Chapter Text
The war ended two years ago, the Adrestian Empire had declared war on the Church of Seiros and all of Fodlan, conquering the Kingdom of Faerghus, and renaming it The Faerghus Dukedom while the Leicester Alliance maintained neutrality. The rightful King of Faerghus, Dimitri Alexandre Bladdyd, rose up with the help of a former mercenary named Byleth, and they took back Faerghus. Following that, the leader of the Leicester Alliance and Almyran Prince, Claude von Reigen, relinquished the Alliance to Faerghus.
Dimitri soon met up with the Adrestian Emperor, Edelgard von Hresvelg, to negotiate. It seemed like further bloodshed would continue as both Edelgard and Dimitri were unable to agree, however, Byleth stepped in and was able to get them to reach an agreement, forming the Fodlan Coalition, under the conditions that The Church of Seiros relinquish all of their power and that the Kingdom would assist in defeating the organization, Those Who Slither in the Dark.
Everything was going well, but the Archbishop, Lady Rhea, opposed the plan, and sought to destroy anyone who opposed her. Lady Rhea was killed, and The Knights of Seiros had been destroyed. The only thing left was destroying Those Who Slither in The Dark, a battle even more fierce than the one with Lady Rhea, but with assistance from Almyra, they were able to defeat the great enemy.
The dust had settled, and while political tensions were high, the marriage of Byleth and Edelgard was helpful in smoothing things over. Peace had returned to Fodlan, but there was still tension within the country, as Fodlan has been an enemy to many, and those enemies buildup.
………
Their wyvern escaped through a massive gate, getting caught up in a storm that night. Seteth struggled to keep an injured Flayn on his back. He could barely see, but he pressed forward as fast as he could, determination and fear in his eyes. Flayn began to lose her grip, but Seteth grabbed hold of her hand.
“Just hold on Flayn, we’ll be safe soon!” Seteth yelled at the top of his lungs, trying to overpower nature itself with his voice.
Two figures walked out of the gate, a man with a very feminine face, long, red hair, and a purple cape over fancy leather armor armed with a rapier, and a man in a black and gold cloak covering his tattoos and gray skin. They were followed by a small army that bore the banner of the Kraken. The man in fine clothing raised his hand, ready to give an order.
“Wait,” said the cloaked man, raising a hand.
The finely dressed man, glared at the cloaked one, lower his hand.
“Wait?! We need them now, if we’re to fully open the gate,” exclaimed the finely dressed man.
“We’d have enough blood if you let that wretched Father of yours give it, your Princeliness,” mocked the cloaked man with a bow.
“How do you plan to catch them, Agarthan? The two of them, running free is dangerous to Father’s cause,” questioned the Prince, ignoring the Agarthan's comments, his arms crossed.
The Agarthan showed the Prince the back of his hand, it was gray, like the man was long dead, bearing a tattoo in the shape of a mouth.
“Our connections will let us know if they’re found outside of Fodlan,” explained the Agarthan, bringing his hand back into his sleeve. “The beasts are enemies of Fodlan by all accounts, and if they try to reveal our plans, it’ll be a lot easier to prove if there’s an army chasing them. We should catch them with a bit more finesse,”
………
The crowd was gathered outside of Castle Galatea, a cheap(for a castle) stone building, falling apart from lack of care and the ware of time. Outside the castle, next to a stage facing the crowd, stood The Death Knight, weapon at the ready. Members of the crowd looked either annoyed, tired, or bored. Inside the castle, Mercedes was placing makeup on Ingrid’s face, despite Ingrid’s annoyance.
“Thank you for the help Mercedes, but do we really need The Death Knight out there?” asked Ingrid awkwardly, her eyes a tad worried.
“Of course, I can’t possibly let anything bad happen to you out there,” Mercedes explained cheerfully, a bright smile on her face.
Ingrid’s Mother peered her head in, a nervous look on her face.
“Everyone’s ready for the coronation, Ingrid,” Ingrid’s Mother called, joy seeping through her clear exhaustion.
“Thank you, Mother,” Ingrid responded with a smile and a nod.
Ingrid stood up and walked to the door. As she placed her hand on the handle, she looked back at Mercedes with a smile.
“Good luck out there,” said Mercedes with a smile, her hands together in front of her stomach.
Ingrid walked out into the hall, her siblings and the three servants stood off to the side, bowing before her as she walked by. The hallway was made up of stone, barely keeping together, and while they had banners and rugs, they were falling apart like the rest of the castle. She reached the main door, where Ignatz and her Father were waiting, her Father carrying the Lance of Luin on his back.
“I-I hope you do well out there,” said Ignatz, an awkward smile on his face.
“Tha-thank you,” Ingrid replied awkwardly as she brushed the back of her head.
Ingrid’s Father had his eyes closed, trying to smile for the happy occasion. He opened the great door, revealing the outside. As they walked towards the stage, the others exited and stood off to the side. Ingrid’s Father gave her a glance.
“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” Ingrid’s Father asked, a bit of sweat on his face. “you’ve only been back a short time, and you’re not even married yet,”
“It is my duty to lead House Galatea. It’s time that I did so,” Ingrid replied, smiling with her eyes closed.
The two got onto the stage, standing before the audience. A moment of awkward silence followed, as the two waited for the people to bow, but the welcome was lukewarm at best. A few people bowed, and a few clapped, but they were drowned out by the silence.
“May I kill them?” asked The Death Knight.
“NO!!!” Ingrid and her Father exclaimed, Ingrid looking annoyed and her Father looking shocked.
“Very well,” The Death Knight replied, a hint of disappointment in his voice.
Ingrid's Father cleared his throat, “Ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for joining us for the coronation of the new ruler of Galatea Territory!”
He turned to Ingrid. He took Luin off of his back, carefully resting it in both of his hands.
“Kneel, Ingrid Brandl Galatea, and take your oath!” He ordered.
Ingrid knelt down on one knee and took position to take Luin. Her Father placed it just over her hands.
“Ingrid Brandl Galatea! Do you vow to protect this territory and its people!?” he asked.
“As is my duty!” responded Ingrid.
“Do you vow to return this territory to glory and beyond!?”
“As is my duty!”
“Do you vow to be a just and strong ruler!?”
“As is my duty!”
“Do you vow to produce a worthy heir!?
Ingrid’s eyes widened and she looked up at her Father. He looked at her with narrow, but nervous eyes, some sweat dripping down his cheek. Ingrid took a deep breath. She gave a look of affirmation, and a simple nod.
“As is my duty!” she responded.
“Then I pass to you the sacred Lance of Luin, and Galatea Territory!” He announced, leaving Luin in Ingrid’s hands and stepping back, his hands behind his back.
Ingrid stood up, and pointed Luin into the sky.
“People of the Galatea Territory! I promise to rebuild our land, and bring it into a new age of prosperity! I promise to dedicate everything I have towards this goal so that we, no, YOU can have a bright future!” Ingrid announced.
Some of the people in the crowd began to clap, but there was little fanfare, and they were soon interrupted.
“Boo!” called out a man of Duscur in the crowd.
“Excuse me,” responded Ingrid, lowering Luin, and narrowing her eyes.
Mercedes and Ignatz began hastily moving towards the stage.
“You failed all of those vows when you abandoned this territory to sleep with the king who betrayed the Archbishop!” the Man of Duscur accused.
“Can I kill them now?” The Death Knight asked.
“Do you want to say that again up close?!” threatened Ingrid, getting ready to move forward.
Ignatz and Mercedes got on stage tried to drag Ingrid away.
“How about we head inside?” Mercedes asked with a nervous smile on her face.
“Than-thank you all for coming!” Ignatz called out, looking pretty uncomfortable, his feet shaking.
“Wait, I’m not done with him yet!” Ingrid argued, struggling to break free, though she had the clear physical advantage.
“Running away again are you! Maybe the King will take you back as his mistress!” the Man of Duscur mocked.
The three house servants came to help restrain Ingrid, bringing her back inside. Ingrid’s Father clapped his hands, bowed and then scurried behind the gates, with The Death Knight continuing his guard.
………
Ingrid watched the crowd outside, her eyes glazed over. The scene at the end of the coronation had riled them up a bit, but after some intimidation from The Death Knight, thankfully with no casualties, they dispersed. The sun was beginning to set in the distance.
“What were you thinking!?”
Ingrid turned to see her Father standing before her, furious. Ingrid had known exactly what she was thinking. She was thinking that Man of Duscur needed to be given an earful, but she couldn’t say that to her Father. She turned to him and lowered her eyes.
“I don’t know,” Ingrid replied.
“You don’t know!” Ingrid’s Father exclaimed, his arms thrown up in the air before they landed on Ingrid’s shoulders. “Ingrid, you’re the leader of this family now! You need to take that responsibility seriously!”
"I know-," Ingrid replied, trying in vain to look up.
“Excuse me,” Mercedes called from the nearest door, Ignatz peered out from behind her, holding a picnic basket.
“We were hoping to celebrate with Ingrid tonight, if that’s all right?” Mercedes asked, gesturing towards the basket with on hand, the other firmly on her heart.
“What a wonderful idea Mercedes,” Ingrid replied, urgently heading towards the door with a smile.
“Wait, we’re not done discussing this yet Ingrid!” her Father called out, reaching out his hand.
Ingrid grabbed Mercedes’s hand, and the threesome began heading down towards the stables. Ingrid looked happily at her two friends.
“Thank you for helping me out with my Father,” Ingrid thanked.
“It was our pleasure, Ingrid, you looked like you could use a break after your big day,” Mercedes replied.
“Sorry if you get a bigger earful later,” Ignatz apologized with the slight bow of his head.
“It’s no trouble Ignatz, it wouldn’t be the first time,” Ingrid assured, waving the statement away with a sigh.
They reached the stables, where Mercedes got on her horse, taking the picnic basket from Ignatz. Ingrid got on her Horse, with Ignatz joining her, as he’s not the best rider, placing his arms around her waist. They both blushed for a second, but Ingrid soon felt the thrill of riding her horse and they sped off, away from town, the sun continued to set behind them. Mercedes waved to The Death Knight off in the distance.
They fled to the forest, passing weak crops, and rotting buildings. The forest was meager, but large enough to hide away. They set up the picnic, and sat down. Mercedes poured Ingrid her tea.
“Feel free to talk about anything you want, Ingrid,” Mercedes encouraged.
“Thank you Mercedes,” Ingrid replied, nodding with a smile.
Ingrid looked down at her tea an annoyed look on her face, she looked up to the sky.
“I’m just not sure what to do about the people’s opinion of me. I abandoned them, and my Father, even if it was so I could fight the war,” lamented Ingrid.
“Don’t worry, they’ll come around eventually,” Mercedes assured, placing a hand on Ingrid’s shoulder.
“I...um ...could paint some pictures of your deeds during the war to help them warm up to you,” Ignatz suggested, putting his pointer fingers together awkwardly.
“N… No thank you, that’d be embarrassing,” Ingrid responded, shaking her head nervously, waving away the suggestion.
Ingrid looked down at her tea, taking another sip.
“Besides, what accomplishments. All I did was fight. The Professor, Dimitri, and Claude were the real heroes. People are more likely to be amazed by the defeat of Nemesis and The Immaculate One, the liberation of Faerghus, or the negotiations between Dimitri and Edelgard when the Professor stepped in for the sake of peace,” Ingrid ranted, with a small laugh. “I on the other hand, was just another commander. I’m not one of the Nation’s Two Jewels, the First Knight of Brigid, a renowned crest scholar, the next Adrestian Emperor, a famous opera singer, the overseer of former Alliance territory, or the advisor of a great leader. I’m just-,”
Ingrid’s eyes widened. A warm smile peered into her face.
“A knight, who served her king when she was needed,” Ingrid finished.
“Are you feeling better?” Mercedes asked with a bright smile.
“Mostly,” Ingrid replied with a nod. "Now if only Father would relent,"
They continued to talk the rest of the hours away until it had become dark out. They packed up their things, and began to head to their horses. Mercedes heard a sound in the distance. She wasn’t quite sure what it was, but she dashed to push Ingrid out of the way.
“Look out!” Mercedes called, pushing Ingrid out of the way of an arrow while taking a scratch herself.
Ignatz, on alert, heard a heavy footstep behind him. His eyes widened.
“I’ll defeat you!” Ignatz yelled defending himself from a large man with Nosferatu.
Nosferatu briefly lit up the area, but Ingrid and the others couldn’t quite make out the enemy. A man charged Ingrid and Mercedes with an axe. Ingrid pushed Mercedes out of the way and rolled, dodging the axe that slung down on her.
Ingrid kicked the axe down by the handle before punching the large man in the face. The man stumbled back, Ingrid kicked up his axe and grabbed it to use as a shield to block another arrow. The man pulled out a knife and charged Ingrid, but Mercedes hit him with Nosferatu, taking him out.
In that Instance, Ingrid was able to see six silhouettes in the forest. The trio stood side by side, ready for any other attacks.
“I count six warriors, and likely one archer,” Ingrid whispered to Mercedes.
“They shouldn’t be much trouble, I’m more worried about you though,” Mercedes whispered to Ingrid.
“As long as they don’t hit me, I’ll be fine,” Ingrid assured.
“We don’t have weapons or armor. This could be-,” Ignatz worried.
“Don’t worry, I should be able to handle an axe. I’ve handled a lance and sword,” Ingrid assured, a slightly nervous expression on her face.
“Get down!” shouted Mercedes, eyes widened.
The trio lay flat on the ground as The Death Knight and his horse leapt over them, charging the six warriors, cutting them in half, two at a time and in quick succession.
“Kill, kill kill!” The Death Knight yelled.
The Death Knight charged off into the woods in the direction of the archer. The trio got up, breathing heavily.
“We should head back, The Death Knight can handle the rest,” Ignatz said to Ingrid.
“Ignatz is right, but first things first,” Mercedes added, turning to one of the corpses.
Ingrid and Mercedes dragged the attacker’s body out into the moonlight. Their eyes all widened, as it was the Man of Duscur from the coronation.
………
Seteth looked back, they were being chased by a small group of six bandits on wyverns. The bandits fired arrows at them, Flayn attempted to deflect the arrows with Nosferatu, but one of them managed to hit their wing, and they came spiraling down to the ground.
“Flayn!” Seteth yelled, wrapping himself around his daughter upon impact.
Dust filled the air around them, a tree having been knocked over by their wyvern up the crash.
“Father!” Flayn called out, trying to heal Seteth’s injuries.
Flayn felt a sharp pain, an arrow protruding from her back. Despite her efforts, she fell forward, barely able to move. The six left their wyverns, walking towards Seteth and Flayn, smug looks on their faces.
A man stepped out from the forest to defend the pair.
“What the Hell do you think you’re doing?” Felix asked, rage in his eyes.
The bandits stopped, staring at the Aegis Shield on Felix’s arm. Flayn looked up at Felix, a smile on her face, tears welling up in her eyes.
“Felix,” Flayn said in relief.
“I think now is a good time to chop people, don’t you?” Felix asked with a smirk on his face.
Felix drew his Sword of Zoltan. The bandits immediately moved to firing arrows at him.
With a twirl of the blade, Felix cut down all six arrows. Felix charged them, stabbing one of them in the chest.
The other five separated, four of them tried to surround Felix with arrows from both his left and right, and the fifth had ran towards the wyverns. Felix cut down the arrows from his left and countered the arrows on his right with Thoron, taking those two out in the process. He then dashed towards the bandits to his left and cut them down with a single strike.
The last bandit tried to escape, but Felix hit him in the back with a hand axe. That bandit was still breathing, so Felix promptly, picked him up by the neck.
“Tell me, why were a group of rabid dogs chasing after an innocent girl and her Father? There’s no reward on their heads, and I doubt they have anything worth stealing, so what were you after?” Felix asked, a burning rage in his eyes.
“Like we’d tell a dog of Fodlan anything,” the bandit replied with a smirk.
There was a mark on the bandit’s neck, it began to glow, causing the bandit and his comrades to burn up. Felix jumped back in surprise. The bodies quickly turned to ash and dissipated into the wind. Felix looked down, a look of frustration and anger on his face.
“Pathetic fools,” Felix lamented.
Felix turned around, and moved to heal Seteth and Flayn. Flayn looked at Felix, eyes barely staying open.
“I am thankful for your assistance, Felix,” Flayn whispered.
“Be quiet, you should focus on resting and not wasting energy,” replied Felix.
Felix, healed both of them, picking them both up, and began carrying them on his back down the hill. Far away, looking through his right thumb and pointer finger like a monocle, was the Agarthan. The Agarthan smiled, and brought his tattoo to his mouth.
“Melvill, they’re entering Galatea territory, proceed as you see fit, just bring them to me,” the Agarthan ordered with an evil smile.
………
Ingrid woke up the morning after the attack, startled to find The Death Knight standing in her room. She was even more startled to find Mercedes and Ignatz in her bed with her. Embarrassed, she looked to The Death Knight, who stood in silence, before picking up Ignatz and taking him out of the room.
Ingrid got changed into her daily clothes, and left the room after making sure Mercedes was comfortable. She was beautiful as she slept. Ingrid blushed, as she had gotten distracted watching for a moment.
She rushed to head out. Outside her room, she found her Father waiting for her, he immediately gave her a hug.
“Oh, thank the Goddess that you’re all right!” he exclaimed.
“Thank you Father,” Ingrid replied with wide eyes and a warm smile.
Ingrid’s Father suddenly pulled away looking his daughter in the eye.
“What were you thinking?! You should’ve at least brought Luin with you! You need to take your position seriously, you’re not just some knight anymore!” he scolded.
Ingrid’s eyes widened, and she looked down and brushed passed her Father.
“Yes Father, I will do better next time,” Ingrid replied, her face becoming tired.
“Damn those dastards from Duscur, haven’t they taken enough from us!” he exclaimed.
“Father, they-!” Ingrid argued, turning to him before stopping herself.
“um..right,” he replied, looking down himself.
Ingrid walked down the hall to the head of the Family's study, her study, to find it filled with paperwork. A servant stood off to the side, waiting for her.
“This is a collection of requests, issues, and other matters from the territory for you to sift through,” he explained with a bow.
“Thank you Boone,” Ingrid thanked.
“Though, might I suggest that you have breakfast first,” Boone suggested.
“I’d love to, but there’s a lot of work right now. I may just have a bigger lunch today,” Ingrid explained, trying her best to ignore the sound of her own stomach.
“Very well,” Boone stated before leaving Ingrid to her work.
Ingrid began to work, looking over each stack of paper, separating them into smaller piles so that they wouldn’t fall over, and started looking at the papers individually. After a few hours, Mercedes entered the room with a tray of Vegetable Pasta Salad, with Ignatz entering just behind her.
“Good morning Ingrid,” Mercedes called out, a massive smile on her face.
“Good morning Mercedes,” Ingrid replied, looking up from her papers and smiling herself.
“Sorry to bother you on such short notice,” apologized Ignatz, hunched down nervously, and awkward laugh in his voice.
“It’s fine, I’m always happy to see both of you,” Ingrid assured with an even bigger smile.
“It’s unlike you to skip a meal Ingrid, you know it’s bad for you,” scolded Mercedes, putting the tray down on Ingrid’s desk
“I know, but there’s so much work to do, I don’t want to waste time getting started,” Ingrid explained as she started eating the food.
“Um… how about we help you with these?” Ignatz suggested.
“That’s a great idea,” Mercedes concurred with excitement, and a clap of her hands.
"I couldn't ask you to do that," Ingrid responded, raising both hands.
"Nonsense, what are friends and vassals for?" Mercedes responded quickly getting to work.
"W-work does need to get done after all," Ignatz added, helping out with a little less grace than Mercedes.
“Thank you,” Ingrid said with a sigh followed by a wide smile.
They went through the papers together. They eventually sat in a circle on the floor, looking at paper by paper.
“The village of Bellerose is having issues getting water from the well,” Mercedes explained.
“They should check if there are any leaks in the bucket, and get back to us,” Ingrid responded.
“Traders are having issues passing through the territory due to frequent attacks from bandits,” Ignatz explained.
“That’s definitely trouble,” Ingrid stated. “Mercedes, can the Death Knight look into it?”
“I’ll let him know right away,” Mercedes answered, standing up to head out.
“I missed a marriage proposal. Ignatz, can you place this is in the back pile?” Ingrid asked, handing Ignatz a piece of paper.
“Of course,” Ignatz replied. “You’re not going to read it?”
“Eventually, there are just more important things right now,” Ingrid explained, looking down.
“Oh, of course,” Ignatz said, taking out another paper, and then looking at it in shock.
“What are they asking?” asked Ingrid.
“No-nothing of importance,” Ignatz stated, nervously trying to put it away.
“Let me see it,” Ingrid ordered.
Ignatz handed Ingrid the paper. Ingrid looked it over, and an angry look appeared on her face. She crushed the paper up into a ball and threw it against the wall. She sighed and rested her head against her desk. Ignatz awkwardly sat next to her.
“Are… are you okay?” he asked.
“I’ll be fine. Coming back has just been hard. Father expects so much from me, and the people don’t trust me. I sometimes wonder if I should’ve gone with Ashe to Brigid, stood by Dimitri or the professor, or accepted Sylvain’s proposal. I sometimes wonder if I should’ve gone back to hiding in my room like I used to,” Ingrid lamented.
Ignatz hesitated before reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a slip of paper, and unfolded it. Ignatz blushed, his face completely red.
“This is just a sketch, but I was hoping to make it into a painting at some point,” Ignatz explained.
It was a rough pencil drawing of Ingrid sitting on a throne with Ignatz and Mercedes at her side. Ingrid smiled, feeling a sense of warmth from the picture. She blushed a little, closing the paper.
“Thank you Ignatz, it looks great,” Ingrid thanked, handing Ignatz back the paper.
“It… it’s no big deal, really,” replied Ignatz.
“But isn’t there anything else you want to do?” asked Ingrid. "My home isn't exactly the best place to work,"
“Not really, my parents wanted me to be a knight, but because of the war, there was an increase in profits, so my parents were able to retire early. Now all I really have left is painting, so I can stay here for as long as you need me,” Ignatz explained.
“Well, it’s great to have a few familiar faces around. Thank you Ignatz,” Ingrid thanked.
“There’s no need to thank me, really-,” Ignatz denied.
Mercedes burst open the door, breathing heavily.
“Ingrid, we need your help,” Mercedes exclaimed.
“What is it?” Ingrid asked, standing up, along with Ignatz.
Felix entered, carrying both Seteth and Flayn on his back. He looked tired, breathing heavily, a bit of dirt on his face.
“Felix! What’s going on?!” Ingrid asked.
“I need your help, now are you going to stand there or do something,” Felix snapped.
Ingrid and Mercedes took Seteth from Felix, leaving Flayn to Felix and Ignatz. They carried Seteth and Flayn downstairs to one of the spare rooms that used to belong to servants that had left when the province fell on hard times. They lay Seteth and Flayn in a bed and waited outside their room. Mercedes, Ingrid, and Ignatz leaned against the wall opposed to Felix. Ingrid crossed her arms, stepping forward looking directly at Felix, concern on her face.
“Felix, what happened?” Ingrid asked.
“I don’t know. I found them both being chased by bandits. I dispatched the bandits, and since Galatea Territory was the closest, I came here,” Felix explained, his eyes narrowed.
“But why would someone be after them. Dimitri made sure there wouldn’t be a bounty on them?” Ingrid questioned.
“Perhaps Edelgard went behind his back, though more than likely this is probably connected to Those Who Slither In The Dark. The bandits had used some twisted magic to discard their own bodies after I stopped them,” Felix discussed.
“You think we may have missed a few?” Ingrid asked.
“More than likely, however, we won’t know what really happened until those two wake up,” Felix explained.
“Should we tell Dimitri?” Ingrid asked, looking off in the direction of Fhirdiad.
“No, if the Boar gets involved he could end up causing trouble for the Fodlan Coalition, especially considering how impulsive he can be. He might jump to blaming Edelgard for this,” Felix explained, scoffing at the notion.
“Then I guess we’re on our own for now,” Ingrid stated, her eyes narrow.
To be continued