Chapter Text
She looked at her marred hands as she laid in her room's humble bed. They would never return to their former form, yet when was that ever a concern for her? Nothing about her could go back, whether they were from her own choices or not. She was a shell of her former self, with only her lilac eyes being what was originally and truly hers. Her hands were shriveled and stained; no longer could she wield her prized weapon. Her body was wracked with scars from her self imposed war and from those torturous years of crest experiments. Her people, her country- She had been ready to throw it all away in her final gambit to achieve true equality for all of Fódlan.
How foolish it was for her to believe she could achieve such a feat without her professor's guidance. She knew there was something special about her, and she did everything she could to sway her to her side.
Yet, why did she still choose him?
Maybe because despite all the darkness he carried on his shoulders, he still managed to climb into the light while she purposely dug herself deeper into her own grave.
Perhaps that's why all her friends left her to stand on the Kingdom's side- if they could even be called that. The only one she could have called a friend was Hubert, but even he had insisted their relationship stay as detached as possible. Emotions were nothing but distractions and fogged one's judgment, he would tell her. She could see why, but regardless of his warnings, she still fell into her heart's trap. Bitterness settled in her core. He was gone, and she was here. No one would claim to be by her side anymore.
Except… him.
What did he have to gain from keeping her alive? Despite everything she had done, he stood before her unwilling to finish her off. She was fully prepared to follow her retainer out into the afterlife. She readied her dagger under her cloak to do so, even.
Yet, she couldn't follow through. A strange twinge of déjà vu hit her, and for a moment she saw her end- an end she told herself she'd take. From the corner of her eye, she witnessed the bright, green hair from the professor hide away in the shadows while she was patiently met with the King's hand.
She sheathed her weapon, and took it.
A moment of selfishness overwhelmed her. She could sacrifice the lives of so many, yet she couldn't let go of her own. She remembered the bile welling within her throat. How gentle his hands were as he helped her to her feet. The professor's smile that no matter how many times she denied it, would always warm her heart regardless.
If the two were willing to give her another chance when she caused so much destruction for her own resolution, maybe she could do the same for herself.
What a foolish thought. Everyone else of all of Fodlan would think differently. If it weren't for his protection, she would have been stoned the moment her face was seen by the public eye-
A knock at the door brought her out of her thoughts.
"El, it's me."
She lowered her hands down to her side and shifted underneath the covers.
"El, I'm coming in."
The door creaked open, and she could hear his soft footsteps come through. The dishes clanked as a new set were placed on her humble night stand in exchange for her empty ones.
After several moments and his presence still lingered, she turned her head and spoke. "To what do I owe you the pleasure of being in your presence, your Majesty?"
"I told you before, El, no need for formalities when it's just us."
"It's only ever been us since you brought me back." She sat up, but refused to look at him. "Besides the professor, everyone else thinks I'm dead. We cannot be on equal footing. I know that I lost. I'm confined to this room with only you as my guest, to which I do not understand why you would keep visiting during your limited spare time."
"Do you suggest that there is a better way I could use my time?"
"Who am I to suggest anything to you, your Majesty? But if you were to listen to the foolish ramblings of a failed empress, then perhaps she'd tell you to find a suitable queen to help lead your Holy Kingdom. One that could stand by your side through the best and worst of you." She finally looked up at him with her tired, yet defiant eyes. He almost seemed normal with his hair pulled back out of his face, giving her a clearer look at his one good eye. "Preferably one with unusually bright, green hair and doesn't speak much… She did pick you after all, King Dimitri."
Dimitri stared at her, yet he didn't seem flustered by her accusation. "Do you not believe that I can run this kingdom on my own?"
"Coming from personal experience, no." She said curtly.
He folded his arms. "Then why don't you help me then?"
What game was he playing? "You're asking your enemy for help? What makes you think I won't try to run your kingdom into the ground?"
"Because that was never your intention. You wanted to make the world a better place for everyone, crest or no crest. You were never my enemy, El." He cut in. "Just misguided."
"Ever the optimist." Her gaze fell away from his and towards the barred window. " Misguided would be an understatement, and I doubt the rest of Fódlan would agree with you." She had her time to play empress out in the real world. Now here she was, confined to another cage like a bird. As cozy as this room was, it failed to mask the fact that she no longer had her freedoms.
"You still took my hand." He answered.
"And I wonder whether or not that was the right choice. As much as I love the free lodging and meals meant for royalty, there are days where the calling of eternal sleep sounds very tempting. At least if I'm dead, I don't have to remember everything and everyone I lost… and that I chose to not go with them." She gripped the sheets as tight as she could, but anyone could have easily taken them out of her weak hold.
Dimitri walked closer to her bedside and knelt down. "Do the dead haunt you?"
"Do I have to answer, King of Delusions?" Her eyes narrowed towards his. After a moment's pause, she held her head low. "It is a burden I have to carry."
"You don't have to-"
"They're not like yours, Dimitri." She cut him off. "You didn't make the conscious decision to send each knight or soldier to their death all for an avant garde belief."
His lips tightened.
"Everyone who died for you did so out of their own volition."
"Same could be said for a people willing to die for their empress."
"Their empress forced them into a war that's done more damage than good. Your people died trying to protect their future king."
"Enough." He stopped her from saying any more on the subject. "I'm not here to dive into the specifics of how our ghosts haunt us, and which ones are justified."
"I did tell you to spend your time elsewhere." She murmured under her lips. Raising her voice and looking straight into his azure eye, she continued. "Why are you here?"
He let out a sigh and stood back up. "Because I don't want you to be alone."
Her head turned away from him.
"I want to help you, El."
"Help me, how?"
He put a hand on her shoulder, which took her by surprise. "As radical as they were, your beliefs held some weight."
She scoffed. "They were nothing."
"No, they weren't. I've witnessed the heartache and stress that comes from the current crest system. Sylvain, Ingrid, Mercedes… Those are just a few I know that have suffered from the crest they bare dictating their lives." He lifted his hand and put it behind his back.
"You're forgetting yourself."
"Point being, the circumstances of your birth shouldn't be what withholds you from opportunities to learn and grow. We have our crests in order to serve and protect the people, not hold it over their heads and instill fear."
"Is that what your father taught you?" She remarked. "Cute." She watched him take a step back and frown.
"I see that you're defiant in cutting our conversation short."
"You never answered how this would help me." She flatly stated.
"You didn't-" Dimitri pinched the bridge of his nose as he let out a small sigh. "I want you to understand that your cries did not fall upon deaf ears. You have justified beliefs, and I want to help make a just system where even the poorest of people can achieve success."
She raised a brow. "Truly, you have gone mad. To make my beliefs known, the people cannot rely on higher powers to do everything for them. The goddess can't exist for it quells one's spirit. People become weak and wait for the higher powers to do everything for them. And when it's not what they prayed for, they fear it's a punishment for a deed they've done." She swung her legs off the edge of her bed and stood up. It took her some time to regain her footing, but she made her way to the king. She stopped just shy from his chest, and focused her gaze up at him. "The church would need to go. Rhea would need to be stripped of her title and keep her meddling out of the lands. Do you really understand the gravity of what you speak? Would you raise Areadbhar against her and be willing to put it away for good once this current system is broken?"
She expected him to seem shocked by her demands, but instead a gentle smile fell upon his lips.
"Rhea is no longer in charge of the church."
She blinked in disbelief and she relaxed her shoulders. "You released her from her imprisonment, didn't you? How did you manage to convince the mad woman to let go of everything she's created?"
"Seems after a long talk with our professor, she had a change of heart. Byleth is now the current Archbishop for the Church of Seiros."
"Where did she go?" She was unable to believe that it was that easy.
"From what the professor has told me: home. Seems like Byleth has a way with words that we still can't seem to keep up with. With her acting as Archbishop, I'm sure we can find a way to rebuild a new system from the ground up that doesn't strip everyone's beliefs but encourages them to strive." He put his hands in his pockets. "I don't personally believe the goddess will do anything to help me, but I see the importance of holding faith in her has been for the well being of the people. Mercedes, Marianne, even Manuela have explained to me their approach to their faith, and I wouldn't call them helpless."
She stared at him in silence before shrinking back. She made her way back to her bed and sat on its edge. She lifted up her blackened hands and stared at their scarred features. Her brows began to furrow as she realized something else she'd been missing since her reconciliation.
"This should be good news to you, should it not?"
She shook her head. "Dimitri, do you know if Marianne still keeps in contact with Claude? If Rhea is out of the way, then we need to act."
Dimitri frowned. "I'm not following."
"There's a greater enemy out there, and with Rhea not holding her authority over everyone, they'll surely begin their strike. We're going to need everyone's help to bring them down." She crossed her arms and quickly began to pick up the plans she thought she'd have to throw away. She closed her eyes as she did her best to recall everything Hubert had told her.
"Who's this greater enemy, Edelgard?" He inched closer to her before her lilac gaze met him.
"Those Who Slither In The Dark."