FINALLY, we reach the next Moon. I stretched out that in-game month far too long.

EDIT: Ouch, this chapter took a while to actually appear. Stupid FanFictionDOTnet bugs.

Chapter 77 – A Duel for Dance (Ethereal Moon)

Anna took a sip of water as she sat in the library, searching through some ancient records. As a reward for her aid at Remire, Rhea had given her permission to search through some of the monastery's more sensitive records. Seteth, however, was nearby to supervise her, much to her chagrin; despite even being part of Flayn's rescue, the chief advisor was still wary of her.

Then, as she turned the page of the book she was looking through, she saw a passage with a diagram that made her eyes widen with interest.

"There you are…" she said to herself.

Anna took a quill, an inkwell and some parchment and began copying the image she had found in the book. It was of a location in the northwest part of Fódlan, in Kingdom territory.

"I trust you are not copying anything questionable, Miss Anna?" said Seteth as he moved to look at what she was drawing.

Annoyed, Anna said, "You know, it's rude to look over someone's shoulder like that. Worried I might be writing down some of the Church's dirty secrets?"

"Given what happened with Tomas, anything is possible."

"Hey, don't lump me with him."

"Regardless, there is much I do not know about you. Professor Eisner may trust you, but you keep much of your history an enigma."

"Well, that's the pot calling the kettle black."

Seteth frowned at this, deciding to drop the subject for now. Having seen what Anna was drawing, he was satisfied to know she wasn't copying Church secrets.

"What is it you are looking for in the Mateus region?" he asked.

"That's for me to know and for you to find out," said Anna.

"Is that so? It may interest you to know that our last report from the Knights said that your thief, Pallardó, has fled somewhere into that region. We've yet to determine the exact location of his hideout."

Surprised, Anna said, "Really? Huh, what a coincidence…"

"Is that all you require from our records?"

"Yeah, for now. Thanks for the help."

"It is the least I can do. Your aid in Remire saved many lives, and I still owe you for your aid in rescuing Flayn from the Death Knight. Now, if you will excuse me, I have other matters to attend to. Ensure that you return that book when you are finished."

Seteth then turned and left the library. As he did, Dorothea walked past him and saw Anna at her desk.

"Anna, there you are," said the singer as she walked up to the merchant.

"Dorothea? Something I can help you with?" asked Anna.

"Yeah, there is. You know about the White Heron Cup, right?"

"That dance contest? I was asked to be one of the judges. Are you gonna be representing the Black Eagles?"

"That's the thing. You see, Constance and I were arguing over who would represent our house for the contest. It got a bit heated and, well, now I'm going to have to duel her for the role."

"Is that so? Why not ask By for help on this?"

"Because the duel was her idea, and she said if she helped me win, it would be unfair."

"Ah, I gotcha." Anna then made a sly smile and said, "Think you might use the same trick you pulled on Hilda?"

"Um, no." Dorothea blushed as she said, "Professor Byleth said she'd be counting that as a foul."

Anna made a short laugh and said, "Ah, it was worth a thought."

"The thing is, I hate to admit it, but Constance would flatten me in a straight up magical duel. We're going to be having the duel in Abyss, you see, in that old colosseum."

"Oh, now I get your problem. Constance will be all fired up instead of all gloom-and-doom out in the training grounds."

"I know I could win if I could just get close enough to use my sword, but she'll never give me that chance. And I really want this part. Please, Anna, can you help me?"

Anna let out a pensive "Hmm" as she put a finger to her cheek and pondered the dilemma. In her experience, Constance was certainly one of the best mages among the students at present, despite her usual conceit. And despite her skewed priorities, Constance was quite adept at combat. Dorothea was no slouch, but in a typical fight, Anna would've put her money on Constance.

After a minute or so of pondering, Anna snapped her fingers and said, "Oh, that'll work!"

"What will work?" asked Dorothea.

"I've got a little spell I made up that could be just the thing you need. It's pretty easy to learn, but it's a bit hazardous to use around others."

"Really? What does it do?"

"I'll show you. Come on."

Anna then put away the books she had been reading and led Dorothea off to demonstrate her spell.

…

The following afternoon saw Dorothea standing across from Constance in the center of the underground colosseum. Around them, several of the other students, as well as the Ashen Wolves, had gathered to watch the duel unfold. Byleth stood between the two women to act as a referee.

"Gonna make a bet, Balthus?" asked Yuri.

"If I had any gold left, I would," said Balthus. "Definitely would bet on Constance."

"Yeah, that'd be my bet too," said Hapi. "Coco's got this in the bag."

"Come on, Dorothea, you can beat her!" said Annette.

"Do not be losi– um, do not lose to Constance, Dorothea," said Petra.

"I do not wish to speak ill of Dorothea," said Linhardt, "but I logically believe Constance will win this duel."

"Gee, that's reassuring," said Sylvain.

Edelgard ignored the banter as she watched Dorothea ready herself for the duel.

Standing next to the singer, Anna said, "Just remember what I taught you. You'll probably only get one shot at it."

"Yeah…" Dorothea said nervously. "Wish me luck."

Then, much to Dorothea's ire, Constance let out a haughty laugh and said, "Luck will not avail you here, Arnault. The role for the White Heron Cup is as good as mine!"

As the two mages took their stances, Byleth said, "You two know the rules: whoever draws blood first, scores a direct hit, or whoever knocks the other out of the ring first is the winner. Are you ready?"

"This will be child's play," said Constance as she raised a hand, showing the Mana crackling between her fingertips.

Dorothea said nothing, keeping a tight grip on Joyeuse.

Then, Byleth raised her sword and shouted, "Begin!"

"It's time you learned your PLACE!" Constance shouted as she unleashed a barrage of fireballs at Dorothea.

Dorothea quickly raised a ward, knowing it would break easily. The ward shattered as it was struck, but it was enough to block the attack and allow Dorothea to rush forward. The singer released a Thunder spell as she ran for a broken pillar in the middle of the arena.

"I don't think so!" said Constance as she raised her ward, easily blocking Dorothea's attack. "Is that all you can muster? How about this?!"

Constance then swung her fan dramatically as she released a Sagittae spell at Dorothea. Dorothea countered with her own Sagittae spell, causing both barrages to collide with one another, cancelling them both out. This gave Dorothea the opportunity to get behind a pillar for cover.

"Hiding won't help you, Arnault! I'll just blast you out!"

Constance launched another barrage of fireballs that struck the pillar, blowing it apart and creating a thick cloud of dust. The others cheered at the duel as it progressed.

Then, a ball of light came shooting out of the dust cloud. Constance smirked, not having expected Dorothea to know Seraphim, but knowing it wouldn't be enough. She raised her ward to block the incoming attack.

To everyone's surprise, the ball of light exploded shortly before it reached Constance's barrier, releasing a deafening bang and a blinding flash as it did.

Constance let out a scream of surprise as she was blinded by the light, while her ears rang from her disorientation. Constance's ward collapsed as she lost her concentration. The others had been similarly blinded, averting their gaze and either rubbing their eyes or holding their hands over their ears.

Seconds later, Constance stopped moving as she suddenly felt the tip of Dorothea's Mythril blade touch her left cheek. Her vision returned to her and her ears stopped ringing as she saw, to her shock and dismay, that Dorothea had rushed up to her during her confusion.

With a smirk, Dorothea said, "Not so smug now, are you, Constance?"

"Y-You… this can't be…!"

"Say it."

"N-Never!"

"Say it, or I'm going to leave a really big scar on that face of yours."

Constance looked icily at Dorothea for this threat, but she soon realized she could not turn the tables on her. She let out a dejected growl and muttered, "I yield."

"Hmm? Say it louder. Let everyone else hear it."

Dorothea pressed Joyeuse's tip against Constance's cheek as she said this.

"I yield!" shouted Constance.

Annette, Sylvain, and Petra all let out cheers of joy, while Linhardt made a bemused "Huh" at seeing Dorothea had won. Meanwhile, Balthus and Hapi were in disbelief at Constance's loss, while Yuri gave an approving smile.

"Guess the part's mine, Constance," Dorothea said as she made a quick flourish with Joyeuse before sheathing it.

Letting out a furious growl, Constance said, "So be it. But you had best not embarrass yourself nor the Black Eagles when the time comes! You will win no matter what it takes!"

…

"Thank you so much for your help, Anna," Dorothea said to the merchant later that day as the two had a soak in the Abyss bathhouse. Some of the other girls were there too, with Mercedes making a few gasps as Lysithea enviously groped her.

"Someone had to feed Constance some humble pie," said Anna. "Glad I could help."

"Say, why haven't you used that spell before in any of our battles?"

"It's not exactly friendly to one's friends. You saw how it blinded everyone else in the arena, right?"

"Oh, right. I see your point."

At that moment, Byleth waded up to them and said, "I'm glad you were able to beat Constance, Dorothea."

"Professor! I thought you weren't taking sides."

"I wasn't, but I'm glad you sorted this out."

"Hey, By, why even have this duel?" asked Anna. "Surely you know Constance isn't that good of a dancer. Dorothea would've been a shoe in for the role."

"I know. But this was about more than just the White Heron Cup." Looking at Dorothea, Byleth said, "You've been arguing with her ever since you met her, and I thought you two could settle it on your own. But you two kept going at each other's throats, so…"

"Oh…" Dorothea said sheepishly. "So that's it."

"You may not like her, but she's still your classmate, Dorothea. And it's times like these that we need to be able to trust one another."

"So, wait, me beating her in a duel was some kind of trust-building exercise?"

"In a sense. I think you gained a good deal of respect from Constance today."

"Really? I thought she was pretty ticked off at losing to me."

"There's an old Hoshidan proverb that says you can learn a lot from defeat," said Anna. "Personally, I think it's a good one."

"Is that so?" Dorothea asked coyly. "Do you say that from experience?"

"H-Hey!"

Dorothea and Byleth both laughed at Anna's indignation. After a few seconds, the two stopped at hearing Leonie make a loud yelp and turned to see the Sauin girl had been slapped on the ass by Hilda. The Sauin girl was now retaliating by grabbing the pinkette's chest and squeezing much too hard, causing Hilda to make several cries of protest.

"I'd better break this up," said Byleth in a tone of exasperation as she waded over to the other girls, leaving Dorothea to have another giggle.

…

The girls were chatting amongst themselves as they came up to the surface from Abyss when Seteth approached them.

"There you are," Seteth said to Byleth and Anna.

"Seteth, what is it?" asked Byleth.

"The Knights have returned. They have determined the location of Pallardó's hideout. You and your students should prepare yourselves to march as soon as possible."

Byleth turned to the girls as she said, "You heard him. Get your things and meet us in the center of town in an hour."

"Aww, but I had plans tonight…" whined Hilda.

"Where's the hideout?" asked Anna.

"It's in the same place as that map you found in the library," said Seteth.

"Really? Huh, talk about coincidences…"

"Anna?" Dorothea asked curiously. "Is there something you're not telling us?"

"I'll tell you all about it later. Come on, let's go get that jerk and get my stuff back!"

This chapter's shorter than previous ones, but I was running into a bit of writer's block and wanted to finish by the deadline. I also wanted to avoid any heavy-handed stuff at the moment.

Sorry if you wanted more fanservice, but I decided not to go with too much this time. ;)

EDIT: I feel I should note that I don't dislike Leonie. She's a really strong character and I've used her in nearly all of my runs. I just tend to make her a bit of a "Butt Monkey" here, but that doesn't mean I dislike her.

Anyhow, the next few chapters are going to be very Anna-centric. It'll be my way of making Anna a real character in the 3H story (rather than a DLC cameo). I hope you'll enjoy my plans.