Claude von Riegen's Bizzare Adventure
Enjoy seeing a chapter in which we see an… interesting take on the Battle of Eagle and Lion. Or the lead up. And the aftermath.
Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem. Or Claude.
Edelgard smiled over the sight before her. The Black Eagle flag had been raised for their assured victory in the Battle of the Eagle and Lion. Proof of her future victories in the name of her ideals. Standing with her Professor, she turned towards him with triumph written all over her. "We have won the day, thanks to your guidance Professor."
"I wouldn't necessarily say it was all me. The class did the most work; I'm proud of that. Especially you Edelgard; I thank you." Edelgard blushed a little, even if it was a little true.
"Edelgard. Professor." Edelgard turned around to meet with Dimitri, who was walking the two. "That was a spectacular battle. You both fought exceptionally well." Edelgard smiled softly. A little praise every now and then from her peers isn't a bad thing.
"Spectacular battle my ass." Edelgard looked towards the source of the new voice, who was undoubtedly Claude, so she can berate him for being a sore loser (something she was guilty of, admittedly).
Only he was in bandages. And a cast. And crutches. "... What happened to you?"
"Indeed Claude. What exactly happened to have you in such a condition?"
Claude looked at Edelgard, with fear and anger in his eyes. "Don't tell me you don't know princess. You just had to sick that demon on me?"
Demon? "... Lysithea?"
"Don't say her name!" Claude looked around hurriedly. "... Okay, she's not here. That's good." Dimitri, worried for his fellow house leader, was honestly dumbstruck. "Aren't you being a little too paranoid?"
"You don't understand. I had the perfect plan to make sure she wouldn't come near me at all. I don't know how, but she managed to still pull a Dark Spikes spell on me. I don't even think she's done yet. I teased a lot; she's out to get me now."
Edelgard sighed. "Claude, can you explain what happened exactly?"
"... Alright, so it started last week, when I was being as innocent as possible…"
Claude looked around real quick. "Huh, usually Hilda's around when I tell stories. She does this cool thing with a harp, and I think it really-"
"Claude!"
"Alright. Jeesh. Anyway, it started last week, when I was being as innocent as possible…"
…
"999, and 1,000 gold coins. Man, wait until that knight goes to the infirmary. Though I'm a little hungry now." Claude pocketed the gold, received after selling a pastry to a knight, with said pastry lined with his latest trick. Hopefully, it won't kill him. If it does… Well, at least Claude has something for Lorenz.
Seeing Hilda at the dining hall reading a letter, as he entered in, he decided to sit next to her. "How's it going Hilda? Reading another letter from Holst?" That's when Claude noticed her face; it was one of dread at what she saw before her. "... I take it that Holst ate another bad mushroom?"
"The letter is for you." Claude raised his eyebrow. "Really? Reading through my mail now? Jeesh, if you were that bored, then why don't you help Ignautz with something, or tell off Lorenz?"
"It's from Lysithea." Claude whistled. "Lysithea? Really? After she left the Golden Deer? Oh boy, is she asking to join back in? I will gladly accept her offer, of course, for that extra teasing time that I'm missing in my everyday life now."
"You might want to read it." Claude took the letter from Hilda, and started reading aloud to her. " 'Dear Claude, I write to you as a warning', oh that's funny. 'I am aware that you know that I had recently joined Edelgard and the Black Eagles. I have not fully explained my reasoning for joining the house. The first reason is that the Black Eagles have a better magic oriented curriculum for students focusing on magic, and provides a better environment for those studies, unlike someone who does not have any experience whatsoever, and disrupts my study time with useless quips.' Ok, she did not have to make that com-"
Hilda sighed. "Just finish the letter." Claude shrugged at his friend's sternness, which was weird to him. " 'The second reason is the promise of'..." Claude took a look at making sure it said what it said. "'Defeating you at the Battle of the Eagle and Lion. Edelgard and Professor Byleth have given me the responsibility to make sure that you are soundly defeated at the Battle. And they have given me the resources to make sure you are defeated. For all of the times you teased me, and wasted my time, I will make it HURT. Your ass is grass, and I'm chopping it. Sincerely, Lysithea'" Claude put the letter down, and looked up, only to see a worried Raphael in front of him. "Is this the wrong time to mention that Lysithea has been practicing magic on dummies with your face on it?" Claude nodded. "... Yeah, I'm going to get some food." As Raphael walked away, Claude turned towards Hilda, who had the same horrified look on her face as him.
"So what are you going to do Claude?"
"Well, other than lock myself in my room for the next few days, I don't know. Lysithea has a new toy, and I don't know what it is." Even then though, Lysithea was still a mage, and mages were typically frail. He would have to have archers positioned around to make sure that they would get her without issue, and hope they would beat her before she gets to him. Even then though, Claude had terrific eyesight; there was no way Lysithea could pull off whatever she was planning.
…
"... And then she pulled off whatever she was planning. How the hell did she do it Edelgard?"
"... A magician never reveals their secrets. As such, I don't know how Lysithea did it." However, Professor Byleth shifted at that statement. 'Calm my teacher. He cannot know.' As it turned out, Edelgard did know how Lysithea did it. Professor Byleth and Huber knew too. They were the ones that made it possible.
It all happened nearly two weeks ago, on a day that can only be described as painful.
…
"And as you see right here, this painting shows House Gloucester, bringing honor to the battlefield so that the Alliance may be birthed."
"Indeed my son. Remember, your Highness; House Gloucester is the greatest of all the houses in the Alliance."
They then laughed.
That laugh was driving her insane. Here she was, in Gloucester territory, at the Gloucester manor, where Lorenz and his father, Count Gloucester, were showing them all of House Gloucester's… artistic taste. Lysithea and her had done their best to hide their mental pain. The Professor, however, was probably the only one who was interested.
Edelgard had to calm down though, and focus on the mission; Thyrsus. Lysithea's crest was that of the Major Crest of Gloucester; if she managed to get the relic, then, if the legends were to be believed, her magical range would be increased, allowing her to safely take care of enemy forces and Claude. Normally, Edelgard was above stealing such things, even if it was from Duke Aegir.
Considering it was House Gloucester, however, no damage would be done. To be frank, while House Gloucester is on good terms with the Empire, the House was a headache to deal with. If it disappeared, no one would miss it. Lysithea was also not above taking the relic when she heard of it's magical prowess, claiming Lorenz was wasting potential by not focusing on magic. Even the Professor was okay with it, as Lorenz had been a frequent complaint by others on conduct, so he saw this as punishment.
Hubert was okay with it, only because he found it amusing.
Edelgard had to endure this just a little bit more though. Around the corner, she could see Hubert and the case containing Thyrsus. Edelgard tensed a little however; for some odd reason or another, Hubert was casually strolling through the halls of the estate, in this damn room, looking at every piece of 'art' possible, while loudly chewing into an apple.
'... Is he trying to get us caught?!' Hubert must realize that he was carrying a Hero's Relic with him. A Hero's Relic that they just stole from a noble house. Any loud distractions could cause Lorenz or his father to notice Hubert. But no, Hubert instead insisted on looking at the vase that was-
'Actually that one looks nice.' As if reading her mind, Hubert grabbed a sack out of Goddess knows where and put the vase in. Edelgard was about to explode; they were there for Thyrsus, not museum hunting.
Hubert then headed towards the main exit. Said exit was behind Edelgard and the others. 'IS HE MAD?!' He was going to get caught. Edelgard was sure of it.
Yet he wasn't. As a matter of fact, he just walked right out. No one questioned him, no one looked at him; he simply just left with Thyrsus and a vase. Then Edelgard realized something; it was House Gloucester they were dealing with. Edelgard looked towards their hosts, and sure enough, they were enamored with their own egos.
'... Why was I worried again?' And she resumed listening to their damn laughter.
…
"... So Professor, how would you say that battle went? Rather difficult wasn't it?"
"I'm disappointed it was so easy." Edelgard had to hold back her laughter, because that was something she had expected to hear. Not just that though, but her Professor had just called their opponents child's play. "The Blue Lions had a formidable offense, but broke down easily the minute their Pegasus Knights fell, and the Golden Dear had no control over their main commanders, who were more than incompetant." Edelgard smiled at how the other two shifted at Professor Byleth's words; one of the reasons why they didn't simply recruit Lorenz was because of his recklessness, and he ended up costing Claude the victory. Meanwhile, the Blue Lions were easily tricked into a planned battalion attack, crippling them.
Claude sighed. "Fine we get it; you guys are better than us, woohoo. However, I propose a feast. A grand feast that will tear the walls between our houses, and bring us closer together." Edelgard gave him a questioning glance, which Dimitri was also giving him, meaning they had the same question; where would he get the food for a 'grand feast'? Claude gave a small chuckle in response. "... And by grand feast, I mean a perfectly normal feast in the dining hall."
Professor Byleth smiled. "I guess we will. The Black Eagles need to celebrate their victory somehow after all." Edelgard felt her face go red at his comment. "Professor, what has gotten into you? You're oddly exicatable right now." Edelgard noticed Dimitri wandering to the side. "Hm, seems like they are ready to leave right now."
Edelgard motioned for her Professor to follow, while Claude had Raphael pick him up. Edelgard was hoping their trip back was a bit smoother; for some reason, she kept hearing voices from the back of the carriage she and the Professor were in. Edelgard had come to terms that it was just her being nervous, not only for the battle, but being in such a close space with her Professor made her red.
…
All Byleth could say is he didn't know where the students got their energy. It was a mystery. As he saw all of the students gathered in the mess hall, Byleth was gathering some food up. He couldn't allow ALL of the students to miss out; especially those ones.
"Professor Byleth~" Byleth turned, only to see a very plastered Manuela making her way towards him. If Byleth had recalled correctly, Manuela was in this same kind of situation on their date. And Edelgard had mentioned that Manuela wanted to have a sexual experience with him, something he would have to decline. "Professor Manuela. What can I do for you?"
"Well, I was feeling very *hic* tired just now. Would you care to escort me to your room?" Byleth raised an eyebrow. "My room? Why is that?" Manuela walked closer to him, and Byleth couldn't help but notice how much looser her dress seemed. "Well, for starters, your class won the Battle of the Eagle and Lion. And right now, I'm up for giving said winner a 'prize'."
It took Byleth a minute to realize what she was talking about. "I'm very sorry Manuela, but I must refuse."
"Ah, are you su-"
"After all, I'm a little full on some food right now, and I'm not a heavy drinker, so I must decline one last meal with the faculty members. Now if you excuse me, I'm going to be heading to my room for the night." As Byleth walked away from his colleague (who admittedly looked dumbfounded by his declination, weirdly enough), he took one look at the mess hall before him. Ingrid was with Felix and Sylvain, chatting with her good friends. Petra was digging in to the meal before her, with Bernadetta scared for her life and Dorothea a little disgusted, as Mercedes and Annette were cooking Brigid styled foods. Linhardt being used as a makeshift table for Caspar and Raphael's arm wrestling competition, with Ignautz being judge and Dimitri watching amusingly. Claude and Hilda destroying the ego of Lorenz. Marianne making food for her taste tester Ferdinand as part as a way for Marianne to find herself.
And then there was Edelgard. Lysithea and her were playing with the cats that had wondered in, with Hubert eyeing them like an assassin in the waiting. Byleth smiled at his student's enjoyment; she was always so serious, so it was nice that she was being loose right now.
However, there are some things that were on Byleth's mind as he walked past his room; Constance's laugh and Balthus' stomach growling being a few of them.
Ah yeah, that's right. We're bringing in the Ashen Wolves to the mayhem that is this story *that hasn't been updated in Gods know how long*. Look forward to it… Um, how not, with how inconsistent I am right?
Till next time!