Edelgard was silent as she walked through the halls of Garreg Mach, not sure what to say to Hubert's worries. She knew she needed kindness and support, but the court had really shown her just how awful people could be... Not learning that about the Insurrection hadn't, but seeing it first hand... Trusting people was incredibly difficult. Even people that showed kindness might want to manipulate her once they learned about her memory issues. She couldn't stand for anybody potentially using her for their own designs against the Empire...
She was so wrapped up in her own head that she didn't notice when she practically bowled Dimitri over again and let out a small squeak when she rammed into him, fumbling onto the floor. "Oh, Dimitri! I'm so sorry! I didn't notice you!" Her face went a bright shade of pink. She normally wasn't this wrapped up in her thoughts but... She was just so afraid of trusting others outside of her small circle. So much could be done against her should people learn her weaknesses. The Empire could be in serious danger should she let others in.
He turned around and helped pull her back to her feet, offering her a soft smile. One hand still held hers, the other resting on her lower back. "Are you all right, El? That was quite the impact." Just her luck... Going toppling onto the floor in public view. What a disgrace. She was the future Empress, not some stupid little schoolgirl!
"Y-Yeah, I've been through worse. It was just a little fall to the floor." She was fine. A little fall to the floor like that was nothing to her. She was just so embarrassed she'd had it happen in the first place... She was usually more attentive than this... But Hubert had touched on a huge wound, so it had taken her entire attention. She could only imagine what people would say when they saw this. The future Empress, taking a tumble after falling into the Kingdom's prince! What a mess... The rumor mill was already going strong and she hated it. She hated how much of the nobility was idle gossip and it was well and truly alive here at Garreg Mach.
Dimitri nodded, the smile not leaving his face. "I'm glad. Considering how fast you were moving...I was a little worried." She saw his eyes glance over her quickly, probably just checking her out. She'd been through worse. She hadn't broken anything. It wasn't like she'd fallen from her second-story window or anything. A little tumble to the floor was nothing to worry about.
"Yeah... I was just lost in thoughts. More than I should've let myself be. I'm sorry again." She wouldn't have let herself get so lost in her thoughts, at least not until she got back to her room. But she was just so emotional that it was hard to hold back anything she felt. It felt so wrong to hold back her emotions, but it was what was safest. She didn't know what somebody might do to her should they see she was upset... It'd be far too easy to take advantage of her when she was upset. It'd happened multiple times in court when she'd wanted to stand up to the nobles like Duke Aegir. Pigs, the lot of them. They only existed to oppress those they were supposed to be protecting…
Dimitri shook his head then bumped their foreheads together. "Things happen, El." The smile didn't leave his face. The rumor mill was going to have a field day with this one... There were already rumors about her and Dimitri which she wasn't too fond of... They were siblings , not lovers. But what else would she expect of the rumor mill? Always blowing things out of proportion without any sort of context. She hated it so, so much.
"I was just heading back to my room to settle down for the night. What were you up to?" She pulled back a bit, highly aware they were in public and not wanting to further contribute to the rumor mill. The last thing she needed was people thinking the future King and future Empress were consorting together... People were already laying out ideas and such. She had heard it when she'd been in the library with Petra. She hated all of this stupid speculation so much. There was no chance. She loved him as a brother. That was it.
Dimitri shook his head a little. "Not all that much, really. I figured I would check to make sure that the Lions were settling in for the night alright." He smiled a bit again. "Sometimes, some of my peers get a bit absorbed so a reminder isn't a bad thing." She could definitely understand that sometimes... At least before the Crest experiments. Even as a little girl, she'd study late into the night. That wasn't really something she did anymore though... She'd shared the current Empress' room with her and the woman made sure that she didn't overdo it.
"That's entirely fair. I should probably check on Bernadetta but I've left her in Dorothea's capable hands for the next few days." She'd be resting as much as she possibly could. She wouldn't do anything overly strenuous and would definitely get the sleep that she'd been in desperate need of the past few weeks... She hadn't really slept at all since leaving Enbarr. It brought up memories of fleeing to Fhirdiad for her as well as the fact she simply didn't have anybody to sleep against. She simply couldn't sleep on her own anymore. She still felt like she was crossing a line with Hubert, but he was the only one she could really trust with this in the long term... She really did not need the rumor mill talking about her and Dimitri should she have chosen him to stay the night with.
Dimitri nodded. "She does seem quite capable. I spoke to her briefly a day or so ago. She's quite confident." He smiled at her. "I'm glad you have someone like her."
"Yeah, it's a huge help. Bernie is kind of...a lot to handle. Not a bad soul by any means, but her anxieties can be a tad...overwhelming." She wasn't trying to badmouth Bernie or anything, but the girl was definitely a lot to handle. She needed more support than just what Edelgard could provide her... Thankfully it did seem like Bernie at least didn't mind Dorothea... Dorothea was a good soul and she seemed pretty genuine about a lot of things. Still... Edelgard couldn't openly trust her. She had heard rumors about how Dorothea was trying to marry up from her commoner status. Not that there was anything wrong with it but...who knew what she might try with the future Empress if she swung that way...?
"I've seen her around. The poor girl seems terrified of her own shadow." He shook his head. "I assume you and her are working shifts of a sort to help her?"
Edelgard nodded. "She was there the first night I arrived and was clearly worried. I wish I could help Bernie more, but my plate's pretty full..." Between all the lessons and extra duties, she was definitely busy. She just did not have the capability to fully dedicate herself to Bernie even though she wished she could. But this weekend especially... She just needed some time to rest and recuperate after the rough travel. She probably would've started falling asleep in class had Dimitri not stepped in and helped her fall asleep. She would've had questions asked of her in the infirmary, once she really didn't want to answer. She still had no idea what would happen if the Church learned about what she'd been through... She would never tell them.
"I'd offer to help, but I doubt she'd handle me all that well." He let out a breath and Edelgard looked up at him.
"Yeah... She barely handles me well." And she wasn't even that intimidating. She was short and incredibly soft spoken. She wasn't meaning anything by it against Dimitri but someone so tall and so strong probably would freak Bernie out quite a bit. She did gently rest her head against his arm for just a moment. "Nothing against you, of course." He was sweet, gentle, and kind, but Bernie was just so incredibly sensitive and flighty. Edelgard really did understand where Bernie was. She had been there herself after the Crest experiments. Sometimes when those memories were triggered, she could be forced back into the mindset. She could shut herself away for days on end if she had enough of those memories aroused.
Dimitri shook his head and ran a hand down the side of her head as she leaned against him. "It's all right. I'm pretty used to people being uneasy around me." Considering he could move boulders, she wasn't too surprised. She had yet to see his strength, but she didn't doubt him. She had pretty incredible strength herself, but she didn't measure up to Dimitri by any means. She'd lifted entire barrels full of bricks before, much to the shock of the townspeople in Enbarr.
"You're really sweet, Dimitri. I know you're strong, but you're still sweet and gentle." She smiled up at him, obviously just meaning the best by it. She knew there was some sort of darkness that plagued him, but it was hard to see past that sweet, gentle demeanor of his. He really was pure and gentle... A tad naive and definitely very easy to fluster though. Not that she was much better sometimes. She wasn't really one to talk about relationship stuff or anything... Though she knew she needed to be looking. She did not want to have an arranged marriage almost right out of the Academy…
She saw his cheeks warm a bit but he didn't protest. "W-Well, I don't know about that , but I appreciate the sentiment."
"You really are." She obviously wasn't trying to fluster him. It was just the truth . So far, she'd seen nothing but him being sweet and gentle especially when it came to her. She really couldn't see him as the to to even get angry unless something really, really pushed his buttons pretty hard. She could imagine that though. Juliane was normally fairly calm, quiet, and warm. But if even somebody like Duke Aegir or Marquis Vestra pushed her buttons, they tended to flinch. She was a nasty opponent in the realm of politics and she held a lot of resentment toward those that had so harmed her family.
She saw the warmth remain in his cheeks. "A-Anyway, would you like me to walk you back to your room?"
"Uh, sure, I guess." She was a little worried what people would say and think if they saw it... She didn't need the rumor mill getting out of control. Granted, it probably already was out of control... She had no way to gauge where it was. She didn't really pay attention to it outside of what little she heard behind whispered hands in the library. The walk to her room was pretty quiet, though she was more than acutely aware of people looking as they passed. Oh, the rumor mill was going to have a field day with this one... But he was her brother ...