Horsebow Moon
As cold air begins to creep in from the north of Faerghus, Fodlan welcomes the riches of fall. The women spend their days reaping the golden fields, gratefully embracing the bounty the goddess has once again provided. The men venture into the wilds with horsebows and empty sacks ready to be filled with game.
Byleth stormed into the cathedral, relishing the twin looks of shock on Rhea and Seteth's faces. "Lady Rhea!" she shouted angrily, throwing the Sword of the Creator to the ground. The two adults watched the weapon slide across the floor for a moment before settling at the Archbishop's feet. "You didn't tell me these weapons are… are cursed!"
Lady Rhea's eyes widened, but then she smiled, the shocked expression melting back into her perfect mask of serenity. "Hero's Relics are not cursed, child." When Byleth opened her mouth to explain Miklan's fate, Rhea spoke first. "I have already listened to Gilbert's report of what happened." Then the Archbishop narrowed her eyes in a mildly menacing way. "See to it that you keep what transpired at the tower to yourself and your students. Fodlan would fall into chaos if the people lost faith in the nobles and their Relics."
"If they're not cursed, then please explain," Byleth said, attempting to calm herself and failing. "What exactly transpired?" Lady Rhea retrieved the sword and brushed off invisible specks of dust whilst staring at it with a strange intensity. If you like it all that much, why don't you take it? You can be cursed with demons and monsters all you want.
"Byleth, please, if you aren't calm, then we won't get answers!" Sothis said, not wanting to listen to the turmoil inside Byleth's head. Stay out of this.
"Miklan's transformation was divine punishment from the goddess. That man was arrogant and unqualified to wield a Hero's Relic, and yet, he ignored all warnings and used it anyway. The goddess does not smile upon those who do not heed her warnings." Rhea's gaze locked to Byleth's, and they stared at each other for a moment in silence. "Needless to say, you mustn't worry. Because you possess the Crest of Flames, and because the sword chose you, nothing like that will ever happen to you."
"You knew the whole time what would happen, and you didn't warn me or Sylvain? Do you know what he went through, what he's still trying to make sense of? That battle changed him in a way that I cannot fix, and you could have prevented all of this from the very beginning? You even gave me one of the damned weapons, and sent me on that mission so I would see my fate should I ever disobey you. You claimed you trusted me, that I would use the power for good. And yet you still felt the need to-" As Byleth shouted, she stepped forward without knowing what she was doing. Suddenly Seteth was in front of her, his lance drawn and pointed at her heart.
"You shall not speak to the Archbishop in that way. Had I known you were going to make a scene, I would have-" Seteth was interrupted by a knight barging into the cathedral, flinging the doors open and sprinting up the rows of pews.
"Advisor!" the man panted, catching his breath for a moment before continuing. "Flayn, your sister… she's missing!" Seteth went a deathly pale, and the lance that he held a moment ago clattered to the floor.
"No…" his voice shook. "Not Flayn…"
Rhea had placed the weapon back in Byleth's hands, murmuring "I do trust you, child" before walking away to console Seteth, who had run out of the room. Byleth walked angrily to the classroom to relay Rhea's words and the mission for that month. However, when she opened the heavy wooden doors, the students shouted the news to her.
"Professor, Flayn's missing!"
"Yes, yes, I already know that. Our mission this month, as is everyone's, is to search for her." Byleth said, then noticed that Mercedes and Annette were both crying.
"Professor," Mercedes said, her voice wobbly. "It's our fault she's missing,"
"What do you mean, it's your fault?"
"See, I told you she'd be mad," said Annette, causing more sobs from the two girls.
"I'm not mad, I just want to know what happened." Byleth walked forward and sat down next to them, resting her head in her hands.
"We asked Flayn if we could do her hair," Mercedes said in between tears. "She said yes, so we went to the gazebo."
"Flayn said-" Annette sniffed. "Flayn said she left her hairbrush in her room, so she went to get it. Mercedes and I waited for her by the gazebo, but she never came back," Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Then it's not your fault," Byleth said, trying her best to remember their words. This will be helpful when we go to search. "We'll find her, don't worry. You were both just trying to be kind." Byleth stood up, and made eye contact with Dimitri. "Dimitri, let's go."
He looked confused, but nodded. "Where?"
"We need to search the gazebo."
Each of the students had their own suspicions about Flayn's whereabouts, but Byleth was sure she was on the right track. Something told her that the knights would know if someone had snuck into the monastery. According to Mercedes and Annette, Flayn had disappeared during the day, the same time the knights patrol the outer walls. People milled about the reception hall and cathedral, so that ruled out anyone breaking the windows and entering. Unless they had worn a disguise, the culprit had to have come from the inside.
Byleth and Dimitri had stared at the gazebo in silence for some time before one of them spoke.
"Do you really think we'll find her?" Dimitri said, his face a mix of concern and doubt.
"Knowing Seteth, he won't rest until we do. She couldn't have gone far," Byleth said, and they began to search. She paced the cobblestone path by the garden, looking in the dirt for footprints while Dimitri examined the grass and flowers for any signs of trampled plants. She had been about to give up hope and ask Mercedes and Annette for more information before Dimitri found the first clue.
"Professor," Dimitri's urgent tone made her heart race, and she turned to find him kneeling with his head half-buried in a bush.
"What in all of Fodlan are you doing, Dimitri? I highly doubt Flayn is hiding in there."
"No, of course she's not in the bush!" He stood up, clutching something in his fist. Byleth picked a leaf out of his hair, causing his face to turn a deep pink. "I found a ribbon," he mumbled, showing her his hand. Sure enough, a small golden ribbon tied in a bow rested in his palm. Byleth lifted it, holding it up to the sun. Broken threads hung off the back, signifying that it must have been torn off of something.
"It's from her dress," she said, giving it back to Dimitri. "Keep looking." They continued to look around until Byleth found another bow. Then Dimitri found another, and another, and finally they realized that Flayn had left a trail for them to find.
"She's so clever, I would have never thought of that," Byleth heard Ingrid say to Mercedes, who had finally stopped crying. "See, it wasn't your fault. Of course we'd find her." Byleth had gathered her students to help look for more ribbons, and she silently hoped that they would be the ones to find Flayn. It'll certainly help Seteth warm up to me, she thought bitterly. The trail wound its way through the garden, leading to the stables before eventually cutting off.
Annette groaned in frustration. "It can't just stop! We're so close to finding her!" The other students agreed and looked to Byleth for instructions. But to their surprise, she didn't have any.
"I… I don't know what to do." she shook her head, looking at the floor. "We've been at this for hours, and now we're stuck."
They were all quiet for a moment before Sylvain put his hand on Byleth's shoulder. "You yourself said it, Professor. We'll find her. You're always telling us to keep going and not give up, right? Well, now we're saying that to you." And he smiled, for the first time since the last mission. Maybe his true nature is finally returning, Byleth thought, a tiny bit of happiness filling her heart. However, that happiness was short lived, because Felix had found the last clue they needed.
"Professor," his voice was cold, his eyes filled with a strange fury. Byleth turned to find him standing by the door to Professor Jeritza's room holding a pin that must have fallen from Flayn's hair. "Jeritza. He took her."
Since the students had already gathered together, Byleth thought it best that they search the professor's room before alerting the knights.
"This could be your downfall, Byleth. A poorly prepared group of students is not ideal." Sothis' disapproving voice filled Byleth's head. "Who knows what awaits us? Or who's holding Flayn captive? It could be someone very dangerous." Sothis, have faith in us. We've trained extra hard this month just for this moment, Byleth thought sharply. Sothis could talk all she wanted, but Byleth was not changing her mind. She would find Flayn, here and now, without the knight's help.
Byleth slowly opened the door, wincing at the creak that sounded. The room within was dark, but nothing out of the ordinary. It was furnished with the same monastery issued desk, shelves, and bed, with not much more. However, as the students ventured deeper into the room, they noticed a long shadow on the floor by a dresser. Mercedes cast a warm glow of light, and a collective gasp erupted from the blue lions. Manuela lay limp on the floor, unconscious and bleeding.
"Professor Manuela!" Annette shouted, her eyes wide with panic. "Please wake up, please wake up," Byleth rushed to Manuela's side, followed by Dimitri.
"She's injured," she said, her own panic hidden deep within her. I must not worry the students with my fear. "Dimitri, take her to the infirmary. Alert the knights, and Seteth! This is more serious than I realized-" Dimitri nodded and began to lift Manuela. He's awfully strong, Byleth thought before telling herself to focus. Dedue stepped forward, not saying anything, and grabbed the dresser. With one swift motion, he yanked it to the side, revealing a pitch black passageway. Another collective gasp filled the room. Without a second thought, Byleth charged forward into the dark, her students following close behind.
"We've got to find Flayn," Ashe whispered while they continued down the stairs of the passageway. How far does this thing go? "Listen, you can hear sounds coming from further in." Sure enough, strange sounds had begun to echo through the tunnel as they progressed deeper. "Is Flayn going to be okay, professor?"
"We'll do our best to get there in time, I promise you that. But we need to hurry." Byleth whispered back, her voice coming out as a harsh hiss due to the stress that swirled in her heart. Luckily, they didn't have to walk much farther as the tunnel opened up a bit, the dirt walls and floor changing to stone. Two bodies lay on the floor, one with mint green hair.
"Flayn!" Mercedes shouted, a bit too loudly for Byleth's liking, and rushed towards Flayn. "She's not injured, but unconscious. Same with the other girl here." Mercedes looked up to Byleth for instruction, but was interrupted by an approaching figure.
As if emerging from Byleth's nightmares, the Death Knight stepped out of the shadows, his scythe flashing ebony in the light of Mercedes' spell. This time, he was on foot, but that did little to settle Byleth's nerves. The students backed up behind her in fear. The Death Knight… under Jeritza's room… could it be?
"It is you," the Death Knight said, his voice low and rough like sandpaper. "One of us will die, the other will live. I will enjoy this dance of damnation." He laughed, a bitter thing that sent chills up her spine.
"What do you want with me? Why do you keep appearing? And why Flayn? Why do you torment us, we who've done nothing to you?" She said angrily, the questions that she'd been holding in over the past month spilling out in a confused fury.
The knight only laughed again. "I find it laughable that you assume you deserve the answers to those questions."
In response, Byleth drew her sword that now glowed with a ferocious red light. "I will be the one who comes out of this alive, not you. I have been preparing for your return." In fact, that was not the truth. She had been cowering in fear, watching, waiting. She had been preparing her students, but not herself. That is a mistake I will not allow myself to make again. The Death Knight reached out a hand, and a ring of flames leapt out from his fingertips, locking Byleth in and her students out.
"Professor!" Mercedes shouted in fear, but she could not intervene. The flames grew higher, still, until Byleth could not see her students, only the Death Knight in front of her.
"Not so bold now, I see," he said, drawing his scythe.
That was the last straw.
Byleth charged at him, holding her sword outwards and thrusting forward with four quick jabs. He blocked them all with a stunning swiftness. Byleth spun backward and changed her sword into a whip, letting the blade do the talking. It hooked around the knight's waist and pulled him to the ground, but he righted himself quickly.
"Nice trick," he said, waving a hand as if dismissing her. "But I've got better ones up my sleeve." He whirled around and swung in a wild strike. Byleth ducked out of reflex, but instead of carrying forward with his momentum from the strike, he anticipated her dodge, bringing his scythe crashing down on her arm. Byleth felt the bone shatter, giving her flashbacks to the battle with the dark mage three months ago. She roared with rage and pain, slashing in a wide arc. The sword, now blazing with a red hot light, cut through the Death Knight's armor like butter. Unfortunately, the metal was so thick that the sword barely cut into the man's chest, leaving him with only a minor wound. He stood for a moment, gaping at the damage in his armor before recovering quickly. "You cannot stop me with such a simple maneuver." Byleth didn't respond, for she was panting from the effort of fighting and the blinding pain in her arm. The Death Knight startled her with a quick jab, sending her to the ground, her sword clattering from her hand. He placed his boot on her ribcage and began to press down, down, down until it felt like she was going to snap. Is this the end? She thought, panicking. She frantically clawed at his boot, but to no avail. The only thing that could save her now was the Sword of the Creator, lying only a few feet away. Byleth squeezed her eyes shut, praying her death would be quick. Sothis, I'm so sorry. I let both of us down. Jeralt, kill the death knight for me. Please, keep my students safe. Dimitri, please bring the knights as fast as you can. I never got to tell you this, but- Dazzling white spots danced at the edges of her vision, notifying her that she was on the verge of blacking out. She could faintly hear the screams of her students over the deafening pounding of her heart. Dimitri, I-
A blinding flash of light burst into her vision. Is this death? Byleth thought, her mind whirling. No, this was not the peace she had heard about all her life. The leaping flames still surrounded her, trapping her, and the armored boot still pressed down, threatening to snap her bones. But there, to her right, a figure clad in strange red and white armor now stood, the flickering firelight making him glow. The man wore a mask, obscuring his face. He said something, his voice deep and distorted, but Byleth could not make out the words. The pressure on her ribcage disappeared, leaving her struggling to breathe. Another flash of light, and both men were gone. The knights rushed into the tunnel, just missing the enemies by a few minutes. The flames disappeared just as quickly as they had come. Mercedes fixed Byleth's arm and other injuries very quickly, and the other students surveyed the room with wide eyes. Any trace of the Death Knight had vanished.
"Professor, what happened?" Annette said, looking on the verge of tears. Byleth only shook her head and stood up, motioning for Dedue.
"I'm not important right now. We have to get Flayn and the other girl to safety."
The look on Seteth's face shifted from horror to pure joy the second he saw Byleth carry Flayn into the cathedral.
"Flayn!" he shouted, rushing forward to help. Once his sister was safely in his arms, Seteth turned to Byleth, silver tears in his eyes. "Professor, I… I can't thank you enough."
"I'm just happy to see her safe," she replied. Seteth smiled through his tears before rushing Flayn to the infirmary.