Thursday 24th Great Tree Moon

For the second day in a row, Flayn had awoken early.

Once again, she snuck down the corridor towards the infirmary. She felt guilty that she hadn't been able to see Byleth since the previous morning. She'd intended to visit in the evening but had been unable to sneak away from Seteth. That evening she'd asked him about how Byleth was, and he'd said that he was still recovering. He didn't say any more than that, but his face told her that he was worried.

And that worried her.

She gave the infirmary door a gentle knock. 'Byleth?' she whispered. She pushed the door open slightly. 'Are you'-

She gasped.

Seteth had completed five minutes of his daily morning walk when he stopped.

His normal early-morning walking route involved going past the monastery gates and down into the town, yet today he knew he wouldn't be following it.

Because to go past the monastery gates would almost certainly mean bumping into Dudley the gatekeeper.

The day before, the man had quizzed him on how Byleth was, and sure to do so again today. Yet when Seteth thought about what he would say to the gatekeeper if he asked, he couldn't decide.

He turned and strode back in the direction of the monastery.

Byleth struggled to breathe.

Once again, he'd awoken with a sudden jolt and that of course, had brought on the poison's onslaught.

'No,' he breathed. He squirmed in his bed, his eyes mashed closed and sweat dribbling down his face. His head thumped and spun, and the tingling sensations prickled through him, making him feel he was on fire. He let out a silent cry, feeling like he was choking.

Edelgard had told him to get Moira to use a spell on him once she'd left the room… but he'd fallen asleep.

'Restore spell,' he spat. He tried to get up and winced. The pain was too much. He inhaled but couldn't get a full breath in. 'Hey…,' he tried calling. He was breathless and he found it hard to shout, yet he tried again because he knew if he failed he would die.

'Hey'-

What felt like a ball of cool air blasted him, it hit his skin and then dove deep into his body, hitting every part. It was one of the sweetest feelings he'd ever had. The pain slowly subsided as did the tingling sensations, and he felt his dizziness settle. He inhaled and finally managed to get a full, satisfying breath in. He drank the air in in long breaths and then opened his eyes.

When he did, he saw green hair.

'Professor, are you alright?'

Byleth jolted but Moira and Flayn pressed their hands against his chest and shoulders. They stared down at him, wide-eyed.

'Please, speak to us, are you alright?' Flayn asked again.

Byleth forced a deep, trembling breath in and nodded.

'Moira used a Restore spell on you liked you asked,' Flayn said. 'How are you feeling?'

He blinked and the girl spoke again. 'I entered the room and you were clutching your chest and wreathing in pain. You told me to use a Restore spell on you and so I quickly went and got Moira so that she could administer one on you.'

'And when I did, you stopped wreathing,' Moira said. 'Did it help, dear?'

His mind raced so much that he hadn't stopped to think about how he felt. He let out a deep yawn, inching his arms above his head and out to the sides in a stretch as he did so. Normally, after an outburst of pain, such as the ones he'd had after waking in the past few days, the pain would linger for a long while, like a bad burn after touching something hot, but now in comparison to that he hardly felt anything. It was hard to believe but the evidence was undeniable. Edelgard had been right, so it seemed.

In fact, it wasn't the tingling sensations that pained him most at that moment.

'What happened to your hand though?' Flayn asked. 'It is scarred!'

He looked at his stinging hand. Bloodied imprints of his fingernails were etched into the bottom half of his palm and a small cut lined the skin in the middle.

'How did you do that?' Moira asked.

'Don't know.'

'You must have clenched it very hard when you were in pain. I shall heal it with magic.'

'No.'

Moira eyes widened and Byleth spoke again.

'No healing magic for now.'

Moira opened her mouth and then closed it. 'I will just clean it for now then, but you didn't answer my question, how are you feeling? The Restore spell seems to have worked to an extent.'

He nodded. 'It took most of the pain away.'

'Wow,' Flayn breathed. 'That must mean that you were poisoned!'

Moira frowned. 'But antitoxin should have worked. Just how much did it help you? Do you think you can stand up?'

Byleth felt like he could. For the first time in what felt like ages, he didn't fear performing a simple task such as that. He could feel feint tingling in his shoulders as he pushed himself upward into a seated position, and then in his stomach and legs as he rose to a standing position. He could feel the sensations bubbling in his body, as Edelgard had said he would, except they didn't feel like they were going to overflow into another painful outburst. His body felt fragile, it'd been battered over the past few days with poison, but it already felt a lot better. He told Moira how he felt and Flayn let out a squeal, clapping her hands together.

'This is wonderful, Byleth! If you have recovered this much with just one spell, then you should be better very soon!'

'We mustn't jump to conclusions,' Moira said, looking even more bewildered. 'I still don't- (she broke off, shaking her head.) In all my years I have never heard of someone with your symptoms, nor someone whose body only responds to a Restore spell.'

'Was there something wrong with the Monastery's supply of antitoxin?' Flayn asked. 'Or perhaps Byleth was dealing with a poison that it is ineffective on?'

'Our supplies are fine and I've never heard of a poison that can only be cured with a magic spell,' Moira said. She gazed at Byleth. 'Tell me, what gave you the idea to ask Flayn to use a Restore spell on you anyway?'

He blinked and opened and closed his mouth a few times before finally speaking. 'A mage once told me as a child that healing magic can cause poison that can only be cured with a Restore spell. I never believed them but because nothing else was working I thought it was worth a try.'

Moira stared at him, slowly shaking her head. 'That's not'-

'Yet that Restore spell worked when antitoxin did not,' Flayn muttered.

The nurse fell silent, her brow furrowed. She stared at Byleth and he saw something in her eyes. It wasn't quite suspicion, but something close to it. Yet he also noticed the large puffy bags under her eyes, and he thought she was also just glad that seemed to be ok.

She sighed. 'If I hadn't seen the pain you were in for myself I would have struggled to believe you. I don't suppose you remember if the mage said anything else?'

'Wait until I'm better before using healing magic again.'

She nodded slowly. 'Okay, well seeing as though nothing else has worked so far, we can put their claims to the test. Rest for now and I shall speak to Seteth. Hopefully you will continue to improve throughout the day.'

'I find all this so puzzling,' Flayn said, 'yet it makes me happy to no end that you are starting to feel better! I shall cook you something in the dining hall. That way, if Seteth sees, he shall-

The girl continued to speak. As she did her eyes shone with excitement. Byleth pretended to listen, rubbing a fragment of stone between his finger and thumb under his bedsheets as he did so.