I wonder if I made too many references in this chapter. Oh well, here's a chapter centered on Alicia.

Chapter 23 – The Opera Edelweiss (Pegasus Moon)

It was early in the morning when Byleth and Dorothea saw a crowd gathered at the dining hall, with the workers and soldiers far more eager than usual to get their breakfast. An enticing aroma was coming from the kitchen, one that made Byleth's stomach grumble a little. To her relief, no one heard it over the voices of the crowd.

"Something smells really good," said Dorothea. "Whose turn was it to cook today?"

"Alicia is on kitchen duty this morning," said Byleth. "I haven't tried her cooking yet, but–"

"Oh, then you have nothing to worry about," Dorothea interrupted. "Alicia's a natural, especially when it comes to baking bread."

"Please, settle down, everyone!" came Alicia's voice over the crowd. "Please, I know it smells good, but remember that we're still rationing."

"Dammit, out of my way, you dolts!" shouted one of the male workers. "Gimme some of that – YEEEEAAARRGH!"

Alarmed, Byleth and Dorothea rushed up to see what had happened. One of the workers, who Byleth recognized as someone who had stolen food from some of the local orphans, had tried to grab a full loaf of bread from the counter. Alicia had apparently stopped him by grabbing his arm with a pair of metal tongs, which were still hot from being in the oven. The worker screamed as he stumbled back, releasing the bread as he clutched the second-degree burns on his arm.

"I said to wait for your fair share!" scolded Alicia. "And you're supposed to be on reduced rations anyway!"

"Oh, come on!" said the burnt worker.

"We're starvin' here, missie!" said one of his greedy friends.

"Then maybe you shouldn't have stolen food from kids!" Alicia replied harshly.

"How do you expect us to fix this place up if we're famished?!" said another greedy worker. "Now give us more food or–"

"Your punishment stands," said Byleth, prompting the greedy workers to turn to her with looks of concern on their faces. "I made it clear that coercing children for their food will not be tolerated. If you don't like it, you can leave. We'll find someone else to do your jobs."

Byleth didn't want to have to make such a threat, as the Church had to take who they could get in order to rebuild the monastery. But she wasn't about to let theft go unpunished.

Scowling at the Archbishop, the burnt worker got to his feet and said, "Fine. Good luck finding anyone else to patch up this shithole. Let's get out of here, guys."

The burnt worker and his greedy friends all left the dining hall.

"Lady Eisner, I'm sorry," said Alicia. "They–"

"I saw everything," Byleth interrupted. "Don't worry about it, Alicia. We'll find more workers elsewhere."

Alicia gave a small nod to Byleth. She then picked up a small plate with a thick slice of bread on it and said, "Well, as long as you're here, Lady Eisner, this is your serving. I set aside a larger piece for you. We can't have our leader going hungry."

"I appreciate the thought, Alicia, but I don't want any preferential treatment. We all must have our fair share."

With that, Byleth drew her dagger, took the plate from Alicia, and cut the large slice in two. She then took one half of it, giving the other half back to Alicia.

"Oh…" Alicia said slowly. "Um, well, okay, if that's what you want."

Byleth gave her a nod, and then she took a bite of her piece of bread. To her surprise, the taste was exceptional, a mix of sweet and spice. She could taste the honey and cinnamon used in it almost immediately. It was, simply put, the best bread she'd ever tasted.

The Archbishop's expression was enough that Dorothea said, "I take it she has your stamp of approval, Byleth?"

Not wanting to talk with a mouthful of bread, Byleth nodded with a smile.

"Thank you, Lady Eisner," Alicia said graciously. "Oh, can't go forgetting about everyone else. Here you are, sir."

Alicia handed a serving to an elderly man, who gave his thanks to the brunette.

…

A few hours later, Alicia wiped her brow as she stepped out of the dining hall. It had been a lot of work, but the praise she got from everyone that morning told her it was worth the effort. Even Felix, who disliked sweet foods, could not help but commend her work.

She only wished she didn't have to give so little out to everyone. There just weren't enough ingredients to make as much as she wanted.

As she dusted off her outfit, which was a cross between a set of leather armor and a blue dress, she looked up as Byleth approached her.

"Oh, Lady Eisner!" said Alicia. "Is there something I can help you with? I just finished in the kitchen and was about to head to the training grounds. If I'm not there soon, Seteth will probably give me laps for a week."

"I just wanted to commend you for your work today, Alicia," said Byleth. "I'll be honest, you have a lot of talent at baking."

"You think so? Thanks."

"Where did you learn how to bake things?"

"I learned from Manuela. When she used to be head diva, she would set aside some time to help us learn how to cook, sew, and so forth. She said I had a real knack for it."

"That's high praise. I always enjoyed Manuela's cooking."

"Yeah, she's the best. Though she did tend to serve her meals with wine or mead on the side."

"That… sounds like her."

Byleth had never done much to dissuade Manuela from her drinking habits. She'd even once or twice gone to a bar with Manuela to let her get as drunk as she wanted, though Byleth only ever asked for water on those trips. She didn't want to pick up her father's infamous habit the way Leonie did.

"I miss her," said Alicia. "I hope she's okay."

"Me too," answered Byleth. "I learned a lot about how to teach from her and Professor Hanneman." Byleth watched as Alicia's expression turned sullen. Deciding to change the subject, she asked, "How did you end up in the Mittelfrank Opera Company?"

"Huh? Why do you ask?"

"I'm just curious."

"Well, okay…" Alicia took a deep breath and said, "I wasn't born here in Fódlan. I was found in a shipwreck off the west coast when I was only five. I was the only survivor. I couldn't remember anything from before then except my name: Alicia Melchiott. Some sailors found me, brought me to Fódlan, and then dumped me off in an orphanage. I stayed there until I was ten before I was adopted by Count Townshend. But… that didn't last long."

"What happened?"

"The count was assassinated when he brought me back to Enbarr. I had to run away from the scene when one of the assassins chased me. He didn't want any witnesses. If I hadn't run into Brigitte, I'm sure I would've died. She killed the assassin when he tried to get rid of us, and, before I knew it, I became part of the Mittelfrank Opera."

"That must have been quite the start."

"It was. But I found a good home in the opera. I'm not a great singer, not like Dorothea or Cia are, but I can at least act out a part pretty well."

"How did you learn to fight?"

"Most divas are self-taught. I learned how to use a lance by watching the city guards in training. As for riding, well, I never really got to practice that much."

"Are you having any trouble with riding a Pegasus?"

"I… guess you could say that. I know the basics, but anytime I mount up on one, they just keep trying to throw me off or they won't listen to me. I don't know what I'm doing wrong."

"It's because you're a stranger to them."

"Huh?"

"Pegasi and Wyverns bond with their riders. If they don't know you or trust you, they're not going to let you control their reins. It's different with horses; they don't mind as much who is riding them."

"Oh. I never knew that."

"I think we need to make a stop at the stables. We need to find you a mount that will trust you."

"Wait, now? I'll be late for training with Seteth."

"I'll have a word with him. But if you're going to be part of our fliers, you need a suitable mount."

Byleth gestured for Alicia to follow her as the Archbishop made her way to the stables.

…

Seteth glared at Alicia when she finally made it to the training grounds, more than an hour late for her exercises. The brunette was leading a male Pegasus slowly by the reins, walking alongside the steed and ahead of Byleth. Felix was also watching as the two women approached the advisor.

"An hour this time, Melchiott?" Seteth said crossly. "I believe I made it clear that I despise tardiness."

Alicia was about to protest when Byleth stepped forward and said, "It's my fault, Seteth. I had to help Alicia pick out a Pegasus that she could work with."

"I see. In the future, I would appreciate it if you were to notify me, Lady Eisner."

"Sorry. I also had to speak to Anna about the workers. I had to dismiss some of them."

"I hope you had a very good reason for doing so. We do not exactly have many to spare."

"They wouldn't accept their punishment for stealing food from children, so I told them they could leave the monastery."

"Very well. I can only hope Anna will find suitable replacements." Seteth then turned to Alicia and said, "And I can only hope that this time, your mount won't throw you off."

Alicia could only gulp as the advisor glared at her.

"I'll be nearby if you need any help," Byleth said to Alicia. "I need to get in some shield practice."

"You've certainly kept me waiting long enough," said Felix as he brought out a practice sword and tossed it to Byleth.

Alicia watched for a moment as Byleth walked over to Felix and picked up an iron shield, one that was ideal for practice. Byleth assumed a stance as Felix readied his practice sword. Felix then swung at Byleth, who parried the first blow with her practice sword before Felix whirled around and slashed horizontally at her. Byleth barely had enough time to raise her shield, blocking Felix's strike with a loud grunt.

Alicia would've watched further, but the sound of Seteth clearing his throat reminded her of her own training. She turned back to the advisor as he mounted up on his Wyvern, Hyperion.

"Since that is a new steed," said Seteth, "we will focus on the basics for now. Mount up and follow me around the monastery."

Setting down her practice lance, Alicia swept herself up onto her Pegasus's saddle. The steed snorted as Alicia tried to urge the male into the air, but it did not respond to her command.

"Come on, come on," said Alicia, much to Seteth's disappointment.

As Alicia continued trying to get her Pegasus to move, Byleth turned to see her struggle with the simple task.

"Don't get distracted!" Felix shouted as he made another strike at Byleth.

Remembering her own training, Byleth tried to raise her shield to Felix's strike, but the shield only met air. Felix, having feigned his attack, weaved his wooden blade around Byleth's guard and hit her left hip. Byleth yelped as she staggered back a step.

"You should've blocked that," Felix said tersely.

Byleth did not apologize, knowing Felix would not appreciate it. Instead, she set down her practice blade and said, "Give me a moment, would you?"

"Fine. Go help Melchiott. She needs it."

Byleth put her shield down next to her practice blade and made her way to Alicia as she said, "Come on already. Giddy up."

The Pegasus snorted back at the brunette as Byleth walked up to it. It was at this moment that Dorothea entered the training grounds and saw Alicia struggling with her new mount.

"Alicia, remember what I told you," Byleth said. "He needs to trust you."

"I know, I know," said Alicia. "But how do I do that?"

"Maybe you could try feeding him," said Dorothea as she walked up to her two friends. "Do you have any bread left?"

Alicia nodded at Dorothea and dismounted from the Pegasus. She then reached into her pouch and pulled out a small amount of leftover bread. It was the second half of the slice Byleth had given back to her previously.

"Hey, are you hungry?" Alicia asked the Pegasus. "Here, if you let me ride you, I'll let you have this."

The Pegasus huffed for a second as it eyed the tasty treat. It sniffed the slice for a moment as Alicia stroked his grey mane. Then, after some brief hesitation, the Pegasus bit down into the bread. Upon tasting it, the Pegasus immediately grabbed the remainder of the slice and wolfed it down, his ears perking up as he made a short chuffing sound.

"Oh, wow," said Dorothea. "He really likes it."

"Do you like that?" said Alicia. "I'll make more for you later if you want. But only if you'll let me ride you. Okay?"

The Pegasus, seemingly understanding Alicia's words, whinnied in response.

"I think he's saying 'yes'," said Byleth.

"Well, give it a shot, Alicia," said Dorothea.

"Right!" Alicia said as she leapt back onto the Pegasus's saddle.

As soon as she mounted up, the Pegasus let out a whinny and spread its wings, surprising the three women. Then, Alicia yelped as the Pegasus took to the air.

"WHAAA! WHOA! SLOW DOWN! WHOAAA!" Alicia shrieked.

Byleth and Dorothea looked up in concern, with Byleth wondering if they'd just made a huge mistake. But after a few seconds of rough flying, the Pegasus began to settle, and Alicia seemed to gain control of her steed.

"Whoa, whoa, easy…" Alicia panted.

"That took you long enough," Seteth said tersely to the brunette. "Now, show me you have control and keep up. I will not be waiting for you."

Seteth lashed Hyperion's reins and the Wyvern soared off, prompting Alicia and her mount to follow.

…

Another half-hour passed while Byleth and Dorothea trained with Felix. As Dorothea parried another strike from Felix, the three stopped as they heard wingbeats from above. They looked up to see Seteth and Alicia coming down to land, with the brunette looking no worse for wear.

"Well done, Melchiott," Seteth said with a smile. "It seems you've finally found a good partner."

"T-Thank you, sir!" Alicia said as she dismounted.

"How did she do?" asked Byleth.

"Miss Melchiott is quite the natural," said Seteth. "All it took was finding the right steed, it seems."

"H-Hey! What are you – cut it out!" Alicia suddenly yelped, prompting the others to turn to her.

Alicia's new Pegasus was trying to stick its mouth into her belt pouch. Dorothea had to laugh at this as Byleth realized the steed wanted more of her bread.

"Will you stop that?!" Alicia yelped. "I don't have any more with me right now! Stop that! Okay, okay, I'll make you some more, alright?"

Byleth couldn't help herself and giggled briefly at the comedic scene.

After taking a moment to stop her own laughter, Dorothea said to Alicia, "So, does he have a name?"

"Y-Yeah, he does," Alicia said as she tried to get the Pegasus to stop invading her pouch. "He's called Welkin."

"Welkin. I like that."

"Are you certain?" asked Seteth. "I did not realize he was your new mount."

"What do you mean?" asked Alicia.

"Welkin used to be Lieutenant Varrot's mount. We lost her in the battle with General Randolph."

"Oh…" Dorothea said somberly.

"So, he's been missing her, is that it?" asked Alicia. She then stroked Welkin's mane and said, "I'm sorry, big guy. I didn't know you missed your rider. And I know I can't really replace her, but… I'll do the best I can for you, okay?"

Welkin snorted briefly, though it was a comforting sound.

"I think you two will get along fine," Byleth said as Alicia continued to stroke Welkin's mane.

I probably should've done stuff like this pre-timeskip, but hindsight won't get us anywhere.

The idea I'm having for Alicia is that she's relatively a rookie compared to the others, but like Cyril she gets going quickly (though she's not AS potent as him). I know some people might be put off by how I basically took a character from Valkyria Chronicles, but I hope to make this Alicia differ enough from SEGA's version. After all, she's not using a rifle here. ;)

I'll be giving the other three divas some focus too. I plan for the next chapter to center on the twins, Lana and Cia.