Month of Horsebow Moon - A Captive Deer
Chapter 16
As I stepped out of Hanneman's labs, I realized I had made a major miscalculation in not putting limits on the enthusiastic professors behavior. I glared down at the crisp white bandage on my forearm as I wandered into the study hall. Hubert was there with Edelgard, who looked like she would rather be anywhere but in the study hall while it continued raining. The game of chess in front of them looked like it was going poorly even from a distance.
Interested, and lacking any better ideas of how to spend my afternoon, I walked over to investigate. It was as I suspected, Hubert was sweeping the floor with the princess.
"Hmm, try moving that bishop to C4." I suggested as Edelgard's hand paused on moving her knight into a trap.
"Why would I do that?" The Black Eagle's house leader looked up from the board to glare at me intensely.
Hubert jerked his head up at me as I pointed at the looming trap she was about to walk into, explaining. "His castle is wide open, and you're going to lose that knight to his queen in a second, which will put you in a corner. I'd say you might have, 1, maybe 2 turned before he checkmates you."
"You are very observant." Hubert glared up at me with a dangerous glint in his yellow eyes, his words about slithered out of his mouth with a hissing bite.
Edelgard moved the bishop as I suggested, as Hubert studied the board with a scowl.
"Your move is a wise one, your highness." Hubert admitted as he was forced to move another piece rather than close his trap in.
In the end Edelgard still lost to her second in command, regardless of my guidance, but by working together with the calm and collected house leader, we were able to even the odds a bit more than before. As Hubert cleared the board the serious house leader turned to me and looked me up and down.
I shifted as Edelgard light violet eyes studied me, conscious that I had not really spoken to the house leader since she rejected my request to join the Black Eagles. The way we analyzed each other brought back the strategies and tactics discussions they had been discussing the first day I meet her. They had already been preparing for the upcoming Battle of the Eagle and Lion. Knowing what I knew now, it was surprising they had been preparing months in advance.
"Say, Lilianna, you have a certain gift for this don't you?" I bowed as the Black Eagles house leader complimented me on my performance.
"I would not say I am gifted with your highness, I simply have quite a bit of experience with the game."
Her intense eyes assessed me with a keen stare. It felt like she was trying to see into my soul and I shifted again uncomfortably. "You don't say, perhaps then you would indulge me in a game between Hubert and yourself? I wish to see what the outcome would be."
I put my hands up in the air, immediately trying to dissuade her. "Ah, no I am fairly certain Hubert would beat me!"
Edelgard was not having any of my excuses. She set one hand on her hip and leaned forward, setting a striking pose that promised trouble if I disobeyed. "Come on and humor me, you had a very large handicap from the start but you were able to even the odds despite me knowing the situation and being able to view it from different angles. I would not say that is anything but a skill."
Hubert glared up from resetting the board with a hiss, a signal that he would do anything is his power his lady's wishes come true. "Come, indulge me. I have not played a game with someone of such a skill level in a long time."
Caught between the crown princess of the Adrestian Empire and and her fierce second-in-command I realized I really didn't have much of a choice. I tapped my hand on the table, trying to appear to consider the offer. "Hmm, what is in it for me?"
"Are you looking for something in particular?" Edelgard's violet eyes flashed as I shrugged, trying to ignore the feeling that I was entering dangerous territory.
"Perhaps I am, perhaps I am not."
Edelgard cast a knowing glance to her second. Hubert smirked, having already come up with an answer. "Perhaps you might be more interested if I sweeten the offer. If you can manage to beat me, I will see that you are brought sweets from the best bakery in town for the entirety of the upcoming week."
I grinned, the mention of baked confections was enough to entice me to try my luck against the ominous second.
I swung my leg over the seat and settled into position. "Deal, in return I'll make sure to end this match as painlessly as possible."
"Those are some bold words, make sure you do not regret them." Hubert chuckled as I took the first move as white.
The crowd only grew around us as Hubert ground his teeth in frustration. I removed another game piece from the board as I forced him to move out of check.
"This is an amazing game. Look at how close these two are!"
I caught a side whisper from one of the bystanders and I considered my next move. Their eager commentary made it difficult to concentrate. I could either risk my rook and my last knight in a gamble that I could end the game, or I could move my king and avoid Hubert's incoming attack.
"I can't believe Lilianna is actually matching Hubert! I have only ever seen him crush his opponents!"
I gritted my own teeth in frustration as I reached out for my queen, deciding on neither of my sane moves, and opted for something totally unexpected. My hand drifted across the board chaos erupted behind me.
"Lilianna!"
My shoulder was shoved forward roughly and I snarled as I prematurely released my chess piece.
The queen dropped onto its side in the middle of the board.
I turned to glare daggers up at the person calling my name and misjudged their height. My lethal glare slowly panned down to see a panicked Cereza. Coolly, crisply, I snapped. "I am a little busy Cereza, can't it wait?"
The short healer looked at wits end as she grabbed the edges of her veil and pulled them close. "We are needing - healers - Claude - training grounds!"
I caught about one word in three as she rapid fired her native language at me. She grabbed my arm and pulled, belaying her urgency.
Her sudden panic along with her words had me forgetting all about my chess match. My friend just about pulled me off my seat, in her efforts to get me to move. I struggled to extract myself from the table without falling over. "Hold- Hold on a minute. Let me stand up first!"
"Is something the matter?" Edelgard stopped me from getting up, handing me my bag while simultaneously wanting to know what was going on.
Still trying to progress what was going I turned to Hubert who was moving my knight out of the way of his checkmate. "I apologize but I concede."
"Lilianna, could you please answer my question?" The Black Eagle's leader pressed me for answers as I grabbed my bag from her and quickly checked the contents.
I was relieved to see that I still carried spare medical supplies and a couple of vulneraries, a testament to my preparedness when it came to treating training injuries. As I checked over my supplies I wasn't sure what I told her as I adjusted my bag. I counted the available supplies as Cereza gave up on waiting for me. The small shaman quickly raced back out the doors, heading in the direction of the infirmary.
I was not sure how I answered the Black Eagle's House Leader. I think it was a mix of what Cereza had just told me in the Brigid language, I definitely realized a few of Almyran words slipping out, as well as some of my native tongue.
Edelgard's frown only deepened as I clipped the med kit to my belt. "Can you please repeat that? I did not quite understand what you just said."
I took a deep breath as I slung my bag over my shoulder, clearing my mind long enough to speak the native language of Fodlan. "There has been a major accident and they need all healers to report to the training grounds."
My words rippled through the crowd as I shoved my way out of the throng of people.
The rain continued to pour outside as I raced for the training grounds. The continuing torrent of water made it difficult to see as people scrambled in every direction. From what I could see several of the support beams and the rear wall to the magic classroom looked like they had collapsed, taking some of the roofing out along with them. Figures scrambled frantically over the rubble, digging through the heavy stone to find anyone who might be trapped underneath.
Through the curtain of rain I observed a figure dressed in a blue cape carrying someone towards me. "Ah! A healer! Lilianna! Can you please look after her?"
I looked over the prone form of a student I had not seen before. The prince of Faerghus scrapped and battered face betrayed his panic as the girl in his arms appeared to be lifeless.
I scanned the area, trying to figure out where we could get out of the rain. "I will see what I can do, where are they putting the others?"
Dimitri jerked his head off to the right and started jogging towards the nearby stables. "Over that way, out of the rain."
I followed him over to the shelter as I caught sight of Claude and Byleth issuing orders from the entrance. The Byleth's sharp voice bellowed orders over the din as she attempted to try to reign in the chaos.
"Put her down here, flat, and try not to jostle her too much." I coached the Blue Lion's leader as he lay the student down on the ground, hastily shedding his own cape in order to keep her warm.
I began examining the student. I continued to not recognize who they were, only their uniform informed me that they belonged to the Black Eagles commoners house.
I started checking her over and began to feel my gut twist. The side of her face was sagging and she wasn't responding. I swore violently in Almyran and looked around for another healer. One that had more experience.
Dimitri fretted along side me, picking up on my distress. "Is it bad?"
"Go back to helping the others…" I tilted the side of her face and we both watched it drop. I shifted her head a little more and revealed the huge indent on the side of her head just behind her ear. "I'll try to do what I can, but…" I looked around again, hoping to spy a more experienced healer and found no one. I shook my head and tried to concentrate on saving the life in front of me.
"Do what you can, I have faith in you." The prince slouched off into the rain as I began casting my healing spells.
It took everything I had not to tell him he was wrong as I watched the Prince walk back to moving rubble. Convinced I was on my own I pulled off my gloves and started working. As I suspected standard healing spells did nothing for the extent of the injury in front of me. I gave up after my third standardized healing spell failed and looked around.
No help was coming, and time was running out. I bit my lip and decided to risk it. It took several of my more experimental healing spells but I was eventually able to stabilize the injury. Color returned the the girls face as I wiped the sweat from my forehead. A monstrous headache of my own gnawing at me as I got up. My legs shook as I looked around to re-assess the situation.
It wasn't long before someone picked up that I was looking for the next person to assist.
"You look beat, is she stable enough to be moved to the infirmary?" Claude approached me with two knights baring a stretcher.
I gave a sigh of relief at my leader's impeccable timing. "Yes, she's stable enough to move. Careful of her head and be as gentle as possible. She has a terrible head wound."
While I trusted Claude and the knights to move my survivor to safety, I survived the area and made for the next injured that looked the most desperate. My faith magic was already fading and my headache was throbbing but I somehow managed to patch up and stabilize the next one as well.
Cereza was moving along the lineup of injured next to me, her faith magic starting to flicker and show signs of fading as well. A little ways off Mercedes was also working on a patient her magic flickering showing we were all reached the extent of our abilities, while Claude had developed an efficient method of moving people out of the training grounds and into the infirmary out of the rain as soon as we stabilized them.
When my faith magic finally gave up, I was barely able to stand. Nauseous and shaking, I continued moving, binding and treating what wounds I could with the supplies I had kept in my school bag in case of emergencies. The medicine Cereza supplied me with was quickly used up alongside my vulneraries, the remainder of my bandages and the other training supplies. It was easy to tell that this wouldn't be enough, but as a random soldier thrust a handful of supplies into my hands I realized that most of the rubble had been cleared away with enough capable hands. I assessed the injured again and was surprised to find that the steady trail of injuries was coming to a halt. I knelt down alongside the next injured student and began patching them up.
I treated several more before I looked up and found Dimitri holding out his hands with an apologetic smile on his face. Trying my best to give him an encouraging smile back I bound his hands with deft hands. The prince's hands were covered in bruises and cuts from his fingertips to his forearms, signs he had been one of the first responders rooting around in the rocky debris for survivors.
"Make sure to keep these clean." I cautioned him, my voice fading as I struggled with the headache that inevitably happened every time I used magic. "And... I apologize your highness, that I cannot heal these right now."
Dimitri shook his head, his strong voice reassured me that I had nothing to worry about. "There is nothing to be sorry for. You have used all your magic to keep others from dying. In respect to that I can bear these trivial injuries until they heal. It is nothing compared to the lives of my fellow classmates."
The Blue Lion looked really troubled that I would even apologize for prioritizing the more gravely injured over him but I continued with wrapping his other hand up feeling torn. "Thank you, but truly I wish I could do more for you - for everyone actually. You dug around in the debris to help the injured, and now you are now injured yourself. So, I am sorry that I cannot do more for you, your highness."
I heard the low gasp of surprise as I tied off the last bandage on the prince's hands and looked up into the Dimitri's concerned blue eyes. His eyes followed me as I gazed up tiredly at him. It took a moment to realize I was being pulled into a swift hug.
The prince's voice was low as his torn expression betrayed a certain kind of pain. "It is quite alright, you have done more than enough."
"Y-your highness!" I gasp for air. Dimitri's strength was immense and even though it was only for a second I felt a wave of dizziness overtake me.
The Blue Lion's face changed, looking more haunted then I had ever seen. I blinked and then everything turned back to normal. The prince gripped my shoulder as he reassured me I had done enough. "As a first responder healer, you have done more than enough. Your work here helped to save lives during this dire time of need and for that I thank you."
I stood in shock as the Faerghus crown prince bowed to me.
I hurried to try to stop him, my exhaustion fading to embarrassment as my headache raged. I gripped my eye as I tried to get Dimitri to stand up. "No please, don't! I am not doing anything worth praising!"
"Well, now that's a matter of opinion Petal. I, for one, think you've definitely earned the praise today." Claude appeared on my blind side with a brazen grin that quickly changed to concern. "Scratch that, I think you have overdid it. You're turning blue!"
I let my hand drop in order to glare at my house leader. I wasn't in the mood for his teasing. I opened my mouth to reply and was surprised as he extended a pair of steaming mugs towards both me and Dimitri. "Come on, drink up before you two freeze."
Dimitri looked at the mug as I accepted Claude's offering not realizing how wet and cold I was until he actually said something.
Claude caught Dimitri staring down into his mug, the steaming hot liquid offering a fragrant, cheerful aroma in spite of the tragically oppressive atmosphere.
My house leader huffed in irritation. "Better drink up before it gets cold, Teach made it just for you, ya know."
The spurred the Blue Lion into bolting his tea, steaming hot, in one shot.
We both stared at Dimitri in awe, while I proceeded to use the warm teacup to warming. I savored the warmth as Byleth walked up sipping her own mug. "You both did a great job today."
Byleth looked over her mug at me, and I finally brought mine to my lips. "Dimitri you led the digging crew and moved several of the larger blocks that people had been trapped under." She praised her house leader and then turned her stoic gaze to me. "While Lilianna, your quick reaction and faith skills resulted in several students surviving this incident."
Under Byleth's praise I felt myself flush. Hastily I took a drink of my tea and realized it was Almyran Pine Needles, my favorite.
Claude had said she had managed to brew a perfect cup of tea directly after a crisis. The fact she had gone out of her way to ensure it was also my favorite was amazing. The professor never failed to surprise me. I eyed her over my mug and Byleth gave me a small nod as she continued her report.
"The infirmary is treating people now, but you'll be relieved to know that everyone is expected to make a full recovery." The combat instructor delivered the news in a flat, matter-of-fact voice and I realized the tension I had been using to stand released its coil.
My legs wobbled and then my knees gave way as everything I had been pushing myself for dissipated. Someone was fast enough to grab my tea cup before I dropped it while the other grabbed me around the waist for support. Shaken I looked up to see who was holding me.
Dimitri was staring down at me making sure I didn't fall over while Byleth held my cup in her spare hand. The professor's face was stoic as ever as she appraised my situation. "Claude's right, you're at your limit. You should report back to your room. You have done all you can here."
I shook my head while I voiced my protest. "No, I can continue!"
Byleth's face stared at me blankly, but her eyes betrayed a barest hint of concern. "You're wet, cold to the point your lips are turning blue, and you're shaking."
The professor crossed her arms as if daring me to protest more. I flinched as she delivered the final blow. "We also just witness you faint."
I felt my face flush with heat as Claude chuckled next to me. "All fair points Teach. You really don't mince words."
Dimitri let go of my waist and extended his hand. "Come, let me escort you back to your chambers."
I looked at the prince's bound hand warily and edged a little closer towards my house leader. "I, err, I can go by myself thanks."
Byleth extended my tea cup back towards me. "Take this when you leave. Drink it before you freeze."
I hesitated, looking around the group of scowling, concerned, faces around me and relented.
I accepted my tea cup and took another sip of my tea. The warm liquid made me feel warm for a second and I relaxed my guard.
The slight relapse in my vigilance caused me to sneeze.
The sudden sound surprised all three of the surrounding members as I ducked my head, attempting to cover my nose.
"What - was that your excuse for a sneeze? Oh that's adorable." Claude's teasing grin appeared as easily as it had disappeared. He leaned in towards me as I sniffed miserably.
I glared at the Golden Deer, leaning away from him as he held up a knowing finger. "If I recall correctly that's exactly what you told Felix last time there was an incident at the monastery. You overworked yourself, and decided you could do it all by yourself. Ringing any bells?" He leaned towards me and I stepped towards Dimitri wincing. "Can I remind you that Raphael found you passed out on the bridge?"
I eyed my house leader's threatening finger as it pointed just under my nose, concerned about where Claude had come across all that information. My eyes went cross as I sniffed thickly again. "I am perfectly capable of traversing the monastery grounds this time." I looked myself up and down just to make sure I wasn't lying. "I managed to not be directly involved with this incident and am currently in one piece, so walking shouldn't pose any problems..."
Claude folded his arms as Byleth leaned on Dimitri's shoulder, watching my house leader scheme me into a corner. "Uh, huh, so I'm not gonna find you passed out from exhaustion in the rain between here and the dorms?"
My headache raged as I took another drink of my tea. Arguing with Claude when I wasn't feeling that great was both painful and a hassle. "No, why would I do that?"
"No reason, just feels like something you would do." My house leader's grin was cheeky as he watched me drink deeply from my teacup in order to avoid his pointed reasoning.
Something in my house leaders grin, along with the fact I now knew he kept poisons readily available on him at all times had me looking down at my tea in concern. "Claude, you didn't poison my drink with something did you?"
My sudden accusation caught the Golden Deer off guard, and he backpedaled. "What, no! Of course not!"
Calude shook his head, the light in his green eyes fading as he looked injured I would even think that. He recovered a second later as he smoothly transitioned from indignation to sly mischief. "Well, maybe I added something extra," He shrugged nonchalantly, "Who knows?"
Skeptical he was actually lying, I drained all of my remaining tea and passed the teacup back to him. My headache pounded an agreeing with them, informing me with every movement that I should probably retreat back to my room to rest and recover. "Well it tasted pretty good so make sure to add it again next time alright?"
I tossed my stumbling house leader a sly wink, as I turned to looked up at Dimitri apologetically. "Your highness, surely you have other people who are in need of your time. I greatly appreciate your offer, but I can see myself back to my chambers." I bowed to him and then gave a pointed look to my professor who was standing there watching our conversation as she calmly sipped her tea. I didn't think I needed to say anything to her as I turned back to Claude.
The Golden Deer was staring into the bottom of my teacup questioningly and I felt a weary smile tug on my lips as I bowed to him. "I will, however, take your advice and head back to my chambers. I am rather cold. Good night."
I waved as I excused myself, catching the tail end of an observation from Claude. "Is it just me or is she acting a little differently than usual?"
Byleth put her hand on his shoulder and shook her head as I ducked out into the pouring rain.
The walk back to my rooms soaked me through. The relentless rain continued to pour over Garreg Mach as the thunder rumbled overhead.
As I got back to my rooms, I promptly stripped off my sopping wet uniform and threw it into my bathroom. I took just enough time to collect a fresh towel from my supply rack and set a small burner to both brewing tea and warming up my room while I took the opportunity to warm up via a hot shower. The hot water warmed me to my toes, and did wonders to help ease my headache.
Once dry, I changed into my muted gold and black lounge wear. The shorts and tank top were cool on the still warming air, but it didn't matter as I grabbed a blanket off my bed and curled it around me while I brewed my own tea. I looked over my stock of powers and medications and selected a few additives of my own to help with my headache and exhaustion. Satisfied I crawled up in my bed and cocooned myself in warmth. I slowly sipped my tea as I grabbed a random book off my nightstand and began reading.
It wasn't long before I drifted off.
"Well, well back again so soon? I see you have yet to take my advice." Sothis snapped as I woke up in the middle of the green throne room.
The glowing ambient light glittered off the entire area as I slowly sat back up. "It's not like I am not looking for solutions..." I muttered as I pushed the hair out of my face. "But there are other things I have to do as well."
Sothis rolled her eyes at my weak excuse and berated me. "Uggg, you are impossible! I told you how to fix your crest! If you having so much trouble finding answers why don't you just travel to Zanado?!"
I rested my head on my knees waiting for the pain to pass. My eye closed as I flicked through seeing a young mage blowing a hole in the wall over and over again. The blast was unexpected. The backfiring of the spell that was not unlike what I had encountered back when I had first came to the monastery, just at a more explosive nature. The wall fell out into the training yards again and again as I was forced to watch the tragic scene over and over.
"I have...other things going on." I mumbled as I watched Felix and Caspar leapt back, avoiding the falling wall by mere inches as Dedue and Dimitri raced for the rubble, coming from the far side of the training arena.
The events from today replayed again and again in my mind. Each time the events unfolded just a little differently until the event I came to know occurred.
"Goddess why do I need to re-watch these..." I held my left eye as Sothis floated above me.
"Wait, what are you seeing?" She looked like she was pinching things together as she looked down at me.
"There was an incident at the training grounds today, I am apparently re-watching it." I moaned and buried my head into my knees. "I just want to sleep."
"Hang on," She floated down and yanked my head back up. "It was too fractured for me to tell, crest do you have?"
Her voice held a sense of urgency as it felt like my left eye was going to burst.
I tried to look away as she gazed into my eyes with a gasp of surprise. "Oh my, I thought all the fate dragons had been wiped out. Color me surprised."
I still was looking away and reeled in shock as goddess touched her forehead to mine. "It makes more sense now, my vigilant child, you are seeing the past and present. With time you will possibly also see the future."
I squinted back up at her, my eyes barely open as the pain in my eye continued. Tears collected in the corner of my eye as her explanation started to make sense. "Wait, do you know more about my crest?"
Sothis's mass of green hair enveloped me as she leaned down and kissed the tip of my nose. A warm feeling overtook me as the visions suddenly came to a halt. "Seek out your new professor, perhaps you both can find closure in Zanado."
The knock at my door a few hours later had me questioning how long I had been asleep. The pouring rain ensured I was still sleeping soundly, but the knocking on my door continued.
"Lilianna?"
Claude's voice sounded out over the rain and I groaned.
"Claude? What time is it?"
I rubbed my face and pulled the blanket around me while I got up. I cast a mage light, feeling the piercing stab to my eye, and then stumbled groggily past all the books laying around my room in order to make it over to my door. I unlocked my door and peered out into the dark rain. The sight on the other side of my door caused me to raised my eyebrow as a very soggy looking Golden Deer holding a covered tray from the dining hall greeted me.
I blinked a few times, still trying to wake up, confused. My voice was thick as I murmured. "Claude, what are you doing out here at this hour?"
My house leader shook his head spraying water everywhere. I held up my blanket to fend off the flying droplets as he explained cheerfully. "Aww, no warm welcome? I told you I was going to keep tabs on you. Figured since you haven't shown up for dinner in the dining hall, I'd bring it to you on my way back to my room."
My eyebrow arched even further. "Did you just casually forget your umbrella or did you just conveniently decide to risk it?"
He chuckled weakly, offering me no excuse, as the rain started coming down even harder. I sighed as we both looked out into the water drenched courtyard. A small river danced over the stone work and headed for the fountain at the center of the plaza.
My eyes slowly roamed back to the Golden Deer in front of me. I was pretty sure there wasn't a dry inch on him as he stared bleakly out into the rain. I shook my head to rid myself of my thoughts and moved to the side to welcome him in. "Do you, umm, want to come in? You're soaked."
Claude's green eyes slowly panned back to me and he took the opportunity to step inside as I closed the door behind him.
Not waiting to see what he was doing I traded my blanket for one of my dry towels on the peg behind me. I turned as I caught my house leader scanning the inside contents of my room with interest.
"Can you lean down a second?"
I watched him shiver as he ignored my request, his mouth slowly starting to draw slack over the sheer amount of books in my room. My unmade bed, low burning brazier, and flickering mage light was a dead giveaway of what I had been up to just prior to his unexpected visit.
"Were you napping?"
I rolled my eyes, knowing full well he knew I had been sleeping. "Yes I was sleeping, now lean down here before you drip everywhere."
The waterlogged deer leaned down as his sharp eyes focused on a spot behind me. His free hand moved to unclipped his cape, while he balanced the dining tray artfully in the other. "Petal, do you have half the library in here?"
"No, half of it is Linhardt's room. I only have a quarter of it." I quipped back as I threw the towel over his head and started scrubbing rigorously.
"Woah! Wait a second!" My house leader protested my rough treatment, but as both of his hands were already occupied, he couldn't really fight me off.
I continued to dry his hair off despite his muffled protests and attempts to pull away from me. Deciding Claude had endured enough I let him stand back up. I threw the towel onto the bin of dirty clothes near my bathroom and headed towards my brazier. I didn't bother with matches, already feeling the sharp stabs of using my magic, I just waved my hand and lit all the candles in my room. "You can hang your jacket up by the brazier, it'll dry faster there.."
Claude looked a little lost as my room lit up. I grabbed my teapot and went to fill it back up with water. "I wasn't planning on staying, I need to get back to my room and…"
I ignored his protests, letting the water run until the teapot was filled. I motioned for him to make himself at home as I brought the kettle over to the brazier and lit the burner. The teapot made more of a clang then I intended as I set it to boiling, turning to my unexpected guest. "So, are you just going to leave a lady to eat by herself then, master von Riegan? I am sure you have better manners than that."
The Golden Deer narrowed his eyes at me, still holding his cape and the covered tray.
"I think you grossly overestimate my manners." Claude's low voice cautioned me as he looked around, almost as if he suspected some kind of trap.
I hid a chuckle behind my hand. Claude's suspicion wasn't unwarranted, it wasn't like I just let people walk into my room at random. Well, unless you counted Sylvain who I normally had to chase out of my room. There were very few people at the academy who knew what I was hiding in here.
Not that I was hiding anything of importance in my room.
I cracked a small smile as I watched the Golden Deer continue analyzing the contents of my room. "Ok, what about a friend?"
Claude stopped staring at the jars of medical powers behind me, his face breaking out into perhaps the first honest smile I had seen on him in a long time. My heart jumped as he closed his eyes and sighed. "Alright you got me there. Say does this mean you consider me a friend now? Sure took me long enough to win you over."
The charming smile on the Golden Deer made my heart skip a beat. I turned and busied myself with the tea set as I finally heard him moving around behind me.
"Err, would you mind if I take off my boots? They're soaked through."
"Make yourself comfortable." I replied absently as I tried to remember where I had put my second teacup. I ducked down and started checking through the cupboards at the back of my room. Clicking one open and spying a spider, but otherwise the cupboard was empty.
I moved to the next one and realized I would need to move another stack of books to check the cupboard. "It's the least I can do when you went through the trouble of bringing me food in this weather."
Claude's chuckle was dry as he cracked open the door and legitimately poured his boot out into the walkway. "Not going to lie Petal, I can't help but feel you're being a bit overly nice here. So what's the real reason for pulling me in here?"
I paused, a stack of books in my hands as the tower next to me wobbled. I gave it a quick nudge in the opposite direction with my hip as I walked past. "Hmm? Oh, this is just me trying to open up more I guess..."
My voice trailed off as I hid my face. I made myself busy as I wedged the stack of books between my bed and nightstand trying to clear the way to the next cupboard. "I...ummm I spar with Leonie and Raphael in the mornings all the time. Cereza, Lysithea, and I study together, but about the only time I catch you is when you're not running around plotting something."
"I conveniently notice you omitted Lorenz and Hilda, guess you just don't want to spend time with them?"
I shot a pointed glare at the Golden Deer as he struggled to remove his other boot while balancing the tray of food in the other. "Well I run into Hilda frequently when she's looking for someone to pawn her chores off on, but I steadfastly avoid Lorenz unless it's for class. Honestly he's more than I can handle most days."
"I know the feeling." He managed to get his other boot off and he opened the door again. The Golden Deer proceeded to pour out his second boot into the walkway.
As Claude emptied the contents of his boots, a brisk wind swept into the room extinguishing half my candles. I shook my head as I checked the second cupboard still not finding what I was looking for.
I pushed off my knees and stood up thinking, trying to remember where I had stored my spare teacup. Slowly, I raised my hand and flicked my fingers lazily, once for each extinguished candle as a small exercise in control. Each flick of my finger caused a candle to spark back to life, as a lance of pain shot through my head. I had another idea on where to check as I lit the final candle.
I moved over to my travel bags and began stuffing around. "I don't know how you deal with him tailing you constantly. I watched you yesterday just sit there and take it while he lectured you about some kind of agreement on how Margrave's estate isn't footing enough soldiers or something."
Claude grabbed his boots and looked around. "So you heard that little exchange, huh?"
I nodded towards the brazier. "I try my best to keep my nose out of it, but I get the information regardlessof what I overhear or not. Cereza tends to fill me on his latest grievance with you regardless."
"Oh?" Claude cocked his head to the side, questioning how I got my information. "How does she get that information?"
My travel bags offered no clues on where the second mug was. Growing irritated, I grabbed some papers off my desk and tossed them into my school bag trying to clear my desk. "Hmm? Oh, Ferdinand invites her to Sunday tea and he also extends an invitation to Lorenz."
I flicked a glance at my house leader as he maneuvered around the stacks of books that littered the floor of my room, holding his boots in one hand and the covered tray in the other.
"Those are going to take forever to dry." I observed as I moved another stack of notes. The movement caused a small cascade of papers to fall off the top of my desk. As the papers fluttered around me I spotted my quarry. The spare teacup had been hiding under a mountain of old homework assignments, on the top of the desk.
I reached for the small white cup as Claude dropped his boots down next to the heater. He stood there for a minute and then sat down on the only open area, the middle of the room. Sheepishly he set the covered tray on the ground next to him.
I blew into the bottom of the mug and decided to wash it out before using it as a small dust bunny shot out from inside of the cup and exploded into thin air. I shook the tea cup out with an raised eyebrow and walked towards the bathroom.
"Truthfully I didn't think this would be happening." Claude's voice sounded from behind me as he picked up a book from the pile next to him. "Looks like you're researching something, what kind of information are you digging around for?"
I proceeded to rinse the tea cup out and still found a spot of dust. Scowling, I scrubbed the cup a second time for good measure. "I have a lot of things I am searching for, but there are 3 primary areas."
I bit my lip as the off color spot didn't disappear with a second washing, resolving to using the defective cup I shook the water droplets off and poked my head back into my room.
"Truthfully your discovery from the other day caught my interest and I wanted to see if you'd be willing to share your theories." I scratched the side of my face nervously as I noted my blanket by the door. I grabbed the blanket on my way back to the center of the room noting that Claude had set his cape and jacket on the coat rack. I set the tea cup and blanket on the back shelf next to my tea supplies and rolled my eyes, moving back across the room in order to pull the wet clothing off the rack. The weight of the wet jacket surprised me and I looked down at the Golden Deer who was grinning up at me with amusement and interest.
I frowned as Claude offered no explanation. My initial idea to hang the jacket up wouldn't work so I improvised by grabbing my desk chair and propping it up close enough to the heater in order to dry the sodden material but not close enough to risk it catching fire.
Claude toyed with his side braid as he watched me nudge a few stacks of books out of the way. "Oh, so have I finally caught your interest, ehh?"
I ignored Claude's teasing as I draped the jacket and cape along the back of the chair. Noting the blanket within arms reach I grabbed it and tossed it over him. "Ugg, give me a break."
"You know as soon as I leave those are just going to get soaking wet again right?" Claude pulled the blanket off his head and worked on settling it around his shoulders.
I adjusted the chair growing more irritated. "Ya, I know you're going to get soaked as soon as these dry. For all your cleverness, I can't figure out why you forgot your umbrella." I shrugged and moved towards the center of the room a wiry grin pulling at the corners of my mouth. "But until you leave I think I have a willing captive."
My house leader folded himself up and rested his head in the palms of his hands as he leaned over a nearby book pile, smirking. "Are you viewing me as a captive then?"
I shrugged as I crossed my legs and sat down opposite of him with a mischievous grin. "A willingly captive golden deer...though I suppose you could always go running out into the rain with what you're wearing now."
"Don't worry I won't tell Seteth. You guys are rather close aren't you?"
I felt my smile widening but didn't confirm or deny Claude's accusation.
He scratched the side of his face and looked up at the tea kettle behind me. "Well Petal, you are certainly an odd one. Well now that you have your captive deer, what do you want to do with him?"
"Good question, how about we eat and then we can see where the conversation takes us?" I suggested tentatively as I continued grinning, doing my best to hide my growing headache.
Claude gave me a wiry grin as he made an elaborate show of lifting the cover off the tray in front of us.
I felt my heart skip another beat.
When had it ever done this before? I hid my panic behind my smile. Was there something wrong with me?
Something in Claude's dancing eyes told me he was onto me or was playing some kind of trick. Nervously I looked down at the tray of food between us.
"I should mention Hubert wanted me to bring this to you. I haven't yet figured out why, but he said that you can offer him a rematch anytime." Claude looked around for a place to put the lid and settled for balancing it next to the tray on top of another pile of books.
I picked a cherry tomato off the plate and popped it into my mouth. "Hubert offered me a rematch huh? That's surprising, I was pretty clear I conceded. Nice of him to be concerned about me I suppose."
Claude pulled my blanket around him and crossed his legs to mirror me. "So what does old Hubert want with you?"
I shrugged and grabbed the fork on the tray before puncturing a cheese risotto. I noted the still steaming hot tendrils drifting up from the plate in front of me. A testament that either Claude or Hubert had grabbed the meal directly from the kitchens. Kind of touched by the gesture I blew gently on the risotto to cool it. "The incident earlier today interrupted our chess match. I was promised that if I played him, he'd supply me with a week's worth of sweets."
"Oh?" Claude leaned forward. "So you have a sweet tooth."
I looked up from blowing on my food. "I hate how you're looking at me like your uncovering secrets."
He pulled the blanket around him further, his hands reached out to grab a small stack of papers I had forgotten to move from a nearby stack of books. He glanced through them with no regard for their contents. "I enjoy learning things about people, I store them away for a rainy day."
I chewed slowly as he slowly started to frown at the contents of the paperwork.
"One like today?" I inquired as I lifted another fork full of risotto to my mouth.
"Kind of." He flashed me a wink as he pulled out a paper. "How can you have both a priest and mage certification and still fail a standard exam on magic?"
I realized that he was trying to distract me, but it was pretty clear he wasn't eating.
"You know I am sitting right here right? It's kind of rude for you to go through my papers."
Claude ignored me and pulled out another one. This time it was a paper regarding archery. "You know if you need some help with archery I am more then willing to give you a few pointers."
"Are you just going to watch me eat?" I cut straight to the chase and he paused fingering through my failed exams and homework assignments.
"Wow Petal, your grades really are abysmal." My house leader was quick to try to skirt my question. "That was kind of the plan."
I pursed my lips in irritation as the kettle went off behind me. My voice dropped to a low warning. "Claude von Riegan, I'm going to get that, and if you haven't ate anything by the time I get back I am going to…"
"You're going to what?" Claude dared me as he raised his eyebrows, pulling out another paper on wyvern care.
"Hey look this one is nearly passing!" He pointed the bottom half of the paper that was empty. "Did you run out of time or something or did you just forget to fill out the bottom half of the page?"
"I grew bored and gave up on it." I admitted as I got up to get the tea pot. "As for what I am going to do to you...I haven't figured that part out yet."
There was a dry chuckle behind me and the shuffling of yet more papers.
I poured the hot water into the teapot and looked over my remaining tea leaves. "So, I have Ginger or Almyran Pine Needles, which do you prefer?"
"Personally I prefer the Almyran Pine Needles, but let's have the Ginger." Claude's voice was rough as I shot suspicious glare at him from over my shoulder. He gave me a small wave and picked up a tomato from my salad. He eyed the red vegetable with a look that made me question if he was feeling alright.
I let out a small sigh and hoped he would give me a straight answer. "Claude?"
He looked up from twirling the tomato between his fingers. "Hmm?"
"Are you feeling alright?" I asked, my hand already wandering to the small jars I kept my medicinal powders in.
"I'm fine, why do you ask?" His nonchalant reply had me double guessing my instincts.
I watched him slowly take a bite on the tomato and crossed my arms. "You know, I have traveled a lot and Ginger is the go to in the Alliance and in Almyra for a variety of ailments. I tend to drink Ginger when I have headaches and cramps. I'm going to guess you get headaches, but I kind of doubt that you have cramps."
He choked on the tomato as he suppressed a laugh. "Ah - You'd be right, I don't get those kinds of cramps."
I shook my head and turned back to making our tea. My hand strayed over to sprinkled some fever reducer and pain killer into our tea without him seeing. It felt strange adding the powders to our teas, like I was trying to poison him in secret, but I was pretty sure he wouldn't drink it if he knew what I was up to.
I brought our tea cups over, wishing uncharacteristically that I had nicer cups. The tea set I used was standard issue for the servant's here at the monastery, the same as the brazier. Really there was nothing in my room that wasn't a temporary luxury, or a standard issue item. I sighed as I handed him my normal mug, taking the defective spotty one for myself. "Sorry, it's nothing fancy."
"Thanks." I caught him eyeing my arm, the bandages from where Hanneman had lanced open my wrists in order to get the blood necessary for his extensive testing.
Rather than wait for his question, I just answered his gaze. "You just saw half of my missing homework, and I am sure it's no secret that I just do not complete my coursework."
I tapped the papers in front of us. "Do you also recall me saying your recent findings, that the Immaculate One had a crest, was of interest to me? Well let's say what happened at the Black Tower spurred my thoughts for research."
That had the Golden Deer's immediate attention. He did not miss a beat as he worked to connect the dots. "So what's with the bandage on your arm then?"
I danced around his question, not quite willing to answer it. "I got it while I was helping Professor Hanneman after class. I asked if I could do some extra credit to help make up for my bad grades and he agreed to let me help him study some crests." I looked away from the inquiring green eyes of my house leader, rubbing the back of my hair. "I got carried away and managed to make some of the equipment fall down on top of me. It's no big deal, and the professor said it did more harm to me than it did to the tools."
Claude's eyes narrowed as I gave him a grin to reassure him. "Really, I'm alright. It's just a few scratches."
He sighed, apparently not getting the information he had been hoping for. and took a drink of the tea as I leaned back and pulled another blanket off my bed. I adjusted the blanket around me as I took another bite of my dinner, still conscious that Claude wasn't eating.
I was chewing when Claude looked up from his teacup. "I have been wondering if you actually possessed a crest or not."
I took a deep breath and gestured to the plate in front of me, indicating he would need to eat if he wanted me to answer.
The Golden Deer definitely hesitated the second time, his hand reaching out for the spoon I had yet to use. He went to take a bite and stared at it.
"You're unwell." I didn't hesitate this time as his behavior just served to cement my theory. I reached over and put the palm of my hand on his cheek.
The Golden Deer's face was searing hot to the touch.
My sudden movement had Claude yanking away from me and dropping the spoon back into the risotto as he fled my touch."Wooohhaaa, ok hold on I can explain."
My gut twisted as my hunch was confirmed.
My voice snapped angrily as I berated my house leader. "Claude Von Riegan! You are burning up!"
The Golden Deer immediately began attempting to placate me. "It's nothing really!"
My mind went over how long he must have been outside. He was working just as hard as Byleth, standing outside in the rain for just as long, if not longer as I had been healing people. Then, after I had left, he must have stayed behind in order to continue assisting with the clean up efforts. And, just now I had just caught him outside in the pouring rain yet again.
I thumbed my chin in thought. The fact that he had developed a fever so quickly just told me he had been pushing himself.
"You have been running yourself ragged checking on everyone haven't you?" I accused him as Claude leaned backwards, away from me.
"Hey, I am just doing my duty. Gotta check on all my deers right?" My house leader tried winking at me as I continued fuming.
My other hand drummed across my thigh in irritation as I groaned. "Ugg, I wanted to talk to you about crests but not like this..."
"We can still talk things over, I'm all in and committed now." The suave deer tried saving the conversation as thunder peeled out overhead.
The booming sound resonated down the hallway, shaking the window panels. I ran my hand through my hair trying to think of my next course of action. His jacket and cape were still soaked, and his boots were nowhere near dry either. Sending him back out into the storm in his current condition was cruel and heartless...
I glared at him not saying anything as I attempted to evaluate my options. Claude took another sip of tea, apparently keen on seeing what decision I came up with. Honestly the best place for him would have been his room, but instead I had trapped him in here with me.
"Goddess, I am stupid. I should have just let you go back to your room." I muttered as I pushed my hair out of my face.
"Awwww, but then I would miss out on this amazing alone time with you. Besides it's not like you haven't seen me poisoned before, so what's a little cold?" He sniffed and stopped trying to hide the fact he was unwell.
"I can't even teleport you to your room!" I ignored him as my mind did the calculations and considered the implications of my actions. "I don't know where it's at. I suppose I could carry you from the nearest location but whaa-?"
I looked down in wide-eyed surprise as Claude laid his head down in my lap with a soft grin. "Come on, you wanted me to stay here with you right? We can totally get to know each other better, spend the evening talking and sharing secrets to our hearts content. Maybe even play some chess if your up for it."
"I'm not sure what you're trying to imply there but no? You need to rest. This conversation, and any other subsequent conversations can wait until you're not half delirious with a fever."
"You're right I am totally delicious with fever. A legit snack." Claude's smile widened as he closed his eyes, clearly comfortable in his new location.
I scowled down at my resting house leader, as if he was only serving to reiterate my concerns. Tentatively, I slid my hand up to his forehead only to feel the heat radiating off his flush skin.
I was still trying to figure out what I was going to do with him as his hazy green eyes opened. "Hey Petal, I know this is a stretch but can I stay here where it's warm? No one's been back to my room all day so it's going to be damp, cold..." His voice faded off and I almost missed it as he whispered. "...and lonely."
I continued to scowl down at him, my cheeky leader beamed up at me, obviously hoping that I wouldn't turn him away.
I poked his nose lightly as I narrowed my eyes. He really could be terrifyingly persuasive at times. "If you want to stay, finish drinking your tea."
"I don't want to." My house leader's teasing grin changed to a pout. "You are surprisingly comfortable."
I rolled my eyes at his audacity and picked up my spoon, somehow knowing I was going to regret my decision to let him stay. "You need the liquids and it will help with your fever."
Authors Corner:
Hello! Chapter 16 is complete! Hooray! Oh-oh-I hoped you enjoyed this chapter! - It is one of my favorites! - With everyone interacting and moving to do their own thing Lili is kind of caught up in the motion - caught up in the daily events of academy life. It starts out innocent enough, with her playing chess with the Black Eagles - or rather her being bribed into playing a game with Hubert. To point out - She just needed to play a full game with Hubert in order to win her sweets - but when Cereza interrupts with an emergency Lili don't hesitate to throw the game. She does however, hold up, making sure what she is prepared for the events ahead. Then she ends up out in the rain, at the training grounds doing everything she can to save lives, as the rainy season starts. Lili quickly works herself to the point of exhaustion trying to help others, something both Byleth and Claude pick up on. After some prodding, she steps back and ends up heading back to her room to rest.
From there things kind of pick up on the fluff train - as Claude does his duty as house leader and checks in on his deers after the incident. He's quick to pick up that Lili hasn't left her room and brings her dinner...at Hubert's request. -Might wonder where the Golden Deer's umbrellas is- Claude would have had one at one point but my thoughts on it is he gave it to Hilda probably borrow leaving him to run around with his cape. (Yes-he uses his cape as a rain guard.) Lili invites him in upon seeing him soaked - seeing it as a valuable time to speak with him in private on crests. Note she lies to him and doesn't tell him about her crest - and no one knows about her crest/magic. Sothis is suggesting visiting a place called Zanado for more information however.
Another thought worth mentioning would be how Lili chooses to deal with Claude. The most logical choice for him would have been the infirmary, but if you recall there's a bunch of students up in that area trying to recover from the incident in the training grounds. So if Lili was to teleport Claude up there for treatment, she would just be subjecting all those people in recovery to whatever Claude has caught. -So she is kind of stuck-
So if your interested in seeing how Claude's stay turns out - check that follow button! Also if your enjoying the story - check the favorites/Kudos button! It means a lot and I hope you guys are enjoying the story! See you in chapter 17!
