(A/N: Fair warning there is some mild spice towards the end of this chapter. Nothing NSFW or too explicit, but I just thought I'd give a little warning)

Eve.

No, Tsukiko.

Tsukiko…

It wasn't a name Sylvain had ever heard before. She did say she wasn't actually from Fodlan, but she didn't name her homeland. It wasn't the kind of name you'd find in Almyra or Sreng or Duscur, so she had to be from somewhere even further outside their borders.

Sylvain felt conflicted as he thought about all he had just been told. Eve, Tsukiko, it didn't matter her name—she was a liar. From the beginning she had lied to him and all the other Blue Lions, and Sylvain couldn't help the deep-seated rage that he felt about being lied to. At the same time, though, she had been ordered to lie by the church, by Seteth and Lady Rhea. And after hearing how Lady Rhea dealt with those involved with Lonato's uprising and the incident at the Holy Mausoleum, Sylvain could completely understand why Eve—no, Tsukiko—wouldn't want to defy the Archbishop's orders.

But it was a small source of comfort to Sylvain that His Highness had known some semblance of the truth from the very beginning. For what it was worth, she hadn't been lying to His Highness and she had never wanted to lie to the others. She had made sure to say that His Highness had always known about her crest and her fealty to House Fraldarius. And that every personal thing she did share with him was true—she just never shared very much.

Then there was the issue of her connection to House Fraldarius—specifically Glenn and Felix. It was clear to Sylvain now that Felix was in love with Eve and that whether she was going to admit it or not, she also had feelings for the younger Fraldarius. But Tsukiko had loved Glenn and Glenn had loved her enough to intend to break off his engagement to Ingrid. Sylvain couldn't help but wonder if whatever Eve was feeling for Felix was just a projection of what she used to feel for Glenn. He knew that Felix already felt like he was living in Glenn's shadow. And Sylvain couldn't imagine what it would feel like for him to find out that the girl he loved only saw him as his brother.

None of that mattered in the end, though. She had made it clear to Sylvain that she would still marry Dimitri, that she would never betray His Highness. And though Sylvain now knew her to be a liar, he believed her. All of Eve's lies were about who she was and her own past. It appeared to him that she never lied about her loyalties and that she didn't lie to be malicious. And in a way Sylvain found himself trusting Eve because he saw himself in her. Her entire life had been dictated by her crest, forced to live a certain way because of what others expected of her. Lady Rhea expected her to be her pawn, His Highness expected her to keep her promise of being a good wife, Felix expected her to return his feelings. He supposed that was why she chose to tell him the truth despite knowing he would probably be angry with her for lying to him; she knew Sylvain expected nothing of her and that was exactly what she wanted.

But where did he go from here? Sylvain had no problem keeping Eve's—Tsukiko's—secrets for as long as they weren't harmful to his friends. But what did he do with this newfound knowledge? What had she hoped to gain by telling him all of this? It was clear that there was more she was still hiding, so what was the point of revealing a partial truth? If all she wanted was to have someone know the truth, why not tell Felix or His Highness? It made more sense to Sylvain to share the truth with someone she would have to share the rest of her life with anyways. So the fact that she picked Sylvain to tell must have had some meaning, there had to be something more she hadn't shared yet that she wouldn't have wanted to tell Dimitri. Or perhaps Sylvain was overthinking it all and there was no rhyme or reason to Eve's decision. Whoever she was, she wasn't a threat as it currently stood. And since thinking wasn't particularly one of Sylvain's strong suits, he simply elected not to. Eve was fun to be around and she was loyal to both Felix and His Highness; that was all that mattered. And remembering the look of relief on her face when she told him about herself, Sylvain wondered if perhaps there wasn't some bigger truth she was hiding. Eve was just a girl who was living a lie at the church's behest. And so like with other freedoms she and Sylvain had stolen back for themselves, she divulged in the truth with him as her little rebellion—nothing more.

Eve dreamt for what felt like the first time in months that night. She dreamt of home, of the day she left for Fodlan. And then her dreams shifted to warmth and happiness and someone by her side. Others found him rough around the edges, and it was true he was harsh. But Eve admired his wit and his unfaltering resolve. If he believed something to be right and just, he would stick to it regardless of what those around him said. And as her dream continued and the warmth spread through Eve's chest, she turned to face the man beside her. But his face was different than she remembered, similar yet just slightly different.

"Felix?" Eve awoke from her dream, confused. She could have sworn she was dreaming of Glenn, but when she saw his face it was Felix's that looked back at her.

She lay there in her bed, staring at the ceiling, as she fought the urge to consider what she was feeling. She was afraid of what might happen if she explicitly thought about her relationship with Felix and how she felt about it. On the one hand, it didn't matter what she felt. Regardless of how anyone felt, she was going to marry Dimitri. She had a duty to fulfil and she didn't want to betray the prince who cared so much for her. Years ago she had forfeited her right to her own feelings, so what did it matter if she figured out what they were?

On the other hand, however, Eve felt she owed it to the younger Fraldarius to sort out her emotions. It wasn't fair to him if she pulled him along playing a tantalising game of hot and cold that left him with whiplash. And not only that, but it also wasn't fair to Glenn's memory if she didn't take the time to discern what were her residual feelings for him and what she was actually feeling for Felix.

Eve had initially hoped that she could dismiss how she felt about Felix as simply a result of how similar he was to his brother. But when she truly thought about it, as she was doing now, she realised that couldn't be the case. Sure, Felix reminded her greatly of his brother and brought painful memories to mind of how she lost him. But at the same time, she realised that the feelings she had for Glenn and the feelings she was having for Felix were not the same.

For Glenn, Eve would have done anything. He was the only person she had ever met that she put aside her own ulterior motives for. She couldn't lie to him, couldn't defy him. But with Felix it was different. Eve didn't feel that same overwhelming alliance to the younger Fraldarius. She was still hiding plenty from him and intended to keep it that way. That didn't mean she didn't care for him, though. She thought back to when he kissed her in the infirmary after the Goddess' Rite of Rebirth, to the way her heart blossomed and she hadn't wanted to pull away. And just that evening when she saw the hurt and betrayal in Felix's eyes it pained her to no end. Eve had thought she was resilient enough to put aside her feelings for her duty, but that wasn't truly the case—she knew that much now.

"Goddess," Eve whispered out loud, "what do I do? My duty and my heart are at odds. I wish you were here; I wish you could tell me what path to take."

Only silence answered Eve's impassioned plea. It had been so long since she had spoken to the Goddess, and the lack of response reminded her exactly why she had stopped praying. No one answered her prayers—not when she lost everything, not when she was forced to rewrite her history. Eve had always had to be her own deliverance, and now was no exception.

Silently, Eve stood from her bed and padded over to the door. She paused with her hand over the knob, faltering. What was she even going to do? And whatever it was, did she have any right to be doing it? Eve cast away her doubts and grabbed a shawl as an afterthought to drape over her shoulders as she went out into the night. The air was chilly and the stones beneath her bare feet were like ice. She was always amazed at how cold it could get in the evenings at Garreg Mach. But none of that was a deterrent for her as she strode down to the opposite side of the dormitories and up the stairs.

Three doors at the end of the hall beckoned her. Behind one was reason, the other temptation, and the final one escape. Even now as she approached, Eve wasn't sure which door she was going to stop at. At least that's what she thought. Subconsciously, though, she knew there was only one answer—only one door that she had come here to knock upon.

"Felix?" She whispered into the crack between the door and its frame, lips forming around the sound as if it were sin itself.

For a moment, there was no response and Eve wondered if the Goddess had listened and was giving her an opportunity to turn away from this madness. But then the still night air was disturbed by a creak and the striking of a match followed shortly after by Felix opening the door.

"What are you doing here?" He whispered, though his lowered tone did nothing to disguise the anger in his voice.

"I know you don't want to see me right now." Eve cast her eyes downward. "But I'd like to talk to you."

Felix said nothing and instead looked at Eve with a menagerie of emotions flitting through his eyes.

"Please." She breathed when he continued to regard her with silence.

Wordless still, Felix simply stepped back and opened the door a fraction wider to allow for Eve to slip into his quarters. He closed the door behind her softly and Eve could feel the tension in the room even with her back to him. Only several hours ago she had broken his heart and now here she stood without any clear notion of why.

"What do you want?" Felix finally spoke, his voice still quiet yet dripping with malice.

"I have no feelings for Sylvain, you know." She started slowly, deliberately, trying to figure out what it was exactly that she was trying to say.

"Why should that concern me?" Felix spat.

"And for what it's worth I have no feelings for Balthus or Yuri either." She spun around to face him, the moonlight filtering through the window illuminating Felix's face just enough for her to see the pain on it.

"So, you're just some common whore, are you?" Felix squinted at her and folded his arms.

"I don't expect you to understand." Eve shook her head lightly. "My body is the one thing in my life I have control over. Can you blame me for seeking simple pleasures in the only way I can?"

"I suppose it's got nothing to do with me." He grimaced.

"I imagine you felt confused as to why I said you shouldn't kiss me even though I was doing all those things with other men…" Eve trailed off and bit her lip. "And it's because the difference between you and everyone else is I have feelings for you."

Eve looked into Felix's eyes to see him seemingly struggling to keep something from bursting forth. It was as if he both wanted and didn't want to believe what she was saying.

"What are you saying?" He finally managed, his voice barely audible.

"I'm saying I pushed you away because I was afraid of what I'm feeling for you." Eve took a step forward, pausing when Felix flinched at the movement.

"You're marrying the boar." Felix said, though it was obvious to both of them that wasn't what he truly wanted to say.

"That doesn't change what I'm feeling." Eve shook her head, a voice in the back of her mind begging the Goddess to smite her there and then before she went too far.

"And what are you feeling?" Felix challenged, swallowing as Eve closed the distance between them.

Eve still couldn't put words to her feelings even to herself, so she opted to use actions to show her affections for Felix. She placed one hand on the back of his head, shielding it from impact when she used her other hand and the weight of her body to shove him into the door. And before he could protest her lips were on his, cutting off any words of reason either of them might say.

It didn't take long for Felix to begin to reciprocate Eve's kiss. His arms that had been frozen to his side finally moved as he placed one hand on the small of Eve's back and the other on her hip, pulling her closer to him. His kiss was overly eager and rough, and Eve could tell he was inexperienced. But she felt as if she were losing her mind in his scent, her fingers tangled into his hair.

"You're almost as bad with words as I am." Felix gasped as Eve kissed his jaw before gently nibbling his earlobe.

"Shut up." Eve straightened to look Felix directly in the eye, commanding him before crashing her lips back down to his.

As they kissed, Felix took the opportunity to switch their positions, turning swiftly to slam Eve against the solid wooden door. Her head hit the surface with a dull thud, but neither of them were focused enough to notice. And only when Felix began to grind into Eve with primal want did some semblance of reason return to her.

"Felix." She breathed, grabbing his shoulders to gently push him away from her. "We have to stop here."

"What do you mean?" Confusion flitted through his lust-clouded eyes.

"I don't want you thinking my feelings are insincere." Eve explained, and though it was true it was once again only a partial truth that she told him. "I don't want you thinking I see you the same way I see Sylvain or Yuri or Balthus."

Felix's eyes clouded at the mention of men who knew her more intimately than he, but he ultimately nodded. "I understand."

"Goodnight, Felix." Eve whispered, placing a gentle kiss on his lips.

"Goodnight." He nodded, still clearly in a daze from the events that had just transpired.

With a small smile, Eve left Felix's room and closed the door behind her silently. As she turned to go back down the hall to the stairs, she froze as she met the gaze of none other than Dimitri.

"I heard a noise." He swallowed with effort, jaw set as he regarded Eve with her scarlet lips and tousled hair. "I wanted to make sure everything was okay."

"Dimitri, I—" Eve reached out to him, but he was already turning away towards his room.

"Goodnight, Eve."