An: To Guest (Dec 23 2023): Thanks for the recommendation, it was a good read and I can see the comparison, I hope the rest of this holds up!
Haunting Daybreak - Routine Revelations
A young ginger haired girl sat in the pews with her head low and her hands together. The rest of the church had already emptied out.
"Reidun, honey, it's time to go." the girl's mother bid.
"Just a little longer, please?" the girl pleaded, "I'll come right after."
The mother looked to object, but the father's hand on her shoulder discouraged her, and they silently went out with the rest.
For a moment there was a content peace. Then… doubt. A glance up, left, right. Each look more frantic than the last. Finally, panic.
"Reidun, what's wrong, are you alright?!" Joseph's panic fed off of Reidun's own as he appeared.
She attempted to hug him, but instead passed through his incorporeal form into the next row of pews.
"Ow!"
"Reidun…"
Clutching her head, Reidun summoned the strength to speak.
"Th-the priest said that the goddess guided the dead, so I tried pr-praying really hard so that you could go where you were supposed to, bu-but then you didn't come back, and-"
Joseph felt relief wash over him.
'I thought it was something much worse.'
He crouched down by her and spoke in a reassuring voice.
"I'm here, Reidun. The goddess isn't going to be taking me away anytime soon."
The girl nodded, cheeks puffy, and the newly formed bruise on her head still red.
"Where were you? You're never here during prayer. Do you hate the goddess? Is it because she forgot you?"
"No, no. I was in the priest's office reading his books on magic, it's the only time we're close enough." Joseph denied with laughter, "and that means, I can do this."
His spectral hand hovered over the girls bruised head and-
2nd of the Great Tree Moon, 1180
Reidun woke up.
On instinct, her hand went to her gut where she remembered being stabbed through, but the pain she expected was gone.
Idly, she recognised that Joseph was asleep, which only happened when he exhausted himself.
'Must have spent all night healing me.' she thought.
She might have thought it all a dream, if her bloody blouse and tunic weren't hung up on the wall.
Instead of the stench of dried blood, the room was drenched in the scent of disinfectant with a sprinkle of spring winds from the open window. Combined with the line of other, currently empty, beds, Reidun figured out that she'd woken up in the infirmary.
She took a moment to mourn the loss of her favourite, and most expensive, outfit, before she picked up the extra uniform that had been laid out of her, closed the curtain, and got changed. Despite her feelings, she could recognise that she really only needed it for that first day to give her classmates a false impression.
Fully changed, she took in her surroundings once more for any notes or instructions, to little success.
'It's cleaner here than what I expected from Professor Manuela.' she speculated, 'then again, Seteth probably wouldn't be too keen on that.'
She did note the calendar though.
'2nd of the Great Tree Moon, meaning the exams were just yesterday.' she concluded, and then glanced out the window. 'It seems to be morning.'
From what she could recall, the second day at the academy was mostly meant to familiarise the students with the campus, as well as introduce the honour students to their assigned cohorts and given responsibilities.
Given that she was given a uniform, she could safely conclude that she had at least not failed the entrance exam.
'Maybe I should explore? Find one of the touring groups?' Reidun considered, then hesitated at the ensuing silence. A few seconds later, she drifted towards the door, hovering her hand over the handle, stopping once more with her mental gaze drifting towards where Joseph slept.
'…maybe it's best I just stay here.'
Her shoulders fell in a defeated uncertainty.
With little else to do, she grabbed one of the books from the shelf, sat herself on her bed, and with a final glance in Joseph's direction, began reading.
A few hours later, close to midday, Reidun could hear the approaching murmur of voices.
Rather than wait, she returned the book to the shelf and opened the door, just as Dimitri had turned his back to face the large man of foreign complexion behind him.
"-it's fine, Dedue." he finished saying, before he registered the sound of the door opening, "Ah, Reidun, you're awake."
"Should I not be?" Reidun asked with a raised eyebrow, "and hello again Dedue."
Dedue nodded a silent greeting back, and Dimitri turned to him again.
"Dedue, could you fetch Professor Manuela?"
"Your Highness…" the large Duscur man objected.
""Dedue, please, I hardly think an assassin would strike at me on the first day." Dimitri explained.
"Very well." Dedue finally acknowledged.
Reading the room, Reidun opened the door up enough to let Dimitri in and found a space to sit.
"So, Dimitri, how can I be of service?" she questioned pleasantly.
"To begin, I would like to apologise. I do not know what I have done to anger you so, but I am sure that whatever it is, that we can come to resolve it."
Reidun stared blankly.
"What?"
"Yesterday, you came at me with such ferocity, I was convinced you were trying to kill me, and-"
Dimitri's explanation was interrupted by a mirth filled laugh.
"I-I'm sorry, I believe there's been something of a-" Reidun had to pause to let out another laugh, "-misunderstanding."
She wiped a tear from her eye.
"Dimitri, I have nothing against you at all. I'd simply had a poor showing earlier, and our match was my last chance to prove myself during the entrance exam." she explained, "in truth, I feared that I might be expelled if I did too poorly."
"Oh…" Dimitri realised, before his face scrunched up in befuddlement, "then your casual address isn't an attack against my person?"
Reidun comfortably lounged forward, resting her chin in the palm of her hand.
"Not at all. Out there you may be the prince and I a commoner, but here we are both fellow students. You have the rest of your life ahead of you being looked up to. So based on what I'd heard about you, I'd assumed you'd prefer the casual address." Reidun concluded, "though if you prefer, I can refer to you by your title?"
"No, no, that's quite fine." Dimitri quickly denied, his shoulders falling comfortably while the question still remained on his face, "Are you sure you hold me no ill will? I would be remiss to not mention that I almost killed you."
"Then I would have died." Reidun commented with a casual shrug, "As you said, you feared for your life. Your response was well warranted, though I think using your crest was going a bit overboard."
"You speak of your own death so casually. I do not think you fully grasp the severity of the situation. By professor Manuela's reckoning, you should have been out of it for at least the rest of the day, and…" Dimitri trailed off, seeming to consider his next words, before he stroked his chin in deep thought, "...I was certain that the wound was far worse, but the professor claimed that the injury was no worse than what they'd come to expect and I'd likely just imagined it, but I am sure of what I saw."
Reidun's eyes darted to where she knew Joseph slept once more, before jumping back to Dimitri and addressing him with a knowing smile. "Well then someone must have been paying attention and cast a quick healing spell before Manuela could get a look at me."
"You think one of our classmates is already capable of Physic?" Dimitri questioned, "and what of your rapid recovery today?"
"Perhaps a good Samaritan healed me during the day." Reidun 'speculated' with another shrug, carefully toeing the line between truth and lie.
"A Samaritan?" Dimitri questioned, his tone less deeply inquisitive and more lightly confused.
"Oh, um, I mean-" she sputtered as her face lit up in alarm, and quickly realising that Joseph wasn't around to help her quickly concoct a 'save', "It's a turn of phrase my mentor uses. It means 'A well intentioned stranger.' I believe they're a character in a story from his homeland."
"I see-"
Before Dimitri could continue, the door opened signalling professor Manuela's arrival. In whirlwind, Dimitri was shuffled out and told that the lunch break was almost over, while Manuela stayed behind to do a final medical check and give some rudimentary instructions for the aimless young student.
It was only as Dimitri closed in on the rest of the Blue Lions that he realised he'd left that conversation with far more questions than answers.
For Reidun, the rest of the day involved following Manuela as she showed the members of the Golden Deer around the campus, a lonely dinner in the dining hall without Joseph pestering her to be social, and finally a return to her dorm room, which was about when Joseph woke up.
He announced himself with a yawn, then said "I still don't understand why you still keep those."
Reidun glanced back down at the books she had been unpacking and placing on the shelves at the time. All of them were written and illustrated by Joseph, ranging from educational school books to imitations of stories from his world.
Reidun wordlessly shrugged, keeping even her thoughts and expression blank.
"Alright then, keep your secrets." Joseph joked, which prompted a smile from the girl, then he leaned forward and dropped his tone into a serious register, "I take it you weren't expelled then?"
Reidun shook her head, and spoke out loud in Joseph's foreign language. "I'm still in, but as a regular student."
She kept her tone even, but Joseph noted the indentation in the leather of the book she left as she said it.
"Have you found out who you're assigned to?" he queried.
"Not yet, professor Manuela said that they would drop by some time tonight, take the time to explain everything that I would have been told if I'd been at the morning tours." Reidun answered, her tone more natural, before taking on an edge. "I'm sure they love having to spend the extra hours out of class this early."
Joseph snapped his fingers, and cut with a stern tone.
"Hey, none of that now. You were unlucky, it happens to the best and the worst. Nothing we can do about it now, so let's focus on what we can do, hm?" as he spoke his tone lightened, "why don't we start with that, you're worried that you might make a poor impression on your cohort leader. How do you deal with that?"
The more childish part of Reidun wanted to scoff, but it gave way to her better self with a sigh.
"Positive attitude for a start…" she relented, "I need to be clear that I appreciate their time, and the effort."
"Good, and how will you do that?" Joseph encouraged.
Reidun carefully picked up and placed another book on the shelf.
"Words, for one. I also have some travel snacks left over, and tea." she noted.
"That would certainly do it, depending on who they are, which-" Joseph confirmed.
"-I can't do anything about, so I don't need to concern myself with it. I know." Reidun reluctantly admitted.
"Then, what next?" Joseph inquired.
Reidun paused to think, used to this process.
"Being a regular student doesn't actually change much… The goal is still the same: learn and get stronger." she finally said, "though I should keep an eye out for… opportunities."
She emphasised the word with an intense look at Joseph.
The spectral being crossed his arms with a stern look of his own.
"I'm not telling you anything, Reidun." he persisted, "if I give you the future you'll waste your life chasing it."
"If things are going to be bad enough that you think I would, then maybe I should." she argued fervently, before her voice softened, "please… I know you want to do something about whatever horrible thing is coming. Let me help."
There was a moment of silence.
"Reidun… you're 17. In five years, certainly, but for now your responsibility-"
"-is to myself, not the future. You've said it before." she grumbled and turned her back to him so she could keep unpacking.
Then there was a knock on the door, and Reidun swiftly moved over to open it.
Standing there was a slightly short girl clad in one of the standard gold trimmed uniforms, with little to no adjustments. She had long blonde hair tied in a braid and her green eyes were focused, but carried the glee in from her smile. Someone who either wasn't troubled by the need to work extra hours, or too polite to let it show.
"Hi, I'm Ingrid. It seems we'll be working together."
2nd of the Great Tree Moon, 1180
Seteth finally found himself back in his office. As every year, the last two days had required a lot of direct oversight, leaving little time for rest or routine work, or even Cethleann.
There had been admittedly fewer issues than expected. A couple of disgruntled noble students, a ruffian amongst the pilgrims, an argument in the village, and a couple of notable injuries during the examinations.
It was enough that if he worked quickly, he could catch up on the work he'd missed without it spilling over into the rest of his tightly packed schedule for the week.
It was with this in mind, that he sat himself down to work and took note of the wrapped package pushed off to the side of his desk. A note accompanied it, written by the knight who brought it to explain its origin.
He was suspicious, a necessity given how recklessly much of the other church staff were, but despite himself, he still felt a content smile form on his face as he read the note explaining that it was meant for him in particular. Genuine or false, it was good to be appreciated.
'I suppose I can set off a couple of minutes to see what it contains,' he thought.
Unwrapping the package revealed it to be a collection of books, a series it seemed. One that he was not familiar with, odd given his age.
'Fire Emblem?'
White Clouds, Crimson Flower, Azure Moon, Silver Snow, and Verdant Winds; the names of each of the routes of the game, not that Seteth would know that. So instead his inquisition earned him some other truths.
'These are relatively new, written by hand.' He picked up one of the books and glanced through some of the pages, 'are… we the characters?'
It was both amusing and concerning.
He closed the book, placing it with the rest, before finally taking note of the last item within the package: a card addressed to him directly.
Seteth.
I hope this finds its way into your hands, and only yours.
Of all the people I know of, you are the only one I can trust to balance empathy and maturity to make the right decision.
I have long wondered if these stories would have turned out different if you'd known more.
So to you, I trust the future.
P.s. I understand that it may all seem far-fetched, but please at least read the first chapter of White Clouds. You'll have your proof by the end of the month.
Seteth considered the card a moment more, then commented out loud to himself: "Someone has an active imagination it seems."
Then he put it aside with the books and got to work.