"What an interesting development." Sothis' voice filled Byleth's mind as she sat alone in her quarters.
"Eve…" Byleth muttered aloud, thinking back on what had transpired earlier that day in the Holy Mausoleum.
"To think that this little peasant girl would have such power." Sothis continued. "And did you notice the symbol when she saved that boy's life?"
"It must have been a crest." Byleth said as she remembered the mysterious shape.
"Certainly not any crest you or I have seen." Sothis replied.
"If I learned anything from meeting the Ashen Wolves, it's that there are definitely crests that have been hidden from existence." Byleth pondered this.
Byleth hadn't given it much thought when she first met her four new students in Abyss. But now looking back on it, it wasn't outside the realm of possibilities that there were more than those four crests lost to time. However, crests like that of Aubin and Timotheos had been referenced before in history books, they were simply believed to have been bloodlines that were lost. Eve's power, though, was not like anything Byleth had read about while trying to learn more about the church she now served.
"One thing is for certain, though." Sothis interrupted Byleth's thoughts with one of her own. "If that girl was lying about having a crest, there is no telling what else she has been hiding."
"Did you not try to stop her?" Seteth berated Dimitri as they stood in his office, the door firmly shut.
"It all happened so fast, Seteth." Dimitri bowed his head. "I was too far away to stop her."
"Her crest is dangerous!" Seteth slammed his hands on his desk in a rare outward display of his anger. "There is no telling what the enemy will do with knowledge of her power. Her actions have put a target on Garreg Mach. And she has the nerve not to be here? Where is she?"
"Eve is in the infirmary." Dimitri answered. He knew she was there watching over Felix. He had been the one to propose that she stay there while he handled Seteth. From the limited interactions between the two that Dimitri had witnessed, he knew Eve would only serve to exacerbate the situation if she spoke to Seteth.
"We will have to think of something to say." Seteth began to pace the length of his office with his arms folded behind his back while Dimitri watched on. "It will do no good for the people to believe the future King of Faerghus is a liar. Not to mention it would look bad for there to be a crest the Church of Seiros was unaware of."
"Am I still to marry Eve?" Dimitri asked.
"Of course." Seteth answered quickly. "The only thing worse than the situation we are in is if people found out this was all and elaborate ruse."
For some reason beyond him, this came as a relief to Dimitri. While he hated seeing the way Eve looked in the rare moments she allowed him to see her true emotions, Dimitri found himself unwilling to let go of her.
"We tell them the truth, then." Dimitri offered to the distraught Seteth. "At least part of it."
"Do elaborate." Seteth prompted.
"We say that Eve is under the protection of the Church of Seiros." Dimitri said. "And that a marriage was arranged between her and I by the church. And the reason we couldn't tell anyone it was arranged was to protect her identity."
"I suppose that could suffice." Seteth said after a moment of thought. "I shall arrange our next steps with the Archbishop."
"Thank you." Dimitri bowed.
"Though I would implore you to remind Eve that her actions will not be without consequences." Seteth added. "I am sure the Archbishop would like to have a word with her."
The remainder of the Blue Lions sat in their classroom in silence, stunned beyond belief. They were worn out from their battle, but all any of them could do was sit and think about what they had just witnessed.
"Mercie?" It was Annette who was the first to break the silence, her timid voice echoing in the stone room. "Did- did Eve really bring Felix back to life?"
She was the first to say what everyone else was thinking. There was a lot magic and the power of crests could do, but none of them could have ever imagined raising the dead could be possible.
"It does appear like that's what happened…" Mercedes trailed off, an unusually serious look on her face.
"I'm just wondering if His Highness knew about this." Ingrid muttered.
"I'm glad Eve could save Felix's life," Ashe started with a downcast look in his eyes, "but I can't help feeling betrayed. Is that selfish of me?"
"I don't think so." It was Hapi, of all people, who answered with a shrug of her shoulders. "I don't know much about whatever's going on, but it sounds a lot like this Eve girl has been lying to all of you."
"Why would she hide it?" Sylvain asked no one in particular. He hadn't interacted with Eve much, but he hadn't been kind to her when he did. He had been accusatory and downright venomous, not to mention he didn't even attempt to hide his belief that she was only marrying Dimitri for his crest. She could have put a stop to all of that if she just told Sylvain she had a crest, but instead she insisted on keeping it secret.
"I'm curious about what kind of crest has the power to resurrect the dead." Yuri chimed in. "Don't you think that's the kind of power that would be talked about in legends and history books? Very peculiar indeed."
"Rhea, what did you do to the professor?" Eve and Lady Rhea were the only two beings in the Archbishop's quarters where she had been called after Felix left the infirmary.
"You are not in any position to be asking questions right now." Rhea was angry, angrier than she would have ever allowed herself to be seen by others. "You defy my every word!"
"I saw the Sword of the Creator, Rhea." Eve stepped forward, emboldened. "The crest stone is missing, yet the professor was able to wield it. So, I'll ask again: what did you do to her?"
"I finally had you back." Rhea sighed. "After losing you for so many years you were returned to me. And this is how you repay me? I just want to protect you, Eve."
"You did to the professor what you wanted to do to me all those years ago, didn't you?" Eve stepped even closer, nearly toe to toe with the Archbishop. "You don't care about me, Rhea, so stop pretending. All you care about is that I don't use my crest against you."
"You will not speak to me in that tone of voice." Rhea's gaze turned harsh. "You should be grateful I agreed to Lord Rodrigue's proposal. And you should be kissing the ground Dimitri walks upon because if it wasn't for him you would never be afforded the luxuries you have now."
"Is that a threat?" Eve hissed. "You can't lock me away now, Rhea. People have seen me; people know I exist. If you hide me away now there will only be questions."
"I won't hide you away, child." Rhea shook her head. "Because that is exactly what you want. I will make sure you will always be seen, always held accountable. There's no more running away for you."
"You want to talk about accountability?" Eve challenged. "Then why don't you tell me what you did to the professor?"
"I don't have to tell you anything." Rhea retorted.
"Rhea, I don't want to hate you." Eve shook her head. "But I simply cannot agree with the actions you take in the name of the Goddess. There's a reason I've kept my crest away from you all this time."
"I would do anything for the Goddess." Rhea said with fire in her eyes. "Don't stand there and act like you know anything about her will."
"I know you would, that's what terrifies me, Rhea!" It was clear to Eve that there was no changing the Archbishop's mind, but she still couldn't help but argue. "Where do you draw the line? I am terrified that you will one day commit atrocities and see no wrong in your actions because you 'did it for the Goddess'. And I don't want to be complicit in any of that."
"You disrespect the Goddess who gave you your power." Rhea shook her head.
"I wish I never had this power." Eve spat back, turning to leave the Archbishop's chambers but pausing to turn back to add, "And I wish I never came to Fodlan."
(A/N: Very short chapter this time around, so sorry for that. Just wanted to have a little view into the different reactions to Eve saving Felix. Hope you enjoyed!)