A single foggy morning outside of his castle had bombarded Sylvain with more surprises than the previous months combined. First, Felix Hugo Fraldarius, the stern, workhorse duke who could barely afford to break free from his duties a handful of times every year to visit his friends, descended upon the Gautier gates on top of an exhausted wyvern, the breeze tousling his waist-length hair. Second, he immediately omitted the proper greetings among the nobles of Faerghus—well, omitted any greetings—to demand that Sylvain climb on the animal right that instant, and with the way he gripped his sword's hilt, he might as well have threatened to cut him into pieces if he refused.
But what had struck him like a ton of bricks and, in parallel, turned his body nauseatingly light were his friend's following words.
"Ingrid and her children are missing."
Sylvain held onto the stone wall of the fortress, if only to physically latch on to reality. He might have cared about his knees almost giving out under him, but the whirlpool of questions that spun in his mind claimed his attention. What the hell? When did this happen? How could this happen? Why—
"Wipe that stupid look off your face and listen," Felix said before Sylvain had a chance to voice his dread. "You and I both know where she is."
He didn't think twice about clutching Felix's arm. No sooner had he pulled him up than the creature soared with a powerful beat of its wings.
"A messenger from Galatea arrived at Fraldarius territory," Felix yelled so he could hear him over the biting winds. "Her family and House Reiner are searching everywhere for the three of them. They disappeared about a week ago."
An entire week. Sylvain had always loathed the remoteness of his domain, but now more than ever did he curse being the last to receive urgent news. If it hadn't been for Felix delivering them personally, he would have remained unaware of the ordeal for who knows how long. The mere thought made his stomach churn.
To his credit, the tense and fatigued swordsman answered every one of his panicked questions with as much patience as he could muster. A trained war hero was probably the least likely candidate for anyone with half a brain to attempt to kidnap and Ingrid's pegasus was nowhere to be found in Reiner lands, which meant that she might have escaped. However, the key to his hypothesis was the infuriating possibility that her idiot husband had sunk even lower than she would tolerate.
Sylvain tensed up, remembering that he was on a wyvern headed towards the unknown. Felix was certain about Ingrid's location. "And where are we going?"
Felix looked over his shoulder as if he had asked the dumbest question yet. "Ugh, I should have expected you to be just as oblivious as everyone in this investigation. Where else would she take refuge?"
A few days later, as dusk painted the skies a vibrant golden, they arrived at Garreg Mach Monastery.
The margrave frequented the Church of Seiros's headquarters, as did most lords of the Holy Kingdom. Since the Officers Academy prospered in this peaceful age, numerous students roamed the pavilions, some engaging in loud chatter and others barely stifling yawns. Sylvain recalled the tea parties he used to host in the courtyard, the delicious meals that his class shared in the dining room, making it seem not so filthy anymore, and the regular clash of steel in the training grounds that had become almost lulling. Even during the war, his friends had turned the ruined monastery into more of a home than the margravate. For that, each visit filled him with heartwarming nostalgia.
In the reception hall, Sylvain spotted a tuft of green hair among the crowd and guided his irritated, shorter companion towards the familiar sight. Seteth looked at them with raised brows, but his expression became more determined as he made his way to meet them, like he knew exactly what they had come for.
Turns out, he did.
"Ingrid requested sanctuary a while ago. I believe she and her children are currently in the knight's hall," he said after they exchanged greetings, returning air to Sylvain's lungs. "If there is anything else we can do, please let us know. Flayn and I would be happy to help."
Sylvain thanked him and ran to catch up to Felix, who had already reached the eastern door.
The room's crackling hearth built the moderate warmth that Sylvain had always found irresistibly cozy, reason why he constantly used to fall asleep on the settee to be awoken by an annoyed professor. Although many soldiers came for extra practice or rest during the day, only a few lingered by the walls standing guard or lighting candles in anticipation of nightfall.
Facing one of the straw dummies, a figure dressed in trousers and an oversized blouse corrected the stance of a young boy clutching a wooden sword while a girl stared intently from the stairs. The woman turned to the newcomers, her blonde braid swinging with the motion.
"Sylvain! Felix!" Ingrid exclaimed, her emergent smile illuminating her eyes in a breathtaking way.
When he ran up to her encounter, nothing else in the world mattered. There was no Crest system, no corrupt nobility, no leeching obligations. There was only his cherished friend as she jumped into his arms and he spun her around, her laugh ringing in his ears like the most beautiful song. She's all right, goddess, she's all right, he thought, setting her down and cradling the back of her head.
Sylvain reluctantly ended the hug so Ingrid could address the quiet man waiting behind him. Felix had never been one for physical affection, not even as a kid, and more than once had he attacked him in what had probably become a reflex action to fend off unwanted touches. However, deep within him as it may be, he still had a soft side for his closest companions and returned Ingrid's embrace, albeit awkwardly. Sylvain snorted, endeared by the attempt.
"How did you know we were here?" Happiness dripped off Ingrid's voice. "I couldn't send any messengers!"
"You must be joking," Felix said, a perplexed look on his face. "It's such an obvious choice, it's unbelievable your family hasn't found you yet. You can't be so careless."
Ingrid smiled. "Yes, I understand. I'm sorry for making you worry, and thank you."
Felix huffed, looking away in a poor attempt to hide his own grin.
Before any of the three could say anything further, the boy Ingrid had been tutoring dropped his weapon with a heavy thud and rushed towards them, his green gaze wide in excitement. "Uncle!"
Sylvain caught Isaac and tossed him in the air playfully, both of them breaking into a fit of giggles. "Hey, buddy! Wow, I almost didn't recognize you! You'll soon be taller than me at this pace!" he said, realizing that he had become the cheesy old relative who commented on the kids' growth every time they reunited. It was just so hard to believe that Isaac was already four.
When he lowered him to the ground, the child turned to meet Felix's natural grimace and tensed up, resorting to a formal bow that Ingrid had surely helped him practice. Felix stayed still for a moment, but he eventually gave in to the urge to ruffle the boy's hair.
Ingrid looked at the back of her leg, which the girl who had been watching Isaac train had silently claimed as her hideout. "Julia, sweetie, go give your uncles a hug."
Felix hunched his shoulders, bracing for a calamity, and Julia glanced at the two men with uncertainty in her huge gray eyes.
Although he was amused, Sylvain decided to put an end to their torture. "Nah, it's OK, Ing." He crouched to be at Julia's height, who recoiled further, hiding beneath her brown locks. A part of him cursed the fact that she resembled her father so much, but he promptly dismissed it and waved. "Hey there."
Julia held her tiny fist to her chin, but he could have sworn a smile tugged at her lips.
"You escaped, didn't you? Why?" An impatient Felix asked Ingrid.
Her gaze flickered between her children and the ground beneath her. "It was no longer safe for them there. We…had to sneak out during the night."
"I kept really quiet when I got out, like Mom said," Isaac chimed in, his head held high. "Julia too!"
Ingrid's surprise melted into a look of fondness. "And that was very brave of you, honey. You were just like the great hero Bardolph." She put her hand on his shoulder and wagged an admonishing finger. "But great heroes need lots of training. How about you go show your sister what you have learned while Mom speaks with the uncles?"
Isaac gaped like he had heard the most brilliant idea ever. "Yeah!" He grabbed an unsuspecting Julia by the wrist and pulled her towards the straw dummies.
When they were out of earshot, Felix crossed his arms. "OK, now you can talk."
The trio sat in front of the hearth, like they used to do back when they were students and later soldiers stationed at the monastery. Ingrid's visage darkened as she talked about the unsettling, black-clad Crest examiners, who Sylvain remembered all too well. She spoke of her meeting with Dimitri concerning the suspicious plague among the western towns, and how an increasing number of mages arrived at Reiner Manor.
"I have no doubt that those warlocks were the same ones we faced back in Enbarr. Those who experimented with the people of Remire and Edelgard." Ingrid reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of dark cloth with a circular design reminiscent of an eye. "This was embroidered in one of their robes. I believe it is the emblem of their organization, though it could be a fake."
Felix studied the symbol before returning his attention to her. "Why were they in your territory?"
"I don't know. Philip never explained it properly to me. He just told me that he was indebted to them, and…" Ingrid clenched the fabric of her trousers. "That he would allow them to experiment on Julia."
"What?! His own daughter?!" Sylvain stood up, the fury that had been arising in his core finally combusting. "Ingrid, you can't go back to him. He couldn't care less about you or the kids if he's willing to risk your safety like that."
For a terrifying second, he feared she might argue. After all, Ingrid had ceded precious years of her life to this arrangement, and it would devastate her to throw away her effort.
She sighed. "I agree, and I don't want them to associate with a man of such questionable allegiances."
A wave of relief surged through him. He felt ridiculous for thinking, even for an instant, that Ingrid would tolerate that much.
"That's why I have a favor to ask you two," she said as she rose to her feet.
Sylvain exchanged a glance with Felix. Then, they stared at her in silent anticipation.
Ingrid took a deep breath. "Please, will you take care of Isaac and Julia while I travel to Fhirdiad? If I can inform His Majesty about the situation in person, we may be able to discover more about these people and finally eliminate the threat to the villages." She looked at her fidgeting hands in her lap, the smallest of smiles on her lips. "And… House Galatea may cut ties with House Reiner, ally of Imperial supporters, forever."
Sylvain froze, mulling over those words.
She… She would be free. They would be free.
"Wait." Felix held his hand out in front of him. "Surely you don't think you can make the journey alone." When she didn't respond, his voice became taut. "Ingrid, dozens of soldiers are out there looking for you. Besides, you have dedicated yourself to the languid housewife lifestyle for way too long, and it shows." He cruelly gestured to her more fragile build. They all knew that she had been forced to decrease the intensity of her training regimen.
While he would not put it like Felix had, Sylvain couldn't deny his claim. "I hate to say it, but he's right. It's way too dangerous."
Ingrid stood tall, meeting her friends with a glare that voiced her desire for a challenge. "I'm aware, but there is nothing that you could do to change my mind. I won't allow them to take what I love from me anymore."
Sylvain couldn't help a budding joy. So much had happened over these last years, so many hardships had threatened to consume them, and yet Ingrid confronted each one with unwavering resolve. Her will had proven to be unbreakable, which he couldn't be more thankful for.
"We never said we would stop you," Felix took the words right out of his mouth. "We'll go with you."
Sylvain gave a firm nod. "Seteth will be the most intense nanny the little guys have ever seen… Oh, but Flayn will be ecstatic! We gotta tell them!"
"You focus on writing to your father," Felix grunted. "Can't imagine he would be delighted to take on your work without prior notice."
He waved dismissively. "His temper is more manageable. Being at a ripe old age is making him weirdly sentimental, you know?"
As both men prepared to leave the hall, Sylvain realized that Ingrid had been staring at them, her mouth hanging slightly open. "Ing? Is something up?"
"You… You would truly do this?" she muttered, as if unware that Sylvain would move heaven and earth for her. As if she didn't realize that she was the only person who actually made him want to do such a thing.
Felix graced them with one of those rare grins he didn't bother to conceal. "We depart at daybreak."
Ingrid brought her clasped hands up as tears began swelling up in her eyes. Sylvain and Felix stumbled back when she threw her arms around their necks, her small frame masking a strength that remained quite impressive, but they quickly relaxed into her embrace.
"Thank you so much," she laughed, tightening her hold.