There it was. The sounds of a wyvern landing. Edelgard just about sprinted out of her study, knocking over a pile of books before sprinting past three servants who nearly had a heart attack as she came towards them so abruptly. She passed none other than Ferdinand who was just about to lean in for a kiss with his newly engaged wife to be, Bernadetta, before Bernie squeaked out her surprise at the flash of red that blew her bangs around. Of course, seeing Edelgard running like mad for no apparent reason, Ferdinand had to say something.
"You are running quite swiftly! I can run faster, you know?!" He got nothing in reply but a sad pat on the back from Bernadetta who always sympathetically says,
"One day you'll best her, honey." And Ferdinand always dejectedly nods his head.
BOOSH! Edelgard swings the doors to the palace's foyer open with so much accidental force that the they nearly flew off of their hinges and scared about two years of life off of the servant dangerously balancing on a ladder up thirty feet as he dusts off one of the four chandeliers. Poor man almost tipped over and broke an arm, to which Edelgard very sporadically waved to him in apology.
"I will pay you double for your efforts today!" she shouted up at him. He just whined in response and got back to work with a quivering lip. It slipped out of her mind scarily quickly as she pulled herself together, fixing her crown (acting like she totally didn't just run a marathon through the palace) before stepping through the front gates and into the blinding sunlight. She was just in time to see Byleth waving Claude off as he yelled his goodbyes to her. And Edelgard is somewhat obligated to be pleased that the two were smiling at each other and no doubt making ridiculous jokes (that poor Edelgard never thought were funny) until Claude was too far up to be heard. With a nervous jitter rattling her bones, the emperor hugs herself, trying to appear as cool headed as possible in front of some of the staff at her side. Though, the second Byleth turns around and they lock eyes, the two break out into ridiculously cheesy smiles before run-walking towards each other until their bodies clash.
"Byleth!" Edelgard cries first, wrapping her arms around Byleth shoulders and squeezing almost too hard. Byleth isn't complaining though. No she's lifting Edelgard slightly off of her feet and spinning her once before setting her back down. Four little kisses grace the side of the emperor's face that she's surprised don't embarrass her, seeing as there are about ten people surrounding them right now. "I missed you, my light. Quite painfully."
"I missed you too, sweetie." Edelgard frowns at the pet name.
"Who?"
"You. I meant to say 'beautiful.'" Edelgard sticks out her tongue, and Byleth boldly nips at it.
"Byleth!"
"Gorgeous?" Edelgard narrows her eyes. "Honey."
"None of the above, Professor." Byleth chuckles. "My teacher, pardon."
"I see you're already in the mood to play that game huh?" Edelgard does indeed go red at that, though she doesn't argue, and Byleth's smirk just gets more smug. "Hmm."
"Not here," Edelgard groans, all the while pulling Byleth in for another hug that never really ended. Byleth gladly leans back in, pressing her hand against the back of Edelgard's head so as to feel that button nose against her neck again at last. "Only three days and I've felt like you've been gone for ages. I order you to never leave my side again."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Byleth confidently answers back, hardly even kidding. "I felt like I was going to die if I had to spend another night without you next to me." Byleth watches as the people around them disperse, and soon it's just the gatekeeper and the two of them, so the empress feels good enough to lean in close to Edelgard's ear to speak. "You know what kept me company at night though." Edelgard peaks up at her with a warning in her eye. "It's nothing like that El," she chuckles. "I was just gonna ask if you remembered something."
"Which is?" Byleth grins at the way Edelgard goes right back to tucking her face into Byleth's neck again. She closes her eyes when Edelgard's warm breath comes and goes across her skin.
"Remember when you used to not sleep so well at night earlier this year? And I found you leaving the room a lot?" Edelgard nods. "Well remember how we came to the agreement that as long as I held your hand as I slept, you weren't allowed to leave the room?" For some awful reason Edelgard's eyes water at that so she keeps them shut tight.
"You somehow slept like a rock and still kept hold of my hand," Edelgard recollects wistfully. "I spent many nights tossing and turning at the beginning."
"Yeah you didn't want to break the promise to me."
"Until I finally took that time just to watch as you slept. You always look so at peace when you sleep. It's like a completely different side of you, my light. One I love just as much as every other part of you." Byleth sniffs and smiles longingly down at Edelgard. Her entire body wants to just sink into Edelgard so she can hopefully then express to her wife just how much she means to Byleth. Sometimes Byleth wonders if there's some sort of spell out there that can make her into someone who's far more fluent in English than she is, just so she can properly express all of the things she wants to say but never can. Maybe for Valentine's Day. Nah. That's too far away. Maybe tomorrow, she thinks with a laugh. "Your laugh brings a smile to my face, Byleth."
"So does yours, El. Now let's get inside. I want to kiss you."
"Kiss me here," Edelgard dares. Byleth raises a brow as her wife leans back and licks her bottom lip just to distract the empress. Byleth groans and Edelgard smirks at her. Too bad the second Byleth leans in for a kiss, Edelgard turns her head away. "That was a great kiss," Edelgard jokes, loosening her hold on Byleth now. The frown that mares the empress's face has Edelgard holding back laughter. "You look like Marianne on a bad day."
"And you look like Raphael after he makes a stupid joke." Edelgard hums in response before putting a hand under her chin.
"Are you also implying that I'm overweight?"
"No but you probably will be once I get you pregnant." Edelgard blinks hard and then stares at Byleth's incredibly serious face.
"I know you grew up quite sheltered but you should know that women can't-" Byleth finally breaks her mask of indifference and chuckles into her fist. Of course it makes Edelgard crack her own smile until Byleth puts an arm around her and guides the emperor up to the palace again.
"I wasn't entirely joking," Byleth confesses, waving to the servants who are smiling in response to her presence gracing them again. "Your Majesty!" "Empress Byleth!" "I've missed you in the gardens!" "Catch me another big fish, My Lady!" Roughly does Edelgard nudge her distracted wife. "Ouch, El."
"Explain yourself," Edelgard orders. The two hurry up the steps and settle on going into Edelgard's rather messy study. The second Byleth sees all of the papers on the ground, she hurries to gather them up. "Byleth you don't have to clean my mess. Just please tell me what you mean. And what happened while you were gone." Right, they had more important things to talk about besides just flirting (even though Byleth really likes that later part. So does Edelgard). Byleth continues to pick up the papers, so Edelgard bends down to help as Byleth starts talking.
"We went to see Petra to get the herbs necessary for recovery and all that. She's well by the way. Dorothea misses you. I think they'll want to see you when you're better. And then Hanneman and Lindhart and hopefully Manuela and her other healers will be the ones doing your procedure."
"...Wait. All of those people are going to be seeing my body?" Edelgard, shaky and suddenly self conscious, accidentally drops her small stack of papers she's collected all over again. She sighs aggravatedly before her hand is stopped by Byleth's.
"Not all of them. Just Lindhart, Hanneman, and Manuella. And me. I'm not going to leave your side," Byleth tells her, looking into her wife's eyes. Edelgard tries to bite down the churning in her stomach and the shameful heat on her neck at the thought of anyone besides Byleth seeing her body, let alone that many people. With lips pursed, her chest starts to tighten up, and then it just gets out of control. Her breath hitches as her heart twists about beneath her breast, and she clutches at it before her vision starts fading and her left arm is screaming at her in pain-She can't see-
-She wakes up in her bed.
"Byleth?!" Arms wrap around her from behind and her skin jumps in surprise before she exhales. "Byleth."
"Yeah it's me," Byleth says, sounding… different. Edelgard tries to turn her head but she gets dizzy twisting her neck like that. She looks down at her body, she's wearing the same fitted dress she was earlier, but she can tell her whole body is damp with sweat. Cold sweat. Her chest starts spasming again and she chokes back a yelp. Byleth quickly pulls Edelgard in closer, sitting them both slightly more upright against the headboard. Thankfully the pain subsides quickly, but her body feels fatigued somehow. "You had a minor heart attack." Edelgard's eyes blow open. Only when Byleth sniffs does Edelgard realize she must've been crying. The empress gently squeezes Edelgard's stomach with her hug and rests her forehead against the back of Edelgard's head, made easier by the lack of headdress. "You didn't wake up right away. You… I- Ferdinand heard me trying to wake you up and Bernie did CPR." Byleth lets out the most broken sigh Edelgard's ever heard, and Edelgard is getting more and more angry that her useless body won't just let her turn and hug her wife who's-Edelgard tries to turn anyway. She can only flip her body on it's side before whimpering in pain. Her chest feels like it's on fire. And maybe it is; maybe the Crest of Flames is burning her from the inside out. I deserve it, she thinks to herself. "Please, don't move El! You-You almost died! Right in front of me! Just like that-I-Fuck."
"Your Majesty!" Ferdinand shouted, referring to Byleth who was shaking from head to toe as she held Edelgard's unconscious body in her arms. Byleth just remembers thinking that Edelgard looked pale. Really pale. Nearly as white as her hair. And she was cold. Edelgard always runs hot. "Your Majesty, you must set her down! Bernadetta?! Help!" Bernadetta ran in, hopping as she skirted around the papers covering the floor yet again.
"Professor! I can do CPR! Lay her down." Byleth didn't let her wife go. She couldn't. It was like she was frozen. Did I just kill her? Byleth wondered. The first two minutes of Edelgard being unconscious, Byleth couldn't even move. Never in her life had she been frozen in place. But she looked at Edelgard who was face first on the ground, drooling somehow as her eyes glazed over. It was… it was horrible. And then Byleth started screaming. Screaming as though she was about to be murdered. It took both Bernadetta, Ferdinand, and a servant who was nearby, to tear Edelgard away from Byleth for Bernie to even do the CPR.
"She doesn't have that much time!" Ferdinand shouted at Byleth. Her eyes felt like they sandpaper against her lids when she did blink once she realized Ferdinand was right up in her face. "Let go of her." Finally Byleth let go and the servant set Edelgard down, and Bernadetta straddled Edelgard's thighs as she started to rapidly press her palms against Edelgard's chest. The way Edelgard's body jerked, and the horrible pop of a rib made Byleth go green in the face. Byleth had killed people. She sliced someone down the center and watched their insides fall apart, yet seeing Edelgard, down on her back, completely just… helpless, made her sicker than any killing.
A crowd of terrified people formed outside the door, and Byleth felt her whole body closing in on itself. They can't see Edelgard like this. She-They can't see her like this. Just as she stood up, hardly able to do so as Ferdinand watched worriedly, Caspar's loud voice rang through the halls.
"Get out the way! Everybody move. Please!" The second his heavy metallic footsteps neared the door, Byleth dropped back down to her knees with relief. "What can I do?!" He must have heard the racket from his office far down the hall. He was the head of military affairs after all.
"Please just stay back," Byleth rasped, touching her throat as if to see if those words even came from her mouth. Caspar bit his lip in worry as he shook his head.
"Blow air into her mouth," Bernadetta said to her fiance. That's when Byleth jumped into action.
"Stop! No. I'll do it. Tell me when." Bernadetta nodded and licked her lips in fear as she started barking skittish orders. Edelgard's lips felt so wrong in this context. She felt cold again. It didn't make sense. She wasn't dead. Right? She's fine, right?! Byleth's heart started beating even faster than it already was. Byleth was growing lightheaded, trying to blow as much air into Edelgard's mouth while keeping Edelgard's nose pinched. Just twenty minutes ago I was thinking how cute this nose is. She blew again. Now I'm thinking she might die. Blow. And I'll never be able to look at this nose again. She blew again. Don't die. Please. If you die I'm gonna die too. Then Edelgard's eyes blinked.
"She-Edelgard?!" Ferdinand called, shaking her shoulder. "Please tell me you saw that, Caspar!"
"Y-yeah! She blinked." Then she did it again. Bernadetta bursted into hot tears, slowing down her hands. Byleth blew into Edelgard's mouth a few more times before those eyes shot open and her whole body jumped into a seated position. "Edelgard?!" She didn't answer. And then she passed out again. "The hell!"
"S-Sh-She's exhausted!" Bernie explained, hugging herself as she awkwardly fell off of Edelgard's lap. What a sight this was, the four of them on the floor while Caspar rattled in his armor by the door.
"Yes," Ferdinand agreed, sounding more than relieved as he brushes a hand over his face. "Take her to your room. We will bring her water and food or-or something." Byleth acted immediately, kissing Edelgard's head as she lifted her with ease.
"Please stop crying," Edelgard begged, trying her best to fight through the stiffness of her body as her head bobbed with the sporadic nature of Byleth's heaving chest. She dug her fingers into Byleth's arm because that's all she could get from this angle. "I'm… I'm ok. You all saved me." Byleth was wetting Edelgard's hair with her tears and her snot as she tried to calm herself down but she just couldn't get that image of Edelgard, completely limp, out of her mind.
"I froze. I f-froze when you needed me."
"You're… only human… Byleth." Edelgard was already feeling short of breath again. How did it get this bad in just three days? I'm… I'm dying, aren't I? A hot wave of panic had her body drenched in sweat. I don't want to die. "Byleth… Byleth?"
"SNIFF!"
"I'm not going to die." The crying behind her stopped for a second. "Tell me I'm...not… going to die, Byleth." Edelgard's fingers dug into Byleth even harder.
"Y-You're not going to die, El." Byleth's breath finally began to even out, and she let out a loud huff as she forced herself back down to Earth. Adjusting her body, she slipped out from behind Edelgard who felt like she was getting hotter and hotter, and laid Edelgard back against the pillow. The horribly ragged appearance of her wife made her heart twitch. She looked down at her hand, and so much sweat was covering it. "El? Stay awake for me. Ok?"
"I'm… awake." She sounded so faint. So unlike herself. "I feel… so hot." Byleth made quick work of ridding Edelgard of her stockings and boots before carefully putting a hand under Edelgard's back to lift her up. Their faces were close, and their eyes were both heavy for different reasons as she unzipped Edelgard's dress.
"Can you hold onto me?" Edelgard weakly nodded and held onto Byleth's arms as they flexed under her palms. She was trying to undo Edelgard's bodice blind. Difficult but doable. The hardest part of this whole thing was trying to get the dress actually off of Edelgard who was too stiff to do much more than move her arms. When Edelgard was finally naked, her skin cooled off, but then something else creeped in.
"N-NO! B-Byleth! They're going to see my s-scars a..and… I… I c-ca-can't-"
"They won't be looking at your skin Edelgard." She shushes her wife the best she can before Edelgard frantically starts squirming. Byleth has to regretfully back up when Edelgard's hands light up in flames that burn through the bedsheets. Byleth doesn't have such a crest anymore. If Edelgard so much as accidentally kicked her right now, Byleth would have more than one broken bone. So she just has to stand away from the bed, trying her best to calm her wife down. "El. It's just me," she says over the top of the emperor's manic mumbling. Byleth's sure Edelgard is having some sort of flashback right now, and she's sure she knows which type. "El! El it's me, ok? I'm right here. Just like always. Take a breath. Stop using your crest. Let me hold you. You want me to hold you, don't you?" Slowly does Edelgard calm down, and then the fire at her palms dissipates. Byleth stays aways for another minute before getting into the bed, pulling the canopy around the bed closed so Edelgard will feel less vulnerable in the open room.
"Hug me," Edelgard urges. Byleth kicks her boots off and gets on her back before pulling Edelgard into her chest and running her hands up and down her wife's arms. "I'm sorry."
"No. It's ok. Just breathe for me. You're ok, El." Edelgard's breathing starts to fall into a more natural pace as the minutes drag on, and all the while, Byleth whispers things into her white hair. "I love you El. I'm right here for you. You're doing great, my heart. I love you so so much."
"When is it happening?"
"Tomorrow. Lysithea and Claude will be here late tonight. You're not going to see her until after the surgery. Or anyone really. All of our teammates will be here. Supporting you." The sentiment warms Edelgard's withering heart, and she's so thankful that Byleth is doing the hugging for her because she's too tired even though she's yearning for this like nothing else. "Hubert's going to be here. It's been a while since you saw him. He's still… grumpy. Though he got kinda… younger looking. Maybe you were stressing him out," Byleth jokes.
"Gee thank you," Edelgard mubles. "Blame me for the early grave he was driving himself into."
"I'd happily walk into my grave if you asked me to."
"Don't say that."
"You're right," Byleth responds quietly. She watches as her own fingers dance over Edelgard's naked back, avoiding the scars she knows by heart now.
"I'm going to go to sleep, Byleth." Her eyes start drifting closed already.
"Wait, El? You're… going to wake up, right?" Edelgard forces herself to get up on her forearms, and she looks Byleth dead in the eye as she says,
"I have to wake up. For the both of us." Byleth nods, and Edelgard drops back down, shutting her eyes again. "I love you too." Then she was out.
Ex Ordelian Territory:
"And here we are, Ghost Byleth." The wyvern makes a cry of strain as it lowers down onto the grassy outskirts of town. The wind was horrendous and Claude's poor nose it about as red as a burning coal. No matter, because Ghost Byleth is right behind him, cheering him on. He looks over his shoulder, pretending Byleth is grinning at his nervous jittering. "Gah shut up! This is a big deal! If she doesn't agree to coming with me to the palace she is just-No. No if she doesn't agree I'll just have to bring the doctors here." Satisfied, he finally steps off the wyvern and hooks his bow to his back, just in case any imperial guards try to mess with him now that Byleth's gone. After all, Claude's not looked on so kindly in Fodlan anymore, seeing as he ran away to Almyra after the fight in the Alliance. He sighs thinking about it. No time to be moping. Time to get the girl, big guy.
Knock. Knock.
A minute goes by, and he finally hears chatting on the other side of the small black door in front of him. What in the-Dad! Dad can you please go away for a mi-No he's not my boyfriend! Claude starts smiling, big and goofy as he hears Lysithea's voice again after so long. Any of the anxiety in his body just bleeds out now. I'm supposed to be here for her. I know I am. Of course now it's time to pull out all the stops. He drops down on one knee and reaches for the velvet box in his pocket. The door swings open.
"Claude what-"
"-I'm only going to ask this-well as many times as it takes." POP! "Marry me, Lysithea. I love you with all of my being. And I've found a way to get those crests out of you, my love." Lysithea, for once in her life, is stunned and utterly speechless as her mind grasps at straws. He's lying, she concludes, staring down at him and the beautiful pink diamond ring in his gloved hands. Surgery has such a low chance of survival. There's no way. Lysithea bites the back of her lip, trying to slow down her heart that's always beating too quickly for her own good. Claude's worrying face just adds fuel to her fire though, and she can feel a tounge lashing coming on.
"It's not fair Claude. I-I can't marry you! I already told you this." Claude dejectedly puts the ring back in his breast pocket as he stands. "Just give up already. Please. It's for your own good."
"Never." Her head bobs up towards him. "I'm never giving up. I've already left Almyra behind me. I'll even live here, in the Empire, at your side, if you want us to take care of your pops and your mom. Hey guys!" He waves at the two who are supposed to not be listening in. He smiles at them when Lysithea starts barking,
"Gah! Get out of here you-Ghhhh. Claude you say such crazy things that I can't even begin to understand." Claude's eyes soften up, and he boldly takes her hands in his and brings them up to his lips so he can kiss her fingers.
"Marry me. After you get the surgery. After you recover with me at your side at every step. Marry me, Lysithea." The young woman blinks away the stupid tears littering her lids as she watches his lips delicately kiss her hands, up to her thin wrists. He's always so gentle with her. Even back then, when he joked with her,, it was different. It's… it feels special; even when she doesn't ask for it. Come on, Claude says to himself. Please let this be it. Please. I love you so much.
"Alright Claude," Lysithea breathes. "I… I will."
"YES!"
"Our daughter will be wed!" Count Ordelia shouts. Lysithea whips around and throws a glove sitting at the table beside the door at her father, hitting him square in the face. Claude just laughs it up, fist pumping the air at the best victory he's ever had before he scoops her up in his arms.
"Hey hey hey! I don't want to be carried!" Lysithea yelps.
"Thank you. Thank you so much for giving me this chance," Claude whispers to her, kissing her blushing cheeks. And thanks Byleth. Thanks for helping me pick out that ring. He grins thinking about the struggle that was ring shopping for someone like Lysithea. "She can't just have any ring, Claude. Lysithea has to have something special." Byleth was right, after all. And this ring suited Lysithea's eye color perfectly too. Claude only sets his fiance down once she whacks him over the head hard enough to see stars. "SHEESH! Who knew your little body was packing that much power."
"Little body? You must not be referring to me," Lysithea sassily retorts as her father undermines her by crushing her in a hug that her mother is quick to join in on. Claude watches as Lysithea huffs and puffs her way through it before he's being yanked in by his collar.
"You're part of this family now, kiddo. Get in here." Claude's never been so happy to hug in his entire life.
After Dinner:
"Psst! Hey Lysithea," Claude whispers loudly with an obnoxious wave. She rolls her eyes as she passes the rest of the dirtied dishes to her mother in the kitchen. "I'm gonna take that sigh as a yes. Let's go for a walk." Lysithea nips the inside of her lips at the suggestion.
"I'm… not very good with walking right now. My breathing gets a little ragged quite easily now." Claude frowns in sympathy before he holds a hand out anyway.
"Then let's just take a step outside, and we'll sit down right away." Lysithea stares at his hand, almost having to think far too hard about what to do before reluctantly taking it and having his fingers thread with hers. She's surprised by how good it feels. With a stern look from her mother that's saying, you BETTER go out there missy, Lysithea settles on nodding in agreement. Claude smiles charmingly, with a flicker of light in his eyes, as he pulls her outside, making sure to hand her the one white wool jacket hanging next to two black ones by the door.
"I can get my own coat," she argues tiredly. He just grins and takes it a step further, helping her get it on. Neither of them comment on the way she winces and stiffens up when she has to move her arms backward to get the jacket on. One day it'll be better for you, my love. And soon. A gust of wind greets them as they step out of the house, hand in hand, before they look up at the shimmering starlit sky. "Ah! I can see that eagle constellation. Look!" She points up to it with a huge innocent smile on her face, and Claude finds himself far too busy staring at her instead of the stars. She points out another, but his lack of response causes her to look at him, and her face gets all red at his obvious staring. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Claude hums, chuckling as he finally gets them moving again towards the modest water well surrounded by pink and white roses that are dying with the change of season.
"You're just as beautiful as any stinky old star that's bound to burn out someday." Lysithea makes a sad noise as she rests her hip against the side of the jagged bricks of the well she spent so much time playing around as a happy-go-lucky child.
"I've read that those stars sitting up there, they're just big pieces of fire that have already been born and died. It's always made me a little sad," Lysithea tells him softly, looking up at a star that's flickering slowly. "One time Ignatz painted me a picture of the sky with the moon and the stars. The moon was so big, just as expected, but it got me thinking about how overpowering it is to those little stars, constantly being an afterthought to those who seek out the moon first. It sort of reminded me of myself and-and all those other kids," she trails off. Her eyes look haunted as she drops her chin and fixates on a little hole in her skirt that her tiny shaking hands begin to pick at. That's when Claude puts one finger under her chin and leans in, close enough to see each speck in her irises before shutting his own eyes and pressing his lips to hers. The wind slows, and the trees quiet their bustling as their hearts pound in their ears for the ten seconds the kiss lasts. He pulls away, slow as can be, as he gazes into her eyes yet again.
"I don't think those stars are insignificant at all. I think that all those stars that surround the moon make that white blob of rock mean even more. And hey, I kinda feel like that rock. Like I stick out like a sore thumb, while you fit in, yet shine the brightest amongst all those other stars. Sometimes being different is lonelier than anything else. But if being different is what makes me have the drive to do anything I can to deserve a shining star like you, Lysithea; then I'll strive to be even more outta place." Lysithea's lips part in subtle awe as she takes in all of his words. She always thought him to be brash and dishonest when they were younger. Yet the more time she's spent with him since the aftermath of the war, the more wrong she knows she was. Her lips tingle from the kiss, and she touches them with the back of her thumb as he smiles down at her and pets her thin sickly arm.
"Claude?" He hums with a smile. "I'm going to ask one more time, then never again." He straightens up his back as he nods. "There's a chance that even if I live through this surgery, that the damage the crest has done on my body could still kill me early. Are you willing to marry me, even knowing that all your work was fruitless?"
"Yes. I thought we already covered this part."
That was that.
The Next Morning:
Edelgard woke up first, stretching out her left arm as she yawns. Her stirring got Byleth's eyes to pop open, red and dry, a sure way to tell she's only been asleep for two hours of the night. Edelgard has significantly more strength than she did yesterday, though she can't seem to sit upright until Byleth helps her. She forgot she was naked, and she shivers violently before her dutiful wife, who expected such a thing to happen, and wraps a blanket made from the fur of a Faerghus bear; it always reminds her of Dimitri (which is good or bad depending on the day). The two of them allow the silence to speak for them, and they look at each other's faces and hands for a long while before Byleth's brow quirks upward. The empress leans over Edelgard to pull back the crimson canopy and checks the tall oak grandfather clock that reads as half past eight.
"We've got to get some liquids in you before the surgery."
"When is that?"
"Twelve." Edelgard's anxiety spikes up under her skin. "Do you want me to bring water and juice to you now?" The emperor nods curtly. "I'll be back in five minutes, ok?" Edelgard got dressed as she waited, though she didn't get far once she realized she put far too much clothing on for Hanneman and Lindhart to just end up cutting through. Edelgard hated when Byleth inevitably had to help, and Edelgard just kept dismissing each item of clothing because it was too revealing or too thick or-she just felt haughty by the time they were through.
"I'm sorry," Edelgard breathes as she sets her glass down. Byleth, seated across from her at their side table set by the only uncovered window in the room, just shakes her head.
"It's ok. Today's a big day, El."
"And you'll be by my side. So… so I will thrive, just as we always do." Byleth abruptly leans over the table, nearly knocking the glasses over just so she can smother her wife in kisses. Edelgard's all about it until Byleth playfully licks the tip of her nose. "Repulsive," Edelgard chuckles. Of course Byleth just does it again, and this time her tongue nearly drags all the way up to Edelgard's loose bangs before the emperor starts shouting.
"Alright alright," Byleth laughs, parting after one more true kiss against her wife's lips. "But you should be expecting a lot of kissing the next few days."
"Are your lips supposed to heal me?"
"Why of course. I was blessed by the Goddess after all."
"Yuck," Edelgard croaks. "Don't pull that card on me now, my light."
"Then you don't get to pull the emperor card on me."
"Oh is that right?" Edelgard bites her lip as she sizes her empress up. She still looks so hot when she does that, Byleth thinks with a grin. "How about I stop demanding you to fuck me exactly how I want in bed then? Hmm? I thought you like doing what your emperor asks of you." That shuts Byleth right up. Only then does Edelgard blush. And then Byleth drops her head in her hands and whines.
"You really do have power over my entire being," the empress admits exasperatedly.
"Same for you, Byleth." Her lilac eyes glance at the clock; it's somehow already eleven-thirty and her stomach sinks. Soon Byleth takes her hand and leads her to a room at the far end of the west wing where few people go besides them, and Edelgard's stomach drops low enough to fall out of her body. Still, she continues forward, slowly, with her chin held high, and holds Byleth's hand in hers all the while. Once Byleth bravely twists the rose encased doorknob, and allows Edelgard to pass through, she's met with the acid green eyes of Hubert's looking directly into hers.
"...Your Majesty," he rasps, trying to hold back the emotion on his face as he takes in the ill sight of her after months without so much as hearing her voice. Edelgard breaks into a smile that she only controls by biting down on her lip. Byleth was right. He really does look younger. His lips turn upward as he carefully approaches her. It's clear he wants to embrace her, but holds himself back. Byleth looks between the two of them before sighing and smooshing them together. "Grrr."
"B-Byleth," Edelgard warns while having her nose pressed up and crooked against her best friend's chest. The two of them awkwardly pat each other's backs until they break apart seconds later. "Apologies, my dear friend."
"It's quite alright, Your Majesty."
"Hubert?"
"Yes?"
"Just call me Edelgard in here." His eyes show every bit of his gratitude as he bow politely.
"Alrighty then 'Edelgard,'" comes the voice of Lindhart. She gets on her tippy toes to look past Hubert. "I must say, I'm somewhat jittery, seeing you again."
"Ah. Of course. Hello." Then she turns to Haneman and Manuela who are smiling warmly her way. "Hello to you both as well. I thank you both now, for I fear I may not be well enough to do so later." Manuela chuckles and waves it off.
"Oh sweetheart; think nothing of it. I left the opera company the second I heard my emperor and my favorite co-worker needed me." She nudges Hanneman HARD in the ribs and he winces as he slinks away. Byleth just mouths the word, Behave, at the two.
"Now now," Hanneman coughs. "Just as Manuela says, I am more than willing to help you, just as the Empire has helped me."
"Is Lysithea here?" Edelgard asks, running her hands together nervously. Byleth puts an arm around her wife and nuzzles her nose into that long white hair she loves so much.
"Mhm," Lindhart answers. He's too busy fixing up the heavy wool blankets on the otherwise bare bed (probably to catch blood) to elaborate.
"I arrived just as Claude and her flew in. I spotted a ring on her finger, I might add." Hubert looks at Byleth then. "Did you know he was going to propose, empress?"
"Just stick with using my name. And yeah. I did." She whistles under her breath. "Glad it worked out. I was getting nervous there."
"Hmm. Perhaps you bring luck to more than one woman, then."
"Do you need a little luck getting yourself someone, Hubert?" He and Edelgard both scoff in response. "You're both no fun."
"This is nice and all," Lindhart cuts in, throwing down a few extra pure silver tools on a table by the bed. "But we should begin soon so Lysithea won't be waiting for too much longer. I fear she may well bust the door down if we take too long."
"She can wait," Hubert hisses.
"Shush," Edelgard chides him, glaring lightly. With Byleth urging her forward, Edelgard confidently steps up to the bed… and then freezes. Right away, Hubert can sense her worries, and he softly speaks up.
"I will take my leave. And I will guard this door for you, Your M-Edelgard." He opens the door and leaves without another word. Still, Edelgard finds herself unable to move and just sit down like she must.
"Manuela, Hanneman? Will you stand back for just a moment?" Reluctantly, the two nod and walk towards the door as quietly as possible. "El?"
"Mm?"
"Can you lay down for me? Lindhart's going to put you to sleep."
"I know," Edelgard sighs, sounding defensive now. "You don't need to tell me that, I just-" She cuts herself off, forcing her body to get on the bed by her own will. She aggravatedly adjusts her thin dress which has buttons along the front of the bodice. "Byleth. Remember that memory you had yesterday morning? The one about holding my hand as you slept."
"Of course."
"Will you do that for me? Now?"
"I will. Now lean back for me," Byleth says with the softest voice she can muster. Edelgard shoots her a panicked look that Byleth counters with a gentle smile. It almost takes Edelgard back for a second, realizing this woman who's shown her so much love within these past days, months, even, is the same teacher she knew who could hardly quirk her brow in humor. Fingers distract her as they interlace with her trembling ones. She watches as Byleth beckons Lindhart closer with his spellbook in hand. "You ready?"
"I-I suppose so," Edelgard answers, licking her lips. "I love you."
"I love you more," Byleth claims, leaning close so they can share one last kiss that tastes far too desperate and final. Byleth's free hand tangles in Edelgard's long hair as she passionately locks her lips with her wife again and again, freely swapping spit without an ounce of shame in the moment. Lindhart coughs and looks away with a shake of his head. This won't be the last kiss, Edelgard swears to herself. With a whine, Edelgard pulls away and looks longingly into her empress's face. "I'll see you soon, El. Stay strong for me." Then Lindhart snapped his fingers and then clapped, and Edelgard fell back into the bed, dead to the world. Once she's sure the emperor isn't going to wake up, she drops her head against Edelgard's breast and takes in a huge breath.
"I won't let her die here, Professor. You have my word."
"I know, Lindhart. Thank you again."
Rustle. Shtt. RustleRustle.
From neck to waist, Edelgard's made nude by her wife's hands. Soon Manuela pulls up a chair by the head of the bed, so Byleth can sit and hold Edelgard's hand as promised while Hanneman and Lindhart stand at opposite ends of the bed. The two look at each other before confirming they're ready, and then it begins. The second the scalpel goes into Edelgard's breast, Byleth shuts her eyes and drops her head against the bed. Please be alright once this is all over. I need you.