"In time's flow… see the glow of flames ever burning bright….'

The high-pitched voice was louder than before, and Byleth knew why without even opening his eyes.

He was one stone step higher than before, and one closer to the top.

Two steps to go.

He clawed at his skin with his fingernails.

Wednesday 23rd Great Tree Moon

'Greetings, Seteth! How is the professor? May I visit him today?'

'I saw him last night and he is doing well, however, I think it best that everyone keep their distance from him for another day or two at least.'

'Aw, really? I am his tour guide; I feel like it's my responsibility to look after him!'

'I appreciate that sentiment but must advise you to hold off for now. After what happened in the training ground it is most important that we allow the dust to settle. Farewell.'

Seteth went to continue his early-morning walk when the gatekeeper called for him. He turned.

'Listen, I've gotten to know the professor a bit over the few days he's been here. He's a good kid.'

Seteth nodded and continued walking.

'Professor, how is the new professor?' Lysithea asked. She wasn't the only one who'd raised her hand when Manuela entered the classroom. Not that it mattered who got picked first, everyone had the same question.

'I've heard that he's ok, though I have not heard much else. Seteth has asked me to keep my distance from the infirmary for now. It seems as though that little Caspar did quite a number on him.'

If only it were his father who was made professor, she thought. What an amazing man. Such a shame his son is so useless.

Despite feeling bad for the boy, she had to crouch behind the desk to hide a grin.

Byleth had once again awoken with a jolt and was now suffering the consequences. He lay in his sweat-drenched bed, shaking. His shoulders rose and fell in jerked breaths.

'One, two, three, four, five,' he breathed. 'Back two, thre'-

He groaned. The ceiling above him spun and the pain forced his breath from him.

It's getting worse, his mind screamed.

'One, two, three, four, five'-

The room had been dark when he'd started counting. By the time his breathing was slow enough to stop, morning light had started shining through the window.

Even after the sensations passed he didn't move. He stared up at the ceiling, digging his fingernails into his palms. After a while, he heard a gentle knock on the door, and then it creaked open.

'Hello?' the voice whispered. 'Byleth?'

Although it was morning, it still wasn't light enough in the room for him to make out who was out the door. It wasn't Moira. He'd heard the voice before, but at first, he couldn't figure out who it belonged to.

The silhouette entered and nudged the door closed behind her. She spoke again, and that's when Byleth finally recognised her.

'My apologies, I hope I did not give you a fright. You do remember who I am, right?'

Although Byleth couldn't see her green hair and eyes, his skin still crawled in the same way it'd done when he'd met her with Jeralt a few days prior.

'Flayn.'

'Right!' she said. (She sniffed.) My, the smell in here is rather unpleasant. Were you sweating in your sleep?'

'Apologies.'

She tiptoed to the window, illuminating her face and the black uniform she wore. She opened the window and smiled. 'That is much better. (She moved to the bed opposite him, sat down and looked at him properly for the first time that morning. Her smile faded.) I heard about the terrible incident yesterday. I am so sorry that befell you. I spent much of last night in the library looking at old medical and magic books, and yet I have not found a single one that describes your illness.'

'H-How do you know?'

Flayn stiffened. 'Oh! Um… I overheard your conversation with Seteth… and his with Moira.'

Her head dropped and she linked her fingers. The room was dark, but Byleth was sure he saw her cheeks tinge red.

'Let us just say that I happened to be... curious, and I decided to follow him here... without him knowing... Please do not tell him, I beg you! He wishes for me to be as far away from you as possible, yet he means no ill will, he can just be a bit overprotective at times, but you must not tell him that I followed him… or that I snuck in here this morning, please?'

'Sure,' Byleth muttered.

'Thank you,' she said. She eyed him. 'How do you feel today? You look exhausted.'

'Not well.'

'No improvement from yesterday?'

'No.'

'I find that quite strange, healing magic normally'-

The doorknob twisted. Flayn squeaked and scrambled under the bed. She looked at Byleth with pleading eyes and raised a finger to her mouth.

The door opened and he saw an old, hunched-over woman in a long, white robe shuffle into the room. She placed a bowl onto a counter and then turned and put her hands on her hips.

'I could hear you from outside in the hallway, Flayn,' Moira said.

'Oh I am in deep trouble,' Flayn said, crawling out from under the bed and rising sheepishly.

'What ridiculousness drove you to come in here? I highly doubt your brother would be happy to hear about this.'

'You must not tell him!'

'But why are you here, dear?'

'Because I wish to help the professor get better.'

Moira blinked. 'Well, that is rather sweet of you, but he is well attended to already.'

'Please Moira, Byleth has just told me that his condition is no better. The healing magic has not worked. He needs all the help he can get.'

Moira turned to Byleth. 'The healing magic has not settled in yet?'

'I feel worse.'

'The pain is worse?'

'Pain was worse upon waking. The worst of it is over but I can still feel it slightly.'

Moira's face paled. She turned to Flayn. 'I'm not sure it is appropriate that you stay.'

'Please Moira, I must help him!'

'Why?'

'Because he is now my friend and because I am also friends with his father, Jeralt the Blade Breaker. I have learnt so much about Byleth from him already. He is a good person, one who has saved countless people as a mercenary, and he deserves all the help and support possible.'

Moira sighed and gave Byleth a weary looked that asked him whether he wanted Flayn to stay. He gave a nod. If someone wanted to try and help him get better, he wouldn't stop them, even if they happened to have green hair and eyes.

'Fine, so long as Byleth is happy for you to stay, I shall allow it, though I hope you know that I will need to listen to your brother's rambling again if he finds out.'

'He will not find out, I promise,' Flayn said. 'But what can we do to help Byleth?'

Moira gazed at him again. 'Tell me, when you mean worse, do you mean your physical injuries from Remire or the tingling pain and dizziness that you spoke of?'

'The tingling pain and dizziness.'

'Okay, but are your other injuries better?'

Byleth rubbed the side of his head. It was still tender to touch but the pain had lessened through the night, as had the bruise on his stomach. He could still feel stiffness and aches from Remire, but they too had improved over night. He told Moira this and she frowned.

'I'm perplexed as to how you can still be experiencing so much pain from your "tingling sensations". It sounds like an intense form of muscle cramp. Still, it has only been a day and in rare circumstances and it can take longer for magic to take effect.'

'I must admit, Moira,' Flayn said, 'that I overheard your conversation with my brother yesterday. You told him that Byleth believed he had already been healed after the battle in Remire. (She looked at Byleth.) This is correct?'

Byleth nodded.

'Assuming this is true, then I doubt that he will see any more improvements from his healings yesterday.'

Moira lowered herself onto the bed beside Flayn. 'But the battle was four days ago now, correct?'

Byleth nodded again.

Moira rubbed her eyes with her finger and thumb. 'In all my years I have never heard of healing magic not working on someone. At the very least, it should work on physical injuries.'

Flayn looked at Byleth again. 'Your symptoms started after the battle in Remire, correct?'

'Yes.'

'But healing magic worked on you normally before then?'

He nodded and Flayn scratched her chin. 'Were you poisoned, perhaps?'

Moira shook her head. 'His symptoms do not match up to what we know about poison. Besides, I gave him antitoxin yesterday so if it were the issue then his symptoms would have got better, not worse.'

Flayn paused for a moment and then looked at Byleth again. 'Do you have any idea what might have caused your current symptoms? Has anything out of the ordinary occurred in the past few days?'

Many things had occurred out of the ordinary in the past few days, but he shook his head. Clanking footsteps of a knight echoed in the hallway outside. Moira shuffled to the door, locked it, and then returned to the bed.

'There's not much I can do apart from allow you to rest and hope the healing magic kicks in, it was only given to you yesterday so there's still a reasonable amount of time for it to work. I'll confer with Seteth and see what he thinks, and we shall see how you're feeling later today. You'll need to forgive me, but I've never dealt with someone with your issues before.'

Byleth felt himself sink further into his bed, and then Flayn asked him a question that made him stiffen.

'You look tired, are you sleeping okay?'

'That's enough questions for now,' Moira said. She looked at Byleth again. 'Rest, eat and drink plenty and I will be back. If you need anything ring the bell.'

She rose, as did Flayn, and then the girl asked him a question that made his mind go blank.

'What is your favourite flower?'

He blinked. 'W-What?'

Flayn repeated the question. He hadn't misheard her. He forced himself to exhale.

'Forget-me-nots.'

'Why, those are my favourite kind of flowers as well!' she said, clapping her hands together. 'They are beautiful are they not? No matter how my day has been, I only need to take one look at their beautiful petals to feel as light as a feather'-

'Why are you talking about flowers?' Moira asked.

'Because I want him to think about something positive, and know that good times are ahead for him, I am certain of it.'