Happy New Year! Welcome to 2021.
Time for the lead-up to the chapter battle. This one should be quite different from what happens in-game.
Chapter 94 – Rash Action (Guardian Moon)
Dorothea inched as silently as she could toward the audience chamber, doing her utmost to avoid being detected. She knew Rhea was there, but she had to make sure the Archbishop didn't become aware of her presence. If she was going to find out anything about the Holy Tomb, she had to redouble her efforts listening in on Rhea. If she didn't find out about the Holy Tomb soon, she feared what Arundel would do to her.
Dorothea had briefly considered asking Rhea point blank about the Holy Tomb, or perhaps even to confessing to being Arundel's spy. But then she thought back to the priest from the Western Church that Rhea had executed months ago. The way the Archbishop had coldly run him through his throat unnerved the brunette. Dorothea was afraid that if she came clean with Rhea, she could end up the same way. Rhea hadn't offered those men from the Western Church an opportunity to explain themselves, after all. Who was to say Rhea would extend her that courtesy?
As she neared the doors to the audience chamber, Dorothea heard Seteth say to Rhea, "One of our airborne patrols spotted several figures in black in the Sealed Forest. They bore the same garbs as the ones responsible for the calamity in Remire."
"Solon's ilk, no doubt," Rhea said grimly. "Were they able to confirm it was them?"
"Unfortunately, the enemy ambushed our scouts. Two of the three members of the patrol were shot down by hidden archers. The third escaped and is in critical condition, but she refused medical attention until she was able to report her findings."
"I see…" Rhea shut her eyes as she said, "Seteth, send word immediately to Catherine and Gilbert. Have them return to the monastery at once."
"I have messengers already standing by. If I may, should we inform Professor Eisner of the situation?"
Rhea paused for a moment, and then said, "No. Not yet. Once the others have returned, I will tell her personally."
"I understand."
Dorothea shrunk back into her hiding space near the entrance to the audience chamber as Seteth strode past. The singer struggled not to sigh in relief, wary that she could be overheard.
But then, her face filled with dismay as she heard Rhea say, "Is there something you wish to say to me? It will do you no good to hide from me."
Dorothea froze, thinking Rhea had caught her.
But before she could even react, she heard another voice say, "And here I thought I was being sneaky."
Dorothea peered back into the audience chamber as Anna emerged from her hiding spot behind a pillar. She was clearly displeased with what she had heard Rhea say.
"Any particular reason you're planning to keep this from By?" Anna asked crossly.
"Miss Anna, Professor Eisner still deeply mourns the loss of her father," said Rhea. "If she were to learn of the enemy's whereabouts, she would no doubt rush headlong at them to seek revenge for Jeralt's death."
"Yeah, so? Anybody would do that. She has every right to want to get even with them. And here you are, planning to deny her closure. Tch, shows how much you really care."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Rhea, By needs this. You have no right to deny her justice. Jeralt was the only family she had, and you think she doesn't deserve to avenge him with her own hands?"
"I do not wish for her to act carelessly, Anna. Please, leave the matter to us. Once the Knights have returned, they will–"
"If you just wait for Catherine and the others to come back, Solon and his lackeys will be long gone, or they'll finish whatever scheme they're cooking up! There isn't time for you to make sure things are all hunky-dory. We have to go after them now!"
"No. We cannot afford to send forth troops now with the few we have left defending the monastery."
"You don't need to worry about troops, Rhea. I've spoken to a lot of the merchants in town. They'd be more than willing to pitch in. They want justice for Jeralt's death too. Just say the word and I'll have them ready to fight."
"No. I'll not have civilians fighting a battle meant for the Knights of Seiros. Our enemy is far too dangerous to face with a mere militia." Taking a loud sigh, Rhea then said, "Do not speak further of this, Annabelle. Please, wait until Catherine and the others have returned."
Anna opened her mouth to speak, but simply let out an infuriated huff as she turned away from Rhea. Then, after a moment of silence, Anna said, "You know, I wonder how much you really cared about Jeralt, Rhea."
"What?" Rhea asked in an offended tone.
"If you really cared about Jeralt, you'd be sending every soldier you had out to avenge his death. Instead, you're just sitting around waiting while Solon and his flunkies are doing gods-know-what in that forest. And when he came back to the monastery for the first time in twenty years, what did you do? You forced him back into the Knights of Seiros like he was just one more soldier to put under your thumb." Whirling around, Anna then said spitefully, "And if you really cared about him, you wouldn't have kept the truth about Sitri from him!"
"Annabelle, I have been patient with you–"
"You kept from him how she gave her heart to save their child!"
Rhea gasped at this, and then said angrily, "How do you know about this?!"
"It was in Jeralt's diary. I took it before you could have Alois clean out his effects. He got so suspicious of you that he faked his child's death in that fire. I'd be suspicious too if you told him 'nothing's wrong' when his child wasn't crying, laughing, or having a heartbeat!"
"Enough!" Rhea shouted. This finally got Anna to stop her rant. Rhea then said in a tone of tranquil fury, "You pry into matters beyond your ken, Annabelle Sharene Ernest. Whatever you read within Jeralt's diary is none of your concern. I will not hear another word from you now. You are not to inform Professor Eisner of the enemy's whereabouts. You will wait until the Knights of Seiros have returned before I allow you to take any action against the enemy. Is that clear?"
"Crystal…" Anna said begrudgingly, but it was clear she was not agreeing to Rhea's terms.
Anna then stormed out of the audience chamber as Dorothea hid herself. Rhea, meanwhile, moved to the back of the audience chamber as she held a hand to her forehead.
Upon entering the hallway outside the audience chamber, Anna paused and muttered to herself, "If you're not gonna help By, Rhea, I'll have to take matters into my own hands."
Dorothea's eyes widened as Anna stormed down a nearby stairwell and out of sight. She hoped the merchant wasn't going to do something foolish.
Dorothea then peered back into the audience chamber at Rhea. The singer couldn't believe Rhea was going to keep Byleth from learning where Solon's cronies were. For all they knew, Monica could be among them, but Rhea was letting their chance to attack slip through her fingers. She was also surprised to learn that Rhea knew Anna's full name. How much else did she know about the merchant's background?
The singer then backed away from the audience chamber and left the area as she came to a decision.
…
Byleth was in the training grounds when Dorothea found her. The bluette was lashing the Sword of the Creator at several practice dummies, swinging the whip blade from one target to the next. The damage dealt to the dummies indicated she had been at it for a while. Several other dummies lay on the ground in pieces.
As Byleth sliced one dummy in half vertically, Sothis then said, "Most impressive, but it seems you now have an onlooker."
Byleth turned around to see Dorothea watching her.
"Dorothea? What is it?" asked Byleth.
"Professor Byleth, I've… I've got something I need to tell you," said Dorothea. Byleth sheathed her blade as Dorothea said, "It's about Solon and his lackeys. The Church spotted them in the Sealed Forest. It's not too far from here."
Surprised, Byleth said, "They have?"
"Yes. Rhea's called back the Knights, but it'll take them a while to get here. But… Rhea didn't want to tell you any of this."
"What? Why?"
"She's worried that you'd go charging after them after… after what happened to Jeralt."
"How do you know about this?"
Alarmed, Dorothea said, "W-Well, I was… I was…" Dorothea then sighed as she said, "I was listening in on her again. But I wasn't the only one. Anna had it out with Rhea and I'm… I'm worried Anna might do something rash. Rhea told Anna to keep this from you too." Taking a deep breath, Dorothea said, "But I can't agree to that. It's just wrong. You deserve the chance to avenge your father."
"Thank you, Dorothea," Byleth said with a smile. Then, after watching Dorothea smile back, Byleth said, "Let's go get the others. I'm sure they'll want in on this."
"No. I will not allow it," said a voice that made the two turn.
Rhea strode toward them with Seteth in tow.
"R-Rhea!" Dorothea stammered.
"I suspected you were listening to my discussion with Anna, Miss Arnault," Rhea said crossly. "I have been patient so far with your curiosity, but my patience has limits."
Seteth then said, "This discovery comes just when the knights are at their busiest. It is all too likely that our foes revealed themselves to lure you out there. They are the ones who took Jeralt from you… I know how you must despise them, but I must ask you to rein in your personal feelings for now."
"No," said Byleth.
"Professor Eisner–"
"No. You can't stop me."
Byleth was about to storm away when Rhea said, "Please, Professor. Do not act carelessly. I ask that you leave this to us. Losing you so soon after losing Jeralt would be unbearable."
"Rhea, you can't ask that of us," said Dorothea. "You don't know what it's like to lose a parent like that."
"Oh, but I do, Dorothea," Rhea interrupted, much to the diva's surprise. "My mother… I lost her in quite the same way as you lost Jeralt, Professor. She was… she was butchered by the same kind of cruelty that claimed Jeralt's life."
Dorothea blanched at this, realizing she had just made a huge mistake. Even if she couldn't have known such a detail of Rhea's history, she had no doubt opened an old wound for the Archbishop.
"I understand the pain you are going through, Professor Eisner. That is why I must order you to remain here and allow Catherine and the Knights to deal with the enemy. I cannot allow you to put yourself or what is left of the cadets at risk for the purpose of vengeance."
"But Lady Rhea, we have to go!" Dorothea protested. "What if the enemy's up to something in the Sealed Forest? If we wait to attack, it might be too late to stop whatever they're planning. You've seen what these people are capable of unleashing, and maybe you even know more than we do about what we're up against. Please, let us stop them."
Rhea paused for a moment, and then said, "No."
"No? Lady Rhea–"
"That is enough, Miss Arnault. I know you mean well, but you are allowing your emotions to cloud your judgment. I cannot allow you to face the enemy so irrationally."
"Lady Rhea! Lady Rhea!" shouted a boy's voice.
The four of them turned to see Cyril rushing toward them. He reached them out of breath, putting his hands on his knees as he gasped for air.
"Cyril, what is it?" asked Rhea.
Catching his breath, Cyril said, "T-The town guard says there's trouble. That redhead, Miss Anna, she was seen gathering a big mob on the east side of town. They all had weapons and were headed toward the Sealed Forest. The guards also said some of the cadets were with them. They tried to stop them, but…"
Alarmed, Seteth hissed, "Annabelle, you fool!"
Rhea was about to say something to Cyril when Byleth stormed past. "Professor, where are you going?" Rhea demanded.
"To get the others," Byleth said in determination.
"I gave you a direct order not to–"
"To hell with that, Rhea!" Byleth snapped. "Anna's doing this because she wants to protect me, but I can't let her endanger others to do that! Come on, Dorothea!"
"R-Right with you!" Dorothea said in surprise before running after Byleth.
"Wait!" said Rhea, but it was no use. Byleth and Dorothea left the training grounds.
As Seteth and Cyril were left at a loss for what to do, Rhea brought her hands together in prayer.
"Sothis, protect them."
…
Anna was impressed that so many had volunteered to join her in pursuing Jeralt's killers. A crowd of nearly 200 people from the monastery town had put down their tools and closed their shops to take up arms. Some had also brought out some horses and even a few Pegasi.
Among them were also some of the cadets, including Dimitri, Leonie, Marianne, Dedue, Ashe, Caspar, Hapi and Ingrid. Anna had tried dissuading the students from joining in, but they wouldn't be deterred, especially Leonie. The Sauin girl was now mounted on horseback with her bow ready.
The militia made its way through the trees as they approached the Sealed Forest. The area was often a den for Dire Wolves or other creatures, so most steered clear of it. But as the militia entered the Sealed Forest, a few noted the lack of animals in the area.
"Anybody see anything?" asked one of the militiamen.
"Who are we even looking for?" asked another one.
"Our foe wears garbs and armor as black as night," said Ingrid.
"One of them's also a Necromancer," said Hapi. "Keep an eye out for any walking corpses."
"A N-Necromancer?!" said a woman from the crowd. "No one mentioned anything about the undead!"
"W-What if one of them bites me?" said another militiaman. "I don't wanna turn into one!"
"That won't happen," said Ashe. "That's just superstition. Right, Miss Anna?"
"That's right," said Anna. "Take it from me, it doesn't work like that."
"Keep your voices down," said Dedue. "The enemy may be waiting for us."
As the others addressed the militia, Anna turned to Dimitri and said, "Thanks for coming, Dimitri. Guess I took you up on your offer sooner than expected."
"It is no trouble at all, Miss Anna," said Dimitri. "I told you I would do everything in my power to help avenge Sir Jeralt."
Just then, one of the militiawomen, a waitress from a local restaurant, stepped forward and squinted as she looked up at the trees.
"Hey, do you see something up–"
The woman didn't finish her sentence before an arrow streaked out of the treetops and struck her right in the center of her forehead.
Before the militia could even realize they were under attack, several more arrows rained down from above. Caught by surprise and without sufficient armor, twenty of the townsfolk were struck down in the first volley.
"AMBUSH!" Dimitri shouted as black-garbed warriors emerged from hiding and attacked.
Oh noes, another cliffhanger!
I hope I did Anna's confrontation with Rhea right. It's hard to get a good confrontation with Rhea without her getting so angry that she goes all dragon on someone. However, did I have Rhea reveal too much when she said she knew what it's like to lose a parent to a murderer? I phrased it in a way that Rhea doesn't give away important details, but still, it's a touchy subject.
Having Dorothea be the one to try to appeal to Rhea allowed me the opportunity to have Rhea reject the idea of deploying against the enemy in the Sealed Forest. It fits that Dorothea wouldn't be as convincing as Edelgard, Dimitri or Claude could be, given she's more to thinking with her heart rather than her head. Not to mention Rhea's ticked that Dorothea was eavesdropping on her again.
By the way, as much as I enjoy critiques, if you're just going to be all "You're going for cheap drama" and the like, I'm not very appreciative of bashing. I understand if my writing has some flaws to it, but nobody's perfect. Bashing reviews kinda kill writing motivation, you know.