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Frost clung to Hubert’s cloak like a persistent beggar. Winter had arrived quite suddenly to the Empire. As Hubert made his way through Enbarr towards the palace, he watched merchants scrambling to put away their stock. No one wanted to be caught outside after the sun went down. Even Hubert had quickened his pace once he spotted the palace gates. The silent war against those who slither in the dark couldn’t be over fast enough; he detested these covert meetings that took him away from her Majesty. But there were some things she shouldn’t have to dirty her hands over.
At last, Hubert made it into the palace. The fire in the entrance hall was a welcome change from the frigid air that had followed him inside. Twilight was shut out as the guards closed the doors behind him.
A woman in service clothes bowed low as he approached. “G-Good evening, sir,” she said without lifting her head.
“Good evening,” he responded, not unkindly. She still flinched. “Can you please let Emperor Edelgard know I’ve returned and will debrief with her shortly?”
“Y-Yes, sir. Right away, sir.” She scurried off. Hubert resisted the urge to sigh. He sincerely wished the palace staff would stop acting like he was going to kill them for sport.
Ignoring another servant who dropped a bundle of fire wood he had been holding as Hubert passed, Hubert made his way up the staircase. All he needed was to change out of his freezing travel attire and he would be fit to speak with Edelgard. Not that she would mind meeting him in more casual dress, but the information he had gathered wasn’t time sensitive. He could afford the luxury of comfort.
All thoughts of clothing, and all thoughts of Edelgard for that matter, took flight when Hubert opened the door to his rooms.
The first thing he felt was an intense heat, as if the Valley of Torment itself has been transported to his sitting room. The next thing he noticed was that he had guests.
“What,” he drawled, crossing his arms over his suddenly stifling jacket, “are you two doing in here?”
For on the floor in front of his fireplace, which was sporting a roaring fire that threatened to grow past its hearth, were Ferdinand and Petra. Around both of their shoulders was what Hubert recognized as the comforter from his bed. They looked around as he spoke, surprise on their faces as if it was unheard of for Hubert to be entering his own room.
“Hubert!” Ferdinand called with a smile. “There you are!”
“Here I am,” Hubert confirmed. “I loathe repeating myself.”
“Ah, yes. Well, I found Petra here nearly frozen in the hallway! I needed to get her somewhere warm.”
“I am still not liking the winters in the Empire,” Petra said. “And this cold came on with suddenness. I have not had time to find winter clothes for this year.”
Hubert looked to Ferdinand. “Your solution was to bring her to my room?” He didn’t bother asking how Ferdinand had gotten in. Ever since the Black Eagle Strike Force had succeeded in unifying Fódlan and moved their base of operations to the palace, Ferdinand had possessed a copy of Hubert’s room key. A copy of Ferdinand’s key currently hung around Hubert’s neck and was cold against his chest under his shirt.
“Your room was closest,” Ferdinand explained. “Petra was so cold she could barely walk!”
“It was very nice of Ferdinand,” Petra defended with a soft smile. “Do not be angry with him.”
“I am not.” Annoying as it was to find his room invaded, at least it was not for mischief. “A warning would have been nice is all.” Hubert unfastened his cloak.
“We tried to find you at first,” Ferdinand said. “We thought perhaps you would know a warming spell, or even a fire spell. In the end, we simply commandeered your fireplace.”
“Did you not think to send a messenger?”
“Well, we did send Dorothea to look for you.”
“Dorothea?” No sooner had the name left his lips than the clip of heels sounded down the hall.
Dorothea appeared in the doorway, hair briefly flying in her face as her came to a halt. She was wearing a thick red coat with bell sleeves edged in black. “I couldn’t find him,” she reported slightly breathless, her eyes on Ferdinand and Petra. “No one on the upper floors has seen him either.” Hubert cleared his throat. Dorothea looked to her right and saw Hubert standing just inside the room. “Oh, Hubie! What are you doing here?”
“I should be asking you that.”
“I mean, we haven’t seen you since this morning and now you’re here where we started!” She put her hands on her hips. “Were you lurking in a closet waiting to catch trespassers?”
Hubert rolled his eyes. “Yes, Dorothea. When not on important missions for her Majesty or taking care of the many things that must be seen to in order to keep this country running, I spend my free time hiding in my own chambers hoping someone will come in so I may curse them into oblivion.”
She flipped her hair at his sarcasm. “Don’t act like that would be out of character.”
“I only got back to the palace a little while ago,” he answered with less snark. “We must have just missed each other.”
“Thank you for working hard, Dorothea,” Petra pipped up from the floor.
Dorothea sent a sweeping bow in her direction. “Anything for you, honey.”
Hubert hung his cloak on the peg beside his door, wondering how he could wrest control of this situation. He turned back to Dorothea, intent on asking her to leave now that her job of finding him was done, but a lavender head had just popped up by Dorothea’s elbow.
“P-Petra?” Bernadetta began, holding what looked like a pile of fabric and furs in her arms, “which one did you want me to use for—” She spotted Hubert, squeaked, and dropped the material to the floor. “H-H-H-Hubert! Why are you here?!”
Hubert pinched the bridge of his nose and forced himself not to yell at little Bernadetta of all people. “Why does it puzzle you all that I would be here?”
“Gah! I’m sorry! That was a stupid thing to say! Don’t hurt me, please!” Bernadetta all but hid behind Dorothea, eyes wide with fear. With an annoyed tisk, Hubert undid the top of his coat and held the left side open so Bernadetta could see what was pinned to the inside.
She took a step forward, like a hesitant animal sniffing offered food. “O-Oh. My flower…” She smiled then. Perhaps the memory of when she gave it to him was soothing, or maybe the flower was accomplishing its original task of making him look less frightening. Either way, Bernadetta instantly relaxed. She gathered up her fabrics and actually looked Hubert in the eye. “I need to ask Petra a few questions. C-Can I come in?”
“If you must.”
Hubert stepped aside, re-buttoning his coat as Bernadetta passed by. It was worth wearing the pin just to set her at ease. Even when attending the kinds of meetings he had today, keeping her flower close had felt necessary.
Bernadetta made her way over to the fireplace and knelt beside Petra. “I don’t know animal pelts like you do. Which one did you want me to line your coat with?”
Hubert turned to Dorothea, who was watching him with a fond smile. He sneered. “Is there anyone else I should expect?”
She stepped inside. “Well, Caspar and Lin were supposed to hunt down extra blankets and any spare winter coats. Haven’t seen them in a while though…” She swept by him and went to Ferdinand’s side, the two striking up a conversation about something that made Ferdinand laugh in such a way that caused Hubert to flush.
The heat, he reminded himself. All this heat was getting to him.
Before Hubert could close his door, more footsteps reached his ears. He peered out and nearly knocked heads with Caspar. “Hot cocoa!” Caspar announced as Hubert took a hurried step back. Caspar fixed him with a confused expression. “Oh! I guess Dorothea found you?”
“After a fashion,” Hubert grumbled, not up to telling the whole convoluted tale.
Behind him, walking at a more leisurely pace, was Linhardt holding a tray with four mugs on it. When he spotted Hubert, he had a very different reaction. “Great. How many more of you are there?” His shoulders sagged and he looked miserably up at the ceiling. “It’s going to be so much work to go all the way back to the kitchens and make more for everyone.”
“I was told you two were supposed to be gathering blankets and winter garb?” Hubert gestured at the tray. “This is neither of those.”
“Did you say hot cocoa?” Came Dorothea’s voice from inside.
Without waiting or asking for permission, Caspar all but bounced into the room. Linhardt at least had the grace to hand Hubert a mug before walking past. Hubert took the mug, more because he was somewhat perplexed than any desire to drink it.
“We made it ourselves!” Caspar explained excitedly. Linhardt came around and delivered a mug each to Caspar, Petra, and Ferdinand. He then yawned, placed the tray on the unoccupied couch, and slouched against Dorothea, who was in turn sitting beside Ferdinand. Bernadetta had apparently finished her conference with Petra and shuffled back into the corner beside the fireplace, sewing away with a content smile on her face.
Ferdinand passed his mug to Dorothea, who took it eagerly. “How did you two manage to turn blankets into hot cocoa?” Ferdinand asked, clearly more amused than annoyed.
“We started looking around, but then we were passing the library and Linhardt thought he saw a book with a rare crest on the spine.” Caspar aimed pointed look at Linhardt, who mere waved a hand vaguely in his defense. “Anyway, we flipped through it and realized it was a cookbook. A woman from the kitchens saw us and told us she could help us cook something if we were looking for a specific recipe. We told her we were looking for something to keep Petra warm and she suggested hot cocoa. She took us to the kitchens and showed us how to make it all by ourselves and we wanted to share with you but I guess we… uh…” He turned sheepish. “I guess we forgot about the blankets and stuff, huh? Whoops.”
Linhardt raised a hand again. “I remembered halfway up the stairs but I didn’t want to say anything because it would mean going back down the stairs.”
Dorothea giggled, her shaking shoulder jostling Linhardt, who was resting his cheek against it with his eyes shut. “You’re so weird, Lin.”
Petra inhaled the aroma floating from the mug. “I am reminded of the academy. I do not think I have had this since that time.”
Caspar sat beside Bernadetta, who scooted a bit further back from him as if he was going to ruin her sewing. And honestly, after that disaster of an explanation Hubert couldn’t blame her caution. “Sorry we didn’t make enough for everyone,” Caspar said to her. “We didn’t know everyone was meeting in Hubert’s room.”
“Neither did Hubert,” Hubert said. He reached out to close the door again but found it blocked by a hand. He groaned and flung it open. “What now?” He snapped.
To his horror, Edelgard stood in the doorway, eyebrow raised. She was dressed down for the evening; her elegant Empire red robes were swapped for a casual black dress with a crimson jacket and gold clasp. Her hair was done in a simple braid with the sort of messiness that comes from doing it by yourself without a mirror. At her side was the Professor, whose normally unreadable expression betrayed their surprise at Hubert.
Hubert stepped back and bowed. “Apologies, your Majesty.”
“There you are,” she said, her voice a mixture of confusion and relief. “Your message said to expect you shortly but you never came. Is something the matter?” She looked down. “I smell something sweet. Are you… drinking hot cocoa?”
All of a sudden, Hubert wanted nothing more than to be out in the half frozen streets of Enbarr with the harried merchants and underdressed pedestrians. “Not exactly,” he answered lamely.
“Edie!” Dorothea called. “Come here and help warm up our dear Petra!”
It was then that Edelgard looked into the room and saw the rest of the Black Eagles. “What is going on?”
Caspar opened his mouth, no doubt ready with some meandering explanation, but Ferdinand spoke before he had a chance. “Petra was not prepared for the cold and we were trying to keep her warm. Hubert kindly lent us his room!” He aimed a wink at Hubert, who blamed the fireplace once again for the pink that flit across his cheeks.
Petra smiled shyly up at Edelgard. “I did not mean to make this much trouble for everyone.”
Edelgard’s expression softened. “You’re no trouble, Petra. I should have come to check on you today once I realized how cold it was.”
Hubert stepped back to allow her into the room. He held out the mug to her, as a silent apology. She took it with a smile; one of Hubert’s favorite smiles. The one that told him she was privately delighted with the current situation. He smiled in return, watching as she took a seat beside Petra. Any other time Hubert would remark on the Emperor sitting on the floor, but it seemed to be the order of the day. And it was just their friends after all.
The Professor nodded kindly to Hubert before following Edelgard inside. They stopped briefly to pat Petra on the head before sitting down beside Bernadetta. Unlike with Caspar, she did not shift away from the Professor. Hubert felt a spark of envy. The Professor never had to wear anything special to gain someone’s trust.
Shaking that thought from his head, Hubert finally took off his coat. Ferdinand had good intentions but that fire was in danger of giving them heatstroke. Edelgard’s actions told Hubert they would debrief later, so he took off his vest as well and approached the group holding his coat. He gently laid the coat, pin and all, over Petra’s shoulders. She pulled it around herself with a grateful smile.
Sitting on Edelgard’s other side, Hubert asked the room at large, “Let us not make this a usual occurrence, shall we? I prefer my room not be comparable to an oven.”
Dorothea scoffed. “Oh like you’re not enjoying yourself.” She took a sip of her hot cocoa and hummed contently. “This is delicious!” Against her shoulder, Linhardt let out a soft snore that might have been a ‘thanks’.
Caspar beamed proudly. Even now, a general in the Empire’s army, he sometimes looked very much like the loud kid Hubert used to snap at near constantly. “Linhardt and I can make more next time! So everyone can enjoy our master brewing skills!” He held out his mug to Bernadetta, who eyed it like it was a trick before setting aside her sewing to take it. One sip had her staring at the mug in awe. She wordlessly handed it to the Professor.
The Professor looked at Hubert over the rim of the mug and smiled. Hubert could find no better response than to roll his eyes. It was very in character for the Black Eagles to ignore his demands like this. Didn’t make it any less frustrating.
“This is exquisite!”
Hubert turned to find Ferdinand lowering Dorothea’s mug. He aimed a smug look at Hubert. “Of course, you would not like this at all, Hubert. Much too sweet for your tastes.”
As if in reaction to his light jab, a log in the fireplace abruptly cracked. Petra and Ferdinand, sitting directly in front of the flames, pulled their legs up to their chests. Everyone laughed at their shocked expressions. Hubert found himself chuckling as well.
“You did that on purpose!” Ferdinand said with an accusing finger. “I do not know how but I am sure you did!”
“I assure you I have no control over the whims of my fireplace,” Hubert said. “I was actually about to agree with you. I have never liked hot cocoa and doubt this one would change my mind.”
“Finished!” Cried Bernadetta triumphantly. They all turned to look at her, causing her to practically shrink into the wall. “U-Uh, y-your coat is done, Petra.”
Petra nearly hit Ferdinand in the face as she wrestled off both Hubert’s coat and the blanket covering her and Ferdinand. Bernadetta handed her the coat, which was now lined with a puffy white fur. Eagerly, Petra pulled it on and hugged herself. “It is comforting! Thank you, Bernadetta!”
Bernadetta sat up with her arms around her knees. “You’re welcome! I hope it still fits okay.”
“It is fitting fine, and very warm. You are doing good work.”
There was quiet following this statement. It seemed to Hubert that everyone was realizing their excuse for being here was now over. Petra was warm and seen to, and with an improved coat besides.
He glanced at each person in turn before saying, “Don’t any of you have somewhere important to be?”
There were various noncommittal hums and a solid ‘No’ from the Professor. Linhardt answered by not moving in the slightest. Edelgard caught Hubert’s eyes and shook her head with that same smile.
Wordlessly, Hubert stood and tossed another log on the fire.