Apologies for the somewhat late upload of this chapter, for those who are keeping track the day it's going up. Thanksgiving week has been a little busy, so I didn't have a lot of time to write. Hopefully it was worth the wait! I've had this particular idea for a scene in my head since the inception of the story.
Part 1 — Ethereal Moon
When the powder keg in Remire Village suddenly blew at the end of the Red Wolf Moon, it was too late for the Church of Seiros to mobilize an effective amount of their soldiers. Reports flooded in fast: Of buildings burning to ash, and of citizens rife with violent intent.
Byleth was quick to take the Blue Lions on his mission to Remire with Jeralt, where they found the place aglow with crimson blood lit by blazing fires — all caused by townsfolk turning on one another as strange soldiers watched over the unbridled chaos.
At the heart of the tempest Byleth and his students would find Solon: A leading member of Those Who Slither in the Dark. This faction of dark magic practitioners sought a mysterious future for Fódlan, and was evidently willing to go to extreme, gruesome measures to achieve it. They had infiltrated the Holy Mausoleum during the Goddess's Rite of Rebirth, and Solon himself had been masquerading as Garreg Mach's librarian for who knows how long.
Dimitri was enraged when Solon escaped from the chaos he had wrought, and even more when the Flame Emperor appeared to comment on the necessity of their comrade's unseemly measures to bring about change.
The Emperor posed an alliance against the Church but was rejected, despite Byleth feeling an oddly intimate connection with his armored foe.
The denizens of Garreg Mach were awoken in the earliest hours of a Tuesday morning by an earthquake.
It was not a tumultuous quake. In fact, it was just one of many small seismic events that had plagued Fódlan since the incident in Remire Village. But it was the first to affect the Oghma Mountains so closely; stirring chaos and fear amongst Officers' Academy and Monastery residents alike.
Despite the chill that continued to haunt the air, the dimly lit grounds were peppered with murmuring crowds of people wrapped in heavy blankets to try and keep their pajama-clad forms as warm as possible. They were all advised to stay away from the rooms while Seteth and other administrators checked buildings for any serious structural or property damages caused by the earthquake.
But not everyone felt comfortable standing back and letting the adults handle all the disaster debriefing.
Dimitri joined his fellow house leaders in checking up on their classmate's safety across the grounds. The Prince seemed the least bothered by this early morning chill despite his smallclothes consisting of not much more than thin, long grey pants and a short-sleeved white shirt with navy trim.
Claude put on a good "grin and bear it" face despite wearing even less than Dimitri, with shorts that only stretched down to his darker-skinned knees. His usually scruffy hair was more unkempt than usual too, clear evidence of how quickly they had all been roused by the quake.
Edelgard looked to be struggling most in the cold weather, even though she was the best off in terms of dress. She had a flowing nightgown covered in embellishments that screamed of Dorothea, as well as a thick black-and-blue cloak Dimitri had let her borrow upon seeing how badly she was shivering through her ever-stoic facade. It was as though something about her constitution made her especially susceptible to the inclement weather — but she was very thankful that Dimitri hadn't prodded her with questions when trying to help.
He knew what kind of air she tried to keep around her friends and comrades, the kind of impenetrable strength she hoped to exude.
He was much the same in that way, after all.
Most of their classmates were doing well after the earthquake. A few members of the Blue Lions expressed concern about the event's possible connections to their recent experiences. Particularly Ashe and Annette, who were chatting by the Dining Hall where Mercedes was apparently rummaging around for snacks to pass around. However, none of the house leaders could offer any sort of insight.
There were also more personal concerns expressed by the likes of Ignatz and Ferdinand, who worried their painting supplies and porcelain tea sets respectively might have been damaged. Those concerns were more easily waved off by assurances the house leaders had been given from Seteth.
Eventually Dimitri, Claude and Edelgard would run into the ever quiet, serious Professor Byleth while passing by the pond toward the long-since closed Marketplace at the entrance to Garreg Mach. He was still fully dressed, as though the earthquake had simply interrupted him while already burning the midnight oil.
Dimitri gestures for his companions to continue on as he rears off to intersect Byleth's path. They give the Blue Lions space to conspire in private, but don't go too much further before deciding to wait.
"Evening, Professor."
"Morning is more like it," Byleth responds with a slight smile.
"Indeed it is." Dimitri has a bit of a chuckle as he looks down at the cobbled stone floor and shakes his head. "Might I assume you're out and about with the same goal as us Professor?
"I wouldn't expect anything less." Byleth crosses his arms and takes on that stone-faced seriousness once more. "Not one of us four would truly feel right leaving the students flustered and isolated in trying times."
The Prince nods in clear agreement.
He scratches at his hair while looking over Byleth's shoulder to see Claude doing some kind of goofy, over-the-top gestures to try and drag a smile out of Edelgard.
"Sometimes I wonder but… Yes. Undoubtedly."
"Regardless of him, I appreciate your help in the matter." Byleth rests a hand on Dimitri's shoulder, obviously well aware of the boy's concern for the Golden Deer leadership.
Dimitri smiles warmly at the reassurance and the contact, bringing his own right hand up to hook it around Byleth's outstretched arm.
"Well if you're headed in this direction, you don't need to bother going up around the Dining Hall. We've checked out that area and most of the first-floor dorms — though Bernadetta still seems shaken to be stuck outside while Manuela examines her room."
Byleth can't help but stifle a laugh through his nose hearing that.
"We have not gone up to the second-floor dormitories, however. Not sure if anyone is up there, but it could be worth looking through just in case."
"Noted," Byleth says as he pulls his arm back and flaunts the jacket out a little as though it were a cape. "I can stop by there before making my way."
Dimitri raises an eyebrow curiously and leans back, head tilted.
"Making your way where, exactly?"
At first Byleth is caught off-guard by Dimitri's pointed concern. Though his face doesn't show it, of course.
"I'm meeting with Flayn. We were working on some plans for the White Heron Cup when the ground began to roll, so we decided to find each other again once things cooled off. Perhaps calm our nerves with a cup of tea."
The blond boy's lips curl into something of a smirk, which draws more suspicion out of his instructor.
"You don't strike me as the kind who gets nervous easily, Professor."
"Remire was hard."
The admission was rather blunt for Byleth, who typically preferred to keep a lot of his emotional turmoil under wraps. Even more blunt was the way he seemed to brush it off just a moment later with a casual shrug.
"I'm sure you can attest to that as well, Dimitri." The Prince's gaze falters as he looks away from Byleth's comment. "I've heard murmurs of the 'Boar Prince' coming from more than just Felix after what happened back there."
Dimitri clearly needs a moment to center himself, the shaking fist by his hip and his unsteady breaths. Byleth could practically see the flashes of fire burned into the periphery of his pupils.
"Those bastards will pay for what they've done to the innocents of this country," he hisses in a more gravelly tone than usual. "That's all there is to say on the matter."
The Professor stares at his student's bubbling rage in silence before nodding.
"Frankly… I agree."
They each take a moment to continue settling under the oppressively cold air.
However, it isn't long before Edelgard catches both their attentions by clearing her throat as she comes up behind Dimitri. They find her wrapped up tightly in the oversized cloak, as though it were a suit of armor. Her white hair and pale eyes made for quite the contrast to its overwhelming darkness, even in the dim moonlight.
"Are you almost ready, Dimitri?" She asks with a hint of frustration. "Leave me with Claude much longer and you may soon have to fish him out of the pond."
Even though Dimitri's fist was still balled by his side, Edelgard's suggestion of imminent violence seems to break away more of his darkened energy through a brief, jovial laugh.
"Of course. I'll be right there."
As she turns to join the Golden Deer's house leader again, Dimitri addresses Byleth one last time.
"Just be careful, okay?"
Byleth squints. Did Dimitri know something he didn't?
"What would you have me be careful of? The earthquake passed, has it not?"
"Yes…" Dimitri trails off for a moment, letting his smirk return before continuing. "I'm just worried of what Seteth might do should he figure out how often you are sneaking around the Monastery with his sister."
With that the boy quickly turns around and saunters off to join the others.
He leaves Byleth looking stunned in his wake. The Professor would not have expected such a teasing, deep-cut of an attack to come with no chance for rebuttal; especially not after they had a serious moment.
All he can do is scoff and shake his head, watching the three youths wander away.
"Geez. That's rich coming from him."
Byleth did not have to turn his gaze away from Dimitri, Claude and Edelgard to know that the mysterious emerald-haired girl had joined him once again.
"As though it isn't so obvious how much he's running around with that sickly girl lately!"
Sothis floats backward from Byleth's right side to be right in front of him, arms crossed and eyes meeting his the entire way.
Her curiosity is met with a continual blank stare and silence.
She gets frustrated fast, but is interrupted as soon as she opens her mouth to chastise him for ignoring her.
"Do you honestly think Flayn and I seem the same in those matters?"
Sothis keeps her mouth agape briefly, still of all breath as she tries to think of a response. The effort is fruitless. Soon she simply looks away, puffing out her cheeks.
Maybe he did have to worry about Seteth after all…
As the three lords make their way into the Garreg Mach stables, there was a loud commotion coming from one of the furthest horse enclosures: Panicked whinnies, and an even more panicked, high-pitched voice trying to sound over them.
They rush over to the entrance and find Marianne frantically trying to calm the horse down as it shimmies back and forth, whipping its head around to shake her away.
"Marianne?" Dimitri calls out, causing the poor girl to freak out as usual.
This time, however, her cry sounded a little weepier. The three would see her shaking arms and drying, slick cheeks as she turns to face them in what appeared to be a thinner, all-black version of Edelgard's scarlet nightgown. It also had fewer embellishments, though there were a few of Hilda's pins strewn about it.
Dimitri quickly runs inside and calms the horse down with a gentle hand against its muzzle, letting it feed off of a more relaxed energy.
Once they didn't have to worry about getting kicked by a nervous animal, he turns to the sobbing girl and tries to do the same thing. He rests one hand on her shoulder, the other hand on her cheek.
"What's the matter?" He asks. "You appear as though you've seen a ghost."
Claude and Edelgard continue to stand at the doorway, each leaning against either side of the frame. They glance at each other with curious expressions before watching the scene within the enclosure.
"It's nothing." She mutters in a very unconvincing fashion, trying to turn away from his deep blue gaze. "The earthquake just… Freaked me out a little, I guess."
She takes a deep, shuttering breath, and Dimitri frowns in return.
"I assure you that's quite alright Marianne," he says softly. "We're all a little on-edge after Remire."
"But—"
She begins, cutting off his train of thought unceremoniously, and then falls silent. There's a lump of nerves obviously caught in her throat.
"But… What?"
His attempt to goad more out of her seems to work after a moment. She looks up at the blond boy again, blue hair obscuring her eyes.
"An inkwell fell off my wall and shattered when it happened." Marianne tries to swallow that lump down, but her voice still sounds hoarse. "It was dark and I couldn't see what was going on, so I thought I was going to die."
Dimitri keeps silent so she can talk everything out, but makes sure she can tell he's listening intently.
"F-For once… I… I don't know, I got really scared. I didn't… Want to die." The last bit comes out as silent and breathy as it could. "So I thought I could come relax by seeing the horses, but they were rattled and we all just kind of fed off of each other."
Even though he picked up on the darker subtext of her words, Dimitri doesn't prod any further. He simply nods to acknowledge her thoughts and runs the hand that was on her cheek through her hair, clearing the bangs away from her face.
"Don't worry so much, Marianne. You know nobody here would ever allow someone to bring you harm. Even if you landed the Prince of Faerghus in the infirmary for a week."
She giggles at his reference back to their little sparring session the previous month, which leads him to grin widely.
"Seteth is letting people back in their rooms soon, so you should go back to bed." He says, earning a nod. "We do have another training session scheduled in the afternoon. You should be well rested for that. I'll even come by in the morning to help you clean up that spilled ink if you want."
Marianne feels a chill run up her spine as she imagines inviting Dimitri into her room. Letting him see how much of a slob she was.
It was embarrassing, but by the goddess she hated having to clean.
So she quickly shakes her head.
"N-No! That's… That's quite alright Dimitri. I appreciate it, though."
Suddenly she pulls the boy into a tight hug.
He grunts, not expecting to have the wind knocked out of him by such a slight girl. There's only a moment for him to come to terms with the surprise hug and wrap his arms around her in turn before she mutters, "thank you," and pulls away.
As she scampers past Dimitri and out of the enclosure, Marianne pauses and offers a half bow to the others she had forgotten were waiting.
"Claude… E-Edelgard…"
Then she's gone, practically halfway across the Monastery grounds before Dimitri steps out into the chilly open air.
Once there he would find Claude and Edelgard staring at him, both equally stunned. Looking between the two of them a few times, Dimitri seems confused.
"What?"
Edelgard looks at Claude, and just a second later he meets her gaze. Then, with a scoff, the future leader of the Adrestian Empire pulls her borrowed cloak tighter and shakes her head at its lender.
"We're just impressed is all," she says with a little more venom underpinning her words than she was letting on. "Impressed at how easily you calmed her down."
"Well what can I say?" Dimitri asks with a shrug. "I think—"
"Alright no, let me cut to the chase." Dimitri looks a bit annoyed as Claude interrupts, looking particularly smug with his elbows bent out and hands on his sides.
"I don't think I would have been as comfortable letting Marianne transfer to the Blue Lions if I know you two would just be snogging out behind the stables all the time."
Edelgard snorts and covers her mouth, trying not to laugh out loud.
Dimitri looks at her quickly before glaring down Claude and his shit-eating grin.
"You're daft, Riegan." The Prince's arms cross over his chest defensively. "There's nothing like that going on."
"I don't know about that, Dimitri…" Edelgard piles on with a playful hum.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean most girls the world over would probably melt at the way you so gently brushed her hair back," she says with a giggle. Her hand comes out of her tightly wrapped cloak to embellish the action. "Don't you think, Claude?"
"Oh absolutely," he agrees. "How is Sylvain the ladies' man of your class again?"
They share a hearty laugh and lean against each other to stay steady as Dimitri snarls at the ground. His eyes are closed and his face is burning a dark red.
"If you two keep this up, I won't hesitate to string you up by your innards right here in the stables."
Hearing that leads Edelgard into a harder, shrill laugh. The kind of laugh that left her wheezing as she tried to take a proper breath and ease the purple tinge of her cheeks.
Claude loses it even more when she does.
"What is wrong with the two of you?" Dimitri cries out over their laughter, flummoxed.
Eventually Edelgard calms down enough to respond, though her words still need to break through hiccupping, drunken giggles.
"You can't just pull that as a threat, Dimitri."
"Why not?"
"Because we're all taking the same literature courses!" She grins, sniffling back the rest of her laughter. "You're just trying to recycle the punishment of that Chevois resistance leader in the old storybooks we were reading last week. That's a bit pathetic."
Dimitri huffs and crosses his arms tighter.
"It is not pathetic."
"Honestly I'm upset you're using the worst version of the story."
Claude draws the eyes of both his comrades with that comment, and shrugs as if he thought their curiosity was ridiculous.
"I read the fun assignments!" He says, deflecting the obvious accusation resting on the tips of their tongues. "I'm just saying, I personally preferred the translation where the resistance leader wound up with the Fateful Prince."
Edelgard rolls her eyes.
"You're far too sentimental for your own good, Claude. Whoever wrote that version clearly didn't understand the kinds of sacrifices necessary to quash a rebellion and win a war."
"Like you do, Princess?"
Before she has the chance to snap back, Dimitri silences the others by passing between them as he makes his way back toward the dormitories at the other side of Garreg Mach.
"You two can argue about whether Nohr or Hoshido should have won in that old epic all night for all I care, but I'm going back to my quarters."
The other house leaders glance toward each other, and Claude grins.
"Alright, sleep well Your Royalness."
"Hope your dreams are full of blue-haired fairies," Edelgard quickly adds on.
They start to laugh again as Dimitri grumbles in retreat, dragging his feet the whole way.