Merry Christmas, everyone!

More character interactions, but this time it's not Dorothea/Byleth.

Chapter 92 – Unsettling Vows (Guardian Moon)

Following her week of illness, Dorothea found herself in one of the monastery lobbies, helping herself to a small bowl of fruit while sitting next to a warm fireplace. She had been ordered by Manuela and Byleth to take things slowly for now, which meant no training or intensive studying. The senior diva had been worried that the brunette could suffer a relapse if she pushed herself too hard. Though she had wanted to get back to her old routine, Dorothea knew Manuela was right to tell her to take it easy.

As a result, Dorothea was now lazing about in a comfy chair while she enjoyed a fruit bowl and read an old classic tale by the novelist Martin Burnett: The Mask of the Phantasm. It was of a lord who had lost his parents as a child to a street thief. Following his parents' deaths, he vowed to fight against the kind of criminals that had felled his mother and father. As he trained for the day that he would become a warrior of justice, he met a young noblewoman and fell in love with her, and their love threatened to break his vow to his parents. However, the woman's father had made deals with sinister noblemen. Unable to appease the nobles, the father was forced into hiding with his daughter, who could not tell her love why she had to leave him. Heartbroken, the lord renewed his vow and descended into a dark life of fighting for what he believed was justice. But as he was fighting against crime, his love returned, only to break his heart again once he discovered she had murdered the sinister nobles to avenge her father's death.

It was a tragic tale, but an excellent drama. Dorothea had once played a supporting role in an operatic dramatization of the story. Despite its dark turns, it was a story she loved.

As Dorothea was about to help herself to another slice of apple, she saw a familiar face at the entrance to the lobby, and knew she wasn't going to be able to relax.

"L-Lord Arundel…!" Dorothea said in faux surprise.

"You appear to be enjoying yourself, girl," said Arundel as he looked around.

Dorothea watched his eyes as he spoke and knew the regent was checking for anyone else in the area. She frowned at this. She knew this wasn't going to be a civil visit. Then again, it never was with Volkhard.

"If you must know, Lord Arundel," said Dorothea, "I was told to take it easy by my Professors."

"Is that so?" Arundel eyed the book Dorothea was reading and said, "The Mask of the Phantasm? Truly a work of art. Burnett understood the power of the dark in his writing. Tragedy begetting tragedy. The flawed ideology of 'justice'. Magnificent."

Dorothea said nothing to this. Arundel's opinion of the novel was very different from her own.

"But I've not come here to discuss literature with you, girl. I've come to hear what you have learned about our dear Archbishop. I hope you have something of substance for me."

"Err, well, I…"

Dorothea saw the regent's brow furrowing. She knew she was in trouble.

"Nothing, is it? How disappointing, though not unexpected."

"My… my apologies, my lord," Dorothea said nervously. "Rhea's been… difficult to listen in on as of late."

"I am not interested in your excuses, street rat. What I want is results."

"Well, it's not as though I can just listen in on her every hour of every day!" Dorothea snapped, louder than she had intended.

Arundel was quick to grasp her shoulder when Dorothea was about to stand up, forcing her back into her seat.

"Mind your tongue, girl," Arundel said slowly, punctuating each word. Then, as Dorothea settled within her seat, Arundel released her shoulder and said, "Perhaps the task I have given you is too much to expect of some street singer. You truly are as useless as I expected."

Dorothea balked at being called useless, but she could not find the courage to rebuke him. But it was more than that. As Arundel spoke to her, she found herself without a shred of mettle, his eyes seemingly gazing into her very soul and filling her with fear. It was terrifying just being in his presence.

"If you are going to continue being so ineffectual, I see no reason to continuing sponsoring you here, Miss Arnault."

Her eyes went wide open in horror at this. She couldn't afford to be kicked out of the academy now!

"W-Wait, Lord Arundel! Please, just give me another chance!" Dorothea begged. "I swear, I'll find something!"

Arundel appeared unmoved by Dorothea's plea. He turned to the book that Dorothea had set aside and picked it up, flipping to a part in the middle of the novel.

"How well can you recall what happens in the nineteenth chapter of this book?"

In muted fear, Dorothea replied, "I… I can practically recall it by heart, milord."

"Then tell me, what does Lord Valestra say to Count Beaumont before leaving his manor?"

Dorothea stopped for a moment, dreading what she was about to say. But under Arundel's cold stare, she couldn't resist his order.

She took a deep breath and quoted, "H-He said, 'I will have what I desire, or I will have your heart in my hand'."

Arundel then leaned in and looked Dorothea in the eye, his countenance mere inches from her wide green eyes, and whispered, "That is nothing compared to what I will do to you if you fail me again, girl."

Terrified, Dorothea found herself unable to speak. She couldn't move, too afraid of the man before her. She knew his threat was anything but empty.

"I am giving you one more month to learn what I want, girl," Arundel whispered. "Find the entrance to the Holy Tomb."

"I… I… I'll do it…" Dorothea whimpered.

Arundel said nothing to this, releasing his grip on the singer's shoulder and dropping the book into her lap. Then, without another word, Arundel strode away and left the lobby.

As soon as he was gone, Dorothea buried her face in her hands and sobbed.

…

Arundel looked about as he walked through the halls of Garreg Mach, making his way toward the main entrance. No one else appeared to be around.

Hidden within a dark corner, Yuri kept himself concealed from the regent. So far, Arundel hadn't noticed him, and Yuri knew he'd have to keep it that way. The rogue had overheard Arundel's conversation with Dorothea, and though he hadn't been able to make out everything that had been said, he had heard the words "Holy Tomb".

At first, he had thought that Arundel had meant the Holy Mausoleum, but quickly realized it couldn't have been what the regent was referring to. The location of the Holy Mausoleum wasn't a Church secret, after all. He had to mean something else. However, Yuri had never heard of the Holy Tomb before, so it had to be top secret.

The rogue was now pondering whether to speak with Rhea about the subject or not. It was clear that Dorothea was being coerced into doing Arundel's bidding, but she was also trying to give him top secret information. If Yuri came forward with an accusation, Arundel would surely deny it. They had no concrete evidence, and it would be a political fiasco if they were to accuse the Regent of the Empire without proof.

He knew it had to be even worse for Dorothea. She had no wealth to fall back on if Arundel pulled her sponsorship. And if she tried to turn on Arundel, his status and political connections would make any accusation she made toward him a death sentence for her. At first glance, one would assume her only option was to obey Arundel and do his bidding.

But Yuri knew by experience that there were always alternatives, even if they weren't readily visible.

Yuri glanced over to where Arundel had been seconds before. The man was now exiting the main hall and heading to a waiting carriage.

Yuri chose this moment to vanish into the shadows. He knew he had work to do if he was going to pull Dorothea out of the pit she had dug herself into.

…

Byleth hadn't paid a visit to Anna's shop in over two weeks, so she felt it was high time she checked in on the merchant. The students had told her that Anna hadn't taken Jeralt's death well, something that left Byleth worried.

The bell above Anna's front door rang as Byleth pushed her way inside. The shop was still loaded with goods and curiosities, though Byleth noticed that Anna had added locks to some of the display cases, particularly ones with more valuable items in them.

"Anna?" called Byleth. "Are you here?"

"Huh? Oh, hey By…" Anna answered from her storeroom, her tone highly subdued. "Finally decided to come over, did you?"

"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner."

"Don't worry about it. I heard about what happened to Dorothea, so I didn't want to… well, you get the idea."

The merchant emerged from her storeroom, dressed in her normal tunic with a long-sleeved shirt underneath for the cold. Byleth immediately noticed the shadows under Anna's red eyes.

"I see you finally got some locks," Byleth said awkwardly.

"Y-Yeah, I did…" said Anna. "Your dad was always telling me I should get some, but even after what happened with Pallardó, I didn't…"

Anna trailed off at this and turned her gaze away from Byleth.

"Anna, are you alright?"

Anna paused for a second, and then said, "N-No, not really, By. I mean, you can't be that much better, given… given what happened."

Byleth knew where this was going. Her expression turned gloomy as Anna took a deep breath.

"Y-You know, I really took Jeralt for granted," Anna said, her voice wavering. "I always knew he could've died in battle or something, but not… not like that. Not to a knife in the back. I've never told you this, but I met your dad about fifty years ago. It was early in my days as a travelling merchant, and I decided to come to Fódlan. Not even a week after I got off the ship from Tellius, I got myself ambushed by a group of thieves. If Jeralt hadn't shown up then, that'd have been it for me. I stayed in Fódlan for a few years before moving on, but Jeralt found the time to show me some combat tricks. They really came in handy."

Byleth nodded at this, letting Anna continue.

"I came back to Fódlan a few times after that, and Jeralt and I… we became good friends. He was always interested in hearing about the rest of the world. Then, about twenty-three years ago, I came here from Lycia. When I first saw Jeralt that time, he was with your mother. And they looked so happy with one another. I… chose not to make myself a third wheel, if you know what I mean. I saw Jeralt as a friend back then, not… not as…"

Byleth's eyes widened as she inferred what Anna meant.

"Anna, did you…?" Byleth asked.

"Did I like him? Well, yeah, I did, but when… when your mom died, and I learned he had you, I didn't… I didn't want to worsen the wound in his heart. So, I only showed up from time to time as he raised you, hoping he would get better in time. But then, when Aelfric tried to… tried to raise Sitri from the dead, I saw him hurt in the same way he'd been hurt when she died. But this time… this time, I wanted to help him heal. We were such good friends and, well, he'd been single for over twenty years by then, so I… I offered to help him however I could. But he wasn't ready. He told me so. It was too soon. I said I'd wait until he was ready."

Anna's eyes began to water with tears, making it clear just how hurt she was.

"I wish I hadn't! I wish I hadn't said I'd wait! I wish I'd told him how I felt sooner! But now he's… now he's gone! And I'll never get the chance to help heal his wounded heart!"

Anna now burst into tears and buried her face in her hands as she sniffled. Byleth stood up and placed a hand on Anna's shoulder.

"Anna…"

"I should've told him! I should've told him how I really felt!"

"Anna, I…"

For the next several minutes, Anna buried her face in Byleth's shoulder and sobbed while Byleth did her best to comfort her.

When Anna finally stopped, she slowly pushed herself away from Byleth and took a seat behind her main counter.

"Hey, By, you remember what your father asked of me when… when he died, right?"

Byleth nodded sadly. "He asked you to look after me."

"Yeah, and that's a promise I plan to keep. Look, you already know the Knights are searching for Monica. When they find her, you let me take care of her, alright?"

"What? Why?"

"I know you want that… that bitch dead more than anyone. But I'm… I'm worried she might come after you next. If I let anything happen to you, I'd never be able to face Jeralt again."

Byleth found herself slightly offended. "Anna, you know I can take care of myself," she said.

"I know that, By. But please, I don't want anything bad to happen to you. I don't want to lose you like…"

"That won't happen, Anna."

"You don't know that. You never know what the future holds, you know? Besides, it's not just for my sake. If you were to get yourself killed, you'd be leaving all those cadets without your guidance. So please, just let me handle it, alright?"

"No. I won't do that."

"What? By–"

"I won't have you going after her on your own. We'll take down Monica together, alright?"

Anna was silent for a moment, but then smiled and gave Byleth a nod.

The monastery bells began to toll. Byleth looked down at her pocket watch and saw it was getting late. The sky outside was darkening.

"Look, you'd better get back to the Officers' Academy," said Anna. "I've gotta close up for tonight. I'll catch you later, okay?"

Byleth nodded at this, and then turned and left Anna's shop.

As the door closed and Anna watched Byleth walk down the street, the redhead grimaced.

"Jeralt, I swear… I won't let anything happen to her. I'll do whatever it takes to keep her safe. I promise."

The plot thickens.

Just to reiterate, Dorothea does NOT know that Arundel is an Agarthan. She's never even heard of the Agarthans. Arundel's just playing her like a fiddle. Do note, however, that while it seems obvious what Arundel wants out of Dorothea, there's a secret to it that I'm hoping will catch you off guard.

Also, see if you can spot the references I had in Dorothea's section. Hint: It's to a 90's cartoon movie.

I'm having trouble thinking of how to drag out the Guardian Moon, so I'm open to ideas on some slice-of-life with the students helping Byleth cope. Or would you prefer that I just get to the chapter battle sooner rather than later?