Chapter Text
Marianne was searching for her friend, Hilda, in the middle of a battlefield. The last time she has seen her was with Claude and Lorenz, heading off in an unknown direction together. She tried to follow them; however, Marianne ended up getting lost in Fhirdiad.
It was difficult to know where she was going in the maze-like streets. Many of the buildings looked the same to her. And at times, she would accidentally ran into a dead end. Marianne did everything she could to avoid the king’s knights because her magic was severely depleted. After using so much of it to heal Shez, when they fought against Sylvain together. She could only use her remaining spells if it was truly necessary.
The main reason why she was so desperate to find Hilda was that she dropped her pouch of elixirs. Marianne worried that without them, Hilda might get into a situation where she got seriously hurt, and no healers around to help her. Though her friend was strong, still, the risk of injuries was high. Which could lead to other complications such as an infection. Even though she feel exhausted, Marianne had the fortitude to keep going. Otherwise, she could never forgive herself if something were to happen to her.
Arriving at a new stronghold, it was guarded by a couple of knights. Immediately, Marianne hid behind a broken wall so she wouldn't be spotted. She was thinking of turning back but the sound of the ballista firing in the distance told her otherwise. It left her with no other options except to press forward. Extending her arm toward the burning twilight sky, Marianne focused her remaining energy as cold mists swirled around her. Several spheres made from ice and snow manifested, and all came falling. By the time the soldiers noticed, it was already too late. Most were half-buried in the snow, leaving them unconscious, and others became crystallized statues in awkward positions. A part of her did felt guilty for what she had done. However, finding her friend was far more important.
Marianne hurriedly crossed through the stony archway. Hoping that this time, she would find Hilda. Unfortunately, she didn't and met with someone else, pointing an umbral lance directly at her chest.
"Don't you dare take another step–wait, Marianne?!"
"D-Dimitri!" Marianne let out a shaky breath.
Indeed, it was King Dimitri.
This wasn't supposed to happen. Claude has warned everybody not to engage him in a fight alone. That he was capable of decimating an entire battalion single-handedly. Even if she was at full strength, Marianne was no match for Dimitri.
She just stood there, staring at him with frighten-filled eyes. Unable to move nor think clearly. Just when she thought he was going to strike her down. Instead, he slowly lowered his weapon.
"To think, he sent you here alone. I've never expected Claude to rely on such tactics!" Dimitri sounded beyond shocked by her sudden appearance.
Marianne was perplexed by his assumption of her being here in the first place. Which was far from the truth, and in actuality, she got here by complete accident.
"What, no!" She blurted out. “I was trying to find my friend, but I ended up here...” Marianne felt so embarrassed when she admitted it.
“So you came all this way just to find your friend?” He asked her, and Marianne simply nodded. “How did you manage to get through the guards?”
She gripped her right arm, lowering her head. “I...I used a blizzard spell, so I could get through them.” Marianne admitted. “I'm sorry…”
Even though she knew apologizing would mean nothing to him, it was at least she could do for what she did to his knights. She was ready to be judged by him; however, it didn't happen.
"So you did, huh?" Rather than expressing disdain, Dimitri sounded more impressed. “You must be extraordinarily lucky."
“What?” Marianne looked at him in surprise, "Me, lucky?"
He nodded as he answered, "Indeed, you are.”
"I'm sorry…But you're wrong,” said Marianne, shaking her head in disagreement. “All I ever bring is misfortunes, especially to those who are close to me.
"Misfortune?" He repeated, confusingly.
"You won't understand." Marianne clutched the brooch that resembled her family's symbol.
For as long as she could remember. She witnessed so many unfortunate events in her family. Memories that she wished not to remember started to flood her mind. Her poor father would come home beaten and bruised—never explaining how he got them. Also, the struggle he endured to contain his rage-filled strength whenever he was in combat. While her dearest mother was treated as an outcast by the townsfolk for marrying a cursed man, and birthing a cursed child, too. All because a crest scholar spread their information, whether it was fully true or not.
The last time she ever saw her beloved parents were many years ago. When they left her under the care of a distant relative, Margrave Adam von Edmund. Both of them promise they would come back for her, after helping an old friend of theirs. However, they never did. Due to their unexplained disappearance, Adam adopted her and made her his heir.
"But I do, Marianne." Dimitri expressed."Maybe not fully but I'm familiar with misfortunes, and what I learned, it can happen to anyone. You can't always blame yourself for things going wrong. And to me, you're the opposite of misfortunes because...I think you're lucky.”
“Y-You do?” Marianne stammered in surprise.
“I meant what I said, Marianne,” said Dimitri.
There was a brief silence between them. So she could gather up her thoughts after listening to him.
“Why…”
“Pardon?”
“Why are you being so kind to me? Aren't I the enemy?” She asked.
Dimitri shook his head from side to side, “In truth, I don't see you as an enemy. Even if our time at the academy was brief, you’re a dear friend to me, Marianne."
"R-Really?" She asked as a blush crept on her face.
“Yes,” He answered with a caring smile. “The moment I saw you, I thought of happier times before….all of this. One of my fondest memories I can remember was when we worked together at the stable. You helped me a lot when one of the horses acted stubbornly.”
“Oh, I remember that! He was a bit of a troublemaker.” Marianne knew what he was referring to. “...But we managed to work together.”
Marianne remembered it well. It was a lovely spring afternoon. They were tasked with tending the horses by their professors. They were each paired with a classmate from their respective house, Sylvain and Lorenz. But they got into a heated squabble, leaving them doing most of the work. She didn't mind it since she loved taking care of horses, and working with Dimitri was a pleasant experience. She would keep the horses calm, checking for any possible ailment. While Dimitri did more of the physical labor. They even have small talks on topics that she feels comfortable with.
“We really did. Speaking of which…How is Dorte?" He abruptly asked. "Last time I heard, you adopted him when the monastery shut down."
"He's doing just fine." She replied directly.
“With somebody like you, I can imagine he's living his best life. I wonder if he still holds a grudge against me for kicking his flank too hard." Dimitri let an awkward chuckle loose.
"Oh, he doesn't! Dorte is very forgiving." Marianne couldn't contain her giggles.
"Ah, a laugh! Lovely as ever.” He remarked. “I honestly thought I'll never get to hear it again." The moment he said those words, his whole face brightened like a flame, it even caused Marianne’s blush to grow redder than a rose in the spring.
Despite being on opposing sides, King Dimitri has been patient and kind to her. Just like when they were students at the Officer Academy. It reignited some deep feelings for him, bringing warmth to her heart as well. However, it also brought in more guilt for being part of the invasion.
As much as she didn't want to admit it, invading the kingdom just to get to Lady Rhea felt wrong to her. Though Claude did bring up valid criticisms of the church and its systems. However, siding with the empire and the things they’ve done just to get here, well, it made her question a lot of things. Yet, she kept her mouth shut, wanting to believe in Claude of what he was doing would bring the war to an end quicker. Now that it came to this, Marianne was more unsure about it.
“Dimitri, I—“ All of sudden, a roar interrupted her. Marianne gasped when she looked up, seeing a familiar white-scaled wyvern flying in the air. “Oh no…” She whispered, holding her hands up to her face.
“Claude,” The young king uttered, recognizing him from afar. And then, he glanced back at her. “You must leave here now.”
“What?”
“If Claude sees us, well… I don’t want you to suffer from a possible misunderstanding.”
“B-But…” She stammered out.
“Please, Marianne.” He begged.
Hearing his plea, Marianne nodded understandingly. “Okay, I'll go.” She said, “But please, Dimitri. Don't be so hard on him”
“I'll try at least.” Dimitri sort of made that promise.
“Thank you…” Hearing that from him, Marianne fled from the the scene with a heavy heart.
As she reached the archway entrance, she suddenly came to a stop. There she stood for an unknown amount of time. Marianne couldn’t stop thinking about Dimitri. She didn't want him and Claude to fight. Surely, Dimitri was willing to listen as he did with her, and Claude mentioned he would like to talk to him, too. However, she wondered if it was still possible for a peaceful resolution between the two. Especially after what happened to Fraldarius's territory.
Just then a loud blast was heard inside the stronghold. At that moment, Marianne turned her heels, running back inside without a second thought. Despite knowing what was happening, she was still shocked when she saw Dimitri fighting against Claude, Lorenz, and Hilda. They were so focused on fighting each other, that none of them seemed to notice her sudden arrival.
Three against one may seem unfair. However, Dimitri shouldn't be underestimated. He could handle them all at once. Claude shot multiple arrows at King Dimitri from on top of his wyvern, Mahyar. While he effortlessly repels the attack by swinging his lance. He even avoided being struck by Hilda’s axe and Lorenz’s strongest spell, Agnea’s Arrow.
“Dimitri! Claude!” Marianne attempted to speak up but her words didn't reach them. They just kept on fighting. While she remained on the sideline. Marianne felt torn, seeing them fight like this. She should be supporting Claude. And yet, she doesn't want to fight Dimitri.
Her eyes then caught sight of Claude, pulling another arrow from his quiver, and aimed directly at the near-exhausted king. When he let it go, the air around her felt cold. And something inside of her took over, that made her do the unthinkable.
“Please, stop!” She cried out. Her crest manifested in a bright blue light.
On the ground where they fought, a glyph appeared and unleashed a far more powerful ice spell, Fimbulvetr. Creating an icy barrier of sorts that protected Dimitri from the arrow. It managed to withstand the sheer power of Failnaught before it shattered. Everybody was stunned by what just happened until their eyes laid on her.
“Marianne?!” Hilda was completely shocked. “What did you get here?”
She clutched the brooch once again. Unsure how to answer for what she has done.
“I’m…I'm so sorry. I just didn't want…you...to hurt...” Marianne was struggling to speak.
Then all of a sudden, she felt very weak and tired. Her eyelids grew so heavy that she was struggling to keep them wide open. The world around her began to spin that she couldn't concertante properly.
She didn't know what was happening to her. Then, her vision began to blurred, and feel like she was falling. The last thing she saw before her eyes fully closed was Dimitri rushing toward her.