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Monica didn’t know how she had arrived in Askr. One day, she was in the camp, helping her Emperor with whatever she needed help with. The next, she was here in a mystical kingdom far from home. On top of that, she had been asked to defend this strange kingdom.
Monica felt lost. The only people that surrounded her were strangers.
Until one day Kiran, the one who had summoned her here, retrieved her from her room. She didn’t know why until the summoner brought her before three familiar faces.
All of which were Edelgard, but all three looked different from the one she knew.
One looked like the Edelgard she knew back when the academy was still open. The one who had saved her from captivity and likely her life as well.
Another looked older than the last Edelgard. Her hair was done up in an intricate hairstyle, one with hair buns interwoven in a golden-horned crown. She wore clothing fit for an emperor.
The last one… well, it was definitely apparent she was nothing like her Edelgard. A black wispy substance ran down the length of her right arm. Her right shoulder glowed red because of a crest stone embedded into it. Black scales framed her face and her eyes were a bright red.
Who were they? Why did Kiran introduce her to them?
“I heard you like Edelgard, so I thought you’d be at home on a team like this!” Kiran said, almost as if she had read Monica’s thoughts. “I’ll leave you three to it. Defend Askr well!”
Then Kiran ran off.
Monica stared at the three Edelgards for a few moments.
“H-Hello, Your Majesty. Your Majesties? And Your Highness?” Monica said. “So, we’ll be working together.”
Monster Edelgard made a noise akin to a mix between a grunt and a growl as she scowled down at Monica. “I am here to do what Kiran requires of me so I may return home. Count me out of this meet and greet.” She left the room and Monica frowned. She had barely even spoken and she already drove one of them away.
“Don’t mind her. Her future is one that I am grateful I never had,” Emperor Edelgard said. She offered a hand for a handshake, which Monica took. “It’s nice to see you again, Monica. I look forward to working with you.”
“I as well,” Academy Edelgard said. “I hope you’ll be able to keep up.” She said, her tone and small smile showing she didn’t mean it seriously.
“I will. I promise you both, I’ll do my best!” Monica said. Her eyes lit up her usual determination to please Edelgard, a determination that’s now doubled because there were two of them.
~~~~~~
The day after meeting her new team members, Monica joined Academy Edelgard at the training grounds for some morning training.
After a good few rounds of sparring, both decided it was time to take a break. They sat on some nearby steps and sipped from their canteens.
“I don’t think I ever got the chance to spar with you in my world,” Edelgard said, a statement with an implicit meaning that made Monica feel uneasy. “You are quite skilled. The Edelgard of your world is lucky to have you.”
“I’m the lucky one,” Monica said. “But… you said you didn’t get the chance to spar with me. Does that mean I never got rescued in your world?”
Edelgard shook her head. “I can’t even imagine a scenario in which I would have been able to pull off such a rescue. There would’ve been such a small time frame to do it, and it would’ve been hard to do so under the Church and Professor Byleth’s nose.”
Monica’s eyes went wide at the mention of the Ashen Demon. “Professor Byleth? The Ashen Demon was your professor in your world?”
“Is, but yes… Does she never become a professor in yours?”
Monica shook her head. She couldn’t even imagine the Ashen Demon as a professor. Sure, she was getting better at expressing her emotions ever since she joined their army, but she was far from nurturing.
“Jeritza was our professor. For the short time before Rhea shut down the academy and sent everyone home, that is.”
It was Edelgard’s turn to look surprised. “That would explain how your Edelgard was able to orchestrate your rescue much more easily. Still, I am surprised by her gumption. To think, I could betray my dark-hearted allies so easily…” She sipped her drink in thought.
What this conversation had revealed to Monica so far troubled her, especially when she thought back on another conversation she had with her own Edelgard. During which she admitted that she would’ve let Monica die if it bettered her cause.
“Lady Edelgard… Does this mean you let me die in your world?” The look Edelgard gave her was one of shock. “You said it would’ve been hard to do it in your world. That means you knew where I was, and what Kronya was doing to me…”
“Monica, I- Yes, I supposed I did let you die,” Edelgard said. “I am allied with the people who held you captive. To break you out would’ve burned my bridges with them and made my dream an impossible feat. Honestly, I can’t even fathom why your Edelgard would throw that all away for you.”
The admission hit Monica like a javelin to the heart. Somehow, it hurt even more than the confession from her own Edelgard.
Why did her Edelgard throw that all away for her? She said it was advantageous to break away from them, and perhaps it was, but wouldn’t it have been simpler just to… let her die?
Edelgard grasped both of her hands. Monica nearly recoiled from the touch. She felt a dull ache in her chest and she didn’t know what emotion to feel. Sadness that this Edelgard had discarded her so readily, or anger? Elation that her own Edelgard would risk her dreams to save her, or disappointment that she had considered leaving her behind?
“You must mean a lot to her,” Edelgard said.
“Not much to you, though,” Monica snapped. She yanked her hands out of Edelgard’s grasp and stood. “I’m done here. Goodbye, Your Highness.” The title dripped with animosity.
She left before Edelgard could get a word in edgewise.
Her emotions were a jumbled mess at the moment. Perhaps she was too harsh to Edelgard. Perhaps she wasn’t considering the fact that their worlds were clearly different.
But something about this didn’t sit right with Monica. The thought that Edelgard willingly sat around and let her allies kidnap and torture her, then proceed to murder her fueled her anger.
She was angry at Academy Edelgard. She was angry at every Edelgard that resigned her to this fate. Hell, she was even a little angry at her own Edelgard for even considering the possibility of leaving her to those damn Agarthans. To Kronya.
She needed to be alone for a while and clear her head. Maybe then she would know how the hell she should feel about all of this.
~~~~~~
By noon, Monica was no longer able to hole up in her room and sulk, for Kiran had given her a task to complete. She was to dispatch a group of enemy scouts. She peeked around the boulder that hid her from their view and looked on with surprise. Four pegasus knights and another four cavaliers stood in front of her.
Did Kiran believe she could take on all eight of them alone? Even with the element of surprise, she could only probably take out two. Then she’d get swarmed by the rest of them.
She felt a presence approach behind her. She immediately conjured a fireball in her hand a prepared to launch it at the enemy–
But when she turned around, she saw Monster Edelgard. She scowled at the appearance of yet another Edelgard who allowed her to die.
“What are you doing here?” She whispered angrily.
Edelgard scowled back at her. Her voice came out as a low snarl, something that made Monica briefly fear if she would survive a fight against her.
“Kiran wanted me to help you take on those scouts over there. Unless you wish to fight them alone?”
Monica shook her head and dispelled the fireball. “I can’t take on eight people alone, so I suppose I’ll have to accept your help. Let’s get this over with.”
They jumped out from cover and dispatched the scouts handily. As it turned out, this Edelgard’s monstrous form was quite strong. Two of the scouts were dead by her hand before the others could even realize she was there. The rest were no challenge at all, especially not with Monica backing her up with some dark magic conjured from her Wind Caller’s Genesis.
After the fight, Monica stepped away to catch her breath. She now realized why Kiran had put her on a team with three others. Had the other Edelgards been there, this fight would’ve been a lot less intense.
“You look tired. Aren’t you glad I showed up after all?”
“I wouldn’t say glad, but you were helpful.”
“What’s your problem?” Edelgard said. “You were so happy to see me yesterday. Did my rejection of your meet and greet hurt you that much?” The last part was dripping with sarcasm.
“No, I am more upset that all three of you were willing to leave me to die. To discard me as if I were some piece of garbage!”
“Hmph. Is that all?” Edelgard growled. “No price is too great to pay for my ambitions. If I was willing to do this to my own body, then why should I care about sacrificing the lives of a few pawns?”
“How can you say that?! We were friends, Edelgard! Was I some pawn to you back then as well?”
“The world doesn’t give a damn about friendship!” Edelgard shouted. Monica flinched. “If it did, I would still be taking tea with the professor. Instead, I found myself at the edge of her sword.”
Edelgard’s gaze bore a hole straight through Monica. “There is one thing we care in common, Monica. Both of us were to be cast aside, killed, for another’s ambitions. The only reason I haven’t met my end is that I was summoned here. But when I return, the professor will likely kill me. And I will accept it. Because that is my destiny.”
“Can you say the same, Monica? Can you accept that you will also only be a pawn in another’s game?”
Monica’s hands clenched into fists. So this was how Edelgard saw her? Just a pawn to sacrifice in a much larger game of chess? A mere step towards her victory?
She was willing to give her life for Edelgard’s cause before. But that was when she looked up to her, had seen her as a paragon among all others.
She wasn’t so sure if she could do it now.
“You may have given up, but I won’t. I was given a second chance to live. Even if it was by someone who merely sees me as a pawn, I can take control of my own life now. And I won’t be a pawn in someone else’s game.”
“Tch. If that’s what you believe, fine. Go then, seize your destiny.”
~~~~~~
That evening, Monica ate her dinner out on one of the star terraces. She didn’t want to risk running into another Edelgard in the dining hall, minuscule as the chance may be considering the many other heroes that lived within Askr.
She sat on the edge and gazed up at the stars as she ate. At least they remained the same as those in her world.
“Monica?”
Monica whipped around to look at her new visitor. Emperor Edelgard approached her and her eyes narrowed. She turned away from her.
“What do you want?”
Edelgard sat on the ledge next to her, much to her annoyance. “Kiran told me you had an interesting conversation with our other team members. Care to talk to me about it?”
“Not particularly. But if Kiran is forcing me to,” Monica sat her food aside. She had a feeling she would lose her appetite after this conversation anyway. “Edelgard, the student one, told me she let me die in her world. Does that happen in your world, too?”
“It did. However, I can provide a perspective she could not,” Edelgard said. “If you don’t want to hear it, though, I will leave.”
This Edelgard was giving her a choice? Monica had to admit she was at least curious as to what this Edelgard had to say. Curious enough to overwhelm her urge to leave this Edelgard like she had left Academy Edelgard, at any rate.
“All right. Tell me,” Monica said.
“My willingness to sacrifice my allies, sacrifice my friends, was not unique to you,” Edelgard admitted. “I was prepared to draw my axe on all those I had met in the Black Eagles once it came time to enact my plan. I was even willing to betray my professor, who was nothing but kind to me. All to accomplish my dream.”
Edelgard met Monica’s eyes. “However, I did not realize the true cost of my ambitions. Not until the professor, as well as the rest of the Black Eagles, joined my cause. In the following battle, I lost the professor after she was crushed by some rubble. I thought that would be the last time I’d see her, the last time I’d hear her voice. And it hurt.”
“More than the hurt I felt when I saw the betrayed faces of my allies in the Holy Tomb. It was a pain like no other, one I carried for five years. And most importantly, it was the first time I regretted chasing my ambitions.”
Edelgard slowly took Monica’s hands in her own. When Monica allowed her to do so, she gripped them. “I learned an important lesson that day. Accomplishing my dreams wouldn’t be worth it if my friends weren’t around to see and enjoy them.”
Monica trembled as Edelgard’s story had moved her more than she thought it would. “Your Majesty…” was all she could say.
“That is a lesson the Edelgard you spoke to has yet to learn. It is a lesson that the monstrous Edelgard we met never learned,” Edelgard said.
Monica no longer felt angry at Edelgard. She pulled her into a sudden hug and buried her face into the fabric of her emperor clothes.
“I didn’t expect such a positive reception,” Edelgard admitted with a blush. “Does this mean you forgive us?”
“Maybe,” Monica said. “The main source of my worry comes from trying to understand what my Edelgard is like. Is she the kind willing to sacrifice me? She saved my life, but I have no way of knowing if she thinks of me as a pawn or not.”
“However, your speech gave me hope. If my Edelgard has already learned this lesson or needs help to do so, I can confidently say I will stay by her side.”
Edelgard gave her a small smile. “I’m glad to hear that. I don’t know what your Edelgard is thinking, but I hope she can learn this lesson in a less painful way. And who knows? Maybe she has already proven to have learned it by rescuing you.”
“Hopefully so,” Monica said, feeling a lightness in her chest for the first time since she got here. “Thanks for the talk, Your Majesty. I needed that.”
“Any time, Monica. Any time.”
~~~~~~
From then on, Monica was able to form amicable relations with the rest of her team. Monster Edelgard took a little longer to bring around, but ultimately she was impressed by Monica’s determination. A determination she herself had lost somewhere along the way.
The four fought side-by-side until the day Kiran sent them all back.
Normally, Monica would lose all memory of her time in Askr. They all would.
However, she knew she couldn’t let the lessons taught to her by the other Edelgards go to waste. She sought to remedy that in the form of a tiny journal in which she wrote down everything she wanted to remember. She recorded every important conversation she had with the three Edelgards since she got there, no doubt aided by her amazing memory.
She smuggled the small journal somewhere in her robes where it would be easily accessible. Once she stepped through the portal back home, she would find the journal and use it to recall what she had learned.
With this information, she could hopefully improve her relationship with Edelgard for the better.