It was hot, even for the Blue Sea Moon, and for what must have been the hundredth time since they had set out for Garreg Mach, Edelgard wondered what Grand Emperor Wilhelm had been thinking when he had designed Imperial regalia this heavy. Even Caspar and Ferdinand were sweaty. Only Byleth seemed unbothered by the weather, and Edelgard was half-convinced that she was either insane or from another world entirely.
The birds sang as sweetly here as they had in Enbarr, and the flowers and trees were a riot of color despite the heat. There were only the five of them since the main body of the allied army had been sent on ahead a week prior, and if not for the way Caspar and Ferdinand kept staring at her while fingering their swords, they might have been former students heading to a reunion. They hadn't even shackled her. The only sign that she was a captive from a conquered nation was that her tiara seemed to have gone missing. Probably in the hands of some looter, much joy may they have of it. Her companions barely spoke to her nor she to them, but she matched their leisurely pace without complaint. Her legs were grateful for the exercise after so long recovering. And, if she was a captive, she would be a captive with some dignity.
She looked at Byleth. It had been six years and a lifetime ago since they had first walked this road together, but she had barely changed at all. She seemed to pull Edelgard towards her as they walked. Not because she was beautiful. As emperor, Edelgard had been surrounded by beautiful people all too willing to share her bed if she had wished it. She was no longer capable of something as innocent as infatuation, but Byleth seemed to promise a return to a time she thought had passed her by forever. Sparing her, speaking as if her life had value beyond her need to overthrow the church. She was definitely mad. Edelgard had been submerged in favor of the Emperor for so long that she wasn't sure she could untangle them, or if she wanted to.
They exited the woods and Garreg Mach stood before her as if her invasion had never happened. A dull ache settled in Edelgard's chest. She didn't need more reminders of all she had lost by her failure. "Do they know we're coming?" Am I going to be facing a company of Knights eager to kill me slowly?
"Claude and Seteth will meet us. It's almost meal time, so most of the army will be in the dining hall. It's better if with work out the details of your stay in private."
The words were those like that Duke Aegir and Count Varley when they spoke of hostages, but Byleth's tone wasn't malice coated with honey. Why she went to such effort, not to extract information, but to treat Edelgard as a guest was a complete mystery. She hadn't known Byleth nearly as well as the Golden Deer must have but she had been completely without artifice during that year and Hubert's...Hubert's agents had uncovered nothing to suggest that had changed. Her kindness or friendliness or whatever it was left an ache in Edelgard's chest like an old wound.
Caspar's gaze flickered to Byleth. "What are we going to do with Edelgard, anyway? I mean, is she still emperor or are you in charge…can you make my father stop fighting?"
Edelgard stopped. "Count Bergliez hasn't surrendered?" She would always hate him for what he had done to her father, but like Hubert's father he had done it under the delusion that he was doing the right thing and not merely feeding his own ambition. They had been united in their desire to see a world free from the influence of the church. He was honorable. The Imperial Army had been decimated by the time she made her last stand. He could barely hold his own territory with what was left. Wasting his men out of pride was unlike him.
Ferdinand glared at her. "I do not think that is something we should discuss with you, under the circumstances."
Byleth ignored him. "I'm not sure who's in charge. Your father wouldn't listen to me or Claude, anyway. Would he listen to you?"
"He disowned me when I joined up with you."
Caspar looked like a kicked puppy. As if he weren't the one who committed treason. It had saved his life, but he had to expect consequences. If she had won the battle…she wouldn't be walking calmly beside him without so much as tying his hands behind his back. She wouldn't have ordered his execution without even looking up from her work. She couldn't get to the monastery quickly enough.
As promised, Claude and Seteth met them inside a deserted entrance hall. Claude looked every inch the lord with the best claim to Fódlan, the gilded threads of his jacket glinting in the light and his smile as charming as ever. Seteth hadn't changed at all, not so much as a new scar or different clothing. Then again, his kind lived far longer than humans. Maybe they changed more slowly as well. She met his icy gaze with her own. He must be furious with her for more than one reason, but she wouldn't cower and scrape to anyone in exchange for her life.
"Professor. You have my profound gratitude for rescuing Rhea. Profound enough that I have disregarded all protocol in meeting you here without her." His voice was as cold as his eyes. "You should not have brought her here. Do you realize what she's done to the church? What she intended for Fódlan? If something were to happen to Flayn because of your misguided mercy—"
"How, pray tell, is your sister in any danger? Aymr is destroyed. I have no army. I am surrounded by the Knights and Rhea's other toadies." True, all of it. As kind as Byleth had been, Edelgard was powerless here. The thought sharpened her words until they were like the dagger that had been confiscated. "I lost. More's the pity. Your control of the world is safe."
"My control of the world? You're the one who wanted to conquer Fódlan!"
Claude took a step forward. "Take it easy. We're all working together to defeat the Agarthans. The Empire and the church as we knew it are both gone, but what was good in those institutions can and will be preserved. If we work together. The only way we'll lead Fódlan to a new dawn is if we put our old hatreds aside." His smile never wavered.
The ache in her chest intensified. She had promised the soldiers who fought and died for her a new dawn, and the only way she would ever see a glimmer of it was if she didn't let impotent rage consume her. She forced her shoulders to loosen and her jaws to unclench.
Seteth exhaled. "It seems we have no choice but to be allies against a greater evil. I thought I was done with such compromise. Fate has a sense of humor. But you, Your Majesty, are a risk that this monastery had seen in five hundred years. Even if you're as harmless as you say, which I find difficulty believing, passions are running high. We must secure you for everyone's safety." He grimaced almost imperceptibly as if eating food he didn't like. "I recommend placing her beneath the knight's hall, at least for now.
Edelgard went suddenly cold. Prisoners awaiting trial or execution were kept down there. It was dark and the walls were rough stone like beneath the palace and there were probably rats and... Her muscles seized and she couldn't hide her shivers. Byleth's hand went to her shoulder. Edelgard tried to focus on the warmth and weight to keep herself in the present. She could not lose herself here in front of enemies eager for any advantage they could get.
"That's not necessary," Claude said. "Edelgard can have her old room back. All she would need is a bodyguard and to be locked in at night. I'm sure she would be most willing to accept those conditions. You'll cooperate won't you, Edelgard? Especially considering all the new mousers we adopted to keep the rats away."
His tone was as light as ever, but Edelgard understood. She could accept token restraint and cooperate or Claude would throw her in the dark and let her fears do the work for him. She bit back a curse. Show weakness and it would be exploited, no matter how kind your enemy was. She had no choice, and he knew it. "I consent."
"I suppose it will do. Rhea will not be—"
"I won't be what, Seteth?"
Rhea stood just inside the now-open doors to the reception hall, flanked by two soldiers Edelgard recognized as Dimitri's classmates. A blonde knight, her green cloak trailing behind her, stared at her in shock and anger while a man with freckles that made him look as if he should still be a student frowned and stepped forward as if to place himself between the two groups. Rhea herself shook. The color drained from her face, leaving the cuts and bruises the Agarthans had inflicted in sharper relief. Her eyes were like polished gems. A dragons eyes.
She roared and it was a dragons roar that made all of them tense. "You! What are you doing here? I will kill you myself for your heresy!"
"Archbishop..." Claude held up his hands.
Rhea didn't seem to hear. Her gait was unsteady, but she was doing her best to charge Edelgard. Time seemed to slow as Edelgard considered her options. She might be able to summon the energy for one blast of flame. She didn't know if it would affect a dragon, and the others would probably cut her down immediately, but a slim chance was better than none.
Byleth stepped in front of her. Her voice was different. It wormed its way into Edelgard's head and forced her to stand straight. "Rhea, stop."
Rhea froze as if by magic. "Stand aside, Professor. She is a disgrace to the Hresvelg line. I have endured countless tortures because of her."
"I would rather have ended your life cleanly, tyrant. It was the Agarthans who wanted you, not me."
"Well, then. I will grant you a clean death."
"Enough, both of you! Edelgard, if you antagonize Rhea again, I will lock you in the dormitories myself. Understood?"
"Yes, Professor," Edelgard muttered, feeling foolish despite her hatred.
"Rhea please." Byleth held out her hands. "I know what Edelgard has done. I'm not asking for you to forgive her, merely to tolerate her continued existence for my sake. That continued existence matters to me." Her hand went to the Sword of the Creator and it glowed red. "Immensely. Until and unless she breaks the terms of her parole, she is under my protection. Does not the Goddess offer mercy alongside torment?"
Edelgard forgot how to breathe. She was suddenly seventeen and facing down Kostas. Once more Byleth stood between her and death. She was more than capable of defending herself, but it was exhausting. Hubert had died for her, but he had died for his oath to serve her. Byleth owed her nothing, had every right to kill her. And still, the Sword of the Creator glowed. Its warmth and light flooded Edelgard. Childish dreams of clandestine kisses and waltzes danced across her mind. That part of her had died when her father had placed the crown on her head, but now it was stirring to life.
No. Oh no.
"You are just—no I have learned the danger of presumption." Rhea stepped back. "As you wish, Professor. I'm too weak to oppose you. But it's only a matter of time until she betrays you as she betrayed her family. I only pray that you do not pay the ultimate price."
"I'll risk it." She motioned towards the two soldiers. "Ingrid, could you see the Archbishop back to her room, please? Ashe, please take Edelgard to her old room. And do your best to keep people from gawking at her. I'd like the rest of our time together to be peaceful."
"Peaceful," Ingrid murmured. "She conquered Faerghus. How can it be peace to let her walk around like she's one of us?"
Rhea's eyes glowed in triumph, but Byleth's face softened. "Because right now, she isn't controlling Faerghus. And I'm hoping that letting her walk around like she's one of us means that we can free Faerghus from the people who do control it more quickly. And I'm hoping that it'll help stop another war like this one from ever happening again." She put a hand on Ingrid's shoulder, as she had for Edelgard. "It's compassion for the weak that makes a knight, not vengeance."
Ingrid closed her eyes. "No, it's honoring the oaths you swore. If you trust that this is the right thing, I'll do as you ask."
Edelgard felt the gazes on her as Ashe led her to the second-floor dormitories. Seteth, Rhea, Ingrid, they would all prefer her dead. She couldn't blame them. If it had been in her power, she would have slain the false gods. And Faerghus...so many of her memories had been stolen by the experiments, but brief flashes of Dimitri and Lambert suggested it might have been home as well as a prison. Cornelia could barely contain her cruelty at the best of times, and Edelgard tried not to think about what her rule was like. She had meant to depose her as soon as she no longer needed the Agarthans. That would never happen now, and Edelgard would go down in history as the Scourge of Faerghus.
Can you blame them, Edie? Dorothea's voice was so clear in her mind that Edelgard instinctively looked around for her. You can't spend good intentions. It's a good thing you like red, with all the blood you spilled. Especially mine.
"Are you okay?" Ashe looked at her with what seemed to be genuine concern. "If you're still in pain, I know of some herbs you can take."
Edelgard shook her head. Enough people had seen her weakness. "That isn't necessary. You sound like you're from the Kingdom. Careful. It's treason to offer the Adrestian Emperor kindness."
He actually laughed, a warm, light sound that Edelgard hadn't heard in years. "It's never wrong to be kind. I don't know why you did what you did. I know that I did terrible things because I thought I didn't have a choice. Maybe it's the same for you? And I know that I owe Byleth my life, so if my duty is to protect you, then so be it."
He was definitely from the Kingdom. Probably a commoner who had gotten his ideas of chivalry from books instead of the lived reality of obsession with honor. "I made the best choice that I could. It wasn't the wrong one." No matter what the voices in her head told her. "The world has to change. But that's in Byleth and Claude's hands now."
He made a noncommittal noise."Things are always changing. I don't think it's in anyone's hands particularly. You're alive and helping us. You can do small things to make the world better still. "
Of all the sentimental condescending… "Confined to the monastery?"
"I helped lots of people when I was a student. I even gave money to people who were forced to steal. You could try that?" He stopped in front of familiar door and his tone grew more serious. "Byleth is giving you a chance, just like she gave me. Don't squander it."
Her old room seemed strange. The carpet was still Imperial red, if a bit faded, and someone had gone to the trouble of dusting and putting on fresh sheets recently. But her books, the landscape painting that had hung over her bed, everything that had made the place hers, was gone. It was, after all, a dormitory, she told herself. The Archbishop would have ordered any sign of her presence scrubbed after the Holy Tomb. But it was yet another reminder that the world had changed.
She wondered, idly, if the Knights has found all of her secrets. Well there was no harm in finding out. She went to the dresser and pulled out each of the drawers partway until what had previously seemed to be a knot in the wood slid forward. Edelgard yanked on it as well, and the hidden compartment she had installed revealed itself. She winced at the sight of the spare surplice and mask. The Flame Emperor had been too theatrical for her own good. There were documents, as well, various coded communications that had never quite made their ways to Enbarr but that Claude might find intriguing. And...a stuffed bear in a suit of armor?
"Oh, come on Edie! He's adorable." Dorothea held up the brown bear. He did look cute with his big eyes and all. "You know you want one."
"Hubert would never let me hear the end of it." But it would be nice. She couldn't even remember most of her childhood thanks to Thales, let alone what stuffed animals she'd liked.
"Well, keep it somewhere he wouldn't think to look." She winked. "I bet he'd secretly want one though."
"That's a frightening thought." Edelgard snorted despite herself and bought two. Just in case. She'd give the other to Hubert once they had united Fódlan.
Edelgard clapped her hand over her mouth as tears blurred her vision. The strength or denial that had kept her going since Enbarr vanished like so much smoke. She sank onto the bed. Dorothea, Hubert. It was one thing to hear that they were dead. It was another thing to look at that stupid bear and know what that meant. No more affectionate nicknames. No more planning the glorious world that they were going to build. And it wasn't just them. The Institute of Crestology she and Linhardt had planned would never be built. She and Petra would never sit across from each other as allies and equals as Brigid took it's rightful place in the world. Edelgard alone had survived, just like she had out her brothers and sisters. And for what? So she could nurse some childish infatuation while Byleth congratulated herself for her mercy? So she could watch as other people fulfilled her destiny?
Her thoughts were an indistinct swirl of darkness, a never ending cycle of memory and blame. Edelgard wasn't sure if it lasted hours or days. Maybe they would forget about their useless prisoner now that they had corralled her somewhere she was harmless. It was better than the alternatives. But eventually, there was a knock on the door.
It was probably Ashe with more of his platitudes. "Go away."
"I will not go away," Lysithea said. "It's time for dinner, and I know you haven't had anything since breakfast."
"I'm not hungry."
"Edelgard, open the door and stop sulking like a...like a child!" Silence for a moment. "If you don't open the door, I'll blow it off its hinges, and Byleth will come and see you like this. You don't want that do you?"
Damn that impertinent girl. Edelgard forced herself up, made sure the cabinet drawers were securely closed, and opened the door to a glaring Lysithea. She carried a monk's robe over one arm. "You look terrible," she said, wrinkling her nose.
"Yes, well, losing a war and being taken prisoner tends to be bad for your complexion." She crossed her arms. "What do you want, Lysithea?"
"Byleth was worried about you. She said you were holding yourself together so well that you reminded her of herself before she started teaching."
A mirthless laugh escaped Edelgard's lips before she could stop it. "As you can see, she has nothing to worry about."
Lysithea was silent for a long time. When she spoke again, her voice was faint. "When the mages told me what they had done and that I had a decade at best, I didn't eat for three days. My brothers and sisters were all dead, except for my oldest brother. And he was constantly being pulled back to the laboratory by smells and sounds. He stopped sleeping, and three months later he hanged himself."
The fog in Edelgard's mind cleared the tiniest bit. Shock and anger took its place She had never been good with other people's tragedies. Pain was personal and consolation and empathy required guessing what it was like for someone else. She preferred to act. Except she had failed to even rein in their torturers. "I'm sorry."
"Don't. I never could stand pity." She shuddered. "But you and I, we know what it's like, don't we? To be the last ones left?"
"We do." The last of her siblings, the last of her friends.
"Then believe me when I say that moping doesn't help." The softness vanished, and she scowled and put her free hand on her hip. "This Lord Arundel is invoking his regency powers and making what's left of your army fight a war that they have no hope of winning. Are you going to let him get away with that?"
Did he now?" There was honor in preferring death to surrender, but Thales knew of nothing but cruelty and spite. He had delighted in using her subjects as fodder for his experiments, knowing that she could only watch and wait for the day she was strong enough to take vengeance. "No, I'm not surprised. Now that Adrestia is of no use to him, he will destroy it because he can."
"You know him, then."
Edelgard touched her hair. "He's the one who did this to us."
Lysithea's eyes went dark. "Then he's going to pay for all the blood he spilled." She held up the robe. "What do you say you get cleaned up, sneak down to the dining hall, and tell Claude and the professor everything you know about your dear uncle?"
It wouldn't satisfy Hubert and Dorothea's shadows. Nothing could unless she could find a way to make her dream come true. But vengeance against Thales would give her a goal, something she could use to keep the memories at bay. She would never be what she had been and she would probably spend the rest of her days floating through the monastery like a ghost, but she would keep others from suffering as she had. "I think that sounds like a fine idea."