthed an incantation before unleashing a spell.

Plumes of brilliant orange flame erupted around the death knight, causing it to howl in agony. The flames swirled, forming arms that spiraled off while leaving an untouched center, which the knight was trapped in. Lysithea noted that they were arranged in the shapes of stars she'd seen in her old astronomy books.

Wait...that shape, along with that color? How can he cast it so effortlessly?

Byleth retrieved his sword, untangling it from the knight's scythe.

"Who are you? Why are you kidnapping students?" The flames continued to surround the knight, offering no escape but closing ever tighter around it..

"I do not fear death," the knight replied. There was a flash of light, and something had teleported into the ring next to it. An armored figure, wearing a black tabard with red detailing, had appeared. It wielded an axe and large shield, emblazoned in black and red with metal flames spiraling from top to bottom. A red and white mask covered its face.

"Enough. You are having too much fun," it said. The voice was deep, but something about it seemed fake, as if a spell had been cast to disguise the voice. The knight bowed its head. "Go for now. You'll have more opportunities to play soon."

"Understood." The knight teleported away. The newcomer turned, its mask now facing Byleth and Lysithea.

"You...we will cross paths again. I am the Flame Emperor…and I will reforge this world." Without waiting for a reply, it teleported away as well in a flash.

Byleth sheathed his sword as the flames began to die down.

"Damn," he muttered before turning and offering a hand to Lysithea. "Are you all right, Lysithea?"

Lysithea took the hand, pulling herself up and dusting herself off.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Professor...what is going on here?"

Byleth gestured for her to follow him out of the passageway.

"Come on. I need to report to Rhea and Seteth. I'll explain the situation as I go." Lysithea nodded and followed. "Yesterday, Flayn disappeared. There was also a rumor of a reaper kidnapping students on campus; Seteth said that there had been a couple disappearances. While we haven't found all the students yet, I think it's safe to assume we've at least caught the culprit. Anyways, they wanted to keep everything quiet for...obvious reasons. So I decided to stake out tonight to see if anything would happen around the monastery. That's pretty much it. Rhea didn't want the students to worry, but if I hadn't figured out what was going on in a day or so, we were going to come clean about the dangers."

Lysithea processed the information.

Who knew so much was going on at the monastery?

"So...do we know who that Death Knight and the Flame Emperor are?"

"No. We have ideas, but...no proof of anything as of yet." Byleth grunted as he pushed the desk out, allowing them to exit.

"Ah. Well, at least we were able to save Flayn and that other student."

"Yes." The corners of Byleth's mouth turned upwards slightly.

Lysithea's eyebrows raised.

"Whoa, did you just smile? So you do have feelings! We all thought you didn't, like you weren't human or something."

"I'm not a rock, you know. Although I guess if I had no happiness from rescuing a poor helpless girl, you could call me one. By the way, good job down there. That Death Knight is no joke, and you fared decently. Keep honing your skills; I doubt this is the last time you will see him. Incidentally...I saw your Miasma bounce right off him. From a theory point of view, what spell could you have used instead?"

"Hah! I already know this one, since I thought of it. I could have used Luna."

"If you knew, why didn't you use it?"

"Didn't you hear me try? I've studied a lot of spells, and know most of the theory, but I can't actually use most of them yet. Right now I can only really use Miasma and Swarm. On that note, Professor...I wanted to ask you something." Lysithea looked down at the floor. "That last spell you used...that was Ragnarok, was it not?"

"Impressive. Few know of the spell; fewer yet have mastered it. I assume you recognized the distinctive spiral galaxy shape."

"That, and the unique hue of orange. So how did you learn it?"

Well...when you live as a mercenary, you have plenty of time to learn things. And when you can learn something, it's usually something that will help you with your job. So being able to use both weapons and magic is, I guess, something that sets you apart in the market."

"Professor...do you think you could teach me it?"

"Teach you?"

"Yes. I know I'm not in your house, but...if you've mastered Ragnarok, then your magical ability far exceeds anyone else at the Monastery. I mean...no one has successfully used that spell in Fodlan's history. The only reports of it being used are in faraway lands, in tales of legend. Please...teach me all you know about magic."

Byleth sighed.

"I cannot promise you that I'll have time, especially with how demanding I know you will be. I will accept on one condition."

"The condition better not be that I have to stop taking lessons when you tell me to."

"No. The condition is that you join my house."

"I-what? And leave the Golden Deer?"

"Yes. The logistics would be much easier if you were to join my house rather than stay in the Golden Deer."

Lysithea rolled her eyes.

"Ugh, Professor, you know you could have said something sweet, like 'Oh, Lysithea, I wanted to keep a closer eye on your stupendous ability, so I want you to join my house' or 'Lysithea! I've never known someone so good at magic, it would be my honor to teach you, so please join my house!"

Byleth was nonplussed.

"I was merely speaking the truth. Being in my house will afford me more time to teach you, and for the magic that you want to learn and which suits your talent, regular class sessions will not be enough."

Lysithea groaned.

"I need to go back and tell Claude and everyone else. But...yes. I accept," she said. "Thanks, Professor."

Byleth nodded.

"I'll take the report to Rhea, and I'll mention your help as well. Have a good night. Class starts Monday at 8 AM at the Black Eagle classroom."

Lysithea nodded, bade Byleth good night, and skipped back towards her room, excited for classes for the first time in as long as she could remember.

Red velvet was picked as a visual representation of the Black Eagles class flag. This is kind of setting the table for Lysithea to join the Black Eagles, since I still think the Crimson Flower route could have been the best route with more effort put in.

As always, please RR, and enjoy!

-elementaryprincess