Friday 25th Great Tree Moon

Morning

Just as she'd done the previous two mornings, Flayn tiptoed along the corridor towards the infirmary.

She hoped Byleth was finally better, she'd prayed to the goddess for it. She'd been so happy with his progress the previous morning that she'd skipped everywhere for the rest of the day instead of walking, and when she'd asked Seteth about his condition that evening, he'd also sounded positive (without giving her any details, unsurprisingly). Despite all the positive signs, however, she remembered the pain he'd been right before Moira had used the Restore spell on him, and that's why her heart thumped as she gave the infirmary door a gentle knock.

'Byleth?' she whispered. She pushed the door open and peered in. Sunlight broke through the gap in between the curtains. It lit up the room just enough for her to make out the bed on the righthand side of the room… and the person lying in it.

She squinted her eyes… and then smiled.

The blanket on the bed rose and fell gently.

The church bells rang, signalling the beginning of lessons at the Officers Academy for the day. The chimes made Seteth's forehead pulse. He trudged towards the Black Eagles classroom. He was still some twenty feet away, but he could hear Ferdinand Von Aeigr arguing with Hubert. Bernadetta was also in the classroom because he heard her yelp. He rubbed his eyes.

'I hope Edelgard was telling the truth', he muttered. He entered the classroom and told Ferdinand to stop talking.

'Moira, how is Byleth? He was asleep when I saw him earlier this morning. That must be a good sign, surely?'

Moira had only managed a spoonful of porridge before Flayn had found her in the dining hall that morning. She sighed and placed her spoon down.

'Fine, his body healed itself whilst he slept so I think he's over the magic poisoning completely now.'

Flayn clapped her hands. 'Oh that is wonderf'-

Moira elbowed her arm. She met Flayn's gaze and then directed her eyes to the food counter at the end of the hall. There, Agnes stood, chopping vegetables. She wasn't watching them, but Moira knew that the old woman was listening. Flayn looked as well and nodded silently.

'I am glad he is better,' she said quietly.

Is he? Moira thought, thinking back to his panic attack the previous evening. He'd said he felt better when she'd went to see him earlier, but she hadn't been convinced.

He still looked troubled.

'Will he leave the infirmary today?' Flayn asked.

Moira shook her head. 'I've told him to rest until Sunday at least. We've never dealt with a medical issue like his before so it's very important that we give him time to rest and to make sure that he really is over whatever the problem is. It will also give me time to quiz him on his poisoning so I can log it in the event of any future cases.'

Flayn clapped her hands together again, though quietly this time. 'Oh, I am overjoyed he is ok. Let me know how he is later!'

And with that, the girl skipped out of the dining hall, leaving Moira to her breakfast.

Byleth was sat in the same chair as the evening before when the man with the golden monocle entered the room.

'Byleth, I hope you do not mind me visiting you,' Hanneman said. 'How are you?'

'Better.'

'I am relieved,' Hanneman replied, lowering himself into the other chair. 'Seteth and Moira updated me on your progress. I apologise for everything you've had to go through, for what happened in the training ground and for all the pain this illness has caused you.'

The man sounded genuine in his empathy, yet Byleth sensed something else in his voice.

Eagerness.

'I'm sure you have already been told this, but an illness such as yours has never been mentioned in any medical books. The idea that healing magic, a type of white magic, could poison you is unheard of, yet, I have been told that you have an interesting ability. You heal from your wounds extraordinarily quickly whilst you sleep, as if your body has its own reserve of healing magic that it calls upon. Is that true?'

Byleth nodded and Hanneman's eyes lit up.

'Incredible,' he breathed. 'In my years of crest research, I have never heard of such an ability. It no doubt comes from a crest residing in you. However, as no known crest gives its user such an ability, as far as we know, it suggests that you may possess an as-yet undiscovered one! My hypothesis is that your crest and your illness are interlinked.'

Byleth thought about what the man was saying and supposed it linked up perfectly with what Edelgard had told him.

But she didn't mention crests.

'You reported that your ability to heal whilst sleeping stopped working whilst you were ill,' Hanneman asked, 'is that correct?'

'Yes.'

'But it worked again when you slept last night?'

'Yes.'

'So they are almost certainly connected, a mystery crest and a mystery illness. The first step in trying to prove this hypothesis is to officially confirm that you have a crest, but also what one.'

He pulled what looked like a circular-shaped slab of stone from his coat pocket and lifted the device up to Byleth. It was a bright sandy colour with a smooth surface.

'This device will let us know what crest you bear. Just hold your arm over the top it. It won't hurt, I promise.'

Byleth did, but for a moment, nothing happened. He blinked and looked up at Hanneman. The man smiled.

'Take a look… now.'

The stone started to glow purple and Byleth squinted his eyes.

'Keep your arm steady just for a moment. Now…'-

The light brightened and Byleth closed his eyes. Hanneman gasped. 'What is this?!'

The light dimmed slightly and Byleth looked down at the device. Dark lines were crisscrossed over the surface.

'You have a crest,' Hanneman breathed, 'one that I have indeed never seen before!'

The man brought the stone close enough to his face for his nose to almost touch the surface. His eyes darted back and forth, studying the results. Byleth had known he'd had a crest since Seteth had spoken to him the previous day, yet hearing someone confirm it to him sent a shiver down his spine.

Jeralt had always said I didn't have one.

'I knew it was likely that you had a different crest but to actually confirm it,' Hanneman muttered, shaking his head. He lowered the stone and wiped his brow. 'The next step is for me to go away and research the results. If I can find anything linked to this crest, then it may give us a clue on if and how it is linked to the illness you succumbed to.'

The man jumped to his feet with energy that seemed to defy his age. 'I will be off. Frustratingly I will need to wait until I'm finished teaching the Blue Lions class before I can study your crest further. I presume you will be leaving the infirmary today if you're now fully better?'

'Moira advised me to stay in the infirmary until Sunday just in case.'

Hanneman nodded. 'That is a wise decision. Well, continue to rest and I shall update you on the crest as soon as I know more.'

He moved to the door and then turned again. 'If I may ask, and forgive me if I am overstepping, but will you be resuming your role as Professor of the Black Eagles house next week?'

Byleth's stomach started to churn. 'I… I don't know.'

Hanneman nodded. 'Well, know that if you wish to, you have my full support. Take care.'

The older man left the room. When he closed the door, Byleth turned and looked out the window.

Considering the state he'd been in the morning before it seemed like a miracle that he was now standing and walking around with ease. He was stiff and tender in places, but he felt confident enough that he could walk to one of the mountains in the distance and fight or flee from any predators that happened to get in his way. His "ability" … or his crest… was working again and that suggested, according to Edelgard, that he'd now fully recovered from the magic poisoning. He was healed and ready to leave the infirmary… and yet…-

He sank further into his chair and rested his head in his hands.

'Good morning.'

He jolted and tipped backward in his chair in the same way he'd done the previous day, hitting the ground with a thump. He groaned.

'Byleth! Are you okay? Apologies, I did not mean to give you a fright.'

The girl's high-pitched voice echoed in his head and he mashed his eyes closed.

'I apologise for giving you a fright,' Sothis continued. 'I believed that talking to you this way would be less intimidating than inviting you back to the steps.'

'Please, leave me alone.'

'Rude! I come to help you and that is your response?'

'I don't want your help.'

'Why not?'

Byleth didn't respond and Sothis sighed. 'Of course you do not want my help, I frighten you, and have done so for much of your life. However, I am afraid neither of us have a choice in the matter. I cannot leave you, even if I wanted to, so please, allow me to help you.'

Byleth shook his head as he rose to his feet. He moved to his bed and slumped onto it with his head in his hands.

'Please, Byleth.'

Byleth struggled to take a full breath in. 'One, two, three, four, five six… back to three, four'-

-'five, six.'

Sothis matched up her counting perfectly with his. His breathing quickened but he didn't stop. Together, they counted for another four rounds and then he took a deep breath in.

And then he blinked and saw black.

The warm, stuffy air hit Byleth and he cursed under his breath.

'Breathe,' Sothis said. 'I will not hurt you. Take your time. My apologies, but perhaps this is the only way you shall get used to my presence.'

'I don't want your presence.'

'You have not listened to me. You do not have a choice in the matter, nor do I. We are tied together, whether you like it or not.'

Byleth dropped his head and shook it.

'Byleth, look at me.'

He didn't. On the ground, he saw the fragment of stone from before, the one he'd ripped from the stone step. It was a reminder that everything around him was real… and that there was no escape.

'Byleth!'

It wasn't the loudness of the voice that made him look up, but the tone of it. He first saw her long green hair and it made goosebumps ripple on his skin. He gritted his teeth and met her eyes. Last time he'd directly looked at her, her brow had been furrowed and her eyes had been blazing with anger. Now, she looked different.

She looked desperate.

'I am sorry for my outburst yesterday; it was based on a misunderstanding, and I was wrong, and I apologise for the years of fear I have riddled you with, but you should not be afraid of me. You are not at my mercy, it is the other way around. I do not have the power to kill you, but you have the power to kill me, for if you fall then so do I. Your actions will determine not only your fate, but mine as well. When you are happy, I feel it and when you are sad, I also feel it. I apologise that I cannot leave. If I could, I would, but we are stuck together. I beg you, please do not turn away from me. Allow me to help you.'

She stared at him, and watched his shoulders rise and fall in big breaths. His face was tense and she could tell he was using every ounce of courage he had to not look away from her. He only managed for a short while, however, and then he dropped his head again.

'You have been through much recently, and I know my presence will take time getting used to, but I promise you shall not regret having me around.'

Byleth nodded, but she didn't need to read his mind to know he was merely nodding so he could leave quicker.