Chapter Text
How long had it been since she last saw Dimitri? He was very punctual in bringing her meals, but he never stayed long enough to entertain a conversation. He'd knock to let her know that her food had been delivered, but by the time she finally opened the door to her chambers with her withered hands, her energy was well depleted and he was well gone. She didn’t bother with chasing him down, especially when she knew not all of the castle was hers to traverse.
Edelgard thought about calling out to him from her side, but she figured that if he wanted to chat with her, he would have already done so. It was infuriating having to wait as the days went by with no word on their progress.
What did he say to his council? Was Dimitri able to get a hold of the professor? Did he already send Ashe on his mission?
Her thoughts fell into a darker fog.
Why did she care? Why was she even doing this? She had no authority to hold. Dimitri was called the Savior King after all. Shouldn't he be dealing with this on his own? Though perhaps that was why he stopped speaking with her. She had served her usefulness to him.
She frowned deeply. The mere thought of him being done with her felt suffocating. Yet, she would have done the same if she were in his position. In fact, she already had.
A hand went to her chest as she clutched the fabric of her loose gown. Her face began to warm despite the start of Wyvern Moon. She took in a deep breath, almost gasping for the cold, Faerghus air to cool her down. Her mind and body tried to reel in on itself for the third time this week.
How weak she had become.
A familiar knocking pattern came from her door and pulled her out of her darkening thoughts, and the reality of her current world became clear once more.
She found herself on the other side of her room in a heartbeat. She mentally scolded herself for being this excited to see him, and she blamed it on having no one else to see during her time up here. Of course she'd be eager to see anyone aside from her own reflection. Just a mental side effect of dealing with being stuck all day and night in this humble room with no one else to talk to but him.
Edelgard waited by the door. She saw the knob begin to turn and her heartbeat quickened. He didn’t forget about her! Though, she furrowed her brows as she saw it click back into place.
She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by the sound of his voice. To which her heart leapt. There had to be something wrong her, she concluded.
"Dedue, really. I told you that we will be fine. Please just wait downstairs until we are finished."
"It would put my mind at ease if I were to accompany you, but as long as you believe that this won't cause a scandal, I will do as you wish, your Majesty." The much deeper voice called. Edelgard could hear the heavy footsteps descend the stairwell.
But what did Dimitri mean by we ? No one was supposed to know that she was here. Dimitri told her that she was placed in his personal family quarters where not even the maids or butlers would come unless requested. So who else was there with him?
"He makes a good point, but I just think he doesn't want to keep him company while we're up here. I'll see him in a few once the situation here seems okay." He seemed to be talking to this other person.
After a few moments, Dimitri called out to her again. "El, I have brought a guest. Would you like to see them?"
A guest? Of course she would! Finally someone other than the blond fool to see- not that he was hard on the eyes or difficult to converse with (sometimes) by any means. She composed herself once more and finally spoke up.
"I certainly wouldn't mind the extra company," she said straight faced.
"Great."
She stood back as the door opened, revealing the King gesturing for this other visitor to walk in before him.
Her eyes widened when she saw the familiar bright, green hair come into view.
"Professor?"
"It's good to see you well, Edelgard."
Byleth's voice was as smooth and caring as she remembered it. There was an overwhelming familiar feeling welling up inside her, like meeting with a long, lost friend. Edelgard's hands slowly rose, but she quickly withdrew them back to her side. She was sure the professor wouldn't want to be in the presence of a monster for too long.
Byleth's ever studious eyes fell to the slightest of movements she made, and her posture relaxed. She outstretched her arm as she curiously waited for her former student to approach her again.
Edelgard noticed Dimtri linger by the door and nod. With his approval- why she needed it, she wasn't sure- she stepped closer and embraced the Archbishop.
Both Byleth and Dimitri stood shocked, yet her smile returned and wrapped her arms around the former empress.
A rush of emotions flooded her as she experienced the tender warmth. How long had it been since she simply had a hug? This was most unbecoming of her to be in this position, but she didn't care. She held onto the professor tighter, and buried her face into her shoulder.
"I'm glad you chose to live this time." Came Byleth's soft words. "I've missed you greatly, my friend."
Edelgard looked up at her with watery eyes. Friend ? Why would the professor call her that? They never worked together on anything. In fact, she opposed the professor's decision to work with the kingdom wholeheartedly.
Yet, as Edelgard recalled every battle they met each other in, the professor always held a melancholic, hurt look.
"I- um…" Dimitri spoke out. "Looks like you two will be fine if I leave you for a bit, but I'll be back." He stepped back and closed the door behind him, leaving just Edelgard and the Archbishop alone.
Edelgard gestured for Byleth to sit at her desk, and followed behind her, taking her own seat. Her nerves were getting better of her, and she didn't know what to say.
Byleth sat before her and her smile never wavered. "How are you feeling-"
"How did you do it?" Edelgard blurted out, and covered her mouth. "My apologies, I didn't realize you had something to say."
Byleth blinked, but shook her head. "No worries, but I'm curious as to what you mean."
"How did you stop me from attacking Dimitri?" Edelgard elaborated.
Byleth tilted her head to the side. "I didn't make you do anything. You're the one who made the choice."
Edelgard furrowed her brows. As sentimental as she was, Byleth's remark seemed to get under her skin. Was she playing dumb? "I experienced my life's end- I felt the pain as Areadbhar bore into my chest. My ears rang, I coughed up blood from my lips, and my vision clouded into darkness." She leaned forward into her seat and clasped her hands together. "But then, my vision became clear and I was met with his hand once again.
"You had something to do with it, didn't you?"
Byleth's smile fell complacent.
"Professor, tell me. How did you manage to send such an illusion to me? What type of Reason or Faith magic was it?" Edelgard's lips tighter as she focused her gaze onto her.
After a moment's pause, Byleth answered plainly. "It was no illusion, but I cannot tell you why you experienced it."
The former empress didn't seem convinced, and her eyes narrowed. "You're hiding something… it's not that you can't, it's that you won't. Am I wrong?
"Is this something that can be replicated? If we can manipulate the minds of our opposers, then we can stir difficult situations into our favor." We could use it to manipulate those wretched creatures into our bidding , she wanted to say.
"No one else can replicate it." She simply stated.
"Does it have to do with your crest?" Edelgard pried further. "If so, then-"
Byleth held a hand up, stopping Edelgard from continuing. "The Crest of Flames within you is not the cause, nor do I believe having the Crest of Seiros along with it can help manifest this phenomenon."
Her eyes went wide, but she sighed in defeat. "I suppose you reconized my second crest during our final battle.”
"I’ve known about it way before then, El- ah. Edelgard." Byleth corrected herself.
Hearing her nickname said by the professor's lips caused a strange feeling to stir in her core. There was that sense of familiarity once again, but it was different than when Dimitri called her by that name. But how could she have known of this before she engulfed her form into that monstrous husk?
"I told you once before that I promised to always be there for you, but that path…" Byleth looked down as she played with something on her hand. "There needed to be another way."
She wasn't making sense.
"My promise still stands. I will always be there for you. However, I cannot stand by your side this time..." She began to turn an elaborate, emerald ring upon one of her fingers.
A ring fit for an engagement.
Edelgard felt as if Byleth was trying to apologize to her, but for what exactly, she wasn't sure. Heat flushed her face once more and her gaze fell to the side. The amalgamation of shame and nausea stirred within her core.
At least now she knew that Dimitri finally did it.
"Congratulations on your engagement to the King." She spoke. That strange feeling she had earlier morphed into a lump of loneliness. That explained why Dimitri had not visited her in quite some time. She supposed he would have been busy preparing for such a momentous occasion.
Edelgard took in a deep breath to accept the reality she was about to be in. She would soon live out her days in mediocrity, melting away as time flowed on.
She should have attempted her last resort with her dagger like she had planned. At least she wouldn't have to deal with this seclusion.
"Oh- I think there might be a misunderstanding." Byleth broke her thoughts with a surprised look. "Dimitri didn't give me this."
"What?" That small flame of hope reignited in her dark mind. "Then, who? Surely a simple commoner couldn't have given you such an expensive ring."
A smile appeared upon the professor's lips. "We also had nobles fighting within our army."
Then an opportunity presented itself, one that could help her step further away from those tainted whispers, but might offend her guest. Not that she was a stranger to offending people by now. Still, it was a chance she was willing to take.
"Professor, I never thought of you as a gold digger."
Byleth's expression fell serious. "I did tell everyone that I was a bandit when we first met."
Edelgard blinked. "I thought you were just telling Alois a bad joke." She didn't expect her quip to reveal such a dark part of the professor's life.
There was a moment of awkward silence between the two, and the longer it went on the more uncomfortable Edelgard felt. The professor had to be kidding, right?
Finally, Byleth's lips formed a wry smile and opened as she laughed. "El, dear- your concerned face always gets me. Yes, it was a joke! I was a mercenary before all of this, remember?"
"That's what I had assumed." Edelgard let out a breath she didn't know she held. A slight chuckle escaped her, and her chest felt light.
"But, it certainly helps when your fiancé can supply the funding for several church projects." She let out a small wink.
Edelgard returned the smile. Leave it to the professor to throw her own joking manner against her. Byleth must have gotten that from spending too much time with Alois. She could tell she was trying to cheer her up, truly a teacher to her core. She was still curious about one thing, however. She cleared her throat.
"If you don't mind me asking, why aren't you with Dimitri? I was under the impression that you two were smitten with each other. How else would you two work so well against everything I've thrown?"
Byleth let out a hum and closed her eyes. "We worked well, yes, but merely as comrades in arms. More so like mentor and student. Yet, despite everything I've taught him, he insisted that he fought separately." Her gaze reconnected with Edelgard's. "Especially in our last battle with you."
Edelgard shook her head. That fool would have gotten himself killed if it weren't for all of the healers standing by his side. "Of course he would. But he doesn't seem like one who sought all the glory as the Savior King. Why, then?"
"That name wasn't self-proclaimed, but given to him by the people." Byleth leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms. "After our many meetings, I came to realize he mainly fought alone so he could reach his goal."
"To end my reign?" Edelgard disdainfully admitted.
"To reach you ."
Her throat tightened and her words stopped. She could feel her face heat up once again. The professor's response caught her off guard.
"Why?" She finally managed to speak again.
"Before we stormed into your palace, Dimitri asked me to help keep the others back. If anyone else reached you first, he believed they wouldn't have extended you the opportunity to make your choice. And I agreed." Byleth let out a heavy breath.
"So no one else knew of this plan?"
"They did not. Everyone just assumed that Dimitri was falling back into his rampage and stood out of his way." The gentle smile never wavered. "Which gave him the space he needed. He didn't want to lose you."
A soft blush crept across Edelgard's face when she heard the professor's statement.
There was a knock at the door once again, and it opened without waiting for an answer. Dimitri stepped sneakily in and closed the door behind him. "My apologies. I hope I wasn't gone for too long. You know how nobles are. Demanding my full attention-" he saw Byleth smile and shake her head. "Anyway, that's not why we're here. El, did you talk to the Archbishop about…?" He raised his brows and nodded towards their guest.
He walked up to them and pulled up a small reading chair to join the two.
Edelgard noticed that he placed himself by her side rather than sitting equidistant from the both of them. "I have not."
Byleth looked at the two with a tilt in her gaze and frowned. "Oh? Was I not simply invited to chat?"
"Sadly, no.” Dimitri answered. “I’ve recently been made aware of a greater threat that I believe might be bigger than the Kingdom alone can handle." He gestured for Edelgard to speak.
She politely nodded as a heavy air felt between them all. "There's another opposing force called Those Who Slither In The Dark. A faction whose goal is to destroy the children of the Goddess in order to achieve their previous godlike status and rule over the Fódlan."
"Those were the dark mages we took out in Enbarr, correct?" Byleth saw the shameful nod come from Edelgard and continued. "Once we took out the one mage… Myson, I believe he claimed himself to be, they should have scattered. Cut off the head, and the rest of the body will wither, right? In this case, we already took down Cornelia and Volkhard- er… I should say Thales. He was the last of the leaders, was he not?"
Dimitri didn't seem to recognize the name as his eye shifted from Byleth to Edelgard. His uncle had a different name?
"He was their main leader, but who's to say that there aren't more scrambling about trying to find the right person who can set off another event like the tragedy or initiate the Javelins of Light." Edelgard explained.
The moment the word "tragedy" came out of her mouth, Dimitri looked to Edelgard in greater confusion.
Before he could say anything, Byleth began to mutter under her breath once more, her eyes shifted quickly as she flipped through her internal book of memories. "Javelins of Light? I thought something was off, they didn’t launch them this time…” She stood up straight from her seat. "We need to find their location and destroy their means of further attack."
"Exactly, I proposed to Dimitri that we send out scouts who know how to gather information and cover their tracks."
"Sounds like a job for Yuri. Bernie will not be happy about it, but she'll understand." Her voice lowered.
"That's who Dimitri suggested as well, and possibly Ashe-"
Byleth shook her head. "While Ashe has the capability to do so, I wouldn't send him out for something as delicate as this- no offense to him. He doesn’t have the kind of resources that Yuri does, and I would rather him not get caught and hurt if something were to go wrong. He could be a good liaison between Yuri and Dimitri, however." She held her chin. “If we were to… Yes, that could work. But if this were to happen- no, that couldn’t if we…”
Their former professor got lost in her own thoughts as she spoke fragmented sentences, interrupting her own thoughts as she came up with better solutions. Edelgard couldn’t help but admire the odd quirk. There was the mind of the great tactician that took her down.
Byleth snapped her fingers as she decided her next step and turned to Dimitri.. "I'll reach out to Yuri immediately. I know he's currently helping Dorothea with her start up opera, but I'm sure he'll assist with this." Her heels clacked quickly against the hardwood floor as she made her way to the door.
"Wait- Professor!" Edelgard stood up and caught her attention. "Have you heard anything from Claude? No one seems to know where he's run off to, but I believe he could also be a good asset."
Byleth paused to collect her interrupted thoughts, but gave Edelgard a gentle grin. "I hear from him every so often, but he won't be able to help at this time. At least not yet. He’s been quite occupied with other obligations. I'll let him know that we might need his clever schemes soon." She focused her gaze on Dimitri again. "And you, don't worry about me. You already have much on your plate as the Savior King. I'll keep in touch when I find out more information and my next steps. You need to focus on your kingdom and well-" she nodded to Edelgard.
The former empress caught the small hint of red appear on the man's face. What was that about?
"My apologies for not staying longer, but it seems that there is no time to waste." She opened the door and stepped out. "Oh and Dimitri, I'm also sorry for Lorenz demanding to speak with you earlier. I know he can be a bit much, so thank you for humoring him. I just hope Dedue didn't suffer too much keeping him company while we had our talk."
Edelgard could hear her walk down the hall and descend down the stairs quickly even after the door was closed. She turned to Dimitri. "Lorenz was the noble you were talking about?" What business did that traitor to the empire have here? As much as she understood why he did it, she was still bitter about him and his wishy-washy family breaking their alliance with her. "Did he ask for more territory or funding for the Gloucester name like the rest of the nobles tend to do?"
Dimitri puffed out his cheeks, letting out an exhausted breath at the noble’s name, and shook his head.. "No, actually, he didn't. He simply wanted to catch up and talk since he came with Byleth. Though, his conversations were quite- oh what’s the word that she used? Much ? Yes. They were, in fact, a bit much."
"Why would he come with Byleth?" Edelgard furrowed her brows.
"He is her fiancé after all."
"Ah, I see." She supposed that made sense. Her nose scrunched when she realized the gravity of his words. Her gaze locked immediately with his. "He's her, what ?"