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Garreg Mach Monastery was a place of worship and learning. Within its walls were classrooms, stables, a holy altar, sleeping quarters, a library– and many other useful rooms besides.
It did not have a dungeon.
For that reason, or perhaps due to her many injuries, Edelgard was being held captive in the infirmary.
The other beds and their patients had been moved before she arrived. It was just Edelgard, her bed, Manuela’s desk (empty; she’d checked), and a window someone had nailed haphazardly– though effectively– shut. At least it was comfortable. The Church would have had every right to shove Edelgard into a sodden chamber in Abyss as consequence for starting and losing this war. She wondered if this was Rhea’s mercy or Professor Byleth’s influence. Neither had visited her since bringing her back to Garreg Mach almost a week ago.
In fact, Edelgard had very few visitors. Most notably Manuela came by a few times a day to deliver meals or check on Edelgard’s health– taking a direct hit from the Sword of the Creator did not leave the body unscathed, even if the Professor had held back at the last moment.
A week after her imprisonment, and two weeks after the fall of Enbarr, Ferdinand von Aegir appeared in the infirmary doorway. Edelgard arched a brow as he shut the door behind him and approached her bed. He looked determined, face stone as he stopped a few feet away. In school he had carried with him a kind of glow of confidence. Now, that glow was all but gone. Edelgard found she missed it.
“There is something I must ask you,” Ferdinand declared. Edelgard waited, eyes trailing over him for any sign of a weapon. “I would appreciate if you answered honestly.”
“That depends on the question.” Edelgard’s voice came out strained, she knew. Injuries and lack of a conversation partner had dulled her throat somewhat.
“I was in the room when Manuela gave the Professor a report about your physical examination.” Edelgard frowned but did not interrupt. “She mentioned some old scars. Across your chest, arms, even your back.”
“I am aware.”
Ferdinand tensed. “Who did that to you?”
Edelgard looked away, taking the bite out of her reply. “Why the concern? Are you worried your father has more sins on his hands?”
“I am not thinking of him, I am thinking of you.”
“Why is that?”
“Because Manuela says the scars are too uniform to be from an accident.” Footsteps on hardwood as Ferdinand had moved closer. “She said they looked methodical. Almost as if…”
“As if I had been experimented on?” Edelgard looked up at Ferdinand. Upon reading his expression, however, she wished she hadn’t. “Don’t look at me like that, I don’t want pity.”
Ferdinand ignored this and sat at the edge of her bed, eyes narrowed as if trying to see the scars himself through her clothes. How long his hair had grown. It fell in waves to the middle of his back, looking slightly less kempt than his shorter hair back at school. She briefly wondered if this was just another way Ferdinand was trying to prove his superiority– grow his longer hair than Edelgard’s. The absurdity nearly sparked a smile across her face.
“Who did this to you?” He asked softly.
Edelgard lifted her chin, levity forgotten. “What does it matter? You must have read Hubert’s letter. The Church has more important things to worry about than my childhood.”
“I am not thinking of the Church,” Ferdinand tone was firm. “I am thinking of you.”
This time, the statement robbed Edelgard of any retort. She simply stared at this new Ferdinand. In school, and during their short acquaintance before, Edelgard would never have dreamed of having this conversation. Ferdinand was an annoyance at best and a roadblock for her plans at worst. Now here he sat, pity gone, replaced with the air of a man determined to solve a problem.
Edelgard had only explained this once, many years ago. There had been no need to tell anyone but Hubert about what Slither had done. Even Volkhard had been the one to tell her father after Edelgard had been deemed a success.
Squaring her shoulders, Edelgard spoke. “It is a long story.” Ferdinand nodded. He held out his hand, palm up. Edelgard took it, trying to draw courage from his resolve to listen.
And so, Edelgard told Ferdinand of Slither, of their experiments, and of the plans laid long ago that had, ultimately, led to Edelgard being held captive in a monastery without a dungeon.