A previous song is being reused here, but there's also a new one I've added. See if you can figure out where it's from.
Chapter 90 – Mourning (Guardian Moon)
The fifth day of the Guardian Moon was unnaturally cold, even for Garreg Mach. Out in the cemetery, which now had several more gravestones lined up with the names of the second-year students engraved on them, it felt as though the cold went all the way to one's soul.
Though some were gathered in front of the graves of the students lost to the prior month's tragedy, most were gathered before a shared grave, one that had been given a new gravestone.
Jeralt Reus Eisner
Sitri Eisner
Resting in the warm embrace of cherished memories.
As Edelgard turned away from the grave, she looked back to Archbishop Rhea as she spoke to those in attendance. The Archbishop, despite still being clothed in her usual robes, did not look the least bit affected by the cold. Still, even she could not hide her sorrow.
"Jeralt Reus Eisner was a paragon of bravery to us all," said Rhea as she continued her speech. "A valiant warrior, and… a friend of many years. I will miss him dearly. Yet we must not allow ourselves to fall to grief, even in such times. I know that he would want us to cherish our memories of him, and that he would want us to…"
Edelgard stopped listening to Rhea at this point and turned her gaze from the Archbishop. To the princess, much of what was coming from Rhea's mouth sounded half-hearted, as though Jeralt's death had not shaken her as much as she claimed. The princess then looked around at the others who had gathered, dressed in dark robes of mourning. Leonie had buried herself in Raphael's shoulder as she cried for her mentor. Annette was being consoled by Mercedes, while Caspar was clenching his fists so tightly that Edelgard thought he was going to draw his own blood. Surprisingly, Bernadetta had chosen to attend, though she was trying not to make her presence known as she hid next to Linhardt.
But there was one person missing, someone Edelgard had expected to be here.
Byleth was nowhere to be seen.
Edelgard knew she should've expected as such, but to miss her own father's funeral told of Byleth's pain. Ever since she had returned to the monastery, Byleth had shut herself away in her room and refused to come out. This had been going on for nearly a week by this point. The bluette only ever opened her door to receive meals and refused to converse with anyone. It was almost like Bernadetta's lifestyle, but far less healthy and far more pitiable. Whenever one would pass by her room, they could hear her sobbing.
Anna had also not shown up for the funeral, and over the past week she had not even opened her shop for business. Many had begun to worry for the merchant as well as Byleth. They knew she had been a good friend of Jeralt's, but Edelgard wondered if that was all the two had been.
The first-year class had suffered as a result of Byleth's absence. Manuela and Hanneman had taken over Byleth's teaching duties to allow her to mourn, but the difference in their teaching ability was monumental. They could never hope to substitute for their Professor.
As Edelgard shut her eyes and silently cursed Monica for her treachery, Rhea said, "Miss Arnault, if you please."
Edelgard looked over to Dorothea as the girl walked forward, dressed in a ceremonial black robe. To Edelgard's grief, the singer had been chosen to sing the Hymn of The Sending, a funeral dirge meant to spirit the departed to the warm embrace of the Goddess. But to anyone who heard the words, it only imparted one thing: sorrow.
Dorothea took a deep breath of the cold winter air, and then she began to sing.
Ki Ei Yu Ri
No Vo Me No
Re En Mi Ri
Yo Ju Yo Ro
Each word the diva sang looked as though it had sent an icy dagger into the heart of everyone who heard it. The tears of those in attendance ran like rivers down their faces, threatening to freeze upon their cheeks.
Ki Ei Yu Ri
No Vo Me No
Re En Mi Ri
Yo Ju Yo Ro
Edelgard looked around at the others. Bernadetta was now almost bawling, but she was doing her best to stay quiet. Marianne held her hands in prayer as Hilda had her hands on her best friend's shoulders, the pinkette sobbing into the pale girl's shoulder. A dismal Constance was leaning against Ferdinand for comfort, while Ingrid was looking at the ground as Sylvain placed a hand on her shoulder for reassurance. Edelgard recalled hearing how Ingrid had lost her fiancé during the Tragedy of Duscur, so this whole affair had to be familiar for the blonde.
Ha Sa Te Ka Na Ei
Ku Ta Ma Ei
Ha Sa Te Ka Na Ei
Ku Ta Ma Ei
Edelgard looked back at Dorothea, and finally the princess could not hold back her own tears.
Dorothea's green eyes had been streaming tears down her face from the moment she had started singing.
Ki Ei Yu Ri
No Vo Me No
Re En Mi Ri
Yo Ju Yo Ro
As the song went on, Edelgard kept her gaze on Dorothea for the remainder of the funeral.
…
Byleth let out another sob of grief and frustration as she tried to tune out Sothis' voice in her head.
"You still weep for him?" asked Sothis, though not in asking a question. "If turning back the hands of time was not enough to save his life, you must accept what came to pass was fate."
"S-Shut up!" Byleth hissed. "It wasn't fate! It wasn't–"
"Control yourself. Though Jeralt's death was at the hands of wicked ones, a fate is still a fate."
"I won't accept that…! I won't! Father, he… he didn't deserve to die like that…! I had your power and it still didn't save him!"
Now offended, Sothis said, "Do you intend to blame me for his fate?"
"SHUT UP! Stop using that word, you damn ghost!"
Gasping at Byleth's words, Sothis said irritably, "Y-You spoiled rotten child! I will not have you speaking to me in such a way!"
Just then, a loud knock was heard at the door, followed by a familiar voice asking, "Professor? Are you there?"
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Byleth shouted, both at Sothis and at Dorothea.
Outside the room, Dorothea jolted back in shock at hearing Byleth shout at her.
"Just leave me alone…" Byleth whimpered, loud enough that Dorothea could still hear her.
"Hmph! Fine then, you'll not hear another peep from me, you ungrateful nincompoop!" Sothis snapped. "But I'll be expecting a thorough apology whenever you're done bawling like an infant!" The green-haired girl then vanished from sight.
Walking back up to the door, Dorothea said, "Professor… I know you don't want to speak to anyone, but I… I just want to know if you're going to be okay. You haven't come out in a week. We're all worried about you… I'm worried about you."
Byleth did not respond to this, continuing to bury her face in her pillow and wanting the diva to go away.
"I'm worried you might… might have lost the will to carry on, Professor. I may not know how that feels, but I… I've seen it before. I've seen people who just give up on living and it… it hurts to see people like that."
"…What do you want?" Byleth murmured spitefully.
Hearing Byleth's tone was hurtful for Dorothea, but she steeled herself and said, "I want you to come out of there, Professor. I want you to let me help you."
"No… No, I…"
"Professor–"
"I said NO! Leave me alone!"
"Byle–"
"You don't know what it's like! You don't know how it feels to lose your only family to a murderer! You don't know how it feels knowing you could've–"
Byleth stopped at this point, though not out of fear of revealing the power of the Divine Pulse. She simply couldn't find the words she was looking for.
Outside, Dorothea was almost on the verge of crying. Byleth had never been this cruel to her before. Even if she was stricken with grief, this wasn't like her.
"Please, Dorothea… just leave me alone…"
At hearing this, Dorothea mustered her courage as she said, "No. No, I'm not leaving! Not when you need someone to help you! Byleth, you have to let me in!"
Dorothea then tried to push open the door. Unsurprisingly, she found it was locked.
"I SAID LEAVE!"
"No, Byleth! I'm not leaving!"
"I'm not letting you in!"
"Then I'll just wait out here!" Calming down, Dorothea stepped back and said, "I'll wait until you're ready to come out!"
Byleth said nothing to this, continuing to sob to herself as her mind flooded with images of her father. She remembered the first time he had introduced her to a group of kids in a village, trying to encourage her to play with them. She hadn't done so, the others finding her too strange. She remembered Jeralt teaching her how to catch fish in a stream and being impressed when she had caught a huge Queen Loach on her first try. She saw herself learning swordplay from him when she was only six years old, and then remembered him watching over her when she had killed her first bandit at age nine.
More and more memories of Jeralt raising her filled Byleth's mind, fueling her sorrow as she saw Monica twisting her knife in his back. The girl had been looking at her, smirking all the while as she killed her father.
Then, as Byleth was about to descend into another tirade of tears, she heard Dorothea singing.
Tue lei ze croa riou tue ze
Croa riou ze tue riou lei neu riou ze
Va lei ze tue neu tue riou tue croa
Riou lei croa riou ze lei va ze lei
Va neu va lei va neu va ze lei
Croa riou croa neu tue lei croa riou ze lei va
Lei va neu croa tue lei lei
Byleth immediately recognized the song. It was the same one Dorothea had sung for the survivors of Remire. And though it was made to soothe wounded hearts, Byleth's still heart found little solace from the diva's voice.
Dorothea sang the verse again.
Tue lei ze croa riou tue ze
Croa riou ze tue riou lei neu riou ze
Va lei ze tue neu tue riou tue croa
Riou lei croa riou ze lei va ze lei
Va neu va lei va neu va ze lei
Croa riou croa neu tue lei croa riou ze lei va
Lei va neu croa tue lei lei
Byleth continued to cry as Dorothea continued to sing. Minutes went by, each seeming like an eternity as Byleth shed her tears.
Tue lei ze croa riou tue ze
Croa riou ze tue riou lei neu riou ze
Va lei ze tue neu tue riou tue croa
Riou lei croa riou ze lei va ze lei
Va neu va lei va neu va ze lei
Croa riou croa neu tue lei croa riou ze lei va
Lei va neu croa tue lei lei
Outside Byleth's room, Dorothea took in another breath as she prepared to sing again. The icy cold air stung in her lungs, but she wasn't going to give up. Byleth had saved her from so many perils in the months they had known each other.
Now it was her turn to save her from herself.
Tue lei ze croa riou tue ze
Croa riou ze tue riou lei neu riou ze
Va lei ze tue neu tue riou tue croa
Riou lei croa riou ze lei va ze lei
Va neu va lei va neu va ze lei
Croa riou croa neu tue lei croa riou ze lei va
Lei va neu croa tue lei lei
From afar, Edelgard looked out from behind a corner as Dorothea kept singing at Byleth's door. Hearing the words once again brought the terrible clutch of guilt to the princess' heart, and she forced herself to leave the area as Dorothea's voice echoed across the academy grounds.
…
A half-hour passed before Dorothea stopped singing. After another fifteen minutes, Byleth finally found she had no more tears to shed.
She remained still for another fifteen minutes before Sothis' voice finally returned in her mind.
"Have you had your fill now?" the ghostly girl asked.
To Byleth's surprise, Sothis' tone wasn't one of anger, but was compassionate and understanding of the bluette's grief.
"Try as I may, I cannot deny my concern for you, my friend. Our lives may be entwined, but I would be lying if I said I was not worried for your wellbeing. But as I have told you before, you can only shed tears for so long before you run dry."
Byleth remained silent, her prior anger at the ghost now replaced by apathy.
"Whether or not your father's death was the work of fate, his death was at the hands of a wicked one. That girl, Monica, must be made to pay."
The mention of Monica got Byleth's attention. The bluette's eyes narrowed with anger at the memory of her.
Sothis then changed her tone as she said, "Now, unless you wish to allow her to remain unpunished, I suggest you cease your senseless wallowing and do something useful. Perhaps a word with that singing girl? She seemed dearly concerned for your health."
Byleth let out a sniffle as she wiped her face on the back of her sleeve. Sothis was right. She owed Dorothea an apology for her behavior.
As the bluette stood up, Sothis then said, "You may wish to dress warmly. It is quite cold out."
Byleth ignored this advice, too caught up in her thoughts on how she would apologize to Dorothea as she worked the lock on her door.
As she opened it, allowing the freezing winter air into her room, her blue eyes went wide with shock.
Dorothea was still there, leaning against a support beam in front of Byleth's door.
"Dorothea?" Byleth said in surprise.
The singer was slow to react to her voice but turned to look at her. Upon seeing her face, Byleth's eyes went even wider. Dorothea's face was quite pale, and her normally rosy lips were starting to turn a faint blue. Frost had built up on her face and clothes, which weren't nearly thick enough to repel the cold.
"Dorothea! What are you…?"
Weakly, Dorothea said, "I… I s-s-said I'd w-wait f-for you to c-c-come out… I…"
Dorothea took in a shallow breath, only to start coughing a second later. Byleth immediately brought a hand to the diva's face, and found her skin was icy to the touch. The bluette realized the singer hadn't moved from her door for a whole hour, even in such frigid conditions, and Byleth didn't know how long Dorothea had been outside before then.
"Dorothea… Dorothea!"
At that moment, Dorothea fell into Byleth's arms. Frantically, she pulled the girl into her room and moved her onto the bed. She quickly began stripping the girl of her wet clothes, which were all but frozen, with the diva in no condition to protest. Byleth then covered her with every blanket she had. As she did, the girl began coughing again, shivering as her body remained chilled to the bone.
Byleth looked at Dorothea as guilt began to overwhelm her. This was her fault. She had tried to push Dorothea away and now the singer's life could be in danger. The teacher tried to use a healing spell on the girl, but the magic had no effect.
"Dorothea…!" Byleth whispered fearfully. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry…! I should've let you in! I…"
Dorothea looked as though she wanted to say something reassuring to Byleth, but she was too cold to do so. Instead, the brunette gave her a small smile to show she bore no ill-will.
"Hang on, I'll get Manuela! Just stay here and try to stay warm!"
With that, Byleth frantically ran out into the freezing cold, ignoring Sothis' rant about putting on a warm coat first.
Aww, Dorothea went and got herself sick for Byleth's sake. Doesn't that just tear at the heart for you?
Writing out Byleth trying to push away those who care about her isn't easy since she's always about "let's work together" and the like. Having her do the opposite, even when she's clearly not herself, is a challenge, and I hope I did it right.
Before you ask "Why did Byleth strip her?", that's actually proper medical procedure for someone with hypothermia. You gotta get those cold clothes off, especially if they're wet.
The next chapter is going to be another Byleth/Dorothea one, so stay tuned.