Eve stared out at the horizon from her perch on the cathedral roof. She felt an eerie stillness about the air. It was quiet, too quiet, and it gave her this feeling in the pit of her stomach that something disastrous was about to happen.
"More disastrous than losing Jeralt?" She murmured to herself.
"Hm?" Claude sat up to look at her from where he was laying beside her reading a book.
"Nothing." She shook her head.
"How's the training with the whistle going?" Claude glanced over at her wyvern as he spoke.
"Want to see?" She raised an eyebrow, happy for the distraction.
When Claude nodded, Eve stood up and walked gingerly to the edge of the roof. Her wyvern raised its head to look at her lazily, but ultimately did not move from where it was laying in the sun. Eve pulled the cord of her whistle out from where it was nestled in her blouse and placed the wooden figurine between her lips.
Claude watched expectantly and then in horror as Eve leaned back and let herself drop off the edge of the roof. He scrambled on all fours to peer over the edge, not noticing the gust of wind that blew his hair and garments about as he did so. When he looked down, he saw Eve plummeting to the ground headfirst. But as the panic rose in Claude's chest, he watched as her wyvern dove down to her—positioned so that she could reach out and grab the reigns to pull herself to its body as they descended. And at seemingly the last moment, woman and beast pulled up to soar back up into the sky and onto the roof.
"Don't scare me like that!" Claude shouted as his friend dismounted, grabbing her roughly by the shoulders.
"Pretty impressive, though, right?" Eve grinned, her hair a windswept mess and her cheeks flushed from adrenaline.
"Terrifying would be the first word I'd use." Claude laughed shakily. "But impressive, yes."
"He's a fast learner." She said, patting her wyvern's head to which it chuffed contentedly.
"It helps when rider and steed trust each other." Claude nodded. "This big guy is gonna have a hard time once you graduate and go back to the Kingdom."
"I know." Eve sighed. "He already is temperamental with other people riding him. The other day he wouldn't even let Petra mount him."
"Yeah, that's your wyvern now." Claude chuckled, scratching its nose.
"And everybody thinks I can't fly." Eve chuckled as well.
"Still?" Claude looked over at her incredulously.
"They all think the reason he likes me so much is because I feed him scraps when I have kitchen duty." She replied with a smile.
"Speaking of going back to the Kingdom," Claude chanced a glance at her from the corner of his eye, "how're things going with the husband?"
"They're okay, I guess." Eve sighed and settled back down on the roof, leaning against her wyvern. "Could be better."
"How's the promise going?" Claude asked.
"Good." Eve nodded. "I think that when I got to know Dimitri, I knew immediately that he was the kind of man I could love. And that's part of the reason I pushed him away; because I was afraid of that. But now I've found it so easy to open my heart to him. He's kind, he listens, and he cares so deeply for me."
"But?" Claude caught on to a hint of reservation in her tone.
"He found something out, something that he never should have known." Eve replied. "And it's not that he shouldn't have known because it's something bad, but because it doesn't serve anyone for him to know this."
"But what does that have to do with you loving him?" Claude frowned.
"I keep hurting him, Claude." She sighed again. "And every time I hurt him, I feel less and less like I deserve to love him—even if that's what he wants. Shouldn't he love someone better than me?"
"If that's how you feel, maybe loving him—learning how not to hurt him—is your penance." Claude pondered. "You always talk about how tainted you are, how you're not a good person, how you've failed to save the people you feel you should have saved. In a way, Dimitri is central to a lot of it."
"My…penance?" Eve muttered, turning her head up to the sky.
"Or, if you look at it from another angle—the one where I don't believe you're nearly as bad a person as you think you are—maybe His Highness is your saviour." Claude offered. "You've spent so long forcing yourself to be other people's salvation. Let him love you, let him give you peace."
Eve mulled over Claude's suggestion, closing her eyes and letting the sun beat down on her face. Was Dimitri her penance or her saviour? Could he be both? Was this what both of them were meant for? They were, both of them, tortured souls that felt they were unworthy of saving. They were haunted by their pasts to the point that they did not believe they deserved happiness. Were they, then, destined to be each other's penance and salvation?
"Kitten!" A voice that could only be Sylvain's called out. "Woah."
Eve opened her eyes to see Sylvain struggling to keep a wyvern steady at the level of the cathedral roof.
"Sylvain?" She sat up to look at him properly.
"Hi Claude." The redhead grinned in greeting before turning back to Eve. "They found them."
"Who found who?" Her brow furrowed.
"The Knights, they found the guys that killed Jeralt." Sylvain struggled to speak as his wyvern pitched to one side precariously. "We gotta go."
"Right, well, I've got to go before his wyvern drops him." Eve turned to speak to Claude, already mounting her own wyvern.
"Avenge Jeralt for us all." Claude nodded solemnly.
"I will."
And with that, Eve took off diving down the side of the building, taking the route to the wyvern stables that she knew no one would see her on. Her heart was racing at the prospect of avenging Jeralt. She would let the Professor take care of Monica, that much was her right. But any other accomplices, Eve would cut down with no mercy.
"Kitten, slow down." Sylvain called after her, landing his wyvern haphazardly and tumbling off it in an effort to catch up to Eve.
"We can't stall and give them an opportunity to get away." Eve said, her feet slamming on the stones beneath them as she continued on her war path.
"I know but can you just," Sylvain jogged to catch up, grabbing her shoulder to make her stop and turn to face him, "slow down for a second?"
"What?" She glared at him harshly, bringing up her hand to brush his off her shoulder.
"You're angry, kitten." Sylvain sighed.
"Aren't you?" She shot back, folding her arms over her chest.
"You know I am." Sylvain shook his head. "We all are. But when you're angry you're rash."
"Get to the point, Sylvain." Eve frowned.
"I just need you to take a second to clear your head." Sylvain elaborated as he scratched the back of his neck. "I don't want you going into battle like you want to die."
"Sylvain do you know why I'm so formidable on the battlefield?" Eve asked.
"Because you have over a thousand years of experience?" Sylvain replied.
"Yes." Eve conceded. "But it's also because I go into every battle ready to die."
With that, Eve turned on her heel and continued on her warpath. Sylvain was right to be concerned, she couldn't deny it. She knew she was brash— especially on the battlefield. What was it Yuri had called her? Erratic? He wasn't wrong. But it was also what had always made her such a good fighter. She went into every battle not caring if she was cut down. Eve fought as if she had nothing to lose because for the longest time that was the truth. But now she had Felix and Dimitri and Sylvain. She couldn't leave them, not yet. So while she understood Sylvain's caution, she knew that she could not perish just yet.
"There you are." Dimitri said as the two of them approached the rest of the Blue Lions. "I was worried when no one could find you."
"I'm right here." Eve said, reaching out to grab Dimitri's hand comfortingly.
"Where did you find her, Sylvain?" Dimitri asked his redheaded friend.
"Cathedral." Sylvain shrugged, tossing Eve a wink when the prince looked away.
As the group departed, Eve felt the slightest of tremors in the hand she was holding. She chanced a glance over at Dimitri, wondering what was going on in his head. Was he angry? Scared? She wished she was as adept at looking into his heart as he was at looking into hers.
"The Sealed Forest is up ahead." Dedue announced as the group came to a halt. "Stay alert."
"This is for Captain Jeralt. I will not falter." Ingrid clenched her fist with determination.
Flayn nodded in agreement, adding, "it is time to repay the kindness of the professor who saved my life!"
"Leave it to us, Professor." Ashe piped in. "I'll give it my all."
They were, all of them, eager to fight. They wanted to avenge the Captain. But not only that, they wanted to make the people responsible for hurting their beloved Professor pay. It had pained everyone to see how affected the Professor was by the loss of her father.
"Fighting Tomas…" Sylvain trailed off, looking over at Eve cautiously. "It will be difficult, that's for certain."
Eve felt Dimitri stiffen beside her at the mention of the librarian. They had not seen Tomas since what happened in Remire. And it was clear that Dimitri was upset by the reminder of all that had happened there.
"I don't really love the idea of fighting people I know…" Mercedes murmured.
"We don't have a choice." Annette turned to her friend emphatically. "Even if it's difficult, an enemy is an enemy. We've just got to get it over with!"
"Just kill them from behind. As long as you don't see their faces, you won't know if you know them." Felix scoffed sarcastically.
"We won't know unless we see their face... Yes, I suppose that is true." Dimitri muttered, seemingly thinking of other things. "Professor... I hope you know I meant what I told you before. Your enemy is my enemy. And I will follow you until the end, whatever that end may be."
"That's reassuring." The Professor replied.
From the outside, the Professor seemed calm. But all of the Blue Lions could see a quiet rage building below the surface. She was filled with wrath and a thirst for the blood of those who had killed her father.
"Yes...right. We'll fulfill our duty together. We've come this far. We can't stop now. I hope you know that you can rely on us. No matter who the enemy is, we are prepared to cut them down." Dimitri replied.
Byleth nodded as the rest of the class broke away to prepare for battle. While everyone was eager to avenge Captain Jeralt, they were also aware that these would be opponents of the most formidable kind. They would all need to be their most prepared.
"Yes... No matter who they may be…" Dimitri murmured to himself.
Eve looked at him out of the corner of her eye, trying to read the expression on his face. But, as always, the Prince had on the most neutral and inoffensive expression.
"What is wrong, Dimitri?" Eve asked.
"Nothing." Dimitri shook his head.
"You have perhaps been spending too much time with me if you are beginning to lie so plainly now." Eve frowned.
"You're right, I'm sorry." Dimitri sighed, running his hand through his hair. "The other night… the Professor and I witnessed something upsetting."
"Care to elaborate?" Eve cocked her head to the side.
"It was the Flame Emperor with Monica and the man who saved her. They were talking about their plans." Dimitri's voice tightened, anger and sorrow laced through it. "They are responsible for Duscur."
"Then today they shall pay for their bloodshed." Eve managed as her vision blurred with anger.
Glenn…
So these were the people responsible for the tragedy that had taken away her most beloved. They had not only taken away Jeralt and Glenn, but they were responsible for the ruining of a nation and its people. They had taken away her solace and Eve was going to make them pay. They would not know peace for another moment in their life.
"Demonic beasts!" Dimitri cried out as the Blue Lions came into the clearing where the enemy was. "The enemy was always intending to lure us here."
"A couple demonic beasts won't stop me." Eve replied as she drew her blades.
The Blue Lions had little to no direction as they headed into battle. Dimitri was acting as a leader, calling out orders to his classmates and their battalions. But the Professor was focused solely on Monica who stood in the middle of the chaos.
Eve was vaguely aware that Monica had changed forms, her skin a frightening and strange shade of grey that almost made her look like a corpse. She could also see Monica taunting the Professor as she drew nearer. But Eve couldn't pay attention to any of that. She would let the Professor have Monica, she deserved to kill her father's murderer with her own hands. But Eve would make sure to cut down as many of the others as she could get her hands on. Rage was bubbling in her chest and she had to let it out somehow.
Again, Eve could hear Dimitri calling out orders in an effort to direct his fellow classmates. But his orders fell on deaf ears for Eve's part. She did not care about anything other than making those who sided with the people responsible for the Tragedy of Duscur perish. She felt like a feral animal, her blades more like claws ripping through flesh. Blood had splattered onto her face and clothes, but she didn't care to wipe any of it off. She fell foe after foe searching for any kind of release. But none of her kills eased her sorrow— alleviated her guilt. And deep down Eve knew that she could cut down a hundred of them and not feel any better.
Snapping out of her bloodthirsty rage, Eve finally paused to survey the battlefield. She had been so one-minded in her goal of eliminating enemies that she had not been using her Crest to protect her classmates as usual. Looking around, Eve tried to take stock of the injuries her friends had suffered. But as she looked, she realised something more sobering than flesh wounds.
"Sylvain…" She muttered to herself, watching her friend run his lance clean through a demonic beast.
He was smiling.
As he navigated his steed away from the beast and towards an enemy soldier manning a ballista, there was a smile on his face. And the smile didn't falter as he made quick work of his enemy. It was almost like he was… enjoying himself?
And as Eve took a new survey of the battlefield she noticed a harrowing shift she had never cared to see before. The first time she had fought with the Blue Lions, they had only been on the battlefield a handful of times. They had all been nervous, unsure of their fighting ability, and trepidatious to take a life. But now they were all far too comfortable with a weapon in their hands. They all seemed so well-versed in battle and unafraid. And some of them, much to Eve's horror, even seemed like they might be enjoying themselves.
A new rage bubbled in Eve's chest— this time at Rhea and the Church of Seiros. These were children. Sure, Sylvain was older and he, like Felix and Dimitri, would inherit a title that often came with conflict. But Annette and Ashe were young. They had no houses to inherit, no need to be such ruthless killers. But Eve watched as the two of them fought side by side, Ashe loosing an arrow with terrifying precision and Annette even giggling as a group of enemies lined up perfectly to all be hit by her spell. This was what the Officer's Academy had done to them. Rhea had built indoctrinated children who would gladly fight and die for the Church without so much as blinking an eye.
Eve's line of thought was interrupted, though, as an ominous darkness appeared in the corner of her eye. She turned to see the Professor standing in a stone courtyard with Monica crumpled to the floor in front of her. But standing there as well was Solon, no longer disguised as Tomas, holding something she couldn't make out in his fist. And as he clenched his fist to crush whatever it was he was holding, the spell surrounding him and the Professor swirled about in a storm of darkness until all at once it disappeared— leaving only Solon standing.
"What was that sorcery? What happened to our professor?!" Dimitri shouted as the Blue Lions all converged on the courtyard where Solon stood.
"They were swallowed by the mystical darkness of the forbidden spell." He answered with a smug smirk. "An eternity wandering in a void of darkness, never to return to this world… To think we almost had the Sword of the Creator…"
"That's a lie! There's no way the professor is really dead!" Annette stepped forward, a deep frown settled on her face.
"That's right! Our professor is no ordinary human!" Flayn piped up. Eve shot her a glance, wondering what Seteth's kin might know about the professor.
"I do not believe our professor has fallen." Dedue shook his head.
"It is possible that death has yet to find your friend. But there are worse things than death. Drifting through the darkness with no chance to escape…Overwhelmed with hopelessness… It must be torturous." Solon now cackled cruelly.
"We cannot abandon hope, Your Highness." Dedue now turned to Dimitri. "Our professor lives. I know it."
"You're right." Dimitri nodded.
"I can feel her." Eve offered, to which everyone turned to look at her. "I can feel every life force— each one is unique. I know she's not gone, but… it's like she's behind a wall. She's both here but also very far away somehow."
"We will save the professor." Dimitri placed a hand on the small of Eve's back comfortingly before turning back to Solon with rage in his eyes. "But first, let's destroy this fiend! I'll slice you into a thousand pieces as we watch with horror... You will know true pain before I finally allow you to die!"
"How trite. But if you wish for pain, I shall oblige. If you prefer it so, you shall also be added to the ranks of the dead!" Solon laughed.
As he laughed, additional forces came out of the surrounding forest. More foot soldiers and demonic beasts circled the Blue Lions. They were worse for wear after fighting so valiantly up until this point. And after Eve had been too focused to protect them, they all had sustained several injuries of varying severity.
"Everyone hold on." Eve said as she eyed the opposing forces.
With effort, she activated her Crest and transferred every injury the Blue Lions had accrued onto the new forces. She could not rid her classmates of their fatigue, but she could at least apply a bit of a handicap to the fresh forces Solon had brought out.
As she did so, a rift opened in the sky. From it emerged first the Sword of the Creator, clearly the instrument used to slice the fissure open, and then the Professor. She was changed— her hair now a soft green as well as her eyes. And Eve could feel something else had changed. Aside from her appearance, the Professor's life force now felt different. But it was not something Eve had not experienced before. It was eerily familiar in a way that confirmed all of her suspicions about the Professor and what Rhea had done to her.
"So the Fell Star consumes even the darkness itself." Solon muttered in a mixture of wonder and spite as the Professor stood before him.
"Professor... That is you, isn't it?" Dimitri faltered a moment as they all stared at the woman before them. "I am glad you are safe. I was sure that you would return. Please tell me all that happened to you later. For now, it's imperative that we kill the demon!"
"What did you see in the darkness of Zahras? This should be impossible. The only being that can withstand that darkness is…" Solon trailed off and Eve could have sworn she caught a hint of fear in his voice. "Unless I dispose of you myself, I may never have the chance to send you back there!"
For her part, the Professor remained silent, instead raising her blade again with determination. For the second time, Dimitri took the lead in directing their classmates to take care of the surrounding forces.
"Solon was able to curse the Professor once," Dimitri said to Eve, "you and I should back her up to ensure it doesn't happen again."
This time, Eve listened to Dimitri's directive. She followed his lead as he tailed behind the Professor. They made sure to stave off any forces that tried to interfere with her standoff with Solon. And as she had done with many of their foes prior, the Professor made quick work of Solon. His spells were no match for her speed in such close quarters and she found an opening to run him through with her haunting sword.
"To think… that I would lose to mere beasts." Solon spluttered as Eve and Dimitri joined the Professor to stand over him.
"It's over." The Professor said.
"But this is not the end…" He grinned though blood dripped from his mouth. "Thales will carry out our mission, somehow…"
"Thales... Does he also serve the Flame Emperor?" Dimitri frowned as Solon went limp, muttering more to himself, "it can't be…"
With Solon taken care of and the other Blue Lions clearly prevailing in their battles, Eve and Dimitri converged on the Professor.
"Professor... I'm glad you're OK. And you seem relatively unscathed. I'm...I'm so relieved." Dimitri's voice was shaky and Eve could see he was on the verge of tears. "What's more, Jeralt's foe is dead. Though we took little satisfaction from it. Professor... I must ask. What happened after we were separated? You look...different."
"The goddess gifted me her power." Byleth answered simply.
"The goddess appeared...and gave you her power?" Dimitri asked incredulously. "It's as though...the legend of old has been made flesh. It's hard to grasp, in all honestly. But having seen you pierce the sky with my own eyes, I find myself unable to doubt it."
"A legend of old?" Byleth frowned slightly, her eyes briefly flitting over to Eve.
"Yes. The legend of Saint Seiros." Dimitri nodded. "It is said that she received a divine revelation from the goddess and was gifted with her power. Long ago, the goddess dispatched Seiros to defeat an evil king who went mad with power. Perhaps the goddess saw the goodness of Seiros within you too, and wished to help you in your quest to defeat evil. Hm. If you're Seiros, granted power by the goddess, then I suppose that makes me... Ah, never mind. I'm getting carried away."
As Dimitri rambled, seemingly overwhelmed with emotion and unsure how to cope other than continuing to speak, Eve felt a pit growing in her stomach. Many of her questions and suspicions had been answered here today. But she also found herself with more questions— both for Rhea and the Professor. She feared, though, that she would not be able to find an appropriate time to ever get answers.
As Eve was lost in thought, the Professor suddenly swayed and keeled over to the ground.
"Professor! What's wrong?!" Dimitri lurched forward in a panic, kneeling beside her. "Are you...uh... Are you asleep? What is happening these days? Well, it matters not. We must get you help, and fast."
"She's alive." Eve nodded, noting that the Professor's life force now felt somehow more.
"I suppose I have no choice but to carry her back." Dimitri sighed. "Would you hold my lance?"
Eve nodded and took Dimitri's weapon in hand as he hoisted the Professor into his arms. She looked so small being carried by him and Eve couldn't help but wonder if she had looked like that the few times Dimitri had had to carry her.
And as the three of them made to join up with the rest of the Blue Lions, the Knights of Seiros came bursting into the clearing. Alois was with them, directing knights left and right to round up the remainder of Solon's forces.
The battle was over; everyone had survived and they had avenged Jeralt's death. But the anxiety that had been brewing in Eve's stomach was only growing in intensity. Solon was just the tip of the iceberg. There was still this Thales figure he had mentioned as well as the Flame Emperor and the Death Knight. And despite having faced these foes on several occasions, they still had no idea what their objective was. Eve feared for her mother's homeland. The cracks that had been spreading throughout the nation were now coming to a bursting point. And Eve could feel that somehow they were on the precipice of something catastrophic. She could only hope that what she felt in the Professor was enough to protect them.
A / N: sorry for the delay in update this week. I had computer troubles that put me out of commission for a few days. Hope you enjoy the longer chapter though!