Mako's Message: Well, that didn't go as planned. This was originally only like...three sentences, and I didn't know what to build around that to make it worth posting. But then inspiriration struck and I like how it turned out.

#9 - What Fuels The Fire

The hall was filled with the students of Garreg Mach. Talking, laughing, eating, and several dancing. Byleth stood, calmly, silently, nearly motionless among the crowd. They'd be noticed soon enough, and then Sothis would get to dance to her heart's content. But Byleth didn't enjoy it nearly as much, so they were content to endure her whining until someone, usually Claude, pulled them onto the dance floor.

"I am not whining!"

"Pleading then?"

"Pleading? I shouldn't even have to ASK you, after all I've done for you. You know how much I love to dance. You should just go on the dance floor and find a partner on your own.

"It's difficult to observe everyone when dancing. And I know you enjoy seeing everyone happy and safe almost as much as I do."

"That is true...but I would enjoy experiencing their joy from among them even more so." There was a brief pause before she continued, "Look! Bernadetta has decided to attend. Why don't you go and ask her to dance? No one would have an easier time of it than you."

Bernadetta didn't always attend this dance, but when she did more often then not she'd be enjoying herself by the end of it if someone said just the right things. Perhaps asking her to dance would be good way to encourage her out of her shell. Byleth let out a "hmm" as they considered how to approach her without scaring her back to her room, and that brought him to someone's attention.

"Oh, hello Professor Eisner! I didn't see you standing there. Are you enjoying yourself?"

They gave the student a slight smile and nodded.

An eager smile bloomed on her face, "Will you be dancing?"

"Of course they will." And there it was. Byleth turned to see Claude striding up to them. "If you're quick," he added, taking Byleth's hand with a wink, "you can have a dance with them after I'm done"

By the time they reached the dance floor however, the song was half over, "Oh Phooey! And Claude is such an excellent dance partner! You simply must ask for a second dance when this song ends."

"That doesn't seem fair to everyone else waiting for their turn."

"I swear to you Byleth, if you don't ask Claude for another dance I will turn back time to dance again and keep turning it back until I have danced my fill!"

The strain of turning back time was far less when Sothis herself was doing it, and the physical exhaustion wouldn't be much worse than dancing the entirety of the ball, but the mental exhaustion… What was only a few hours to everyone else could end up feeling like a whole day to them. "Claude," Byleth said, "I feel like we were cheated out of a full dance. Would you be my partner for the next one as well?"

Claude's face brightened, "Professor! Another dance? I wouldn't want to make anyone think there was anything going on between us," Byleth's face went blanker than usual, "But if you insist how could I refuse?"

"Excellent!," Sothis cheered, clapping her hands, "Oh I so enjoy this!"

Byleth's face bore a soft smile as they danced with Claude again, and then accepted a dance request from the next student, and the next, and the next, all through the night. They might have gotten tired, but the joy in Sothis' voice as they danced kept them energized. As the revelry was starting to end, and a few students had already retired for the night, they'd finally danced with nearly every student who'd wanted to. "Ah. And here is the one you've been wanting to dance with."

Byleth turned to see Edelgard stepping around another student, Hubert a ways behind her looking as nettled as usual. "Professor," they said, politely nodding their head, "I'd wanted to have a dance with you, but you seemed content to stay on the sidelines and I didn't want to intrude." She gave them an amused smile, "But by the time I noticed you'd taken to the dance floor you already had half the school lined up."

"Well," they said, extending their hand, "I always have time for one last dance with my best student."

Edelgard's face brightened as she took their hand, "I'm quite pleased to hear it."

Their dance was a bit grander the ones either had had earlier in the night. With the crowd thinned they were able to take bigger steps at greater speed, and cover more ground with little worry about colliding with any of the other dancers. Throughout the night, Edelgard had danced with almost as many people as Byleth had, and throughout she'd worn a pleasant smile, sometimes even laughing at a joke her partner had made, but while it may have been genuine at times, it still felt as if it had been affixed there out of politeness and obligation. But now, as they spun across the dance floor the smile on her face was bigger than any Byleth had seen on her tonight.

"Byleth," Sothis cautioned, "don't..."

"This is one of my most prized memories, and one I strive to recreate every time. Your face, smiling and carefree, surrounded by friends, gives me the strength to follow my path. No matter how hard it may be to try again, this memory drives me to do it. It doesn't matter if I save the world when you're not in it, and saving you isn't really saving you when you're haunted by the ones you sacrificed. But this night, with you, is all I need to remind me why I keep trying. Because this is worth it. You're worth it."

Sothis sighed, "Nothing good will come of this."

The expression on Edelgard's face froze for a moment, and then slowly crumbled as their dance lost all it's momentum. The utter delight was replaced with confusion and moved on to horror. Byleth watched the change sadly from arms length, as they hadn't completed the steps to bring them back together, their hands still clasped only because Edelgard was clearly too distracted to let go. He did that for her.

"I should take my leave for the night," they said, giving a polite bow before turning and leaving.

"We should go back. You shouldn't have said that," Sothis commented.

"No. We'll leave it. See how it plays out."

It was habit, more than anything else, that brought him to the Goddess Tower after leaving the Dance. They wandered inside anyway, not expecting to meet anyone this time. The view from the top was nice at least. Before they could climb the first set of steps however, a breathless voice called out to them.

"Professor!"