The afternoon sun filtered through the windows of the dining hall to illuminate the Blue Lions class as they sat and ate their lunch together. After a rather tiring training session with Byleth, they were all grateful for the hearty stew that was on today's menu. They were also grateful for the opportunity to finally interrogate Eve and Dimitri on how their relationship came to be. While some were simply curious, others were suspicious of the whole affair and sought to poke any holes they could in their story.
"So?" Annette leaned forward excitedly, resting her elbows on the table to look with glittering eyes at Eve. "How did you two meet?"
"Oh, I bet it's just a wonderful story!" Interjected Mercedes, smiling sweetly at the couple.
"Do you want to tell them?" Eve cocked her head to the side as she asked Dimitri, a small flush dusting her cheeks. "I must admit I'm a bit embarrassed."
Felix narrowed his eyes at Eve as she spoke. This demure, flushed girl looked nothing like who she had been with a blade in her hand. Like this, he wouldn't think twice about her. But she was a completely different person when they had sparred, and he was curious to find out which was the real Eve.
"It was complete happenstance, really." Dimitri smiled at Eve with a soft look in his eyes.
Technically not a lie, Eve thought to herself, amused.
"I wanted to take a walk in the woods one evening to clear my head." Dimitri explained to his friends. "And when I came to a clearing, I found Eve practicing her swordsmanship. In the moonlight, the way she moved was so mesmerising. I had never seen someone fight like that before."
"When I noticed him watching, he was just standing there slack jawed." Eve giggled. "And it's embarrassing to admit, but no one had ever looked at me that way before. I think some small part of me wanted him to look at me like that forever."
Felix scoffed and rolled his eyes. Perhaps he had been mistaken and imagined what had happened in the training hall.
"So, what, did you get down on one knee right then and there and ask her to marry you?" Sylvain asked, earning him a glare from Ingrid.
"Of course not!" Dimitri chuckled. "I simply asked her if she would allow me to spar with her for some time."
"How very 'Dimitri'." Sylvain rolled his eyes.
"So how did sparring in the woods turn into you two getting engaged, Your Highness?" It was Ashe who spoke this time. Their love story reminded him of the knight's tales he read where true love was just around the corner.
"Well, after that night I simply couldn't get her out of my mind." Dimitri admitted. "I wanted to meet her again, but had neglected to ask her name before we parted."
"And I thought I'd never see him again." Added Eve. "I'm just some merchant's daughter. I never would have dreamed I caught the eye of the prince of Faerghus."
"But the Goddess must have been smiling upon me, for the very next day I happened to pass Eve while walking through the capital." The prince smiled at the girl sat beside him which she returned with an even sweeter smile.
Ashe glowed at their loving exchange, hoping he could one day share something like that with someone. Meanwhile, Annette was in absolute awe of their story. Even Ingrid, who didn't care for lovey-dovey things, felt drawn in by the radiance of their romance. However, Felix, Dedue, and Sylvain were not so easily swayed. Felix didn't want to believe that this was who Eve truly was, not to mention he didn't trust the boar's story for a moment. Sylvain, on the other hand, had shifted in his excitement for his childhood friend to suspicion of Eve. His Highness was naïve—especially when it came to women. And while perhaps Dimitri's emotions were genuine, Sylvain wasn't so sure about Eve's. He'd met plenty a girl like her who would do anything to fall into the graces of a crest bearing noble for a chance to get ahead.
"…after spending the next few days together, I thought I had had my fun." Eve continued her story, unaware of the scrutiny with which she was being watched. "I knew Dimitri was to return to Garreg Mach and I was sure that would be the end of our little affair."
"I was under that impression too, at first." Dimitri nodded in agreement. "But it just didn't sit right with me, the idea of someone as brilliant as you putting aside your dreams because of circumstance. I wanted to bring you back to the Officer's Academy, but just didn't know how. And I guess all that thinking made me realise that what I was feeling for you was love; and that I would do whatever it took to keep you in my life."
"How sweet," Mercedes gushed, "truly a beautiful love story."
"Thank you, Mercedes." Dimitri bowed his head in appreciation. "Now, if you would excuse us, Seteth asked to see Eve and I in his office after lunch."
Eve stood in her newly assigned quarters as she slowly and methodically unpacked what little belongings she had brought with her to the monastery. Seteth had asked Byleth to temporarily move near the other staffs' quarters so that Eve could be in the dorms with the other students. She was grateful to have been given time to move in while the rest of the Blue Lions attended their afternoon lectures.
"Being around those buffoons is tiring." She muttered to herself, neatly tucking away her undershirts into one of the drawers.
Dimitri had not been exaggerating when he told her his friends were a rowdy bunch. There were so many different personalities that it was hard trying to cater to each one. She had to sell a convincing performance of a love-struck fool, but what was convincing to each person was very different.
Annette, Mercedes and Ashe were easy enough. They were the ones most removed from Dimitri, not having known him before they were at the academy. Mercedes was naturally trusting and easy going while Ashe and Annette were both easily excitable. Convincing those three was no hard task for Eve. A soft smile with loving eyes was enough to make them believe she was in love with Dimitri.
Dedue was the most concerning one out of the group. His loyalty to Dimitri meant that there was seldom a time he wasn't by the prince's side. Aside from meaning Eve would constantly have to keep up her façade, it also meant he would have many questions as to the nature of what Dimitri had been doing in the capital in the first place.
And finally, there were the three childhood friends. They knew Dimitri best. And Eve could already sense they were picking up on a change in his behaviour. It would be crucial that they were made to believe this change was due to his love for her and nothing more. If any of them were going to pick up on the fact that Dimitri was acting, it was going to be those three.
As Eve evaluated her new classmates and finished the last of her unpacking, she heard a knock at the door. She carefully scanned her room, making sure there was no evidence of her true self, before opening the door with a smile. When she saw who was at the door, however, she allowed her smile to dissipate as she invited them inside.
"Your Highness." She greeted him curtly, shutting the door behind him and turning to organise her books on her desk.
Dimitri watched her in silence, a bit in awe at how quickly she was able to change her demeanour. Eve was back to her stoic, withdrawn self. However, Dimitri realised now that he had been wrong in first comparing her to the professor. She wasn't emotionless like Byleth was. And she wasn't shut off due to any shyness. Rather, Eve was calculated and confident; she held all the cards and she was well aware of it.
"Did you have some business with me?" She asked after some time of the prince's silence.
"I wanted to commend you on a job well done today." Dimitri cleared his throat, remembering why he had come to see her. "I was very impressed with how different you were able to act in front of the others. When you stepped out of that carriage upon our arrival it was almost as if a completely new person stood before me."
"You weren't too bad yourself." She threw a smirk over her shoulder at him. "I didn't really think you had it in you to lie to your friends."
"Make no mistake, it does not sit well with me to lie to those who trust me." Dimitri shook his head and crossed his arms. "But I promised to protect you and I intend to make good on that promise. After all, a knight of Faerghus never goes back on his word."
"How very noble." Eve rolled her eyes, striding up to where the young prince stood. She watched, amused, as he flushed and avoided her eyes the closer she got to him.
"E-eve?" He stuttered. She almost wanted to laugh at him embarrassment.
"Well, Your Highness," she started, grabbing the back of his neck to pull him forward so she could whisper in his ear, "if you don't want to lie to your friends, I'm sure there's something we could do to consummate this relationship beyond a made-up story."
Dimitri jolted back, breaking free of her grasp and covering his face with a gloved hand.
"I-I'm sure I don't know what you mean." He tried in vain to hide the pink that was spreading across his cheeks and all the way up to the tips of his ears.
To his surprise, Eve burst out laughing, wrapping an arm around her stomach as she double over. And though he was quite embarrassed to be on the receiving end of such laughter, he found himself wishing he could make her laugh like that again. Eve was an enigma. On their journey from Fhirdiad to Garreg Mach she had been silent and stoic. In front of the Blue Lions she had been loving, sweet, and attentive. And now she was brazen- confident and calculated with an air of mischief. Dimitri was curious to find the true Eve that lied somewhere between these three façades. He got the feeling none of them were who she really was. And if they were to spend the rest of their lives together, now was as good a time as any to begin getting to know her.
"Forgive me," she said when she finally recovered from her laughing fit, "that was rather cruel of me to tease you that way. However, perhaps you should try to get used to my touch. You did well today, but I wonder how long you can force yourself to act nonchalant at our contact."
"I'm sorry but I just don't think I'm cut out for all of that." Dimitri frowned.
"And you think I am?" She raised an eyebrow. "You do realise this isn't just a short-term game, don't you? We're in this for the long haul. I meant it when I said you're stuck with me for life."
"I know that." Dimitri replied.
"We're going to get married and you will become the king. People will talk if the king never so much as touches his wife." Eve spoke in hushed tones, acutely aware that above her room was Sylvain's. "There will be even worse consequences if you can't bring yourself to produce an heir with me. And while all of that sounds like an eventuality, it's going to happen sooner rather than later."
"An heir?" A gasp escaped the prince's lips and he found himself staggering back slightly. He hadn't considered it at all. In theory, he knew that this engagement would lead to marriage and that this act would have to continue for the rest of their lives. But he hadn't given it much thought past that.
"I'm sorry, I truly am." Eve's voice took on a softer tone as she noticed the shock Dimitri was in. "That's why I apologised earlier. I'm sure you had your own ideas about how you wanted to marry and who with. I hope you know I'm very thankful that you agreed to all this. And…"
She paused, causing Dimitri to look up at her. He was surprised to see her looking at him with a fierce determination. It was as he was watching her make a decision right in front of him.
"I will do my best to be your wife." She said slowly, precisely. "I will do what you ask of me, but in return I need you to do the same for me."