This was the most fun chapter to write, by far, and also the most difficult. I hope it will be a satisfying conclusion for everyone! I still can't even believe how long this story ended up being. Unfortunately I wasn't able to edit this chapter as much as I expected, but I hope it's still enjoyable to read nonetheless.
The sun had sunk behind the clouds as the pegasus squadron zeroed in on their target. The tunnel of smoke had been short-lived, on account of a sudden cloudburst, but it had been all the navigators needed.
The captain, ahead of her fellows, banked as she reached a clearing that bordered a narrow lake. She hovered, dipping lower as she discerned what was below. At first it was only sand and trees, and a worrying dark shape to the far left, but the captain saw it as she reached just a dozen feet above the ground. Footsteps. Animal and human.
Silently, so as not to startle anyone- human or otherwise- the captain flashed a raised hand, then pointed to the ground. Her teammates understood and a series of graceful landings followed, in neat formation. The captain could barely contain the excitement pounding in her chest, but it went against her training to succumb.
"We'll spread out and search in twos," the captain began firmly, but she noticed a look of shock in one of her fellows. Impatiently, she added, "Yes? What's that?"
"Captain, there's someone there!"
She was pointing at a vast overhang of rock at the edge of the beach. It was unextraordinary by all means, a natural landmark that all but the most curious would overlook. But to one with keen observation, the sight of a small fire and three dark shapes crowded around it was as visible as a shaft of sunlight in a stormy sky.
Dimitri, crouched by the tiny fire, was using what remained of his strength to hold Edelgard. Claude sat nearby, almost embarrassed at his breakdown, but the strongest feeling in him was exhaustion. He'd barely had the strength today to build and light the signal fire and even talking felt like an unnecessary spend of energy.
"El," Dimitri broke the silence many minutes after it settled. Claude looked at him in alarm, but Dimitri was fixated on Edelgard's face.
"El," Dimitri repeated a little louder, ignoring the pain that every word brought, "can you hear me? Please, El- open your eyes, touch my hand, something, anything…"
Not even Edelgard's eyelids fluttered, and her hands, when Dimitri took them, were limp and damp. Claude knelt down at his friend's side and said softly, "Dimitri, you don't need to-"
"El, you can't die here. You can't leave us. I won't allow-"
Edelgard's neck still felt warm under Claude's fingers, but her flush of fever had faded. Her head hung backwards as Dimitri lifted her face to his own and what remained of her matted hair nearly touched the ground.
"She's gone, Dimitri."
Dimitri did not move or speak or react in any way. His one eye blinked rapidly as any remaining color drained from his face.
"She's not breathing. I can't feel a pulse."
Claude was shocked at the lack of feeling in his own voice. He sounded toneless, as if every emotion had been sucked out of him, like a black hole that had swallowed everything in the sky.
"No, Claude, she's not dead."
There was anger, deadliness, in Dimitri's tone. He placed Edelgard's body gently on the sand, his voice shaking as much as he was. "She was alive a moment ago. She's not dead. She's not…"
Neither of the two surviving lords could speak for the first few minutes. Edelgard's body was like a fallen statue. The pained grimace on her face had relaxed to a neutral frown. Her lips and cracked fingernails had faded from pink to an ashen gray.
"There has to be something we can do. We have to revive her somehow."
This was such an outlandish suggestion that Claude could find no response. He did not want to be in this situation. He didn't want to be kneeling by a corpse, a dead body that the two of them would have to bury, or dispose of before a predator was attracted. Dimitri leaned over Edelgard's body, his face very close to hers, begging piteously.
"El, please. Wake up… Open your eyes! Say something!"
He took hold of her shoulders and shook them gently, but Edelgard crumpled in the sand, her head falling to the side. Her almost expressionless face awakened the tidal wave of grief about to crest in Dimitri's being.
"El… Wake up… Wake up! Please! Don't you be dead! Don't die! Don't…"
Dimiri woke with a jolt, raising his upper body out of the sand so quickly that he was dizzy for a few moments. He looked in every direction for Edelgard, and when he realized the faint noise in the shelter was her breathing, his relief was so great that he didn't notice Claude was calling his name, until he ran back to the shelter himself and pulled his friend to his feet.
"What's going-?" Dimitri asked blearily, his heart pounding from the horrible dream, but he only needed to look at Claude's face as he hauled Edelgard onto his back to know what had happened.
"There's a squad of pegasus knights outside. From the monastery. That's what's going on."
Dimitri's mouth opened, but no words came out, and he gasped as he heard Edelgard moan a little in pain as her chest was pressed against Claude's back. He loosened his grip just a little, then gave Dimitri a wide smile over his shoulder.
"Come on!" Claude encouraged with a wave of his hand, "I can't carry both of you!"
And as Dimitri saw the beach where he had nearly lost his life just a few nights ago, he had to shield his eye from the brilliant sunset, painting the landscape a panorama of red, orange and yellow. He had never seen anything so beautiful. To complete the picture, a dozen pegasi and their riders were cheering and shouting and waving, despite harried warnings and admonishments from their leader.
"My lords, it brings us joy we cannot describe to have found you all alive," the captain shouted above the noise, "let us make the journey home together. We will be back at the monastery before the night is done!"
It was all happening fast. One minute, Dimitri was locked in a horrible nightmare of his very worst fear being realized. The next, he and Claude were soaring through the sky at an amazing speed, leaving their campground farther behind with every wingbeat. The knight who had taken responsibility for Edelgard soared a dozen feet away.
"She won't fall," the knight assured them as she angled a little closer, "I've done this more times than I can count."
"If you say so," Claude replied, hoping that Edelgard wouldn't slip out of the belt the knight had fastened around her waist if she awoke. But he smiled when he faced Dimitri, saying a bit more clearly, "so, guess we're going home now. That's something, isn't it? Just when I was starting to think it might never happen, too."
"Yes, I suppose this isn't a dream. Though it feels so much like one…"
The lords were quite awestruck at what a wonderful sensation it was to be in the air, and fascinated by the beauty of the landscape so many hundreds of feet below. A rich tapestry of clear lakes and rivers, trees in countless shades of greens and browns, and every now and then a bright thicket of wildflowers. It wasn't until then that they realized how beautiful nature could be, now that they were at a safe distance.
It didn't matter that Seteth and Rhea had taken measures to make sure the students would remain calm and not crowd the search teams when they returned, with or without the lords in tow. Everyone saw the pegasus squadron approaching as soon as the dawn broke, and words spread faster than the pegasi could fly. By the time the headmasters had realized what was happening, the knights were about to make their descent.
Shouts of They're back! The lords have returned! shattered the morning's silence, scattering roosting birds in all directions. Claude and Dimitri had been almost dozing- it had been an easy trip back, free of wind or rain- but no one within a hundred miles could have slept with the racket that was raised.
Even Edelgard, though the fever kept her immobile, opened her heavy eyelids and stared blankly at the advancing crowd. The ghost of a smile touched her lips as she saw her professor among the excited mass of students. Byleth pushed her way to the front of the crowd and stopped a few feet away, astonished at what she saw.
In front of her, two of them dismounting the pegasi, were the most dirty, bruised, insect-eaten and sunburnt humans Byleth had ever seen. She cried out as Dimitri finally saw her- one of his eyes was buried under a mask of jagged wounds. Further shock rooted the Professor to the spot as she saw two of the pegasus knights lift a seemingly lifeless Edelgard from their steed.
"Students! All of you, away from the lords! And you as well, Professor!"
The sharp command was enough for everyone to back away, but there was no way to quiet the cheering. A team of stewards and nurses bearing stretchers made the the crowd part hastily, and soon Edelgard was carried to the infirmary with Dimitri and Claude close behind. Byleth watched them go with mounting terror- was Edelgard unconscious, or…?
"All of you will return to your businesses at once," Seteth continued, clearly more impatient than sympathetic, "and no one will not disturb the lords. They will receive treatment promptly, and Rhea and I will hold a meeting once we have their conditions properly assessed. Until then, I expect that you will conduct yourselves with proper restraint in the future."
There were many groans of disappointment, but the students returned in a straggling line to the monastery, falling into their usual groups to discuss the momentous event. Byleth was waved at and called over by many of her students, but she ignored them all as she hurried to find Seteth.
It felt as unreal as the nightmare Dimitri had, at first, for the three to be back in a world of safety and comfort, where their needs could be tended to at any moment. But at first, it was hard to enjoy luxuries like clean water to wash with or the softness of a bed while Edelgard was being examined.
"She's very lucky," Manuela was explaining quietly to Claude and Dimitri, "another day or two and she may not have survived this illness. I haven't seen it in years… it's a strange affliction that only seems to affect those who are in deep wilderness for a long time. But as long as she rests her for as long as her body needs to, she will recover."
"As long as we can convince her to stay in here, I guess," Claude said with a lighthearted chuckle. Dimitri smiled as well, but he had been staring for a long time at Edelgard's sleeping face.
"You two will need to stay in the infirmary as well," Manuela added with a trace of her usual teasing tone. "Consider yourselves excused from classes until you've recovered from this… unusual incident."
A knock on the door startled the three, and even Edelgard's gentler breathing stuttered for a moment. Knowing who to expect, Manuela tutted quietly and said through the door, "Yes, come in, Professor."
Byleth couldn't contain herself as she entered the warm, quiet room and saw what had happened to her students. Her joy that they had returned to her and sympathy for the suffering they'd endured was too much. Most of Byleth's short visit was spent in Claude and Dimitri's arms until her loud sobs had weakened to shaky sniffles.
"I missed you too, Teach," Claude said with the hint of a chuckle, although he could feel a now-familiar wetness in his eyes when Byleth lifted her face and he saw how rimmed with red her wide blue eyes were.
"It gives me joy beyond words to see you again, Professor," Dimitri whispered, reluctantly releasing Byleth. A huge smile of relief brightened her face, but it faded instantly when she saw what had happened to her student.
"Y-your eye…"
Dimitri shook his head, resigned now to his fate. "I was attacked by a bear. If Claude hadn't managed to drive it off… Well, I think one eye is a fair price to pay for my life to remain."
"That must hurt so terribly," Byleth said after a pause, feeling another well of sadness in her chest as she thought of Dimitri living the rest of his life half-blind. But the prince shook his head.
"Not anymore. I scarcely feel a thing now."
Byleth sighed, and for the rest of her meeting, little more was said between her and the students. They watched Manuela as she tended to Edelgard, washing the dirt from Edelgard's face and murmuring about why her hair was so much shorter. Neither Claude nor Dimitri felt like explaining- they had decided they would save their stories for when they could return to their classes. Claude in particular was quite excited at the thought of what Hilda would say when she found out he had scared off a bear.
As night fell on the monastery, when the atmosphere had faded to a quiet kind of relief that three of the most beloved students were safe, Edelgard finally awoke. It took her several minutes to realize where she was; she fully expected to be lying on the ground. The return home with the pegasus knights felt like a fever dream. She thought, at first, that the fever had finally taken her life and she would wake up in heaven.
So I am still alive. And… this is the infirmary.
The softness of the bed under her, the feeling of a cool cloth on her forehead, and the lack of pain in her chest and her deep, easy breathing were the greatest things Edelgard had ever felt. She wouldn't have noticed that Dimitri was awake and looking intently at her if he didn't say her name. Gently, as if he didn't want to disturb her.
"Yes," Edelgard answered, only to confirm that she could hear him.
Dimitri hadn't expected her to answer right away, so he was a bit unsure of what to say next. He cleared his throat, looking back at Claude as he turned over in bed, but didn't wake up.
"How are you feeling, El?"
"Much better than I was," she answered, and turned her head just enough to see Dimitri. Not only his face, but his shoulders as well were heavily bandaged. She felt a twinge of sympathy. He'd endured the most physical punishment out of the three of them.
"It's a comfort to hear that. I… I was very worried about you, El, ever since that day you seemed to lose all your energy."
Edelgard said nothing. She suddenly wondered if pretending to be asleep would make Dimitri stop talking.
"Just before the pegasus knights rescued us…" Dimitri faltered for a moment as he recalled that horribly vivid nightmare, "I… I fell asleep while watching you, and I had a… I dreamed that you were dead, El. And for a moment when I woke up… I thought it was real."
Edelgard blinked a few times in bewilderment. Dimitri sounded strangely sad about this confession. She sat up as much as her sleepiness would allow and gave Dimitri an impassive look.
"Well, I didn't die. And I don't think I would have, to be honest with you. Yes, I was ill, but I believe I would have recovered on my own if you and Claude were capable of taking better care of me."
She'd expected Dimitri to snap back an angry retort, but he looked almost guilty as he remained silent.
"El- seeing you suffer like that… it hurt so much more than I can describe. It… made me realize that I-"
"That you what?" Edelgard said, a little too forcefully, but she caught herself and amended, "Yes, what is it, Dimitri? You can speak up a little."
"I knew then, watching you… that I never wanted you to suffer, El. Not like that. No one would have deserved to die such a lonely, suffering death, so far away from any kind of comfort… And when I thought I would lose you forever, I… I wanted to tell you…"
Mystified, Edelgard had to prompt, "Yes? What did you want to tell me?"
Dimitri's remaining eye met Edelgard's as he steeled himself with a deep breath. "El, for the way I've treated you, for the way I've felt about you, for all the times I wished, to myself and out loud, for you to suffer… from the bottom of my heart… you have my sincere apologies."
Edelgard nodded once, but only to show that she'd heard him. It was quite a long and rather uncomfortable silence before she could formulate a response.
"I will need time to decide if, and when, I can accept that, Dimitri. And I believe you've heard the phrase that actions speak louder than words."
"Yes, El. I wouldn't expect you to forgive me right away. It may not even be the right thing for you to feel."
"So you understand better than I thought."
For the first time in several days, a trace of happiness could be seen in Edelgard's light eyes as she added, "It… I am grateful that you've told me this."
"And I'm grateful that you survived our ordeal, El."
For the rest of the night, Edelgard and Dimitri continued to talk, but about other things. They wondered aloud where exactly they had landed in the wilderness around Fearghus, they speculated who could be conspiring against them, they tried to patch together their memories of the attack for clues. But they also talked about the beauty of nature, the vast variety of plant and animal life they now had seen, and what might have become of that caribou herd they'd encountered. Indeed, neither of them went to sleep until Manuela arrived for a check-up and extinguished the lamps, and half-teasingly told Dimitri that she would have to separate the two lords if they kept chattering like that all night.
That was, Dimitri and Edelgard both knew as they half-gratefully slipped back into the sweet haze of sleepy thoughts, the first time we've spoken so easily like that in so long. And as the dark sky brightened to daylight, and Claude was the first to awaken, he could tell that a change had occurred between his comrades.
It only took nearly dying two or three times, but would you look at that? Seems like they can stand the sight of each now. Maybe this is going just a little bit better than I hoped.
I was debating a lot whether or not I wanted Edelgard to survive. My original plan for this story, actually, was that she would go missing sometime during the final night in the woods, and her fate would be unknown, and the story would end on an uncertain note. But that felt a lot more depressing than the ending I ultimately wrote- but despite the fact that I'm marking this story as complete, there may be an alternate ending put out eventually.
My biggest worry is that it's a bit unrealistic and more than a little out of character for Dimitri and Edelgard to even be in the same neighborhood as forgiving each other. Especially since this story is pre-timeskip. Idk, I felt as I was writing the final scene that it was the most important one of the entire story. I also really, really like the idea of Dimitri and Edelgard finally letting go of their deep-seated (although in the game's context, very much justified) hatred of the other.
So that's the end of it! For now, I'm going to be taking a little break from writing fics and work on an original story until the end of the month. After that... I have so many other 3H fic ideas. So. Many. And all of them I'm excited for. I may even be taking a vote on what story I do next on my twitter, our_own_vera! But either way, I'll be announcing my upcoming fic- or fics- there on the first of the next month!