Chapter Fourteen
1.
Monica does not make it to the finals on day three of the tournament. She doesn't even get to the top ten. What does happen is that her teacher lifts her final grade to B Rank in swordsmanship purely because the teen was well into the thick of the strongest before she finally lost.
It leaves a bitter taste in Leonie's mouth as she congratulates the teen with the others. Jeritza watches them for a time, and all Leonie can think is orange, red, pink.
Herself, Monica, Hilda.
And only one is a no-name commoner.
"You go on ahead," Leonie encourages the few future Golden Deer to have lunch with the older students. "I'm going to stick around to the end."
"Boring," Hilda mutters, waving goodbye and dragging the other girls along.
Leonie takes the empty spot in the shadows to take a break from the sun. Across the training grounds, watching another fight, are all the future Blue Lions. Mercedes and probably-Annette are talking with probably-Ashe. Sylvain is flirting a little bit away with a female student while Ingrid and Felix are engrossed in the two A+ Ranks battling it out. Prince Dimitri and his retainer Dedue are watching the entire arena best they can.
The young woman looks away before they scan her again. In the rings, she's been seeing a lot of techniques she can't wait to try out. Leonie would pull out her book to sketch them if that didn't draw people over to ask if it's magic. Food would be even worse, getting her kicked out for bringing any into the training hall. Only water allowed.
Leonie sighs, taking a glance at the open roof. Any clouds passing are further away than the reach of the Monastery's barrier. A good guess at how high it goes, but more research is needed. The young woman isn't confident enough to claim its circumference. Even with all the exploring, the only edge she's hit was when she first entered the barrier. Already, her plans of going out have been delayed at how much more interesting down is.
Speaking of, she'll have to eat on the go. How annoying.
2.
There are more than expected.
The note burns up in her hand. Unfortunate Yuri even had to use the last-minute instruction spot they agreed on, but nice of him to warn her. Leonie watches the ashes flutter to the ground before she goes to the agreed meeting point.
Halfway through the catacomb tunnels, she pauses under the intense feeling of déjà vu.
It goes away after the pause. On high alert, Leonie takes another step. The feeling spikes and leaves. The third time, it doesn't go away after a pause.
She's done this before.
But it doesn't make sense unless-
-they are expecting a fight.
They are expecting to lose.
Leonie increases output to the diverter ward, going Invisible as she moves with a burst of Speed, careful to not leave tracks. There is no one around, but her Danger Sense is chiming worryingly with every step closer to her goal. She is Silent, making her way to the entrance of the rafters. The underground room she sidles into is quite a pristine sight compared to what she's seen when looking for Yuri.
Speaking of, he against a pillar far down below, never once looking up. There are three others in masked beaks, one glancing towards the rafters every now and then.
Leonie swallows hard, a bead of fear dripping in her.
They know.
The déjà vu doesn't quite leave as she places a hand in the corner of the wall. It lessens but doesn't quite leave when she goes to spit.
Leonie isn't panicking as she carefully pulls out her favourite knife, keeping her still body turned to hide the slight glimmer made by movement under Invisibility. The feeling of having done this before leaves. Leonie closes her eyes at the realization.
She quickly cuts her finger and draws a line on the unhygienic, dusty wall. Even with the room being closer to the surface, the magic here is not strong. Her blood isn't immediately shredded, causing her to draw more in order to fuel the enchantment. With the combination of her own energy and the reluctant magic in the air, the charm spills out and follows along the walls much like the wards in her room. It follows the large rectangle, unseen and counting down. Fifteen minutes minimum, half an hour if she's lucky.
Leonie isn't feeling particularly blessed at the moment. Even less so as she carefully crawls along the roof to a better position over the masked people. In fact, she feels rather haunted at the sight of a body on a stone slab, a stone throne even further behind it.
She knows that throne. She knows this place. Even if she hadn't been reincarnated, there are verses in Fódlan's bibles about the Throne of Knowledge beneath the Monastery. According to Seiros, this is where the Goddess grants her divine revelations.
The Holy Mausoleum.
That fear is turning to an inky sickness as Leonie eyes the slab coffins supposedly containing Crest Stones. The magic under her fingertips promises no one can teleport in or out, but this is a lot earlier than she'd thought she'd see this place. Purposefully, Leonie never went looking for it. It is a temptation, and a horror.
A perfect chance to destroy a Crest Stone.
Leonie keeps crawling to where the masked people don't look. She swings into the molding rafters above the body, careful to make sure nothing gives away her position. Below her is green hair, eyelids too large and sunken. Hands clasped and an ethereal glow emitting from a preservation spell.
A dead body, lying on the tomb of the Sword of the Creator.
This can't be good.
Leonie reapplies the magic to the room.
Finally, the doors on the other end open, echoing through the stale air. Leonie turns Eagle Eye on the proceedings. She doesn't feel anything as she recognizes the cardinal, Aelfric Dahlman. They've past each other all of two times. He seemed nice, like the other cardinals, but just another person she'd taken note of and not put stock in. Hopefully, with student access to more floors, she'll be able to tell who has more of an agenda than what she can catch outside the Monastery walls. It wouldn't do to be faced unprepared again.
He has the chalice. Carried by other masked people are the three people Yuri was fighting monsters with. The Nabatean isn't taking it well, "What have you done to them?"
While the cardinal monologues that they're just unconscious, that their blood is needed because each has a Crest of an apostle – and Yuri actually looks surprised at that – so only with the four will they be able to bring 'Sitri' back to life, Leonie is counting enemies and switching visions to make sure there isn't any more surprises. Going by the Church-certified clothing – because apparently no one wants to keep their class a secret in exchange for buffs – there are fifteen magic users, ten people in heavy armor, and six soldiers.
It would be so easy to set the room on fire.
So easy to turn them to dust.
But Leonie's not scared enough to feel backed into a corner. Isn't without hope for a last-stand suicide attempt or epic erasure. The implications of a mage squeezing out the hole she entered through and shooting an ice spike where she would have been without the déjà vu are terrifying. However, while everyone's attention is on that, Leonie climbs back onto the ceiling and begins towards where the Crest bearing humans are being set up. Switches plans for the complete opposite of what she would have done.
There's a burst of cold air, and then she looks down to see snow falling just above the rafters. Cheaters, Leonie thinks and continues crawling for where Yuri is being manhandled, trying to mark my location. The best part about fresh snow is that, unlike dust or dirt or sand, it is very easy to melt by turning up the thermostat.
Leonie scales down the walls head-first like an invisible monster, careful to stay in just enough light from the torches that her magic keeps at it. The fear kicks up the adrenaline, changing the splash-of-water feeling into something more focused. She is careful to breathe and direct the effects of anger into her hands. The air in the room reacts to the pulses of magic.
She doesn't look away from Yuri's bound hands, nor the swords pointed at his chest and throat. Her Danger Sense goes wild as the masked person who gazed too long at the rafters – a man by the voice – stops whatever the cardinal has planned, "Before we begin."
There's some shuffling in their direction.
"I know you are here, Phantom of the Monastery!" he shouts. Leonie can't help the small eye roll as organ music kicks up in her head. "Come down so we may speak! This does not have to be a fight!"
There is shuffling from all but Leonie and Yuri, the later who has frozen at his bindings being cut free. With most of the enemies' eyes on the rafters or their spokes person, it's easy to begin slipping around. Any drops from the water on her shoes are covered by the dropping waters from the rafters. It's a bit harder to redirect the displacement of air without oodles of around her, but the adrenaline is making it hard to feel the consequences of her actions.
In this state, Leonie thinks in single-minded goals. Assist the person she made a deal with, check. Get the tank or glass cannon unbound next.
Check.
In the dim light behind columns, Leonie takes a running start and slams into the armored knight. He sails across the room, his buddy pulling the sword away from the crashing noise and startled awake prisoner. He goes flying next, kicked so hard into a pillar that the stone has little cracks.
Leonie hears the physically strongest prisoner behind her, exclaiming, "What's going on?!" while the spokesperson enemy has finally stopped calling the rafters a coward and demands, "Kill the Phantom!"
New goal – as Leonie's focus sharpens and blood pounds in her ears, dangerous and unknowingly smiling – kill the enemies.
Time slows a bit as Leonie begins moving too fast.
Ten minutes remaining until the anti-teleporter ward comes down.
Not a one can escape, or else the déjà vu may not be enough to save her.
3.
In a way, everything hurts. The adrenaline still pumps, but she was nicked enough times that the focus had to go to knitting skin together instead of soothing shock absorbers. There are at least three dented pillars, though one of them came from the tank-guy she cut free. He and Yuri were more focused on freeing their lady friends in the heat of the moment, while Leonie had been lost to the goal of kill every last one of them. She's not complaining, though. After weeks of pretending she doesn't imagine all the ways to kill her tablemates, roommates, the village, the monastery… this has left her empty in a way a good cry used to, if a bit more extreme in its effects. A headache the size of a dragon, nose and eye corners crusting with blood, and the horrible, horrible, knowledge that she's the one who committed most of this crime scene, but emotions drained so low that she's almost relieved.
She can't even muster up the strength to be afraid that this past hour could repeat itself without her ever knowing. There's barely even a sliver of anger that only one enemy remains, protected by the very people he used.
"Please," the cardinal who betrayed the Church cries to the magical ingredients for his necromantic wish, "I only want her back."
Leonie doesn't care. She walks over to the wall with the crack by its rafter beam. Digs her fingers into the grooves and climbs best she can without magic. The diverter ward still active, Yuri too focused on the traitor, no one notices her mostly visible self leaving.
She wants to sleep for a week. Her nerves are so shot, she doesn't even feel hungry. Every attempt to increase her magic output only makes the pounding in her head worse. If it is some sort of brain bleed, Leonie still has enough faith in her healing magic to deal with that.
She's just finished pulling herself through the crack when she hears a faint, "Who was that?"
Her lips twitch into a faint, real smile as call-me-Yuri says an honest, almost confused, "I don't know."
4.
There's a constant bell ringing that must have started sometime when the fighting happened. Leonie doesn't care as she shuffles her wet – from jumping into a lake to clean off the blood – self into her dorm room. Unfortunately, her roommates seem to care a lot.
"Where have you been?!" Lysithea shrieks from her top bunk. Leonie's already stripping down, the Eagle teens politely adverting their eyes. "We have been in lockdown for half an hour!"
"Was dozing in a tree," Leonie replies flatly. They all wince at how tired she sounds. "Bell startled me up and I rolled into a pond. Wasn't sure what it meant so I stuck around to dry a bit and see if anything was happening."
"It means prisoners have escaped," Aurora explains, uncomfortably softer than her usual self. She shrugs a bit at the look Leonie throws. "We were told to return to our rooms before it even started. It must be very serious."
"Yah, well," Leonie slumps into her bed, struggling to pull the blankets up, "I trust you all to wake me up if we need to do something. I over did it with today's exercise so I just… I need to…"
5.
Leonie sleeps in fits. Is woken up by Bernadetta at one point to eat, and then immediately crashes again. They're not allowed out until noon the next day.
Leonie's just glad there is a next day. She's very curious how many times Those Who Slither in the Dark can rewind, especially since they went to so much trouble to stack the odds in their favour. From the bits she remembers hearing, they seem to think the Phantom is a he. The fact they didn't automatically connect anything to her is a reassurance she didn't know she needed.
The young woman details the workout she 'had' yesterday, making them more likely to believe she overexerted herself rather than suspect she had anything to do with the breakout. Aurora and Lysithea bring back lunch before Aurora goes off to reconvene with her friends. Late in the afternoon, Leonie assures the teens that she's not going to overexert herself, "I just want some air."
Lysithea responds with, "We'll see you at dinner, then," to which Bernadetta doesn't protest.
Leonie makes sure to smile with how proud she really feels.
6.
The cafeteria will be open for dinner in ten minutes, and Leonie is both hungry and not. She sits on the stone wall overlooking the Monastery's docks and fishing area, the closed doors of the dining hall a ways behind her. The Monastery has a lot of reflective surfaces, more than she's used to, and Leonie's resolved not to look at anymore if she does not have to. Takes a break to watch the sunset, something she hasn't done in years thanks to the fear that another monster bird will try to swoop down and eat her.
The heart of the Monastery is safe from monsters. At least, that's what people believe. Just like they believe it never rains on Monastery grounds. Leonie watches the dark clouds rolling in against the orange sky and wonders once again why it rains the day Jeralt dies.
She killed a lot of people yesterday, and the world keeps moving. Why, though? Leonie enjoys feeling like her ninety-nine problems aren't the weight of the world, and she knows to appreciate the continuous turning around the sun, but she cannot comprehend why so many died and there was no backtrack. There is something she's missing, and it's bothering her now that her emotional capacity needs something to fill the void left behind by the stress relief.
Leonie kind-of wishes she had healthier thoughts to fill it with.
She hears him walking up, likely before he spots her. Leonie tenses her fingers against the stone, ready to stick if necessary, pushing through the hollow aching of overuse. She thinks about how he's one of the few students so far to always make as minimal noise as possible. Practice, Leonie thinks, watching a bird-ish shaped cloud and remembering her own attempts to silently jump around trees.
Her vision gets disturbed and she closes her eyes as the hands gently press. She can't help the real, nostalgic smile as he sings, "Guess who."
Like high-fives and fist bumps, it's not something people in Fódlan do. "Hey, Claude." She leans back, a bit surprised his hands drop to her shoulders and her head hits his chest. They share grins, "What's up?"
"Oh, you know," he lets go after making sure she won't fall, and then sits beside her. Not turned towards the dinning hall like she thought but facing the pond and Monastery walls. Leonie doesn't feel bad about her lack of trust towards others, though it bites a bit that her paranoia is switching from the big-bad to one of the few people she needs to rely on. "Checking in on everyone like a responsible leader. Didn't see you at lunch, and Lysithea wanted me to make sure you weren't exerting yourself."
Now the nostalgia's passed, her smile looks the same but she doesn't feel it. "As much as I don't like taking a day off, I do enjoy sleeping in once in a while."
"Yah, about that," she tilts her head, watching the sunset but noticing his gaze strangely lingers on her hand, "Lysithea mentioned you were exercising yesterday, but what did you do that tired you out so much?"
Leonie doesn't sigh and repeats what she told her roommates. Claude is oddly still before chuckling and turning to the sunset, "That almost sounds like Hilda's exercise regimen back in Goneril. What made you decide to try it?"
"No wonder she's so strong," slips out as Leonie pulls up an answer. "With the sword tournament over, I thought I'd do something to make up for lack of rushing about." Makes sure she sounds bitter for the next part, "Just my luck I'm outside the gate when the alarms sound."
"And you didn't think about returning?"
"I didn't know what the bell was for. For all I knew, there was some big-wig or parade or something and I would have interrupted a very delicate meeting."
Claude laughs and appears to take the answer. "Well, just know I'm glad you're okay."
"Thanks," she gently elbows his arm. "I'm glad you're okay too."
She leans back to watch a cloud part around the barrier, all the while a rush of Claude's Crest swirls around her. Leonie finally looks over and meets his staring, "What?"
Whatever he wants to say, he hides behind a cheeky grin and a wave upwards, "Did you know it can snow on Monastery grounds?"
"What?" she didn't, eyes widening, "really?"
"It's only done it twice from what I've heard, but both times people started going crazy and calling it the end of times."
Leonie can't help the laugh. "Of course they would. It's not like Seiros wrote about the Goddess taming the colds or anything."
Since she's looking, she catches the odd look on Claude's face. Leonie cannot decipher it, but he defaults back to his harmless look with a crafty grin, voice pitched a bit lower to only be heard by them, "Why do you say it like that? Wasn't that one of the visions the Goddess blessed upon Seiros?"
She knows what he's hinting at but can't give him the satisfaction of admitting the whole religion is a charade. It's the victors who mold history, after all, and they make sure there's no proof of their wrongdoings. "She still had to write it for it to be passed down."
Claude leans back, not looking deterred and dropping the topic as he spins back towards the doors, "That she did. You ready for dinner? I can smell it from here."
"Yes, please," Leonie groans, stretching and wincing as so many things crack. Claude offers a hand to pull her up. "Thanks."
"Anytime."
7.
As Friday rolls around, Leonie spends her morning walking instead of running. Even with magical healing back at it, everything is annoyingly sore. While she's lost any weight she gained over the past weeks, it's even more unfortunate to realize her body must have gone into starvation mode during the massacre. Thankfully her stomach has repaired any damage and allows for full meals, though she can only eat so much at a time. It will be at least another couple of days to return to normal running around the Monastery, at least a week before she can match Raphael again without the aid of magic.
It would be easy to blame Those Who Slither in the Dark for her situation, but Leonie acknowledges her own fault in it as well. Her on-the-fly plan was muddled by fear and likely wasted a lot of magic. She settled on a default brute force approach because it seemed as though there was no way to take them out silently.
In fact, the tiny part of her that always wondered about how she'd pass Authority testing is now a real concern. She wants to be a solo mercenary, has trained for it, but not cracking under pressure is an essential for all situations. Even the worst bandit encampment she's torn through didn't leave her grasping at straws.
Maybe it's because she's built them up as the Big Bad. Maybe she's become too reliant on the Monastery's constant magic. Whatever it is, she needs to make sure this is an extreme her body can handle. More training in her future. Joy.
"Ah, pardon me," comes a voice. An elderly man's voice. A fake person's voice.
Leonie turns and jogs over when the Librarian beckons her. The anger and fear jolt through her tired body, warming her as adrenaline chills, "Good morning, sir."
"Hello, child," he says, hunching over his cane. "You are… Leonie, correct? The one with the best time on the climbing wall?"
"Yes, sir."
-don't rip out his Crest Stone, don't rip out his Crest Stone, don't-
"Would you be able to assist me?" he turns, Leonie makes sure she can always see him as she follows the motion. "I accidently scared the young cat and they appear unable to get down."
"Oh," Leonie feels her eyes widen a bit as a familiar calico spares her a glance from atop the high stone wall. Its real focus is hissing at the Librarian. "Well, I can get up there. I'm just not sure how to get down…" At least, not without giving away a few secrets.
This cannot be a coincidence.
-don't rip out his Crest Stone, don't rip out his Crest Stone-
He looks vaguely disappointed as he turns, "Hm… well. Pardon me."
Leonie blinks a few times, smiling and waving at the tall, ripped older teen who just happened to be walking by. He comes over at the Librarian's beckoning, and Leonie wonders if he realizes just how much danger they're all in.
"Morning," Leonie greets. "We're trying to get the cat off the wall. Would you be able to catch me if I jumped off with it?"
Dedue looks up and nods slowly, voice deeper than she expected, "I believe I can catch you. Will you need assistance getting up?"
Leonie feels her mouth open a little in surprise, smile still in place, "If you won't mind giving me a boost, I'd appreciate it. But I can make it up."
He smiles slightly, nodding and linking his fingers, "I can handle it."
"Thank you!" and for the first time since this situation began, she puts the Librarian out of her gaze. It makes her skin itch, but between the two of them she's certain they can hold off the man while he's in this form. It takes moments to get her up beside the cat and, when she tries to convince it to come to her, the calico gives her an unimpressed look. Leonie mutters, "Hard way it is."
She snags the cat, who proceeds to try scratching her up with its trashing. Leonie hisses a bit and gets into position, one arm balancing her while her body hangs off in a curl.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes. I will catch you."
Not wanting to risk an upped Durability, she certainly hopes so. Worst she gets if he misses is a stinging tailbone and pissed-off armful of fur. Leonie drops.
"Oomph," she grunts at the landing, flashing the teen a smile. "Nice catch."
"Thank you," he replies cordially. As soon as she's set down, the Librarian makes a move to reach for the cat.
Leonie lets the animal bolt off her, exaggerating a wince as it scratches up her arm.
"Sorry, sir," Leonie frowns like a pout. "Do you think it will be alright?"
The Librarian's quick-second scary face smooths into a polite smile. "I am sure it will, child. Cats around here are very hardy creatures. Thank you both for your assistance." Then he's off, walking at a faster pace than his shuffle should allow.
"Thanks again for the catch," Leonie shines a winning smile at the prince's retainer. "I'm Leonie, by the way."
"Dedue," he gives the Kingdom's greeting bow. "As I said, I could handle it."
"Still, I appreciate the assistance." She hadn't even needed to try Lightweight. "Ah, I've got to meet someone for breakfast. Are you heading that way?"
"Apologies, I am not."
"No worries, thought I'd ask," Leonie starts walking backwards, waving. "Nice meeting you! Don't be a stranger!"
Dedue nods and turns to go the other way. Leonie lets out a breath and stretches out her protesting muscles. Her mind tracks back to her encounter with the enemies.
There's something she's missing, and Leonie doesn't appreciate the feeling of it.
8.
"You're a natural with a lance, Bernadetta," Leonie says, tapping the teen's elbow a bit higher. At a nod, the purplette swings and retreats again. "Born talent."
"Th-thank you," the deceptively tiny teen blushes. Leonie thinks the strength must come from her Crest and a proper care routine, because Bernadetta has become much stronger than her physical looks imply.
A bit away, Lysithea growls to herself and slashes with the sword in her hand. She's careful where she places her feet on the grassy area between the future Deer and Eagle dorms, not confident on such a soft surface. She can't practice on stone forever. Leonie leaves Bernadetta to continue her simple repetition, nabbing the discarded training sword to go over patterns with the white-haired teen. "Do you feel ready?"
"As I'll ever be," Lysithea bares her teeth and shuffles into the shady area with Leonie. Lysithea's sword in her right hand, so Leonie settles hers in her left. They bow, never taking their eyes off each other, and in one smooth, slow motion, lift their swords in the same attack pattern. Then the next, and the next.
When the odd dance ends, Leonie dropping her sword from where it rests against Lysithea's to flash a smile, "Great work! Do you want to go again, or try another set?"
"Again, but faster."
Leonie rolls her shoulders, smile dropping a bit at how serious Lysithea appears, "If you're sure…?"
"I am."
Alright then, Leonie goes back into position. The first attack is fine, but with the slight added speed Lysithea overextends and slides a bit on the grass. They have to halt a step before the end, too close to each other.
"You are getting better," Leonie tells her honestly as they go back for another try. "I think you have a natural talent with the sword. The problem's the other elements in a practical application," the physics behind it. "Take it from someone who knows, nature is a cruel mistress."
That draws a smile from the frustrated teen. They begin again, this time ending a foot too far part on the last step. Leonie calls it after the fourth attempt to get Bernadetta started on the next set of repetitions. They're fixing her form when the lesson is broken by a, "Pardon me!"
Bernadetta takes one look over and screams, dropping the lance and bolting behind Leonie with a "Nononono-"
"Hi," Leonie waves at the obviously shocked blond and his stoic companion. Lysithea slides up next to the orange haired young woman in a show of support, sword hanging loose and at ready in the hand on her hip. "How can we help you?"
There's a slight pause before Lysithea jams an elbow in Leonie at the realization. The small teen puts a fist over her chest, bowing, "Your Highness."
"Whoops, sorry," Leonie apologizes and copies the pose.
That seems to snap Dimitri out of it, raising his hands in a gesture of no, don't, "It is alright. And please, call me Dimitri. We are all students here, after all."
"Alright," Leonie straightens and shrugs, hissing when Lysithea stomps on her foot. "And Dedue, it's nice seeing you again."
"Likewise," is the bowed reply.
"I'm Leonie," she waves a few fingers at the surprisingly open prince's face. "This is Lysithea von Ordelia, and behind me is Bernadetta von Varley." With that done, she turns her head to softly convey, "See? I told you that you didn't need to introduce yourself."
Bernadetta sobs dryly, "You remembered."
"Of course," with that finished, she smiles again at the males. "How can we help you, gentlemen?"
"Oh," Dimitri blushes. Leonie's taken aback at how he appears embarrassed. This is a lot different from what she was expecting. "Well, I- we happened to see you practising. I was hoping you wouldn't mind if we joined in."
"Not at all," Leonie looks between the two. "I can run up to our room and get some training weapons if you don't have any."
"There is no need for the trouble."
She can't help the chuckle, Lysithea shooting her a long-suffering look, "It's no trouble. So, what'll it be? Swords, lances, axes, or fists?"
Dedue answers while Dimitri tries to find the words, "If you have any training gauntlets, I would appreciate you lending them to me."
"Not a problem. Just, try not to break them. Please. Same goes to you."
"Of course," Dimitri snaps out of whatever daze he's in. "A lance, if you have any."
"Sure thing! I'll be back in a moment."
Bernadetta latches on, arms and legs wrapping tight, like a barnacle, "Don't leave me!"
"You can always come with. Lysithea, is there anything you need to come up for?"
The white-haired teen eyes the future Blue Lions and gives a sharp, "No," refusing the out if she's uncomfortable alone with them.
"Alright," Leonie flashes a smile to the guys, readjusts Bernadetta to a better position, and gets to have a moment of concern to herself on the way. Why the Crown Prince of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus even wants to talk with them is a mystery to her. She certainly doesn't remember a conversation between him and the real Leonie. He must have better things to do than go over the basics. So… why?
Maybe it's time to admit she accidently did something to cause a butterfly effect that's throwing out the main plot before it can even begin.
…Nah. Leonie's not that lucky. He'll probably forget all about her once he's the leader of the Blue Lions.
9.
"Are you ready?" Leonie asks, sword in her right hand.
Dimitri nods from the few feet between them, lance in position, "Yes."
"Everyone watching?" Leonie waits for Lysithea and Bernadetta's confirmation. Dedue confirms as well, even though he doesn't need to see this. "Alright, begin."
They show the disarming at a moderate pace, meaning Leonie's sword drops after a few seconds instead of flying away after her go. They do it a few more times, Lysithea asking questions about how to avoid it while Bernadetta crouches on the ground, hands over her head in a small, I-can-see-you-but-you-can't-meet-my-eyes sort of way. She watches just as closely, and then squeaks a 'thank you' when Dedue hands over her lance.
"Hey, Lysithea, do you want to try disarming me when I have an axe?"
The teen's mouth opens and then closes with a clack. Leonie follows her gaze, realizing they must have been out here for a while as Seteth marches up with several people under the yellowing sky. "Maybe later."
Bernadetta yelps and jumps behind Leonie. The orange haired young woman smiles tiredly at Dedue and Dimitri before waving, "Good afternoon, Seteth!"
"Leonie," he greets cordially, but with a face that's seen enough paperwork to automatically distrust anyone who calls him out. "How are you?"
She wonders if anyone else notices how Dimitri is looking a little too intently at the white-haired beauty dressed in perfect curved and ruffled red. "I'm alright. We're making sure to train out of the way of others."
He hums a sigh, "I can see that." A short nod to the future Blue Lions and Golden Deer. "Your Highness, Dedue, Lysithea… Bernadetta."
In order, the replies are a nod, bow, wave, and squeak from the respective students. He moves to show the few men and teen the temporary dorms for future Black/Red Eagle students when the youngest man stops, eyes narrowing. Leonie can't help but to tense and move between his lion stare and the target. That doesn't seem to deter him, cool voice asking, "Bernadetta von Varley, what are you doing?"
Bernadetta screams like she's dying and runs for the doors, "NO! I'M GOING TO DIE! LEAVE ME DEATH! I DON'T WANT TO GO!"
The door to the dormitories slams shut behind her. Leonie is certain if she wasn't restraining herself from the magic in the air, something would be on fire. She matches the glare from the young man, struggling to keep a nasty look from her face while she smiles benignly, "Lysithea? Do you want to help Bernadetta, or deal with him?"
One-hundred forty-eight centimetres of rage steps up beside Leonie, "I've got him. You go calm Berns down."
10.
Leonie rolls out of bed on Saturday, and then freezes at the terrible, awful feeling of déjà vu. It comes as fast as it goes, but she knows what she felt. It keeps appearing as she does exercises, and then really hits when she grabs the doorknob.
There's a drip of fear running through her. Until she knows why this is happening, all she can do it play along. She may never know why, and that's almost the thought that breaks her stride. Never knowing. Besides the influx of future Black/Red Eagle nobles arriving the night before, Leonie cannot imagine what would have caused her to feel this.
Edelgard's uncle is here. Maybe that's a clue.
Or maybe she's just grasping at straws. Without an idea of who, what, when, where, and why, it's useless to dwell. Leonie just needs to keep up with the feeling. After all she did in the Holy Tomb, now is not the time to reveal the ability of not making the same choices twice.
It's even a clear skied, lovely day. What do they want to change?
A/N: In following through on her part of the deal, Leonie overworks herself and needs some rest and recovery. Also, in all the excitement, no one has realized the Chalice of Beginnings is now, in fact, just a fancy gold cup.
Thanks for reading! A really big thank you to ShadowWolf223, TheParadoxicalOxymoron, xenocanaan, guisniperman, JoshuaFangurl, northernlion196, Guest, HersheyBby, BlueBunnyims, Guest number 720, and IReadNoNonsense for reviewing! The support truly means a lot!
If anyone's worried, none of Yuri's people died.
If anyone's curious, the implied time travel ability by Those Who Slither in the Dark for this story comes from the day of Jeralt's death, specifically Thales' dropping in and mini speech. Leonie's just not sure how or who does it for them.
Thanks again for reading. I hope everyone is well and has a great day! Please take care