Time for some Byleth/Dorothea fluff coupled with some dark plots.
Chapter 91 – Good Medicine, Bad History (Guardian Moon)
Dorothea hated being sick. She should've known staying outside Byleth's room for so long on the coldest day of the year would get her sick. But she had done it anyway, and now her aching body, sore throat, and coughing spasms attested to her illness.
Fortunately, Manuela had been quick to treat her. The diva would have to stay cooped up in her room for at least a week to recover. Dorothea knew better than to argue with Manuela when it came to matters of health. It wasn't as if she wanted to argue it anyway.
The others had come by to wish her a speedy recovery. Even Felix had awkwardly asked her to get well soon so he could continue training her in swordplay. And as they had come by to give her their well-wishes, they had also taken the time to offer their condolences and support to Byleth, who had been all too happy to accept their kindness.
Dorothea had to smile at this thought. At least something good came out of her foolishness.
There was a gentle knock on her door as a familiar voice said, "Dorothea, can I come in?"
Sniffling, Dorothea said, "C-Come in." Her sore throat left her coughing afterward.
The door opened slowly as Byleth came into the room carrying a tea set and a bottle of medicine on a tray. The teacher looked far better than when Dorothea had seen her on that freezing day.
"How are you feeling?" asked Byleth.
"S-Still pretty–" Dorothea coughed again and then said, "P-Pretty lousy… Ooh…"
Nodding to the brunette, Byleth brought her tray and set it down on a small table next to Dorothea's bed. The teacher had been coming to her every day since she got sick, bringing warm food, medicine, and other things to comfort the sickly singer.
"Y-You don't have to do all t-this, Prof-fessor…"
"It's my fault you got sick, Dorothea. This is the least I can do."
"W-Well that's… that's sweet of you, Professor. Th-Thank you."
"Here, time for your medicine."
Dorothea's expression filled with disgust as Byleth began to pour a small flask of goopy red liquid into a spoon. The teacher then brought the spoon to Dorothea's mouth and, after a bit of hesitation, the singer sipped the liquid. She immediately wanted to wretch, as the medicine tasted worse than the dirt one would've found on a noble's boots.
The singer was about to spit out the medicine when Byleth, seeing her reaction, put a hand gently to Dorothea's chin and said, "Just swallow it. Come on, it'll help."
Dorothea managed to swallow the horrible concoction after a few seconds. She knew she would never get used to the taste.
"Well?" Byleth asked with concern.
"G-Gross…"
"I'm sorry, but you know what Manuela said."
"Y-Yeah, I know, but… blugh, did she have to make something that tastes so bad?"
"They say good medicine tastes bad."
Dorothea chose not to respond to that as she coughed again, this time from disgust.
"Here, I brought some chamomile," said Byleth as she readied the tea.
The singer waited for a few minutes as Byleth warmed up the small teapot and placed the small tea leaves inside. Soon the aroma was wafting into Dorothea's stuffy nostrils, helping to clear her nose a bit.
"Th-That… that smells good…" Dorothea groaned.
"It's almost ready," said Byleth. The two were then silent for a moment before Byleth took a deep breath. She then asked, "Dorothea, I have to ask. Why did you do that for me?"
"I was worried about you, Professor."
"But you didn't have to endanger your health. Why did you do something like that?"
Dorothea hesitated to answer for a moment, and then she said, "Because… because I've seen what the pain of loss can do to good people. And I… I didn't want you to end up like… like…"
"Dorothea?"
Dorothea made another cough, attempting to clear her throat. She then said, "It's a story from my early days at the Opera. There was once a diva there I knew named Rosa. She was smart, gorgeous, an incredible singer. But most of all, she loved each of us in the Opera company, and was always willing to lend us a hand. She was in love with the son of Duke Temper, Osric, and he loved her back. When I was thirteen, they ended up getting married, and Rosa even bore Osric a child. But then…"
Dorothea's eyes began to water with tears. Byleth knew something tragic must have happened.
"Please, go on," said Byleth.
Sniffling, Dorothea said, "Duke Temper had been one of Emperor Ionius IX's supporters during the Insurrection of the Seven. Shortly after Rosa's child was born, the Temper estate was attacked by men working for Duke Aegir."
"Ferdinand's father?"
"Y-Yes. Duke Temper and his entire family were slaughtered, including Osric, and their estate was burned to the ground. Rosa lost her child to that fire. In a single night, she'd lost everything. A few days later, she came back to us, a shadow of the woman I'd once idolized. We wanted to help her, but she pushed us away and locked herself in her old room."
Dorothea's tears now began to flow as Byleth knew she was getting to the worst part.
"And then… a week after she came back to us… I went in to talk to her. And… she was dead. She hanged herself…!"
Dorothea now burst into sobs as Byleth knelt over and put her hand on Dorothea's shoulder.
"Dorothea, I… I'm so sorry," said Byleth.
"Y-You know what the worst thing is? I feel like… like it was my fault that she… that she killed herself. I was busy preparing for a play at the time. It was to be my debut as the leading actress in a play on The Saga of the Gray Fox. But I… I should have been there for her. The others had told me not to worry about her, but if I hadn't been so focused on that damn play, maybe she'd… she'd still be here today."
As Dorothea sniffled, Byleth was stunned silent at her story. It was now clear to the teacher why Dorothea had gotten herself ill for the bluette's sake.
"It really hurts, you know. Seeing you look like you think you have nothing to live for. But I… we need you, Professor. Me, Edie, and the others at the Officers' Academy. And I don't want you to end up like Rosa did."
Dorothea found herself coughing again. The sight of her in such horrible condition left Byleth almost overwhelmed with guilt.
"…I'm sorry…" said Byleth. "I am so sorry, Dorothea."
"P-Professor…?"
Dorothea looked to see Byleth was now looking down at her hands in shame.
"I was thinking only about my own pain when you came to help me. I was so… selfish, and you got hurt because of me. Because I didn't want to let you in. And I'm so… I'm so sorry…! You shouldn't have had to hurt yourself for me…! I'm responsible for you as your teacher, and yet I…"
Now Byleth was crying, though not nearly as much as when she'd cried for Jeralt. She buried her face in her hands as she began sobbing with shame.
"Professor, it's okay," said Dorothea. "I mean, you've hurt yourself so often for my sake, it was the least I could do for yours. I'm just glad you're back to your old self."
Byleth make a loud sniffle as she wiped away her tears and looked up at Dorothea's smile. The bluette smiled back.
The moment between the two was interrupted as they heard the teapot rattling.
"Oh, the tea's ready," said Byleth as she retrieved the teapot and, after testing its temperature, poured Dorothea a cup of chamomile tea.
Byleth then handed the tea to Dorothea, who warmly smiled as she held it delicately and gave the beverage a small sip.
"It's… a little hot," said Dorothea.
"Take your time with it," said Byleth.
The singer blew on it gently before taking another sip, while Byleth watched with a smile.
…
Anna was crouched behind a set of bushes near the outskirts of the monastery. The figures she was watching were ones she couldn't afford to be caught by. But at the same time, she couldn't allow such an opportunity to pass her by.
The soft crunching of frost behind her caught her attention. She silently whipped around, bringing her hand to her silver dagger.
It was Dimitri. The blonde prince was doing his best to stay silent, but he realized he wasn't nearly quiet enough if Anna caught him.
Anna made a silent "Shh…" gesture as Dimitri slowly moved up beside her. The prince peered through the bushes to see who Anna was spying on.
His eyes went wide at the sight of Monica, Thales, the Flame Emperor, and the Death Knight.
"I must offer my thanks again," Monica said to Thales. "You really saved me back there!"
"If you were to die, then the mystery of our bodies would be revealed," said Thales. "Preventing that was my only aim. I'm afraid you must remain, Kronya. There is something I need you to do."
"Oh, of course. I am always happy to cooperate with Solon. Just leave it to me."
"You offend me with your very presence, worm," the Death Knight said to Monica as he took a threatening step forward.
"Wow, what's up with you? Do I anger you somehow, Mister Death Knight?" Monica's tone was clearly meant to mock the black-armored knight.
"The Blade Breaker's life was mine to claim. I should kill you here and now for denying me the opportunity to face him again in battle."
"Aww, you sound all grumpy." Then, in a tone of absolute venom, Monica said, "Maybe I should kill you too so you can fight him in the afterlife."
The Death Knight looked like he was about to attack when the Flame Emperor raised his hand and said, "Enough!" Then, looking at Monica, he said, "You were never given any order to kill the Blade Breaker, Kronya."
"I am afraid you are mistaken, Entei," said Thales. "I gave that order personally. He would have proven too valuable an asset to the Church if he had been allowed to live."
Anna's eyes widened at hearing this. The Flame Emperor hadn't wanted Jeralt's death?
"Besides," said Monica. "I couldn't resist a chance to make that stupid blue-haired daughter of his cry her eyes out. Just thinking about her always going on and on in that classroom makes me sick."
Dimitri was almost gritting his teeth in rage at this point. He was just about to move to attack when Anna put her hand to his shoulder.
"Not now…" she whispered.
"As usual, you act without my consent, Thales," said the Flame Emperor.
"All for your benefit, Entei," said Thales. "After all, you are our greatest creation. We used the defiled beast's blood as the fuel to your flame, that you may burn even the gods. Now is the time to cleanse Fódlan of that power and bring forth our salvation."
"There will be no salvation for you and your kind. Those responsible for such gruesome deeds in Duscur and Enbarr."
"All so that you may acquire the strength you need. All for a purpose…"
"Your purpose, perhaps. Deceive me like this again and–"
"And you'll what? You think to raise arms against us, Entei? Those who created you? Those who grant you power? We can just as easily take it away from you."
"You cannot inflict any suffering upon me worse than what I have already suffered."
"Oh, that is where you are wrong, Entei. There is always a way to worsen one's suffering. I need not even harm you at all… But those you care for, on the other hand…"
The Flame Emperor was silent.
"Remember your place in our designs, Entei. Adhere to us, and you shall see your dreams realized."
With that, a magical circle appeared under Thales and Monica. A second later, the two vanished into thin air.
The Flame Emperor was still for a moment before the Death Knight said, "Give the order and I will kill them for you."
"We cannot," said the Flame Emperor. "It is too soon."
In the bushes, Dimitri whispered, "I've got you… Finally…"
The Death Knight stopped with a loud "Hmm?" and turned toward the bushes. Dimitri and Anna froze, thinking he had heard them.
"What is it?" said the Flame Emperor as he turned.
As he did, Dimitri's eyes widened as he saw an exquisite dagger strapped to the Flame Emperor's side. Anna noticed it as well, noting that it looked very familiar to one owned by a certain princess.
"Rats in the walls…" the Death Knight rasped.
"We've no time for such things, Death Knight. We leave now."
With that, the Flame Emperor was engulfed by his pillar of fire while black mist formed around the Death Knight, and the two vanished.
Anna let out a loud sigh as she said, "Close one." Then, looking at Dimitri, she said, "Hey, Dimitri? You okay?"
"That dagger…" said Dimitri. Then, shaking his head, Dimitri said, "No. Never mind. It couldn't possibly be so."
Anna said nothing to this, knowing what Dimitri was thinking. The dagger had indeed looked like the same one Edelgard had, but that didn't prove anything. It probably wasn't a one-of-a-kind blade.
But what Anna had heard raised a lot of questions. Why had the mage in black ordered Jeralt's death? Why was the Flame Emperor working with them if he despised them so? What were they threatening him with?
"Miss Anna? Are you alright?" asked Dimitri, snapping the redhead out of her thoughts.
"Huh? Oh, sorry, Dimitri. Was just pondering what we heard. Come on, we should get back to the monastery."
"Should we be telling the Church what we heard?"
"…No, not yet. I… I need time to think on it."
Anna turned away from Dimitri as the prince realized the merchant was trying to hide her sorrow. Dimitri knew she and Jeralt were close, but not to what extent.
"Miss Anna, do you seek revenge for Sir Jeralt's death?" he asked.
Anna stopped and paused before answering, "Yeah. Definitely."
"Then if you ask it of me, I will aid you in your vengeance."
"I may take you up on that offer. Come on, let's go."
With that, Anna and Dimitri made their way back toward Garreg Mach.
I'm sure some of you will think I shouldn't have had Anna be the one who eavesdrops with Dimitri instead of Byleth, but this is going to set something up in a few chapters. Also, I included the Death Knight in the scene to further show the animosity with the Agarthans.
Some of you may say that whole Dorothea past moment as "cheap character development", but it fits. Dorothea needed a good reason to do something stupid for Byleth's sake. Having her with a past trauma fits.
Anyhow, I'll see you all again on Christmas Day. Happy Holidays!