Edelgard returns to her corner and angles herself away from all of them. Her shoulders are hunched about her ears and her arms are wrapped around her sides. He can't see her face, but he guesses whatever seeing the Professor's face did is something she doesn't want the rest of them to see. Typical of her. Dimitri rises from his corner and stalks over to make sure Edelgard didn't poison Byleth in her sleep. At least, that's what he tells himself he's doing as he sits down exactly where she had and finds himself doing much the same.
The shadows under her eyes are a match for his own and Dimitri wonders just what Byleth dreams about while she sleeps. Does she even dream at all? Does she hear the voices of those she's killed or are responsible for? Does Jeralt appear to her?
Does she blame herself for Jeralt's death?
He doesn't know the answers to any of these questions and he doesn't know if he wants to. It would be investing in someone else. Another person who will be taken away from him the moment he begins to let his guard down. Another voice to join the rest who torment him day in and day out, begging him to avenge them. He's distanced himself as much as possible from those who still remain to force their hold on him to lengthen. He wants that bond to be dissolved so they don't join the ranks either and he doesn't have to see their gore streaked bodies and twisted faces every single day.
He's trying to protect them from himself, and in turn, protect himself from them.
The path of isolation he has walked all these years, the road of vengeance and retaliation for what they stole from him. What Edelgard… what… who even could he blame anymore? For so long, so long it had been her. It had been easy because she was so flippant, so casual about denying her involvement it had to have been her responsible for it all. For his father, for Glenn… for his stepmother and his people slaughtered like human chattel.
Goddess take him, he needs easy for once in his life. Something, anything that will give him direction and aim in this endless torment and revenge is easy. Living for revenge, for hatred, and for the sole purpose of killing one person is easy and it's simple. He doesn't have to think about it. He doesn't need to think about the consequences of what happens after because he knows what it'll take to kill someone like her and it will cost him his life.
Dimitri has been accepting of this, has been ready to pay that cost and now he can feel it slipping from his grasp.
Had he just seen the fear in her eyes when they were children, he may have intervened. Begged Lord Arundel to allow her just one more day so that he might have convinced his father and stepmother to keep her there, with him, with them and he could have introduced her to Sylvain, Ingrid, and Felix. To Glenn and Rodrigue and Gilbert. He could… he could have protected her, saved her from what she went back to the Empire and faced alone. She would have been there like he had when the Tragedy of Duscur occurred. He might have lost her. She might have helped him take action and both of them might have come out of it scarred, scared, and had each other to lean on in the end.
It could have been the two of them against the world. Together. The dagger he gave her is still heavy on his hip.
No.
His hands are dyed red in the blood of those he's slaughtered in the name of revenge. Out of rage and impatience. He's done so much wrong in the name of pursuing what is right- Edelgard's death- that he can't… he doesn't see another way out. There isn't any other way for him but to continue down the path he has. Everything he has done up to now, the time at the Academy, the training he threw himself into, all of it has been for revenge. Because even back then, even as a child… the dead were there. They will not release him, not so easily, and he can't… he doesn't deserve to live for himself. He can't. There's nothing he can do but this.
But tonight… but the words of Claude and Edelgard. The scars on the latter's body, the fury and helplessness in the former's eyes as he tries to persuade him of a different way. Dimitri finds himself questioning, again, whether he has it in him to continue as he has been. They make it sound so easy, so simple. He can just… he can live for himself, not for the sake of the dead, not for revenge or anything of that sort.
You seem to have all the answers, Professor. His hand reaches out and covers the top of her own. Tell me. Please…
Is it too late for someone like him?
Can he still turn back?
Claude watches Dimitri retreat back to his corner of the hut and slump back to the hard-packed dirt. His eye closes and he seems to be dozing off. The hard lines around his mouth and the way his brow furrows, kinda like Teach's, indicate he's fighting the same internal war that Edelgard must be on the opposite end of the room. He gets up and heads back over to sit beside her, the way they both had, and just watches her sleep.
I did what I could, Teach. The rest is up to them now… and up to you. Even if we reach some sort of agreement to end the war between the three of us, we have the Church of Seiros to deal with. I dunno about you, but I don't foresee them being quite as forgiving as the rest of us pretend to be. He thinks. He removes one of his gauntlets and gently brushes his knuckles against her cheek and allows himself the indulgence of that one small bit of contact.
What is he going to do if they don't reach an impasse?
He can't go and die, not to Edelgard, Dimitri, or even Byleth herself. He has too much riding on this plan succeeding. Almyra needs him, Fodlan… debatable as to whether or not he's a good fit for this place, he'd rather leave it in Byleth's hands or anyone who's willing to prove they will do whatever it takes to accomplish matters in his stead. He's going to have to insist that she kills him last and figure out a way to incapacitate or otherwise slip out when she's not looking. She knows that too, given her earlier statement, and will make sure he's first as a result.
Not looking good for him so far, and even his tactically inclined brain is having a hard time coming up with an outcome in his favor that doesn't involve severe injuries on all their parts, if not flat out death.
If they manage to pull this off, it'll be the greatest upset the history books will have ever known. A war started and ended by the same person as a direct result of diplomatic strategy and negotiations all taking place in the worst blizzard in history. It'd be an excellent argument from a religious angle, Claude realizes after a moment and seizes on the opportunity to start planning how they're going to present this to the Church.
The Goddess saw fit to bring them all together, enemies every last one of them, and trap them in a location until they resolve their differences and agree to put an end to this senseless war. The storm raged for hours, maybe they can even swing it for days if they plan accordingly, and refused to quiet until they had come to terms and allied themselves once more for the good of all of Fodlan.
That's so textbook fairytale I'm surprised there's no happy ending where Fodlan is suddenly blessed with abundance, wealth, and prosperity for all. He laughs quietly under his breath at his ridiculous spin on the whole thing. The devout would eat it up. The Archbishop and Seteth?
Doubtful. Highly doubtful even if Byleth is the one to tell them such.
This would be a lot easier if I knew what Seteth and the Archbishop were really thinking. He laments not knowing either of them well enough to be able to predict how they think or act. He doubts Archbishop Rhea is going to be anywhere close to forgiving, not after the Western Church fiasco and the whole thing with Miklan.
Dimitri's crimes and whatever his own they find out about? Those could be forgiven, probably, through some divine loophole and logic twisting on their part. But Edelgard… what are they going to do about her? They can't allow her to be killed after all the effort put into getting her to call the damn thing off, it'd just reignite the flame of war all over again.
He leans his head against the cold stone behind him and sighs. Eyes closed, he keeps trying to find an angle that'll result in the perfect outcome, the path of difficult but still least resistance that gets them back to where they were before the war broke out. Even if he gives up his role as Alliance leader, happily at this point, and Edelgard cedes the throne, and Dimitri chooses to abdicate as well… what good will it do? What good will come from the three of them stepping down if that's the price of their forgiveness?
It'll get Byleth back into Garreg Mach, back into a position of power she doesn't want any more than he's wanted either of his. That's almost enough to make it worth it. Especially since she has clout with the Archbishop and Seteth both and might be able to do a little diplomatic dancing to make sure they're not totally stripped of all power and decision making.
His eyes open and he looks down at Byleth one more time. His knuckles graze against the soft skin of her cheek one more time before he withdraws his hand entirely. They didn't agree on much of anything, but if there's one thing his observations in the last several hours have given him keen insight on? It's the strength of their feelings, whatever those might be and in whatever sense or form they may take, for the woman sleeping in front of him may just be strong enough to carry them through this storm.
Claude rises and heads back to their war table and settles his stiff body back down in preparation for what is going to be the longest, most difficult political round of negotiations and back-and-forth that he's ever held in his life.
You're the only trump card I have left, Teach, let's hope our feelings are enough.