Chapter Seventeen

1.

Leonie is on her seventh lap, using a bit of magic to boost her Speed, when she spots two people she hasn't greeted. A dark, deadly glare comes from the one who can focus on her. Leonie gives a cheeky grin, waving, "Good morning!"

"Oh," Edelgard startles. Hubert practically seethes. "Good morning, Leonie."

And that's that. They walk by while she jogs on. Even passes them again on lap eight, Hubert watching her only as she draws close. This continues until lap ten, where Leonie cuts the magic and slows to finish off towards the dinning hall. She makes small talk with the employees, ordering the highest calorie health food she can. It's a bit busier today; the last day before lance-centered class exams begin and, unlike sword-centered titles, a lot of people aren't taking it well.

"-if you mention Spark's theorem of instinctual magic one more time-"

"-Falcon Knight, right? What do you mean 'Wyvern Lord too'?!"

"I forgot about Bow Knights! Do you think I can make up any points in the archery competition? Goddess, no, I'm not going in the gauntlet tournament."

"Two Cavaliers! Two Cavaliers!"

"Can I just say," Leonie eyes her still unfairly attractive tablemate. He probably roles out of bed that way, while at least half the hall around them is frizzing or forgot makeup, "I am very glad not to be them right now."

Claude smirks, "Good morning to you too."

"You know you agree," she also notices how much more he's scanning the room, almost like her in the third day of being awake. When he can, Claude always goes for the seat with his back to the wall. Leonie would be right next to him if she didn't trust her ability to take and heal from sneak attacks. "I can only hope we're better prepared for the tests."

"It is surprising how many are left to take lance certifications," Claude shrugs. "Most of the Master Class testing involves at least decent proficiency with lances."

Leonie makes a face, "Do people normally make it to Master Classes?"

"If you listen to Lorenz, it's a noble prestige thing. I don't really get it, but my grandfather threatened getting me the Holy Knight certification if I don't get a Master Class certification by the end of the year."

Leonie rolls her eyes, "Oh yes, because having someone pay for you to learn magic, lances, and riding is such an ordeal."

"Hey, we can't all be good students in every subject. Besides, don't you already have a Mercenary licence?"

"That I had to pay for myself, with someone recommending me. If I don't get the certification by the end of the year, that's it for my chances. Mercenaries rarely have the money to certify one of their own, and the leader usually never agrees to vouch for them because it runs the risk of splitting the brigade."

"Huh," Claude looks thoughtful, "the more you know. Do you not like it that I have the money to pay for schooling?"

"While I am jealous of all nobles for not having to worry too hard on that, I am more upset with the lack of options for commoners. I was only taught basic reading, writing, and math because I was the only kid in the village for years. Then I had to start teaching the kids a lot of those things because the village was more focused on spreading the will of the Church and getting large enough to get back on the map. I am a strong supporter of education for everyone, but any teachers are usually private and paid exuberant amounts or doing it out of the kindness of their hearts and are actually terrible professors."

While it isn't silent in the dinning hall, it's quiet as Claude doesn't say anything, thinking.

"Sorry," she shrugs, utterly unapologetic, "I feel very strongly about Fódlan's education system."

"Don't apologize," Claude says, gleam in his eyes. "I've never thought about the education system as a whole like that. Learning just feels natural. Something I've always had to do, and always had people to teach me. Do you know what it's like in other villages?"

"Merchant kids get taught the all basics. Farmer kids get very basic addition and subtraction, maybe enough reading for contracts or fief payments depending on their size. If it's large enough for a mayor, then they and the Church officials are the only ones with higher education, whether it be a term in the Officer's Academy or private lessons with other officials. But those are just the villages around Gloucester. No idea what it's like in the big wide world."

Claude looks thoughtfully at her, both of them ignoring the screaming going on at another table, "What would you do to fix it?"

Leonie makes an annoyed sound, "If I could? Free education. Vetted teachers and a system that didn't interrupt the planting and harvest seasons. Some kind of regulation to make sure kids are being taught and not conditioned. But that opens a bunch of other problems and I don't have the patience for that kind of change. I'll leave it up to you big-wig nobles to run your districts."

"Gee, I feel so honored," he sasses.

"You should," she narrows her eyes, mockingly sticking her nose up with a wry smile. "You have the power for change, young padawan, use it wisely."

Whatever Claude's comeback – or question – would be is dropped for a doubletake. Leonie looks at him weirdly, turning around as the room falls silent. She rolls her eyes at the overtly public display of affection, muttering, "For goodness sake."

The first thing she pulls from her bag is a tomato, which, no. Next is a vine of a few sour grapes. Leonie picks one off and throws it on a line, turning back to Claude before it hits the couple. There's a crash and a bit of choking.

Claude struggles to contain his giggles, "You got that in their mouths."

"Huh. I didn't think they were going to come up for air so soon."

His laughter joins in with a few others, again both ignore the shouts on the other side of the room, "I can't believe they broke the rule so openly."

"Don't date your fellow students until after graduation? I guess it's close enough, and it's not really a rule… is it?"

"It's implied," Claude's smile strains as he focuses back on her. "None of the professors will do anything unless it gets out of hand. We're here to cultivate alliances, after all."

"I guess that's why Lorenz stepped up his game."

The teen stiffens, trying for lackadaisical, "Did he try something?"

"He's been asking all the current noble female students for tea and snacks, not that he has a proper teapot for it yet. I'm surprised no one's hit him with how stressed all the students are."

"What do you mean you didn't know there were three Hero Lances?!"

"I thought Lúin was the Lance of Ruin!"

"He'll learn," Claude pretends to relax back. "Like I said, our teacher will get involved if things get out of control."

Leonie doesn't roll her eyes, but she really wants to. Lorenz isn't taking rejection well, pressing on the already short-fused nobles who are stressing about their futures. Leonie doesn't want to be the one to sit him down, but if he goes after Bernadetta or Lysithea all bets are off. She's done the 'no means no' speech as the Phantom, but with rumors dying off so are the lessons. She's still up in the air about resuming activities next week, for now left to cowing people with a smile that's more of a sneer, "And until we get assigned actual professors?"

Like he's reciting a boring memorization, "Anyone has justifiable cause for any complaints or actions if they can prove someone was crossing boundaries."

Leonie makes a face and gathers the things for her roommates, "Unfortunate that Lorenz is too bright for that."

Claude hums nonchalantly, "Maybe he'll get the message if he tries to pull moves on Flayn."

2.

"Well now," while Leonie speaks, Bernadette breathes a sigh of relief and pulls out the training lance she was trying to hide behind her back, "that's an intense look."

Lysithea makes a noise of acknowledgement but doesn't stop from glaring at the book in her hands.

"That was some great form," Leonie praises Bernadetta, dropping a tray her bed. The purplette scrambles up and begins eating like she's been starved. "Though you'd have more space outside-"

"No!" Bernadetta screams through a mouth full of food. Begins to choke a bit.

Finally, Lysithea looks up. She makes a noise at the oatmeal dropped on her bed but doesn't comment on that.

Leonie leans on her and Lysithea's bed pole, taking note that a few books have made their way to Bernadetta's pillow, "You two are coming to the tournament with me, right?"

Lysithea gives a scathing review of, "No thanks."

"My notes can't be that interesting."

"Are you kidding?!" the teen leans over and holds out the page she was on. Leonie's impressed with her own writing, it had taken ages to sort through her shorthand scrawl and make it readable. Even then, readable isn't exactly a language spoken Fódlan. Lysithea must have memorized the cypher to have made it this far, which is very impressive. There's a reason the white hair teen was the top of her class for theory. "Alert wards? Repelling wards? You have equations and theories in here on how to bend light and trick people's senses into not noticing a person. This is at least B Rank magic- stuff we aren't even allowed to look at without a professor's permission!"

"That's just being creative," Leonie shrugs, wondering if what she's feeling is awkward or indigent at the praise. "I don't know any of the theories about magic, so I trialed and errored. Most of that's from-"

"A hermit you helped once," Lysithea sneers. "Or was it a beggar, disgraced scholar. Or maybe it was passing time on the road while you guarded a merchant family."

"Who knows?" Leonie shrugs nonchalantly.

"Unbelievable," Lysithea hisses, knowing each excuse is probably a lie. She doesn't ask where it really all came from, can't ask with Bernadetta watching them. All of it is trial and error, but Leonie can't tell anyone she formulated it all herself. Magic hasn't advanced in a long time, and those who do claim to discover things have a tendency of living very short lives. For a long moment, Lysithea stares at the pages. "It just… it all seems familiar. It makes sense. You've detailed enough that I could probably put theory into practice."

"Just make sure you don't go crazy," Leonie warns. "We just want the one that makes you feel better."

"Of course," Lysithea drags a finger down the page, stopping on a dimensional matrix that requires belief in order to effect into the fourth dimension. "But I really think I can crack the tagging mechanism. Maybe even with Marianne. The few times we talked about theories she mentioned her family can tag animals with magic."

"You first," Leonie is firm here. It's the only reason she's letting the teen touch her things. Even with copies in her bag, the itch to take it back causes raised bumps on her arm. "We figure out what's helping you, then you can do what you want."

"Sure. Fine."

"How about you, Bernadetta?" The teen squeaks at the attention. "What books are you reading."

"Um," the purplette chugs back the last of her meal, wiping, and then touching the cover so she can see the title. "The Mercenary Captain and his Apprentice?"

Leonie sucks in a sharp breath and chokes on saliva. She curls inward with how bad it is, laughter trying to spill as her day flashes before her eyes.

Lysithea sighs, exasperated, "Did you not realize you took it out?"

"W-ward," Leonie chokes and coughs until she can breathe again. Poor Bernadetta looks near tears. "Ward matrix on the back- back seven pages. Cheap book, ran out of places to write. Forgot it was there, same matrix is near the end of the brown cover back."

"They're all brown!"

"The one with little hearts inside. To match what's in the back of all my romance novels."

Bernadetta sniffs, "A-are you okay, Leonie?"

"Fine," she pulls out a different book. "This one's more, er, clean… in more ways than one. The Songbird Mistress, apparently a favourite in the Country of Galatea, but after meeting Ingrid I will never bring it up in front of her."

Bernadetta cheers up at the poor drawing she sees when she holds the cover. Leonie lets go, and for her the cover turns into a blank mud colour. "What is it about?"

"A former baroness who has made her fortune marrying and killing her husbands ends up in love with the most caring Duke in the land, and the troubles they must go through. Will their love survive, or are their different lifestyles too much to stay together?"

"Gross," Lysithea deadpans while Bernadetta gets to reading. Leonie goes to take back the erotica fiction, but Bernadetta stops her with wide eyes and a wish to keep reading that after. "Why would you ever read that?"

"It passes time," Leonie shrugs and stretches, "and the side margins are great places to write when you've run out of paper. Bernadetta, do you want to read and watch the tournament?"

Unfocused eyes blink up at her. Bernadetta process, and then takes a shaky breath, "I can read in the corner?"

"Sure."

"…Alright."

3.

Bernadetta doesn't end up in the corner, but in the shade on the stairs beside Leonie. She doesn't read but hugs the book to her chest and watches the fighting instead of chatting to the others.

All the Blue Lions come to watch, none looking worse for wear. Sylvain and Lorenz are off trading barbs between flirting with the incoming female students, while Felix is being an unwitting bro and distracting Ingrid with a debate about lance stances. Edelgard actually showed up and is in a seemingly pleasant discussion with Dimitri while Hubert and Dedue loom behind the Princess and Prince respectively. Ignatz is a mixture of stuttering, blushing, and shooting help glances at Raphael as Annette and Mercedes switch between art and Church history topics. Raphael and Ashe are having a great time discussing trade and lance prices in different territories.

Leonie watches the competitors of the Lance Tournament like a hawk, fingers itching for a weapon to copy some of the maneuvers. Jeritza glances up at Mercedes every now and then, easing the orange haired woman's concerns that it isn't her he focuses on. Ferdinand comes in off to the side and makes a beeline for royals. The strongest lance user in the Golden Deer class slips and loses to the Black-Red Eagle.

Leonie wonders if Hilda, Marianne, and Claude were the only ones in her class to actually go looking for Monica, or for how long and hard Ignatz, Raphael, and Lorenz even tried. Lysithea likely forgot all about it, not that she was asked to join in on the hunt.

The young woman looks down as something brushes her boots. A very familiar calico cat twines around her leg, Crest bonds pressing with every purr. There's something in its mouth.

"Kitty," Bernadetta gasps, her squeak drawing a few gazes.

Felix tries not to look like he's softening as he jerks his head away with a sniff, "I didn't realize the animals came in here."

"They normally don't," Leonie drawls, unimpressed and grinning more like a flash of teeth at the creature. It drops the black thing and rubs against her leg, smug. "I think the sound bothers them."

"Hello there," Mercedes is on her knees, hand out and beckoning. "Here, kitty kitty."

The cat gives her one more bump and goes to where it's wanted. Bernadetta even leaves the safety of her support item to pet it. While all the cat tea timers circle the meowing one, Leonie sighs and scoops up the thing it brought, "Guess I'm going to Seteth today. Wait, do we have a lost and found?"

"What is it?" Dimitri appears beside her, standing in Bernadetta's vacated spot. For a Lion, he apparently isn't fond of the cat either. Himself and Dedue, by the wary glances they give the small animal.

"A pen," Leonie answers, practically feeling the money the thing would sell for. "A nice pen. Does it have a-" she pops the cap off. It does. "Whoever lost this must be freaking out."

"It appears very special," Dedue comments, "likely something an official might use."

"You're right. I better deliver this to Seteth, then. Don't want someone to take it if it's not theirs…"

"It would be impolite for anyone to do that," Dimitri frowns, taking care to keep space but leaning over to get a better look. "I am afraid I do not recognize the make. Hopefully they will take better care of their belongings in the future."

Leonie pauses. Slow turns a stare at them, "Have you never lost something before?"

The two look proud, both commenting something about 'keeping everything in order'. For some reason, this gives her a very, very suspicious feeling. The young woman glances again at the cat.

Smug thing keeps purring under the calm ministrations of the cat lovers.

Leonie looks back at the pen and resolves to find that Lost and Found every institution should have. Fódlan commoners normally have a finders-keepers attitude, even with the Church's preaching about theft being wrong. A school as prestigious as this, the nobles likely aren't clawing their way through second-hand items, no matter how new or recently lost.

As much as she'd like to keep the cat's gift, there are too many witnesses and it's too great an item. Not that she'd take its gift anyway. That's just asking it to take a liking to her, or to later try and budge a favour.

Does it even have higher level thoughts?

She's not sure she wants to find out.

4.

The only movement coming from Leonie is the slight rise and fall of her chest. Since the tirade began, she's blinked once. There is a very hot rage simmering in her veins, but more so she's amused. Maybe even feeling betrayed.

Leonie's grin doesn't break.

She'd come into this empty storage room because a future classmate had asked for her help on the way back from Seteth's. There are fourteen future Golden Deer, six of them female. Lauza Fontana had led her into a place no one would come to, and then the future Eagle, Lisanne, and future Lion, Rhianna, had shut the door. A cute little friend group of nobles who stood at the door and verbally bashed everything from Leonie's hair to her commoner status. To sum up all the insults and speeches, you don't belong here, you aren't worth a drop of their Crest blood, and no one would miss you.

Leonie leaned back against the wall and crossed a leg, never faltering.

There's a part of her, though, that had held on to the little hope. It's the part that burns, that reminds her what betrayal feels like. Fantasy worlds - stories where groups of people are together - like to promise family. House as a family. Class as a family. Team as a family. They prove later that this isn't true, turning their backs on the pariahs, leaving the odd one out. She had held hope that this cesspool of humanity would have been different, that the Golden Deer were different.

When nothing else comes, Leonie tilts her head and asks, "Are you done?"

Maybe it's wrong to taint the whole by the actions of the one, but at least now she knows the true colours of these three.

"Done?!" Lauza sputters, turning even more red then when she was really shouting. "Didn't you hear us?! You have no future here!"

Leonie laughs, startling them into taking a step back. "Maybe." She pushes off the wall. Smiling. "But since it's the Church who accepted me, I think I'll take their word over yours. That not only am I wanted here, I'm on equal footing as the rest of you."

"Not when you don't make it into the main classes you won't be," Rhianna sneers. "When we get in, we'll make sure you'll realize where you stand."

"Funny," Leonie snorts. "'When'. Like you won't be fighting over fifty people for a spot in the seven, because let's be realistic. None of you are making Leader of you houses. And Lauza, you know you've always been allowed to sit with us, right?" That throws the girls, because they brought up Leonie weaseling into the noble group where she isn't wanted. "It's a free table. Don't take out your lack of confidence on me. You aren't even trying to get better and look at what you're up against. Half of the top tens on the obstacle course, heirs to the roundtable seats and their vassals, and children from the most well-connected merchants in Fódlan. I really am the best target, aren't I? Because I might be strong, but my connects are non-existent.

"You're all lucky I don't care about your complaints," lies, Leonie steps forward and pumps her fist, only there are shadows drawing on her face that leaves the girls a few shades paler in fear. "But if I find out you've pulled this stunt- heck, if you've even looked at another person wrong again after this, then I'm telling Seteth everything that happened today."

Lisanne and Rhianna keep their spines, the former trying to sneer while the latter states, "Three against one, you have no proof against our word."

"You really don't think the Church has ways to know you're lying?" Leonie bluffs. The girl's share glances. "You really think you'll get away with hate speech in the Home of our religion? Crest blood gives you an advantage, but being a decent person is something that is preached every day here. You don't see me as a person, do you? Do you even know my name?"

Lauza in tears chokes out the first name, giving her friends some much needed backing. Lisanne clucks her tongue, "Do you know ours?"

"Lauza Fontana, Rhianna Mc-something, and Lisanne Adesso," Leonie gives a long glance at the last one, "Dorothea told me you were a kind person. It saddens me to see she's mistaken."

"Hey," Rhianna snaps, "don't take to her like that."

"Oh?" Leonie abruptly loses all threatening posture, smiling and spreading her hands out. "To any normal person, what you just did to me would have been a nightmare. Since you don't care about crushing people, why should I spare your feelings? Now, are we done here? I do have a life, you know."

Lauza moves aside, Lisanne glancing down and following suit. Rhianna tries to stare her down, but scoffs and backs off when Leonie makes a move aside face.

Before she opens the door, her smile falls and the shadows hide her face, "I really hope you'll prove me wrong and grow up to be better people. Goddess knows the world isn't getting better by itself."

Leonie doesn't feel satisfied she left the teens alive, but the betrayal she feels tempers it. All three Houses are equally tainted for her. Better to learn not to put stock in inter-House alliances now than when someone really does leave her to die.

5.

Linhardt closes his book on a finger when she sits, "You're late."

"Sorry," Leonie replies unapologetically, "a few people wanted my help with something."

"Oh?"

"Just a difference of opinion," she settles against the tree, glancing up towards the classrooms. "Did I miss any suffering?"

"Some," he pulls out a few scrap papers, dropping them in her lap. "I have yet to glimpse the professors, however the students either come out determined or in tears."

"I hope that's not us next year."

"I am sure we will be better prepared."

Leonie unfolds the paper and reads. Linhardt slumps against her; in the silence she's trying to do some math. Finally, the young woman nods, points, "How much sleep did you get on these nights?"

"Very little."

"Yah… And this one, did the discussion you were in increase your stress?"

Linhardt thinks about it before nodding.

"Well… there's some good news to all this. You aren't hallucinating or having sleep paralysis, correct?"

"Correct."

"And, while I don't think you have insomnia, doing your best to keep a regular nighttime schedule and not staying awake for extra hours because of sudden inspiration should allow you to sleep more at night. I can recommend teas to help with drowsiness and to keep you alert, but they're not guaranteed fixes."

"At this point, anything would help," Linhardt sighs. "Edelgard and Ferdinand have been after me recently. If I can get through one meeting with them without falling asleep, I will take it as a success."

Leonie's fingernails dig into her skin, swallowing the words that want to blurt out. She has to rephrase the advice, and it hurts, "It would be good if you have someone in your house you can talk to about this. Stress is a trigger for a lot of things, and by the looks of it one of your sleep triggers. If you had someone you trusted to go to before any emotions get to much, or to help stop the stressors, it will go a long way to helping."

She wants to say, you should tell them.

"I will think about it," Linhardt sighs and takes his notes back. "I do wish it would stop when I get excited. Falling asleep before I can write down my Crest theories has been annoying."

"How is that, by the way? Have you had much of a chance to talk with Hanneman?"

"Not too much, though he's promised more time once the new year begins."

Leonie hums, "Did you give any thought to Crests working like puzzle pieces?"

"I did; however, I am more uncertain the more I think on it. If two or more Crests could work together, I would think there would have been a documented case of a person wielding multiple Crests. There are certainly enough past marriages between noble houses to facilitate that."

6.

Next to Leonie at dinner, Ignatz stiffens. She looks up and follows his gaze, her own sharpening at the sight, "They give you trouble?"

"N-no," Ignatz is still tense, watching the six who shouldn't be future main class Golden Deer sit with Claude, Hilda, and Lorenz. "I'm just- surprised."

"The more the merrier," Leonie shrugs like she isn't affected. She has no right to feel mad at the three roundtable heirs smiling and conversing with the others. She didn't tell anyone, so how would they know. What does it matter? "Maybe it will become a thing, all of us eating together. We're small enough it wouldn't be a bother."

Ignatz watches them long enough that Leonie shrugs and goes back to eating. She catches Raphael's eyes and he grins, hopefully to reassure her that he'll talk with Ignatz. It's not good to keep problems bottled up.

Paranoia and stress, which breaks a person more?

7.

On the last day of the tournament, everyone who should be in the next main classes show up. Every Eagle, Lion, and Deer. Several of the students are calling the Empire's house Red Eagles, but no one corrects them or makes a fuss. Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude are getting to know each other better, Hilda throwing in comments every now and then while Hubert seethes and Dedue stoically watches their every move.

Leonie's having a hard time deciphering who it is Hilda isn't fond of, Edelgard or Hubert. If she'd gamble, it would probably be Hubert and his few scathing comments.

Linhardt's fallen asleep in the corner, Bernadetta squeezed next to him with her book. Petra and Caspar have engaged Ashe into a conversation about hunting, meanwhile Ingrid, Raphael and Ignatz are wrapped in a conversation about the Monastery's art. Ferdinand and Lorenz are metaphorically putting their feet in their mouths talking with Dorothea, Mercedes, and Annette, while Lysithea is just about ready to cast dark spells at Sylvain for trying to teach Marianne to smile.

"We could do much better," Felix scoffs from beside Leonie, actually watching the tournament with her, commenting as though it isn't well known he's a much better swordsman than a lance user.

"You're probably right," Leonie agrees, disappointed that through a string of luck and nerves the finalists are all B Rank lance users. A part of her wonders darkly if the better students dropped out early to get extra study time.

"We should spar."

"Sure. When?"

"After this."

"Can't, I'm going hunting with Petra. We're making a special Brigid dinner tonight. You and the others are welcome to join, pretty much every future Eagle and Deer here are coming."

Felix grunts, unhappy, but doesn't protest beyond, "I'm sure the boar Prince-"

He coughs, curving over his stomach after Leonie elbowed him. They get a few gazes, but her warm smile turns them away. Leonie leans in, "Wild or not, it's not nice to refer to people as animals."

"You-" he cuts out his words at the look on her face. "Tch, whatever. We will be sparring this week."

"Why not come by the future Red Eagle's dorms in the morning? Lysithea, Bernadetta, and I are doing some weapon practice. Nothing too extreme, but until we get rights to use the training grounds it's good enough."

"Why should I demonstrate my skills if I cannot go all-out?"

Leonie winks, turning back to the fighters, "How will anyone ever become a challenge if they don't know what to do? Who knows, Lysithea might just surpass you one day. She has a real future with the sword."

He sends the white-haired teen a look, obviously not seeing any potential in her small, limp noodle-like form. That's okay. He doesn't need to know her potential, only facilitate its growth.

8.

Leonie had dropped her and Petra's game and forage in the kitchen and then left as soon as the others said they had a handle on it all. Somehow, Mercedes was there taking Petra's lead and managing to rope in several future students to help with the large amount left to them. While they prepare for the dinner picnic, the orange haired young woman is off to do a bit of scouting if she can get away with it. Flayn had once mentioned how she wanted to try new foods, why not invite her along?

If she can find her, that is.

First stop, Seteth's office.

As luck would have it, no one is in the second floor's main corridor, not even in front of the doors to the archbishop's seat and office. Leonie knocks to be polite, feeling the burst of magic that's alerting anyone inside to her presence in some way, but nothing else happens. There's not even a cat around.

Perfect.

Leonie raises her hands just above the door, feeling for the matrices. There is complex magic all over it, touching the office and only just staying out of reach of whatever Hanneman's done to his room. On the doorknob alone are three anti-lockpick spells. From what very little she recognizes, there are spells on the door to track people who go by, alert who is at the door, and alert if anyone touches it. Those feed into the inner walls where there are bound to be more spells, but the hallway stone faces have none of the magic.

One thing she does note, is the strong feeling of Crest ability woven through the magic. It almost has a smell of pine or grass, maybe even maple or moss. It gives her a similar feeling of a great big red light on a highway intersection.

Leonie leans back and shakes her hands, trying to rid of the feeling. Now she knows what to work with for the first layer, she's curious what the second is. This, Leonie thinks as she moves towards the staircase, intent on next looking for Flayn in the music room, is going to be as difficult as I'd hoped.

9.

Lysithea holds a hand flat and high like Leonie taught her. The orange haired woman high-fives her, raising her eyebrows, "What are we celebrating?"

"I don't know how you did it," Lysithea's grin is practically evil, "but Felix said he's coming to practice tomorrow. How did you convince the best swordsman of our year to train me?"

Leonie deadpans, "I batted my eyelashes."

"Ugh," Lysithea puts her back into pushing the woman over. "Be serious. He promised to work me and Bernadetta after she tackled him into the ground for drawing a sword on me."

Leonie pauses, "I don't know whether to yell at him or be proud of you two."

"I already did the yelling, Bernadetta did the screaming. And by the way, she's locked herself in our room again. Can you get her out?"

"Sure," but before they can make it past the blankets and tables spread with food, Petra marches up to them. "Hey, Petra! How'd everything tu-"

The princess grabs both Leonie's hands and holds them up between their chests, a most serious expression on her face. "Leonie, thank you for this meal."

"Thank you for this meal, Petra. None of this would have happened if you had not told me what to find."

The strong, normally calm teen nods and releases their hands to wipe away a tear, unnoticed to all else. She lets out a string of words, which Leonie can only pick up friend and meal finder from.

"Hey," Leonie holds out her hands, facing up in a way the few Brigid merchants she's seen taught her. Petra smiles blindingly and places her hands on top, "If you ever want to hunt and cook a meal together, let me know. It was a joy working with you."

"You as well," Petra utters slowly, pulling herself together before nodding and making her way back to the tables of food.

Lysithea blinks a few times, "What was that all about?"

Leonie can't help the laugh, "Not everyone starts a meal like we do in Fódlan."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

10.

Leonie is chilling on a blanket by herself, watching everyone interact, when suddenly she's not so by herself. Dorothea and Mercedes sit on either side of her, the former sighing and wondering, "Ladies, just what are we going to do with them?"

Leonie raises her eyebrows, but Mercedes seems just as confused under her airy smile, "What do you mean?"

"Eddie's a good leader and all, but she has responsibilities as the next Emperor and making good with the other heirs. Hubert and Ferdinand are focused on her, one more so than the other, and the Empire's future. Linhardt isn't interested in personal relationships, Bernadetta won't leave her room without one of us, Petra has no clout with the other nobles as a political prisoner, and while Caspar is sweet, I wouldn't trust him to keep a flower alive.

"Dimitri is in the same situation as Eddie, only worse as one of his best friends hate him and Dedue will not tell him to think twice nor speak up around the other nobles. Ingrid does not like Dedue, and when she's not unknowingly making a low bar for how people are allowed to treat him she's berating Sylvain, who I wouldn't trust with any power if he doesn't learn to turn off all flirtations soon. Felix doesn't like people, Ashe does not do well against anyone with a higher rank than him, and Annette is kind but more focused on something else."

"Her father is a knight here," Mercedes reveals like she isn't spilling her best friend's secrets. "She is hoping to catch sight of him and confront him for leaving her and her mother in the Kingdom with practically nothing to their names."

"See," Dorothea sighs, "you already know this stuff. This is why you are the best choice to keep the Blue Lions from tearing themselves apart the moment school begins."

"I can get wanting Mercedes," Leonie breaks in. "I can even get you wanting the position," because with Dorothea not having grown up on the streets, she has options now, "but why me?"

Dorothea flicks up a finger and discreetly points, "Claude came from nowhere and has poor mannerisms for a noble. I'd be surprised if any of the nobles in the Alliance trust him. Hilda is great at making people do things for her, but in order to keep everyone from turning on each other you must be a trusted and present presence in their life. She skips out or delegates enough things, people will start to lose faith. Which comes to Marianne, who's terrified of staying near a person or thing too long. Lysithea is too young to be taken seriously, and any rash acts will be labelled as childish tantrums. Ignatz has a hard time with people, while Raphael has too much of a presence, no matter how nice he is. Don't get me started on Lorenz."

"Which leaves me," Leonie drawls out, "but only if you don't look at the people who didn't show up for tonight."

"And so our first goal: to make sure every person here gets into the main class."

Leonie stares hard, Mercedes asking before she can, "Why, though? What makes us more special than the others of our year?"

Dorothea takes a deep breath, looking fond yet sadly at the people in front of them, "How often do you think this happens? That people from other houses, other territories, come together and form real bonds like this? Nobles, commoners, Crests or no, not one person is out of place tonight. I don't want to lose this. I don't want this place to break what we've made here."

Mercedes takes a long look at everyone. Leonie sighs and looks to the sky, where a full moon is beginning to hang as the sun sets.

"I don't want to hurt my friends," Mercedes whispers.

"I'm not asking you to do anything to hurt them," Dorothea musters a calming smile. "I am hoping you can help them when the Church cannot."

That appears to strike a chord in the Blue Lion. Something resolves in her, makes a core. Mercedes' Crest washes over them both, and Leonie twitches as whichever same-Crest bond Dorothea has means Mercedes' bonds try to work the future Golden Deer instead.

"I'll do what I can," Leonie sighs, crossing her arms behind her head and falling back to catch the last glimpses of orange in the sky, "but I really don't have much sway. I'm pretty sure Seteth hates me on some level, so that's a low chance of getting into the class right there. I will make sure the others get in, though. If you need me to help someone, just say the word."

"Thank you," Dorothea brushes Leonie's bangs from her eyes. "If you can keep helping Linhardt for now, that's enough. He smiles more after your chats. I hope if I ever need someone to talk to, you will be there to help."

"Of course."

"Same," Mercedes says, voice airy and soft but as firm as she can get. "I will do what I can to help everyone."

Leonie lifts a fist up and chuckles when they shoot her odd looks, "You're supposed to tap your fists on mine. It's called a fist bump."

Mercedes giggles and does a soft knock. Dorothea indulges, smile splitting her face as she meets Leonie's.

Quietly, Dorothea mutters, "We've got this, ladies."

Leonie really hopes she's right.

A/N: Leonie doesn't realize her big-wig reference goes over people's heads, Felix was tricked into teaching, and Dorothea's making a move.

Thanks for reading! A really big thank you to northernlion196, xenocanaan, Xekinor, Genin, shyguy, guisniperman, IReadNoNonsense, Eclipse130, HersheyBby, help, JoshuaFangurl, BlueBunnyims, Guest number 720, The One True Nobody, kalmaegi, synpitou, and Luiz Faidou for reviewing! The support truly means a lot!

Claude's interlude will either be Chapter 19 or 20. Coincidentally, I finally finished my first run of the Golden Deer House. I saved it for last, which was both a great and terrible idea.

Thanks again for reading. I hope everyone is well and has a great day! Please take care