"Rhajat! Rhajat please wait!" Corrin called for her house leader, who kept running. Corrin got close enough and grabbed her arm, stopping her in her tracks.
"Leave me alone! Let go of me!" Rhajat exclaimed.
"Calm down please!" Corrin didn't completely understand what was going on, but she did know that she couldn't leave Rhajat by herself. "I'm not mad! Please just talk to me!"
"I agree..." Azura chimed in. "There's no reason to run."
"Easy for you to say..." Rhajat snarked back. She decided to listen to Corrin and stopped trying to escape. She pulled her arm away from Corrin, and sat on the grass.
Corrin followed her example and sat down too. "So... are you a dragon too?"
Rhajat looked away. "...Yes..."
"Why are you freaking out so much?" Corrin asked. "I'm a dragon too, everyone knows."
"It's different for me. My parents... they told me not to tell anyone... but Lonato... he was going to hurt you, maybe even kill you..." Rhajat wasn't going to let that happen in a million years.
"Why wouldn't they want people to know?" Corrin was still confused.
"Honestly... I'm not sure. They never really told me. Just that it was important no one knows. I don't know what's gonna happen now..." Rhajat was frustrated with herself for letting her emotions get the better of her. "Not to mention... I guess I just don't want more things for people to call me weird about..."
Corrin smiled softly at her. She placed her hand on top of hers. "Well, like I said. I'm a dragon too. I'm not sure why, but I am. And it used to scare me a bit too, but it doesn't anymore. It's just part of me. If that makes me weird or people dislike me, so be it. I know I'll always have allies. I'm your ally too, no matter what."
Rhajat blushed. "Really?" Rhajat looked away again. "Why are you so nice to me...?"
Corrin stood up and took both of Rhajat's hands. She stood up, and Rhajat stood up too. "We're friends, that's why. You're a good person, I have no reason to be anything but nice to you."
Rhajat's blush deepened. "...You're so naive..." Despite her words, she was smiling.
"Maybe I am, but I don't care. I'm happy to be naive if it means being your friend." It was Corrin's turn to blush. "Are you okay? Ready to head back?"
"I am... thank you Corrin."
Corrin smiled and nodded. Rhajat's chest began to ache. She wasn't entirely sure why. She dismissed it as the anxiety from having to meet up with everyone. She wasn't sure what to say. She was still lying a bit, she didn't want to tell Corrin that her mother, Way, was also a dragon. She had to come up with an excuse as to how she's a dragon without letting everyone else know.
When they returned to the battle field, they saw everyone standing around and talking to each other. When they noticed Rhajat and Corrin, they got a bit awkward. Byleth was the first to approach the duo. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah..." Rhajat replied.
"Good. Just so you know, you don't have to talk about things you don't want to." Byleth reminded her. "If you'd prefer to keep this to yourself, it's fine. I've talked about it with the other students, and they agreed that we're not gonna push you."
Corrin grinned at Rhajat, who looked away. "...Thank you Professor." She was glad that she didn't have to explain herself.
"Although..." Catherine walked into the conversation. "I do need to report this to Lady Rhea. I don't think anything bad will come of it, but she does need to know."
"..." Rhajat looked upset.
"Do we have to? Can't we keep this a secret?" Corrin asked.
"Sorry, no can do. I'm her knight, it'd be immoral to keep a secret like this from her." Catherine explained. "Anyway though. We have a situation."
"A situation?" Byleth repeated.
"We found this on Lonato." Catherine pulled out a note. "I found this on Lord Lonato. It's a note that mentions a plan to assassinate Lady Rhea. We can't tell who sent it, so the source is suspect, but the content is too disturbing to ignore. We must report this to Lady Rhea right away. I hope that it's nothing..."
"That's very concerning..." Byleth agreed. "If worst comes to worst, I'll do what I can to protect Lady Rhea."
Catherine grinned. "I was hoping you'd say that. Glad I can count on you. Anyway, we should head back."
The class all began their return to the monastery. Rhajat just hoped that this wouldn't cause any problems.
"...A dragon... so unlike me... This could be problematic..."
The dragons all gathered in their classroom. Byleth had left so she can report to Rhea, alongside Catherine and Camilla. Rhajat still looked a bit down. She wasn't particularly happy about the fact that Rhea was going to find out about her heritage. She still wasn't sure how to feel about her. She didn't know what exactly she'd do if it got out. Not to mention, her parents, especially her mother, wouldn't be happy with her. She wondered if she'd be expelled or something. The rest of the class looked at her somberly. They wanted to cheer her up, but no one was entirely sure what to say. They saw a flash of light, and noticed that Selkie had transformed. Selkie walked a bit towards Rhajat and put her head out, for her to pet.
Rhajat reached out and put her hand on Selkie's head. "Damn you're soft..."
"I sure am!" Selkie said proudly.
She had to admit, it was helping her calm down.
"Rhajat, let me know if anyone gives you crap." Shiro cracked his knuckles.
"Always the lunk huh?" Asugi teased. "He's right though. We've all got your back Rhajat."
"...Thanks." Rhajat still seemed down, but a bit less so.
"Say, where's Forrest?" Velouria wondered aloud. "You'd think he'd want to be here too."
"He said he had something to do." Corrin explained. "Not sure what it was though."
"Sorry, sorry!" Forrest exclaimed as he ran into the room. He was holding a black dress with white flowers. "I wanted to wrap up this dress." He walked over to her and held it out. "This is for you. Told you I could do it!"
Rhajat took the dress and looked it up and down. It was gorgeous. She still wasn't sure if she could pull it off, but she held it to her chest. "...I appreciate this Forrest."
"If anyone needs clothes, let me know."
"Damn... you did great on this dude." Asugi noted.
"I gotta agree. I'm not even a dress person and I've gotta admit this is amazing." Shiro added.
Byleth walked into the classroom. "Hey Rhajat. Lady Rhea wants to talk to you."
"..." Rhajat sighed. She supposed she couldn't escape this.
"Good luck Rhajat. We're here if you need us." Caeldori said.
"...I'll remember that." Rhajat suppressed a small smile before walking out of the room.
"I do hope nothing goes wrong..." Corrin wasn't sure what to make of Rhea either.
"Yeah..." Velouria agreed. "Should we follow her?"
Byleth shook her head. "I think it's best we all stay here."
Rhajat entered the room as Rhea was standing in her usual spot, with her right hand Seteth next to her. Their expressions were impossible to read. Rhajat held her head down and walked up to them. She bowed in preparation.
"Young Rhajat..." Rhea began. "You didn't mention anything about her heritage in your application. Not to mention the type of dragon you transformed into... I've never seen anything like it."
"..." Rhajat wasn't sure what to say.
"I'm sure you had your reasons." Seteth said. "Please know that you are not in trouble."
Rhajat looked upward. "I'm not?"
"This world is filled with many different kinds of people." Rhea continued. "It would be against the teachings of Seiros to treat you differently over this. We're glad to know this if anything. If there's anyway we can accommodate for you, let us know."
"I... well... nothing really comes to mind..." Rhajat admitted. "I just want to be able to finish my year."
"We'll do what we can. We don't really have a bullying problem here, however if anyone attempts to do anything to you thanks to this, please let us know and it will be handled post-haste." Seteth looked a bit intimidating. It seemed to be a topic he took seriously.
"However, I don't believe our intervention will be necessary. We have a strong selection of students this year. Better safe than sorry though." Rhea put her hand on Rhajat's shoulder. "You're in good hands here. Please, remember we are on your side. As are your classmates."
Rhajat blushed. Rhea was standing a bit close, which flustered her. More importantly to her though, was Rhea and Seteth's kindness. She wondered if she misjudged them. Especially the former. "I'll let you know if anything comes up."
"Please do." Seteth told her. "With that, you are dismissed."
Rhajat bowed again and walked away. When she was out of earshot, Rhea looked at Seteth. "I do hope she'll be okay..."
"I'm sure she will." Seteth responded. "She seems like a strong young woman. In more ways than one. Though I can't help but wonder what sort of dragon she is. I haven't heard of a dragon fitting of Catherine's description... then again, I suppose it doesn't matter."
Rhajat, dress still in hand, returned to her room. It felt rather nice that she wasn't going to be treated differently for this. However, she still wondered why her mother didn't want her to tell anyone. She decided she should still respect her mother's wishes. She wouldn't tell anyone else. Though she wouldn't be shocked if it got out to the other students. She just had a bit of a feeling. She looked at the dress Forrest made for her. She got up and locked the door to her room. She supposed there was no reason to not try it on. She undressed, and put on the dress. She was a bit surprised, and uncomfortable with how well it fit. She'd have to ask Forrest about that. She looked in a mirror, and was surprised at how much she liked what she saw. She wondered if maybe she could pull off other outfits similar to this.
She spun around as her dress flared up. Something about that made her really happy. While the mission was a bit rough, she had to admit she was in a significantly better mood now. Not only did she get a new outfit, she was starting to consider her classmates friends. And they felt the same way about her. The idea made her smile.
She heard a knock on her door.
"Who is it?" She asked.
"It's me." She heard Corrin's voice say.
Rhajat smiled and walked over to the door to open it. Once it was open, Corrin's eyes widened and she blushed. Rhajat did the same as she forgot she was wearing a different outfit.
"You... look beautiful Rhajat." Corrin said.
Rhajat's blush deepened. "T-thanks." She stuttered out.
Corrin smiled. "Forrest did a great job, and you rock the dress really well. Oh, I got distracted. I wanted to ask how you were doing."
"I'm... good actually. Everything went well." Rhajat explained.
Corrin's smile widened. "I'm so happy to hear that! I was so worried!"
Rhajat smiled back. "I was too but... Lady Rhea and Seteth were surprisingly understanding."
"Corrin... really hasn't changed." Azura said inside Rhajat. "I'm so happy her heart is still beautiful."
"Yeah... she is beautiful..." Rhajat said back. She blushed again, realizing what she was thinking. "Um, anyway... I should change back. You know how much of a stickler they are for these uniforms."
"Right. I'll see you Rhajat!" Corrin waved before leaving.
Rhajat changed back into her uniform. She sat on her bed, lost in thought. Things were only going to get harder, but in some ways they were going to get better. And she couldn't wait.