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In hindsight, Dorothea really should've tied her hair up before they started.
Don't get her wrong. It wasn't like she didn't know how to prepare for a sparring session. Quite the contrary, she had a little bag prepared for it. Towel, water, snacks, a change of clothes, all the essentials. And she updated it every once in a while, depending on the need.
She added in hair ties after Petra accidentally sliced off a lock of her hair during a particular session. The girl had apologized profusely, but Dorothea insisted it was fine. Some mishaps couldn't be helped. Thankfully, it wasn't a hard fix. Dorothea just had to snip off a few other locks and arrange her hair differently for the damage to be covered.
But, all the same, you'd think she'd have learned.
Because it goes like this.
She and Felix are sparring, yeah? They've been at it for a few hours because she had a certification exam to ace and they were close enough "friends" that he couldn't reject her invitation. (Invitations, actually. Felix had thought she wasn't serious.)
Everything goes well until the three-hour mark.
She's dead tired by this point, dinnertime having long since passed. He, on the other hand, looks alert and poised as usual, waiting for her to catch up with an expectant and impatient look.
"Come on. You want to ace this thing, don't you? Don't slack off."
The comment makes her a lot angrier than it should've.
This is what causes her to make the rookie mistake of lunging at him instead of backing the hell away from him when he came at her. A crazy move, but she has had it with his sharp tongue. She's determined and by the look on his face, he hadn't expected the move at all. Ha! Dorothea felt smug.
But the feeling doesn't last when she notices Felix stumbling as he tried to stop his charge.
Doesn't know what to do when she sees his blade coming way too fast at her face.
Feels weak when she raises her sword in a poor attempt to block the incoming slice.
And, most of all, she doesn't know what to think when Felix, having adjusted his swing just right to avoid what surely would have been her death, chops off a considerable chunk of her hair instead.
Dorothea doesn't actually register it at first.
Shock settles in her gut and, of course, relief eventually floods her when she sinks to her knees. That was close. She could have died. Making that gutsy of a move was stupid of her. Her initial reactions pass when she sees Felix also on the ground, having crashed to the floor when he tried to stop himself. The stunned looked on his face would normally make Dorothea giggle, but it only serves to bring her back to reality.
Dorothea turns her gaze to all the hair- her hair on the ground between them.
"Oh," she says softly.
Dorothea isn't vain.
Okay, maybe not that vain. She cared for her looks just like any other girl did after all. She took time getting ready in the mornings, dabbled in make-up, styled her hair, etcetera. It was completely normal. Especially in her case, where her looks were one of her main selling points (while she still had them, that is.)
Her point is it's perfectly understandable for her to panic at first.
Under the guise of a calm, tired demeanor, she had told Felix that it was fine and that she was at fault, before beating a quick retreat to assess the damage in her dorm. She thinks the rush kind of gives her away, but that wasn't one of her biggest concerns right now. She ducks her head and pulls her hat down as she jogs away.
(If she had slowed down, she would have noticed that in addition to the guilt in his eyes, Felix still had a sort of dumbstruck look on his face, though she wouldn't have been able to discern why.)
The goddess must love her because she's met with Petra when she arrives at her door, mouth open in shock as she points at Dorothea's hair.
"Dorothea! You have cut-"
She doesn't let the girl finish before pulling her into her room with her. Petra continues to gape as Dorothea grabs her mirror from her desk. She uses her magic to enlargen it and point it at her back.
Hm.
It was a single slice, an uneven slash that ended her hair just behind her shoulders. Although, she is mildly horrified about the damage, she has to hand it to Felix, the cut was clean enough and her hair was evidence that his reflexes were on point. This was definitely salvageable, she thinks.
All in all, it could have been worse.
"Petra!" Petra startles. Dorothea looks at her sheepishly. "Sorry, but would it be too much of me to ask for help with this?" She gestures at her hair.
Petra's eyes light up before she dashes out of Dorothea's room and comes back with a handful of hair accessories.
And Hilda, surprisingly.
"Ferdinand has stated that Hilda is skilled in the styling of hair!" She pipes up excitedly, between breaths. That girl could run fast. How she managed to drag along Hilda with her though was beyond Dorothea.
The Golden Deer had a handful of hair accessories as well. Hilda smiles pleasantly at them before her attention focuses on Dorothea's hair. Much like Petra, she assesses her hair with wide eyes.
"Ooohh, what happened to this, Dory?" Dorothea rolls her eyes at Claude's nickname for her escaping Hilda's mouth.
She sighs dramatically. "Training accident, I don't suppose you're willing to help? Ferdie apparently speaks very highly of you."
Hilda snorts. "He should, his hair can be such a hassle to deal with. It reeks of hair gel," the Goneril remarks passively.
Petra chuckles.Dorothea snorts. Typical Ferdinand.
"I think it is looking good though! Especially ever since Hilda has been giving him the accessories," Petra says helpfully from behind them as she arranges said accessories on Dorothea's bed.
"I try," Hilda takes in the compliment. She takes hold of one of Dorothea's newly-cut locks. "This should be a quick fix."
Dorothea lets out a breath in relief. "Willing to help then?"
Hilda and Petra share a look before nodding at each other. The Brigid girl looks at Dorothea determinedly.
"Leave it to us, Dorothea!"
Her hair is cut neatly just above her shoulders when she enters the classroom the next day. It's still wavy but the length doesn't allow for the fact to shine as much as her long hair used to. She's wearing one of Hilda's cute, little clips to complete the look.
A feeling of relief overcomes Dorothea when compliments start rolling in.
Edelgard praises her, eyes shining in interest as she examines the brunette's hair up close. She and Ferdinand actually manage to have a civil conversation about hair as he compliments Hilda's handiwork. Bernadetta even gives her a shaky thumbs up as she smiles timidly. She chuckles as she hears Petra have to explain to Caspar what exactly had changed about Dorothea's look.
Lindhardt props his head up from his desk. "Short hair, huh. I might consider it in the long run," he says mildly as he eyes her locks, "long hair can be such a bother."
Dorothea smiles. That's just like him. "I'll be honest with you all, this wasn't really my choice."
"Oh?" Edelgard cocks her head to one side. "What brought on the change?"
"An unfortunate training mishap."
"Ah," Hubert interjects, "so the hair in the training grounds is yours."
"It's still there?!" Dorothea exclaims, horrified. Goddess, what must that look like? A clump of brown hair just settling in the training grounds. That was embarrassing!
Hubert shakes his head. "Your training partner cleaned most of it up, but there were a few noticable strands here and there." He scoffs distastefully. "You'd think Faerghus nobles would know how to clean up after themselves."
Edelgard gives him a look before Caspar perks up, interrupting whatever Petra was saying to him.
"Did they do it on purpose?" Caspar inquires angrily. "Dorothea, you need me to fight this guy for you?"
She raises her hands in gesture meant to calm him down. "It's quite alright, Caspar. It was an accident! My fault, really. I charged when I shouldn't have."
Ferdinand raises a brow. "That's a amateurish mistake, is it not? Your certification exam is approaching, Dorothea. You can't afford those types of miscalculations," the orange-haired teen says sternly.
Dorothea wants to strangle him.
The professor walks in before she gets the chance to though. And all thoughts of murder are subsequently forgotten as classes wear on.
She's not ashamed to admit that in the past few weeks, she's come to harbor feelings for Felix Hugo Fraldarius.
What started out as an attempt to make a new friend spiraled into something more at one point. When, after countless of awkward tea times and gruelling training sessons, she was finally allowed the sight of him smiling genuinely, Dorothea knew she was in trouble.
Because, she comes to realize, Felix isn't simply just another noble with a sharp tongue and cruel attitude. No, he was thoughtful and determined and kind.
And Dorothea was smitten.
So you can't exactly blame her for wanting to see how Felix would react to the new look. (Especially since he had inadvertently caused it.)
A considerable amount of boys had already sprinkled her with their fair share of compliments and flirty remarks, yet her thoughts were clouded as she wondered what the Fraldarius had to say.
She doesn't get the chance to speak to him though, because the entire day passes without even a single glimpse of him.
Petra pats her back consolingly as Dorothea peers into the nearly-empty Blue Lions classroom. Annette and Mercedes wave at her and she waves back. They had already commented on her new look.
"Perhaps he is in the training grounds? Is he not always there?" Petra wonders aloud.
Except Felix isn't in the training grounds either and now Dorothea is more confused than she is disappointed.
Where else could he be?
She shrugs at Petra. "Maybe I'll see him tomorrow."
She and Petra walk to the dorms together and Dorothea is broken out of a reverie when Petra suddenly stands in front of her and draws her sword.
Dorothea spies her training bag on her doorstep and after mildly being disheartened that Felix hadn't given it to her in person (who else could have left it there?), she moves to calm her friend.
"Petra, it's fine."
"What if it is a prank?" The girl inquires suspiciously.
Dorothea has a flashback of the time Caspar had gone on a self-proclaimed prank war with Ashe. Somehow, she knows this is what's circulating in Petra's mind right now. Dorothea shudders. That was a dark time.
"I'm sure that's not the case, that's my bag after all," the brunette says assuringly.
Petra nods and sheaths her sword before they finally part ways and enter their respective rooms. Dorothea doesn't notice the note until it flutters to the ground after having plopped the bag onto her bed.
You left this.
And I know you said it wasn't my fault, but I'm sorry anyways.
Your - Felix
No one is there to witness Dorothea reread the note multiple times, tracing the words with her fingers as she goes.
No one is there to see her zero in on the crossed out word with a barely concealed grin. (Yours? Yours truly? Yours lovingly?)
No one is there to see her keep the note in her drawer for safekeeping.
Once again, she is frustrated to find the Blue Lions classroom void of the Fraldarius heir the next day. Ashe and Ingrid wave at her good-naturedly from inside as she and Petra smile in return.
They don't find him in the training grounds again either, Ignatz and Raphael telling them it's just been them since classes ended.
Dorothea isn't disappointed as much as she is puzzled.
If not their classroom or the training grounds, where else could he have gone?
She tries to proceed with the rest of her day normally, heading to Hilda's room with some sweets she had prepared as thanks for the hair styling. She does her homework diligently until Petra eventually collects her for dinner. A small part of her had hoped that maybe she'd see Felix there but she doesn't and she tries not to sulk too much while she listens to Caspar and Petra chat.
On the way back, Petra suggests they just check his room, but Dorothea shuts that down quickly.
She wasn't that desperate.
(At least she thought so.)
The first two times she could brush off as coincidences, maybe one of their professors had simply tasked him with something or he'd started hanging out somewhere else. They're all plausible possibilities.
But it's the third day and, again, Felix is nowhere to be found.
Dimitri and Ingrid look at her apologetically, probably having realized who she was looking for by now. Ingrid looks like she's about to beckon her over before Dorothea waves back quickly and drags Petra away with her.
Whatever that conversation entailed, she was sure she probably wasn't going to like it right now.
Her feet automatically brings them to the training grounds, but as soon as she enters she already knows he isn't there.
She's more than a little annoyed by now.
"Three days, Petra," Dorothea huffs, "and I haven't seen him at all! You know what that means?"
Petra looks at her sympathetically. "That he is too busy?"
"If he was busy, we would at least have seen him at one point."
"Then what does it mean, Dorothea?"
"That..." Dorothea trails off. "That maybe he's avoiding me."
It was a thought Dorothea had entertained early that morning, mind wandering in class. It was the only explanation, really. Back then, before she had even begun seeking him out, she'd have the luxury of at least catching a glimpse of him after classes.
She didn't even understand why he would do that. They had parted on good terms, hadn't they? He didn't reprimand her for being stupid and she hadn't blamed him when he chopped off her hair.
And the note!
(Yours? Yours truly? Yours lovingly?)
Petra pats her shoulder comfortingly. "I am sure that is not the case, Dorothea. He would be a fool if he was doing so."
"Who's a fool and what's he done?"
The girls startle as Sylvain joins the conversation. He gives them a wink. They had wandered off near the pond as they had talked, much to Dorothea's surprise.
"Sylvain," she greets him unimpressedly.
"Dorothea," he responds suavely as he takes her hand to kiss it. Petra giggles as the brunette swipes it away, ultimately making him kiss nothing but air.
"I can't believe you even bothered."
Sylvain shrugs. "Thought you'd let me this one time. Hello to you too, Petra. Long time no see." He turns the charm back on.
Petra responds in kind, unfazed by the Blue Lion's flirting as Dorothea ponders his words.
"It has been a while, hasn't it..."
Come to think of it, for as long as she hadn't seen Felix, she hadn't seen Sylvain either. Dorothea narrows her eyes at the man in suspicion. What did he know?
"Woah there, Dorothea, you're looking at me quite intensely. Missed me that much?" Dorothea snorts, but before she can respond, it's Petra who opens her mouth.
"It is not you that she misses, Sylvain. Do not go making assumptions," the girl says sternly. Dorothea brings a hand to head. Sweet, naive Petra...
The man's grin turns absolutely mischievous. "Felix then, huh? I'm wounded! To think you really are choosing him over me!" He exclaims exaggeratedly in mock hurt. Dorothea rolls her eyes.
She's known for a while now that he was well aware of where her affections truly laid.
"Not that hard a choice, actually." She hears Petra chuckle. "Have you seen him?"
Sylvain gives her a look she can't quite decipher, but she decides she doesn't like it considering the wide grin that follows it. "Nope."
"Sylv-"
"Relax, Dorothea! A pretty face like that shouldn't be plagued by such an angry expression." She scoffs. "Love the new hair, by the way. It's really," he searches for the word, "alluring."
If there's anyone she wants to strangle as much as she does Ferdinand sometimes, it's Sylvain.
"But yeah, don't worry," he says before she has the chance to say anything, "you'll see him soon enough." His tone is mysterious and Dorothea does not like it.
But she'll take what she can get.
"I have your word on it." She sighs.
Sylvain gives her another wink before saying his goodbyes to the girls and running off. She and Petra watch him go.
"What was that all about?"
"I wish I could tell you, Petra."
Dorothea feels breatheless when she and Felix lock eyes the next day.
She's about to enter the Black Eagles classroom with Petra when she sees Sylvain and Felix making their way to their own classroom, arguing by the looks of it.
She doesn't stop walking because that would be incredibly stupid, but she does slow down and Sylvain notices them (of course) and smirks before nudging his friend in their direction.
Felix looks at Sylvain irately before turning to glance at them. Dorothea doesn't know what to feel when she sees his eyes widen at the sight of her.
It's only a moment.
It doesn't even last for more than five seconds, what with the bell ringing.
But's it's a small blessing after three days without even catching sight of him.
She smiles and waves before turning to enter the classroom. Felix nods in return and goes to enter his own.
Maybe it's the trick of the light, but Dorothea really wishes that that was in fact a blush he was sporting before they parted ways.
She doesn't need to seek him out for the fourth day in a row because he's waiting outside their classroom when classes end.
Dorothea feels her heart flutter at the sight of him standing near the door, crossed arms and scowl in place as usual. It's amusing to her to see Edelgard regard him with a nod as she exits the room, eying Dorothea before leaving with Hubert.
Petra had gone ahead with Linhardt for choir practice, wishing her luck before taking her leave.
Once she's done packing up and the room is empty save for her, Dorothea takes a seat back down on her chair, making sure Felix was looking. He raises an eyebrow at her before she shrugs and turns away from him, closing her eyes in the process.
She's been chasing him for days, the least he could do was chase after her once.
She thinks she hears him sigh in the distance before the glorious sound of the scraping of a chair and a person plopping down onto the wood fills her ears.
"We couldn't have talked outside?" He mutters from beside her. She opens her eyes then.
She almost can't believe that she's seeing him this close again or seeing him at all after days of radio silence. She communicates just as much.
"We couldn't have talked earlier?" Dorothea asks pointedly. Felix huffs and, oh, would you look at that? A blush. Adorable.
"I was busy, sorry," he offers sheepishly.
"So you weren't avoiding me?" She says it teasingly, but the answer matters very much to her.
Felix sighs. "Not at first."
She winces. That stung.
She gives him a look that told him to elaborate.
"I was going to give you your bag after sparring that day," he begins, "but I ran into the professor on my way out the training grounds and she told me to clean up." Dorothea blushes. Right, he was the one who had sweeped up her hair.
"Sorry for leaving you with that, by the way." She apologizes.
Felix waves it off. "It was my fault."
"Feli-"
He turns to look at her and the words die on her tongue. "I pushed you too hard," he says gruffly. "I'm sorry."
Receiving an apology from Felix Hugo Fraldarius was something a lot of people thought was impossible, but here she was. Witnessing the "impossible."
Dorothea shakes her head. "Let's just compromise and say it was both our faults. Accept my apology and I'll accept yours," she says, tone light.
Felix furrows his brows, incredulous before snorting. "I guess that could work."
"Never let it be said that I can't think up creative solutions. I accept you apologizing for giving me a new hairstyle that has raked in more compliments and love confessions than my last one did," she says playfully, sashaying for effect. Felix laughs in earnest and the sound is music to her ears.
"And I accept your apology for being stupid."
"Rude."
"It's true."
"Rather blunt, aren't you?"
"Do you deny it?"
Dorothea looks away in response. Felix rolls his eyes.
Goddess, she had missed this.
But there was still something plaguing her mind.
"What did you mean when you said you didn't mean to ignore me at first?"
Felix stiffens beside her. Hmph, he wasn't going to get out of this.
"I think I deserve an answer at this point, don't you think?" She presses.
The man sighed and, to her surprise, the blush was back. "I was going to take your bag to you the day after, but then I saw you." Dorothea feels her heart stop.
Oh Goddess, was this it? What was he going to say? Did he hate it? Like it? What did it mean that he decided not to hand her the bag in person? Why-
"I felt guilty."
Well, ok. She probably shouldn't have hoped for so much anyways.
"Sylvain noticed as much and said it was only fair for me to compensate. I asked Ingrid to dropped the bag off instead while the idiot took me to the marketplace." He's stopped looking at her, but she can still see the blush on his face as she takes in his words. "It took three visits for him to finally approve of what I'd chosen."
Dorothea eyes the small velvet pouch Felix had produced from his pocket. She cannot believe this.
"That's for me? That's... very sweet of you, Felix."
Knowing that he had scoured the marketplace for three days just to find her a suitable present did wonders to her heart.
"Like Sylvain said," he shrugs, still refusing to meet her eyes, "compensation."
Dorothea made a mental note to thank Sylvain later.
She took the pouch from his hand and opened it, aware he was watching her from his periphery. Inside was an ornate hair clip adorned with tiny musical notes. It was in the shape of a circle, the notes and other smaller patterns forming a spiral inside of it. The sleek black of it did well to highlight the white patterns.
In short, it was beautiful.
"Felix... this is beautiful. Thank you. I love it." She hopes he can hear just how much she meant it.
The statment finally gets him to look at her. "You're welcome," Felix says softly.
She bites her lip. "Could you...?" She brings the clip up to her hair.
He takes a second to process the request before taking the clip from her hands. He brushes a lock of her hair away from her face and she tries not to shudder. He finally places the clip in her hair without incident.
Dorothea grabs a compact mirror from her bag and examines her reflection. The clip looked liked it had always belonged in her hair, she thinks giddily. She turns to Felix, feeling bold.
"What do you think?"
Felix's cheeks are tinged pink when he murmurs out a "looks good." It makes her smile.
"Thank you again, Felix. It really is stunning. You didn't have to go through all the effort."
"It was the least I could do after giving you an unwanted haircut."
"Wanted, in the end. I told you, it had its benefits. I never got your opinion on it though."
"What?"
"What do you think of the new style?"
"It's nice."
"What was that, Felix?"
"It... suits you. You look pretty."
"...Oh."