Month of Verdant Moon - A Noble Problem

Chapter 10

The next morning I woke up to the sound of birds filtering in from the slotted window facing the courtyard. A solitary light filtered in brightly to illuminate my room. Judging by the amount of sunlight that filtered in through the wooden slots I had slept for a substantial amount of time.

"Uhhh? Navan what time is it?" I muttered groggily as I went to rub my eyes. As I raised my hands up towards my face I stopped abruptly.

My heart began hammering wildly in my chest as I stared down at my hands. The darkest shade of crimson was stained up to my elbows, soaking down onto my clothes and bed. A horrible reminder of the events from the Goddesses Rite of Rebirth. I choked back a scream as the red color faded slowly back to a pale cream shade that was my normal skin tone.

My breathing faltered as I shook in disbelief, patting the bed sheets and my clothes in a panic as I huffed. "It was just a dream. Just a dream, nothing more..."

I threw the covers off and went to stand up, running my hands through my hair in disbelief of what I had just woken up to. The sticky globs of hair brushed back in front of my face, the blood still staining and clumping on my green locks, holding them together in a disgusting blob. The panic started to creep back in as I let my hands drop back down to my sides.

"It was just a dream. Just a dream. I-I'll worry about what it means later." My mind was already running calculations, trying to place the canyon from my dreams and why it was overlapping with the events of the chapel. I realized two things rather quickly. One was I needed to talk with the archbishop sooner rather than later, and the other was that Navan had never come to check on me like he had promised.

I shook my head trying to shake the terrible, still lingering, thoughts from the battles from my consciousness. I hoped it was just some part of me that was still asleep and seeing things, but the canyon from yesterday felt too real to be just something I had thought up.

"Given what happened yesterday, it wouldn't surprise me if it's just a coping mechanism..." I tried to logic with myself as the whole experience still did not sit right with me.

I struggled to come to terms with what had happened. My gut instinct that led me though catacombs, ruins, and thru countless battles with bandits told me this wasn't something I should just dismiss lightly, rather it urged me to talk to someone. That someone, my instinct told me needed to be Lady Rhea. The archbishop was clearly my best bet for finding get answers and meet with the archbishop however, required me to be presentable.

I attempt to stand up and act on my plan.

However, getting out of bed though was much more of an endeavor than I anticipated. My injured leg was refusing to support my weight, and it was only through pure grit and determination I managed to get back into my washroom. Once there, leaning against the frame of the door for breath and to take the weight off my leg I noticed a maid had cleaned up my mess from the night prior.

Like a stealthy bandit, it appeared a monastery maid had taken my blood soaked clothes away to be cleaned. In the normal place was a fresh uniform along with more bandages, soaps, and, to my surprise a small sugary treat.

I felt a small, tired smile tugging at the corner of my lip, feeling just a little better by the gesture. At least the maids were experienced and capable. Or maybe I had just been that exhausted to not notice her enter. That might also explain why Navan had not woken me up. He might have come in to check on me and decided to give me a small break.

Feeling a bit better after eating the small snack, I stripped and proceeded to start a shower. The hot water cascading down my battered and beaten body felt like an amazing luxury, especially after all the years spent on the road washing in rivers and lakes.

I scrubbed for ages, water slowly growing more and more frigid the longer I stayed in the room, but I did not mind. I scrubbed myself clean, the lingering images of my blood soaked hands causing me to stay in the water long after my physical body had been cleaned.


The sunlight in my room started to wane as I flipped through yet another book in front of me. Grumbling, I grudgingly struggled to stand. It was a challenge in itself leveraging myself off the ground, and as a result it was one of the only times I had moved all day.

Painfully I shuffled over to light the candle on my nightstand and then to my dresser to light a second candle. Satisfied, I wouldn't need to move for a while, I slid back down onto the yellow rug in the middle of my room. Stiffly I propped my injured leg out on a pillow in front of me and proceeded to pull one of my blankets back over top of my lap.

Books lay scattered in all directions in a crescent arc all around me, a testament to what I had been working on all day after I had finished showering, having decided to do some tedious research before I sought out an audience with the archbishop.

I had made marginal progress on my research as the day came to a close. Papers with hastily scribbled notes lay discarded all over the floor. A cluster of crumbled, abandoned, notes lay in a loose ring around the waste bin in my haste to discard them.

I groaned as I reached forward into a pile of books and notes next to me, digging for the large leather bound volume at the bottom.

"Why is the book I am looking for always at the bottom? Ugh." I managed to extract the book I was looking for without bringing the heap down on top of me.

I flicked through the pages checking for the index. "It's white, so it must be some kind of holy magic. Why can't I find anything about giant flashes of light. Sargettee, Abraxes, these are all standard spells! They certainly wouldn't do that kind of damage on their own. What if…"

I had a sudden idea. Hastily I put the heavy volume down and started sliding a few more books towards me when a knock on the door alerted me that I had a visitor.

"Hey, Lilianna! Are you in there?"

"Doors open." I called out absently as I rooted around to grab three more books off the piles next to me. I focused as I arranged them into a pile on their own.

I lifted the heavy volume off my lap and placed it on top of the stack I had just created to denote holy magics, and started looking for books on magic enhancers and amplifiers when my door opened to reveal a cheerful face alongside a swinging braid. "Hey Lilian- Oh you look like you're having fun."

I waved to my house leader, finding a book of interest by chance. I absently flicked through the pages at a rapid pace seeing if it held anything of value at a glance. "Evening Claude, is there something you need?"

"Uh, no nothing much. Just thought I would drop by to see how you're doing. Raphael told me yesterday you needed some help getting back to your room after everything went down, so figured I would check in and make sure you were alright." Claude's response was nonchalant, like he didn't totally mean what he was saying.

I was going to respond but a section labeled under magical indexes caught my attention. I flicked through the book until I located the section I was looking for and promptly began reading.

"What are you researching? Anything I can help with?" A teasingly gentle voice ghosted over my ear and I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up on end.

My breath hitched for a second as I clamped my hand over the back of my neck.

A playful chuckle greeted my sudden response. "Haha, now you finally notice me. Welcome back to reality my deer."

"C-Claude?! Where did you come from?" I looked over my shoulder to find the Golden Deer leader's sly grin only a few inches from mine. He dangled upside-down, with the smug smile firmly entrenched on his face as he made himself comfortable on the bed behind me.

Claude continued grinning as if he was enjoying himself. "I walked in through the doors a few minutes ago, or did you forget that you invited me in already?" He teased as his braid dangled close to my face. "Huh, I haven't noticed because of your classwork but you are quite the scholar arn't you?"

I gulped as he rolled, put a hand on my shoulder to steady himself as he looked over it. The guarded green eyes of my house leader skimmed the book in front of me, evidently interested in what I had been researching. "Magic stuff huh? Na don't think I'll be any help there."

"No, I should think not? I don't recall asking for your help either." I snapped as I marked the page in the book for later research.

My house leader's green eyes flashed, but his carefully guarded grin stayed in place like my testy remark did not bother him. "Ouch, now that's just cold. I only came here to check in on you. See how you were doing and all that."

"I'm perfectly fine thank you." I began thumbing through the large patch of loose notes located next to me as my house leader watched from his lounging position on my bed.

It was silent for a bit, and I began to drift back off into my studies, the notes on how gremory class certifications allowed for access to the highest tier spell books and what kind of spells one could cast when a drawling, bored, voice interrupted me.

"Alright then, if you're perfectly fine then, let's go grab some food from the mess hall then. No one has seen you all day, so I bet you're hungry."

"No thank you, I am rather content right here." I keep my eyes focused on the text in front of me. Sticking my finger between the pages as a quick bookmark as I flipped a few pages forward.

"Come on, you can bring your book with you. I won't mind." Claude hopped off the bed and tugged the blanket off my lap.

I let out a small squeak as the cooler air hit my legs, revealing I was in my black and gold training shorts and tank top with little else.

"You can read - wait, Lilianna what is wrong with your thigh?" Claude's cheerful teasing quickly dropped off to be concerned as he caught sight of the massive bandage encompassing most of my leg.

The golden deer roughly folded my blanket and tossed it onto my bed as I scratched the side of my face nervously.

I tried to finish what I was analyzing, making a quick connection to the spell I was researching while my other hand bolted for a small note card I had made by tearing off the corner of a magical guild we had been assigned as homework. "Ah, errr …."

It took my house leader no time at all to put together why no one had seen me all day.

"No, No hold on, don't tell me. You were wrapped up in that mess from yesterday. I should have known better. With Lorenz in the infirmary, and Lysithea recovering back in her room… Ugh why didn't I see it sooner! I thought you would have had the common sense to look after yourself!" Claude put his hand to his forehead and shook it in an exaggerated display of despair that I found hard to take seriously.

I watched him carefully for a second, and then went back to reading over the note in my hand. It did not contain the information I was looking for so I tossed it to the side, not concerned with Claude's exasperation. "Look, I am taking care of myself. I am holed up in my room resting comfortably, isn't that enough for you?"

I shot a pointed glare up at him. "Well, I was resting until you came in here and started bothering me."

"Hey, I don't think I am the only person to tell you that you should have gone to the infirmary for something that bad." Claude scolded me as an unhappy scowl started to creep up on his normally cheerful features.

I shrugged in response to his concern, and proceeded to put another note on top of the pile of papers I had been researching. I began rifling though a few others, organizing them. "There were plenty of other people that required a healer's attention. It's not serious. I keep telling you I am fine."

The glint my house leader's eye promised trouble as I flipped my hair out of my eyes.

"Alright then, prove it. Let's go for a walk." He proposed roguishly, knowing full well that it wasn't an option. He was doing it just to either irritate me or test me, regardless I found myself detested his challenge.

My eyes flicked up from my notes, not in the mood for any of my house leaders' games. "And what if I decline?"

He crouched down next to me with a seriously sly expression, and I leaned away from him on guard for whatever he was scheming. "I'll call the guards and have them carry you up to the infirmary by force."

The sly grin the Golden Deer was wearing no longer reached his eyes and his green eyes began flashing dangerously, warning me to choose my words and actions carefully.

Angry that Claude was toying with me, I growled back at his challenge. "Do you wish to test me?"

I glared daggers up at the male standing over me and he shrugged unconcerned by my response to his threat, as if he had already thought of a better solution.

His body language bothered me, but I glared up at him in high temper regardless. Nobles were such a hassle. I was starting to think how I could get Claude to leave me alone when the sly grin returned.

"Alright, I suppose I could carry you if that's what you really want."

Claude switched roles so easily that it caught me off guard. "W-what? Claude hold on!? Stop!"

Claude didn't acknowledge my protest. My house leader knelt down smoothly, reaching out to grab my free hand. "Oh that's it! You want me to carry you. I should have known!"

My mind went into a panic as he held my hand. I found myself protesting vehemently as I realized he was dead serious. "No! Claude!"

My house leader's eyes glinted and danced as he watched me grow more flustered as he laced his fingers together with mine. "Oh come on, you want to come with me Petal. You know it."

"I-I told you to leave me alone!" I protested as I felt my face start to blaze with embarrassment as he continued smiling at me, pulling the notes from my other hand as he did so.

Holding both my hands Claude's eyes twinkled with interest. It was as if he was learning something very valuable. "Alright then, how do you propose we come to a compromise then?"

In response to both his teasing and threats, I snapped and started swearing at him. I wasn't sure what language was coming out of my mouth but it didn't deter my house leader, nor did his grip on my hands falter.

"While I can't tell entirely what you're saying there, I can tell that's some pretty colorful language you're using on me. I don't think I quite caught an answer to my question though."

"..." I sulked as he released my hands and sat back down on the bed with a heavy sigh. He ruffled his hair and tried a different approach.

"Look, all I want is for you to have that looked at. I don't care for seeing my precious deers hurt, so would you please come with me and have it looked after?" Claude's voice finally seemed sincere enough that I slowly relented.

I sighed and looked down at my injured leg. Claude was right, per usual. The wound was clearly turning rather pink and I speculated it was probably time for me to change the bandage. "You are such a royal pain you know that?"

Claude's face lit up as he realized I was relenting. His voice dropped to a teasing purr of victory. "That's my job, now does that mean you'll come with me?"

"I never said anything of the sort." I snorted as I braced my elbows up on the bed.

Claude caught on to what I was trying to do and offered a helping hand.

I looked down my nose at his proffered hand and finished pushing myself up onto my bed. As I struggled to stand I didn't miss the flash of rejection and pain that ghosted over my leader's gaze as I rejected his open hand yet again.

I took a minute to breathe while Claude analyzed me anxiously. I stretched my arms up over my head and stretched, yawning like it didn't bother me to keep his waiting and then pushed myself to a standing position as a show of false bravo.

Or it would have been if my plans had gone accordingly, my injury seemed to have other plans despite me resting it all day. My injury still did not appreciate my sudden weight and it caused my leg to crumple under me almost instantly. I tottered as I tried to gain my balance, keeping my weight to one side as Claude reached out to steady me with a small note of surprise and a lot of anxiety. "Wohoo, hang on there. You alright?"

I grabbed his arm with a grin as my house leader's face lit up in a sudden shock. "Change of plans, I have a better idea. How about you come with me instead?"

"What-?"

I refused to give the golden deer any time to protest as I cast my teleport spell. Our world went black for the briefest of heartbeats and then came back into view. Per my usual, casting the spell triggered a slamming tidal wave of dizziness and nausea that broke over me with no time for preparation. My vision went fuzzy as I felt our feet hit the hard ground.

There was a low whistle as Claude looked around. "That's a seriously useful spell. Think of all the possibilities...Oh, hang on there Petal. I got ya."

I felt myself being steadied as the world came back into focus, my hand straying up hold my head. "Uh, Claude? Where are we?"

My house leader looked around once more just to confirm. "Just down the hall from the infirmary if my memory serves correctly. It looks like you miscalculated a bit."

My vision swam as he ducked his head down to check me over. "Hey, Lilianna, you alright?"

I pushed his face away from mine, my head reeling. "Just-just give me a moment. I'll be fine in a second."

My house leader was unimpressed with my rejection and he rolled his eyes. "Uh huh, says the one who can't even stand up properly."

My world spun as I tried to stand. On reflex, I reached out for the nearest stable object to brace myself against. My hand managed to find purchase on Claude's uniform, and I leaned on him for support. "Ughhh…"

"Oh dear, it looks like I need more bandages." Manuela passed us in the hallway, walking at a fast pace. "I was afraid of this. Oh, with so many civilians caught up in yesterday's mess there's hardly enough to go around. There's barely enough time to sleep let alone tend to anyone!"

Claude looked up from trying to figure out what was wrong with me and hailed the head of the infirmary as Manuela disappeared into the supply room. "Hey Professor Manuela, do you have a second?"

"I am sorry Claude I am rather busy right now." Manuela came out of the supply closet a few seconds later with a box full of medical supplies.

Claude shifted us to get out of her way as she hurried back down the hall with her hands full. As the professor darted past the golden deer inquired about where she was heading. "Are you off to the study hall professor?"

She stopped for a second with a huge sigh. "Why yes, I suppose I am. There's simply too many wounded to put up in the infirmary right now. Hang on Claude, why is Lilianna clinging to you like that?"

I could hear Claude changing his tone, a carefully crafted condescending tone and grated on my ears. "Well, you see professor, Petal here has been hiding away in her room all day. I only just discovered that she was caught up in yesterday's battle and I just managed to convince her to seek out some medical attention."

Manuela looked us up and down for a second as I held my head, glaring up at Claude."I can see that. Come on lets get her to the infirmary."

My dizziness only grew worse as Claude threw my arm over his shoulder and wrapped his other arm around my hip. "Come on Petal, let's get you looked after."


Manuela ordered Claude to help me get up onto the counter top in the infirmary, citing that there were no open beds for us to use to give me a check up. I tried to follow her orders myself, but Claude became exasperated with my efforts and easily pushed me up onto the counter top with a wink.

I might have been more embarrassed by his antics if my head didn't feel like it was trying to split itself open.

The infirmary caretaker quickly cut through the bandages on my leg and stepped back to examine it in length. "Well, it doesn't look good, but it doesn't look bad either. At any rate it looks like you have been taking care of it. From what I see, it just looks like you could use a fresh bandage."

Manuela started to dig around in her box and had just finished pulling out fresh bandages as someone started yelling. "Professor! Professor Manuela! You're needed in the study hall!"

Manuela bit her lip and pushed the bandage into Claude's hands. "Oh dear, I got side tracked. Here Claude, give her a hand would you dear? If you need someone to look it over, have Cereza check it out. She's umm…" Manuela looked around frantically and then pointed. "She's over there with Lorenz right now, I am sure she would be happy to help you."

The student crier urged her forward. "Professor Manuela! Please hurry!"

Manuela gave a flick of her hair and sighed. "I'm coming! Hold your horses already!"

The professor left as I reached over and plucked a fresh compress from Claude's hands.

I worked on taking care of the exposed wound, pressing the fresh compress down on the ugly, swollen, wound wishing I had some ice.

"Umm are you alright?" Claude's voice was uneasy as I held out my spare hand for the additional bandages. My house leader looked away with a blush as he handed them over.

My response was crisp."I will be, sooner or later. Hey, can you get me some gauze from over there?"

I pointed as I slid off the counter towards the ground. "Ghnnn…"

Claude was busy reaching for the gauze, and by the time he looked back over at me my bare feet had just touched the cold stonework of the infirmary. "Hey what are you doing? Stop moving around so much."

My house leader scowled me as I leaned up against the counter top, breathing raggedly.

"Ya well, it'll be easier for me to bandage it this way."

Claude's scowl deepened as he grabbed the disinfectant in addition to the gauze and turned back to me. "You really want to do this yourself?"

"Come over here." Cereza called out from next to Lorenz. "I will supervise."

On closer inspection she was busy wrapping a fresh bandage over the fussy noble's bicep.

"I do believe that is a bit too tight." Lorenz wasn't looking at his caretaker or us as he snapped. The noble stubbornly looked out the infirmary windows as Cerez's own frown mirrored his.

"It is not. One must tie it tightly for you will bleed much." She lectured with a little extra twist that caused the violet haired noble to wince.

Claude caught me grinning at Lorenz's pain and took the opportunity to knee down in front of me. "No, I can get it from here. I have a lot of practice at this, don't worry."

Claude roughly passed up the gauze as he got out a fresh cloth. "You might want to hang onto the counter. This is probably going to hurt a bit."

"Please stand up Claude. This is...uncomfortable." I begged as he uncapped the disinfectant and looked up at me with smoldering green eyes. I gulped and grabbed onto the counter top like he instructed.

"..." He didn't say anything as he gently pulled my hand away from the cut. I bit my lip as he pulled the padding off and looked up at me. His wavy, messy brown hair flopped back as his eyes waited for my signal. I took a deep breath and nodded.

My house leader looked back down at the jagged wound in front of him, his mouth set in a grim line as he applied disinfectant.

I hissed softly in pain and tried to stop my leg from shaking, a small part of me wondering why Claude would say he had experience in treating wounds. As far as I knew he was the next leader of the Alliance, what kind of backstory did my house leader possess for him to be proficient in treating combat wounds? He was always a mystery, and rarely ever a straight answer. I sighed.

While Claude waited for the disinfectant to dry he traded the disinfectant up to me in exchange for a fresh gauze pad and bandages. I tried to not focus on what he was doing as he applied the padding and then wound the bandages securely around my thigh.

"You- you are rather skilled at this." I admitted, feeling my cheeks flushing reluctantly as he finished tying the bandage off with a grim expression.

Now that my house leader was done tending to my wound he pushed off the ground, and stood up with a radiant smile. "Alright you're all set! Did you want Cereza to inspect it or do you trust my skills?"

My voice was low, something about the way Claude was acting didn't feel normal.

"It feels fine. You, umm, yes I trust you..." My face felt like it was one fire as Claude about glowed with praise.

"Good, now how's your head feeling?" Claude nodded twice as he tucked a hand under his chin in thought.

I touched my forehead gingerly and winced. "Still sore, I have been having bad headaches since last night. I think I haven't been drinking enough water."

The golden deer shook his head, the braid that hung delicately on the side of his face swung back and forth, slapping gently across the side of his face as he turned the reach up into the cabinet behind me.

The dangling gold bead on the end of his braid caught my attention and I reached out and caught experimentally between my thumb forefinger. Claude froze with his hand on a jar as I gently pulled the fancy bead towards me for a closer inspection. A light pink flush started to glow on his cheeks as I inspected the small ornate bead at the end of his braid.

He pulled the jar of pills down off the shelf, moving slowly as I thoroughly inspected the bead in between my fingers. The intricate gold carvings were not anything I had ever seen at a market. Given the sheer detail and steady cravings, I suspected it had been crafted by some great artisan. Annoyed that I couldn't inherently place the value or craft artisan, I looked around for a maker's mark. The crescent moons and stars that decorated the bead mocked me and refused to give up its creator's origins.

Claude giggled nervously, his voice stuttering as I sniffed irately. "I thought you said you could look after yourself. On further inspection, I have determined that is a lie."

I was about to protest his analysis when an annoyingly smooth voice started speaking from the bed closest to the windows.

"She obtained the wound whilst fighting yesterday. I happened to witness the event firsthand. I'll admit I thought it was strange you did not so much as flinch as you defended those civilians." Lorenz's smooth yet harsh words betrayed his arrogance as he pointed his nose towards the ceiling. His attitude persisting as Cereza tended yet another of his wounds.. "Though I suppose you were simply following the orders I gave you."

The depths of noble's arrogance continued astound me. Even when he was beat up and after I had tried to help him yesterday he still tried to put on airs that he was better than me and take credit for our entire unit's performance. Immediately my teeth clenched so hard my jaw ached and I had to resist the urge to not say anything. I let Claude's braid fall from my fingertips as I finished my inspection of the small symbols engraved on the bead.

Slowly I counted to three before releasing my breath. "I did not help those folks because I was ordered to."

I couldn't stop my teeth from grinding as I spat the words. "Regardless of where those orders came from, be that from the archbishop nor you. I did it because they needed protecting. The strong protect the weak and helpless."

"We in nobility have very similar sentiments. I ordered you to protect them because I thought you would be capable enough to protect them." Lorenz airily endorsed his superiority complex and I growled a low feral sound coming from deep in my throat.

Cereza looked up to scowl at me. "It does no good to get - be distressing about the situation. The people were saved thanks to you both. Is that not all that matters?"

"That's right! Everything is all over with and Rhea is dealing with the rest of the intruders." Claude jumped in to defuse the situation while attempting to hand me several pills to address my headache.

I snorted, done with the conversation. If he wanted to cock an attitude that nobles were better than commoners, and take credit for my efforts yesterday I was done. I snapped, any semblance of tolerance dissipating. "I would never take orders from a noble like you."

My world started shimmering and my spell gave no one time to react as the world faded from dark to light once more. I found myself standing back in the middle of my bedroom holding the pills Claude had shoved into my hand just before I had teleported out of the situation. I collapsed onto the bed hating myself as the all shocked faces floated to the front of my mind.


The next few weeks I spent avoiding almost everyone at the monastery. Zu was a great help in that regard. The huge wyvern simply would not tolerate any sort of stranger coming into the stable and I took full advantage of his roaring temper.

In spending so much time in the stables and working with him, I also started risking saddling him. The huge wyvern was unimpressed at first, but soon took to wearing it like he had for most of his life. Toward the end of the month I even managed to get him to wear without thrashing around the saddle. Figuring I had nothing to lose, I began climbing up and living in the saddle.

In order to focus more on getting Zu ready for combat, and secretly to avoid dealing with anyone, I worked with my Professors to completely rearrange my schedule. Initially my magic and homeroom instructors protested me neglecting my classroom duties, but eventually they conceded when I voiced my concerns to Rhea.

The archbishop was greatly concerned about my change in behaviors and displayed distress when I had walked in with my bandages a few days after my fight with Lorenz. Having spent several days thinking about my current situation, I came to ask Rhea the questions that had been bothering me and spoke to her at length about leaving the monastery. She went silent for a while, and then softly suggested that I simply alter my schedule for a bit until I was ready to resume a normalized class schedule again. When I pressed her for answers on the red canyon, the archbishop frowned but denied knowing what or where the place was, and as Byleth had entered the room to report of bandit problems in the upper region of Faerghus I was dismissed.

So as I adjusted to the contactless schedule of instruction I worked almost exclusively with Zu. I still trained with Navan, but it was rare that I would stay at the training grounds to work with anyone. I also continued taking most of my meals in the dining hall, eating as quickly as possible and avoiding almost all of my housemates.

Noticing that I was sticking more to myself, Flayn started to come down to the stables to see me. The cheerful green haired beauty was delighted to chat with me more frequently. She would often speak with me, citing that her brother Seteth did not seem to mind her speaking to me much like he did the others, and while he was unimpressed with the idea of her in the vicinity of a out of control wyvern, he reluctantly allowed it. It got to the point where she even started bringing me forget-me-not flowers. Taking the time to chain them together while I tended to Zu's scales, that thanks to Claude's special ointment, had cleared up.

Such was our conversations, and her joy that Flayn even began inviting me to come down to the docks with her and her brother, Seteth, to fish. I would sometimes acquiesce her heartfelt requests, but I never bothered to fish.

The activity had never been an enjoyable pastime for me, but the siblings would allow me to read while they spent time together chatting and fishing when Seteth had free time.

It felt a bit strange at first, but Flayn assured me that it was like spending time with family and that we should stick together. I wasn't at all sure what she meant by family, anymore than what Lady Rhea had but somehow it did feel like I belonged on that dock along with the brother sister pairing more than I did with my other classmates.

Seteth didn't even seem to mind me talking with Flayn, unlike he was when some of the other students approached her, and he even went as far as to offer me advice on caring for my wyvern as well. Flayn, on the other hand, would sometimes show me cute skills like braiding flowers, embroidery and sewing, and sometimes she would even show me some of her faith magic. She would giggle and we sat in the flower patches on the outskirts of the monastery telling me stories that she had read about.


I learned after a few fishing trips that they both had a particular fondness for fish that went much deeper than I anticipated. As we sat down together in the mess hall after a relaxing afternoon spent fishing. Flayn let us know that she was overjoyed at the menu selections for the day. She was not afraid to exclaim it. "Ah, I am so delighted to be feasting on fish today! It brings me such joy!"

Seteth placed his order and looked down at his sister with clear adoration that she was delighted. "It pleases me as well. The flavor is a bit nostalgic for me."

I looked at the pair questioningly, the gazes between them indicating again that something bigger was at work.

"I have been meaning to ask you something Seteth. Lately we have been going down to the docks when you need a break, but I don't normally see you catching anything. I always supposed it was just for fun, but you both really enjoy eating fish all that much?"

"Ah, it is a dish my mother used to make for us. I remember her fishing for hours on the sea shore and then she would cook them up for us! It brings back such memories." Flynn gushed in excitement as she carefully cut into her fish dainty.

"Yes it does doesn't it?" Seteth looked away, his dark green eyes gazing into the distance as if lost in some far off memory.

I shrugged, not really in the mood to decipher the mystery mood that was overtaking my table. "I normally fish for food, so that's really interesting to learn you both really enjoy eating them." I looked over my plate not really impressed with the offerings and continued. "Navan has a great story about this time I was fishing balancing between some rocks and I fell into the rapids I was standing over. As my luck had it, I couldn't swim at the time either. So of course he jumped in after me and saved my soggy soul before I drowned. I ended up being alright, but he has never let me live the accident down."

I chuckled as Flayn's hand shot to her mouth in surprise."Oh my goodness! Are you quite afraid of the water then? Is that why you do not like fish?"

Flayn was concerned was adorable and I failed to hold back a good natured chuckle as I waved her concern off. "No, I was more afraid of Navan's swimming lessons than the water itself after that incident. I can swim quite well now, which has come in handy on more than one occasion."

I thought about it for a second and continued."I don't really have a preference for fish one way or the other, but I have never been in a position to be picky about the food that's available to me."

"You have had a hard life then I take it." Seteth's voice was low, as if he was somehow responsible for my upbringing.

I shrugged my shoulders again, and gave Flayn half of my fish sandwich in exchange for one of her jam buns. "I would say life has given me a lot of opportunities. My father taught me to view life as learning opportunities, so I just view them as a chance to educate myself. Some lessons are just harder than others."

"I see, that is one way to view it I suppose. By the way Lilianna, are you a proficient fisherman?" Seteth set his fish sandwich down and looked at me expectantly.

I had just taken a bite of my fish sandwich and choked trying to hurry up and chew. Whipping my mouth on a napkin and coughing I grinned sheepishly. "No, nothing of the sort, I can fish if I absolutely need to for food, but normally I am a bit better at snares and traps. Comes from a lot of practice deconstructing them. So I normally bargain with Navan over who will do the fishing. I typically end up tending the fires and setting up camp. Still, I suppose my expeditions and lessons are not unpleasant memories."

"Even when you were learning to swim?" Flayn seemed utterly interested in our conversation.

I propped my elbow up on the table and thought about it.

"Well, given how much of my life is out of necessity I suppose it was a sink or swim instance." I pursed my lips thinking about the cold waters and swimming lessons. "Navan's idea of a good lesson was to lift me off the boat and throw me in the water yelling swim!"

I shook my head at the memory and grabbed the powdery confection I had traded for half my fish sandwich off my plate. I savored the moment as I bit into the jam bun. The sweetness was exhilarating, delighted I quickly polished off the entire sweet.

"You look like you quite enjoyed that." Seteth offered me his desert as I licked the remains of the jam off my thumb.

I opened my eyes and made a weak protest as the advisor lifted his plate up and rolled his jam bun onto my plate. "What no, I couldn't."

"You just gave Flayn half of your sandwich, surely one bun is not sufficient to make up for missing half of a sandwich." Seteth lectured my sternly as he stacked Flayn and his empty plates onto his tray.

I couldn't find a polite way to turn down his offer as a clatter of cutlery plopped down beside me. I moved my elbow and looked over to see Leonie sitting down at the empty spot on my side. The short haired huntress nodded to me and shot me a giant smile. "Man I am starving! Mind if I sit here?"

Seteth turned his attention from me to her. "Ah Leonie, I am pleased to report that I have learned to successfully apply bait to my hook and I have had much more success fishing."

My classmate picked up her sandwich and started eating with a gusto, talking while she chewed. "That's good to hear. I was really surprised when you told me you didn't use bait. I am glad I could help."

Feeling unsettled, I stuffed the second jam bun into my mouth. The sweetness caused my toes to curl and I enjoyed my snack with relish as the two chatted. I was too absorbed in my own bliss to realize Leonie was talking to me. A rough shake of my shoulder brought me back to the table conversation.

"Say Lilianna, you look like you're doing better. How's your leg doing?"

Peeved I had been interrupted from my planning on how to pinch a few more jam buns from the kitchens I answered. "Huh? Oh, I am fine now."

My classmate did not pick up on my unease as Seteth coughed, trying to pull the conversation away from me.

Leonie continued eating and chatting like nothing bothered her, treating me like she usually did despite my coldness and lack of recent contact. "Oh that's good, I noticed you haven't been in class recently. Professor Hanneman said you were receiving specialized training separately so I was wondering how that was going."

I raised my eyes at Seteth, he gave a small nod as his mouth set into a flat line. I crossed my arms but fielded the question with ease. "Ya, I have been pretty busy recently. Sorry I haven't been making it to class recently. I have been focusing on getting Zu ready for flying in a Battalion. Seteth has been helping me get him back into shape. I recently got him accustomed to re-wearing a saddle and he seems to be handling my weight well enough."

The huntress shot me a thumbs up, and I didn't detect any malice in the gesture. Slowly I let a little of my growing tension loose."That's great news! I look forward to you rejoining the class then!"

Seteth shook his head and saved me the trouble of answering.. "Lilianna will be continuing the specialized training for some time yet."

Leonie blinked with surprise as she took a giant bite of her sandwich. She chewed and gave with a shrug. When she finished chewing she clapped me on the back. "That's pretty cool you get specialized training! It's kind of like when Captain Jeralt gives me lessons!"

I didn't say anything to encourage her, but Leonie went on and on about this time captain Jeralt trained her anyway. Her story gradually turned into a rant about how Professor Byleth didn't appreciate the mercenary captain nearly as much as she did and she went into lavish details on why she would make a better apprentice.I got the impression she thought it was some kind of competition.

I started quietly trying to gather my tray together as the huntress stuffed the last of her fish sandwich into her mouth and began digging around in her battered haversack. "Here, before you leave, Claude wanted me to give this to you. I don't know why he didn't do it himself, too busy I guess, but anyway I am off. I just wanted to drop in and chat with you for a bit and make sure you were doing alright."

I accepted the stack of papers from her as Seteth nodded. "It was nice of you to stop in. Good luck on your training Leonie and I hope we can fish together sometime soon."

"I would like that!" My table waived my classmate off as I looked down at the stack of papers in my hands. The questioning feeling I had quickly turned to one of disgust.

The labels at the top of the page told me all I needed to know.

"Homework assignments…" I grumbled darkly as Flayn giggled at my misfortune.


With a heavy homework packet in hand, the following evening found me deeply entrenched in the library. I was up to my elbows in running battle strategies and calculating supply statistics for various units. It was actually a bit interesting, so I lost myself in my calculations. The scratching of my pen dotting along the parchment at a rapid pace as the room around me gradually grew quieter.

"Say shouldn't you be in bed already?" A cranky and sharp voice interrupted my studies.

I pushed the hair out of my eyes as I looked up from my homework packet to see my irate pink eyed classmate huffily standing next to my table. She put a hand on her hip and started lecturing me. "This is getting quite ridiculous, you shouldn't push yourself so hard! You should be in bed."

I gave her an exasperated look and rolled my eyes at her unwarranted chiding. "Lysithea I am rather busy here, could you not?"

"You have been here for hours, but you're not showing up for class. Come on, you couldn't possibly be working on anything important."

I flicked a page in my book and tapped the quill to my shelf of papers. "Unfortunately skipping classes does not mean I am exempt from my school work apparently, so I am going to be here a while longer."

Lysithea folded her arms and looked around the deserted library nervously. "It's really late and it's dark outside, if you keep working like this you'll just exhaust yourself."

I sighed, picking up on her unease and answered with a cool voice "Look, if you have a request to make I suggest you ask nicely. If not could you kindly leave me alone? I am rather busy."

I stressed my last word so she got the hint. The young scholar pursed her lips. "Alright, could you ummm, please walk…?"

I tapped the side of my quill on the parchment in front of me irately."I already told you I am not going anywhere."

The keen pink eyes narrowed down at me and the mage slapped the table. "I wasn't finished! I wanted to know if you could, umm come for a walk with me?"

I put my quill down and stretched, lounging out comfortably leaning back on my chair as I smirked. "And why would I do that when I could finish working on my late assignments?"

Lysithea's eyes flashed and she looked extremely uncomfortable as she tried to come up with a bargaining chip to entice me to leave the library with her. "Look! I have cake! I'll give you some if you'll just come for a walk with me."

She reached into her bag and pulled out a small lunch box. Sniffing, she set the box down in front of my along with a small fork. "Will this suffice as payment?"

My eyes lit up as I checked over the pristine strawberry sponge cake with clotted buttercream in front of me. Lysithea knew sweets, and I more often than not caught her trying to sneak the sweet treats when she thought someone wasn't looking. The idea of actually eating such a luxurious snack this late at night made my mouth water uncontrollably.

I pushed my chair back and stood up, wiping the back of my glove across my mouth. "Done! I could use a snack!" I put my quill down and corked my inkwell. "So where are we going?"

There wasn't a clear reply as she looked at the cake in front of us.

Eventually as I cleaned up my mess, I heard her say in a small voice. "I just want to go for a walk."

"Uh, huh." I responded dryly, guessing what was bathing her before we even left. I followed behind her a bit as she grabbed her bag and walked at a metering pace.

"Here, you can have this. Now come on!"

I watched her head dart around to the shadows of the night nervously. She jumped at the lightest of movements, and sounds caused her to flinch. I filed the information away for later.

She caught me looking up at the stars. "Could you, umm, talk a bit?"

I drew my gaze back down to her and raised an eyebrow expectantly. "About?"

"Well, there are rumors that you're going to drop out of the academy because you can't stand being around nobles." She fidgeted as I looked back up at the glittering night sky.

"Hmmm…" I hummed taking in the view of the moon and star washed Monastery walls.

"That's not an answer!" She frowned and grabbed my arm pulling me along roughly. "You haven't been in class now for a couple of weeks and everyone is worried!"

She bit her bottom lip nervously as she jumped at a moving shadow. "It's like you're distancing yourself from us on purpose."

I had to give it to her, she was pretty sharp. I shrugged and extracted my arms from her tight embrace. My arms intertwining behind my head casually as we walked. "I won't lie and sugar coat anything. I have been considering leaving the academy."

"I appreciate you speaking to me like an average person, and not treating me like a child, but why do you want to leave? You told me you dreamed of studying here! There is so much to learn!" She pleaded as I started walking in front of her towards the female golden deer dorms.

I continued staring up at the sky as I answered her, my gut twisting indecisively. I decided to lie, a small bluff as to what was really bothering me. "You were there last month, during the ceremony right? You recall when we saved those civilians and everything broke loose? Apparently we were 'ordered' to save them."

She let out a heavy sigh. "Oh you are speaking about Lorenz. I agree he can be kind of annoying at times, but it's just because he just has these grandeurs about how nobility and how we should present ourselves."

I let my arms drop down to my side as I stared at her. The moon disappeared behind a light blue cloud, casting me in shadows. It took me a second to find my voice. When I did it was low and feral, a vocal manifestation of my dangerous, simmering, anger. "So, does that give him an excuse to order me around? To pass off everything we did in the chapel as some kind of grand credit to him and his quick thinking?"

"No, don't get any misconstrued ideas. Lorenz is just a little stuffy and he has a lot of expectations to live up to." Lysithea huffed and looked around as the cloud moved.

I stepped out into waning moonlight, half caught in the darkness half wanting to step further into the light. I gnashed my teeth together and hissed. "I don't care what kind of embellished ideas he has of his duties or bloodline, I am tired of being looked down on just because I am just a commoner."

Lysithea shuttered but held her ground, looking up at me expectantly. "But you are, aren't you?"

I gave her a scathing glare, clearly she didn't quite get my anger. I decided to drive home my point? "Don't you get upset when people look down at you because you're afraid of the dark? Because it's like they are treating you like some little kid?"

The shock on Lysithea's pale features blossomed into a faint embarrassment. To her credit she recovered quickly. "I guess you are right. That would be pretty frustrating. I don't like it when people treat me like a child."

I nodded and crossed my arms, leaning up against the nearest wall for support as I explained further. Making the lie, less of a lie, and more an explanation of my current feelings and frustrations. "Now, just imagine you got in here on a pure fluke. I imagine a lot of people are jealous or confused on why I am here. I-I don't know why I am here either, or what I have done to deserve this. I feel very out of place and behavior like that isn't exactly encouraging. I had other things I planned to do anyway, before Lady Rhea asked me to stay. I have been considering leaving and searching for…"

I left off as she jumped forward. "Oh are you looking for something then? Is that why you are here?"

I felt the smirk crawling onto my face as I caught a shadow moving behind a bush. Interested on who was eavesdropping on us I pushed off the wall and motioned for Lysithea to follow me. "Well I told you, I like to explore and investigate old places of historic value right?"

The mage stood petrified as she stammered, "Y-Yes, of course I remember! Garreg Mach Monastery is one of the oldest buildings in the kingdom, predating most of the Adrestian Empire! So I can't say I understand all that much as to why this place interests you, but I understand your looking for answers here. In truth I too am looking for answers here."

I crept around the side of the bushes and poked my head around the side of the green shrubbery, to see who was lurking around the monastery this late at night. There was no one there but an indignant ginger tabby kitten. The orange fur ball yowled up at me for interrupting its dinner and wandered over to rubbed up against my leg, demanding pets. I reached down to pet the small creature, certain I had seen something much larger. I listened to Lysithea as I rubbed the kitten's cheeks and gave him a few pets as an apology for interrupting his meal.

Lysithea's voice was bitter as she joined me in the garden. "I can't explain it in detail, but I don't have a lot of time left, so I need to use all the time I have researching."

I nodded, looking around carefully in the shrubbery to see if there were any other flutterings of moment. There was nothing, not a barest hint of moment met my searching gaze, nary a sound of hushed footsteps met my searching ears. the clouds rolled back over the moonlight making it about impossible to see. "So we are both searching for something important to us, and I think you can appreciate why I am upset that I am not being treated equally."

She nodded, as if deep in thought as I circled the area. Nothing was out of place. I shrugged and my walking partner let out a sigh of relief. "Nothing?"

"Must have been the cat." I admitted as we continued walking back to our dorm.

As the yellowing lights of our dorm came into view Lysithea turned to me. "I see. Well, thank you for walking with me. I think I can take it from here."

I stood by the small garden as she walked towards the light. I called out to her as she passed the fountain. "Let me know if you need help researching anything in the future."

Her long white hair glittered in the moonlight as the mage turned towards me."You too! Let me know if you ever want me to look something up as well."

I couldn't hold back my laughter. The whole scenario was all so absurd. With me considering leaving, offering to help her look for whatever she was searching for, when I couldn't even solve my own problems was, in a twisted way, amusing. I held my chest, wheezing for breath as I waved her goodnight. "Haha. I might...just...take you up on that. Have a good night!"

I burst into a small fit of laughter as I ducked back into the garden to investigate the area thoroughly now that my escort quest was completed. A second time around did nothing to unveil any new leads, and I sighed. Using the shadow of the moon, I ducked down into a secret passage I had located a few weeks prior. I escaped underground, turning away from any more prying eyes.

I made it back to the library just in time to get a heated lecture from the librarians about how I shouldn't leave my classwork just laying around unattended. I took the lecture in stride, knowing I had a tasty snack to pacify me.

The librarian's lecture took on a stern and disapproving tone about the requirements for young minds to flourish by going to sleep at a normal hour and how it was detrimental to my health.. I waited patiently the Librarian to dismiss me and finish her lecture, internally planning my next move, and how I wouldn't repeat this scenario for a while. The lecture ended a good quarter of a bell later with the promise to report my negligence to Seteth in the morning. Figuring that had bought me at least a little bit more time, I went back to sit down at my seat. The candle light was about extinguished as I scratched away at my homework, in the back of my mind thinking about what Lysithea and Leonie had said.


Author Corner:

Chapter 10 is complete! Oh I am hoping you enjoyed the chapter - with all the little character interactions and character building! Oh I had some really favorite parts in this chapter - Lysithea bargaining with her with sweets, Claude checking in with her, and her growing closeness with Flayn and Seteth all were really cute interactions. Chapter 11 will have a few more, so make sure to follow if you don't want to miss how Lilianna interacts with Sylvain, Dorothea, and Byleth in the upcoming chapter!

Claude taking care of Lili, teasing her was probably was one of my favorite parts of the chapter - until he sees just is injured then his tone changes. He is now also referring to her with a fond pet name of "Petal" - if your wondering why he is calling her that it is because of her name being very close to Lily, however he's calling her not quite a flower yet. Probably because she's still a bit feral. We definitely see how that changes as the story progresses.

We see that Lorenz is being a typical noble and trying to take credit for Lili's work in the chapel saying it was all thanks to his planning, and that remark finally pushes Lili over the edge. She starts to distance herself, doubting that the Monastery is really the right place for her at the moment. Lili is desperately looking for something, something very important to her, and Lysithea confesses that she is also searching for something at the Monastery.

And lastly Leonie is giving Lili homework for all the times she has skipped classes and Seteth is actually covering for her.

I really look forward to sharing the next few chapters with you - as we pace though the game's timeline - we are now entering the month of August - so I am hoping you check back in next week for chapter 11!

Remember to like and/or comment if you enjoy my works! It really motivates me to know people are enjoying the story! See you soon!