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A brisk knock sounded at the door, startling Edelgard out of her sleep.
“Your Highness, Ferdinand and I are here to tell you something. Mayhaps over some breakfast?”
Edelgard could hear Ferdinand’s voice beside Hubert’s, loud and raucous but touched with a note of excitement. She untangled herself from her blanket and brushed her hair out of her face. “Hubert, these dark flowers are far not festive enough for a holiday as grand as this one. Will you not even consider these carnations as a replacement?”
Edelgard herself was partial to carnations, but either way Saint Seiros Day was not something she had liked celebrating. Edelgard finished lacing up her boots and took one last glance in the mirror; the circles under her eyes darker than ever. Her nightmares had gotten worse lately, the images of her siblings’ faces of pain burned into her eyelids. She pushed the thoughts away and opened the door, coming face to face with Hubert and Ferdinand in a heated argument. When Hubert saw Edelgard, he sighed and said,
“Can we put our quarrel on hold, Ferdinand? At least, while Lady Edelgard is present.”
Ferdinand made a noise of dissent but nodded his head, turning on his heel and leaving. Hubert turned back to Edelgard, indicating with his head towards the stairs. Edelgard closed the door behind her, trailing after Hubert and listening to him explain the situation. The entire monastery was abuzz, with people gathering ingredients to cook and making decorations for the holiday. Over a breakfast of pheasant, Hubert handed her a list of things to take care of, saying that such menial work was beneath her, but Edelgard insisted that she should do her part.
First on the list was flowers for decor, so after finishing her breakfast Edelgard headed to the greenhouse. When she opened the door, she was met with a panicked shriek and a flash of purple hair before it was hidden behind a hood. Petra emerged from the back, holding a carnivorous plant.
“Lady Edelgard. I am helping Bernadetta with the making of the decorations, but someone is telling me this is not of their want. Bernadetta has been telling me of her liking of carnivorous plants, so I brought some from our mission.”
Edelgard pushed the leaf of a tree away, revealing Bernadetta hiding behind her hood, a broken pot at her feet.
“Here, I can help you clean this up. Bernadetta, you can help Petra pick plants to use to make into chains. I doubt carnivorous plants would suit the festivities, but there are violets and daffodils in the alcove by the door.”
Edelgard finished sweeping up the dirt and joined the two of them in weaving the flowers into chains, Petra teaching them how to braid the stems so they would stay together. After they had a good amount of chains, Edelgard bid them farewell, leaving them to hang them up while she left to take care of the rest of her items on the list.
After the flowers, Edelgard needed to meet up with Caspar and Linhardt; by now, they should have come back from hunting and gone to the fishing pond for some more fish. Knowing those two, they probably argued the entire time, but as Edelgard exited the greenhouse, she was pleasantly surprised to see Caspar and Linhardt on the fishing dock, a bag of freshly caught game besides them. She joined them on the pier, grabbing a fishing pole and absentmindedly listening to their conversation about whether or not the monastery cats would like fish or poultry more.
After they had caught a few fish, Edelgard had offered the suggestion of combining the two, and all three of them gave their game to the kitchen before Caspar and Linhardt went off in search of some cats to test Edelgard’s theory on.
Edelgard headed toward the stables, set on finding Ferdinand and helping them clean them up. The steeds were restless today, all the wyverns and pegasi and horses fidgeting about as if they also knew that it was a day of celebration. Eventually, the two of them got the animals to settle down with the help of Leonie and Marianne. Intricate ribbons of fabric from Mercedes were tied into the horses manes and tails, giving them a festive flair.
Once they were about halfway done, Ferdinand sent her off, reassuring her that they would be all set with Leonie and Marianne helping them. With that, the last thing on the list was in the black eagles classroom, with Dorothea. Edelgard looked up from the parchment, and her eyes were met with green. Taking Edelgard gently by the arm, she led her to the head of the classroom with a mischievous smile, to the stand where the professor would usually give their lectures.
“I have something to show you, Edie. Can you close your eyes for just a moment?” Dorothea asked, her eyes dancing with excitement.
Edelgard could feel the corners of her mouth turning up, curiosity bubbling to the surface. “Well, if you insist.” Edelgard covered her eyes, her silk gloves allowing nothing to show through.
“Three… two… one… surprise!”
Edelgard opened her eyes, blinking as they adjusted to the light. It was not one voice that had shouted surprise, but several; in front of Edelgard stood every one of her fellow black eagles and the professor, each holding a gift. An uncharacteristically loud laugh burst out of Edelgard; they all looked a little ridiculous, with Sain Seiros hats and ribbons in their hair.
“What is all this for?” Edelgard asked, walking over to Hubert first. He handed her a satchel, saying,
“It was Miss Dorothea’s idea. We thought that since you work so diligently to do your part, it was high time that you received a treat.”
Edelgard, opened the satchel, the soft floral scent of lavender wafting out of it.
“I am aware I usually use more… inebriating scents, but Ferdinand told me that something like that would be a decidedly inappropriate gift. I was told by the merchants that this would help with sleep, and more importantly, the nightmares.”
“I haven’t prepared anything for you. How can I accept this?”
“There is no need, Lady Edelgard. Your steadfast leadership and ability to rally us is quite the gift itself.”
Edelgard thanked him, pocketing the gift, warmth enveloping her like a blanket. She went on to each of her classmates, every one of them bearing a different gift. Bernadetta and Petra had made a gift together; a crimson teddy bear bearing a crown of scarlet carnations. Bernadetta had been a flustered ball of nerves when presenting it, launching into another one of her rambles about how she messed up the threading in this one small place and that she was so sorry it wasn’t better, but both Petra and Edelgard assured her that it was a lovely gift. At that, Bernadetta had flushed all shades of red and stuttered out a “Y-you’re welcome!”, Petra looking on fondly.
After thanking them both for the present, Caspar pushed past them both, dragging Linhardt by the arm, eagerly telling Edelgard to open his gift. To Edelgard’s amusement, the gift was covered in adhesive and clumsily wrapped with green paper, but she tore it open with care anyways. IInside was a fishing float, both Linhardt’s loopy cursive and Caspar’s scrawled on the side with the words, “Happy Seh Sie Say Day!” Edelgard didn’t have the heart to tell them that they had forgotten to write “Seiros” another time—the gift was more important anyways. She flipped the float over, looking for more writing, and to her surprise, something small fell out. Picking it up from the ground, she realized that it was a small metal comb.
“The cats like that sort of thing,” Linhardt told her. “Make sure to get all the knots out, or their coats will get tangled and that would be terribly unfortunate if it happened.”
Edelgard’s face was starting to hurt now; she hadn’t smiled this much in a long time. Ferdinand presented their gift with a grand flourish, saying that they had spent eons picking it out, and that they hoped it was to her tastes. Inside the box was a variety of tea blends, including Edelgard’s favorites, bergamot and a Hresvelg blend. Thanking them, she spotted the professor approaching, a warm smile on their face and a box in their hands. Edelgard opened it to reveal a pendant, an eagle and a rose carefully chipped into the metal. Byleth explained how Jeralt had taught them how to make things with their hands, and apologized for the clumsiness of the words on the back. Edelgard shook her head, saying,
“There is no need to apologize. It means the world that you put so much time and effort into something as small as this. Thank you, my teacher.”
Edelgard’s gaze surveyed the room, her eyes catching on a certain brunette in the corner, her hands wringing in worry. Edelgard walked over slowly, putting her gifts on a nearby desk.
“Is something the matter, Dorothea?”
Dorothea jumped, turning around to face her. “Well, not really, it’s just that… I don’t know, I just thought that maybe you wouldn’t like something like this and that maybe it was foolish of me to make it and maybe I should’ve just gotten you a book or something…” Her voice trailed off, and Edelgard took the opportunity to look inside the bag. Inside it was a vast variety of things; bracelets with small roses connected to the chains, earrings with bright purple gems that winked in the light, soft violet ribbons made with silk, and a necklace, a rose petal encased in resin on it.
Edelgard swallowed, her emotions bubbling to the surface--gratefulness, embarrassment, awe all coming to the forefront of her mind. “Dorothea.” She looked up from under her hat, her eyes wide in anticipation.
“Y-yes?”
“This is the best gift I’ve received tonight; quite possibly the best gift I’ve received ever. Thank you, Dorothea. It means more to me than I could ever express.” With that, Edelgard swept her right foot behind her left, bending her knees into a curtsy. Dorothea flushed, looking away before clearing her throat.
“U-um, well that’s not all I prepared for today. It’s in the kitchen!” Dorothea indicated towards the doorway with her head, the rest of the Black Eagles following chattering joyfully. Once they had all reached the dining hall, Dorothea went to the kitchen while the rest of the Black Eagles seated themselves. Tonight, everyone was mingling; the festive mood had encouraged everyone to mingle, and people of different houses were talking animatedly, the sound of silverware clinking and their voices echoing off the walls. Edelgard sat down, finding herself beside Mercedes and Lysithea. Dorothea came back, holding a plate of something. She sat down, nodding at the two before looking to Edelgard.
“I know that your favorite dessert is saghert and cream, so I asked Lysithea and Mercedes to help me with making it. They are much better bakers than I am, and I really couldn’t have done it without them.”
With a mild degree of trepidation, Edelgard picked up her fork and took a bite, savoring the flavors as they swirled together on her tongue. The bitterness of the fruit with the light sweetness of the currant worked perfectly together, a symphony of sugar and smooth cream. “It’s perfect, Dorothea.”
Dorothea beamed, her face glowing. “I’ll be sure to make it for you whenever u want, Edie!” Edelgard took another bite, the sweetest dessert a perfect conclusion to the sweetest day.