So I was perhaps too hasty in seeing The Game Awards as a source of extra traffic. Turned out last week's chapter garnered the least amount of views this story has seen in a while.
But I'm not just talking about metrics twice in a row because of some sudden obsession with audience engagement. It's been on my mind because this story hit 10,000 views this week! Don't know if that's necessarily a big number as far as this site is concerned, but it's a bigger milestone than I expected to hit when I started publishing here a few months ago.
Seriously, thank you all for taking the time out of your lives every week to keep up with this story — or any of my other stories for that matter. It means so much to me during a time when finding actual work is a painful slog.
To celebrate, I'm going to handle the next bit of the Three Houses story a little differently. I have a couple different ideas for immediate post-Jeralt death content, so instead of choosing what could be the most "relevant" and culling the rest, I'm going to write up four shorter chunks and publish them every day this weekend.
It's definitely for your benefit as a reader and not a way to ensure I get extra engagement by being on the updated stories page more often. I promise.
For those of you reading way in the future, this notice shouldn't mean much. It's more an announcement for everyone who is keeping up weekly as this story gets produced.
Again thank you all so, so much! I know I've been getting self-indulgent with the author's notes recently, but massive text walls should cool off for a while.
… Though while I'm here, the general concept for the first part of this mini-series has inspirations from "Our Professor" by ShadowBlade4444 [ID: 5244981], specifically Chapter 20: "Slumber Party."
You'll see why after these introductory messages.
Part 1 — Guardian Moon
Though the transition into the Guardian Moon is typically garnished by hope, as it was in the far past when Saint Seiros first appeared in the city of Enbarr, Garreg Mach felt nothing but the somber throb of pain following the deaths of Jeralt and multiple Officers Academy students by Those Who Slither in the Dark.
As winter reached its midpoint and began to wean, heavier and increasingly warmer rains replaced crisp snowfall. Much of the Oghma Mountains were encumbered by messy slush as a result.
However, many chose to see this natural transition of the seasons as an expression of solidarity from the Goddess — a sign that she, too, wept in the wake of tragedy on Monastery grounds.
For some that solidarity brought comfort. For others it brought painful memories.
The drumming pitter-patter of rain on the roofs of Garreg Mach's dormitories made for a relaxing ambiance to many students.
None more, it seemed, than Edelgard von Hresvelg and Dorothea Arnault.
Taking part in leisurely activities across Monastery grounds was hard to justify in the Sunday downpour. Even the Greenhouse was closed off after leaks were discovered in the ancient architecture that left pools of water all over the ground and planters. So the duo of Black Eagles' students decided to stay inside and provide the future heiress some "girl time" that her songstress companion feared she might have missed out on given the weight of her birthright.
To that end, Edelgard sat on the edge of her bed with her hands folded patiently in her lap as Dorothea pulled at strands of long white hair from her knees atop the mattress.
Both elected — nay, Dorothea demanded — that they stay in their pajamas the entire day. That left Edelgard in her scarlet nightgown, which draped plentifully around her leopard-print slippers on the cool floor; and Dorothea in a more understated low-cut black shirt, grey slacks with a glaring patch of beige fabric affectionately sewn onto the right thigh, and nothing but her black-painted toenails against the fabric of the bed.
"Ow!" The heiress cries out as her head pulls to the right thanks to a hard tug.
Dorothea winces at the sound and slows down for a moment to give Edelgard time to re-adjust her head.
"Sorry Edie," she coos. "Still getting used to styling this new hairdo."
"It's fine. I just wish you would let me see what you're doing."
"Oh come now, can't you relinquish a little bit of control for all of twenty minutes?"
Dorothea snickers, leading Edelgard to roll her eyes.
"As far as I can tell we passed the twenty-minute mark ten minutes ago."
"Well why don't you just relax and not worry about it!" The songstress dramatically pulls her hands out of the wispy strands of her friend's hair and then rests them on her hips. "This is supposed to be a fun girl's night, remember?"
"Yes, yes. I remember." Edelgard looks back and smiles warmly. "Even if Bernadetta decided to skip out."
"Well she's an odd duck that one," Dorothea mumbles defensively.
She then brings her hands up to manually force Edelgard's gaze back toward the wall ahead of them, that way she can get to work.
"It's alright though. I did want to make today more about you, Edie." Dorothea sighs. "I know you were rather close to that snake Monica."
Just under her breath she adds, "Even if I told you she was bad news."
Edelgard closes her eyes and takes a deep, calming breath in through her nose. For once she was glad to not be facing Dorothea directly, as it was getting hard for her to decide how much information her friend deserved to know. That indecision was written all over her face, making it difficultto feign a complete sense of dread.
"Yes, you did." She settles on the thought with a reluctant-sounding sigh. "I should have put more stock in your judgment Dorothea. It has yet to fail me."
"Damn right you should have." The songstress giggles as she shifts her focus to the left side of Edelgard's head.
At that Edelgard reaches back and rests a hand on Dorothea's thigh, requesting a pause before she turns to see the other girl's twinkling green eyes.
"Honestly, though. I'm glad to have you at my side during these trying times," the heiress says. Her own pale, purple eyes falter downward as her speech grows softer and more genuine.
"I hope I can expect your continued support going forward, Dorothea. It would be calming to have a presence like yours at my right hand as I ascend to the throne."
Dorothea is taken aback, being used to her house leader's more hard-lined approach to 'rallying the troops.'
She brings a hand up over her fast-beating heart before smiling.
"Aw, Edie!" She laughs once more, driving Edelgard's gaze forward voluntarily. "That's so sweet… But I think Hubie already has your right hand under lock-and-key."
Edelgard shrugs, her flushed cheeks fading. The girl had a point.
"Well you can take my left hand, then."
"Are you sure keeping a lowly commoner at your side will appease those naysayers in the Empire?"
There's a pause, as Edelgard seems to chew over her statement. Dorothea is left feeling awkward and starts styling that long white hair again.
But eventually the future Emperor speaks up, her voice proud and composed:
"We've discussed this before Dorothea," she begins. "When I take the throne, I'm going to create a future where one's status at birth has no bearing on their lot in life. When we spend time together like this, we are not an heiress and a common opera singer; we're simply… Us. Just me and you."
Edelgard turns her head just slightly, enough to glance at Dorothea through her peripheral vision without imposing on the hair styling.
"That's how I want all of Fódlan to be, too."
The end of her statement coincides pretty closely to the end of Dorothea's work.
She pulls her hands away from Edelgard's scalp with a blubbery smile before tackling her into a tight hug from behind. Edelgard gasps out all the air in her gullet as Dorothea's vice grip around her waist takes hold.
"And that's part of why I like you so much Edie," Dorothea mumbles into her friend's shoulder. "So optimistic, so driven about the future…"
"Only part of?" Edelgard asks in a teasing, though breathless, tone.
"It helps that you have such perfect hair, too."
Dorothea giggles as she pulls away and grabs a hand mirror on the bed nearby before crawling to sit next to the other girl.
"Here, tell me what you think!" She hands off the mirror. "It's supposed to be the look I'm taking on for the Empress role in Mittelfrank's next opera. I figure who better to approve it than you, right?"
Edelgard holds the mirror as far as her outstretched arm can handle, and tries to move it around for different angles.
The look was simple. Her typically long, free hair was pressed in to look shorter, with all excess tied off in buns on either side of her head. Only a few loose strands hung down past the front of her shoulders, framing her slender face well.
It was clearly appealing, as evidenced by a smile curling the corners of Edelgard's lips that Dorothea mirrored tenfold.
"It's quite nice," she says before clicking her tongue.
"Though it could use a crown."