Chapter Text
Lone Moon
Imperial Year 1175
Gautier territory
~Byleth~
Even though it was the Lone Moon, everything surrounding Jeralt’s mercenary group was covered in ice and snow. The crunching sound of the steps of the mercenaries was the only thing breaking the silence. No one seemed to be in the mood to talk and joke the way they normally did, they were probably all too cold. The cold never seemed to bother Byleth as much as it did the others. The only time it was a problem was when her father would yell at her to put more layers on because she was “turning blue”. She just never seemed to feel it.
That was the way with most things, physical and emotional. To call her stoic would be a vast understatement. She was the “Ashen Demon”. The lovely moniker was given to her on a rescue mission when she happened to take an arrow to the shoulder and keep on fighting. The minor Alliance noble they had rescued seemed more afraid of her than his enemies by the end, but that didn’t really bother her. If anything the price for their services went up with most people because they were now hiring Jeralt the Blade Breaker AND the Ashen Demon.
One such person who could afford a contract was Margrave Gautier, a major Lord in The Holy Kingdom of Faerghus. Apparently, they were having so much trouble at the border to Sreng they were bringing in outside help for the knights of the territory. It was a generous contract, one that they couldn’t afford to pass up. Byleth could tell her dad hated coming up to the Kingdom for some reason. If it was a small village that needed help he never seemed to mind, they would often do the work for rations and a place to stay. However, for some reason working with the Lords of the Kingdom always had him on edge.
Jeralt was not a very open person. It didn’t take long for Byleth to realize they were not like most father and daughter relationships. Neither of them were very affectionate. She called father by his name and he would call her “Kid”. They didn’t look anything alike, so outside of the mercenary group most didn’t even know they were family. They protected each other and that was the only thing that was really important.
Jeralt was even more on edge than normal. Walking beside him, Byleth reached out to touch his arm. “Something is off, Kid. I can feel it.” Turning to the rest of the group he yelled, “Everyone on guard. Something is up, we should have been greeted by now. Eyes up.” After another fifteen minutes of walking they could see the lights of the castle that belonged to Gautier. It was enormous, at least ten stories with towers on each side. It almost looked more like a watchtower than a home.
They were finally spotted by one of the knights at the gate and led into the compound. They were immediately shown into what seemed like a reception area of some sort and everyone was in hysterics. Jeralt was right, something is wrong. No one would give them any answers until they were brought before the Great Lord himself, Margrave Gautier. He towered above the others in the room with his shock of bright red curly hair that was peppered with grey. He had beautiful light brown eyes that were wide with fear. If he was showing it, something was definitely wrong. Directly to his right was a shorter man with wavy raven hair down to his shoulders and blue eyes. He seemed to be trying to keep the Margrave calm, but it wasn’t working. In the back of the room Byleth could see two women, one dressed in finery, the other in plainer clothes. The one dressed in fine clothes was inconsolable, crying into the other’s shoulder. That must be the Margrave’s wife. What is going on?
Their presence was finally announced by a young squire, before the boy promptly left the room. The Margrave and the kind-looking man with the raven hair finally turned to them and announced the situation. The heir to Gautier territory was missing, and had been since the early afternoon. As they were explaining the situation, a young man who looked to be a early twenties version of the Margrave walked into the room. Something about him sent shivers down Byleth’s spine. She considered herself a good judge of character just by looking at a person, and this man could not be trusted.
“Most of the knight’s have been dispatched all over the territory, father. Are you sure that that is a good idea with what is happening at the border? What if he just ran away?” The young man questioned.
“ENOUGH, Miklan! Go and help in the search or get out of my sight!” The Margrave was obviously not on good terms with his son, or maybe he was just too stressed about his heir to bother. Byleth nudged her father and tilted her head towards Miklan in a silent exchange to let him know she was going to follow him. Her father nodded discretely and began to speak with the Margrave and the man beside him to take the attention away from her so she could try to slip out.
As she was exiting the room as quietly as she could she, not quietly, bumped into a young boy just outside the door. He was… beautiful. He was a bit shorter than her, with a thin build, had chin-length raven hair just like the man next to the Margrave earlier, and amazing amber eyes that were red rimmed. The boy had obviously been crying. “Are you going to help look for Sylvain?” the boy asked while grabbing her by the hand. She was surprised by the physical contact, and even more surprised that she didn't mind it. All she could manage was a shrug.
“If you are looking I want to help. No one will let me help! He’s my best friend. I have to find him. He can’t be gone! Miklan was wrong, he wouldn't run away. At least not without telling me!” The beautiful boy started to cry. She nodded and tilted her head toward the hallway where the young man, Miklan, had disappeared. She put her finger over her lips and hoped the boy would understand that he needed to be as quiet as possible. He immediately stopped crying and quieted his breathing. It seemed he was serious about helping, at least.
They managed to catch up to Miklan while giving enough space where he didn’t seem to know they were there. He lead them out of the building and started to walk through what looked like a mostly frozen over garden. Byleth took a quick glance around. She could imagine this place being lovely under different circumstances. There was a gazebo off to the left that had torches lit and further down the path was an old wishing well before the path lead into the forest that surrounded the compound.
Byleth and the boy tried to stay as out of sight as possible as they followed Miklan. While they were hiding behind the well, the boy must have forgotten he was supposed to be quiet and spoke to Byleth. “Why are we following Miklan? Did he do something to Sylvain?” Byleth only gave him another shrug. “Do you talk? What’s your name? Why are you here? I’ve never seen you before!”
Just as Byleth was starting to get frustrated at all the questions while she was trying to be silent and keep an eye on Miklan they heard a voice. “Fe? Fe is that you?” the voice whispered.
Beautiful Boy next to her started frantically swinging his head around. Miklan had passed the treeline and she didn't see a good way to follow without getting caught, so Byleth turned her attention to the boy beside her. “SYL!!!” Good thing they weren’t trying to sneak anymore. “SYL! Where are you?!” Beautiful Boy was in hysterics now.
“Fe. I’m down here. Shhh!” the voice whispered.
Byleth nudged the boy, he was too busy leaning over the edge of the well to acknowledge her. It must be the heir down there. She ran back to the gazebo to grab one of the torches and ran back as fast as she could to the well. Beautiful Boy hadn't even realized she was gone. As soon as she put the torch over the hole she saw it, a shock of red hair just like the Margrave and that young man, Miklan. The boy was stuck about twenty feet down at the bottom of the old well and was soaking wet. If he has been gone since early afternoon, covered in water, in this weather we need to get him warm FAST.
“SYL! I can’t believe we found you!” Beautiful Boy was crying again. Byleth didn’t want to wait any longer and risk the boy at the bottom of the well getting any sicker than he probably was.
She grabbed Beautiful Boy by the shoulders, “Run back and grab as many of the mercenaries as you can. Grab rope and blankets and meet me here. I’ll stay and guard him. Understand?”
It took the poor boy a few seconds to calm down before he sprinted off, still sniffling, hopefully to follow her instructions. After a few seconds of quiet the boy in the well started to talk again. It was barely a whisper as he said, “You shouldn’t have come. If you had been just a little longer Miklan would have gotten everything he wanted, and everything would be better without me and this stupid Crest.” He sounded like he had been crying for a long time. He was horse and his teeth were clicking as he talked. He must be freezing. I need to get him out of there NOW if we want a chance of him surviving.
She was trying to figure out what he meant when she heard running footsteps coming from the forest. Before she could draw the dagger on her belt she was tackled into the snow by someone a lot bigger than she was. When she was tackled, she dropped the torch and it went out as soon as it touched the snow. Thankfully the moon was bright enough that she could see her attacker’s face as he snarled down at her, it was Miklan. “What do you think you’re doing, little bitch? I haven’t seen you here before. Are you trying to play hero for the little piece of shit?” He spit in her face.
There was a burning sensation in Byleth’s chest when she spoke, “You did this”, she gritted out through her teeth. It wasn’t a question. She knew she was right about him.
She was at a severe disadvantage. Miklan was obviously a lot bigger than she was and her dagger was still in her belt. She could hear the boy in the well screaming hoarsely at Miklan, “It’s not her fault Miklan. Just let her go! It’s me you want. Don’t hurt her!” But Miklan wasn’t listening. He had a nasty look in his eyes as he looked over her that Byleth had been seeing for the last couple years as she had been maturing. It was not a good omen for where this fight was going. She tried to knee him in the groin but he was quick to pin her limbs.
Just before she could try anything else she felt more than saw someone try to tackle Miklan to the side. It was Beautiful Boy, he was back! He was too small to do anything, but it had been the perfect distraction for Byleth to free her right hand, grab her dagger, and slash it across Miklan’s face right between his eyes. She wouldn’t kill him. She knew if she killed a noble’s kid it wouldn’t end well. Not without proof that he had been the cause of all this.
Miklan roared as she rolled him off of her. She immediately placed herself between Miklan and Beautiful Boy, crouching in a defensive stance while clutching her dagger. Without looking she asked if he was alright, but she didn’t get an answer. She risked looking back and saw he was still conscious and watching her with wide eyes and his mouth open in awe. It looked like Miklan had hit him with his elbow when the boy had attempted to tackle him. As soon as she realized the boy didn’t need immediate help she turned her sights back on Miklan. The gash on his face had distracted him for a moment, but he was now barreling right toward her. She took the hilt of her dagger and swung it up as hard as she could so the butt of it connected with Miklan’s nose. When he ducked and put his hands to his face, she struck him in the back of the head, knocking him out.
As soon as Miklan dropped like a rock she heard Jeralt scream her name. He was heading out of the building with a group of the mercenaries and some of the knights of Gautier. The knights saw Miklan on the ground and were immediately in a defensive stance.
Jeralt grabbed the rope from one of the mercenaries and ran over to her. “Kid. What’s going on? Some boy came and said to grab rope and blankets and meet you out here. Did you find the heir?” She tilted her head toward the well and watched as the blood drained from his face. She grabbed the rope from his shoulder and tied it around her waist with a knot her father had taught her when she was young. She knew it would hold if they were careful. As soon as she knew it was secure she gave the other end to Jeralt and nodded. Jeralt got the attention of the other adults and everyone grabbed onto the rope. She spared a last glance at Beautiful Boy to make sure he was alright before climbing over the edge of the well and descending.
She couldn’t hear the heir, but she hoped she could wake him if he had passed out. When she was finally at the bottom she couldn’t see much in the darkness before someone at the top had the sense to put a torch over the hole like she had earlier. She couldn’t see much of his features because it was too dark, but he was awake. He was leaning against the wall staring forward at nothing with the dirty, freezing water up to his waist. He wouldn’t even look at her until she nudged him with her arm and whispered, “I need you to wrap your arms around my neck and hold on tight.” He complied without saying anything. He was freezing as he pressed his body against hers. After she tugged on the rope they finally started to ascend.
When they finally reached the top she took in the situation. Miklan was gone as well as some of the knights, though a few were still there. Beautiful Boy ran up to the heir as soon as they were standing and embraced him. The boy that had been at the bottom of the well was still quiet and didn’t seem to realize what was going on. After a few seconds he passed out, probably in shock from the cold. Beautiful Boy let out a yelp as he tried to catch the heir. Byleth felt a tightness in her chest as she watched him drop to the ground, then she was running at one of the knights who had the blankets and wrapping both boys in the them with more care than she ever remembered using. Beautiful Boy was watching the boy from the well anxiously as she checked them both over. The boy from the well was still breathing, but he would probably have a nasty fever if they didn't get him in fast. Jeralt’s eyes were wide when she finally glanced up at him, but he didn’t say anything.
She shook her head and said, "Can someone get these boys out of the cold?"
That was all it took for the knights to finally come back to their senses. Two of the men immediately walked over and grabbed the unconscious heir and started to carry him inside. Another walked over to Beautiful Boy and started to walk him back toward the building. She noticed he was crying again. Byleth hoped he wasn’t still sad. Before she could think anything else, one of the knights roughly grabbed her arms and tied her wrists. Jeralt and the mercenaries from their group immediately started protesting and asking what was going on. She made eye contact with Jeralt and shook her head.
She had expected this. She may have been trying to help, but she had still harmed Miklan, the son of a noble. She just hoped that once the Margrave understood the situation he would let her go.