Aspen Leaf
The war had been over for a year. Nevertheless, there was still unrest. Hubert tried to stop these riots. He didn't like the fact that he had to sit around here in Enbarr, while Byleth and Jeritza took care of the so-called those who slither in the dark. Hubert would have loved to have been there to put an end to these those who slither in the dark. They were ultimately responsible for Edelgard's suffering. They had kidnapped her and her ten siblings. Only three of them returned alive... Only one had not lost her mind. Edelgard's younger siblings lived, but they did not behave according to their age.
His task was actually to find the hiding place of those who slither in the dark. This was more difficult than he thought, because his thoughts revolved around a woman he was all too happy to badger and intimidate. He actually intended to lure her out of her shell. Throughout the five years of war, he had learned to respect and like this one woman. And not only as a friend, but as more...
But he would never confess his feelings to her, because she was very shy and would surely faint if he confessed it to her. She also had a father who wanted her to marry only nobles with a crest. And Hubert had none. Although he was the third most powerful person in the united Fodlan (before him came only the Prime Minister Ferdinand and the Empress Edelgard), Bernadetta's father would refuse his proposal.
Hubert shook his head in order to dispel his thoughts. Since the war was over, he had not seen Bernadetta. She had disappeared as quickly as she could and nothing had been heard of her since. Edelgard had written letters to her several times, but they came back unopened. Slowly but surely, he worried about her. Inevitably, his hand wandered under his jacket and touched the special handkerchief with the flower embroidery that Bernadetta had made for him. Whenever he was alone, he pulled out the handkerchief and inspected the embroidery in detail. He still didn't know why she had given it to him. He did not believe her reasoning that this would make him less frightening. There had to be another reason. Would he ever know? That was questionable.
Sighing, he put one foot at a time. He had not even noticed that he had stopped in the middle of the corridor of the palace. But now he went on to his destination, which was the library. Suddenly someone collided with his chest. Instinctively, his hands lay around the person's upper arms as she squeaked. He recognized this tone immediately. He would distinguish it from hundreds, if not thousands. His eyes grew larger as he looked down and recognized Bernadetta. He was both surprised and shocked to see her again.
"You come here right away! I'm not done with you yet, Miss!" an angry voice shouted.
Bernadetta cramped even more, which meant that Hubert didn't waste any time. Even before she could register it, she was pulled behind his cape. Her hands automatically dug into his back and she bit her lower lip in order to prevent any sound coming out of her lips. Inside and out she trembled like aspen leaf, but she forced herself to breathe as calmly as possible. Hubert was with her now. He would protect her from him. At least she hoped so, as her hands dug even more into the cloak.
Hubert seemed to either ignore her reaction or just endure it. He didn't care. Instead, an older man with strict eyes and a bald patch stood in front of him. Hubert recognized him immediately, as he had met him several times. It was Count Varley who stared at him quite furiously.
"Count Varley, what do I own you this meeting?" Hubert asked him with a cold smile.
"Not what might interest you, Count Vestra. I'm just looking for my useless daughter. She ran off from home when she was finally get married." Count Varley said tonelessly.
Inevitably, Hubert's eyes narrowed and he had to pull himself together so that he would not beat up the man in front of him. Nevertheless, he could not prevent his hands from clenching his fists and gruming his teeth.
"And who is the lucky man?" he extruded.
"Emil Constantin Charon." Count Varley replied.
"As far as I remember, Emil is already forty. Wouldn't it be better to marry your daughter to a younger noble?" asked Hubert, as he felt Bernadetta's hands digging even further into his back, which was extremely painful.
"Emil is the best option. He has a small crest and is therefore ideal for Bernadetta, who also has a small crest."
"I'm afraid it won't work." he said.
"And why?" was his question, while a vein on his head came out.
"I propose to Bernadetta shortly before the archbishop was assassinated. She agreed to the proposal." Hubert replied.
That was an extremely clumsy lie from him. But he desperately wanted to help Bernadetta. He knew all too well about the cruelty of Duke Emil Constantin Charon. It was not without reason that he was known. He picked up younger and younger women, who then mysteriously died.
"That's a lie, Count Vestra. She doesn't have a wedding ring." Count Varley said.
"I advised her to keep my proposal secret. Also, my request was a bit hasty, so she didn't receive a wedding ring from me." he continued in his statement.
Bernadetta gasped for air. What did Hubert do? Why did he lie to her father? He didn't have to protect her. Not at all. She wasn't worth it. In addition... He adored Edelgard... He certainly had feelings for the Empress, although she was engaged to Ferdinand. Never in life did Hubert have feelings for her. No, that was completely absurd. Otherwise he would have... otherwise he would have... Tears formed in her eyes, so she had to close them.
"You are lying, Count Vestra!" her father cried. "I have banned Bernadetta-"
"If I remember correctly... Aren't you under house arrest for the things you did to your daughter?" he interrupted him. "You shouldn't be here at all, because you shouldn't leave your house."
"I'm allowed to follow my daughter so that she doesn't get into trouble!"
"I don't think Bernadetta will get into any trouble. She would hide in a room most of the time and rarely get out."
"You are nothing more than a lap dog for the Empress. Your house doesn't even have a crest!"
"And yet I am the third most powerful person in all of Fodlan. You should guard your tongue, Count Varley. Otherwise I could arrest you for insult and execute you." Hubert hissed angrily.
Behind him, he heard a horrified gasp. Before he could even react, Count Varley had grabbed his daughter by the arm and dragged her away from him. Moments later, a slap and whimper rang out. Hubert didn't know what came over him when he saw it. One second he stood there, the next he hit his fist against the nose of Count Varley. He felt exactly that the fist-stroke was stronger than he had intended. Blood poured out of the Count's nose and his eyes were closed in pain. He cursed loudly, while his daughter crouched down more and more.
Hubert didn't think long and pulled Bernadetta into a firm embrace. She dug her face into his chest and wept bitterly. Her whole body trembled under the violent sobs. She tried to thank him, but nothing but broken words came out from her mouth.
"What's going on here?" a furious voice demanded.
A look over his shoulder and he knew that either he or Count Varley was in deep trouble. In the hallway, along with a few guards, stood an angry Edelgard, who turned her gaze to him and then to Bernadeta's father. Meanwhile, Bernadetta had calmed down again, but did not go away from Hubert and, instead, clung to his arm.
"Your Majesty... Count Vestra broke my nose..." Count Varley said.
"I don't think Hubert did it for no reason. You are under house arrest, Count Varley. Since you have disregarded this, I will be forced to let you be arrested. I will think about your punishment later." Edelgard said. "Guard! Arrest Count Varley and take him to the prison!"
"Very well, Your Majesty." a guard confirmed, and went with his comrades to Count Varley.
He said nothing when his wrists were forced on his back. He had closed his eyes and was still visibly shaking because of his broken nose. Blood was still flowing from his nose. Shortly before he was pulled away from the scene, he opened his mouth and said:
"I never want to see you again, Bernadetta. Look at yourself as disinherited. I will make sure that you no longer get in touch with your uncle and mother!"
"Farewell... Count Varley." she replied, toneless, keeping her eyes closed. "I've always hated you."
Count Varley stared at his daughter in disbelief. But before he could retort, he was taken away. Meanwhile, Bernadetta had turned her head away and refused to look at him. When she could no longer hear the guards, the dam broke and she began to cry bitterly again.
Edelgard turned to her friend and just wanted to say something when Hubert pulled Bernadetta again into a firm embrace. He gently put his arms around her as she sobbed continuously. Just in time he had been able to catch her, because through all the excitement she had fallen asleep.
"It's rare for you to lose control like that, Hubert." Edelgard stated.
"It was not my intention, Your Majesty." he replied, but did not look directly into her eyes.
For his eyes rested on Bernadetta. With a swift movement, he had put an arm under her knees and lifted her up. With the other arm, he supported her back.
Bernadetta slowly opened an eye. She didn't know what had happened at first. Had it all been just a bad dream? Was she still in her home? She wanted to believe it. She just wanted it! But her cheek still stung and she felt like she had made a huge mistake.
Her eye closed again when she noticed someone entering the room. Maybe the one wouldn't notice she was awake. Maybe the one would leave her alone. She wanted to be alone. She just wanted to be alone. Nothing in the world would be able to comfort her now. Her father had disinherited her. Her father would prevent her from seeing her mother and uncle. Her father would even probably have her murmered because she had brought shame on her house!
Bernadetta shrugged as a warm hand stroke over her cheek. Again and again. Her father had kidnapped her! If she opened her eyes, she would see her fiancé Emil Constantin Charon. He would do all kind of bad things to her and she would never see the daylight again! He would lock her up for all eternity until she had a child with a crest! After that he would have her killed and no one would miss her! She would never see Hubert again! He probably wouldn't miss her anyway. Why should he? It was useless. She only existed to produce children with crests. Nothing more. Hubert would even be happy if she was married to someone. Then he would have a problem less and...
"Calm down, Bernadetta. It's just me." his voice rang out.
Oh no! She was already hallucinating in her captivity. How could she survive the next few years until her death? She would fall mad, she would hallucinate. No one would care about her. She would be all alone in this mansion!
"Please, leave me alone. Go back to where you come from!" she cried, closing her eyes even tighter.
"Are you telling me to die?" Hubert asked her, before laughing slightly.
This sentence caused her to open her eyes. Only a tiny gap. But when she noticed Hubert, her shyness was blown away and she relaxed. Her warmate sat on her bed and smiled at her slightly. She hallucinated! Hubert wasn't smiling! He would never smile so kindly! She pulled the bed cover over her head with a squeak and closed her eyes again.
"Go away, ghost!" she cried anxiously. "My soul is not delicious! Quite the contrary! It tastes horrible!"
"I'm not a ghost, Bernadetta!" said Hubert, reaching for the bed cover and pulling it away from Bernadetta.
She screamed in horror and quickly crawled to the other end of the bed before crouching down. She held her hands to her ears and dared not breathe any more. She would give him her soul! She would give Hubert her... soul... But Hubert was not a ghost. Ghosts had no body and therefore could not touch objects. Slowly, she lowered her arms again and then looked at him anxiously.
"Hu... bert...?" she asked softly.
"Finally. How long did you want to do this pointless hide-and-seek game?" he sighed, somewhat annoyed.
"I... Um... I'm sorry!" she cried, wanting to crumble under the bed cover again.
"Why do you apologize? Shouldn't you thank me? I could have just left you on the cold marble floor."
"I apologize because I've caused you problems. I mean... You could have just leave me. Or you wouldn't have had to step in! Exactly! You just made it worse! Now I'm disinherited and can't see my mother and uncle!" she screamed, her tears flowing. "My father will have me murdered and no one will miss Bernie!"
"Bernadetta! Stop!" he swayed at her, grabbing her by the shoulders, causing her to squeak. "Your father will not disinherit you! You will see your mother and uncle! Your father will not murder you! And even if you die, I will not forget you!"
"W-Why... Why do you... that?" she sobbed.
"Because I care about you, Bernadetta." Hubert replied.
Bernadetta repeated the words quietly as her eyes rested on her cramped hands. Did he really care about her? No, it couldn't be! He didn't care about her! Hubert lied frequently. He only followed Edelgard and even she was lied to by him. So why should he be honest with her? He just played with her. Yes, he just played with her. He lied. He had lied to her father. He had said they had gotten engaged. But that was not true. That would never be true! He didn't care about her. He saw her only as a thing, nothing more. And that hurt her more than any slap in the face from her father.
"You... lie..." she said.
Hubert rubbed his forehead annoyed. Why didn't she believe him now? Was she so suspicious? During the war, she had become more open. Had she taken a step back? How could he prove to her that he cared for her seriously? Not just as a friend... but as more. Hubert remembered how he had once seen Edelgard and Ferdinand. They had done something he had rarely seen. Perhaps this Bernadetta would convince. There was only one way to find out.
"I'm not lying!" he insisted.
"You're lying, Hubert... You would just make fun of me and then laugh at-"
She couldn't complete the sentence because it was swallowed by Hubert's lips. Bernadetta's eyes widened with horror and she wanted to leave, but he did not allow it. He had put his hand on the back of her head, preventing neither a back nor a forth. Bernadetta's thoughts were racing. Why did he kiss her now? Why did he kiss her in the first place? Did he even want to kiss her? Was he just playing around with her?
Bernadetta wanted to reply the kiss, but couldn't. She was still too shocked by his spontaneous reaction. She simply stayed in her place as if she had solidified into an ice column. Slowly, her world began to turn, as her air became scarce. Hubert seemed to notice this and leaned back so that she could gasp for air. Dislocated, she stared into his eyes as her heart beat wild in its prison of bones and flesh. She should say something, anything. But her mouth was completely dry.
And it wasn't until she noticed this that a thought came to her. Could it be... Could it be that Hubert had feelings for her? After all, you didn't kiss if you didn't have feelings for each other... At least Bernadetta believed that. So, according to her logic, Hubert had feelings for her. She didn't know why, but that didn't count now. Her hand wandered to his cheek as she smiled shyly. Then she bent forward, causing their lips to meet again. Her eyes closed as her arms laid around his neck.
When her lips hit his, Hubert had to pull a lot of the strap. Otherwise, he would have replied the kiss too furiously. And the last thing he wanted was for Bernadetta to retreat back into her shell. As a result, he was reluctant to reply the kiss, letting his hands slide on her shoulders while he also closed his eyes. Much to his disappointment, she immediately withdrew from him. Hubert opened his eyes again and recognized a slight, reddish touch on her cheeks. He smiled and put his hand on her cheek. Bernadetta would never forget the next words he spoke.
"I... love you..." he breathed affectionately.
To Guest (1): Thank you for your review. Unfortunately this is only a one shot meaning that this story will not be continued.
