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Edelgard didn’t enroll in Garreg Mach to make friends. She enrolled to acquire skills and gather as much information regarding the Church as possible in preparation for what she had planned. Forming relationships beyond simple acquaintances would only serve to distract her, and when her war would finally come to fruition, there was no guarantee her new “friends” would follow her down the path she had cut. Nor did she expect them to. It was a path that will be stained red with the blood of countless people for the sake of forging a new future for Fodlan. The fewer people she grew attached to, the easier it will be.

With Hubert at her side, Edelgard thought that she didn’t need anyone else. But she didn’t anticipate a noble from the Kingdom to catch her attention the way that Ingrid did.

***

“Edie, I have a favor to ask,” Dorothea said without preamble while they were taking tea together one day.

Edelgard reflexively grinned at the nickname as she set down the novel she had been reading beside her teacup. She wasn’t here to make friends, but Dorothea had a magnetism about her, making the conviction behind such a statement hard to uphold. Her easy smiles and endearing quirk to nickname her classmates had gradually won Edelgard over, and the princess would happily say that Dorothea was someone she’d call a good friend. 

“Of course, Dorothea. What do you need?”

She sighed through her nose, a noticeable crease between her brows. “You are familiar with Ingrid Galatea, yes?”

Edelgard didn’t often speak with students outside of her house, but crossing paths with them around the monastery, especially in the dining hall where Ingrid can almost always be found, was more or less inevitable.

“Enough to say hello, I would say,” Edelgard eventually answered. “What about her?”

“Well, I had a conversation with her the other day regarding her latest marriage proposal.”

Edelgard winced sympathetically. She was no stranger to arranged marriages. Politically charged unions were to be expected within the nobility of all of Fodlan, especially when there is a crest involved in the union. Ingrid bore the Crest of Daphnel if memory serves. It would explain away the reason for the proposal. But even so, she felt a twinge of sadness at the notion of Ingrid being at the mercy of such an arrangement. It wasn’t a fate she’d wish on anyone, and in the future she wanted to forge, it will be completely done away with.

“I see,” she said simply before taking a sip of her tea. “If the help you’re seeking is for me to intervene in the arrangement, I’m afraid my stature only reigns in Adrestian affairs.”

Dorothea shook her head. “I know that, but something about it doesn’t feel right, Edie.” She leaned back in her chair.

“You mean aside from the very concept of marrying against your will?” Edelgard guessed dryly.

“Well, yes of course! But beyond that, it’s this particular suitor in general. I know of this man and his reputation is abhorrent to say the least. While I will admit that they are only rumors, my instincts are telling me that this man may resort to less than savory means of getting what he wants.” Dorothea wrapped her arms around herself, her eyes glazed over with memories of her time at the opera and how she had been the victim of malicious men’s desires. “I feel that having the rest of my classmates with me would be the better move to conduct an investigation on him.”

The princess raised an amused brow, hoping to help alleviate the somber atmosphere as she teasingly said, “Well, I certainly didn’t take you to be a tactician sort to air on the side of caution.”

It worked somewhat as Dorothea smirked and tossed her hair over one shoulder. “I am rather full of surprises, wouldn’t you agree? But in all seriousness, will you help me, Edie?”

Edelgard’s grip on her teacup was tight. Her war was on the horizon and with it a world where the crest system is rendered irrelevant and marriages like these won’t be an issue. But if Dorothea’s instincts were to be believed, there was something she could do now .

“Of course I’ll help. Just name the time and I’ll gather the rest of the Eagles.”

***

Dorothea had been right. The “suitor” had organized an ambush intent on stealing the young Kingdom noble away. The reality of it all already boiled the imperial princess’s blood, but as she glanced over at Ingrid’s alarm and fear glazed over her features, her knuckles white around her lance, something in her snapped. This happened all because she bore a crest. Edelgard’s jaw set, teeth clicking together and she drew her axe, ready to fight. To protect.

“Don’t let them touch Ingrid!” Dorothea shouted to all of them.

And they didn’t. Edelgard personally saw to that. However, that wasn’t to say that Ingrid was entirely helpless either. Whenever she was able, Edelgard spared quick glances over at the pegasus knight, making sure that she was faring well. And each time she witnessed the woman’s level of grace and finesse she wielded not only with her lance but also her pegasus. The two moved as if they were one unit, dodging in and out of attacks before dealing a killing blow of their own. It was entrancing to watch, and it was a shame that they were fighting for their lives, otherwise Edelgard could watch forever.

The battle was over with no casualties or major injuries sustained. Though she was shaken from the encounter, Ingrid expressed her gratitude to the Black Eagles, Dorothea especially.

Naturally, Edelgard assumed that would be the end of it, that they would all return to being mere classmates. However, following her conversation with Dorothea, Ingrid requested a moment of her time.

The inquiry surprised her, which soon gave way to curiosity and so she agreed to the meeting. 

They walked side by side towards the gazebos. When they arrived, the pegasus knight turned and bowed at the waist to the Imperial Princess. 

“Thank you for your help today, Your Highness. If it wasn’t for you and the Black Eagles... I don’t want to imagine where I’d be right now.”

Edelgard gestured for her to rise. “Enough with the bowing, Ingrid,” she lightly admonished, adding a soft chuckle at the end to ensure that she wasn’t outright scolding her. “Here at Garreg Mach we are both students and thus equals.”

Ingrid looked unsure, but she righted her posture regardless. “As you say...”

“Edelgard,” the princess gently insisted.

“Yes of course,” Ingrid flustered then tried again. “As you say, Edelgard . Even so, my gratitude is sincere. Had I been more mindful of this man’s intentions, you and your House wouldn’t have been endangered as well.”

“Don’t think in past tense, Ingrid. I believe I speak for my House when I say that I’m glad to see that you are safe now. Though,” she gave the woman a wry smile, “I assume this won’t be the last marriage proposal you will receive.”

Ingrid sighed, her eyes falling closed with resignation. A great, and familiar, weight fell on Edelgard’s shoulders at the heartbreaking sight. The weight of carrying on a legacy, or rather in Ingrid’s case, of holding a legacy together by the fraying ends that threatened to break.

“You’d be correct,” Ingrid said. “But it’s for the good of my family’s future. It’s my duty to see that it is secured.”

Edelgard shouldn’t be surprised that this was the fate that was laid out for someone of Ingrid’s status. But seeing her so utterly resigned and defeated by it was enough to stoke her long burning hatred of Fodlan’s skewed values of its people. There were many things she wished to say to Ingrid, the most prominent among them being why in the world Count Galatea didn’t investigate the suitor prior to agreeing to a proposal. His daughter’s life was on the line and the incriminating evidence against the merchant noble was discovered within the weekend by academy students, yet the Count only saw the lofty dowry and thought of little else. Disgusting.

But that wasn’t what Ingrid needed to hear, least of all from Edelgard. And so she focused on a different goal.

“Ingrid,” she said, her voice unexpectedly soft and somber despite her angry train of thought.

The pegasus knight raised her head, as if standing at attention. “Yes?”

“What is it that you wish for yourself?”

Ingrid startled at the question, but once the surprise ebbed she chuckled. “Well that’s easy. I want to become a knight, chivalrous and just, like the knights in Faerghus legends. I want to be the best in His Highness’s service and protect the people of the Kingdom.”

The princess kept her gaze leveled with Ingrid’s, searching her mint green eyes for something as she spoke of her true desires. Then she hummed, satisfied when she saw the beautiful spark of passion replace the dull defeat in them. They were the eyes of someone truly alive with the drive to move mountains or die trying if given the chance.

“I hope that that dream is what awaits you in your future, Ingrid,” she said in a hush as she beheld the pegasus knight’s shining conviction. It was hard to tell with the setting sun casting its orange glow, but Edelgard could swear that she saw a tint of pink in Ingrid’s cheeks, making the flutter in her chest all the more prominent.

“T-thank you,” Ingrid stuttered. “In an ideal world, maybe it could happen.”

“Yes, I suppose you’re right,” she relented. Not everyone can see that Fodlan can change for the better, not when there were centuries of tradition in the way of such a vision. 

She cleared her throat. “Well. You had a trying day, Ingrid, I shall leave you to rest. But if there are more suspicious proposals, you can count the Black Eagle House to be first in line to dispose of him.”

The princess didn’t wait for the response and turned to leave, if only to hide that she was holding her chest in a lame attempt to quell her thundering heart.

***

A few weeks passed and things seemed to have gone back into its normal routine. All except for the Adrestian princess sneaking glances at one Kingdom pegasus knight whenever the opportunity allowed it. Whether it be in passing between classes, bouts in the training hall, or from opposite ends of the dining hall, Edelgard was all too aware of Ingrid’s presence than she had before. 

At first she believed it was the result of residual protectiveness for her and it would fade in due time. But as the days turned into weeks with no sign of the fluttering in her chest subsiding whenever she laid eyes on Ingrid, Edelgard was left confused and... wanting. 

Wanting wasn’t a luxury she could allow herself to indulge in and yet it relentlessly persisted in her consciousness to the point that she tossed and turned at night and fell out of focus during lectures. In the wake of having such thoughts on a daily basis, Edelgard had picked up the habit of walking about the monastery grounds in an attempt to calm herself.

It worked somewhat. Her attention would turn to counting her footsteps rather than her want to see Ingrid’s eyes alight with passion; her idle wonders of where Ingrid might be and what sorts of things the woman was up to were replaced with mindless musings of the monastery’s choices of plantlife.

On one such day, Edelgard found herself snapped out of her reverie and frozen in her tracks as a rubber ball fell from the sky. It bounced three times before rolling to a stop right at her feet. Curiously, Edelgard picked up, turning it over in her hands. Where did this come from?

Her answer came in the form of flapping wings and hooves clomping down on the grass. A pegasus shook its mane as its rider patted its neck before they dismounted. 

Dressed in a simple training tunic and riding boots, stood Ingrid. Her face was flushed and her defined arm muscles had a sheen of sweat. She wiped her forehead with the back of hand, raising her tunic up just enough for Edelgard to see a sliver of her abdomen.

“My apologies, Your High—” the pegasus knight was about to bow her head, but she caught herself. “Wait, sorry— Edelgard . Were you hurt at all?”

Edelgard forced her eyes up to meet Ingrid’s, hardly even paying attention to the slip of formality. “No I wasn’t. What are you doing, if I may ask?” With stiff arms, she held out the ball to Ingrid who accepted it with an easy smile.

“It’s a new training regiment that myself and the other pegasus riders came up with. I submitted a petition to have a designated field to practice in so this won’t endanger any passerbys, I promise.”

“I see. Well then I applaud your diligence in doing so.”

“It’s the least I could do,” Ingrid shrugged. “You’re more than welcome to observe, if you’d like.”

Edelgard swallowed, tempted to say yes. But a lie was easier. “P-perhaps another time. I was on my way to meet with my classmates for a study session.”

Ingrid nodded. “I understand. Well, then have a good afternoon, Edelgard. Good luck with studying.” With a parting smile, the pegasus knight turned back towards her steed and kicked up onto the saddle with ease.

Edelgard’s gaze followed after her, watching as the pegasus knight threw the ball in a seemingly random direction until another student swooped in to catch it and threw it back to Ingrid.

How lucky, Edelgard thought wistfully. She took a few more seconds to admire the game of catch (or so she convinced herself of), before she tore her gaze away and forced herself to continue her aimless walk around the monastery. 

She groaned to herself, knowing that this time there was no chance of reining in her thoughts from wandering to Ingrid and her disheveled yet attractive appearance.

***

Edelgard had learned long ago that wanting things was a luxury. She allowed herself to harbor ambitions, but she drew the line at desires. So when the thought of having Ingrid join the Black Eagles crossed and proceeded to lodge itself into her mind, she was rightfully thrown for a loop. She made the mistake of contemplating asking the professor whether she could recruit the pegasus knight into their house, and her mind refused to think of anything else.

Of course it was just for the sake of having an experienced flier among their ranks in time for the Battle of the Eagle and Lion. If she so much as entertains the idea of having Ingrid in the same house to simply have her closer, she’d be done for.

But whenever she had worked up enough nerve to get the professor’s attention, she stopped herself. Her war was imminent and she had no expectations for even the members of her own house to join her cause. She hoped they would follow her when the time came, but will never expect it. So who was she to expect Ingrid to abandon her own country? She knew all too well the Kingdom’s devotion to the church. Crossing blades with the Knights of Seiros guaranteed hitting a Faerghus shaped shield in the process. She pictured her axe hitting such a shield, and when its wielder lowered it to face her, it was Ingrid’s face behind it every time; her light green eyes hard as steel and her lips curled in a snarl of fury and hatred. A knight of the Holy Kingdom fighting for her people.

As much as Edelgard wanted to prevent that from happening, ‘wanting’ wasn’t something she could afford to divulge in. Not when she had a greater cause to uphold. 

And so the attack in the Holy Tomb carried on, and in the end, the professor and the rest of the Eagles joined her, much to her delighted surprise. That in of itself was too good to be true. Yet as she settled into her tent at the temporary base with the impending attack on Garreg Mach within days, any good mood she felt was dashed as the possibility of seeing Ingrid on the other side of the battlefield stuck in her mind. No matter how many times she told herself that that was the nature of war and that a war was better than a peace built on oppression, a selfish part of her wanted a chance to pull Ingrid to her side. A part of her wanted to keep Ingrid out of the bloody conflict that was sure to follow, keep her alive to see the future she wanted to bring to Fodlan, a future where she would be free from the chains that her Crest had placed on her, free to be a knight rather than a reluctant wife to some lord who wouldn’t love her.

But again, ‘wanting’ had no place amongst her responsibilities as an Emperor.

During the siege, she found herself flicking her gaze upward, bracing herself to look upon Ingrid’s battle ready form. And when she didn’t that day, she continued to do so for every battle that followed. Before she gathered flowers to mourn for the fallen, she would scan the ruined fields for a flash of blonde or a battered pegasus. She didn’t know if it was relieving to not have to lift Ingrid’s corpse from the battlegrounds or if it was worsening her mental health that she kept looking for her. It wasn’t until both Hubert’s and Dorothea’s insistence that she ceased the practice that she finally abstained from her fruitless searching. 

The months of war turned into a year and before she knew it, two years had passed since the Siege of Garreg Mach. She returned to Enbarr to tend to stately affairs and maintain morale within the Adrestian capital. And that was precisely when a knock came at the door of her office.

“Enter,” she called out, not looking up from her paperwork. It was likely Hubert and his latest reports gathered from the borders.

“Hello, Edie,” Dorothea’s greeting came instead.

She startled in her chair. “Oh, Dorothea. What brings you here?”

“There is something I want to ask you, but I had the idea to discuss it over tea rather than in this stuffy office.”

Despite having a mountain of papers to look over and the long list of missives to draft, her curiosity was piqued. She’s seen that look on Dorothea’s face before: the downturn of her lips, her fingers laced in front of her, her eyes clouded with worry. Something was troubling her.

They retreated to the palace gardens where a small arrangement of tables beneath a gazebo awaited them. The tea set had already been prepared with pastries and the smell of apple and cinnamon wafted from the teapot.

“The last time you called me for tea with that look on your face, we thwarted a merchant noble’s kidnapping attempt,” Edelgard mused as she poured the tea.

Dorothea chuckled. “Your memory is as sharp as ever, Edie. I wasn’t aware that I have a specific face for such a specific occasion.”

“So who’s on the chopping block then?” Edelgard said smugly into her teacup.

“It’s... not quite like that.”

“Yes I figured as much, I was only teasing.” She went to sip her drink.

“But it does involve Ingrid,” Dorothea finally said.

Edelgard nearly spat out her tea. She didn’t bother to cover up her blatant lapse in decorum, though she opted to at least wipe her mouth before frantically saying, “Ingrid? Did something happen to her?” She assumed the worst, feeling the air around her suspend with anticipation and her heart pounding in her ears.

“She’s fine,” Dorothea quickly assured. “Well, as far as I know. We’ve been exchanging letters for the past few months, but they’ve been regrettably brief to ensure she isn’t caught colluding with an Imperial soldier.”

Edelgard sighed in relief. “I see.”

“She’s been asking questions about your reasons for this war. I sent her a copy of your manifesto to better explain. Apparently it wasn’t able to reach the Kingdom in the first place.”

The emperor nodded solemnly. “I’m not surprised. Withholding documents and literature is nothing new for the Church, no doubt it’s a practice that extends to the Kingdom as well. It’s risky for her to have the manifesto in her possession at all,” she fretted.

“Don’t worry, Edie, Ingrid is a smart girl, she won’t let herself get caught with it. But that’s besides the point. Her most recent letter came this morning requesting to have an audience with you.”

“An audience?” Edelgard could hardly believe her ears. “She’s coming here? You convinced her to join our cause?”

“Well,” Dorothea tossed her hair over a shoulder, “as convincing as I can be, I did no such thing to Ingrid. She came to me first and I merely answered her questions.”

Edelgard was convinced that she must’ve fallen asleep at her desk and was dreaming this entire conversation. Pinching her wrist, of course, assured her that that wasn’t the case. Ingrid was not only still alive but was wanting to come here of her own volition.

“I hope to pen a response to her soon,” Dorothea continued, tracing a fingertip around the rim of her teacup. “I’m worried about her deserting the Kingdom, she’ll make many enemies out of the people she called friends.”

Edelgard hummed thoughtfully. What sort of courage would it take to come to that sort of decision? Would Ingrid come to regret it when she arrived here? Would the Adrestian side of the war be too harrowing for the Kingdom noble and she resorts to desertion once more? Edelgard would let her go, of course, but would she even have the strength to do so again?

In her whirlwind of what-ifs, Ingrid’s passionate green eyes came into the forefront of her thoughts, the eyes of someone who will move mountains or die trying.

She can take this chance—no, she can give Ingrid this chance.

With the image warm and cemented in her mind, the emperor nodded definitively. “If Ingrid’s conviction is strong, I will welcome her in Adrestia without hesitation, Dorothea, you have my word. Give her the response that I accept her request for an audience.”

***

The journey from Fhirdiad to Enbarr was a long way to travel, but she had confidence that Ingrid and her pegasus would make it safely. In the meantime, she went about preparations, getting a room set up and informing the rest of the Black Eagle Strike Force of her arrival.

On the day of Ingrid’s appearance, Edelgard waited at the city gates, scanning the skies for any sign of a pegasus. She had an entourage of guards behind her at Hubert’s insistence, something she wished she could forego entirely. However, she conceded that she had an image to maintain. It would be suspicious for the Emperor to be meeting with a Kingdom soldier alone, regardless of the fact that Ingrid had deserted her post.

Finally, a pegasus broke through the clouds above. Its white wings caught the sunlight iridescently like it was descending from the heavens. But it wasn’t anything compared to seeing Ingrid for the first time since the siege. Two years wasn’t a long time, but it still aged her. Her cheeks were sharper and when she dismounted her pegasus, Edelgard could see that the muscles in her legs and arms had hardened from battle.

She was here. She was here in Enbarr and Edelgard could hardly believe it.

The emperor was so caught up in her staring that she didn’t snap out of it until Ingrid tossed aside her weapons out of her reach and she knelt down on one knee with her head bowed. The guards around her shifted, unsure of how to react to the action, but Edelgard paid them little mind as she allowed her feet to carry her closer to the kneeling pegasus knight.

“Ingrid Brandl Galatea,” she said, hoping that she sounded like an emperor.

“Your Majesty,” came the response. Even her voice sounded older, but no less as beautiful as she remembered it to be.

“Dorothea informed me of your arrival and your request for an audience with me.”

The pegasus knight nodded curtly. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

She couldn’t help herself anymore. Against her better judgment, Edelgard reached out and gingerly pressed her gauntleted hand under Ingrid’s chin to lift her eyes to meet her own. A wave of nostalgia and longing overcame her as she beheld the light green eyes she regretted not seeing one last time before the Garreg Mach siege. They stared back up at her unwavering with sincerity and surrender. She was truly here...

It took all of her willpower to finally release Ingrid’s chin. “Well then. Seeing as you’ve disarmed yourself so willingly, I will make good on my word in granting you an audience. Note that one wrong move, you’ll be sent to the dungeons.” She hated having to say those words, but her priorities must remain to her title, not her frivolous and hopeless crush.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Ingrid complied. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

She signaled the guards to gather Ingrid’s things and her pegasus before they made their way back to the palace. The captain of the guards fell in step behind her and she beckoned him closer.

“Captain,” the emperor said in a low voice.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“See to it that our guest’s belongings are sent to the room I've prepared and that her steed is well taken care of at the stables.”

“At once, Your Majesty,” the captain complied.

Edelgard faced forward once more and continued to spearhead the trek back towards the palace. All the while, she felt her hand twitch and tingle. The same hand that had held Ingrid’s chin. 

Despite being clad entirely with steel, Edelgard couldn’t deny the warmth that had blossomed in her palm. She curled her fingers inward, as if hoping that she could hold the warmth there indefinitely.

At the throne room, Edelgard circled Ingrid with her hands folded behind her back to keep herself from wringing them together. Her clacking heels against the stone floor managed their usual intimidation effect, but it did little to quell the anxiousness clawing up her throat. 

Hubert and Dorothea looked on from the sidelines. Her advisor and the trusted general who vouched for the Kingdom noble would act as her key witnesses while she conducted the interrogation.

“Born of House Galatea and distant relative to House Daphnel of the Alliance, of which you bear its Crest. In addition, you are a childhood friend of King Dimitri of the Holy Kingdom,” she listed, her voice echoing through the throne room, the voice of an emperor, yet nothing like how she felt inside. “Is there anything I’ve missed?”

“No, Your Majesty,” Ingrid answered. Her posture didn’t waver, nor did her expression crack under the emperor’s gaze.

“Then you understand how wary I am knowing that someone of your position would want to have little to do with the Empire. Moreover, to make such a long journey for the sake of defection raises suspicion. So why come here to Enbarr?” She leaned in closer to Ingrid, wanting her next words to be heard only by her. “Why come here to me?”

Edelgard had spent days surmising Ingrid’s motivations for choosing to cross into enemy lines out of all the other courses of action she could’ve taken instead. Now she needed to hear it from the woman’s own lips.

The pegasus knight kept her eyes forward as she gave her answer, though the shudder that had coursed through her didn’t escape Edelgard’s notice, even as she continued her circling.

“I learned what you plan to do about the nobility and Crests. My life has been dictated by both to the point where my own desires are devalued.”

Edelgard stopped, giving her former classmate her full attention.

The knight swallowed before continuing. “When I tried to imagine what Fodlan would be like without Crests and nobility, I couldn’t fathom it... But you do. You see it enough to carry out this war. I want to see it too,” Ingrid concluded.

The throne room plunged into silence. As the emperor digested the noble’s words, she felt the kindling of hope within her. So Ingrid does have a reason to be here. But there needed to be more. She couldn’t let her personal feelings cloud her judgment, there needed to be an undeniable reason. 

“I see,” she said simply, maintaining her authoritative composure despite her lightheadedness. “And how is it you hope to see my vision for Fodlan?”

“Fighting under your command if that is what it takes, Your Majesty,” came Ingrid’s near immediate answer.

Edelgard bristled, fingers curling into her gauntlet. Fighting under those with status and power had no place within her army, no place in the Fodlan she wanted to build. That can’t be it, Ingrid. That can’t be the only thing.

“And what of your king?” she pressed. “I am not of the Kingdom, but I am familiar with its code of arms and the creed of its knights. Undying loyalty until you draw your last breath, from what I understand. A sacred oath that if broken is punishable by death. You and your fellow Blue Lion classmates were proud of upholding this, were you not?”

Her heart hammered against her ribcage in anticipation of Ingrid’s response. The code of arms of the Kingdom isn’t something that is taken lightly by its citizens, whether they be commoners or nobility, and it was an infamous reputation to anyone outside of Faerghus. She wanted Ingrid to be here and be free of the burdens beset by her Crest, but even as emperor, that reason alone won’t be enough to convince her soldiers, her generals, or even her citizens for a Kingdom soldier, one who had fought side by side with King Dimitri himself, to join her ranks.

For the first time since their initial meeting at the city gates, Ingrid’s eyes met hers. In that moment, Edelgard saw the swirling self doubt in the noble’s green irises, a sheen of a million thoughts fighting for attention yet they all culminated into one singular conclusion: she shouldn’t be here.

Edelgard dropped her emperor persona at the sight and instead relaxed her posture to better convey her patience for the pegasus knight to explain. All the while, she pleaded in her head for Ingrid to come to a conclusion, to find her conviction beyond just fighting under someone of status and power. 

Don’t let that be the only thing, she repeated in her mind, as if hoping that through sheer will alone Ingrid could hear her.

Then something in Ingrid shifted, a renewed strength. “I understand that my being here would raise doubt, Your Majesty,” she began before drawing a steady breath. “I will not lie about the fact that it saddens me to see what my friend has become. Perhaps under different circumstances I would have stayed with him. If it were a time of peace, I believe that he would’ve made a worthy king. But with all due respect, Your Majesty, I’m not in the kingdom anymore.”

Edelgard was surprised to see a small, wry smile sneak onto Ingrid’s expression. What had brought that on? she wondered.

“As long as it took me to finally realize, the notion of loyalty I have been disciplined to uphold is flawed and often given blindly. And despite having always known, the title I held in Faerghus has done nothing for me except lay out a future that I did not want. Dimitri may be king, but he is not my king for he doesn’t fight for Fodlan. At least... he fights for a Fodlan that is long overdue for antiquity.”

The speech was more than enough for the emperor. If she could, she would’ve sighed deeply at the sheer relief of hearing Ingrid’s words

But Ingrid didn’t stop there.

Ingrid held a hand over her heart, an unexpected action as opposed to crossing an arm over her chest or even kneeling like a soldier would be expected to do. 

“I choose to fight for Fodlan’s future, Your Majesty,” she pledged. “If you will have me.”

Edelgard smiled at the gesture, feeling her chest grow warm in a way she hadn’t felt since her academy days.

 “Then I welcome you to Adrestia, Ingrid Galatea,” she declared. Then she felt a pang of sympathy towards the pegasus knight at what she was about to say next. “I cannot tell whether or not it is in your favor that you came when you did, but we are to return to Garreg Mach within the next day to prepare for a possible attack. I’m afraid you are in for a march so soon after your long journey.”

It was subtle and brief, but Edelgard could see the break in Ingrid’s expression, a flash of dread and exhaustion. But it was schooled into cool neutrality as she bowed to the Emperor. “It will be no trouble for me at all, Your Majesty.”

“Good. In the meantime, Dorothea will show you to your temporary accommodations. I’m sure you two will enjoy some time to catch up and for you to get some rest. This meeting is concluded. You are dismissed.”

Dorothea was quick to arrive at Ingrid’s side, linking their arms together to usher her out of the throne room with unbridled elation, though not before Ingrid rushed to say, “Thank you, Your Majesty!” just as the doors slammed shut in front of her.

Edelgard looked on with amusement as she hummed to herself, satisfied at how this had turned out.

“Are you certain you’ve made the correct decision to trust her, Your Majesty,” Hubert’s cold voice pierced through her thoughts.

Edelgard straightened, becoming emperor once more. “She traveled a long way and stated her motivations for being here loud and clear. That is good enough for me,” she said.

Hubert crossed his arms over his chest, staring at the throne room doors in disdain as if he could see the former Kingdom knight on the other side. “Spies are not above performing such charades, Your Majesty. I humbly advise that you exercise caution until I can surmise her true intentions.”

Edelgard sighed. “Very well, Hubert, if it puts you at ease then I’ll allow investigations. However, keep your methods within reason. I have little reason to doubt Ingrid’s intentions for joining us and I trust that you won’t find anything that proves otherwise.”

Hubert bowed to her. “With all due respect, Your Majesty, but I strongly suggest that you are sure that your... personal feelings are put aside for the time being regarding this rather unique situation.”

The emperor flinched, but only slightly and attempted to hide her slip by clearing her throat. “I don’t know what you’re referring to, Hubert. Now if you’ll excuse me, I believe that you left some documents on my desk earlier.”

The retainer bowed once more, this time saying nothing. However, his persistent furrowed brows and a shadow casted over his eyes already spoke volumes.

***

Everything was in order for their upcoming march to Garreg Mach. The commanders and captains reported to her announcing their final inspections of provisions and troops. All there was left was the confirmation from the pegasus wing commander, who was reliably making her rounds about the stables when Edelgard sought her out.

“Commander Nora,” Edelgard greeted.

The armored woman immediately turned and stood at attention, giving the emperor a crisp salute. “Your Majesty.”

“How are your preparations? We expect that we are ready to begin the march within the hour.”

The commander nodded. “My squadrons are already saddled and equipped, Your Majesty. All there is left is to send out my scouts ahead of us. Though there is one minor setback it seems.”

Edelgard raised a brow. “Oh?”

“It’s the new recruit, Your Majesty. A few of my troops have spotted her having some difficulty with her pegasus,” she reported.

Worry creased Edelgard’s forehead. Was there something wrong with Ingrid’s pegasus? Had the journey from Fhirdiad been too much for the poor creature? At that thought, her worry gave way to guilt. “I see.”

“Yes, I was about to see what the issue was for myself before you arrived.”

“No need, Commander,” Edelgard quickly said. “Go give the scouts the order to take off. I will address this myself.”

Commander Nora looked ready to protest as she was more than willing and able to handle both tasks. But as she caught sight of a worried glint in the emperor’s eye, she thought better than to deny her request. And so, she saluted. “As you wish, Your Majesty.”

As the wing commander left, Edelgard drew a deep breath and turned to face the stable entrance. The guilt still gnawed at her as worst case scenarios whirled about in her mind. If Ingrid’s pegasus was indeed injured, she felt responsible for it.

From within the stables, she heard frustrated muttering and whinnies, prompting her to finally head inside. The sight that met her, however, wasn’t one that she was expecting at all. Instead of a fretting Ingrid kneeling over an injured pegasus, the knight was tugging on her steed’s reins, but the mount refused to budge.

Other riders in the neighboring stalls snickered and giggled under their breaths at the scene before them as they guided their own mounts out of the stables. They bowed their heads to Edelgard as they did so, making no effort to hide their lingering amused smiles. Meanwhile, Ingrid paid them no mind, though Edelgard could see that the tips of her ears were pink.

“Please, Boreas, we’re going to get left behind if you don’t move,” Ingrid pleaded. “We’re not going far this time, I promise. I’ll give you extra treats when we get there.”

Edelgard watched as the pegasus stubbornly dug his hooves into the dirt floor and snorted in Ingrid’s face. The knight released the reins, crossed her arms, and gave a snort of her own in retaliation.

Before she could stifle it, Edelgard giggled behind a hand, drawing Ingrid’s attention. There was a moment of panic in the pegasus knight’s eyes until she quickly schooled her expression and righted her posture.

“Having trouble, you two?” Edelgard asked, her voice quaking with residual laughter as she walked over to them.

“Yes, but nothing that can’t be handled, Your Majesty. We’ll be ready soon,” Ingrid dutifully reassured while her steed knocked his head against her side, making her stumble. “Stop it,” she hissed.

Edelgard tilted her head curiously as she observed the two. It was clear that they had a strong bond, perhaps dating back to the days at the academy. Then she recalled the battle with the merchant noble where Ingrid rode and fought atop her pegasus like it was as easy as breathing. It was breathtaking to witness first-hand, frighteningly so at the time that she’d be so enraptured by the pegasus knight’s combat prowess. But who could’ve assumed that Edelgard would also be so endeared by the duo’s bickering like they were the best of friends.

“What is his name?” Edelgard wondered.

“Boreas, Your Majesty.”

“Boreas,” she hummed. She reached out a hand towards his long nose. But halted as she remembered herself. “Would he mind if I...?” Her voice trailed off. She wasn’t used to being uncertain, especially not for something so simple as asking permission to pet a horse.

“Um... no he’s friendly, but uh...” Ingrid stammered, her face growing pinker by the second. No one in their right mind would even think to lose their words in front of the Adrestian Emperor, but Edelgard hardly minded this. It reminded her of her academy days when she was once an equal amongst her peers. It was refreshing to see again from someone who wasn’t a part of the Black Eagle Strike Force.

“Do you trust me, Your Majesty?” Ingrid abruptly asked.

To which Edelgard frowned. “Yes, of course.” Why wouldn’t she?

Before Edelgard could inquire further about Ingrid’s intention behind such a question, the pegasus knight gently grasped her gloved hand and placed her other against Boreas’s muzzle. The two held each other’s gazes as Ingrid brought their joined hands closer to the pegasus’s face. Smiling in reassurance, Ingrid slowly replaced the hand she had on his nose with Edelgard’s. 

All the while, Boreas held perfectly still and once Edelgard’s hand lay flat against him, he nudged closer into her touch, assuaging the last of the Emperor’s hesitation. 

She sighed in relief and ran her hand down the length of Boreas’s nose affectionately. “He’s beautiful,” she complimented.

“Too bad his attitude right doesn’t match,” Ingrid said wryly as she gave her pegasus a glare.

“I’ll take the blame for that,” Edelgard chuckled. Then she addressed the pegasus. “I’m sorry for forcing you and your rider into another journey, Boreas, but it really isn’t terribly far. I promise that there will be treats waiting for you if you get Ingrid there, and much more for bringing her here to Enbarr. Will that be alright?”

At the sight of Boreas’s ears perking up at the promise of treats, Edelgard smiled proudly to herself, which swelled into her chest when the pegasus nodded his head fervently.

“Thank you, Boreas.” Giving him one final pat, she returned her attention back to Ingrid. “Well then, I will leave you two to finish your preparations.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

She didn’t want to leave, but the duties of an emperor never ceased and so she gave the duo a parting nod before leaving the stables. She could only hope that moving their base of operations to Garreg Mach will allow more chances to speak with the pegasus knight.

Though nothing could prepare her for what Ingrid would do once they did arrive at the monastery. It was the morning following their arrival at Garreg Mach when Edelgard found herself wracked with nostalgia and wistful memories of her days spent here as a student. The mourning doves sang their songs outside her window and the sun was peeking over the mountain tops. A beautiful morning that prompted her to fall back into her habit of taking an aimless walk about the grounds that eventually led to her remembering to check up on whether Boreas had received his promised helping of treats.

And that was when she quite literally ran into Ingrid.

“Sorry, I wasn’t—” the woman’s words halted, though Edelgard didn’t know why.

“It’s quite alright, Ingrid,” she said as she smoothed out her dress. “I’ve taken worse hits.” Edelgard raised her head, ready to give Ingrid a reassuring smile. “Where are you off to so—”

And all thoughts stopped there.

The pegasus knight was devoid of her armor and instead was dressed in a baggy tunic with its sleeves rolled up to her elbows, and riding breeches. While the more masculine clothes on Ingrid alone had rendered Edelgard speechless, it was the woman’s hair that gave the finishing blow. Gone were the long, cascading locks of blonde, and in its place was a much shorter cut that showed her ears and accentuated her facial features in a way that Edelgard wished she had her sketchbook on hand.

“Oh! You’ve cut your hair.” Miraculously, she didn’t sound as breathless or lightheaded as she felt in that moment. It was a miracle that she was able to string together coherent words at all.

“Uh, yes, I-I did, Your Majesty,” Ingrid stuttered as she reached up to twist a lock between her fingers. “I’ve always wanted shorter hair.”

The emperor swallowed. Goddess, that look should be made illegal. She cleared her throat and hummed appraisingly. “Yes, it certainly suits you well. Coupled with your attire, you look very handsome this morning.”

A furious blush ignited in Ingrid’s cheeks. “T-thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Please, no need for formalities when it’s just the two of us,” Edelgard insisted. Even two years later she was reminding Ingrid to set aside propriety and, for a moment, the two of them were classmates once more.

“Of course, Your Ma— Edelgard,” Ingrid corrected with a small smile.

Edelgard returned it. “Are you going to see Boreas?”

“Just for a quick exercise. If I’m not pushing him out of the stables regularly he gets lazy.”

“I see,” the Emperor chortled. “He’s all yours then. I was stopping by to make sure he received his treats. A promise is a promise after all.”

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were trying to steal him away from me,” Ingrid joked with a playful raise of her brow.

Edelgard’s heart fluttered in her chest. While she was used to her friends in the Black Eagle Strike Force to drop formalities around her, hearing it from Ingrid was pleasantly unfamiliar. She wanted to have more of it. But wanting was a dangerous habit to indulge.

“Oh I would never,” she defended with exaggerated offense. Then she added wistfully, “Though I will admit that riding on a pegasus has been a dream of mine since I was young. Perhaps I had the chance when I had been a student here, but there wasn’t much time. There never seems to be, especially nowadays. Flying sounds truly liberating.”

She shook her head at herself, smiling wryly at her lapse of sentimentality. “At any rate, I have some matters to attend to this morning. I hope you enjoy your flight, Ingrid.”

She made to leave, content with how her morning had transpired. But then Ingrid’s call made her pause.

“Edelgard. Would it be alright if I gave you a ride around the monastery?” Ingrid asked. “If you’d like to, I mean.”

Her eyes widened. If her heart had fluttered before, it was at a horse’s gallop now. “I would,” she said. It took every ounce of will to ensure that her voice didn’t quake with elation. Yes, perhaps one day if time permits it, I would like that very much, Ingrid.”

When the pegasus knight nodded mutely, she finally took her leave. Once she turned a corner, safe from any prying eyes, she pressed herself against the wall. 

For the first time since taking the mantle of emperor, she felt lighter than air and she buried her giddy laughter into her palm, unaware that Ingrid was doing the same.

***

Wartime has a unique effect on time. On one hand it felt as though the days and weeks were passing at an agonizing pace. And yet, whenever Edelgard consults a calendar to schedule the next meeting with the Strike Force, she realizes that months have already gone by.

This was normally due to falling into the lull of planning, negotiating, marching, et cetera. that comes with being the leader of not only the Imperial Army, but of an entire empire, demanding more and more of her attention. However this time, the flow of time was lost on her because of where her attention chose to fixate on instead.

Standing atop the wall that made up the perimeter of the monastery, Edelgard looked out into the distance, watching the sunset slowly make its descent as it always does and always will regardless of the turmoil occurring below it. The thought was humbling in a sense, knowing that regardless of the conflicts that arise in the world, there are constants within their own universe that will continue on, a promise of a future even if she herself doesn’t end up seeing it.

A shadow casted itself over her, drawing her eyes skyward where white feathers of pegasus doused in the warm orange glow kept her transfixed. Silver armor accented with the Imperial crimson shimmered in the sunset and it was then that Edelgard realized who the rider was.

Ingrid, with her lance in one hand and Boreas’s reins in the other, scanned her eyes over the monastery grounds. Her shortened hair danced in the breeze, reminding Edelgard of gallant storybook knights galloping on horseback towards their next heroic endeavor. It was a childish fantasy, but up alone on the monastery walls, she could afford herself one moment of indulgence.

Over two months since joining their ranks, Ingrid has proven to be ever diligent while on patrol. And Edelgard smiled at the sight, wishing more than anything that she could just call out to the pegasus knight and catch her gaze even if only for a moment.

As if sensing her desire, Ingrid’s attention fell onto her. She was flying too far for Edelgard to see her expression, but she hoped that she wasn’t simply imagining the smile on the knight’s lips as she waved down to the Emperor.

Edelgard waved back, feeling her heart drumming in her chest as Ingrid lingered overhead for a moment longer before continuing on with her route. The Emperor followed her shrinking form until a voice startled her out of her reverie.

“The sunset is that way, Edie,” Dorothea teased.

“Dorothea,” Edelgard greeted. “What brings you here?”

The woman waved a hand, sighing melodramatically. “Oh the usual. Wistful wondering, melancholic musings. Then I happened upon the illustrious Emperor Edelgard making eyes at our dear Ingrid and just simply couldn’t help myself.”

Edelgard rolled her eyes. “I suppose I’ve known you long enough to not expect anything less from you,” she remarked.

That earned a giggle from the former songstress as she watched Ingrid fly away. “She’s done well for herself here, wouldn’t you say?” she asked.

Edelgard nodded. “It’s relieving to see. I only hope that she won't regret her decision in the long run.”

“I don’t think that will be even a passing thought to her.”

“Even so... I want to show her my appreciation for her sacrifice for being here.”

“Oh? That sounds like a lovely idea, Edie. Any ideas of how you might do that?”

Edelgard threaded her fingers together behind her back, craning her neck to watch the ever darkening sky.

A breeze washed over them as she thought.

Eventually, she lowered her gaze with a ghost of a smile on her lips. “I may have an idea. I’ll need Bernadetta’s help, and yours if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all. What do you need?”

***

“I have chosen a worthy candidate for the scouting mission we discussed, Your Majesty,” Commander Nora reported.

Edelgard looked up from the map spread out over the large table where she had placed an assortment of markers representing her battalions and the Kingdom’s own whereabouts. Another month had gone by and there was a sizable gap between Garreg Mach and the last known location of the Kingdom forces in the north. Coupled with an unnerving lull of enemy forces marching their way, she and the wing commander agreed that sending a scout to the areas would be the best course of action to ensure that they weren’t about to become the victims of a surprise attack.

“Very good, Commander. Who have you chosen?”

“Ingrid Galatea, Majesty.”

The wooden figurine in the Emperor’s grip creaked under the sudden pressure of her shock. Ingrid?

Commander Nora, unaware of Edelgard’s apprehension, went on to provide her justification. “She has proven herself a capable soldier in my squadron. She and her pegasus work well and they both have experience with long distance travel. Coupled with her previous affiliation with the Kingdom, she could discern their military strategy far better than one of our own as they are only left to speculate. I cannot think of a more suited soldier for this mission.” She finished her speech with a low, respectable bow of her head.

Edelgard chewed at her bottom lip. It had been a few months since Ingrid had joined their ranks and to hear that the woman had garnered such recognition in such a short time made her chest swell with pride. But it never failed to give way to the dread of one day losing her in battle, or in this case, losing her to a scouting mission. What if she were captured? The soldiers of the Kingdom wouldn’t take kindly to seeing her, the traitor of her own homeland. She couldn’t even begin to fathom the ruthlessness Dimitri would inflict upon the woman he had once called a cherished childhood friend.

She had half a mind to refuse the recommendation and order someone else to take the mission instead.

“And has she been informed of this mission, Commander?” she asked.

“Indeed, Your Majesty. She has accepted the task readily and only awaits your permission to send her off.”

Edelgard closed her eyes with a resigned sigh. So Ingrid agreed to this, undoubtedly aware of the dangers. Though Edelgard wanted to keep Ingrid out of unnecessary danger, she reminded herself that as emperor she can’t be left to want, nor can she go against her creed of allowing individuals to make their own choices and to prove themselves on their merits alone. 

Ingrid was capable. And so she will trust that she will return.

“Very well,” the emperor acquiesced. “You both have my order to go through with this mission. How soon can she depart?”

“Before the day is out, Your Majesty,” the commander promised.

With a final nod, Edelgard dismissed her and sank down into the nearest chair. As soon as her feet were relieved of the weight of her heavy regalia, she fell into a pensive state. Though she’s only been with them for a few months, Edelgard couldn’t deny that Ingrid had become something of a comfort to have around the monastery. She and the pegasus knight have taken meals together, shared passing glances that offered solace in an otherwise hectic day, regardless of how short the exchange was. Not only did Ingrid give her hope that the people of the Kingdom can see merits in her cause, but she carried the memories of a simpler time just as the rest of the Black Eagles do. 

The duration of this mission could last for as short as three days to as long as a week, or perhaps even more. Either one was far too much time to be apart from the woman.

She buried her face into her hand and sighed through her fingers, quietly berating herself for being so sentimental. Now was not the time for personal feelings to impede on her military’s abilities. The suspicious silence of the Kingdom army must be investigated. It was merely a reconnaissance mission, not espionage. She shouldn’t be anxious about this, especially not to this degree.

And yet it persisted, gripping her insides like a beast with prey in its maw.

Edelgard shoved herself up to stand, making the wooden chair squeal loudly over the stone floor. These thoughts were unproductive. There was something she could do instead.

If Ingrid was to leave before the day’s end, then she will see her off. While Emperor Edelgard wasn’t above giving soldiers individual recognition, Edelgard wanted to do something more for the woman she had come to see as a friend.

***

“This was easier in my head,” she grumbled to herself as she stared down at the array of ingredients she splayed out over the kitchen countertop. The cooks spared whatever they could for her endeavor of making a meal, though it wasn’t much considering the need for rationing during war time. Still, she was determined to make something out of the vegetables and spices afforded to her.

The problem was knowing where to begin.

“What are you trying to make?” Bernadetta asked as she eyed the counter as well. It was embarrassing that despite the professor’s attempts at having Edelgard in the kitchen for cooking duty, the Emperor’s skills did not lie in culinary arts. And so Edelgard had called upon Bernadetta for guidance, thinking that it’d be best to have one other witness around to ensure that she did things correctly. The woman had grown more at ease around Edelgard, especially after sharing one of her most well kept secrets regarding her fear of the ocean. That day served as a reminder that her vulnerabilities can lead to forging stronger bonds and ensure her humanity even if it was to a few people. If admitting her ineptitude in the culinary arts also meant maintaining friendship with one of the most important people in her life, then so be it. 

But how in the world is she supposed to answer her deceptively easy question?
She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest.

“I’m sorry! Did I offend you?” Bernadetta fretted.

“Not at all,” Edelgard reassured, unfazed by the woman’s panicked outburst. “Admittedly,  I didn’t quite think this far ahead when I had this idea. I feel like I’m staring at scattered puzzle pieces and yet I have no clue as to what sort of picture they are supposed to make.”

“Oh.” Bernadetta paused, picking up a carrot. “Well, that’s usually the fun part about cooking, there’s no one thing that you’re supposed to make.”

Edelgard smiled wryly. “Yes, I suppose that’s an optimistic way of putting it. Perhaps it’s the plethora of possibilities that I find intimidating.”

“ You, intimidated? How come?” Then, after a moment of thought, she guessed, “Are you... making something for someone else?”

Edelgard grimaced. “Is it that obvious?” she mumbled rhetorically while rubbing away the crease between her brows. 

She continued with a pained drawl, “And I suppose you know who it is I have in mind?”

Bernadetta averted her eyes and wrung her hands together. “W-well... Dorothea has a bet with the others about... yeah.”

“Fantastic.” She was hardly surprised. And yet.

“For what it’s worth though,” Bernadetta persisted, “you look happier ever since Ingrid came.” She groaned, “Oh no, I hope that doesn’t offend you.”

In spite of herself, Edelgard felt a genuine smile tug at the corner of her lips. “Not at all,” she repeated the familiar pacifying phrase with the same level of patience. “Thank you, Bernadetta. Hearing it from you is refreshingly less coquettish than if I were to hear it from Dorothea.”

“Oh! You’re welcome, Edelgard.”

“As nice as this conversation is, I’m afraid that I’m still at a loss as to what I should cook.”

“Since it’s Ingrid, she’ll eat anything,” Bernadetta joked, cracking one of her rare grins.

Edelgard chuckled. “True, but even so I wish to at least make the food edible for her trip.”

An idea shone in Bernadetta’s eyes. “Why not make her soup then? It’s the easiest thing to make with all these vegetables and it’ll be easy for her to reheat.”

Edelgard hummed, considering it. “Sounds simple enough. Where shall we start?”

Even under the tutelage of Bernadetta, the soup Edelgard concocted wasn’t as good as she hoped it would be. Regrettably, she cut the vegetables too thick and she had been a tad too generous with the salt and spices. But she didn’t have time to start over. The sun was beginning its descent behind the mountains. Ingrid would be leaving any minute now.

“Thank you for all your help, Bernadetta. I’m sorry that I asked for you when you were in the midst of completing the other project I tasked you with.”

“You’re welcome, Edelgard. I’m really glad that I can help. I’m almost done with that project anyway, so this was no trouble at all.”

“Be as it may, I owe you greatly, so whatever you need in the future do not hesitate to ask. For now, I’m afraid I’m pressed for time.” 

“Oh! Right, um, let me just find you a flask—”

Edelgard wasn’t paying attention as she hastily scooped a helping of the soup into a bowl, slammed a lid over it, and wrapped it with cloth before bolting out of the kitchen.

Bernadetta gaped after her with an empty flask in her hands, but soon she smiled and began cleaning up the mess.

Meanwhile, Edelgard walked at a brisk pace towards the stables, knowing that Ingrid would be there, but hoping that she’d make it in time to see her. She kept her precious cargo delicately balanced in her hands, overly mindful of the soup sloshing about in the bowl.

She sighed in relief when she saw the familiar short blonde hair contrasted with the crimson Imperial uniform. Ingrid was in the middle of saddling Boreas when Edelgard called out her name.

“Your Ma—Edelgard,” she quickly corrected.

“I’m glad I caught you before you left,” Edelgard said in between labored breaths.

Ingrid regarded her curiously. “Did you need something?”

“Yes.” She drew herself to her full height. “To give you this,” she said and held out the bundle to the knight.

Ingrid took it with a slow, uncertain grasp and an unspoken question behind her mint green eyes.

“I was informed that you were the one chosen for the scouting mission. I wanted to make sure that you have enough food to last until you reach the next town.” Edelgard’s gaze darted about as she spoke, unable to meet Ingrid directly. Despite her growing bashfulness, she rambled on. “I suppose in a way, this will make up for the fact that we won’t be taking meals together until you return.”

A visceral pang erupted in her chest as the words left her lips, sending a wave of heat into her cheeks and she hid her face behind a hand. “Goodness, that sounded less horribly sentimental in my mind. I’m sorry if that made you uncomfortable.”

Ingrid shook her head with a wide, radiant smile that made Edelgard forget her blunder. Oh, what she would give to have that smile immortalized to light her darkest days. “Thank you, Edelgard. I’ll be sure to enjoy this.”

Her hand fell away, unconcerned with revealing the lingering pink tint of her face. “I hope so.” She leveled her gaze to the pegasus knight. “Please be safe.”

“I will,” Ingrid said, then added with a confident smirk, “We’ve gone through way worse things, right Boreas?”

Edelgard smiled sardonically as the pegasus stomped his hoof and stood at attention, his chest puffed out with pride.

“See? We’ll be back before you know it.” Ingrid stored the bundle away and swung herself up onto the saddle.

“Even so, I wish you both safe travels.” Edelgard reached out to pet Boreas’s muzzle. Then she leaned in closer to the pegasus. “Bring her home safe,” she pleaded in a low voice. She was thankful that only the pegasus could hear how her voice cracked in the beginning and weakly tapered off at the end.

When Boreas nodded his head, a small semblance of relief nestled in the Emperor’s chest, but it didn’t assuage the lingering apprehension there.

“See you soon, Edelgard,” Ingrid promised and the duo took to the skies.

Even through the cloud of kicked up debris, Edelgard kept her eyes trained on the pegasus knight as she flew further and further away from Garreg Mach. Absently, her hand fell over her heart.

Emperor Edelgard, first and last of her name, and enemy of the Church of Seiros, wasn’t remotely religious. But her war was not with the faith itself. And so as she watched Ingrid disappear into the distance, she pleaded to the absent goddess.

Please let it be nothing more than worry .

***

Five days have passed since Ingrid’s departure and while the initial worry Edelgard felt had waned somewhat, she still found her thoughts drifting to the pegasus knight at every opportune second.

Bernadetta came to her on the fourth day, announcing that she had completed the project Edelgard had tasked her. In her arms was the ensemble that made up Ingrid’s new armor to be worn should she accept her place amongst the Black Eagle Strike Force. Edelgard had always regretted not asking Ingrid to join her house back in their academy days and in a way this was a second chance. 

The ensemble consisted of a long-sleeved flier’s coat, lined with fur at the collar, a mid-length cape flowing down the back, and overlaid by a cuirass and shoulder pauldrons. Along with it was a pair of beige riding breeches and silver plates of armor Edelgard commissioned to the blacksmith. Thanks to Dorothea’s eye for color coordination, seafoam green with white trimming made up the palette of the clothes, a call back to Ingrid’s homeland similar to how Felix was permitted to maintain a blue palette amongst the sea of Imperial crimson. Not only that though, the seafoam green complimented Ingrid’s mint eyes. Edelgard mindlessly rubbed her thumb over the material, feeling her mind wander to the memory of those glittering irises of green that she could get lost in if only the world would allow her.

Edelgard looked at her friend with a wide, beaming smile. “It’s perfect, Bernandetta. You’ve really outdone yourself.”

“Y-you’re welcome, Edelgard” she stammered under the praise. “When are you going to give it to her?”

“Ideally, once she returns from her mission,” Edelgard answered with a wistful sigh.

“Well, let me know how she likes it. Hopefully it fits her okay,” Bernadetta fretted.

To which Edelgard chuckled warmly. “I’ll be sure to tell you how she reacts. Thank you again, Bernadetta. Thank you very much.”

The ensemble was then stowed away in the wardrobe of her bedroom alongside the pair of boots that were also commissioned and had been completed first. All of them were left inside, awaiting the return of its future wearer. 

I hope she likes it too , Edelgard thought, biting her bottom lip as she did.

The next day, the emperor sat up in the Archbishop’s old office. Amongst the mountain of documents to read and letters to pen to her generals, her train of thought sputtered at the sound of the monastery bells chiming at noontime and, without fail, they prompted the memory of Ingrid’s laughter echoing through the dining hall. The memory lasted for a second, but it was enough to remind the Emperor of her absence.

It was concerning that Ingrid hadn’t sent any word regarding her progress as the week was nearing its end, but Commander Nora was quick to reassure that no news was still good news and that perhaps the lack of report meant that the enemy was further away than they originally assumed.

Though Edelgard took whatever comfort she could from the logic, it didn’t stop her from abandoning her desk full of tasks in favor of taking her usual walk around the monastery. Free time was seldom found during war, especially for an emperor. But she could at least try to make time, even if it was for a few moments.

Without thinking, her trek led her towards the stables. A part of her hoped that perhaps she would catch Ingrid just as she returned from her mission. She hoped that perhaps she would find the knight untacking her trusted steed and give that charming smile she often wears when it was just the two of them.

Her daydream was ripped away at the sound of an alarmed whinny overhead. Startled, she whirled about and felt her stomach drop like a stone at the sight of a limp and barely conscious Ingrid on Boreas’s back.

“Ingrid!” she shouted. She hardly allowed Boreas to land before she pulled the woman into her arms. Despite the layers of clothing between them, Edelgard’s heart seized at how cold she was to the touch and yet a thick sheen of feverish sweat coated her forehead.

“Edelgard,” the knight slurred, smiling faintly despite the clear exhaustion and pain on her face.

“What happened?” Edelgard adjusted her hold on Ingrid until she was in a bridal carry with her head resting in the crook of her neck where she could feel Ingrid’s shallow breaths. “Never mind you need a healer. Just stay with me, alright?”

When she received only a weak nod in response, Edelgard took off in the direction of the infirmary. She never hated how large the landscape of the monastery was until she was running for Ingrid’s life.

Soon, she bursted into the room, startling Manuela out of her chair by the window.

“Edelgard?” the physician spoke once her initial shock wore off.

“Help her,” Edelgard whimpered. “Please.”

Manuela gestured to the nearest empty cot. “What happened?” she inquired as she readied her supplies and healing tomes.

“I—I don’t know. She was barely conscious on her pegasus. Will she be alright?”

Manuela frowned, taking in the knight’s symptoms. Edelgard recognized the crease between the woman’s brows as harrowing suspicion. “Help me remove her armor,” she requested.

Edelgard nodded and looked at Ingrid. The knight’s green irises were devoid of their usual light and stared blankly at nothing. “We have to sit you up, Ingrid,” Edelgard said, doubting that she could even hear her, but talking helped somewhat. Talking made her feel a semblance of control.

She would later come to hate how her hands shook, how they made her fingers clumsy with the laces on Ingrid’s armor. But in the moment she only wished to know what had befallen her knight, and she forced her hands still with a sharp bite of her lip. Horrible possibilities filled her thoughts until finally, Ingrid’s armor fell away and her shirt was lifted.

An involuntary gasp escaped from the Emperor. Angry purple veins crawled over Ingrid’s back, turning her skin a sickly ashen gray.  The spindly tendrils pulsed and glowed with every shallow breath Ingrid took, spreading out from a single spot over her left shoulder blade that was the size of her fist. It was like some eldritch horror made real.

Edelgard has seen this spell before. Hubert and Lysithea casted it themselves many times during many battles: Nosferatu, the life stealing spell. 

But never has she seen it like this. Never has she seen it cling to its victim longer than a few hours, nor has she seen it fester like an infection. It made her sick to her stomach to think how long Ingrid had been enduring this. She wanted to pull her into an embrace and never let go, as if that alone would be enough to drive off the suffering that she had felt and was feeling. If only things were that simple.

“She’s a strong girl to have lasted this long,” Manuela observed. Though her tone was commending, one didn’t have to look hard to find that the woman was heartbroken to see a former student in such a state. She held her hands over the spell’s point of origin, and a luminous glow coated her palms before seeping into the vicious purple wound.

Seconds passed. Edelgard held Ingrid steady as the healing magic took hold of her, slowly and surely extinguishing the plague.

Then Ingrid gasped. The sudden intake of breath disturbed her throat and lungs, sending her into a coughing fit. All the while, Edelgard refused to relinquish her hold on the knight. When the coughing ceased, it left Ingrid panting for breath. Her eyes met Edelgard’s. Once more they were light green and more awake than she had been since Edelgard found her. That alone should’ve been enough to send a wave of relief through the emperor’s adrenaline fueled blood. 

But relief didn’t come. 

“Ingrid,” Edelgard said hoarsely, running her fingers through the knight’s mussed up bangs from her forehead. The knight’s mint green eyes, still half-lidded and glazed with fatigue, stared back at her.

Questions upon questions vyed to know what happened to Ingrid. Coupled with the frustration towards herself for not listening to her instincts in keeping her out of the scouting mission in the first place, any possibility for relief was barred entirely.

Manuela returned with a glass of water, and Edelgard reluctantly moved away to allow the physician to hold it up to the knight’s lips

“How are you feeling, Ingrid?” Manuela questioned.

If there were other words being spoken, Edelgard was hardly listening. Her imagination ran rampant, conjuring scenarios and explanations for how Ingrid came to her practically half-dead. Each one becoming more horrid to envision than the last; each one making her more afraid of learning what truly happened. When she ran out of scenarios to imagine, she began to imagine what would’ve happened if she was too late in bringing her to Manuela, if Boreas hadn’t made it to the monastery, if—

Her hands began to shake.

She clenched them into fists, stilling them. 

No. She couldn’t be like this. She was Emperor Edelgard von Hresvelg. An emperor does not collapse under the notion of fictitious scenarios, does not crumble in front of one of her soldiers.

But Ingrid wasn’t just ‘one of her soldiers,’ goddess no. She was much more than that and she... was almost gone.

“Unless you want to eat first, I can have a meal prepared for you,” Manuela’s voice cut through her thickening haze of inner turmoil.

“I will arrange for that, Professor,” Edelgard quickly offered. She needed to get out of this room. “Please rest,” she told Ingrid. For the first time, hearing her own ‘Emperor’ voice startled her and placed a weight in her chest when she watched Ingrid’s expression frown in concern.

Edelgard hurried out, forcing herself to walk with perfect posture and draw slow and steady breaths as she made her way towards the dining hall. Luckily, the kitchen staff were too busy with their tasks to look too far into her flimsy mask of calm and took her request for a simple meal without question.

Even more fortunate, Commander Nora chose that moment to arrive at the hall. As surprised to see the emperor there as she was, the woman’s professionalism was admirable as she easily addressed Edelgard with a salute.

“Your Majesty, what brings you here?” Nora wondered as she lowered her hand.

“Ingrid has returned from her mission and is in the infirmary in need of a meal.”

Nora frowned. “I see. I wasn’t aware that she was here, let alone that she was injured. I apologize for my ignorance, Your Majesty.”

“This is a unique circumstance, Commander, I assure that I do not hold you accountable for not knowing.”

“As you say, Majesty. Even so, please allow me to take the meal to the infirmary myself. I will also debrief Galatea while I’m at it as well. You can expect a report by the end of the day.”

Edelgard nodded curtly. “Thank you, Commander, I just remembered that I have another matter to attend to anyway. I will leave this to you then.”

Accepting the woman’s final salute, she left the dining hall. With nowhere left to go, she let her feet carry her anywhere.  With her rampant mind threatening to make her knees buckle beneath her, she hardly cared where she ended up, just as long as she couldn’t be reminded of Ingrid’s sickly complexion, her forehead drenched with sweat, or her weak voice that sounded like a wounded kitten.

But of course, the universe had other plans for her.

The whinnies of horses housed within the stables met her ears, bringing her cacophonous subconscious to stillness. The stablehands had tended to Boreas, his stall was filled with fresh hay and his trough with cool water. But the pegasus himself was suspended from the rafters. She remembered Ferdinand explaining to her once that the technique was to relieve tension within an overworked or injured horse’s muscles. She couldn’t imagine the sort of strain Boreas endured to bring his rider to safety.

In a daze, Edelgard entered the building, walking slowly towards Boreas’s stall. Her throat was tight and eyes burned with unshed tears as she brought a hand up to his nose, just as Ingrid showed her the first time she was introduced to the pegasus.

Recognizing her, Boreas allowed the contact, snorting softly into her gloved hand. As she stroked along his muzzle, her hands still shook. Her bottom lip trembled and she forced herself to blink away impending tears. Everything hit her all at once, the imagined horrible scenarios, her instinct that the mission would end badly becoming true, and the devastating hindsight that she should’ve stopped Ingrid when she had the chance.

The moment she felt Boreas lower his head to press flush against her torso in comfort, reminding her that all was well again. He kept his promise, bringing his rider to her just in time. It was only then that she allowed herself to break, just for a little bit. 

“Thank you, Boreas,” she choked out. “Thank you.”

***

The following three days demanded her attention more than ever, as to be expected when there was an army encroaching on Garreg Mach. Ingrid’s scouting report provided more information than they hoped for, right down to who was leading the incoming Kingdom force. They’ve encountered General Gilbert before and his militaristic style favored mounted riders, both ground and aerial, and heavy armored units. Though the Imperial military leaders sang praises towards Ingrid for bringing them invaluable information, Edelgard could only half-heartedly join them. 

With every sigh of relief brought on by the security of Ingrid’s gathered intel, the cost the knight had paid for it soured the moment. Her armored regalia was cold by nature, but when her mind was left to idle, the cool metal became the unnatural coldness of Ingrid’s limp body pressed against hers.

“Your Majesty?” Hubert prompted.

She jolted in her seat. “My apologies, my mind was elsewhere. Could you please repeat the inquiry?”

It was Ferdinand who spoke up, “I proposed that we adjourned the meeting for today. I believe it’d be best to do so before we devolve into convolution and overthinking.”

“Agreed. I received word from our scout that the Kingdom forces are a day out from here. We’d best make the last of our preparations.”

“Very well,” Edelgard acquiesced with a wave of her hand. “Good work, everyone.”

The Black Eagle Strike Force and the other commanders filed out of the room. But of course, Hubert was the only one remaining. Though his expression was impassive as usual, Edelgard recognized the small crease in his brows and squareness of his shoulders.

“I’m fine, Hubert,” Edelgard said.

“It is dangerous to be distracted before a battle, Majesty,” he countered gravely.

“I know.” Of course she does. And how could she not? She’s practically lived in this reality every day of her life. She didn’t need a battle to be on the horizon to be reminded of the stakes of losing focus on her goals.

“And yet there is something troubling you.”

She sighed, rubbing an eye with rising irritation. “It’s nothing of consequence, I assure you. If you don’t mind, I’d rather not linger on the topic.”

Hubert grunted, his lips pressing into a thin line. “This is about Lady Galatea.”

Denial was on the tip of her tongue. An emperor cannot show weakness, cannot afford to admit one, much less to those who rely on her to be strong in the face of radical change. But it wasn’t denial that passed her lips; it wasn’t her authoritative voice that commanded Hubert to drop the subject.

“This is not her fault,” she reasoned in a weak voice that made it sound like she was pleading.

“Forgive me for believing that she isn’t absolved of all responsibility.”

“That doesn’t make it intentional ,” she fired back. “I worry for all of you whenever I see that you’ve sustained injuries for a war I started. I’d give anything to ensure that none of you experience that pain, to ensure that you all are there with me at the end of this path. Seeing Ingrid on the cusp of death for obtaining vital information...” She took a steadying breath. “That is no different than how I feel for all of you.”

“And yet,” Hubert said, “it also is.”

Silence.

Edelgard dropped her gaze to the tabletop. She was too mentally exhausted to refute that claim. “And if it is?”

It was Hubert’s turn to sigh. The tension in his shoulders fell somewhat. “Matters of the heart are regrettably beyond my skill set to handle in a manner I find... efficient.” He cleared his throat. “I can only advise caution. Not just for the sake of the cause, but for your own wellbeing as well.”

The emperor smiled wryly, pushing herself up to stand. “Sound advice as ever, Hubert. I shall do my best.”

***

The moments before a battle were always the worst. The air was electrifying with anticipation. Soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder alongside her shifted and fidgeted in place, resulting in subtle clinks of armor to fill the otherwise tense silence.

Accompanying the gentle winds blowing from the east, the steady flaps of pegasus wings sounded from overhead. Ingrid was among their ranks. Having made a full recovery, according to Manuela, Edelgard wasn’t surprised that the pegasus knight joined the battle. Still, that didn’t mean her mind was put at ease. The possibility of Ingrid falling injured again was unbearable to think about.

She trained her eyes to the horizon, expecting to see the Kingdom flags to show themselves at any moment. But every so often, they would flicker skyward, hoping to see Ingrid amongst the myriad of armored pegasi. After a few tries, Edelgard finally spotted the woman’s short blonde hair as it shined in the noonday sun. Their eyes locked and Ingrid gave a tentative wave.

The shy gesture brought a smile to her lips. For a moment, the anxiety and numbing worry that entangled her mind and heart unraveled. For a moment, the threat of the Kingdom army was far away.

That was, at least, until blaring horns filled the area. With a rallying shout, Edelgard ordered them onto the counteroffensive. Battle cries and horse whinnies sounded as they advanced. And the battle commenced.

History books often state how long a fight lasted, though it was hard to understand who would be able to keep track of the time, let alone think to even document it. Edelgard certainly wasn’t that meticulous.

Keeping her axe moving, staying mindful of the space she inhabited, keeping her ears open for the whistle of arrows or the clamoring armor of incoming adversaries—none of those left any room to think of the passage of time. She couldn’t afford to let her mind wander in such a way. Not when her life was on the line. She’s made that mistake once already, lowering her guard in the presence of bandits, and it was because of the professor’s intervention that she was still alive today.

Even when there were calls for the Kingdom forces to retreat as their numbers dwindled, she couldn’t lower her defense. Instead, she focused on her opponent. The rage in his eyes blinded him to his retreating comrades, and the roar erupting from his throat drowned out the calls for him to flee. His axe clashed against Edelgard’s shield, and with a mighty heave, she shoved him back and swung her weapon against his exposed torso.

The soldier fell to the earth in a heap and the Emperor looked down at his body with remorse. Another life needlessly taken away...

A bloodcurdling roar sounded behind her. Whirling about, she was faced with a charging soldier with a broadsword held aloft. She raised her shield instinctually, but it was far too late to plant her feet and fortify her defense against what would undoubtedly be a harsh blow.

She gritted her teeth, waiting for the impact to happen.

Yet it never came.

Instead, she was met with a strong gust of wind brought on by the flap of pegasus wings and the loud clang of armor against armor before becoming silenced against the earth. The emperor lowered her shield in a confusion induced stupor. There, sprawled out on the bloodied grass was the Kingdom soldier, now stripped of his weapon, and paces away laid the unmistakable form of Ingrid.

Snapping herself out of her shock, Edelgard brandished Aymr and descended upon the Kingdom soldier. Likewise, Ingrid scrambled to stand and raised her lance as well. Before the soldier could retrieve his fallen sword, both the knight and emperor struck him down. For a beat, the soldier stood in shock. Then he finally fell to the earth with a thud.

The two heaved for breath. The rest of the Kingdom soldiers had made their retreat, leaving the Imperial forces to celebrate their successful defense of the monastery.

“What...” Edelgard panted, then gathered enough of herself to reprimand, “in the hell were you thinking?”

Ingrid leaned against her lance, holding a hand against her torso and grimacing as she spoke, “Do you want my thoughts told verbatim or abridged, Your Majesty?”

The emperor barked a humorless laugh.  “Joking. At a time like this? I seem to recall that you were injured just three days ago. You can’t just throw yourself literally into battle like that.”

“It was a surprisingly effective tactic though, you have to admit.”

“Ingrid!”

“Sorry, sorry! But if you had come to visit, you’d have seen that I made a full recovery,” Ingrid argued. Then she sighed, straining to stand up right to properly meet Edelgard’s angered gaze. “Besides, you think I’d just let you take a sword like that?”

Edelgard’s face fell. “No, I suppose not. Still, that was a foolish act to pull.”

Boreas took that moment to walk up and headbutt into Ingrid, as if giving a scolding of his own.

“Alright, I get it,” Ingrid whined. “Trust me, I don’t want to do that again, it was just the first thing that came to mind.”

Edelgard smiled at the pegasus, once more endeared by the small acts of sass he displayed to his rider. Perhaps it was the adrenaline leaving her system, but she felt lighter talking with Ingrid again. Even though they were having a bit of a spat at the moment, she didn’t let that weigh heavy on her mind. She had no doubt that this moment will be remembered lightheartedly in the future. 

“Were you this foolhardy in the Kingdom?” she said, feigning exasperation.

The pegasus knight rubbed the back of her head with her battered gauntlet, wearing a sheepish smile. “No, not really,” Ingrid admitted. “I suppose I’ve been adopting more unconventional means of action nowadays.”

Edelgard chuckled in spite of herself. Recalling her many talks with Caspar about his own propensity to dive headfirst into fights. Thinking of Caspar, though, an alarming realization occurred to her, “Well, keep it in moderation. And don’t speak of that stunt you pulled to Caspar. The last thing I need is for him to go coercing the other riders into his shenanigans. And please be more careful in the future. I don’t need another heart attack.”

Ingrid bowed her head guiltily. “As you wish, Your Majesty.”

At the formal title, Edelgard felt her heart thud painfully in her chest, as if it wanted to reach out to Ingrid and hold her in comfort. The wounds, both physical and emotional, from a few days ago were still fresh for the both of them and so coming down on her now felt too soon. Or, at the very least, it felt as though they were taking further steps away from one another.

The knight’s name was just at the tip of her tongue as was an apology before the call from Hubert halted any chance of reconciliation. 

I’ll speak with her later tonight , Edelgard decided. 

***

Night fell, bringing the bright moon with it to oversee the festivities of the Imperial army thrown in celebration of their victory. Edelgard only made a brief appearance to deliver a morale boosting speech, commemorating the strength of not only the Imperial soldiers, but also of the fallen. She called for honor and respect towards those who died today, raising her goblet of red wine in solidarity, to which her subjects returned.

She scanned the crowd for Ingrid, but the pegasus knight was nowhere to be seen. She did manage to spot Manuela though. Edelgard drank from the goblet one last time and set it onto the nearest flat surface before making her way towards the physician.

“Good evening, Professor,” she greeted with a short nod of her head.

The woman tittered into her cup, amused at the address. “It’s always struck me as strange that ater all this time and holding a title much loftier than my own, you still call me ‘Professor’.”

“A habit that is hard to break, I will admit,” Edelgard said with a trace of a smile. “I was hoping you’d know where Ingrid might be?”

Manuela’s brow quirked, her eyes gleaming with hidden mischief. “You should be able to catch her in her room. I prescribed her bed rest for her ribs after that foolhardy maneuver. If she is anything like she was in my infirmary earlier, she will be quite restless.”

The way she said the word ‘restless’ carried a layer of coquettishness that sparked the beginning of a blush in Edelgard’s cheeks. “I see. Thank you, Professor.”

“You are planning to visit her, yes?” she surmised, the look of mischief grew more apparent on her lips now, as if Edelgard was somehow missing her meaning.

Edelgard cleared her throat. “Yes, but not in the way you’re thinking.” She’s just as bad as Dorothea if not worse. Then again, Dorothea had to have gotten it from someone.

Manuela masked her giggle behind a swig of her wine. “Of course, of course. Well, don’t let me keep you then.” And with that, the physician took her leave.

With an indignant huff, Edelgard retreated to her bedroom. Once inside, she dug through her wardrobe where she kept Ingrid’s new armor. She ran her fingers over the furred collar, hoping that Ingrid was still awake to accept the gift. Though the idea of the ensemble began as a means of thanking Ingrid for all that’s done and sacrificed to be here, the recent events made her hope that it would help mend the tension between them.

Gathering the rest of the ensemble, Edelgard made her way through the dormitory towards Ingrid’s room. Once outside the woman’s door, she placed the boots down and pressed an ear against the wood, listening for any sign that she was still awake.

She frowned at the lack of sound coming from inside. The only indication that Ingrid was in the room at all was the gentle flickering of candlelight escaping from the crack beneath the door.

With a steadying breath, Edelgard raised a fist and rapped gently on the wood.

There was a short grunt, followed by a brief shuffle of feet over the floorboards before the door opened to reveal Ingrid in her sleepwear and her hair slightly mussed up, likely from laying down. Even in a state of disarray she looked beautiful.

“My apologies,” Edelgard said, shaking her flustered thoughts at the knight’s appearance. “Did I wake you?”

“Oh, not at all,” Ingrid reassured, and gestured for the emperor to enter the room. After a moment’s pause, Edelgard stepped inside and Ingrid closed the door with a soft click. “I was reading a little bit ago, but I’m afraid I wasn’t making much progress,” she continued.

“I see.” So Manuela was right. Ingrid was restless. “Is there... something on your mind?” she couldn’t help but wonder.

“A great many things, yes...” She cleared her throat and jerked her chin towards the bundle in Edelgard’s arms. “But first I’m curious about what you’re holding there. That certainly doesn’t look like soup.”

Edelgard flushed. “N-no it isn’t. I’m sure you’ve learned that skills certainly don’t lie within the kitchen.”

“On the contrary, Edelgard, I found it to be delicious,” Ingrid remarked with a smile, but it was much brighter this time and it made Edelgard’s knees weak.

The emperor’s lips pressed into a thin line, trying and failing to suppress her bashfulness as her warming cheeks betrayed her. “Well in any case, I’ve come to give you these,” she said quickly and laid out the clothes onto the bed.

She studied Ingrid’s expression, watching the knight’s eyes widen at the sight. She smiled as Ingrid ran her fingers over the furs, her lips parted with awe. Then she remembered the boots that she left outside and went to retrieve them.

“As much as Adrestrian red is becoming on you, I couldn’t help but think that cool colors suit you better,” Edelgard said and set the boots down beside the bed, the ensemble now complete. “Bernadetta was happy to design and Dorothea most certainly has a better eye for color coordination than I.”

“T-thank you, Edelgard,” Ingrid said breathlessly. “You didn’t have to go through this much trouble, surely. What brought this on?”

Edelgard chuckled. “It’s been an unspoken rule that members of the Black Eagle Strike Force don a more unique look, and seeing as Felix has kept his blue motif, I felt it appropriate that you should be able to as well.”

“The Black Eagle Strike Force? Me?”

“But of course.” Edelgard frowned, her niggling doubts and worries coming to the forefront. “Do you not wish to be?”

“No no!” Ingrid winced and lowered her voice. “It’s not like that. I just... don’t exactly feel deserving of such an honor.”

Edelgard’s head tilted, more curious now than worried. “Why not? You’ve more than proved yourself these past few months since you’ve joined, not discounting your more unconventional stunt earlier of course,” she attempted to jest.

But Ingrid only shook her head. “I’m not questioning my merits, so much as I am questioning my conviction.”

Edelgard said nothing, waiting for the pegasus knight to explain herself.

Ingrid sighed, deepening the frown marring her features. “When I came to Enbarr, I said that I couldn’t envision the future you’re fighting to build, but regardless I wanted to see it. But even now, when I close my eyes, I still can’t see it. Am I truly worthy of being by your side if I can’t share in your vision?”

Ingrid’s voice tapered off as her shoulders tensed up, looking as though she were expecting Edelgard to scold her. The sight made her heart seize. 

She reached up to cup Ingrid’s cheek and gently guided her to look into her eyes. She took the moment to behold the mint green eyes of the knight that had captured her body and soul, and who’s wellbeing had occupied her waking thoughts. 

“Ingrid,” Edelgard hushed. “Quiet your mind a moment and listen. I do not expect anyone who fights under me to share my vision for the future. I only ask that they fight for what they believe in. The choice has always fallen to you as it does the soldiers you’ve fought alongside.” 

Edelgard smiled, stroking her thumb over her cheekbone. Her ears perked at the sound of Ingrid’s breath hitching. Only inches separated their faces, neither of them moved to pull away.  “So... What future do you wish to fight for, Ingrid Galatea?”

Ingrid’s eyes fluttered closed, her breaths evened out into a slow and soothing pace, like she was falling into a peaceful slumber. Edelgard left the knight to imagine, admiring the delicate eyelashes as they flickered with a fantasy playing behind them. Edelgard’s heart skipped a beat when she noticed a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of Ingrid’s pink lips. Oh what she would give to see what was making the knight so happy.

Then Ingrid’s eyes opened, her irises still glazed and unfocused with the afterimages of her new conviction.

“What did you see?” Edelgard whispered against Ingrid’s lips that seemed to be getting closer and closer.

The pegasus knight shook her head, laughing breathlessly and earned a curious look from Edelgard. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m afraid that it will sound so foolish with how emotional I’ll be if I shared.”

“Emotions can be foolish,” Edelgard agreed, “but they cement our humanity. It’s a lesson I often forget myself as emperor... Seeing you injured was a reminder.”

Ingrid frowned at that. “I’m sorry I made you worry. But if I didn’t do what I did, I wouldn’t have learned that Gilbert was the one leading the charge.”

“I know. But what would’ve happened if Boreas didn’t make it time? It’s terribly selfish of me to say that while you may not be a knight in an empire that has no protocol for them, but you’re still a knight to me. My knight, Ingrid.” Edelgard sniffled, trying and failing to stop her tears. “I can’t bear the thought of losing you so soon, not when I wish for you to see the new world as well where your own dreams can become possible alongside mine.”

Ingrid pulled Edelgard into a hug, earning a startled gasp from the emperor. But in an instant, Edelgard buried her face against Ingrid’s chest.

“You won’t lose me,” the knight said.

“You can’t promise that,” Edelgard countered sardonically.

“No. But I would be damned if I didn’t try for you.” Then Ingrid separated them to cup Edelgard’s cheek, stroking her thumb to catch the falling tear there. “I have something to add to my answer.”

Edelgard sniffled once more, leaning into the touch. “Your answer?” 

“When you asked me why I left the Kingdom and came here to the Empire.” Ingrid explained. “I have something to add.”

She gave a watery chuckle, remembering that day with perfect clarity. “I thought your answer was more than satisfactory at the time, my knight. But now I’m curious.”

“I’ve realized that I came here for the future. A future without Crests and nobility, yes, but I would like a future with you in it. If you will have me...”

Edelgard pulled Ingrid’s hand away from her cheek to place a kiss against her palm. “As if I would ever deny you.”

Ingrid flushed at the action. “C-can...Can I kiss you, Edelgard?” she stammered.

Edelgard raised her head, her stare boring into Ingrid’s green eyes as she raised an amused brow that contrasted with her teary eyes. “Did I stutter?”

The pegasus knight chortled and pressed her lips to Edelgard’s.

She wrapped her arms around Ingrid’s neck, pulling her closer to bask in the warmth she offered that felt like sunlight. At last, nearly two years of bottled yet growing feelings had come to the surface. Edelgard began this journey not expecting to make the friends that she did. There was still much more of the journey to travel of course. But for now she relished how a great weight lifted from her shoulders knowing that she had yet another thing to await in the future—a future with the woman pressed against her.