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Chapter Text

It all happened so quickly not many people had even known what had happened. The monastery was in a panic, there was a reported incident of a student being attacked. When the student was sent to the infirmary it was revealed the student appeared to have bite marks around their wrist. After the news broke out the Archbishop held a meeting bringing the students to the Cathedral.

“Peace, students there is nothing to fear.” Archbishop Rhea said as she tried to quell the fears many of the students were feeling.

“Fortunately, the student has not gained any permanent injuries. Although, they have been experiencing a bit of lightheadedness because of loss of blood.”

“Because of these symptoms and evidence we have been led to the conclusion that there might be a vampire in the monastery.”

After that all hell broke loose. There was nothing anyone could say that could calm any of the students down. Seteth and Rhea tried their best to try to bring the conversation back to something understandable, but it was already too late.

–

It took several minutes to get the students to regain their composure. Once that happened the Archbishop continued.

“Fear not everyone, we will be dealing with this incident immediately. We will not let this creature continue to run amuck on this sacred ground. Dismissed”

After that the students were quick to leave after hearing about the incident. Scurrying like a bunch of mice after seeing a cat. Later that day Edelgard held a meeting in class with the Black Eagles. 

“Everyone just like the Archbishop said there is nothing we have to worry about.” Edelgard said with a commanding presence that everyone paid attention to.

“Well I sure hope not. I don’t want to have to deal with a vampire while I’m taking a nap.” Linhardt said while yawning.

“Don’t worry Linny, I wouldn’t let any of those things get anywhere you. I would kill em’ before they even knew what hit em’.”

“Thank you Caspar, that's very reassuring.” Linhardt said sarcastically.

“Hey, I’m just saying that if that thing shows up again, I’m definitely going to kill it.”

“If you were to find a vampire you shouldn’t kill it, at least not before I get to study it. Vampires are so rare that people usually kill them before we learn anything about them. Vampires are one of the only few creatures that could be equated with humans. Monstrous enough to be classified as creatures but they have the appearance of a human. I wonder if crests have anything to do with the development of vampires? Perhaps-” Linhardt said as he continued rambling on about vampires.

“You can kill all those monsters for all I care! Like I needed another reason to never leave my room!” Bernadetta said as she was already trying to make her escape back into her room. But Petra was already getting her to sit back down.

“You should not have any fear Bernadetta, I have never heard of this ‘vampire’ monster. Tell me how would be best for killing this creature?” Petra said as she looked at Edelgard with her question.

“Well not much information about vampires is very documented. The most common way for killing them would be a stake to the heart.”

“Then I will be carrying a stake from now on.” Petra said with determination.

“Hopefully this is a one time thing and you won’t ever need to use that.” Dorothea said with concern as she looked at Petra.

“Fear not Dorothea the soldiers will take care of this situation and we’ll never have to hear of this ever again.” Ferdinand said confidently.

“Oh how nice of the bigshot noble to care. Why don’t you lead the expeditions and take all the glory in vanquishing the beast?” Dorothea said sarcastically as she looked at Ferdinand.

“As enticing as that would be, I wouldn't know where to start.”

“Well how ‘bout you leave now and get a head start in the search.”

“Enough you two.” Edelgard said shutting them up. “It’s best to leave this to the soldiers. For now everyone should just return to their rooms.”

After that everyone left and returned to their rooms. Only Edelgard and Hubert remained in the classroom.

“Hubert, I need you to find out more information on this situation.”

“As you wish, my Lady.” Hubert said as he made my way to the library to see if he could find more information about vampires.

It was going to be a long night. Considering how little information they have on vampires. As Hubert continued to look for more information in the library he kept getting into dead ends. He was going to find more information about vampires somewhere else. Perhaps Linhardt might know some about the subject.

—

As Ferdinand made his way back to his room and locked the door. He was finally able to take a sigh of relief. That was too close. He thought as he sat down at his bed. 

I can’t allow myself to be exposed like this. I can’t let anyone find out about this . Ferdinand said this to himself out loud as he removed a floorboard. Underneath it hidden was a briefcase. Inside the briefcase were vials containing thick red liquid. Ferdinand took one of the vials and drank it.

Chapter Text

After an unsuccessful night of research at the library; the only information found about vampires was that they are unholy creatures that must be eliminated immediately. THe only way of eliminating them that was discussed was using holy water. After that Hubert made his way to Linhardt’s room. After several minutes of knocking, Linhardt finally answered the door.

“Why in the goddess’ name are you knocking on my door at this time of day?” Linhardt said, clearly cranky from being woken up.

“It is noon now. I could care less if I have disturbed your slumber, you should already be awake.”

“Ouch.”

“Anyway, as far as I’m concerned you seem to have a lot of knowledge on vampires.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Well yesterday you were prattling on about information you seemed to know about vampires.”

“I only know about information written in books.” Linhardt said, trying to hold off a yawn.

“Isn’t it weird how I wasn’t able to find any of the things you said about them in the library?”

“I’m not surprised. All the books where I learned that information were from before I went to the academy.”

“So what you're saying I won’t be able to find any of that information here.”

“Not necessarily, all those books are church approved, but you might be able to find more books about vampires in the abyss.”

“I’m surprised, this conversation has been more informative than I expected. Look how useful you can be when you’re not sleeping.”

“Thank you, that backhanded compliment is definitely going to make me sleep less. Anyway if you have all the information you wanted I’m going back to sleep.” Linhardt then closed the door and presumably went back to sleep.

After that insightful conversation Hubert made his way to the abyss to see if they have some more helpful information.

—

“Can you believe that there’s any actual vampire living among us here at Garrech Mach?” Dorothea said to Edelgard and Ferdinand she sat down to eat her lunch.

“You seem much more relaxed now compared to how you were yesterday.” Edelgard said as looked at Dorothea.

“Well now that I have had some to think about it. Having a vampire running around the monastery seems very exciting.”

“In what way?” Edelgard said, clearly confused.

“In stories that I have heard vampires are seen as bewitchingly attractive. That’s how they get their prey. They lure them in with their beauty and then they attack.”

“Interesting, I had never heard of this information on them before.” Edelgard said as she took a mental note.

“Those are just stories that they played when I used to be at the opera. I’m sure vampires in real life aren’t like that at all. I mean they drink blood, that's one of the most monstrous things anyone could do. I don’t think there’s anything attractive about that.”

“People say they look humanoid. So that means they are able to blend in with regular humans.”

“Still to think one of those things is running around sucking people’s blood. That’s truly horrific.”

Ferdinand remained quiet as he ate his food.

“What about you Ferdie? You’ve been quiet. You don’t have any knowledge to grace us with about vampires?” Dorothea said as she looked at Ferdinand with a bit of smugness.

“Oh I don’t know any more than anything you have already stated.” Ferdinand said he looked down at his plate.

“You scared that it might come for you? I guess a noble would be considered a more high quality meal than a peasant like me.”

“Dorothea stop teasing him. I think this vampire situation has really shaken him up.” Edelgard said to Dorothea trying to get her to talk about something else.

“Edelgard you might be right. You know, as riveting as this conversation has been, I have to take my leave. Ladies, I’ll be seeing you.” Ferdinand said as he quickly got up from his seat and left.

“What’s his problem?” Dorothea said as she watched Ferdinand walk away.

“Like you said Dorothea there is a blood sucking monster at the academy. That would put anyone on edge.”

“I guess you’re right. I was just trying to lighten the mood with some more lighthearted information, but in the end I just ended up talking about blood.”

“It’s alright Dorothea, I’m sure this whole situation will be dealt with in no time.”

–

Once Ferdinand was back in his room. He slid down the door and put his hands on his head. Monstrous she said.  He thought to himself.

There has to be a way to make them think that the vampire has left.

  Then his face lit up as he thought of an idea.

“Perhaps going vampire hunting might be a good idea after all.” He said as he began to form a plan in his head.

Chapter Text

"Keep your distance, she's coming this way.”

“Stop talking so loud she might hear you.”

“Yeah, if you keep talking like that she might come after you next.”

Murmurs of students talking could be heard as Marianne made her way through the Monastery. She wasn’t really surprised. Ever since it was announced that there was a vampire at Garreg Mach people have been giving her suspicious looks. It didn’t matter anyway they were probably right. She probably was the monster and she just didn’t know it. The Crest of Maurice is known to curse those who have it. Maybe the curse was that she was the vampire and just didn’t know it.

Marianne made her way to the stables. There she could be left in peace without anyone disturbing her. 

Without anyone judging her…

But it appears that today was not her day. Someone was also at the stables today. It appeared Ferdinand had woken up early to take care of the horses.

I didn’t know he did that? It appears that isn’t the first time he’s done this as he seems to know what he’s doing. Perhaps it’s better if I just leave and come back when he’s gone. I wouldn’t want to ruin his mood with my presence. Just as Marianne was about to leave she stepped on a twig. It made a loud noise and it alerted Ferdinand that someone else was here.

“Oh Marianne, are you here to tend to the horses as well.” Ferdinand said as he turned around to look at her.

“Yes, I was but I see that you are already doing that. I don’t want to bother you, I'll take my leave.” She said as she attempted to leave again.

“Nonsense, there’s room for both of us here. Why don’t you join me instead?”

“I-I don’t want to be a bother. It’s just you’ve heard of the monster that has been cited at Garreg Mach.”

It was barely noticeable but for a moment it could be seen that Ferdinand froze. He quickly calmed himself and went back to normal. 

“Why would that affect us tending to the horses?” He said with confusion clearly shown on his face.

“Because I believe myself to be cursed. I wouldn’t want someone to get hurt because of me and us being alone could cause you to get harmed.”

“I don’t think any harm will fall on us. Don’t vampires get harmed in the sunlight?”

“That is what they say.”

“Then we have nothing to worry about. Now come, I'm sure you wouldn’t want your friends to feel neglected.”

“If that’s okay with you.” Marianne finally relented and stayed with Ferdinand to take care of the horses.

–

We spent the next several minutes taking care of the horses. It was surprisingly pleasant. More pleasant than I expected. I never knew Ferdinand to be so gentle with the horses. I thought him to be another pompous noble who only cares about his status but no he’s much more than that.

“It might not be my place to say but I would like you to know that your crest doesn’t define you.” Ferdinand says after a large period of silence.

“W-what?”

“It’s just that, those things you said about being cursed. You shouldn’t think like that. Yes, it’s a part of you but, there’s also so much more to you than that.” He said as he looked her in the eyes.

“People already think that I might be the monster. So many people have told me how horrible it would be to have my crest that I believe it all to be true.”

“Well I don’t believe it. Is there actually proof of you committing any of those crimes they say?”

“N-no.”

“Then there is nothing to worry about. You shouldn’t call yourself such horrible things. You aren’t a monster.”

“...”

“You may not believe it right now. But that’s okay I’ll just believe for you until you realize it’s the truth.”

Marianne was stunned. She didn’t know what to say. Nobody has ever said anything like this to her before. Just as Ferdinand was about to leave Marianne stopped him.

“Wait! Ferdinand, thank you for saying that. I didn’t know I needed to hear that until you said it.”

“Well it’s the truth and you shouldn’t let anyone tell you otherwise.” He said as he finally took his leave. 

The only monster here is me…

“My what a gentleman. How noble of you to console her while she was in distress.” Hubert said as he suddenly appeared from nowhere.

Oh joy he’s here.

Chapter Text

“Hubert! What a surprise! What brings you here to the stables?” Ferdinand said as he was already making his way to the dining hall.

“Oh nothing much, just passing through. Couldn’t help but overhear your little conversation with Marianne. The way she behaves I wouldn’t be surprised if it was revealed that she was the vampire the church has been so painstakingly trying to find.” Huber said with a smirk slowly forming on his face.

“I didn’t take you for someone to blindly listen to rumors. I expected better from the future emperor’s Minister of Household affairs.” He retorted as he made his way to the dining hall. Hubert followed him there.

“And I would expect the future Prime Minister to not be so trusting of people. Honestly, the way she behaves I wouldn’t be surprised that she was the monster that lurks through the halls.”

“Do you really believe her to be a vampire? If anything I think the more likely suspect is you! You are abnormally pale, quite tall, and you like to blend in with the shadows.” Ferdinand said as he pointed at Hubert with the accusation.

As expected of it being lunchtime the dining hall was very crowded. Many of the students could be found there enjoying their own meals. The murmurs of students talking was very noticeable but not enough to where people would have to be shouting for those to hear the conversation. Everyone at the dining hall seemed to have heard what he had said. As the murmurs of other conversations had begun to sound a lot more of the possible culprit. Hubert seemed to have noticed this as well, as many eyes were now looking at him.

“You know he might be right.” Students began to murmur as they ate lunch.

“Now that he mentions it he does seem to share many characteristics with vampires.”

“Do you think that he’s going to go after Ferdinand now that he said that?”

“Be quiet! Here might hear you and try to attack you!”

More hushed whispers about Hubert being a vampire began to appear. Hubert had an annoyed look on his face as he sat down to eat his lunch with Ferdinand.

“Nice going von Aegir, your blind accusations are going to cause the students to panic. Have you ever tried thinking before you speak?” Hubert said as you could visibly see him trying not to look annoyed.

“Oh dear, you’re right. Forgive me Hubert I got caught in the moment.”

“Nothing to worry about. Once the vampire is captured everyone will know that it isn’t me.”

“If it makes you feel better, now that I think about it. I think you would be too obvious to be the vampire.”

“Oh so now you’ve changed your mind?”

“Yes, you fit too many of the stereotypical vampiric characteristics. You’re not even trying to hide it. So it can’t be you. Even if you do tend to lurk in dark corners.” Ferdinand said, trying to hold a laugh and failing.

“You find this amusing? And what if I was a vampire? Perhaps I would make you my next victim.”

“If you truly were the vampire then you are doing a very bad job at hiding it. Exposing who your next target is? Is this the best the imperial spy has to offer as a threat?”

Hubert was shocked at how confident Ferdinand appeared as he talked. He didn’t seem scared when Hubert had threatened him with drinking his blood. Hubert wasn’t the vampire, but if there was suspicion he would be one of the main suspects. Yet Ferdinand was convinced that he wasn’t. It seemed obvious to him, but to other students he was the main suspect.

“You seem oddly confident that it’s not me. You’re correct, of course, I’m not one of those bloodsucking monsters. But if nothing changes soon we will have to take matters into our own hands.”

At being called a monster again Ferdinand’s face froze for a moment before quickly going back to normal. It wouldn’t do him any good for Hubert to see a reaction to that. Even if it did hurt to constantly hear words like that being hurled just for a vampire existing.

“Fear not Hubert, it will only be a matter of time before the church finds the vampire and everything will go back to normal.”

“Yes, hopefully this nonsense will end soon. I don’t ever want to hear about another damn vampire ever again after this.” 

With that Hubert and Ferdinand finished their lunches in relative peace. They continued to bicker until they finished and both went back to their rooms.

–

“Lady Rhea, students and soldiers are starting to become restless. There hasn’t been any progress on the capture of the vampire.”

“Do not worry Seteth. One way or another we will be laying this case to rest and we won’t have to deal with this issue anymore. Eventually, the vampire will have to make another appearance. And once that happens we will make our attack.”

Little did both of them know that hiding in the shadows in the rooms appeared to be a bat listening in to the conversation. It flew away before anyone could notice. A bat flew through an open window in Ferdinand’s room. Smoke appeared near the bat as it transformed back into a human. Ferdinand had a concerned face as he sat down on his bed. 

It’s only a matter of time before they’ll plan on attacking. I’ll have to be extra careful for the next coming weeks.

Chapter Text

Ever since Ferdinand and Hubert’s conversation at the dining hall the rumor of Hubert being a vampire spread like wildfire. People already had their suspicions about Marianne being a vampire. The thought that it could be possible that the vampire could be a classmate put everyone on edge. It became more difficult for Hubert to investigate as more people began to keep an eye on him. They seem to actually think that it could be possible for him to be the vampire. He would have to lay low for a while.

–

The next day everyone had already arrived to class except the professor. All they could talk about was the vampire.

“Hey Hubie, I’ve been hearing around the academy that you might be the vampire. Is that true?” Dorothea said with a teasing tone.

“Not you too. Nobody even knows what this creature even looks like. And you think it might be me?”

“I thought I would ask. Maybe a guilty conscience would make you confess.”

“Must you continue to pester me? No, I am not the vampire now, leave me be.”

Just as he said that the professor arrived to the classroom. Finally, at least for now I wouldn’t have to hear anything about vampires for the time being.

–

Once class was finished Caspar, Linhardt, Petra, and Ferdinand made their way to the dining hall.

“I’m telling you guys, if they just let me in on the expedition this vampire situation would’ve already been solved.” Caspar said as he sat down as he placed his food on the table.

“If you were involved in the expedition that vampire would be dead before I would get to learn anything about it.” Linhardt retorted.

“A dead vampire is better than one that’s alive running out sucking people’s blood.” Caspar defended himself.

Ferdinand listened to this conversation in silence as he ate his meal.

“If only the school would be allowing us to hunt down the monster.” Petra added to the conversation.

“Alas, the academy is never going to allow its students to get themselves into danger. Even if you asked, they would never let you actually go through with it.” Ferdinand interjected.

You could see on Caspar’s face as it brightened with an idea. “We should just do our hunt without telling the church. They are taking too long. Haven’t you seen how paranoid everyone’s becoming?”

“Caspar, I think we should leave the vampire hunting to the soldiers.” Linhardt said, trying to talk him out of the idea.

“They’ve been going at this for weeks and they still haven’t found it. We should take a crack at it. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“The vampire sees what we are doing, hunts us down and eats us.”

“He can’t take us all down. If the rest of our class join us I’m sure we can beat em’!”

“I would also like to be joining your quest in killing the vampire. In Brigid when we have disturbances of large creatures we preferred to hunt in a group. It is better and causes less injuries.”

“See! Petra’s with me. What about you Linhardt? Ferdinand?”

“Given the chance that you will most likely get injured I should accompany you. And if you do catch this thing I want to find out more information about them.”

“It would be ignoble to let you three go by yourselves. If you are going then I have no choice but to come with you.”

“Yeah! Since we’re all going might as well ask Edelgard, Hubert, Bernadetta, and Dorothea if they wanna come.”

“I don’t see a world where any of them agree to this.” Linhardt said with skepticism.

“You will not be worrying about Dorothea. She does not like having to stay in her room. Capturing the vampire will change this, that is how I will convince her to be joining us.” Petra said as she left the table. Probably on her way to convince Dorothea to join this plan.

“If we can just convince Edelgard then Hubert will automatically come with her.” Ferdinand added.

“Two birds with one stone, nice! Now all that’s left is Bernadetta.”

It would take a lot of convincing. She barely leaves her room. How are they going to convince her to come on such an expedition?

“Perhaps the intense sense of peer pressure and fear of being left out overpowers her urge to stay in her room.” Linhardt says as he was already starting to yawn.

“We should finish this conversation later. That way when everyone is convinced we can form a proper plan.” Ferdinand as he finished his meal and said goodbye to Caspar and Linhardt.

He’ll be able to convince Edelgard one way or another.

– 

The next day passed. Edelgard could be seen having a conversation with Hubert. Caspar was seen talking to Edelgard, probably with the idea from yesterday. Ferdinand began to get closer. He could see that whatever Caspar was telling her was not working, Hubert also listened; he was clearly not convinced either.

“C’mon! If we all worked together we could totally catch this thing.” Caspar said as he tried to convince Edelgard and Hubert.

“This could be very dangerous. What would happen if one of our classmates were to be seriously harmed because of this idea of yours.” Edelgard said as she tried to talk Caspar out of this idea.

“We were able to beat that death knight when we all worked together. So I think that if we all work together we can catch this vampire too.” Caspar objected.

“Caspar does have a point. If we were able to defeat such a strong opponent then we do have a chance at catching the vampire.” Ferdinand said as he jumped into the conversation.

“Ferdinand, you also want to go on a vampire hunt?” Edelgard said as he looked at him.

“Yes, it is our duty as nobles to protect the common people. Unless you think that you wouldn’t be able to?”

“Excuse me?” Edelgard said.

“I said that perhaps you think you wouldn’t be able to help. It is fine. Perhaps it’s better if you don’t go. You would probably slow us down.”

“How dare you speak to Lady Edelgard like that you-” Hubert said as he got in Ferdinand’s face.

“Enough Hubert. You know what Ferdinand? I will join your little monster hunt, but this isn’t a competition. It’s better if I’m there once one of you inevitably gets hurt.”

“If you are going then I am going as well.” Hubert added.

“Then I’m glad we are all in agreement!” Ferdinand said as he made his way to his seat, not without giving Edelgard and Hubert a smile before he did so.

Caspar, Edelgard, and Hubert looked shocked as they saw Ferdinand begin to chat with Dorothea and Petra like nothing had just happened.

“Woah, he got you two good.” Caspar said, still shocked.

“Yes, well you got what you wanted.” Edelgard said, trying to process what had happened.

Hubert stayed silent as kept staring at Ferdinand. He was surprised that someone like him was capable of being so cunning.

“I hope all of you have a great expedition without me!” Bernadetta said from her desk as she had been listening to the conversation.

“And what makes you think that you won’t be joining us?” Hubert said as he took eyes away from Ferdinand,

“I would just slow you all down. It’s better if I stay here. In my room. By myself.”

“Oh no you don’t! If I have to go on this stupid vampire hunt then you have to also!” Dorothea said.

“I’m sorry Bernadetta, but I do believe it would be better if all of us went. We can’t exclude you. You can bring your archery talents to help us in the hunt.” Edelgard informed her.

Bernadetta made a noise of protest, but other than that seemed to have been convinced to participate in the hunt. With all the Black Eagle students in agreement, they agreed that they would discuss their plan later after the professor’s lecture.

Chapter Text

After the class ended the black eagles stayed in the classroom to discuss more of their plan to capture the vampire. Professor Byleth thought it was suspicious but didn’t stop them at any point. They left the classroom leaving the black eagles to their scheming.

The plan they had concocted was to be done at night. It was more likely that the vampire would make an appearance, before that, they would place a series of traps with many known vampire weaknesses. A spell has been placed on all the traps letting them know if they were triggered and they were shown on a map where all the traps had been placed. Once the vampire immobilized they would present it to the church. Most of the students seem to care what would become of the vampire it gets captured.

Making the equipment took several days as they tried not to bring any suspicion. Getting holy water, and carving wooden stakes. All other weapons they brought were covered in holy to be more effective during the hunt. The church always did always describe vampires as unholy creatures. It makes sense that they would think that this equipment would work.

–

The night of the plan had finally arrived. The look on most of the black eagles’ faces was determined and confident that they would catch the vampire. They decided to stake out in the woods near the village close to the monastery. Linhardt asked the villagers in the town if there were any sightings or attacks. To his surprise the villagers didn’t seem to have any remarkable incidents regarding a bloodsucking monster. They only mentioned strange noises that would be heard in the woods. 

Exactly where they suspected the vampire would be.

Once they were in the woods the class decided to stay together as a group. Being together helped bring more confidence towards the Black Eagles that were less likely to join in the hunt. As they continued surveying the area, the rustling of trees could be heard throughout the entire forest. The ominous setting of the woods was beginning to put some of the students on edge the more time they spent there.

“I’m getting tired of just waiting around! Show yourself you dumb bloodsucker I ain’t scared of you!” Caspar said as he was getting fed up with just surveying the area.

“Are you insane? Lower your voice you idiot. You could've just compromised the entire mission.” Hubert said in a whispered tone.

“We are not getting anywhere with us just walking around. Maybe if I make some noise it’ll attract it towards us.”

Just as Caspar finished that sentence a twig snapping could be heard near where the students were.

“Did you hear that? I’m going to check to see what that noise was.” Caspar said as he was already making his way towards where the noise was coming from.

Edelgard tried to call out to him but it was already too late, he had already left to investigate. A few seconds later one of the trap nets could be heard being activated from the direction Caspar went. They heard Caspar yell. They began to move faster towards the noise. Once they arrived they found Caspar stuck to one of the nets.

“Guys! I saw something in the woods. You guys should chase after it before it gets away!” Caspar said as he struggled to get out of the net. He pointed in the direction where he saw the vampire go. 

“How did you even get stuck on one of these nets? We discussed the locations before so this wouldn’t happen.” Edelgard said as he looked at him.

“This is not where the net was placed! It must’ve been moved somehow.”

“So you think the vampire moved it?” Linhardt said skeptically. 

As they were talking a large gust of wind blew in their direction. It wasn’t natural as there hadn’t been any wind blowing before.

“This is getting scary. I want to go back to my room. Can I just leave?” Bernadetta said as she began to look around nervously.

“We cannot let you leave alone. It would be better for you to stay with us.” Dorothea said as she tried to convince Bernadetta to stay.

“I will stay and help Caspar out of this net. The rest of you should go and follow wherever the creature went.” Ferdinand said he began to use a dagger to cut through the net.

“Is it really wise for us to split up like this? The vampire could come back and attack the both of you.”

“If the vampire really wanted to do that I believe they would’ve already attacked Caspar by now, when he ran here by himself.”

“Fine, but you two will remain here.” Edelgard said more as a command rather than a request.

“Don’t worry. We aren’t going anywhere.” Ferdinand replied.

The rest of the Black Eagles followed the source of the noise. Away from where Ferdinand and Caspar were.

“Thanks for staying behind and helping me out. I owe you one.”

“Think nothing of it. I couldn’t just let you stay stuck here.” Ferdinand said as he continued to cut the net.

Once Ferdinand had finished cutting him out of the net Caspar immediately tried to go where the rest of their classmates had gone.

“Edelgard told us to stay here.” Ferdinand stopped him before he could go any further.

“Yeah, but they are probably going to need our help.”

“I’m afraid I can let you go to them just yet.” Ferdinand said as he looked at Caspar directly into his eyes. When Caspar looked all he could see were red pupils.

-

“I don’t see anything here. We’re already down two classmates. I think we should go get them and just go back to the Monastery.” Bernadetta said quickly looking around through the trees.

“We’ve done so much work with the traps. We can’t just give up now. Not when we are so close.” Linhardt said.

Just as Linhardt had finished speaking the crunching of leaves could be heard. They all turned to where the noise was coming from. They weren’t able to see any distinguishable characteristics. All they could see were two red pupils. Looking straight at them.

Petra was the first one to take a defensive stance against the vampire, she took out one of the stakes they had all brought. Dorothea, Hubert, and Linhardt had already started chanting spells. Bernadetta stood behind everyone, but had her bow and arrow at the ready. Edelgard’s presence commanded power. Even faced with an unknown opponent she faced the vampire head on with her ax.

The slight breeze in the woods stopped almost instantly. The already cold temperature of the woods seemed to have dropped even more. Many of the weapons that the students were holding appeared to get ripped out of their hands, leaving the non-magic users mostly defenseless. 

Bernadetta was the first one that the vampire took as his target. A rope appeared around both of her ankles and dragged her off away from the group. Once they heard her scream the rest of the group turned to look at her as she was being dragged away. Edelgard, being the closest to her, tried to grab but was unsuccessful. With their backs turned he went to his next targets. 

Linhardt and Dorothea both yelled as a net fell on top of both of them that scooped them both up and tied them to a tree. 

“How is it doing this? It hasn’t even touched any of us and there’s only three of us that could attack it.” Edelgard said she looked around for the vampire.

“Lady Edelgard, stay behind me. I won’t let this harm you.” Hubert said as he stood in front of her.

The vampire seemed to take that statement as a challenge. As Hubert was next, a strong force pushed him back away from Edelgard. He was slammed into a tree. The arrows from Bernadetta’s quiver floated in front of him. The arrows stuck themselves to his uniform, none of the arrows seemed to have punctured him. They only stuck him into place.

Petra tried her best to defend herself and Edelgard from any other attacks, but it was useless. She was the next target. She was also slammed in a tree, but instead of arrows keeping her place it was net. It wrapped around the tree, making it very difficult for her escape as she tried to wriggle herself out. 

Edelgard was the only one left from her classmates. She was shocked at how easily her classmates were taken out by one creature. They had all severely underestimated how powerful this thing would be.

“Show yourself! You only picked us off because you knew you wouldn’t have been able to defeat us.” Edelgard yelled trying to intimidate the vampire. Trying to see if she could get a look at it before it attacked again.

Just as she had finished speaking the vampire made its next move. At first nothing happened, but just like the rest of her classmates she was defeated fairly quickly. Instead of a net a rope appeared below her legs. She was able to dodge it the first time it tried to strike, but as she was looking down another rope appeared and caught one of wrists. The grip of the rope was surprisingly strong, she wasn't able to get her wrist out of it. Her other wrist was next, once both of her wrist had been wrapped she wasn’t able to move them. The two ropes on her wrists came together and made a knot. That’s when another rope appeared again tying both of the legs together, the force of both of her being tied together made her trip on the floor. 

She was no match for the vampire. Needless to say they had been defeated by the vampire. After that hurried footsteps could be heard coming their way.

“We heard a bunch of screaming. Are you guys okay?!” Caspar said he had ran towards the noise of his classmates yelling. The vampire had bested them. “What happened to you guys?! Did you guys get the vampire?” He continued as he looked as he saw his classmates tied up.

Before they knew it all they could see was a silhouette of a bat flying away and disappearing in the moonlight. Just as the bat had left Ferdinand had appeared next to Caspar seeing the mess the other classmates had gotten themselves in. Both Ferdinand and Caspar started helping them out of the nets. 

“It got away.” Hubert said as Ferdinand began helping him out by taking out the arrows while he was looking at the moon. 

In the end they were unsuccessful. As they were doing that they began to hear more footsteps approaching them.

“What do you all think you are doing?!” Seteth said, outraged at seeing the Black Eagles caught outside of their curfew with some of them being stuck in nets while Caspar and Ferdinand tried to get them out. Byleth also accompanied him in the woods along with a few soldiers. It seemed that Byleth had noticed that all of their students hadn’t been in their rooms.

Once the students were freed from the traps, Seteth and Byleth escorted the Black Eagles back to their rooms. They would receive their punishment the next day. The faces of most of the Black Eagles could be read as embarrassed and disappointed. But all Ferdinand could was let out a sigh of relief.

Chapter Text

Once Ferdinand returned back to his room that night he sat down on his bed, the once calm demeanor he had when he was with the rest of his classmates vanished. He looked at his hands to see how much they were shaking.

I can’t believe I did that.

He felt bad using his abilities on his classmates, that had been one of the first times he used them on people. He tried his best to not give them any injuries. He especially felt bad about erasing Caspar’s memory. It was necessary but he still felt guilty about it. After that eventful night, he decided to go to sleep. He needed to take his mind off of everything that happened.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better. He thought as he laid down to sleep.

-

It quickly spread the fact that the Black Eagles had tried and ultimately failed at capturing the vampire. They failed so spectacularly in fact that it had gotten away. It had completely left Garreg Mach Monastery. The students received a stern talking to by Seteth.

“What in blazes were any of you thinking?!” Seteth said clearly furious at all the Black Eagles.

Byleth was also present for the scolding of the Black Eagles. Their face as usual was basically unreadable, but there was a slight smirk on their face. It appears even after everything they still thought that was a little amusing.

“And what about you Professor? Do you have anything to say?” Seteth said as he looked at Byleth.

“I take full responsibility for my students’ actions. I apologize I should’ve been keeping a closer eye on them since the incident had been reported.” Byleth said with a slight bow.

“Well there is nothing we can do now. The vampire seems to have left. And now it will continue to terrorize innocent civilians somewhere else.”

“Actually since that original report of the incident there hasn’t been another attack from the vampire since. And the student that was attacked didn’t receive any permanent injuries. So we could gather from this that this vampire is not that hostile. And that the civilians will most likely be fine.” Linhardt corrected.

“Yes, very informative Linhardt, but now is not the time.” Edelgard whispered to Linhardt.

Linhardt just shrugged.

“Well you all can continue discussing your little theories while you all clean the library for the entire week. I expect that place to look spotless once you're done. Dismissed.” With that, Seteth left the classroom.

When Seteth left the students let out a groan. 

“How’d they even know we were gone? We were so careful not to let anyone else know.” Caspar said defeated.

“Call it intuition. The moment a vampire was discovered at the monastery it was the only thing people talked about. I’m honestly surprised you guys didn’t do anything sooner.” Byleth stated plainly.

“We should’ve just let the soldiers deal with it. Now we have to spend our free time cleaning the library. I could’ve been in my room.” Bernadetta said.

“We wouldn’t even be stuck in this situation if Caspar hadn’t gotten caught in the trap in the first place!” Dorothea said as she looked at him.

“I’m telling you guys the trap got moved! It wasn’t supposed to be there at all!”

“Enough, there is no point in arguing about it, let's start class.” Byleth said as they walked to the podium to begin the lecture.

–

After the lecture was over the Black Eagles went to the library to start with their punishment. Byleth stopped Ferdinand before he could leave with the rest of his classmates.

“Ferdinand, after you finish your task for the day. Will you join me for some tea?”

“You know I can’t say no to tea. I will be there.” 

After that brief conversation Ferdinand made his way to the library. To clean the library with the rest of his classmates.

“So Ferdinand, why’d the professor want to talk to you?” Dorothea said as she came over to him and gave him a broom.

“They just invited me for some tea.”

“Well at least you get to enjoy something after we’re done here. We wouldn’t even be here if Caspar hadn’t gotten himself stuck in that trap.” Dorothea said as she looked at Caspar.

“And I’ve been trying to tell you guys that the vampire must’ve moved it. It wasn’t there in the beginning!”

“That theory isn’t impossible. Everyone saw how it didn’t even move a muscle when they moved the nets. I’ve never heard of telekinesis as being an ability a vampire could possess.” Linhardt commented to the group.

“You heard him! So it wasn’t my fault I got stuck.”

“And apparently you were stuck for quite a while. What took you guys so long?” Dorothea asked.

“The nets were a bit tougher than I expected. It took me a bit more time to get him out than I expected.” Ferdinand jumped in before they continued to ask more questions. Caspar agreed with him.

“Did you see its eyes? We never even got to see what it even looked like. All I can remember seeing those red eyes staring at us through the branches.” Bernadetta said quietly as she reorganized the bookshelves.

“Indeed, it was very scary to look at.” Petra added.

“They way it took us out so easily. We didn’t stand a chance.” Edelgard said as she looked at the ground. She was very surprised at how fast they were incapacitated. They were able to take out demonic beasts with much more ease, but they struggled against one vampire. 

“That thing clearly had more tricks than we had expected.” Hubert said annoyed as the rest of his classmates continued to discuss the events from last night.

“At least none of you were harmed? I will admit it was a bit frightening to see you all trapped when Caspar and I returned.” Ferdinand asked.

“You don’t have to worry your pretty little head about us. Fortunately for us the vampire didn’t have an appetite. It seemed like it was just messing with us.” Dorothea said as she patted him on the shoulder.

“I can’t believe I missed all of the action! You guys have to tell me about what else happened.” Caspar practically begged, asking his classmates for more details.

As the rest of the Black Eagles continued to talk about the vampire, he couldn’t stop thinking about what he had not done. None of his classmates seemed to have received any permanent injuries. Which he had intended. But it still felt weird that they were talking about him even if they didn’t know it. But now that they think the vampire is gone this whole incident will just be a distant memory.

–

After spending a couple of hours cleaning the library with the rest of his classmates, Ferdinand went to find the professor to join them for some tea.

“Thank you for inviting me for tea.”

“Not a problem, please have a seat. There’s something I would like to discuss with you.”

“Oh? What is it you would like to discuss?”

“I feel as though this vampire incident has really shaken you up. I wanted to make sure you were okay. I don’t know if anybody else noticed but, every time the vampire was mentioned you would freeze. And now that vampire is gone I wanted to make sure you were okay. If you ever want to talk I am available to listen.” They said as they poured tea for Ferdinand.

He picked up the cup of tea. “I appreciate the concern but, I am fine. Now that the vampire is gone none of us have to worry about anymore.”

“You say that now, but I found a note in my room that informed me that I should check on my students. That was the only reason I knew that any of you had even left your rooms so late at night. The writing on that note was very similar to yours.” They said looking at Ferdinand with curiosity.

At first Ferdinand was looking at his teacup. He expected that the professor would figure out who wrote the note. “You are correct. I was the one who left you a note. I’m glad I did, we were clearly outmatched. Caspar and I got separated from the rest of the group and when we returned our classmates had been tangled in all of the traps.”

“That must've been very scary for you to see. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect you all.” Byleth said with a bit of guilt in their tone.

“Professor, it's not your fault. You couldn’t have known; luckily for all of us nobody was seriously harmed.” Ferdinand said as he tried to reassure them. Now he was starting to feel more guilty. Even if no one was hurt his actions are still causing people to be in distress.

“Well if anything changes my offer still stands.” They brightened a bit hearing Ferdinand’s words of reassurance.

“Thank you, I will keep that in mind.”

After that conversation changed to a different topic. They finished their tea and went their separate ways. Even if the professor didn’t know why this incident had troubled him so much, it was nice to know that they cared enough to reach out.

–

“I still believe that this whole issue has resolved itself rather easily.” Edelgard said to Hubert as they discussed the recent events.

“What are you saying my lady?”

“I just think there is more to this. Don’t you think it’s bizarre how the vampire incapacitated us, but didn't try to take blood from any of us?”

“Perhaps it was just playing with its food. It must have heard the Professor and Seteth approaching, then it made an escape. You saw the abilities it possessed; I wouldn’t be surprised if enhanced hearing was one of them.” Hubert said, trying to think of reasons for how last night’s event played out.

“You may be right, but I am still not completely convinced. There has to be more to this.”

“And you think they could be involved in this?”

“It wouldn’t be the first time they decided to make my life more difficult. The rest of our classmates might think that this whole vampire may be over, but I still have some doubts. Hubert, I hate to have to give you more work; but I don't think we can stop our investigation just yet.” Edelgard said with a new found determination.

“You don’t have to worry about me. I will continue looking to see if I am able to find anything.”

It appears for some the vampire hunt isn’t over just yet.

Chapter Text

It had been a couple days since the news of the Black Eagles’ unsuccessful vampire hunt. In the beginning it was the only thing people talked about but, after a while everything was beginning to go back to normal. For many of the students the news of a vampire being at the academy seemed like it happened a long time ago. 

This was great news for Ferdinand. The vampire incident was old news and it seemed that people were finally starting to move on. Even though they were still people that talked about the event it wasn’t nearly as much as when people assumed that a vampire was living among them. It seemed that things were finally calming down for him and he will enjoy the rest of the school year in peace.

Just as Ferdinand was finishing his class for the day Marianne had asked him if he wanted to join her for some tea. He obviously agreed. Ever since that time they spent at the stables they had begun to talk more. So it wasn’t a surprise to him when she invited him for tea.

“I just wanted to talk to you to make sure you were okay. I heard about what had happened. You were not hurt?” Marianne asked, seeming a bit concerned over the incident that took place recently.

“There is nothing to worry about. Surprisingly none of us were seriously injured.” Ferdinand said trying his best to get rid of her worries.

“That’s good. I’m glad that nothing serious happened to any of you while you went hunting.” She said seemingly more calmly.

“I’m just glad that my classmates and I finished cleaning the library. Now I'll have more time to chat with you. Hopefully our chats don’t only have to always involve talking about monsters.” He replied to change the topic of the conversation.

The rest of the tea time went by so quickly that they hadn’t even realized how much time had passed. They surprisingly had a lot more to talk about than others would expect. Ferdinand enjoyed the time he spent with her. Even if it was a short period of time he liked that he was able to distract himself and let his mind wander to simpler topics.

“I had a lovely time with you. I do hope we can do this again some other time.” Marianne said as they began to tidy up the table.

“I also enjoyed our time together. It was a nice change of pace with everything that has happened recently.” He said as he began to help her clean up the table.

Just as the two nobles were saying goodbye Dorothea was close by and decided to approach Ferdinand when he saw that he was finishing up his conversation with Marianne. She had been noticing that the two had been spending more time with each other. Ferdinand saw her as she began to get closer and waved at her.

“Hey Ferdie, are you thinking of changing classes to the Golden Deer? You and Marianne have been talking a lot more than before.”

“Of course not, Marianne and I are just friends. I am loyal to my house; I have no intention of changing classes.”

“Are you sure? Seems to me like you two are getting awfully close. Wouldn’t you rather want to spend time with your fellow Black Eagle students?”

“What do you mean by that?” He said looking at her not knowing what she was implying.

She was beginning to get annoyed by his cluelessness. Perhaps if she spelled it out for him he would understand. “I know what you are. So stop pretending that you’re something you’re not.” She said in a serious tone.

For a moment everything seemed to freeze for him. How was this possible? She couldn’t have any way of knowing. Were all of his efforts for nothing? He tried his best not to look completely shocked as she continued speaking. He tried to look more confused than absolutely terrified.

“You're just some stuck up noble that looks down on those who are lesser than. So stop pretending to be some gentleman before you end up hurting her.” She finished.

At that moment he felt so relieved that she was just insulting him. He let out a sigh through his nose that might have appeared as irritation but at that moment he didn’t care. He was having a good day up until now and the last thing he wanted was to be reminded of the reason why he was so paranoid.

“Dorothea, I would prefer if you wouldn’t speak if all you’re ever going to do is insult me. You treat me this way and yet I don’t know what I have done wrong. I am truly sorry for anything I did to upset you but I won’t continue to speak to you if you keep treating me like this. Good day.” With that he walked away from her. He felt a bit bad for blowing on her but it was either that or completely losing his composure and blurting out his secret. She already disliked him and there didn’t seem to be anything that would change her mind on that.

Dorothea felt conflicted at this moment as she saw Ferdinand walk away. He actually seemed irritated with her. Isn’t this what she wanted? To prove that his perfect noble persona was a lie and that he was actually not as nice as he appeared to be? Perhaps her comments were a bit more hostile than she had intended.

“Ferdinand is nothing but nice and I don’t know where you got the impression that he would be the type of person who would treat others differently because of their birth status.” Marianne said as she tried to defend him although she sounded a bit more quiet than she originally wanted when confronting her.

Dorothea jumped a bit when heard Marianne talking from behind her. “Quite rude to be listening in on other people’s conversations. Plus, I was trying to do you a favor. You can’t actually enjoy spending time with him?” She said quickly regaining her composure.

“Ferdinand is my friend and I don’t believe there is a reason for you to treat him the way you do. At least if you are not going to tell him the reason why you treat him as such.”

Dorothea didn’t reply as she just let her continue speaking.

“When I first met, I had similar thoughts to yours. But as I got to know him more I realized that he isn’t like you think. And if you actually got to know him you would know that he isn’t like you believe him to be.” She continued.

As much as she didn’t want to admit it but Marianne is right. He hasn’t shown to be doing anything bad. Perhaps she was being too hostile towards him. She would have to find Ferdinand and apologize for her behavior. 

“You’re right Marianne, I shouldn’t have antagonized him so much. He hasn’t done anything wrong. I’ll apologize to him the next time I see him.”

Marianne seemed to be pleased with that answer as she left as soon as she had finished talking. Dorothea was surprised that she had even approached in the first place; she always seemed to be the type of person to keep to herself rather than initiating anything. Maybe spending all that time Ferdinand has given her a bit more confidence.

-

After his small outburst Ferdinand was kind of in a bad mood. He tried to not let Dorothea’s words affect him, but the past couple of days had been very stressful. Everything was just beginning to calm down and those comments had rattled him. So of course when he wants to be left alone Hubert is there to make his day even worse.

“I would give you a greeting but you seem to be in a bad mood. Is your favorite tea out of stock?” Hubert said as he approached him in a teasing tone.

“Please leave me be Hubert, this day has already been eventful and I don’t need your comments right now.”

“Oh please, whatever has got you this way is probably not that serious. The only thing I could imagine would be how utterly useless you were during the hunt. How long could it have really taken you to get Caspar out of that net?” He said, trying to rile him up. 

“Last time I checked you were also of not much use either. Quite easily incapacitated, if I remember correctly. So I don’t know why you thought bringing that up would cause my mood to get worse. And I was the one who got you out of the net, so perhaps you should be more grateful.” He said pointing a finger at him.

“I suppose you’re right. Who knows what else that thing could have done if it truly wanted to harm us. None of us seemed to be able to do much when it came down to it. We were clearly underestimating our opponents capabilities.” Hubert said this looking at the ground. He didn’t seem to notice how Ferdinand had a proud look on his face, though he quickly changed it before Hubert looked at him again.

“Perhaps that’ll teach you to be more grateful. I'll have you know those ropes were quite hard to cut through. And that doesn’t factor in the distance it took us to get where you were and to find where exactly. Although, that part wasn’t too hard since we heard the screaming.”

“So Caspar would know more about that?”

“I just followed him. He seemed to be able to quickly find where all of you were. Now if you’ll excuse me, I would rather be alone right now.” And with that he left.

With that new piece of information Hubert decided that Caspar would be the next person he would ask for more details. He was already quite adamant about wanting to hunt the vampire, so it wasn’t too much of a stretch that he would want to go on a hunt. It was one of the few leads he had so it was to start from there.

Chapter Text

Time passed without much of an incident. It felt like such a long time when they were discussing how to fix their vampire problem. Ferdinand felt much calmer than he had the entire time he had been at the academy. He was able to enjoy his time without having to worry about people discussing vampires. The ball was soon approaching and he was excited to be able to have some fun without having to worry about classes. 

And the other thing of course, but he doesn’t have to worry about that anymore.

-

One of the first things Hubert did during the day was go directly to find Caspar and ask him questions about the incident.

“Hey Hubert. Do you need something?”

“I actually wanted to ask you about the vampire. What could have possibly made you think that you could go by yourself to go fight a vampire? You’re lucky all of our classmates decided to join and help. Who knows what would have happened to you if we didn’t.” Hubert asked.

“I guess thinking about it now, I see how that could’ve been dangerous. If it wasn’t for Ferdinand I probably would’ve been stuck in that net for way longer. Speaking of him, he was actually the one that gave me the idea. While we were at lunch he gave me the idea.” Caspar said, not really understanding why he was being asked.

“Oh?” Hubert said.

“Yeah, well not like on purpose but something he said gave me the idea. Linhardt didn't think it was a good idea at first, but I was able to convince him.”

After further questioning Hubert realized that Caspar didn’t seem to have any new information. He decided to make his way and start asking his other classmates if they would slip and reveal any new information.

-

Once he finished his conversation with Caspar and started making his way to find Linhardt.

“Will you give this a rest already? We all saw it escape. I don’t know why you and Edelgard are still so obsessed with this.” Linhardt said, clearly getting annoyed that wouldn’t leave this alone.

“What makes you think that Lady Edelgard is involved in this?”

“Because I don’t believe that you would be going through so much effort if it wasn’t because Edelgard told you to do it.”

“You are not incorrect in your assessment.” Hubert said, not trying to conceal his reasons.

“Well if you do end up finding something; I want to be able to see it before you end up doing whatever it is you want with it.”

“If the vampire survives, I suppose we would be able to allow you to take a look.” He responded. With that Linhardt seemed satisfied with the response and left.

Asking the rest of the Black Eagles questions about the vampire seemed fruitless. When Bernadetta was asked, it only seemed to stress her out even more. She locked her door after Hubert was done with conversation. Petra seemed to be confused as to why they were still trying to find more about the vampire. In her mind it was already done and she didn’t seem to understand why this needed to be looked into further. He tried asking Ferdinand again, but he seemed very adamant on trying to keep that incident in the past and keep moving forward. And Dorothea didn’t seem to be interested at all in trying to be helpful.

No one seemed to be able to provide any information that wasn’t already known. Hubert decided to meet up with Edelgard to inform her about how he wasn’t progressing.

“Unfortunately, all of my leads had been a dead end. I haven’t been able to find any new information. I’m starting to believe that the vampire did escape and we’ve lost our opportunity to learn anything about it.” Hubert said to Edelgard, beginning to sound defeated as his investigations brought nothing new. 

“That is unfortunate. Worry not, for I have another idea. There is an event soon approaching that would be very useful for this. Everyone will be away from their rooms, giving you the perfect opportunity to do some searching.” Edelgard said to him.

“What are you suggesting?” 

“You would be able to go into their rooms then since everybody is going to be distracted with the festivities.” She confirmed.

With his new assignment Hubert nodded. He would wait for the night of the ball to arrive and search his classmates’ rooms.

-

While all of the students had left their rooms to go to the ball Hubert was sneaking into his classmates’ rooms to see if he could find any incriminating evidence. The only room left to search was Ferdinand’s, so far he hasn’t been able to find anything on his classmates. Once he made it to Ferdinand’s room he wasn’t finding anything suspicious. When he was about to leave he noticed one of the floorboards was raised a bit compared to the otherwise flat floor; he grabbed the loose floorboard and noticed it was loose. He raised the floorboard and found something hidden in it. Underneath was a briefcase; he opened it and found vials with red liquid. They were mostly empty but he could recognize the consistency of blood without even having to open the vials.

At first he didn’t want to believe it, but all of the evidence was pointing towards him. 

Ferdinand was the vampire.

Chapter Text

The night of the ball had arrived. Most of the students had already arrived at the ballroom and were excited to get to dance and spend time with their classmates in a more formal event. When Ferdinand arrived he saw that most of his classmates had already arrived. He was excited to dance with everyone. As he looked around the ballroom he felt someone was behind him, so he turned around.

It was actually Dorothea the one who approached him, asking him for a dance. He was a bit surprised considering how their previous conversation went. He accepted regardless.

“I’m surprised you even want anything to do with me.” She was the first one to speak.

“I figured you wouldn’t have approached me unless you had something to say.”

“You are right about that. I just wanted to apologize for what I said and for how I’ve treated you. You aren’t how I imagined you to be. I’m sorry for assuming. I should’ve seen that you were different, instead of assuming I already knew how you would be.” She apologized as they danced.

He appeared to look like he was thinking about it. After a moment he responded. “Apology accepted.”

“Just like that? You’re not upset?” She seemed a bit surprised by his response.

“Honestly, at the time I was a bit upset, but as time passed I tried not to let it affect me as much. I had other things to be worried about.”

“Like what?” She asked, a bit curious.

“Nothing to worry your head about.” He retorted playfully.

She laughed a bit at what he said. “I guess I deserve that. You really are full of surprises.”

“I try.” He said as the dance finished. 

You have no idea.

-

Once he had danced with some other of his classmates. Hubert had appeared. It really was unsettling how he is able to move without making any noise. His face was unreadable.

“I don’t suppose you’re here to ask me to dance?” Ferdinand asked him.

“No, I’m not. I don’t want to partake in any of these frivolous acts.”

“So you’re just here to watch over Edelgard. Obsessing over one person isn’t healthy. You should indulge a little; we’ve earned ourselves a little reward after everything we’ve been through.” He said as Ferdinand grabbed his hand and led him to the ballroom.

“You wouldn’t know a lot about that would you?” He mumbled, quickly yanking his arm out of Ferdinand’s grip.

“Pardon?” As he noticed how hostile he was being.

“It’s nothing for you to worry about.” Hubert said with a look he had never seen with him before.

The way he was looking at him was causing him to get angry. “If you don't have anything else to say, then I will find someone else to dance with.” He said as he left to talk to someone else. Before the conversation continued to make him angrier.

Hubert just watched him as he walked away.

-

This time it was Ferdinand who approached Marianne for a dance. Although she seemed a bit timid at first she accepted. As he led her across the ballroom.

For a short moment, he was able to forget about everything that had happened and just enjoy the moment. Although she didn’t seem like the type of person to dance, she humored him with a brief dance. As they danced across the ballroom he began to notice that most of his Black Eagles were missing from the ball.

Where could they have gone?

-

As the ball went on Hubert and Edelgard had gone to their Black Eagle classmates and called them to join them in their classroom for an emergency meeting. Dorothea, being one of the last classmates that needed to be informed, Edelgard made her way to her. She was standing to the side, not dancing with anyone but she was looking at a pair that was. 

“Where’s Ferdinand?” Edelgard asked.

“Oh, he’s dancing with Marianne. You want me to go get him?” Dorothea said. Her expression remained blank as she looked at the two dancing. 

“No, that won’t be necessary. I need you to join me back in our classroom. The rest of our classmates are coming. It’s very important.” Edelgard said, asking her to follow. With that they successfully gathered all of the Black Eagles back to their classroom while the ball was still happening.

Chapter Text

During the night of the ball all of the Black Eagles had all met up at their classroom as Edelgard had wanted to discuss something.

“Thank you all for meeting with us on such short notice. I have something very important to discuss with all of you. We have to discuss it as soon as possible.”

“Wait Edelgard, Ferdinand isn’t here yet.” Petra said.

“Unfortunately, he is the one this meeting is about.”

The rest of the Black Eagles, except Hubert, seemed surprised. What could Ferdinand have done that it needed to be discussed in private without him?

“I know this might be a shock to all of you but we have reason to believe that Ferdinand is the vampire.” Edelgard stated rather plainly.

Nobody said anything after the news. None of them seemed to believe what she had just said.

“What?!” Bernadetta practically screamed.

“Ferdinand is the vampire? I’m sorry, Edelgard but that seems a bit far-fetched.” Dorothea said as she looked at Edelgard skeptically.

“Yeah I’m with Dorothea on this one. Ferdinand is too nice to ever be one of those bloodsuckers.” Caspar added.

“How can you accuse Ferdinand of this crime?” Petra as she seemed to get upset at them accusing their friend of this.

“Do both of you have any proof of this accusation?” Linhardt asked.

“Actually-”

Just as Hubert was about to give an explanation, the door of the classroom opened. Ferdinand appeared as walked into the classroom.

“A secret meeting? Why wasn’t I invited?” Ferdinand said a bit hurt that he was excluded from this, but he tried not to show it.

“These two are claiming that you’re a vampire. Can you believe that?” Dorothea explained as pointed at Edelgard and Hubert.

Ferdinand’s heart seemed to stop for a moment. He tried his best to stay composed so as to not alert anyone of his change in mood when hearing this news. “You think I’m a vampire? That’s ridiculous. We were all there when we saw the vampire escape into the night. And there haven’t been any incidents since. Why are we even still even discussing this?”

“Ever since that incident I began to think about how everything ended so easily. Don’t you all think it’s suspicious how Ferdinand wasn’t there when the vampire attacked us in the woods.” Edelgard rebutted.

“Hey no fair, Ferdinand was helping me out of one of the traps while you guys chased after the vampire.” Caspar said, trying to defend him.

“Speaking of that, I also remember asking Caspar on how he came up with the idea of going on a hunt. He responded by saying that it was Ferdinand who gave him the idea.” Hubert said as he interrupted him.

“If I remember correctly Dorothea even asked what had taken you so long. Ferdinand was the first one to deflect the question. In fact, Ferdinand was the one that brought up the idea that we should split up. And he was the last one to arrive to regroup when we were incapacitated by the vampire. The real reason you weren’t there was because you were actually the one attacking us.” Edelgard added.

“That’s circumstantial! I was the last one because Caspar was very eager to find the rest of the group. I was right behind him the entire time!”

“You seem to be getting a bit agitated. If you aren’t a vampire then what’s the problem?” Hubert said, sensing that Ferdinand was beginning to lose his calm.

“You two are the reason I am agitated. Both of you are making ridiculous accusations. Do you even have any proof for any of this?” Ferdinand countered.

“Actually we do, we did some testing with the same rope that Caspar trapped in and we cut it for the most part quite fast. It didn’t take us nearly as long as you did when you finally returned.”

At this point it was not looking good for him. As Edelgard began to provide more evidence the more the rest of the Black Eagles seemed to realize that a lot of the information seemed to fall into place. Their expressions change from skepticism to pure surprise. It seemed that the evidence that was being provided seemed to start to convince them.

“We have more evidence that proves otherwise.” From out of nowhere Hubert takes out a briefcase; the same briefcase that Ferdinand would hide in his room. Before he could say anything Hubert opened the briefcase, inside where the empty vials.

“This was found in Ferdinand’s room. When I found this the vials were mostly empty, but from the leftover residue I was able to get the substance found in them was in fact blood.”

“So you went into my room without my permission and looked through all my things? I assume you did this to everyone else as well?”

“Stop trying to deflect! For what purpose do you just have vials of blood hidden underneath the floorboard of your room? Just admit what you are; there’s no way for you to get yourself out of this.”

At this point Ferdinand wasn’t able to come up with a reasonable excuse for anything they had discussed. His silence seemed to start making the rest of the Black Eagles nervous.

“You were the one who attacked the student and drained them of their blood.” Edelgard started.

“I wasn’t-” Before he could finish he was interrupted.

“You were the one who gave Caspar the idea of going hunting.”

“He was already-”

“You were the one that attacked your own classmates while they trusted you to have their best interest in mind. You picked us off one by one.” Edelgard said as Ferdinand was backed into a corner.

“That was-”

He kept getting interrupted. “Did you think you would get away with this? You thought that none of us would figure it out. It’s too late now. We all know what you are, a bloodsucking monster.” Edelgard continued.

“Don’t call me that!” He snapped as his eyes turned red. They all recoiled when they saw it.

“So it is true. What do you have to say for yourself?” Edelgard said as she looked him in the eyes.

Everyone in the classroom was quiet. They were all looking at Ferdinand, waiting for him to answer. He let out a long sigh. “You caught me. I am a vampire.” He responded while looking at them with his red eyes.

Chapter Text

The classroom was dead quiet. No one moved a muscle. Everyone was looking at Ferdinand, waiting for his response.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Dorothea asked, breaking the silence.

Ferdinand was looking at the floor. He stayed quiet at first. All he could was laugh, he couldn’t help it. Even after all that work it was still for nothing. He still got caught. “I couldn’t. I’ve seen the way all of you reacted when the vampire was first discovered. I wasn’t going to risk my safety.”

“If we knew it was you we wouldn’t have hurt you.”

He rolled his eyes. “Have any of you heard yourselves speaking? The first thing you said when you heard there was a vampire was how you were going to kill it.” He pointed at Caspar. “You wanted to capture me and once you were done they would cut me up into pieces.” He pointed at Linhardt. “And the rest of you kept calling me a monster.” He looked at the rest of the Black Eagles. “So sorry I didn’t tell you this piece of information.” He finished sarcastically.

“You attacked a student. You drained them of blood.” Edelgard said.

“That was an accident! I was low on supply that day, that student, they were just at the wrong place at the wrong time. I did not take pleasure in what I had to do.” Ferdinand said as he tried to defend himself.

“That doesn’t change the fact an innocent person was endangered because you couldn’t control yourself.” Edelgard continued.

“That was just one time! I never asked to be this way! I don't know what would have happened if I hadn’t gotten some blood in my system.” He continued to explain himself.

“That just begs the question: Where do you get your supply of blood?” Hubert said, interrupting him.

He was getting tired of continuously getting interrupted. “You and Edelgard are already very acquainted with them. So I don’t see why you think you can just accuse me of bad behavior, when you two aren’t innocent either.”

At him admitting, Edelgard and Hubert became quiet. They didn’t want to believe that one of their classmates could be involved with Those Who Slither in the Dark. If they weren’t already in defense mode, they certainly were now.

Ferdinand began to speak again. “Don’t worry, I’m not one of them if that’s what you’re wondering. I try not to associate myself with them, but because of certain circumstances, I have no choice.”

All of a sudden the door was heard slamming open. “I think we’ve all heard enough.” A voice was heard from the entrance of the classroom, it was Rhea who appeared. She seemed to have brought soldiers with her as well as she entered the classroom. “Soldiers! Detain this creature before it causes more trouble.” Rhea yelled as one of the soldiers stepped forward.

Before anyone could react a whip was swung and wrapped around Ferdinand’s neck. He didn’t feel anything at first, but as the chain was tightened he could feel a painful burning sensation. He screamed when it got worse. He looked at his classmates to see if they did anything. None of them moved from their spot. He saw none of his classmates were going to help him, so he acted. Luckily for him he was wearing gloves, when he grabbed the chain with his hands it didn’t hurt as they were covered. He used his strength to pull the chain away from the soldier, leaving him with nothing to defend himself with. Once he saw that the other soldiers were getting ready to attack, he used the same chain to tie the soldiers together. 

When everyone was distracted by the soldiers he took his chance and ran. It was apparent when he left the classroom that the others at the ball began to notice the commotion. Many students were outside the classroom trying to see what happened. He almost bumped into someone, but he stopped before they collided. It was Marianne, she seemed surprised when she saw him.

“Ferdinand! Are you alright?” She asked, as she looked at his eyes she gasped when she saw that they were red. “Your eyes!” She took a step back as she kept looking at him, she his neck. “What happened to you?” She continued, beginning to look more concerned. 

He steadied her before she freaked out even more. “I’m sorry, Marianne, I don’t have time to explain. I have to go.” As he said that, he could hear the sound of more soldiers marching to where he was. 

Before she could say anything else, he was already gone.

–

Once he was a safe distance away he looked at the monastery one last time before leaving it all behind. He felt ashamed as the monastery got further away.

Even after everything, all he could do was run away.

Chapter Text

The night he had run from the monastery all the way back to his home it had been raining. A thunderstorm had been raging in Aegir territory several hours since he had left the monastery. Once he had returned home he was soaking wet. He still had on his ball outfit when he ran out, his shoes and the bottom of his pants were covered in mud. He was not looking the most presentable at the moment.

When he arrived at the entrance of his home, he decided to climb over the fence instead of using the entrance. Instead of using the front entrance he saw that one of the windows was open. He decided to climb through the window instead so as to not let anyone know he was there. Once he entered the room he realized how quiet the manor was. He peeked through the door and into the hallway and saw it completely empty. There were usually servants that worked in his home, but now the manor was eerily quiet.

Everyone is gone?

He made his way towards his father’s study. While he was passing through the hall he passed a mirror. He looked at his reflection and all he could see was his figure soaking wet and his red eyes staring back at him. He examined the parts the chain had wrapped around him, when he tried to touch he flinched back. It didn’t look like it was healing like his other injuries, it looked like it was going to leave a mark.

He did this to me.

Once he was in front of the door of his father’s study he slammed it open. There was his father, he seemed startled by the loud noise. It looked like he had been looking at some documents. He had his back turned but with the loud noise he looked towards the door. When he saw it was his son his expression changed from anger to a bit of fear as he saw how he looked.

“Ferdinand! My son, you have returned from the academy earlier than expected. You look filthy. Did you run all the way over here from the Monastery?” He said, looking at him before turning around and continuing with whatever he was working on.

“Yes I did. Unfortunately, I won’t be returning there. Everyone knows… about my condition.” He hesitated a bit before saying the last statement.

After hearing the news he quickly turned back around to look at Ferdinand. “They know what you are?! How could you be so careless as to let others see you like that?!”

“I wasn’t trying to be careless but that night I didn’t have my supply. It wasn’t delivered on time and I couldn’t control myself. You were supposed to ensure it arrived on time and yet it didn’t.” Ferdinand tried explaining himself.

His father deflected, not wanting to take the blame. “Considering who you are, you should be able to control yourself more. This behavior is completely unacceptable. I don’t want to hear any more of your excuses.”

He was getting tired of his fathers constant antagonism. Every time he tried to defend he was getting blamed and given excuses. He decided to ignore those last statements.  “Well you put me in this mess! And I don’t see you doing anything to fix this.”

“I don’t appreciate your tone. And I don’t see how I would be able to fix any of this. What’s happened is already in the past. I suggest you get used to this new reality.”

He couldn’t take it anymore. “I’m like this because of you! Please, won’t you at least try to do something. When they found out about me, they attacked me! Do you even care?!” He was close to crying.

“How dare you speak to me this way! I am your father!”

“NO! How dare you think you can’t treat me this way! After what you did to me! You thought that sending me to the academy would give you more time to find out how to get rid of me?”

His father raised his hand as if to strike him but before he could Ferdinand grabbed his wrist. He tried to break free from the hold but Ferdinand was too strong. It seemed he finally began to realize who exactly he was dealing with. He had run out of his blood supply. And he was starting to feel a bit hungry.

I’m sure a small bite won’t hurt?  He thought as he looked at his father with his glowing red eyes.

He bit into his father’s wrist and began to drink his blood. At that moment he had begun to lose control as he wasn’t able to hear his father’s screams and his pleas to stop.

-

When he came to, it was already too late. When he looked down on the floor he saw his father dead or at least what was left of him. He had been completely drained of all his blood making him look deathly pale and shriveled. He looked at his hands and saw that his gloves were completely covered in blood. At the sight of his fathers body he ran out of the study and made his way to his room.

There he sat in front of his vanity. He looked at the mirror and saw that his outfit was covered in blood. He looked at his face and saw his mouth, blood dripping down towards his chin. He tried to wipe it off but it just made it worse and blood just spread. He couldn’t stand to look at himself in the mirror and punched it.

Now with pieces of the mirror on the floor Ferdinand fell to the ground. He could still see his red eyes in broken shards. Tears started to leak from his eyes as they fell to the ground.

I really am a monster.

He just lied on the floor and cried. 

End Part 1