Work Text:
Day 3. Sneaking away
This is such a waste of time and money, Felix thinks to himself as he adjusts his mask to a more comfortable position. He then looks around the large room, decorated to the ceiling and packed full of people. The masquerade ball at Garreg Mach is definitely not Felix’s kind of occasion. At least I get to see this place early, he decides.
He still has two years before he’s coming here to study and train, and this is a very unique opportunity to get to know the layout of the place beforehand. His father wanted him to come so he might get to know some of the people who will be attending with him, making friends or political connections or whatever. He hadn’t really been listening.
As interesting is it is to see the place early and as much as he doesn’t care about people, though, Felix only really agreed to attend because he might have been hoping to sneak away to see the training grounds and equipment. Maybe he’ll even have an opportunity to take a few moments to test them out. I’ll just have to be a bit careful, with these ridiculous outfits we have to wear.
Every time the masquerade ball is held, there’s a different theme around which people plan their outfits and masks. This year, the theme is Animals. Luckily for Felix, he doesn’t look half as ridiculous as some other people here, his costume being a black cat, which just requires the mask and a sleek black suit. He manages to keep it very simple, and even the small cat ears sticking up from his mask are barely noticeable in his dark hair.
The first person he knows and immediately recognises, not only for the costume but also the clutter of people gathered around him, is Dimitri. The Prince is wearing a lion mask, with the collar of his costume ridiculously puffed up to resemble a mane. The man next to him in the jackal mask must be Dedue, the boy from Duscur who keeps following Dimitri everywhere.
Felix huffs and pointedly looks away.
Next his eyes fall on Ingrid. She’s wearing a Pegasus mask, with small fluffy wings sticking up on each side of her head. Her dress is so brilliantly white is seems to almost glow in the lights. Felix is pretty sure his father paid for the costume, as there’s pretty much no way Ingrid’s parents would have been able to afford it. She’s dancing with a man in a seal mask, wearing flowing silver silks. She seems happy enough.
There are also several people here that Felix recognizes, even though he’s never seen them in real life before. Like the Princess Edelgard of the Adrestian Empire. She’s dressed as a bird of prey of some kind, probably native to the Empire, with her brilliant crimson and midnight black dress and cape. Next to her is a man dressed in black and venomous green, complete with a viper-mask. Some kind of bodyguard, Felix guesses. He looks rather nasty.
Another more famous person Felix recognizes is the Heir to the Leicester Alliance, in a costume of a white wyvern, complete with a cape shaped like wings. He seems very animated, talking and dancing and making his way all around the room. There seems to be another man, in a ridiculous-looking purple peacock costume, who seems intent on killing him with his gaze, judging by the way his furiously glaring eyes are fixated on von Riegan.
And naturally, as the whole thing takes place at Garreg Mach, the Archbishop is also there to make an appearance. She’s dressed in a green and white dress, with her mask and clothing design vaguely resembling a wyvern, but not quite. She’s probably going to hold a speech at some point. Or maybe she already has. Felix hasn’t really been paying attention.
After spending some time, Felix eventually manages to remove himself from the masses of people and climbs partway up a nearby staircase, where he stands with his back to one of the walls, looking over the large room. There are people on the dance floor, twirling around in movements that almost makes him dizzy just from looking at. There’s a large amount of people just watching, perhaps waiting for their own turn to dance. And there’s people at the food tables, getting some snacks and drinks for themselves and whoever they’re here with. And every one of them wearing some mask, with clothing that at least partially matches the animal they’ve chosen.
But they don’t really matter. They can have all the fanciest costumes in the world, and it doesn’t mean anything to Felix. Right now, there’s only one person he’s looking for. Shouldn’t be too difficult to spot someone like him, especially in the sea of people with mostly brown, black, grey, or blond hair.
He spots Sylvain after only a few minutes, his bright Gautier-red hair standing out clearly, clashing horribly with the orange fox mask he’s wearing. His black clothing, as well as gloves, are moderately trimmed with red fox fur. He seems to have just finished a dance with some girl, and in typical Sylvain fashion, also flirting with her, judging by the way she giggles and hides her face behind her hands.
Eyes focused on the goal, Felix starts making his way through the crowds, pushing aside and side stepping around people, without stopping to apologize even when a particularly hard shove causes some woman to spill champagne over her dress. It was only on the hem, anyway. But he doesn’t take his eyes of Sylvain once, wanting to make absolutely sure the redhead doesn’t disappear into the crowds somewhere.
When he gets closer, Sylvain must have felt Felix’s eyes on him, because he straightens up just a little, and then turns to look right at Felix. The flirty smile he’s been wearing disappears and is replaced by a brilliant happy grin that seems to light up his face. Or rather, the lower half that can be seen of his face, that is. He leans down to whisper something to the girl he’s with and sends her on her way with a casual wave before making his way over to meet Felix.
“Hey Felix!” Sylvain greets him, almost too loudly, as he comes to a stop in front of him. “I almost wasn’t expecting you to be here!”
“Idiot,” Felix huffs. “We agreed to meet here, didn’t we?” They had been sending letters to each other over the past several weeks, planning to sneak out from the ball to explore the monastery instead.
“We sure did,” Sylvain grins, lazily stretching his arms over his head, making his lanky body appear longer than it already is. “I just know how much you hate these kinds of stuffy events, so I figured you might choose to stay home instead.”
“Is that why you were flirting with some girl instead of meeting me? Because you thought I decided to stay home?” Felix isn’t sure which option he would prefer. Sylvain flirting with girls because he thinks Felix isn’t there, or Sylvain deciding flirting with girls is more important than spending time with him. He tries not to think about it.
“Nah, not really,” Sylvain says. “It’s just that all beautiful people deserve to know just how beautiful they are.” He tosses Felix a flirtatious wink and a seductive smile. “You’re very beautiful. Er, handsome, that is. You’re very handsome,” he corrects himself at Felix’s glare. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in something this fancy.”
“Well, enjoy it while it lasts, because you won’t be seeing me in it again,” Felix informs him, tugging on his sleeves. It really is too uncomfortable. Too tight, too stiff, too difficult to move in properly.
“Don’t worry, I am,” Sylvain happily informs him, shamelessly looking him up and down with keen interest. “These are pretty cute,” he says, reaching to tug at one of the cat ears sticking up in Felix’s hair.
“Shut up,” he grumbles, hating the stupid masquerade thing and the ridiculous costumes, wishing it could have been just a regular stupid ball, while trying to smooth his hair over the ears, probably without much success is Sylvain’s grin is something to go by. “We had plans for tonight, didn’t we?”
“Yep, let’s go!” Sylvain grabs his hand and is leading him to a side exit before Felix has had the chance to react. Well, at least they’re getting somewhere instead of just standing around.
The exit Sylvain picked, probably completely at random, leads out to a large courtyard. There are some bushes, flowers, and lots of grass. Nothing special, in other words. Felix loosens his tie, unbuttons the topmost buttons of his shirt, and finally pushes the stupid mask up on his head. He takes a deep breath of the evening air, just glad he’s gotten out of the stuffy festivities. The air is comfortably fresh and cool.
He shakes his head to clear his thoughts. Now, where to first? Looking for the training grounds, definitely. Maybe find the kitchens and grab some real food instead of those tiny mouthfuls they serve at the ball. And then see what else this place has to offer.
He turns to Sylvain, about to ask if he wants to see if they can manage to do some sparring without getting the stupid fancy clothes torn or dirtied. Only to find Sylvain gazing at him, a strange, unfamiliar look in his eyes. His head is tilted to the side, and a gentle breeze ruffles his hair. He still has his stupid mask over his face, making it hard to really see what’s going on with him.
As if noticing Felix’s stare, Sylvain gives Felix his usual grin, with nothing strange or unusual about it. It’s the one that Felix usually finds annoying, the one that means they’re about to do something that might get them in trouble. “Well, let’s go explore this place, then,” he says.
And so they do. They spend a good while exploring the courtyard, looking over all the different doors and paths that lead away from there, wondering which one to try first. Felix is the one to make the decision, as he gets bored of standing around. He grabs Sylvain’s hand and leads him down the nearest path. It’s nothing special, just a long path surrounded by bushes and flowers, kind of making Felix wish he had chosen one of the other paths, or even one of the available doors.
“This is such a waste of time,” Felix grumbles as they pass the same fountain and the same formation of bushes for the third time. “We’re just walking in circles.”
“This place is huge!” Sylvain laughs, sticking his fingers in the water of the fountain and splashing some droplets on Felix, earning himself a glare. “It’s-”
Felix never finds out what exactly Sylvain thinks this place is, as he’s interrupted by the sound of voices and approaching footsteps. Guards, making their rounds and watching out for intruders. The boys look at each other in complete silence. If the guards find them, they’ll definitely be in trouble, considering guests at the ball aren’t supposed to leave the designated area for said ball. And they’re well beyond that.
“Come on,” Sylvain whispers in his ear, before grabbing his hand and pulling him along. They go in the direction opposite of where the guards are coming from, past some more hedges, ducking their heads to not be seen. Sylvain has no idea where they’re actually going, and might actually be leading them towards more guards for all he knows. But Felix lets him take the lead anyway; it’s not like he knows this place any better.
They round a corner and find themselves at another part of the large monastery. Felix can hear the sounds of the ball, faintly. Not too far from where they started, then. He’s about to tell Sylvain something, maybe ask him how they ended up right back here when they were supposed to look for the training grounds or the kitchen, but the sound of more approaching guards make him snap his mouth shut.
“Let’s try that one,” Sylvain whispers in his ear, pointing to a door a few steps away and tugs at Felix’ hand to get him to follow, which he does, though somewhat reluctantly.
“Do you really think they’d leave some door open for just anyone to -” he starts asking, but cuts himself off when Sylvain pushes at the door and it opens smoothly, without even a creak from the hinges. “Apparently they do just leave doors open for anyone who just wants to take a look around,” he mutters, letting Sylvain pull him through and close the door behind them.
The room they’re now standing in is small, and has a steep spiralling staircase leading up. Sylvain looks up, looks at Felix, then shrugs and gestures up.
“Might as well, right?” he suggests. “If there’s some window or something we might be able to get a better idea of where everything is, at least.” He gives Felix a look, silently asking if he agrees with the idea.
“Sure,” Felix says. At least it has to be a better plan than just standing around. He follows Sylvain up the steps, occasionally looking down, then up, wondering just how high the tower is.
He feels like they’ve climbed well past where the roof of the building should be, when the stairs finally end in another closed door. Sylvain looks at him, shrugs, and tries to push them open. The doors open smoothly, without even a creak, revealing a spacious terrace. They step out on it, letting the door close behind them as they look around.
“Well, this is pretty fancy,” Sylvain says, finally pushing his mask up on top of his head as he looks around. The balcony is framed by pillars of fine white marble, decorated with colourful flowers, and lit by a couple of torches. Sylvain braces his hands on the railing and leans over it to look around. “Hey, this view is pretty great! Come look, Fe!”
Felix approaches the railing and carefully peers over it, as prompted by Sylvain’s excited waving and exclamations. Hopefully the redhead isn’t loud enough for the patrolling guards to hear.
The view from the tower is actually pretty nice, Felix has to admit. Because it’s so tall, they have a view of most of the monastery grounds, with little to obstruct said view. He can see the gardens with its fountains and hedges they had been walking around in, can see the lights from the ball in the same building but further away, and the moving lights from the guards’ lanterns.
“It’s a good view,” he says, looking further. Beyond the gardens and the moving lanterns he can also see other buildings. Further away, he can see other buildings. One of them might be the dining hall for students. Over to the side are what have to be the dormitories, and a greenhouse next to a small pond. He lets his gaze glide from one building to the next, trying to find a specific one. After a minute or so he spots the training grounds he’s been searching for, and makes a mental note on the location. Not too far, he might still have time to...
“Hey, I think I know where we are!” Sylvain exclaims, almost making Felix jump from the sudden sound. When he turns to Sylvain, the redhead is grinning from ear to ear, eyes almost glittering. Felix raises a brow.
“And are you going to share this great revelation, or...?” Felix asks, crossing his arms as he waits for the inevitable answer. Sylvain is far too excited about his discovery to not tell him.
“It’s the Goddess Tower!” Sylvain proudly informs him. Then comes up to the railing next to Felix and leans in closer. “They leave the doors unlocked on purpose whenever there are some festivities going on, so people can sneak up here. You know, for some alone time.” He winks at Felix and lightly touches the side of his face with his fingers.
“Idiot,” Felix mutters, then reaches up and shoves Sylvain’s mask back down on his face. He turns his head to the side, feeling a light flush raising to his cheeks and really hopes Sylvain won’t notice it in the dim light. “I’m not one of your girls who will fall over at some flirting.”
“Sorry, sorry!” Sylvain laughs, straightening back up and pushing the mask back on top of his head. “I know you aren’t.” Felix sees from the corner of his eye as Sylvain’s smile softens, and he looks at Felix with something like fondness in his gaze. “You know I’d rather be here with you than any of those girls, right?”
“... idiot,” Felix murmurs, not really sure how he’s supposed to react to something like that. “Of course,” he adds, looking back at Sylvain just in time to see the delighted grin split his face. After all, he and Sylvain go back many years. Of course he’d rather hang out with Felix than some random girl who can’t see past Sylvain’s crest and his fake charm.
They end up staying up there for quite a bit longer, but it’s actually quite nice. They talk about how it’ll be when they both come to attend Garreg Mach in two years, what kind of teachers they’re going to have, what they’re going to learn. They look out at the different buildings and facilities, trying to guess what they are. Felix doesn’t even complain too much about not actually getting to try out the training grounds.
He can train at home. Spending time alone with Sylvain is something special.