You and He

Red Wolf Moon

News of Tomas, of Solon, and his experiments, did not stay contained. The monastery was awhirl with the news; how could no-one have noticed Tomas betrayed them? What sort of sorcery was that? Did this have anything to do with Flayn's kidnapping? Had the Death Knight really met his end?

And beneath all that, a darker rumour swirled; what had overcome the Prince of Faerghus?

Edelgard knew more of the answers to those questions than anyone might expect, except that last. Dimitri was a significant piece on her board; the lynchpin of the Kingdom, if he was compromised, ready to topple, she needed to know of it, needed to determine how much he would take down with him when he fell. Needed to know whether or not she could point him at that troublesome woman, Cornelia. Edelgard would rest much easier had she one of her own agents in the Kingdom, Ladislava would do; Randolph was too recognizable.

Losing Jeritza had been a blow; certainly he had been wild, formed into something rabid by the cruelty of House Bartels, but at least she had held his leash. Now she would have to find a new heir for the Hrym territory before Prime Minister Aegir got it in his head to do something foolhardy.

No, that was a concern for later. Frustrating Duke Aegir was probably best left to Hubert in any case. Just now she must focus on Dimitri.

She made her way along the dormitory to the male end of the corridor, knocking sharply against the Prince's door. He called out to grant her entry, and she pushed the door open, leaning propped against the doorjamb. Dimitri was working at his desk and made to rise to greet her, but she waved him down

"Please –I heard you had a difficult time of it at Remire. I only came to see you recovered. Is all well?"

"Ah…" he hesitated "Thank you. I am well –or, I will be. It was… For a moment, it was too much like Duscur, that is all." Edelgard allowed a beat of silence to play out and, surely enough, he continued; "In some ways it was worse. Duscur was a nightmare, but this… this was evil, those people were-" He cut himself off as his voice began to rise and looked away for a moment as he mastered his temper "Were innocents. Civilians. With no quarrel against anyone. Twisted by magic for no reason. It's… too much to contemplate."

"I'm sorry you saw it, sorry it happened at all" Edelgard murmured, with perfect honestly, before drawing a breath and speaking more clearly; "Now that Professor Seteth is guiding us, managing the Black Eagles has become a far simpler task on my end. If you need a reprieve, I'd be happy to lend a hand."

"Thank you, I'll consider it." Dimitri replied, and she turned to leave but his voice cut her off before she could close the door. "El," he began and Edelgard froze, staring at the wall in front of her, not daring to turn to face him once more. A dim sort of terror chilled her bones as realisation creeped tingling over her skull and tightened in her throat. Dimitri had called her –Dimitri had always called her –Dimitri was- "the people who did this, they have to be stopped, no matter where they appear, Garreg Mach, the Kingdom, the Empire, the Alliance. We cannot allow these –experiments- to continue."

"No," she agreed softly without turning "we cannot."

She returned to her room, face carefully impassive, stride as even as it ever was. But the whole way there her hand was clenched around the dagger sheathed at her waist so tightly that the outline of the hilt was imprinted on her palm.

~o~*~o~

"Can you believe he won't start a tab?" Jeralt groused as he brought two tankards over to Byleth. The table she had claimed was the most visible and brightly lit in the Prancing Pegasus, and also the most isolated. Sitting opposite each other, the two Eisners had a complete view of the space around them. They could not be approached or overheard without their knowing of it.

"Yes." Byleth answered easily, charging her mug to him, and taking that first grateful swig. He scowled at her, and took a swig of his own before setting both arms on the table and leaning forward over his forearms.

"So?"

Byleth mirrored his pose, one finger lifting to trace the rim of her mug "You recall the girl that I dream of?"

"Sure. Green hair, purple robe, ribbons, stone throne, always sleeping."

"Just before I took the job with Gautier, she woke up. She spoke, we spoke –a conversation. She still sleeps a lot, but she's often awake now –not only in dreams, but even when I'm awake… I think she's the Goddess."

Jeralt stilled "The Goddess?"

Byleth nodded.

"The Seiros Goddess?"

Byleth nodded.

"You're sure?"

Byleth nodded.

"The-" Jeralt sighed and took a hearty swallow, drumming the fingers of one hand on the table "So, whatever it was Rhea did to you, to your heart, you think she set you up as… some sort of oracle? Or…" His expression darkened like she'd rarely ever seen out of battle and his eyes scanned restlessly over the grain of the wood. "The Goddess's Rite of Rebirth Ceremony."

"I think I've heard of that, what is it?"

"Biggest day in the Church's calendar. Supposedly it's the day the Goddess will return to walk Fódlan once more but… well it hasn't happened yet. The whole doctrine is built around the idea that the Goddess is watching over us and one day she'll come back. I always figured that was just to give people something to hope for but…"

"…but I can actually speak to her."

Jeralt surged up out of his seat and Byleth watched, bemused, as he stalked over to the bar and returned shortly with two square-cut glasses and a bottle of something a deeper amber than her preferred mead. He poured them a finger each, downed his immediately and poured another.

"She says you're taking this better than expected."

Jeralt downed the second and when he poured the next, made it a triple measure.

~o~*~o~

Sometime in the early hours, when they were two-thirds through the bottle and just before the proprietor kicked them out, Jeralt ran a hand down his face and sighed heavily

"Well, at least I understand why I never got a straight answer. 'I put an amnesiac Goddess in your Daughter's head' isn't something you just blurt out."

~o~*~o~

Ethereal Moon

Given that she was connected to the Goddess, Jeralt and Byleth concluded that Rhea did not mean any harm to her, in the direct sense. However, they decided it would be better to know more about the Rite of Rebirth before approaching the Archbishop to reckon with her; forewarned being forearmed. The only place either could think of to find any information on the topic would be the library; so Byleth put the troop back on the Academy list to keep them close to the monastery and was immediately assigned to the Black Eagles. (Hubert had finally taken the matter into his own hands, on Lady Edelgard's behalf)

The Ethereal Moon was always a time of celebration at Garreg Mach, and this year following Tomas's betrayal and the calamity at Remire, the Church leaned heavily on that tradition to lighten the mood amongst the populace. The student Houses all had the same, light, mission; guard the ruins of an old chapel that was in disrepair and a danger to those who would use it as a meeting place –there had been some evidence of recent entry.

Byleth drew the second-shortest straw for guard duty; the day after the ball that was being held to mark the Monastery's founding –the shortest straw being the night of the ball, as the entire town was hosting celebrations and all of Garreg Mach would otherwise be joining in. The troop weren't best pleased that they'd have to moderate themselves at the festivities, but bore with it.

At least until Dimitri visited the barracks to invite her to the ball. Then they made a fuss.

"The ball is for students." She had answered his request with confusion instead of immediately acquiescing; much to Sothis's annoyance.

"Well, as a student I am inviting you as my guest." Dimitri countered "Since I can't show you the splendour of Fhirdiad this year, and also… I owe you an apology, if you'll accept it; for my behaviour at Remire."

"You owe me nothing for that. I felt the same way you did."

"It relieves me to hear you say so, and yet, faced with that situation, you retained your composure. I did not act as a leader should. Please –a ball may seem a trifling matter, but it is all I have at to offer at present. Even if you don't care for the music and dancing I am assured the food will be exquisite."

"I… will put in an appearance." Byleth decided, and Sothis cheered "But if there is any protest-"

"I shall take responsibility" Dimitri cut in, bowing to her "Thank you –until then." He added, leaving before she could change her mind.

Byleth turned back to her drills and was faced with the troop's interest, including Willard's trepidation, Raoul's scorn and Sanderson's enthusiasm. He might actually have shed a tear.

~o~*~o~

It seemed as though Garreg Mach was always hosting competitions after traumatic events; there was a dance competition preceding the ball. Byleth made the mistake of pausing briefly to observe the practice as she cut through the Academy on the way to the training grounds one afternoon and suddenly nothing would do for Sothis but to sit for a moment and watch the Professors instruct their chosen representatives.

She found an unoccupied bench near the end of the row opposite the Black Eagle's classroom and watched as Seteth tried to find anything to correct in Dorothea's posture. Byleth was halfway convinced he was learning more from her than the reverse. Numerous students had gathered around, watching and practising their own steps. She couldn't see the Blue Lions or Golden Deer through the crowd –but she could hear Claude teasingly heckle Hilda over the gentle chatter and Manuela's sharp instruction for him to hush and Hilda to pull her shoulders back.

There was a sudden presence at her side and without any warning whatsoever one of the children from Remire had boldly clambered into her lap, settling herself comfortably and pulling Byleth's arms about her without hesitation. Byleth was so taken aback she made no protest as the girl's brother stood on the bench beside her and from there began to climb up to her shoulders, tugging her hair painfully a time or two as he did so.

"She's very pretty." The girl said of Dorothea and Byleth hummed an agreement, wincing slightly as the boy's foot scuffed along her arm.

"Bernadetta," said a voice full of laughter, and Byleth tilted her head just enough to see Edelgard nearby without risking dislodging the boy "allow me to introduce you. The woman presently being used as a climbing frame is the Ashen Demon you've been hiding from."

"Sh-She is?" The student with Edelgard, Bernadetta, asked "O-oh… Maybe not as scary as I thought."

"Actually, the Ashen Demon isn't scary at all!" announced the girl in her lap, before Byleth could make any reply.

"No?" Asked Edelgard, approaching and kneeling down to be of height with the child.

"Nu-uh. She protects people! If you put a coin in the hearth at night, then the Ashen Demon will watch over you until dawn. -And you have to say 'thank you' when you clear out the ashes in the morning, it's very important." she added with all the sagacity of a four-year-old, and Byleth swore to herself that she was going to have words with Sanderson.

"The Legendary Ashen Demon; comfort to small children everywhere!" Sothis laughed "Let us hope this tale does not escape the Monastery! No bandit will have fear of you."

"How charming." Edelgard managed, keeping her amusement to a smile "Perhaps I may try it myself."

The girl nodded wisely as the boy gave an exclamation of triumph at finally getting himself on Byleth's shoulders, crossing his arms on the crown of her head and leaning heavily against it. "I'm going to be the Ashen Demon when I grow up. The Prince said he'll teach me swordplay; I'll learn until I'm the best anywhere! Then we won't ever have to leave home again, I'll protect us."

"I was on my way to the training grounds myself" Byleth finally managed to get a word in "Perhaps if you ask Dimitri now I could help start your lessons."

"Really!?" The boy cried, already scrambling down despite having just settled, and Byleth was grateful for her armour else her ribs would be thoroughly abused. He disappeared off between the students and his sister crossed her arms with a huff and a mighty scowl

"Dancing is much better than swords."

"P-perhaps you can watch with me, then?" Benadetta offered, taking the spare space on the bench. The girl nodded her approval and was much daintier than her brother as she untangled herself from Byleth, slipping to the ground before climbing back up to Bernadetta's lap, instead of simply crawling across their thighs.

Byleth stood before she could become an unwitting target again and offered Edelgard the seat. The Princess raised an eyebrow, understanding exactly what her motivations were, but took the seat regardless as Bernadetta and the child spoke softly about the dance.

"It would be a small fortune to place a coin in every hearth at the palace in Enbarr, if I wanted to summon the Ashen Demon. It would take quite some time to go round them all each night and each morning as well. Do you think a bullion in one of them would do the trick?" Edelgard asked, looking straight ahead at the ongoing practice.

"I'm not sure I should comment on the practice of summoning demons in a monastery. Even the not-scary ones." Byleth answered, glancing down at her then back ahead. "It's a goodly amount for a night's work, but you may have to learn another ritual first. I've never heard of the Ashen Demon working too long apart from the Blade Breaker."

"No, nor have I." the Princess agreed easily. "Still, there's a first time for everything, they say." Byleth tipped her head in acknowledgement and they drifted into a comfortable silence.

Dimitri arrived shortly with an earnest smile and a whole passel of young boys to be herded to the training grounds.

Somehow, Byleth was the welcoming one of the group. Bernadetta ducked her head behind the girl, who was occupied with pulling faces at her brother, Edelgard nodded briefly but remained silent and somewhat tense. It was left to Byleth to greet them and usher them onwards.

An awareness tingled across the base of her neck as she walked with Dimitri behind the boys who raced ahead, but looking around she could not place it until she glanced up.

From a terrace above, the Archbishop was watching.

~o~*~o~

She met Jeralt at the pond a few days later in the early evening. It was too soon for either of them to have any update, this was simply their time. He had a rod already baited for her and she settled into place beside him, quietly casting and recasting her line as the moment drew peacefully around them.

"I'm off on a mission soon. Short one, shouldn't take much more than a week, ten days maybe." He informed her, as he expertly pulled a trout, thick with winter fat, from the water. "But a little birdie tells me you'll be busy yourself; managed to wrangle an invitation to the ball, have you?"

"Well, if I'm not going to inherit a castle, perhaps I can marry into one." She deadpanned the response, but her eyes gave her away and Jeralt laughed.

"I should push you in for that kind of nonsense. I would if I didn't think you'd take me with you." She shook her head and Jeralt's smile turned soft and distant "You've really come out of your shell of late. It's good to see you all lit up. You –you remind me more and more of your mother."

"I do?"

"She was often reserved too, but when she smiled… well, it was like nothing could possibly be wrong with the world. You have that same way about you, when you're happy."

Byleth couldn't help but smile at that. Her attention was only pulled away by a tug on her own line and she set about carefully reeling her catch in "I've noticed it myself… the shell part. I think because I've had to deal with so many people? The troop, the Guildmaster, the students… the other one." Sothis rolled her eyes, but didn't interrupt the moment to protest that irreverent reference "Suddenly I'm involved in a lot of conversations."

"Then maybe it's a good thing we ran across Alois. All the choices I made were to protect you, and I wouldn't change a one of them." He reached over and chucked her chin, as she unhooked her catch "But I wouldn't miss this either."

She smiled up at him, and he beamed back down at her. It was a moment too precious to last very long, and Jeralt huffed, looking back out across the water as the setting winter sun bathed everything in gold and orange.

"Enjoy the ball, Kid. And don't let Sanderson or anyone else tell you it has to be the most romantic night of your life. Take your time, even if you need me to start beating your suitors back with a stick."

"I'll tell them you'll be living with us in the castle. That'll put anyone off."

He pushed her in. She took him with her. They splashed to the side, gasping against the shock of cold, and hauled themselves back onto the stones. They shivered their way together up to the infirmary, gratefully accepting warm towels and mulled wine, laughing silently at each other through Manuela's lecture.

~o~*~o~

"Last moon was geography and this moon is… rituals of the Church? You have strange tastes, Milady Mercenary." Claude commented, craning his head to read the title of the dense volume she was presently working through as he took a seat at the table opposite her, even though every other table in the library was unoccupied.

"No less than you." she replied, scanning the spines of the stack of books he set down on his side. He winked at her

"It's all a front to maintain my air of mystery."

"That's a lot of effort for a front." She mused aloud, but didn't press the matter "By the way, have you seen –there was a first volume to this one? I had it the other day but I can't find it anymore."

Claude hummed, tapping the cover of his first book as he began setting out his notes –taking up far more space than a polite half of the table; "Was it, by any chance, actually useful? Containing specific knowledge about the Church? Did you leave it somewhere visible?" She nodded to each of his questions and he frowned "Then probably it's been curated."

"What do you mean?"

Claude began to speak then cut himself off, his frown intensifying "Maybe I shouldn't tell you. It was Tomas –Solon- who told me and given the whole actually-an-evil-mage-who-helped-kidnap-Flayn thing I should probably question his motives."

"You've lost me."

Claude sighed and leant back, lacing his hands behind his head and tipping the chair back on two legs "Solon, or whoever he is, told me that the Church, and particularly Seteth, keep a pretty tight rein on what's available here. Nothing the Church disapproves of –or in other words, nothing that might contradict them or expose their secrets. Only, now that I know what kind of twisted magic he's capable of, I'm wondering if there isn't a good reason for the Church to keep some things secret. With the issues recently with the Western Church, and some dark mage on the loose, if the people lost faith there'd be chaos. And, with an organisation this big it's hard to believe there isn't some dark secret tucked away somewhere. Several, most likely. Leaving them secret may just be the lesser evil." Claude let the chair drop back forward onto all four legs "But, I'm not the sort of person who can leave things like that alone. I'd say your book probably had a reference to something they don't want anyone to look too closely into, so it's been removed. Which begs the question; what was it? What deep and dark secret of the Church did you stumble over?"

Byleth frowned "There was a mention of new Cardinals only being ordained during the Goddess's Rite of Rebirth ceremony that I thought was out of place. If someone was ready for that, wouldn't you just ordain them as soon as you could hold a service? Why wait until the Rite of Rebirth?"

"And why are their identities such a secret?" Claude continued "Not that that's much of a secret at present, I've figured out at least two of them."

"You have?"

"Sure, ever since Seteth became a Professor there are a couple of people who've taken over his old duties. It's fairly obvious when you keep seeing the same faces in all the places he used to be." He tilted his head "What got you started on this topic, anyway?"

"I need to maintain my air of mystery."

Claude laughed "Milady, you need no help with that."

~o~*~o~

She had meant to interrupt. To join in on this conversation. Twist it round and expose that careful image of himself Claude curated to hide whatever it was he was keeping secret about his origins and advent as Riegan's heir.

But then he had questioned Solon's motives and so had she. Why hadn't she been informed about Remire beforehand? What else was Solon keeping from her? What else was Thales keeping from her?

Flayn was lovely. Seteth was a good man. Dimitri was from before. Children of the Empire had been forced from their homes. Claude saw problems with her allies as much as with the Church and she could see his point.

Edelgard felt sick.

She could not let it affect her. She would not.

Pushing her nausea aside she retreated from the library unseen.

Now that he'd mentioned it, she could think of a few likely Cardinal candidates herself. Perhaps she might be able to unveil that mysterious upper echelon of the Church…