Month of Horsebow Moon - The Case of Missing Lettuce
Chapter 21
It was just about lunch time when the alarm bells started to sound. The brazen tolling of the church bells set the entire monastery into an immediate state of panic. Within a matter of minutes, the professors herded us students into the courtyard where we milled about in loose clusters just outside the study hall. Having shepherded their respective students to safety, the professors quickly disappeared into the building for a pre-conference, leaving the house leaders accountable for the rest of us.
I quickly located a shady tree to lean against as I scanned my surroundings. Students had mostly paired off with their friends in the panic, while the house leaders and their seconds attempted to be responsible and complete a roll call. Realizing it was something my own house would probably need to do, I started to look around for Claude.
I managed to locate the Golden Deer rather quickly all things considered. Claude's bright yellow cape fluttered in the autumn breeze as he chatted casually with Hilda off in the distance, marking off an attendance sheet as he called out names between breaks in his conversation.
Over the courtyard I heard my house leader's voice call out for Lorenz, and then the call came for Ignatz. Each one of my classmates responded to the Golden Deer's call without any hesitation. In fact Lorenz was about breathing down his neck as the next name on the list caused Hilda to giggle. Waving Lorenz off, Claude stepped forward and cheerfully called out over the crowd. "Petal? Yo, you out there?"
My house leader's short, unruly, brown spikes swayed as his head twisted around in order to locate me.
I raised my hand to answer him. "Over here!"
I called over the rising din, feeling my cheeks flare up for some unknown reason as Claude caught sight of me. My heart beat double time as the Golden Deer threw me a quick wink before making a checkmark on his roster and calling out for Leonie.
I didn't have time to dwell on whatever was making me self-conscious as soon as the house leaders turned in their attendance rosters, we were all ushered inside the study hall. I took my seat with the rest of the Golden Deer class, as most of the houses separated out among the confines of the narrow hall.
To my delight I managed to secure another prime location, a position up against a wall close to a nearby exit. Content with my current location, I leaned my back up against the wall making myself comfortable while Ignatz took the seat across from me. Next to Ignatz, my irritable study mate and fellow mage, Lysithea sat down. The white-haired mage watched over the proceedings grumpily, her fingers wedged painfully between certain pages of a heavy leather bound tome.
I watched in growing concern as Professors Byleth, Hanneman, and Manuela clustered around Seteth. They spoke in hushed voices as they occasionally flicked uneasy glances around the room.
I drummed my fingers on the table in anticipation as I took in my classmates frantic whispering around me. The professor's body language told me something wasn't right. I attempted to focus on the professor's conversation, making a vain attempt to read their lips. However, other students kept breaking into my line of sight, making it almost impossible for me to read more than a few words at a time.
"Something isn't right. Their body language is all wrong, too tense and concerned. What is going on?" I muttered, my fingers still drumming an impatient tune on the table as Raphael sat down on the bench next to me.
The wood protested and swayed as the big man set his bag down on the ground. The clatter of rocks was distinguishable even above the noise of the crowd. I raised my eyebrow at my new bench mate as he blocked my view of the center of the room.
Raphael simply smiled and waved at me as he leaned over to fish around in his bag for a small green buckled travel pail. From within the travel pail, my classmate produced two entire sandwiches, a pear, 4 hardboiled eggs, and an entire, whole, onion. As soon as I spotted the pale yellow onion, I began praying to the goddess that Raphael wasn't going to eat the entire onion, raw right next to me. My prayers were in vain as I watched in horror as my classmate picked the onion up and casually bit into the vegetable with a wet crunch.
A pungent onion odor quickly invaded the area and began to make my eyes water as Raphael turned to me, still holding the half-eaten onion. "No idea what's going on, do you think it's about lunch?"
"Yes," I snorted as my nose scrunched up at revenge of the pungent vegetable, sarcasm dripping from my voice as I rolled my eyes. "It's about a food shortage in the dining hall. That's exactly why they gathered us students here in the study hall."
"Noo! That can't be true." Raphael's eyes started to tear up and he let out an anguished howl. "I won't be able to survive! Not without lunch!"
I was forced to turn my head to the side, my eyes glazing over as the scent of fresh onion continued to permeate the air. Ignatz shook his head lightly as he offered his personal insight. "I'm not sure what is going on here, but I don't think it's about lunch."
My hungry tablemate turned towards Ignatz and I was able to earn a brief reprieve from the toxic odor. "Well...if it isn't about lunch...then...is it a problem with dinner?"
"Hardly! Can't you idiots be quiet for a minute. I am trying to think!" Lysithea finally snapped, telling all three of us off as I gulped a breath of fresh air that drifted in from the doorway next to me. Having been told off and still attempting to shield myself from the scent of raw onion, I drummed my fingers on the table in time. I still attempted to figure out what was going on based on sheer observation.
"Hmm...I suppose they will let us know what's going on here in a few minutes." I took the time to observe the last of the straggling students wandering in. Something about the whole thing was not quite sitting right in my gut, but I was unsure of what. Beginning to feel uneasy myself, I checked the room again.
Hilda was leaning in and whispering something into my house leader's ear at the front of the next table over. Sitting close to Claude was Dedue and Dimitri, who were looking confused and slightly more tense than normal.
On the table next to the Golden Deer and Blue Lion's leaders, Felix had his back up against the wall and was watching everyone just like I was. The swordsmen held a noticeably more hostile expression on his face as his narrow brown eyes raked over the crowd. At the same table as the scowling swordsmen, Annette and Mercedes were giggling as they chatted nonchalantly, seemingly unconcerned by whatever was going on if their giggles were anything to judge by. On the table next to Felix, I managed to spot a familiar redhead who was up to his normal antics despite the gravity of the current situation.
I raised an eyebrow in interest as I watched Sylvain slide over onto a Black Eagle's table. The redhead wasted no time in finding some amusement for himself as he started attempting, rather unsuccessfully, to flirt with Dorothea. The elegant songstress appeared to be having none of the redhead's flirtation's as she pursed her lips and turned away with a huff.
Shaking my head in amusement as Dorothea clearly ignored Sylvain's advances, I turned my gaze to the tables across the room. Petra and Cereza were located on the flip side of the Sylvain/Dorothea's table, and were clustered in with another small group of deflector students. One being a deflector of my own class, Lorenz.
Ferdinand sat next to Lorenz as the pair attempted to casually chatted with the women across from them. The group appeared to be making a valiant attempt to carry a conversation, but every so often the speaker would pause and wait, as if waiting to see if anything had changed in the room.
The next table over from Cereza, Caspar was arm wrestling Leonie. My orange haired classmate gritting her teeth as Caspar puffed for air, both of their faces turning red with strain as they competed to see who was stronger. Next the ongoing arm wrestling match, Linhardt yawned sleepily, one hand on his feathered pillow the other on a sizable tome that rivaled the size of Lysithea's.
In the front of the study hall, Edelgard and Hubert had seated themselves at the table nearest to the professors. Black Eagle leaders' eyes watched and analyzed the breakout groups in the study hall, but their primary focus was on the teachers in front of them. Ducking off to the side, and just barely visible from her position on the ground, I managed to spot Bernadetta. Curious, I watched the skittish recluse as she ducked and hid behind her bag, doing her level best to hide in an area with no cover. I tilted my head, my fingers still drumming the table in anticipation, as the recluse slowly crawled her way under the table.
I assumed the only reason I was even able to see Bernadetta in this chaos was because Edelgard or Hubert had dragged her here rather than letting the recluse bolt into her room when the alarms went off.
I felt bad as Bernadetta started to cry, latching onto the arm of Hubert's carefully pressed black uniform with wide watery eyes from under the table. Unable to watch as the tall, ominous, second leaned over and whispered into the weeping girls ear I looked back at the huddling professors.
Something still wasn't adding up, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Hubert's yellow eyes caught me as I went to look away and locked onto mine . I felt a cold shiver of dread race down my spine as I attempted to give him a hearty wave. Hastily, I broke eye contact and began engaging in my tablemates as Ignatz's flipped open a notebook cross from me.
The archer flipped through several paintings and drawings until he managed to land on a blank page. Intrigued, I leaned back to watch my shy classmate work in peace. Under Ignatz pencil was a beautiful rendition of Lady Rhea praying in front of the church, surrounded by lilies and pools of sunlight.
The scene was breathtaking. Realistic enough to almost be lifelike, it was mesmerizing to see an artist at work. The shy green haired archer pushed his glasses up further onto his nose and smiled nervously up at me as he caught sight of me watching him.
"It's beautiful." I informed him point blank as I watched the artist flush bright red up to his ear tips.
"Y-you really think so?" Ignatz stammered as his hand started to shake.
I nodded to affirm my first statement. "You have a real talent there; you could probably even make a living off it if you wished to. I know several merchants that would love quality art like yours."
I caught myself tapping my fingers on the table again as my mind wandered back to Hubert.
I wondered what Hubert and Edelgard had been doing sneaking off into town late last night unannounced? Was it a love affair? A spontaneous outing? Or did they have business in town at a late hour? Certainly they were both astounding students and hard working to boot, so it didn't make too much sense that they would just spontaneously break rules for the sake of it.
I rubbed the back of my neck in thought. Unlike me, who often involuntarily frequented Seteth's office after hours for a stern lecture about staying in my dorm room after dark, Edelgard didn't seem like the type to break rules. In fact she seemed to thrive on them.
On the other hand, I was frequently caught by the guards for being a bit too noisy about the monastery secrets, so it made no sense how they had gotten away with it. The whole scenario just didn't add up. I rolled over ideas, glancing back over at the two individuals in question.
To my surprise I was able to witness Hubert's yellow eyes softening exponentially as he adjusted Edelgard's crimson cape, draping it more elegantly over her shoulders and off to the side. The slight gesture helped foster the suspicion that it was probably more of a couple sneaking off into the night for some alone time.
My internal speculations were interrupted as Ignatz's voice wavered. "That's very kind of you to offer, but I'm here to be a knight. Art's just kind of a hobby."
I shrugged, as a son of a famous merchant family, he probably knew more about trading the specialty items then I did. "Fair enough, it's nice to have hobbies. Especially ones that can make you money when you're in a pinch. Armor is not cheap, you know?"
My housemate nodded as he adjusted his glasses again, while Raphael picked up one of the hardboiled eggs. We both watched as the big male popped the entire egg into his mouth before speaking. "Ya, Ignatz's art is really good don't you know? He's been doing it for a long time! He made my sister so happy when he…"
There was a sudden loud clap as the last of the stragglers took their seats. Embarrassed Ash, Marianne, and Ingrid all crowding into the last table as a hush came over the entire student body. Seteth clapped once more as he took center stage. The rest of the teachers came out of their huddle to flank him, their eyes searching the crowds as keenly as I had.
Seteth's mouth was set in a hard line as he looked out over us. The advisor's voice was crisp and serious as he gazed around the room. "I have an important question for all of you. Has any one of you seen Flayn today?"
I shook my head reflectively as the rest of the entire student body also denied seeing her. Various no's and headshakes permeated the room as I watched Raphael bolt another egg in one go.
Seteth's voice dropped, the sound like ice chips cracking, as his brow furrowed even further. "Then, at this point, we are declaring her missing. We would like to ask that you all assist us in searching the monastery for her."
Edelgard was the first to speak up, raising her hand in question as Seteth called on her.
"What is it?"
The Black Eagle's house leader looked disturbed, her hand tucking itself under her chin as she thought. "What makes you think Flayn is still in the monastery?"
"Flayn would have never left the monastery grounds without me knowing." Seteth shook his head, his voice starting to crack under stress.
"So there is still hope she can be found right?" Claude jumped in while Dimitri stood up cross from him.
"We will find her! Come on everyone!"
Byleth stopped her house leader with a hand signal to stay put. "Hold on. We need to work out assignments and collect information from everyone. If we rush headlong into a search we will just be repeating ourselves and nothing will get done."
"The professor has a point." Hubert's oil slick voice interjected as the oldest student stood up next. The second put his hand on his chin in thought, almost mirroring Edelgard's mannerisms. Somehow he looked a lot more sinister then the short, composed, house leader next to him. "If we just wander off we will simply end up checking the most common places."
I watched out of the corner of my eye Cereza make a face at Hubert as the second spoke for the Black Eagle house. As she stuck her tongue out Lorenz and Ferdinand managed to look offended, but it was easy to see they were attempting to keep their smirks at bay.
The Brigid Princess next to my friend shook her head at the young shaman's antics. The rude gestures came to a halt as the princess leaned over and whispered something into my friend's ear. My eyes roamed restlessly, not staying in one spot as I waited to see what assignments came out of this.
Meanwhile, my mind was not idle. I was already running through my mind on where I was going to look regardless where the professors scheduled me to investigate.
On the forefront of my mind was the secret flower patch Flayn had told me she enjoyed tending over by the Sealed Forest. The ominous grey fog that always lingered there gave me an ominous feeling that I never could quite shake, so naturally I thought it was a good place to start.
"The chapel has already been searched from top to bottom, as have her apartments, and all of her more frequented areas. We need to search…"
My headache slowly started to come back as Seteth continued fielding random questions from the student body. It started out as a low dull pounding feeling building just behind my left eye. The pain progressed as Seteth answered more and more questions. I was forced to put my head down between my arms in a small attempt at comfort.
I stared at the small space between the table with dread, waiting to see if the pain would pass or if I was going to have complications in the middle of organizing a search party for my friend.
Slowly the pain started ebb and flow, as I stared blankly at the table. Nothing quite coming to the front of my mind but the sensation did not quite leave either. A slight touch on my shoulder brought me out of the ashy grey fog that was starting the cloud my conscious.
"Hey Lilianna, we are all leaving now. Are you still not feeling well?" Lysithea inquired as I slowly dug my head out of confinement.
I tilted my head up and squinted a bit, the headache manageable but not pleasant. "Huh? Oh, sorry give me a second. I'm still a bit tired."
"Well what did you expect? You have been sick for the last few days! You should take better care of yourself!" Lysithea snapped at me as I rubbed the back of my head with a half smile tugging at my lips.
"Ahaha, you're right. I'll take a leaf out of your book and start going to bed after they throw me out of the library at night. Maybe I'll even see the ghost that is haunting the classrooms if I am out late enough."
At the mention of ghosts my youngest classmate paled and stepped back sputtering. "G-ghosts?"
I pretended to yawn and stretch as I raised a suspicious eyebrow. "Oh surely you have heard the rumors recently? A ghost that comes out as soon as night falls, a ghastly white figure wandering the classrooms? A rider clad in all black riding a ruby eyed steed with a scythe?"
My quip was meant as a light tease but Lysithea backed away from me in a panic. The mention of the black rider brought back the vision of Professor Byleth and I caught myself scanning the moving crowd for her to make sure she was alright.
"N-no! C-come on! We should start searching for Flayn!" Lysithea grabbed my arm and tugged as she stomped her foot in irritation. "You're going to make us late!"
"Where could she have gone?" I pondered the thought as the short mage tugged on my arm again forcing me to get up out of my seat. Hoping my episode had finished, I let Lysithea lead me over to where the rest of my table had congregated it.
We all filtered out into the courtyard again, splitting off into different groups and taking off on their respective search assignments. The irate mage in front of me continued to guide me through the crowd as Ignatz and Raphael joined back up with us.
"Hey Lysithea," My voice cracked for a second as someone bumped into me. "Where are we going?"
The temperamental teen rolled her eyes as we came to a short halt on the corner of the courtyard. She took the chance to take charge and regrouped us. "Our table was assigned to look around the stables and gardens. We need to discuss who wants to search where. Any ideas?"
I nodded numbly, still not fully recovered. "Sure that sounds logical. I'll search wherever you want me to."
"Of course it's logical! I came up with the idea." Lysithea snapped as a group of students, Dimitri in the lead, ran by us yelling to fan out.
I wandered into the stable yard a short while later, having been one of the last ones to leave the group once we decided on assignments. My group quickly talked over the search area and then split up into our respective areas. Since I was the only one in the group to have intricate experience with Wyverns, I naturally had to patrol the whole area near the lethal lizards.
The stable yard was a natural hotbed of activity, knights coming and going despite the state of emergency. The knight's mounts came in every size, shape, color imaginable and were often decorated with their owners' house colors. By far the most common regalia color was green, marking a vast majority of them as Knights of Seiros, but a smattering of every color could be seen as I navigated through the packed courtyards.
I took my time checking each alley and stall area, but Flayn had never struck me as a type to care for a random Wyvern. I also did not think she was the type to randomly be hiding in the horse stables either. She had once admitted to me while she loved horses, horses did not love her back. When I pressed her for answers she had flushed with embarrassment and said that most horses panicked as soon as she attempted to pet them on the nose.
Letting out a light chuckle at the memory, I recalled that my friend also considered pegasi to be charming creatures. She often enjoyed coming to watch my flight classes, if only to watch Ingrid and Leonie fly up on the white wings of their mounts. Disheartened, and fairly positive I wasn't going to find any sign of my friend in the Wyvern stables, I ran back over the knowledge in my head.
Based on my time spent with both Seteth and Flayn, I knew she would never defy her brother's orders and cause him to panic over her for such an extended period. So I highly doubted she had taken a pegasi or a wyvern out for a random joy ride. As I scanned the area I started to feel more and more responsible for Flayn's disappearance. The guilt grew as I jogged down the busy alleys finding no sign of my green haired friend.
I found my footsteps picking up speed as I continued to search my area, hoping to the goddess that my friend was alright. My headache continued to pulse on and off as I concluded my explorations, having found nothing out of the ordinary even after speaking with several of the knights stationed in the area. Feeling more worried, I went to meet back up with the others, hoping that someone had managed to locate a clue that would give us an idea of where Flayn might have gone.
I met back up with the others a little bit early and went to grab a drink of water from the nearby well. My hands tugged on the ropes of the rustic style water source as I hoisted the bucket up higher. Without thinking I lifted the bucket up over my head and proceeded to pour the crisp, cold, water over me with a gasp and a heavy sigh of relief. Shaking my hair free, I took a drink from the remains of the bucket and then went back to report to my group that Flayn was not to be found in the Wyvern's quarters of the stables.
Our group, as it turned out, found nothing unusual other than Ignatz reported that the market gatekeeper observed a masked figure riding out into town the last few nights. "He wasn't sure who it was under the mask however so he couldn't tell me who he was."
The artist finished his statement with a shake of his head. "Well, and I searched all the nearby gardens but I found nothing. I think we should report our findings and see if anyone else has had any luck?"
I shrugged, water dripping down my hair and onto my uniform as the cool breeze helped to cool me off. "I'd still like to keep looking if I can. I am worried about Flayn."
Ignatz rubbed the back of his head as Lysithea folded her arms while turning her hostile pink eyes to me. She looked me up and down in scorn as Raphael magically produced an entire sausage link from his backpack.
"Lilianna, you're close to Flayn right? Is there any place she would go and not tell anyone?"
I looked away from Raphael, who was eating his snack at a rate that was making my recovering stomach fairly queasy.
I shook my head at Ignatz's question. "Like Seteth said, Flayn would never leave the monastery grounds willingly and she normally doesn't like to cause anyone a hassle. Flayn's really sweet and considerate like that…"
"And?" Lysithea snapped waiting for me to finish pondering my sudden thoughts.
I closed my eyes and rubbed the back of my sopping wet hair with a heavy sigh. "Oh it's probably nothing, I just upset her yesterday."
"Wait - you did what? What did you do Lilianna?!" Lysithea jumped at the small clue and quickly ordered me to spill what I knew.
Knowing I probably couldn't hide the pit of guilt forming in my gut, I opened my eyes and scratched the side of my face in nervousness. "I said some things maybe I shouldn't have."
The wetness of my velvet and leather gloves was not pleasant as I gently bit my lip in thought. Lysithea clicked her tongue irritated at me as I decided to tell them a bit more about what I knew.
"Look, I already informed Seteth of the matter, which is why I didn't bring it up sooner. He determined that it probably wasn't anything pressing and it wouldn't help us with our search." I let out a heavy sigh, satisfied I had not let out anything too problematic.
My relief came a minute too soon as Lysithea snapped at me. "What did you do?!"
A bloom of crimson rose in the mage's cheeks as I attempted to avoid her direct question. I started to feel a dampness collecting on the back of my freshly washed neck. There was no way I could tell them what really upset Flayn yesterday, it would lead to so many awkward questions that I wasn't ready to deal with.
I quickly rattled off an believable excuse, fabricating a decent lie, that still held the core issue in hand. "I asked her what her life was like when she was young, and I wanted to know what happened to her parents."
"That's incredibly rude." Lysithea snorted, unimpressed by my lie, having apparently jumped to the conclusion I had done something far more criminal than ask about someone's past, "but I don't think it's a question that would have warranted her from running away like this."
Raphael shook his head, trying to back me up. "Flayn wouldn't just leave her family like that! She is a real sweetheart! She brings me food when I am training, so I would know."
Something in Raphael's logic sounded entirely too straightforward and simple, but it helped my cause so I didn't say anything to undermine it. The big man smiled as he offered me a bite of one of the last sausages on the chain.
I felt my face lose all its color at the thought of eating at the moment, and quickly held up my hand to apologize. "Um, no thank you. I don't think I can handle that right now."
Raphael frowned but ate the remaining sausage link anyway while Ignatz picked up the conversation. "I agree with Lysithea, based on your question, I don't think that's anything to warrant her running away, so what if she has been kidnapped?"
I felt my face lose the rest of its color. "You don't think that masked man took off with Flayn do you? It would have had to be by force, she wouldn't just…"
Raphael started shouting next to me, his concern for my green haired friend was flavored with passion. Over his protests, I tried to remain calm as my headache started to grow worse.
"Now, hold on, I think we are just jumping to conclusions. Alright, how about we report back to Seteth like Ignatz originally suggested? We can tell him what we know about the masked rider, and maybe collect some more intelligence from the other groups. Maybe someone else found something else out that we don't know about?" I bit my lip as I said this, thinking Ignatz might have had some decent points.
Raphael stomped his foot, sending me slightly off balance with the tiny earthquake he created on impact. "Well, I am going to go into town and start searching for her right way!"
"I'll come with you." Ignatz offered quickly as Lysithea sighed heavily, before relenting.
"Fine. Lilianna and I will report to Professor Byleth and Seteth and let them know what we have discovered. Do try to be careful and don't go dashing about!" The mage's pink eyes closed for a minute as she took the opportunity to chide us all.
I nodded to confirm that I understood the tasks as a fresh wave of pain gathered behind my eye. "That sounds like a plan."
I held myself back as the boys raced off town towards the town. My partner for the time being, began to click her tongue impatiently as I stood there watching Ignatz and Raphael's retreating backs.
I slowly counted backward as the boy's backs retreated into the distance, preparing for the disaster I was going to inadvertently bring on myself with my next move.
"Come on! You're wasting time!" Lysithea irately brought me back to the present as she started to storm off towards the study hall.
I opened my eyes, certain I was making a bad decision, but not caring about the inevitable repercussions as my magic gathered around me. The white green light started to flash as I took a deep breath and started to run.
"Hold on." I growled a quick warning as I reached out and grabbed Lysithea's hand before my spell finished casting. My irritated classmate barely had time to grab my hand as my spell warped us simultaneously into the study hall without giving her an opportunity to protest.
Our feet hit the ground with soft clicks as I doubled over grabbing at my left eye. Through the raging pain I heard a gasp of awe and shock. "Wow...what just happened?"
I was too busy feeling like my head was going to split open to form a coherent sentence.
As the seconds started to feel like hours, my vision faded a cloudy grey.
"Lilianna?"
A disembodied female voice called out to me as I staggered. The pain in my knees barely registered as I hit the floor. I struggled to withstand the assault on my senses, fighting to remain conscious.
"You're still not recovered from being sick! Why would you do this?." I heard the disembodied voice again as someone put a grounding hand on my shoulder.
The pain roared in my ears as the grey clouds overtook my entire vision. Unable to see anything, a strange uneasy silence overtook my senses. It could have been a heartbeat later or an eternity as an unconscious face slowly emerged through the swirling mist.
Unable to hold back as Flayn's unresponsive visage appeared, I let out a guttered yell. "FLAYN!"
My desperate shout was eaten up by the grey mists as I desperately reached out, trying to see or sense more. The ominous fog in my vision simply swirled around the edges, creeping in and obscuring Flayn's face once more from my prying eyes. Not ready to leave, my fingers grasped uselessly out in front of me.
"Where are you?!" I pleaded as the mists faded, having granted me a frustrating small amount of almost useless information.
"Whoa, that's unusual. I would have never guessed you had a crest."
The grey clouds parted as I found myself lying face down on the ground. The unhealthy coppery taste of blood on my lips as I winced and opened my eyes. Lysithea's face loomed overtop of me, studying my face, and what I could only assume, was my crest. "Your left eye's activation is so much brighter than the other, what's the cause of that?"
"She isn't allowed to discuss these matters."
I craned my neck to see into the distance. The cold floor was uncomfortable and hard. The cold marble tiling soaked into my uniform at the same time pain in my knees started to register, along with my splitting headache, I almost wanted to fade back into oblivion.
I gritted my teeth and blinked as I pushed myself into sitting position, just in time to see Seteth approaching. Following seconds behind the advisor's footsteps was professor Byleth. Lingering back a little further, and approaching at a much more cautious pace, was the other instructors.
"Did you see Flayn?" Seteth's soft, hesitant voice sounded like nothing I had even known as the advisor knelt down next to me, his eyes straining as I licked the blood off my lip.
"Yes…" I muttered as Lysithea stepped away from me, pursing her lips.
I felt the weight of the stare from the pink eyes drilling into me as Lysithea snorted. The mage's mouth opened as Seteth held up a hand and cut her off.
Seteth's stressed voice was vastly different from his normally cool and calm demeanor as he hissed. "Miss Ordelia, before things get anymore out of hand, know that you are explicitly forbidden to speak, search, or otherwise communicate about anything that we discuss here."
"As you wish." Lysithea gave a slight bow as I moved to cover up my left eye, hiding it from view until it calmed down.
Sucking in a breath, the air hissing over the bite marks on my lip, I adjusted my gaze to plead with my classmate. "Please Lysithea, keep this a secret for me?"
Lysithea shook her head as she knelt back down next to me and studied me as if I was something fascinating, but to be wary of. "I don't have any reason to talk to anyone about this. But is this what happens when your crest activates?"
I nodded numbly as Seteth and Lysithea offered me their support. The world spun a little as Byleth watched over the proceedings with her normal stoic expression. She must have been contemplating something as her first words to me were straightforward and to the point. "What happened?"
"Nothing happened...nothing worth talking about anyway." My vision swam as the professor's hair changed from a deep blue to a light teal and back again.
"You were yelling Flayn's name and asking where she was." Byleth didn't cut me any slack as the tactics and strategies professor followed up on her first question.
Seteth looked at me anxiously and I felt a pit in my stomach. I didn't even know if my friend was alive, and seeing her brother so distressed and anxious for news, caused a defiant growl to form on my lips. I snapped as the heat of anger flashed as I glared up at the combat professor. "I told you it isn't worth talking about!"
Byleth's cool blue eyes appraised me and I felt like she could see into my very soul. I gulped as she remained steadfast that I was hiding critical information. "You would bring Seteth some piece of mind if you shared what you saw."
I shot a look at Lysithea, licking the blood from my lips again and sighed. My concern that my classmate was learning too much, but it was too late now. Still holding my eye, I turned my gaze back to Seteth. "It wasn't much. I can't even say she's ok or not. All I saw was Flayn's face. She...she looked like she was sleeping. Everything else was just a dark grey fog, I couldn't make out any important details. It was just dark. That's why I said it wasn't worth discussing."
I winced as Seteth's expression broke like a man whose entire being was hanging on by a thread. "Did she look like she was alright? In pain? Worried? Scared?"
I shook my head for each question the advisor rattled off, the pit in my stomach growing to the point Byleth had to step in. "Seteth, let it go. She's telling you everything she knows."
The professor's flat stare turned to me and then panned to Lysithea. Byleth spared me another inquiry as Seteth helped me stand up. "Seeing as you both teleported into the study hall with such haste, I presume you have something of interest to report?"
With a wave of relief, Lysithea's intelligent eyes turned to address the professor. "Well yes, actually we do. We discovered that there is a masked person that had been riding into town every night and that they are highly suspicious. We were not able to figure out who the figure was, but we thought it would be better to report it in as soon as possible. We have also concluded that she was not in the stables or gardens, so half of our group is heading into town to see if we can find any leads on the masked rider."
"Hmm, a mask you say?" Manuela tilted her head in thought as Hanneman brushed his mustache next to her.
"Who do we know who wears a mask?"
"Jeritza." Byleth breathed as she turned to the two other professors. "When was the last time anyone saw him?"
Manuela shook her head, still pondering her thoughts. "I haven't seen him since yesterday. He normally hangs around the training grounds, I'll go check and see if he is there."
Hanneman watched as Manuela's heels clicked across the stonework with a heavy sigh. "I shall go look down by the lake perhaps. He often likes to stare out at the water and feed the ducks. Perhaps he is there and can explain himself."
In a flurry of robes the reason instructor followed after the infirmary keeper, leaving just Seteth, Byleth, Lysithea and myself in the silent study hall.
Watching the other professors hasten off to go searching for the mysterious Jeritza, Byleth turned her attention back to us. "Thank you for searching the gardens and stables, and we appreciate you returning to us so quickly with that information."
Byleth spoke as it seemed like Seteth was dead set on trying to hold his tongue. I let go of the advisor's arm feeling extremely useless, helpless, and more than a bit unsteady on my feet.
The bitter tang of copper mixed with my feelings over the possession of such a useless crest. One that I couldn't even control when it activated, and when it did it triggered a splitting headache from casting anything more than basic magic.
I gritted my teeth as I looked around. Rhea's suggestion from yesterday started to ring in my ears alongside my headache. Her suggestion that I should learn to harness the power so my crest was less erratic was starting to sound more and more logical, and I decided to start searching for answers and practicing as soon as we located Flayn.
I ground my teeth in frustration, my hands tightening into fists as I spoke up. "I have another place I would like to look. I doubt she will be there, but I have to check."
My confession caused Seteth's expression to break, and the advisor's voice followed a second later. "If there is any place you think she might be, please let me know. I will gladly search anywhere for her."
I shook my head, my heart breaking for the man in front of me. "I promised Flayn I wouldn't tell you where she disappears to, but I'll take Lysithea with me. That way you can coordinate with Byleth when any news comes in. Maybe I am wrong, so we need you here ready to respond when we do find her."
I let out the remainder of my breath and slowly inhaled another. I allowed my hand to drop down to my side as the pain continued to resound around my skull. Resolutely I looked up into the advisor's worried face. "I promise to let you know if we find anything."
Seteth nodded brokenly as Byleth confirmed they would remain here in the study hall. Several of the other search groups had yet to report in, and the research was still ongoing. With a wave of my hand I motioned for my classmate to follow me.
I took a few steps towards the door, my headache making each step a challenge. "Come on, it's a bit of a walk."
Lysithea was blissfully quiet while we walked out of the study hall. We walked in silence for a bit while, navigating around the courtyards and headed towards the classrooms. Upon rounding the corner nearest the classrooms, I paused to lean against the wall.
"Are you even in any shape to be walking anywhere?" My classmate's voice was stern and condescending as I rubbed my temples trying to think if I should take an underground passage to the Sealed Forest or if it was quicker to go through the graveyards.
"I've had a lot worse wounds than a headache, I think I'll manage." I retorted as I decided to continue above ground, going thru the graveyard.
"Ya, well you don't look alright." My shorter classmate snapped as I looked down at her with a sarcastic smile.
"I'll be alright, don't worry. You can save your breath for our hike. We are heading out to the Sealed Forest, you know the area out past the graveyards and the restricted ruins?"
"Wait!" My companion went deathly pale as I smirked. "You want to go past…"
The mage stammered for words as I pushed off the wall and started walking towards the one area in monastery grounds that was always cloaked in a perpetual grey mist.
"Well, I would just teleport us to the location, but I am not sure if I could remain conscious if I did. I wouldn't want to leave you out there all by yourself."
"No! No way! I won't go! We - We need a third person or to meet up with another group!" Lysithea stuttered as I paused and turned back towards her.
The mage was already trembling at my proposal and I felt a little bad that I had told her where we were heading. "I can't teleport with three people, it's too difficult for me at the best of times."
I closed my eyes and considered my options. Like I said, I couldn't teleport with three people even at the best of times so meeting up with another group wasn't going to work to get there any faster. Also the garden I wanted to explore was a secret Flayn had trusted me with, so it wouldn't do for everyone to know where it was at.
Sensing I was losing time, I snapped. "Fine, if you're not up to it, I'll go by myself then. I don't mind."
I massaged my temple as I waited to see if I was exploring solo or not. The pain continued to radiate out from my left eye, but whatever it wanted was being blissfully held at bay.
"Uggh, no! No! No! Do you want the ghost's to get you? You can't go alone!" Lysithea stomped her feet and then hurried to catch up to me. Her pink eyes muted with fright as she ran forward and grabbed my arm.
"Look, stop behaving like this. It's day time hours and our destination isn't the graveyards themselves. It's near the border of the Sealed Forest." I scowled down at the young mage, quickly growing impatient by the delay and knowing time was of the essence. "Look if it makes you feel better I promise to have you back before twilight falls."
My classmates' pink eyes flashed as she let me go and took a decisive step forward. "Don't treat me like some child! Ghosts are real and they are terrifying!"
I pinched the bridge of my nose as she continued on ahead of me, as if she had something to prove. "Ok, what would you have me do? Flayn's only taken me there a handful of times to go pick flowers, but there is a chance she might be there hiding away from Seteth. I need to check it!"
The argument ended with Lysithea not really being ok with our destination, but having the strength to follow along next to me anyway. Together, we made slow progress along the pathway towards the graveyards, my walking companion visibly uneasy while my steps occasionally faltered in pain.
"I suppose we can't just not investigate. I still think we should ask another group to help us." Lysithea's voice was low, almost as if she wanted to voice her concern but knowing that I was going to continue on regardless of what she proposed.
I sighed as I rested on the edge of a flower partition, massaging my temples again in a vain attempt for some relief. "The other groups have their own areas to explore. Even if we manage to find another group, we would just be interrupting their search. Besides it's a flower garden Lysithea, how scary can a flower garden be?"
"It's the Horsebow moon! How many flowers are still in bloom?!" She stopped and put her hands on her hips resolutely.
I rolled my eyes as I looked up at the sun, judging the time and how many hours we had until dark. "I am not too sure honestly, but here's the facts. If we go meet up with Raphael and Ignatz then we won't even get back from town until nightfall. It's about the same scenario we would be in if we even managed to locate another group."
I slid down off the partition and cracked my neck. "And I don't know about you, but I for one, do not want to be fumbling around in a forest garden next to a graveyard at nightfall regardless of the amount of people we have in tow."
Lysithea fidgeted, her eyes darting around as she grabbed either side of her arms and began rubbing furiously at the thought. "That - that sounds absolutely terrifying! We - we should get going now before it gets dark!"
I nodded as I started walking again, my companion clearly still not ok with the proceedings.
We were almost at the edge of the rose gardens when the hair on the back of my neck stood up. A second later a blood curdling shriek filled the air. My eyes shot to Lysithea's pink ones and as we nodded in unison. We both turned on our heels and we raced back down the pathway we had just come.
"That sounded like it was coming from the knight's quarters!" Lysithea pointed towards some distant buildings I had always just assumed were additional sleeping quarters for the monastery staff.
"Knight's quarters?" I darted down the path seeing the greenery coming to an abrupt end, I slowed down.
"You have been here like three months! How do you not know this?!" Lysithea sputtered for breath and somehow still managed to sound annoyed with me.
Fed up with her outstanding attitude and feeling like I had been clocked upside the head I snapped. "How about I punch you upside the head and then ask you where some obscure location is?"
I glared at her in irritation as she glared back at me.
It took her a second to realize I was serious. With a reluctant sigh, the mage rolled her eyes and took the lead. "Ugh, follow me! This way!"
It became quickly apparent that the small mage could not keep up with the fierce demands of running long distances. I was forced to stop and wait for her to catch her breath again as we finished sprinting down another short corridor.
As I waited for my companion's heaving pants to subside, I could not stop looking around. An even more uneasy feeling kept me moving around despite the headache. I bounced on the balls of my feet ready to bolt at the first signs anything was out of place.
No one was moving around. The alleys we had traveled were deserted. It almost seemed like we were the only one who had heard the high pitched scream.
"Come on we don't have any time to lose." I commented anxiously, feeling more and more uneasy and unable to contain the feeling something wasn't right.
"I-can't." Lysithea gasped as I knelt down in front of her.
"If you can't, I'll carry you. Hop on." I urged her to jump on my back, the empty silence gnawing at me, making me suspect there was some kind of plot going on.
"I'm not some child that needs to be carried!" My companion snapped at my offer and I sighed in exasperation.
I attempted to reason with the young mage, using logic this time rather than manipulation. "Look, this has nothing to do with your age. Rather, it has everything to do with your body not being able to handle running long distances."
I looked around, trying to figure out why this area of the monastery was almost deserted. "If you don't like it, then I suggest you start training so this doesn't happen next time."
I chide her as I continued turning my head this way and that, trying to pick up on anything out of place in our surroundings, but not finding anything remotely suspicious.
"That scream isn't something I want to ignore." I continued talking, just for the sake of not hearing the eerie silence as I waited for her climb on my back.
"So please Lysithea, help me find the way to the knight quarters. My head is still pounding and I am not sure I know the best way there, but I know I can carry you." I looked back at her pleadingly as she continued trying to catch her breath.
"Ugg, you better not tell anyone about this!" I suspected the flush on the mage's pale cheeks wasn't from the exertion as she finally relented.
"I promise I won't tell anyone I carried you." I agreed readily as the mage casually slipped her arms around my neck.
Lysithea adjusted her hold to prevent me from suffocating as I picked her up. True to what I expected, she was fairly light. With a grunt of effort I adjusted my hold on her legs and started trotting forward.
"Are you sure about this?" Her voice echoed in my ears, the loud suddenness of her voice about causing me to see stars.
I shook my head to clear it as I started to pick up my pace. "Just tell me which way to go and let me worry about getting there."
"I'm not too heavy am I?" The mage's voice was a little further back this time, but it still was too close and loud for comfort.
"Just point." I urged as she pointed me down a different path.
Lysithea's voice was softer this time, barely a whisper in my ear. "Is it really that bad?"
"You have no idea." I focused on turning down another deserted alley.
Author Note: Wooo! Hello again! Welcome to the end of cliffhanger chapter 21! Thank you guys for staying with me this long - and I really do hope you guys are enjoying it! The comments you guys leave me make me feel so warm and fuzzy and I very much look forward to them! So thank you so much!
I know I mentioned this last week but originally chapter 20-22 where all condensed together and wow - its a jog to get to the finish line. The end of the Horsebow moon is quickly - very quickly - approaching - and we still have a long way to go!
However - here is a sneak peek for the upcoming month - Oct is clearly the Battle of the Eagle and Lion and academy life starts to spice up for Lili. For example, one industrious house leader gets wind that Lili's birthday is coming up and can't resist a good excuse to party. At the same time Lili starts making much more use of those underground tunnels and a spicy/sweet little chapter happens when she gets locked down there with someone. To top it off several students end up with food poisoning...I wonder why?….So there is plenty to look forward to in the upcoming chapters!
Just a short recap on this one - Flyan's missing and Lili is starting to panic. She's almost as stressed as Seteth is, but she's showing it a little differently. She's dealing with her crest activating, and while she wants to keep her powers a secret, it seems like her crest has slightly different ideas. It seems like Lysithea is willing to keep her secret for the moment however, probably because she doesn't quite understand it.
We also see Lili being a bit more manipulative - taking advantage of the young mage's fear and twisting it to get her way - a bit maliciously if truth be told in her effort to get what she wants - which is to find Flayn.
While probably not readily apparent Lili and Flayn do spend quite a bit of time together - it was more visible in the earlier chapters with the lazy afternoons spent on the dockside with Byleth, Seteth, and Flayn are very dear to her. She is taking Rhea's advice and is starting to think of her as family. Having lost not 1, but 2, families already in her lifetime Lili is getting desperate and is steadily taking on more and more risky behavior.
Anyway - I'll try my best to have a new chapter out this week - (Really it depends on how much I have to fix. There was a lot of clean up on this chapter and I hope 'Chapter 22 - The Reaper' is a bit cleaner *sweats*) Hope to see you soon!
