Chapter Text
For some reason, Annette hadn't expected to get her own room. Back at the School of Sorcery, they'd been in dormitories with four people to a room, and she'd assumed that Garreg Mach would be similar, but she actually has a lot more space than she's ever had. It's not the first time she's had her own bedroom, but she has easily twice the space she's used to here. It had only taken her one trip to get all of her things from the carriage into her room, and she'd unpacked in about fifteen minutes - well, unpacked everything but her clothes, but just about everything needs to be ironed and she's a little too excited to start in on that yet. Maybe after the sun goes down and all that's left for the day is settling in she'll feel a little more inspired, but for now, she's sure that she saw a familiar head of blonde hair on her way down to the dorms, and catching up with Mercedes takes priority over just about everything else.
When she'd found out that they would both be attending the Officer's Academy, Annette had almost sunk through the floor with relief. Not that she wouldn't have wanted to go without Mercie, but knowing that she'll have a friend there among all of the other students has made the prospect of adjusting to still being so far away from home and her family a lot easier to bear. Well, that, and the other reasons she has for attending the Academy... she could really use the support of a good friend like Mercie!
Even though the sun is still out, they're high enough in the mountains that there's a little bite to the air, so Annette keeps her traveling cloak on as she heads out of her room. Other people are milling around, some who she recognizes as likely students by the fact that they're carrying things into their rooms, and some people she assumes are family helping them out. There's a strong-looking woman with red hair who has a box up on each shoulder walking side-by-side with a young girl whose shock of white hair has Annette doing a double take, but she doesn't get more than a glimpse of her; she's walking quickly and with the kind of purpose that Annette surely doesn't want to be the person to impede. She clutches her cloak closed at her throat, squares her shoulders, and heads toward the staircase with purpose of her own.
"Oh, Annie!"
Her heart leaps happily at the sound of Mercie's voice, and Annette whips around, her face lighting with happiness. "Mercie! He-whoa, whoa!"
She wobbles unsteadily, only one of her boots finding enough step beneath it to support her as she turns, and she pinwheels her arms to try to catch her balance. She watches shock cross her friend's face, and feels her stomach swoop as she tips backward and shock is replaced by alarm. Distantly, she can hear the sound of something heavy crashing, and squeezes her eyes shut tight in anticipation of the thump that's going to gift her with some bruises -
Only instead of sharp, sudden pain, she drops back against a pair of hands and is braced against them, suspended with her fists clutched in front of her chest.
Behind her, her savior grunts, and Annette cracks open one eye just in time to see Mercie reach for both of her hands to pull her upright.
"Oh my gosh, Annie. You almost fell right down the stairs! Are you okay?"
Heart kicking like rabbit's feet, she laughs. "I am now!"
Mercie pats her shoulders down, looking past her to thank Annette's savior, and Annette twists, too, thanking her profusely. It's the redhead from before, who waves them both off with a grin and jogs away to pick up her boxes once again.
"Please be more careful. You could have really knocked your head." Mercie is smiling now, though, and Annette takes the slight rebuke in stride. "Are you all unpacked already?"
"Kind of." Winding their arms together, Annette breathes in deeply. "I wanted to come find you before we lost sunlight, though. I hope we're close to each other. Wouldn't that be fun? I think the girl who has the room next to mine wasn't feeling well today. I should grab her some soup and bring it by in case she doesn't make it to the dining hall."
"That's kind of you." Mercie reaches over and pats her hand a couple of times. "And I think we're neighbors, too. I'm just at the bottom of the stairs."
"Really?" Annette's feet stutter on the last couple of steps, but she's in no danger of falling this time. "Oh, that's great! I was hoping you'd be close by. Not that I wouldn't mind going up and down the stairs to see you, but this is going to make it really easy to pop in for study sessions, just like in Fhirdiad. What a relief!"
The door swings open and Annette aims for politely inquisitive, but enthusiasm probably makes her a little graceless with it. She's curious to see how Mercie decorates a space that's entirely hers, and eager to help if she needs it - she knows that neither of them brought much with them to Garreg Mach, but that doesn't mean that they can't make their place homey. Even at a cursory glance, Annette can see three places where flowers will cheer the room right up, and on the carriage ride up the mountains she'd seen several clusters of wildflowers just begging to be swept up into a vase to brighten someone's day. She can't think of anyone more deserving of that than Mercie. Oh, there's a picnic basket, too - maybe they can take it out on the weekend and study on the hillside -
It isn't until Mercie laughs that she realizes she's been rambling aloud, and Annette flushes bright pink. After a moment, she laughs, too, pressing her cool palms to her warm cheeks. "I'm just really excited. I've been wanting to come here for a long time, and it's so much better knowing you're going to be here, too! I've been thinking about it, and I'm a little worried that I'm not going to be able to keep up, but if we study together we can help each other out, just like always."
"I'd love that. I can ask if I'm allowed to bake some sweets to keep us motivated! I think it'll be fine as long as I'm not in anyone's way."
Across the room, Mercie unlatches an old, battered suitcase and begins to pull out clothing piece by piece, her movements steady and soothing in their own way through routine alone. Annette flits from surface to surface, fingers brushing against smooth, polished wood and then plucking up a book left on the counter by the last person who'd stayed there, she supposes. She lets it drop open in her hand, and flips through a few pages, speaking distractedly as she reads. "Your sweets are the best. You'll just have to make enough to let the chef sample them, and they'll be begging you for more! Oh, this is tactics, I'm not very good at tactics. There's just so many things that can happen - how are you supposed to think about everything all at once?"
Mercie glances over her shoulder, her eyes crinkling fondly at the corners as she unpacks a pretty beige shawl and sets it on the far edge of her bed. "I guess that's what we're here to learn! I don't think you'll have to know everything right away, Annie. I'm sure you'll pick it all up in no time."
Annette snaps the book closed and sets it down, turning imploring eyes on her best friend. "You think so? Really?"
Mercie lifts one hand, making a determined fist. "I know so. Have you tried on your uniform yet? I was thinking I'd do that tonight, just to make sure it all fits the way it's supposed to."
Her uniform... Annette vaguely remembers it being laid out on the bed when she arrived, but she'd been too focused on getting back out and finding Mercie to bother with it otherwise. "I haven't, but that's a great idea! I'll be right back, don't go anywhere!"
Before Mercie can do more than laugh fondly, Annette darts outside and up the stairs, waving cheerfully at another potential friend she sees moving in. She wonders how many of the people she's seen today will be in her class, and if they're all grouped together that way, or if they're mixed and matched to encourage people from different regions to get to know each other. She hopes that's the case, as she hops around in her room and shimmies into her uniform; she has a lot of reasons for wanting to attend the Officer's Academy, but meeting people from all sorts of places and different walks of life is definitely one of them. And, well...
She tugs on her hem of her skirt, brow pinching slightly, and murmurs, "If he's going to show up anywhere, it'll be here, right?"
One familiar face at a time, she thinks, pushing thoughts of her father aside for now. She's already got a lot on on her plate, after all, and she doesn't want to be gloomy on their first night at the monastery.
She jogs down the stairs, her boots clicking merrily against the stone, and knocks in a fun little pattern when she gets to Mercie's door. Sing-song, she asks, "Are you ready for me, Mer~cie?"
"Come in!"
The first thing Annette realizes is that Mercie elected a different version of the uniform when she chose hers, and the second thing she realizes is that she looks really, really cute. Annette had thought about the dress version that ended just under the bust for herself, but she'd known that, well, she wouldn't be able to fill it out very well, and seeing Mercie in it just solidifies that for her. She looks so elegant and mature, Annette thinks, the bright spots of color in her own cheeks matching the faint flush on Mercie's face as she smooths her hands down the skirt and twists this way and that in it.
"What do you think, Annie? Maybe I should have gotten the jacket like you did. That looks so nice on you - you look really official!"
There's a funny little fluttering in her chest, but Annette ignores it for now. "You're a natural, Mercie! Do a spin, I want to see the whole look."
With a soft little laugh, Mercie obliges, lifting her hands and turning in a quick circle so that her skirt lifts and flares around her thighs. Annette claps and then whoops when Mercie drops into a curtsy on the end of her spin, her ponytail swinging down over her shoulder as she bows forward with a flourish.
"Beautiful! But you could make anything look great, so that's not surprising. Still, I just feel like..." Annette leans back, one hand on her hip and the other curled in front of her face, tapping her thumbnail against her chin thoughtfully. "... it needs the Mercie touch."
Mercedes blinks, head tipping to the side curiously. "The Mercie touch?"
Even that little gesture is - too much, too cute. Annette's cheeks darken, and she wants to laugh, though she's not really sure why. She can feel the nervous little chuckle bubbling up in her chest, warm and insistent. On impulse, she dives for the bed and scoops up the shawl that Mercie had unpacked earlier, shaking it out so that the fabric billows and she can admire the design. This - this is perfect!
Rising up on her tip-toes, Annette lifts the shawl up over Mercie's head, the backs of her knuckles brushing against the starched fabric of her blouse as she tugs it down into place and settles it over her shoulders. It's not that Mercie hadn't looked lovely before, because she'd look lovely no matter what, but with something of hers to add a little bit of flair to the outfit, the entire look is a little more...
Complete. Or maybe it's just a little more Mercie, which is the most important thing, at the end of the day.
With deft fingers, she ties a knot to secure the shawl in place, and then takes a step back to admire her work. Mercedes reaches up to run her fingers down the knot's tail, and for a moment, they simply smile at one another.
"Now you're perfect," Annette says happily, and Mercie leans in, wrapping her up in a quick, tight hug.
"I'm so glad we're both here," Mercie whispers, and Annette's heart flutters again.