Chapter Text
“I remember when we dragged you out of that house. Your screaming was blinding, scared, and unwilling to change.”
Kronya walks to the main chamber, Thales had requested she come down to the war room for important business regarding her next mission. She had done countless assassinations in her life, hundreds of missions, this one would probably be the same as the rest. Infiltrate, murder, rinse, and repeat. She liked to think she enjoyed it, crushing her enemies under her heel, eliminating the world of pests that get in the way of Thales divine plan. His king of liberation would be resurrected and their world recreated in the wake of his path. She was told that she would be apart of the plan, who wasn’t? Everyone was told the same thing,” You are apart of the plan. Every breath you give is a breath closer to our goal.”
“I knew from the second you let out that screech that you would be perfect for the job, that you would be so important. But you weren’t born important.”
The clacking of her heels echos down the hall. Shamballa was a quiet place, no children ran around, and if there were children somewhere in the cavern they were being taught all of the lessons she learned. All of them. A fate that no child should have to endure was bestowed upon what little amounts of children resided there. Whether they were born or taken, had a crest or not, those children were apart of the future of Shambala and Fodlan. They would become warriors, mages, scholars, or even an assassin like her. Hopefully, those children wouldn’t suffer an early end. They were born for this, they were important.
“You were born in the hopes that your father’s crest would pass on, making you a perfect pawn of politics, but only to be born a disappointment.”
From her personal quarters to the main chamber it was 10 minutes and the war room was just beyond and a floor above. It took her 4 months to find her way around after she recovered. Sometimes she still forgets which dim-lit hallway leads to which room in the fortress. She wasn’t high enough in the chain of command to be allowed in every room. Many rooms were locked, some halls were blocked by rubble from a recent accident. Luckily none of the rubble blocked her way to the main chamber. It was faster to go up a floor before the chamber but those stairs were still being cleared. Someday she might be able to go into those rooms. At the moment if she were to ever go in there alone she would most likely be killed.
“We would make you important.”
She arrives at the main hall and approaches the hallway towards the back left corner. Guards and mages lined the walls and were scattered in groups among the room. The guards by the hallway moved out of her way as she got closer. Thales must have informed them that a meeting would be happening soon. Or maybe they sensed it. There were more guards than usual, maybe Edelgard would be coming, she hasn’t seen her in a while. While they weren’t exactly friends, no thanks to Hubert, it was nice to see people who didn’t look like they bathe in bleach every day. Hubert didn’t apply to that, he’s paler than Kronya herself. Being underground for years seems to have that ghostly effect on people. She really did miss her original complexion. It’s been so long.
Though at the time you didn’t want it, soon enough you would cease your dreams of returning.”
He was wrong.
Kronya walks to the table in the back. She didn’t have a seat at that table, if she were ever to be invited to a meeting she was to stand by the wall. One day she hoped to sit there as well.
“Thales?” She stood behind him as he looked through the window and over the city,” You asked for me? I assume this has something to do with my next mission.”
“Yes, our dear flame Emperor has provided us with a wonderful opportunity. While it was not in our glorious plans, it should prove quite useful to our endeavors.” He turns around to face her, “ Our guests will arrive shortly, I thought it would be in our best interest to have you present for this. Escort them from the entrance. ”
“Of course.”
She could never stop.
The week’s classes were almost over, Flayn’s disappearance had the entire monastery on high alert. Her kidnapping wasn’t apart of her “allies” plan. Hubert’s, on the other hand, had kidnapping as a priority.
“You leave me no choice but to take matters into my own hands.” For him to say that and then Flayn to disappear the next day, was no coincidence. She knew what he was doing, he never trusted the professor, he was doing what he thought was best. She just had to go with it.
“Edelgard?” The class had ended, she must have zoned out,” Class ended, are you ok?”
“Oh, professor! Im sorry, this won’t happen again I promise.” She quickly begins to pack up her things and looks back at the doorway to see Hubert waiting for her. He seems to be keeping his distance lately.
“Last month’s mission and Flayn’s disappearance is wearing down many people, I don’t think anyone expected Miklan to transform like that.” Byleth looks toward the boards on the wall. They had summaries of the recent missions and Rheas approving comments. She looks back to Edelgard.
“It definitely was a shock… I must be going now, my teacher. My father has requested that I return for a day or two to assist with some political meetings. Hubert and I will possibly be absent on Monday. ”
“That’s fine by me, I'll have Dorothea or Ferdinand share notes with you. Stay safe Edelgard.”
She walks out the door and Hubert trails behind. They say nothing as the two of them walk to Edelgards room. She grabs a few of her things and locks the door. Hubert also grabbed some of his items and they begin to walk to the town where their transport awaits. In silence. Edelgard is the first to break said silence in the carriage.
“I hope you have a backup plan if the Church finds out about what you have done.” She looks at him and he looks back blankly.
“ Elimination would be most probable, Lady Edelgard. I do believe that this was in your best interest. If something hadn’t happened this month’s mission would certainly have something to do with the Slithers, they planned on rallying more members from the western church for future endeavors. The church would have learned of their movements and send the professor to stop them, which she would do with ease.”
“And having Jeritza kidnap Flayn was the best option? Hubert, Im sorry but are you out of your mind? Seteth is going crazy and they're going to find out the Death Knight is Jeritza!”
“He agreed to it and said he felt that he could do more for you if he wasn’t an instructor here.”
“Fine. We can work this out, maybe we can get something good out of this. We should remain optimistic, even if only a little bit.”
“While that is not a skill of mine I will do my best to do as such. Please forgive me for acting out of order.”
“As I said, we can work with this. We should prepare.”
“Agreed. We’re headed to Shambala, correct?” He takes out a journal from his bag,” I assume this meeting will have something to do with recent events.”
“Yes, I had already informed a messenger to have this meeting arranged. Thales is making some new arrangements… I think he will tell us about them tonight.” The view from the window was nice, they were only minutes away from Garreg Mach and the monastery was already starting to fade into the distance. “ Do you think i'm going about this the right way? Im using my classmates, im causing so many problems, i've kill countless people, innocent or not. Fodlan needs to be united and the crest system must be abolished but am I doing this properly? Is working with them the best choice?”
“I must be honest with you, no. But this may be the most efficient way. If you went down this path without their assistance I believe you may not be able to reach your goals. But maybe all you needed was a small head start?”
“You have a good point, do I really need to work with them the whole time? I don’t know where I would be without you. Thank you.” She looks down at her hands,” At the right time, we can hopefully break off and keep going forward without them.”
Hubert says nothing, he just looks at her and smiles.
The carriage pulls into a town in Ordelia territory as the sun starts to set. Edelgard, in her Flame Emperor armor and a cloak, and Hubert exit it and walk into an alley next to a tavern. A few villagers see them but pay no mind, all they see are two hooded figures trying to stay warm at the start of the cold months of the year, and they're too occupied with their drinks. At the end of the day, those hooded people would be pushed to the back of their mead mudded minds.
Kronya waits for the two of them at the meeting spot. She will take them to Shambala for their meeting in the next hour. They come into view and she gets up off of the barrel she was sitting on.
“Good evening your highness,” She does a sarcastic curtsy,” and Hubert.”
Hubert scoffs,” Could you be any more disrespectful.”
“To our emperor or to her lap dog.”
“Kronya,” Edelgard steps towards her,” I believe we have a meeting to attend.”
“We do.” Kronya leads them to a forest outside of the town through the back alleys.
Two mages stood about 100 feet from the treeline waiting for them to arrive so they could transport the party to Shambala. Kronya walks in front of the other two and often looks back. They shouldn’t kill her, but she can't help but worry. Edelgard has taken off her cloak as of now and Hubert still wears his. He's still in his school uniform under it.
“What are you thinking about, Lady Edelgard? The meeting, perhaps?”
“I’m thinking about how “Flame mage” would be way too obvious if you were to put on a mask.”
Kronya stops and turns around.
“I’m sorry, did you just say “Flame Mage”?? That's really bad, like come up with something better, I am begging you.” It's clear that she's trying to hide a laugh.
“This was not your conversation, it was between Lady Edelgard and me.”
“Sorrrrrrryyy,” She rolls her eyes,” We're almost to the mages anyways”
They reach the mages and they begin to warp to Shambala. The mages place them inside an empty room next to the main chamber. It’s probably better that Kronya’s company doesn't walk around the fortress too much.
“Right this way,” Kronya leads them out the room and up the stairs to the war room,” Thales is just through here.”
Edelgard steps right before the door, "Then let's not keep him waiting."