Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The wind rustles Ingrid's hair as she soars through the sky. She can see the ground extending far below her as the villages and forests below seem like they could be nothing but children’s toys. She’s always loved the feeling of soaring through the sky.

Unfortunately today is not a day where she can merely enjoy the act of flying. She has a mission to do. The war demands it.

The war demands a lot of things.

It all started three years ago, when the steady existence of the continent was thrown into chaos by the empire declaring war on the church. Faerghus defended the church from this as was their sworn duty, and ever since it had been a nonstop struggle. Every day was defined by the needs of the battlefield. Defend this outpost. Assault this fortification. Escort this convoy. The life of the bearer of a hero’s relic was busy indeed, as her liege needed her in many locations. Though the work was exhausting, she found herself well suited to the tasks demanded. Her years of training were finally bearing fruit, and those around her were forced to acknowledge her as a knight and not simply a crest bearer.

The war had given her that small kindness, but it in turn had taken so much. Her feet ached from endless marching. Scenes from the battlefields haunted her nightmares. Existential dread creeped into the most mundane of tasks wondering if every moment would be her last. But above all else, there was one thing she hated from this war.

It had stolen Sylvain from them.

It wasn’t like he died or anything. That would have been too kind.

He was just fighting for the other side.

It had come as a shock to all of them. Sylvain, Dimitri, Felix, and Ingrid had been inseparable since they were young. Sure, they had their issues. Felix was a bit moody. Dimitri could get way too intense. There had been no shortage of things to complain about with Sylvain. His tendencies with women had been infamous. Yet because of his inherited Crest, countless women flocked to him anyways because of the prospects it entailed. She had no shortage of harsh words for Sylvain over the years, but during that fateful day, she had none.

She didn’t want to believe it when she noticed that Sylvain had vanished from the monastery after the theft from the Holy Tomb, but the familiar glow of the Lance of Ruin in the empire’s forces was undeniable.

They had received a letter a few months later, but it was useless. Just the standard propaganda about how the church were liars and crests shackled Fodlan to the past. They all doubted it had actually been written by Sylvain. It really left them with nothing to go off of for why Sylvain would betray them all.

They knew he was still alive and fighting. He’d been spotted a few times on the other side of a battlefield, and it’s standard practice to keep track of the movements of relic bearers when you can. Felix had been the last one to see him several months ago on a scouting mission. But like always, it wasn’t exactly a chance to talk.

Ingrid misses Sylvain. Sure he got on her nerves all the damn time, but she knew him well enough to see that there was something more than that buried underneath. Sometimes when he thought no one was looking, Ingrid could see the sweet little boy she knew from her childhood come out. Ingrid knew   Sylvain, but she just couldn’t understand why he would throw away everything to join the empire.

Ingrid had asked herself that question a lot over the years on days like today. She always came to the same answer.

Ingrid doesn’t know, but she needs to focus on the mission.

There had been a magic infused bird that moved into the area recently and was preying on some of the local villages. Not something that strictly required a hero's relic, but while she was in the area, she had volunteered to put Lúin to good use and slay the beast. 

Reports indicated that the giant bird of prey likely had a nest in some of the nearby mountains, so that’s where Ingrid was headed. She can’t imagine how difficult this would be on foot. The terrain around here was very rough. That helped for maintaining a defensive line, but it didn’t help when trying to hunt down a hungry beast.

Ingrid can hear a sharp cry off in the distance. That’s a good sign. It means their intel was right. On the other hand, it means her prey is awake and alert. That’s unfortunate, but not unmanageable. It would not be the first beast she has slain on her own.

Ingrid manages to climb to the peak of a nearby outcropping to get a better look on the situation. It was always better to observe the situation before jumping in such that you might better understand the best course of action.

Ingrid did not understand the sight before her.

The simple part of the situation is the bird. Which is right where she expected it.

The confusing part is the bird’s opponent.

Darting around the air below her is another pegasus knight just like Ingrid. They were wearing empire colors. It seems the empire wished to clean up one of their messes with the beasts. The most shocking thing of all though, was the weapon the rider wielded. The rider may not be holding it steady for her to get a good look, but Ingrid didn’t need a good look to recognize it.

The Lance of Ruin. The hero’s relic possessed by house Gautier. Last seen in possession of Sylvain Gautier.

For a fleeting moment, Ingrid wants to call out to her old friend. They could slay the beast together and finally get the chance to shake Sylvain out of his madness, and convince him to come home. Then Ingrid remembers the obvious problem.

Pegasus knights can only be women.

Sylvain is a man.

That can’t be Sylvain.

Ingrid is extremely confused. The only known bearers of the crest of Gautier alive right now are Sylvain and his Father. You need the matching crest to wield a hero’s relic, attempting to do otherwise leads to certain death. The Lance of Ruin is clearly resonating with its wielder right now. So whoever this rider is, she possesses a crest of Gautier. Who the hell is she?

Ingrid resolves to join in. This mystery rider is more likely to answer her questions if she helps in their common goal of eliminating this oversized poultry.

She spurs her pegasus forward and charges into the battle. She can see the mystery rider look her way briefly, but the fact that she was wearing a helmet meant Ingrid couldn’t tell what her reaction was. The bird was not expecting another combatant so quickly, and Ingrid was able to score a clean strike onto the bird’s wing. It squawked in pain.

Ingrid can hear some kind of speech being shouted by the other rider, but Ingrid is unable to make it out over the rushing of the air around her and the loud squawks of the bird as it deals with the arrival of another foe to contend with.

Ingrid knew her voice wouldn’t be reliably heard at this point. She couldn’t rely on hand signals as was standard practice for fliers either. The mystery flyer is from the empire, they could rely on entirely different signals for this stuff for all she knows. Thus, Ingrid decides to communicate to the other rider with her actions.

Ingrid follows up her previous strike by looping around and following up with another strike on the bird. In doing so, she moves her position closer to the mystery rider while keeping her weapon pointed on the bird. She would still have enough time to react if the rider tried something, but Ingrid hopes that the theoretical opening given would communicate to the other rider that she did not intend to be hostile right now.

The bird backs off, but Ingrid’s unexpected ally seems to have taken the opportunity granted by the beast’s movement to strike. Only a glancing blow was struck, but by the nature of a heroes relic, such a wound would still be notable.

The unlikely alliance between the two continues as they wear the beast down over time. Ingrid had expected this to wind up a mess, but ends up shocked at how well this mystery rider is able to follow up on her strikes. It’s as if they had been training together for years despite having just met.

At last the beast gets worn down, and it seems victory is at hand. They had forced the bird into trapping itself in a valley where its impressive wingspan proves to be naught but a hindrance. The hunt was finished, and both of the unlikely allies knew it. Ingrid could see the mystery rider begin drawing magic into the lance of ruin for a finishing blow. As such, Ingrid put some pressure on the bird to keep it in place so it couldn’t escape out of the way. 

Then as if a meteor descended from the sky, the mystery rider dive bombs the bird and sunk the lance of ruin deep within. The air surrounding the impact point almost seems to fracture as if it was a physical object falling apart, and the bird was no different. The lance of ruin was named such for a reason.

Unfortunately for Ingrid however, the bird had one last parting gift for the unlikely alliance. As it was falling to the ground, it unleashes the last of its pent up magical energy upon the pair. It manifests itself as a scattershot of pointed stones directed at the duo. The barrage is angled in a way that the mystery rider is able to move out of the way, but ingrid seems to be trapped in the middle. 

Ingrid urges her pegasus to move as fast as she can and fold up to fit into a smaller profile, but it’s not enough. Ingrid can feel the searing burn of the rocks tearing through her flesh and can smell the blood. It hurts, but she can fight on

Her trusted steed however, does not seem to have fared as well as Ingrid did. The pegasus cries out in pain and, she can see gashes in the hide of her oldest companion all over. Worst of all, her wing joint seems to be heavily injured. With a spike the size of her fist embedded in the muscle. The two of them would not be able to fly for long.

Ingrid immediately takes action and directs her pegasus into a low glide towards the ground, an emergency landing would be needed. It would lead to a difficult trip back home, but that would be better than an abrupt reunion with the ground.

“Just a little bit further” Ingrid prays to the Goddess. If there was a time where she needed divine help, it was now.

Unfortunately  for Ingrid, the Goddess did not answer her prayers today. Her pegasus cries out in pain again as the injured wing seems to break cohesion and they begin dropping. Fast. Ingrid attempts to do what she can to control their descent, but there’s only so much she can do.

The ground approaches at a rapid speed, and the last thing Ingrid hears is the Mystery rider calling out. Ingrid could swear she heard her name mentioned.

~~~ 

“Goddess, everything hurts.” Is Ingrid’s first thought upon stumbling back into consciousness. It feels like the time Professor Byleth instructed her to run around the monastery until she collapsed just so she knew her limits.

But she isn’t in the monastery anymore, she’s on a battlefield. Ingrid springs into a sitting position to see where she is. The situation that surrounds her consists of a modest camp in the mountain pass. She can see a small fire in front of her. A tent halfway through being pitched. She can see a single pegasus tied to a tree nearby. It all would have been comfortably familiar if she knew how she got here.

Ingrid reaches around. Right next to her is a familiar shape, Lúin.  Ingrid grabs onto it and attempts to use it as a glorified cane to pull herself into a standing position. As she attempts to stand up however, she can feel a sharp pain in her left leg. Ingrid yelps as she loses her balance and falls back onto the ground.

Ingrid can hear a rustling of nearby bushes as a figure emerges. She was donned in the leathers and light armor of a pegasus knight, and wearing empire colors. This must have been the mystery rider. “Oh hey! You’re awake,” she says cheerily.

Not a fan of being helpless in the vicinity of an enemy soldier, Ingrid grabs Lúin and attempts to assume a defensive stance. It wasn’t a very effective one considering her leg still left her stuck on the ground, but she had to try.

The mystery rider puts her hands up in front of her and waves them “Whoa there, I’m not here to hurt you. I even bandaged up your leg after your fall.”

Ingrid doesn’t want to believe her. The empire has already taken so much from her, but unfortunately the argument makes sense. Now that she’s paying attention, she can recognize the fact that there is a bandage tied around her leg. No one else could have done that. Plus, if this is supposed to be a capture, they wouldn’t have left her hands free  and Lúin right next to her. Still, why would this soldier of the empire help her?

Ingrid narrows her eyes and asks “Who are you? Why are you helping me?”

The  mystery rider moves and takes off her helmet. The face underneath gives Ingrid a shock. It’s exceedingly familiar yet just different enough. A familiar mess of carrot orange hair (though longer than she’s ever seen before) extends into a simple bob cut. It reminds her so much of her missing friend, yet she knows it can’t be.

The rider answers her question after brushing some hair out of her face “I’m Sylvia Gautier… well kind of”

“Kind of?” replies Ingrid.

“It means I’m a Gautier by blood but I highly doubt I’d be recognized under any kind of claim if I walked in,” answers Sylvia.

“I grew up with the Gautiers. I never knew a Sylvia.” 

“Well if you grew up with the Gautiers, you’d know of their reputation with women. Dear old Margrave was living up to that with my mother.” answers Sylvia with a smirk.

“How in the goddess’s name did no one ever hear of you if you have a crest. Which you apparently do.”

“Mom made sure to keep me a secret. Didn’t want me to be auctioned off in an arranged marriage. Then when this whole ruckus started up, I made my way down south and joined up.”

Ingrid feels a pang of jealousy. She doesn’t like to think about the task of finding a suitor to be an auction , but it rings uncomfortably close to home. This woman on the other hand has lived her life completely free of such concerns. It’s only until Ingrid remembers that this woman is a traitor to her home that Ingrid stops wishing she could have followed her.

“So, if that’s all true, why did you save me? You’ve clearly cut any ties to Faerghus. Why tell me any of this if you want to stay out of sight.”

“It’s not like me carrying this on a pegasus isn’t going to raise questions, and I don’t need a duty to care about a friend. As much as you might not believe it, there are some people in the empire who would be upset if you bit the dust,” she says with a cocky grin.

Ingrid understands the implication “...Sylvain.” So even after all of this, that lunkhead still cares about her.

Sylvia’s expression morphs into something Ingrid can’t quite place, before she recovers and replies “...Yeah.”

Ingrid is of mixed mind about this news. On the one hand, she’s happy that Sylvain hasn’t forgotten about her after all this time. All of that time they spent together as children didn’t mean nothing to him.

But it also didn’t matter enough for him to stand by his home country and duty. It didn’t matter enough for him to not be on the opposite side of the war. He apparantly doesn’t want her to die, but is also actively waging war against her. Seems like he wants to have his cake and eat it too. She questions if it would be better if he didn’t care, just so she could fully accept hating him for what he’s done.

Dejected. Ingrid looks to turn to other more pleasant topics. Like not dying in a wilderness from an infected wound. Ingrid takes the opportunity to inspect the wound on her more thoroughly. Sylvia apparently did some things to help, but it’s clear the girl isn’t a dedicated healer. She would need proper attention if she didn’t want this to be a problem. 

“This is going to need some medical attention.”

“Yeah, I did what I could, but healing isn’t my specialty. I could get Manuela to look at you in the imperial camp…”

“No. I’m not going to be held prisoner.”

“...Yeah that’s fair. You have any better ideas?”

The kingdom army a healer in their base camp, however. Revealing the location of it to an enemy would be highly inappropriate. But with a pegasus ride, it shouldn’t be too hard to fly back so long as she doesn’t put much weight on her injured leg. 

…Where is her pegasus?

Ingrid looks around frantically, forgetting momentarily that she’s injured and causing a sharp pain to arise again. She flinches from the pain, while Sylvia begins to panic.

“What’s going on, did you hear something? Is the bird not dead?”

“...Where’s my pegasus Sylvia?” Ingrid asks weakly, not wanting to hear the answer.

Sylvia looks down at the ground. “She didn’t make it… Her wing got shredded in the fall and she didn’t survive the crash. I’m sorry, you two have been together for a long time. ..from what I heard anyways.”

Ingrid knew that twas the most likely outcome here. She’s lucky she came out of this alive, and she is probably only alive because of some lingering attachments from old friend. Pegasi tend to be fiercely loyal to their riders once bonded. It’s not uncommon for pegasi to sacrifice themselves for their rider. Ingrid just didn’t think she would ever be in that situation.

Yet another thing this war had taken from her.

It wouldn’t hurt her capabilities. She could bond with another pegasus. It was far from unusual, but it wouldn’t be the same. It wouldn’t be her old companion. Who else would she lose next?

Felix?

Her father?

Dimitri?

“-grid, snap out of it!” As Ingrid is coming back to her senses she can feel a hand on her shoulder and see Sylvia trying to look at her concerningly.

“Look, I know how hard losing your mount is. It’s not just an animal, it’s a companion. I know all too well what you’re feeling right now, but you can’t just give up. You’re still alive because of your old friend, don’t put that to waste.”

“What am I supposed to do Sylvia!? It’s either dying in the mountains from a wound or submitting myself to captivity in an imperial camp! No one’s going to see a signal all the way up here. Telling you the kingdom’s camp locations would be treason even beyond the fact that you’d be submitting yourself to the same thing I would with the Imperial camp. I’m stuck here, might as well end it all now!”

There’s an air of uneasy silence between them as the gravity of the situation sinks in. 

“Look, neither of us can go to the other’s bases, but I can at least get you to some place that your people will be watching and let your own people get you the rest. I can tell you that we’ve seen some scouts by Magdred, you’ve clearly got some kind of forces there. We can fly there, and set up some kind of smoke signal for one of your people to come find you and get you the rest of the way. I’ll just slip out after the signal, having learned nothing about your positions, and not harming the war effort on either side.”

Ingrid contemplates the plan a bit. It could work, and wouldn’t be giving up any information any winged scout couldn’t acquire on their own. It was smart, and reminded Ingrid of the kinds of things Sylvain could have come up with when he wasn’t distracted chasing every woman he could see. He could be so intelligent when he wasn’t being so dumb.

“That… that could work. No funny business though. You break the plan and things are off.”

“Fair enough, you’ve got the intact hero’s relic here. Ruin broke when taking out the bird.” Sylvia points to the dull mass of bone-like-substance that hero’s relics return to when not in tune with their wielder. Ingrid’s leg may be busted and she couldn’t move. But it’s hard to resist the force of an intact hero’s relic and she could probably win a simple fight here even if her leg would be screaming at her alongside the healers for making her injuries worse.

“Fine… We’ll go along with this for now, it’s not like I have any better options,” Ingrid admits reluctantly.

“When then, hold on tight, I am not nearly as experienced of a flyer as you are, with two people it’s going to be a tough ride,” Sylvia slips out with a shit-eating grin. 

Ingrid would not let herself be outdone however. She was the veteran pegasus knight here. 

“You’ll have a tough time shaking me off. This is nothing compared to flying in the blizzards up north you southern rider.”

Chapter Text

This is going too slowly.

It’s day 2 of Ingrid’s travels with Sylvia, and the wait already hurts.

Well on top of the fact that she has a bleeding wound in her leg.

Unfortunately, there’s a wide variety of things slowing them down. Carrying two people on one pegasus is obviously a greater strain on the creature. They can’t fly as quickly, and will need to stop to rest more. There’s also the fact that Ingrid is injured, and they need to make sure the ride doesn’t strain her in any way.

Ingrid is also trying very hard not to comment on Sylvia’s flying. 

There’s clearly some talent there, but as someone who has been working with pegasi since shortly after she could walk, Ingrid has many criticisms.

Sylvia seems adept at reading her mount, but also very inexperienced at reading the winds and dealing with turbulence. If Ingrid has to guess, Sylvia has probably spent most of her life dealing with grounded horses instead and hasn’t adapted all the way to the airborne variety.

Ingrid has tried not to interfere too much. She desperately wants to, especially considering the condition her leg is in, but she also knows that annoying her rescuer is generally a bad idea. Sylvia’s been shockingly friendly to her despite the obvious nerves she has, and it’s in Ingrid’s best interest to keep things that way for now. Plus the nagging feeling in the back of her head is also reminding her that giving advice to an enemy soldier is generally considered a bad idea.

Though it’s not like this is even close to a normal scenario someone would consider planning for. Encountering a hostile third party while on a mission? Reasonable. Forming a temporary alliance to accomplish the mission? Unlikely, but possible. Being stuck traveling together with a previously hostile soldier, as she works to help you? Yeah, that one’s not going in the guidebooks.

Though to be honest, even with what she’s said. Sylvia is still coming across as weirdly friendly. Sure, she’s got a valid reason to not want Ingrid dead . But, just because she wants to do a favor for her brother, that wouldn’t explain why she’s been so cheerful around Ingrid. It’s like they’ve known each other for a long time, and as has been established. Ingrid never knew Sylvia existed before this incident. Maybe she’s just a naturally cheerful person? That’s not implausible. Living a life without needing to worry about maintaining the legacy of a house and fulfilling your duties might be less grating. But she’s also actively fighting on the front lines of a war. As Ingrid can attest, that tends to wear anyone down over time.

The questions with Sylvia don’t end there. Why does she even have the Lance of Ruin? Sylvain is also a wielder, and he was trained to use it since he was young. Sylvia didn’t seem to want to be a part of the Gautier house, so it seems odd that she would be using the relic of House Gautier on a pegasus when that instantly raises questions. What if Sylvia was using the relic, because Sylvain wasn’t an option right now? Either because he was injured… or worse. What if foul play was involved? It wouldn’t be the first time noble families developed a habit of fratricide over crests.

Ingrid needs more information, obviously she can’t ask directly if Sylvia killed her brother, but some answers might expose some inconsistencies if they are there.

“Hey Sylvia, just curious, if you want to stay away from house Gautier, why are you using the Lance of Ruin. News is going to get back to the margrave at some point. Is Sylvain injured and you’re just filling in temporarily?”

“Nah, Sylvain just wanted to step out of the spotlight. Stop having every interaction be defined by being Sylvain Gautier. Plus it’s funny to imagine the look on Dad’s face as he tries to figure out what’s going on with me”

Then, with a grin Sylvia adds on “Also no I didn’t kill my brother.”

Ingrid blushes from that. Sylvia read her like a book on that one. 

“…Actually…”

Wait what?! Is she going to admit something here

“I did help deal with Miklan, and I am technically related to that waste, as much as I help to admit it.”

“Wait what?! How?! Where were you?! I was there when we took Conand tower, and I didn’t see you,” Ingrid sputters out.

“Sorry, trade secret.” Sylvia said as she winked at Ingrid. Is this girl intentionally trying to mess with Ingrid? Or is she just continuing to be obnoxiously friendly to someone she just met. Ingrid can’t get a read on her.

Ingrid can’t wait for this to be over.

~~~

The crackle of the campfire brings back memories.

Good memories, at the time.

Now with the context of the next few years, it’s hard to not look back on them with the bitter aftertaste of how everything would fall apart.

Ingrid and Sylvia are making camp for the night after a long day of agonizingly slow travel, and it’s just eerily familiar. So many small things just echo old memories, and it’s hard not to dwell on them. Obviously, Sylvia is Sylvain’s sister, so there would be some resemblance, but Ingrid can’t help but see so much of her old friend in the woman. The little noises she makes as she gets to work. The self satisfied grin as the fire roars to life. The casual relaxed stance. It feels just like the good old days, when their biggest worry was trying to pass their class proficiency exams.

Those days are over now. Things have changed. But Ingrid doesn’t even know what they’ve changed to? Call it being nosy if you want. Call it being sentimental about someone she used to care about, but she has to ask.

“How is Sylvain doing these days? Haven’t exactly had the chance to talk for a while given… you know… opposite sides,” Ingrid asks tentatively.

Sylvia stops for a while to think, probably contemplating how much she’s allowed to say. But she does eventually speak up “Good… surprisingly good, and different. Very different. Had to do a lot of growing over the years and learn a few things that should have come earlier. It’s been a wild ride, but things seem to be turning out okay.”

“Finally stopped chasing skirts?”

Sylvia chuckles a bit for reasons Ingrid can’t comprehend before answering “Yeah, not having a new one night stand every week anymore. It turns out taking your personal issues out on random women isn’t productive.”

Ingrid should be happy about this. Her longtime friend and perpetual pain in the ass finally grew up, and seems to be doing well. It’s just that he grew up without her, and on the wrong side of a war. Sylvia is being surprisingly forthright with information. But she’s very clearly leaving the details of some things out, and the implications of that are clear. Sylvain might care about her still, but he doesn’t trust her enough to be open with her like they used to be. Sylvain has left all of them behind. It was pretty obvious after three years, but it still hurt to have it confirmed. There’s clearly some fond memories, sure, but things can never be the same. Though Ingrid supposes it was foolish to hope they ever could be.

“Am I correct in reading the implication you aren’t going to explain said personal issues?” Sighs Ingrid.

The smirk is wiped off Sylvia’s face in an instant. “Look I can… It’s just very personal… and I’m not sure…” Sylvia mumbles out, clearly unsure of herself.

“It’s fine… nobody likes a gossip anyways,” Ingrid replies dejectedly, who is very clearly not fine.

An awkward silence pervades between the two of them. Neither of them want to take the next step. Both probably thinking the same thing about how neither wants to upset the other.

Sylvia eventually mumbles out “Sorry… for making this awkward.”

“No it’s just… I knew Sylvain for my entire life. Then all of a sudden he betrays his homeland and is fighting on the other side of a war and none of us have any idea why. It makes me wonder if I ever knew him at all. Was it all just fake in the end? Did he hate us all along?” Ingrid dumps out. Was this rude? Probably, but after three years, she just needed to rant. Sylvia might not be the ideal target considering she hadn’t done anything to Ingrid (aside from the whole enemy soldier thing), but she was here so she was getting the full Ingrid emotional experience.

Sylvia wilts backwards from Ingrid’s rant, her face clearly displaying the negative emotions going through her.

‘Great job Ingrid, you just hurt the one person you are relying on to get you home alive,’ she thinks to herself.

Ingrid tries to follow up on this. “Look, I’m sorry, this isn’t about you. I shouldn’t be dumping my-”

Sylvia interrupts “It wasn’t fake. I know that.”

Ingrid sits back, surprised at the sudden resolve this woman has shown.

“If anything you all knew… Sylvain probably better than anyone else did… including Sylvain. It’s just… when things came around and he finally started to find himself, Faerghus just wasn’t the place to do it. Faerghus wanted him to be Margrave Sylvain Jose Gautier, and that just wasn’t a role he was going to fit,”  Sylvia says with a solemn tone. Though Ingrid can notice some passion in there. Sylvia seems to genuinely care for her brother here. 

So Sylvain didn’t want to be Margrave? That’s… not unreasonable. He never did seem too dedicated to his studies nor to the future position of lordship. He was always goofing off and gallivanting off in town. It would also explain why Sylvain joined the side of a war that wanted to abolish the concept of nobility.

Though that’s quite a lot of work just to slack off.

Though this whole implication about the Gautier family drama does raise a humorous implication. “And to think Miklan always hated Sylvain so much because he ‘stole his birthright’. Turns out if he had just done nothing, he would have gotten the position anyways.”

Sylvia chuckles at this. “Hah, typical of that idiot.” 

~~~

“Ow!” shouts Ingrid as her injured leg is jostled once again.

“Sorry!” replies an apologetic Sylvia.

The two are flying through the sky once again. They are making their way to the bottom of the mountains, from there it should be a straight shot to Magdred. 

That’s if the rest of the way down the mountain doesn’t kill them first.

Ingrid knows she can’t be too harsh on her savior. Flying with a second partner on the pegasus is a lot harder than it looks. There’s a lot you need to keep in mind about the extra weight and forces, and Sylvia has pulled it off so far despite clearly being a newer flyer. It’s not comfortable, but having an injured leg does make things even more difficult for Sylvia.

So while Sylvia is dealing with her own challenges quite well, Ingrid is struggling with her own.

Namely, resisting the urge to point out every single mistake Sylvia is making. She knows she shouldn’t. She’s discussed it in her head several times before, but Goddess dammit, she won’t be alive to be frowned upon by her superiors if she doesn’t get back in one piece.

She can see a pass up ahead and hear the sharp call of the wind with a trained ear. Based on previous experience, Sylvia hasn’t been able to catch onto these things in the past, and they’ll be jostled around again. Every mistake they make is another chance things go horrifically wrong. So Ingrid gathers her resolve to ignore her firm stance on the topic

“Go low by the pass up ahead, there’s a sharp wind passing through that we don’t want to get hit by”

Ingrid is sitting behind Sylvia so she can’t tell how the girl reacts, but after a bit she does indeed instruct her pegasus to glide lower so they can avoid the wind current.

“...Thanks for that.” Sylvia responds softly.

Ingrid isn’t sure how to respond. She’s tempted to respond with a quip or something about southern flight instructors, but also feels that’s not the best idea.

“Don’t mention it. Seriously, probably not supposed to give advice to an enemy combatant.”

“Yeah… hard to remember with all we’ve done over these two days. I… wish it didn’t have to be that way.”

Ingrid decides to take a risk. “You could leave. You know, it doesn’t have to be this way. You could come back to Faerghus, join up as a soldier. We could even just pretend you stole the Lance of Ruin and weren’t wielding it if you want to hide your crest.”

“No… I can’t go back to Faerghus. I cemented my betrayal a long time ago. I’m not the same person I was back then. I don’t fit in Faerghus, didn’t then,don’t now. It’s a nice idea, but it just won’t work,” replies Sylvia solemnly.

“You don’t even have to be anyone! Just mix in with the common soldiers. I’ll be the only one who knows the truth!”

“That’s why I’m fighting this damn war in the first place! I shouldn’t have to fight for the ability to choose what I want to do with my life, and neither should anyone else. Faerghus is rotten, Ingrid. It’s a heap of old antiquities piled on top of each other, rusting away until it all falls apart. And it’s going to fall apart at some point. I just think it’s better to do it sooner so it stops grinding people up along the way,” responds Sylvia, anger pervading her voice for the first time Ingrid can think of since she met her.

The edge in Sylvia’s voice leaves Ingrid shocked. In the entirety of the time Ingrad had known her, Sylvia had been pleasant and cheerful, if a bit nervous. But now all this was coming out from that same person. Beyond that, the feelings expressed here were a passionate visceral skewering of Ingrid’s home. Ingrid loves Faerghus, she was born and raised there, and has dedicated her life to serving it in whatever way she could. It came with hardships, but she was proud of her homeland and would fight to defend it. To hear this attack from someone she was starting to consider a friend hurt.

“And the empire is better than that?” Ingrid replies with a note of bitterness in her voice.

“Yes, I believe in Edelgard and the future she’s fighting to create”

Of course she actually believes in the empire. She’s fighting a damn war for it. Ingrid sighs, it was silly to imagine that she would be able to convince Sylvia with an offer of friendship. The girl has clearly cast her lot over the years and a few days wouldn’t change that. Another thing this war had taken from Ingrid, and she hadn’t even known it until three years in.

Though from what Sylvia was saying, something like this was going to happen sooner or later. Ingrid can’t believe that. If everyone does their part, Faerghus will flourish. That was drilled into her at a young age. 

Right now, Ingrid’s part is to get back to a base camp so she can find a healer before she dies. As such, she decides to cease trying to engage in these foolish niceties and focus on their survival.

“Fine then, if that’s what you believe. Let’s just focus on the journey for now.”

Chapter Text

Ingrid isn’t sure what to say.

They’re enemy soldiers on opposite sides of a war for goddess’s sake. It shouldn’t have been a surprise that they have some differing ideological views.

None of that makes the silence less awkward though. 

It’s been near complete silence since the fight last night. The two of them continued their descent down the mountain, made and broke camp, and got back on travel with minimal words. It was an eerie contrast to her first day traveling with the chatty and friendly girl. Where the two found any number of entirely pointless topics to flit to and from in between Ingrid trying to pry into the details of what happened with the Gautier siblings. 

But then the topic of the war came up and stopped all that. 

The two don’t say much, but the silence speaks volumes. Ingrid knew that Sylvia believes passionately in the empire cause now. In her own small part, Sylvia is a part of the reason for this war that has cost so much. 

Ingrid should hate her for it.

She wants to, but she just can’t. There’s too much familiarity involved. Too many good memories of old friends and a blissful night that she just can’t forget. She can only feel sadness about it. She just wishes everything didn’t have to come between them.

Ingrid can’t read minds, but she can tell the other girl is experiencing a similar conflict right now.

…and the silence drags on… and on …and on.

One would not think that traveling with an enemy soldier would be so boring.

Ingrid is so lost in her thoughts that she almost doesn’t notice it when Sylvia actually does say something.

“Thanks… for the flying tip yesterday.”

“Um sure… any reason why now?” replies Ingrid

“Well it’s just… I’m new at this, that much should be obvious right?”

“Well if you want me to be blunt it looks like you've only got a year or two under your belt for this. Though you clearly have much more experience with horses in general. Your form seems more typical of a grounded cavalier,” Ingrid states.

“Right on about the grounded horses, but only three months for the pegasus part. It’s only recently that it’s become an option.”

“That’s very impressive for only three months of flying, but how was it only an option recently? I’ve seen the empire’s armies, you aren’t lacking for pegasi to use as mounts,” Ingrid says, recalling the many riders the empire had thrown at her to attempt to slow her down over the years.

“That’s a long story, but to give the short version… Well, I’ve always wanted to be a pegasus knight. It just seemed like the coolest thing when I was a kid… you know?”

Ingrid chuckles a bit at that “As someone who has been training as a pegasus knight since I was 10, I’d have to agree with that.”

“Yeah… I would have loved to do that too. Maybe we could’ve been partners like that somehow, but pegasi were just… never an option allowed for me. I was… broken… wrong somehow. Couldn’t be allowed near one for fear I would get hurt.

It didn’t seem right to me that was the case. I thought I was just fine, and the pegasi even seemed to like me during the times I could sneak in. But for some reason I never understood, I just couldn’t.”

Ingrid is a bit confused at this. She can’t think of any kind of condition that would set off a pegasus. The only “requirement” to be able to ride a pegasus was that they wouldn’t accept male riders. That obviously isn’t an issue with Sylvia, nor did she seem to bear any kind of major physical disability from what Ingrid had observed. Perhaps it was a local custom? It would explain her distaste for Faerghan culture and society.

Sylvia continues her story “I eventually learned to live with it. I was just broken, that’s how it all was. I tried to move on… find another dream to pursue, you know? But it was always just a little what if in the back of my head. A tiny little daydream reserved for my imagination, and it just festered there for a while. It got to the point that I just had so much anger, and nowhere good to put it. So I just kinda took it out on everyone around me… I owe a lot of people apologies for how I was back then. I joined the empire in the hope that I could finally put all of it to a good purpose, but the thing with an army is that there’s other people in them, and eventually some people notice what’s going on with you. You knew Dorothea right? Back in the academy?”

Ingrid recalls some embarrassing memories. “She kept trying to flirt with me.”

Sylvia laughs loudly “Did she really? That’s great! I’m going to have to tease her about that later. No wonder she gets coy about you!”

Ingrid is deeply grateful that Sylvia is sitting in front of her and can’t see how much Ingrid is blushing.

“Anyways Thea and I hated each other when we first met. I think we were set up perfectly to clash. Then, in the midst of one of our many arguments she hit on a nerve and I let a bit too much out. Unfortunately for me, Thea noticed and kept digging in on the issue. It was like she flipped entirely. She went from hating me to being my damn mom in an instant.

It turns out I wasn’t broken. She figured what was up with me and knew several other people who had been in a similar boat. It took a long time and a lot of work, but here I am, on a pegasus, and I don’t have to be forever defined by being the broken kid. Thea and I got way closer than we ever expected in the process, and I mean no exaggeration when I say I would take a blow from a hero’s relic for that woman. I owe her so much. 

So yeah, it’s been a long road to get here, but I finally am. And then I run into you here, and not to put you on a pedestal or anything, but you were kinda the pegasus person I knew about back in the day. I’d always hear about how you were a prodigy on wings and stuff like that, and now I’m here, and like, I’m not your equal or anything, but… well you’re not treating me like an abject failure here, so that feels like something of a compliment compared to what I used to get from Faerghus folk about this. Might not be the most rational thing, but I kinda appreciate that,  you know? Makes me feel how far I’ve come.”

Ingrid isn’t sure how to react to Sylvia basically dumping her life’s trauma onto her. It would somewhat explain why Sylvia dislikes Faerghus so much if she was telling the truth. The girl spent her life being told there was something wrong with her when it never was. That would foster a grudge in anyone. On the other hand Ingrid also noticed that even with all of this detail, Sylvia never actually specified what it is that blocked her for her life. She supposes there could be reasons for that. Someone who was defined by something their entire life might not give that information to someone who was at best, an acquaintance. She just wants to be seen as Sylvia, and not whatever people saw her as before.  Ingrid still really just struggles to guess what said vision of Sylvia could be. Though in a way, doesn’t that prove how irrelevant it is?

“Sorry for rambling for a while… kinda got lost in things there.” Sylvia says sheepishly.

Ingrid knows this is a bad idea to bring up, but feels like she has to try, even if it’s a bad idea to bring this up again. “Do you think you could try to get things changed if you came back? I mean, whatever it is that they thought was broken about you, clearly isn’t the case. You seem like a perfectly capable pegasus knight to me. That’s some solid evidence right there. Beyond that, well I’ve got connections I could pull on. I could probably even get you an audience with Dimitri if you wanted and he’s the king now.”

“...It’s a nice thought, and I’ve considered writing a letter just to rub in people’s faces how wrong they were. I don’t think it would work though, they’d just blame my success on dark magic and call me a heretic or something like that. People don’t believe stuff like that because they looked at reality and saw they were wrong, they believe it because they want to.”

“...Like with Duscur.”

“...yeah.”

“Look Ingrid, I appreciate you trying to help. But… just… take it from experience, this isn’t something that’s just going to go away after a quick chat. I’ve got the scars to prove it…”

Oh.

So it was like that.

Ingrid really wishes Sylvia would tell her what it is that she’s trying to prove wrong, but at the same time, she also very much understands why she isn’t. If Sylvia has gotten scars over this in the past, that means someone attacked her over it. It makes sense why she wouldn’t want to go sharing it around freely.

“That’s fair…”

“Sounds like you’ve got something in common with your brother at least since it seems you’re both trying to get away from what Faerghus thought of you.”

Sylvia lets out a chuckle that Ingrid doesn’t understand. “You could say that.”

~~~

Magdred way.

They’re here.

It’s time.

Sylvia lands her pegasus and helps Ingrid off for the last time. They will be parting ways after this. Sylvia goes off to gather some firewood while Ingrid hobbles over and begins clearing an area for a signal fire. The task doesn’t take long and soon enough Ingrid is sitting by a roaring fire while Sylvia dances around skittishly, clearly unsure of what to be doing. Her role in the rescue mission is over. In the eyes of the kingdom, she’s just a soldier in enemy territory. But to Ingrid, she’s a friend who doesn’t want to say goodbye yet.

“Look, come over here and sit down for a bit. You deserve a break too after all this.” Ingrid beckons.

“I mean, I’m not supposed to be here anymore, this is dangerous.”

“Patrols don’t come  THAT regularly, we’ve got a while to kick back. We might have to say goodbye soon, but we can at least enjoy another bit.”

“Okay… if you think so.” She mumbles out while failing to suppress a smile as she comes to sit near Ingrid on the ground.

The two just sit there for a while, all of their worries melting away in the fire. There is no need to worry about the war. No need to worry about the duties placed on them. No need to worry about crests or lineages. They could just be two friends enjoying the moment.

Sylvia is the first one to break the silence. “Hey Ingrid”

“Yeah?”

“Do you want me to pass along a message to Sylvain? I know you haven’t… had the opportunity to talk for a while and you used to be close. If you want, I could pass something along. If there’s anything you want to say to him.”

“I mean if he ever wrote, and let us know where to send something back we could do that.”

“Yeah… this wouldn’t have to go through intelligence though. No need to worry about Vestra getting all the juicy details.”

Ingrid snorts. “Of course Hubert reads all of your mail. I don’t know how you’ve put up with him for three years.”

“Eh it’s not so bad, we’ve come to a bit of an understanding these days.” Sylvia smiles with a wistful grin that Ingrid can’t comprehend thinking about the man that no one was surprised to be involved in plotting a grand conspiracy.

“Adrestians,” Ingrid sighs in a light tone to make it clear she’s joking.

Ingrid moves into a more serious tone. “But as for Sylvain, well if you asked me a few days ago what I wanted to say to Sylvain, I’d probably start screaming WHY repeatedly, while also strangling him if that was an option. But well, you’ve given a better picture, and… I get it… I don’t agree with it, but I get it. I just wish… we could have talked about it. Before all this happened. Before everything had to be turned upside down. I wish we could have helped, or at least… understood. I wish it hadn’t come to this, and I didn’t have to learn about the fate of an old friend through a long-lost sister. But since we’re in this mess… Could we maybe just try to talk at some point? Maybe somewhere in the alliance… on more neutral ground. At least send some more letters you numbskull.”

Sylvia looks away after Ingrid’s speech. As such, Ingrid can’t read her expression from where she’s sitting. Though Ingrid can’t exactly blame her, it’s an awkward personal topic that Sylvia isn’t directly involved in. 

After a bit, Sylvia turns back, clearly trying to keep a straight face. “Yeah, I can get that to her,” she says in a glum tone.

Ingrid feels bad for a bit, she’s infected this last moment she has with Sylvia with this misery. She’s just venting her troubles onto-

Wait hold on, her?

“Her?”

Ingrid expects this was just a simple mistake of words. But who knows, maybe it’s something juicy. Did Sylvain get a wife that acts as a thorough control freak on letters? That would be a funny turn of events. 

Sylvia seems far less amused at this question than Ingrid is, seeming like a piece of prey cornered by a hunter. Shocking considering how fearless this girl has been up until this point. Ingrid feels a bit bad about this, she didn’t want this to be anything serious. She was probably beating herself up over some silly breach of noble etiquette or something.

Ingrid tries to apologize “Sorry, probably just a-”

“No, it wasn’t a mistake. Her is correct. Your old friend is a lady now,” Sylvia defiantly interrupts.

“What? Sylvain is… a lady now? What does that even mean?”

Sylvia takes a deep breath, before speaking. “It means that the human body is a lot more complex than the church thinks it is, and with the right potions you can convince the body to do the opposite puberty.”

“That’s… insane, and Sylvain… did that? Why?! Why on earth would Sylvain go through that? Was it a prank? Some messed up hazing ritual? A punishment for all his philandering?”

Sylvia sighs.  “Turns out that like everything else, sometimes the internal gender in the body comes out different and doesn’t match up with the body, and it also turns out feeling trapped in a body that is changing beyond your control does a big number on someone.”

“I can’t believe this. This is crazy, it can’t work.You have to be messing with me.”

Sylvia held her head in her hands before sighing and speaking to ingrid “Alright Ingrid, I will say this. I have been misleading you on one thing. However, It’s not that transitioning is impossible, and you’re gonna feel pretty friggin dumb when you realize it.”

Ingrid is dumbfounded. This is real? Somehow. Sylvia is still sticking with this story. If this is a lie she’s pretty damn committed to it. Though Ingrid doesn’t see the point in what lying about this would be. Sylvia went through this entire journey just because Sylvain would be upset if Ingrid died. So that would imply she clearly cares about her sibling. If that’s the case, why would she lie to Ingrid about this? The siblings have a lot in common from what Ingrid has gathered, and Sylvia clearly knows what it’s like to suffer from a reputation of being weird. She supposedly just got out of a situation where everyone was judging her and is just finally able to be herself! She wouldn’t want to- 

Oh.

Suddenly dozens of things she noticed over the past few days make a lot more sense. Why is Sylvia so invested in helping her? Why did they get along so well? Why does Sylvia feel so much pride in being a pegasus knight? Why did Sylvain abandon Faerghus to escape from being Margrave Gautier?

Why does Sylvia feel so familiar?

Her old friend was with her the entire time.

“Sylvain?”

“Sylvia. My name is Sylvia, but yeah… it’s me.”

Ingrid doesn’t know what to say. The idea of someone swapping genders is something she’d only ever seen in fairytales, yet not only was it real, it was staring her right in the face. Ingrid is trying to reconcile this knowledge of Sylvia the empire pegasus knight, with Sylvain the arrogant friend. It seems absolutely insane at first glance, but she can see the connections. The longing glances at the flight stables. That time Sylvain wore a dress to the harvest festival “as a joke”. The way Miklan would always insult his sibling as “girly”.

Sylvia was there the entire time, she just only came out of hiding recently.

“Heh, your face was hilarious,” quips a smirking Sylvia.

“H-hey, it’s a big thing to drop on someone!” replies a flustered Ingrid.

“That’s fair, I think I kinda just froze up for a half hour or so when I finally accepted it. Tell you what, if someone ever manages a way to look back in time, We’ll hire a painter and get both of those moments preserved forever.”

“I’ll buy a museum to hang them up right next to each other. Right where they belong”

The two of them laugh at this for a bit, as things quiet down and the two just sit there enjoying each other’s company. It’s just like old times. Times Ingrid thought she would never have again.

Eventually Ingrid breaks the silence.

“So… what do we do now?”

“Has this changed anything? We can have the full moral debate of the war thing again if you want.”

“I mean, what do I even tell everyone? No one’s going to buy that I somehow managed to hobble my way all the way down the mountain by myself.”

“You could just stick with the story I tried to pull on you, it’s not like people aren’t going to notice me on a pegasus with a relic at some point anyways. “

“Yeah, that’s an option I guess… I don’t know if I’m going to be able to hide it from some of the others though, I’m not exactly the best at the whole cloak and dagger thing… Unlike you who is apparently able to fool your oldest friend into thinking you were your own long-lost sister for several days.”

“Really, I thought it was obvious.”

“Girl, if you hadn’t basically come out and said it, I never would have guessed.”

Ingrid doesn’t miss the smile on Sylvia’s face when the girl is addressed as “Girl”.

“That’s… reassuring. It’s really easy to get into my own head on this stuff, you know?”

“I mean, I’ve never experienced something like this, but I can understand the concept. Seriously though, what do you want me to tell people? Felix and Dimitri aren’t gonna believe that I ran into your long lost sister and never asked about you.”

“You can tell them.. If you think it would be for the best. If not, stick to the cover story about how I hated responsibility I guess. Just don’t tell Dad, dear Goddess.”

“That would not be a fun conversation, I think last I heard he was planning on kidnapping your firstborn child to raise as a true heir so he could continue the line properly .”

“Ugh… somehow I’m not surprised. Good thing he won’t get the opportunity.” Sylvia smirks to cover up a grimace.

Ingrid would like to ask questions about how all that works. She then realizes that she does not particularly want to know the details, and drops it.

Sylvia tries to change the subject. “We should try to meet up again at some point, so we can actually talk about everything that’s happened, without being under the pressure of saving your life.”

“Well now that we know you can fly, that opens up more options. If the lines are still the same in 6 moons, do you want to try meeting at the bird’s nest? Same place you dragged me to?”

“You sure about that? there might be some memories about your old pegasus there…” Sylvia trails off.

“I might have lost an old friend there, but I also found one, I think that’s good enough.”

Sylvia smiles. “You got a deal sister, I’ll be there. Maybe see if you can drag Felix along with you just so we can add his face to the collection.”

The two of them share a laugh about the theoretical expression of an old friend, unfortunately for them, time was running out on their laughter, as Ingrid can hear the flaps of wings that aren’t from Sylvia’s Pegasus.

“The scouts! You need to move!”

“On it! I’ve got enough experience with angry women to know when it’s time to make an exit!”

Even when running for her life. Sylvia somehow managed to make Ingrid smile.

Sylvia mounts her pegasus at breakneck speed, it’s weirdly nostalgic for the days they needed to rush to make a freakishly early proficiency exam. 

“Hey Sylvia” 

“Yeah?”

“Don't make me one of those angry women, I always wanted a Sister.”

Sylvia smiles at her in a look she hasn’t seen in a very long time. Her old friend is genuinely, truly happy, seemingly almost to the point of tears. Tears she couldn’t shed for a long time in her life. There’s no shit-eating grin, no self-deprecating joke, no aura of nervousness. She’s just happy, and Ingrid missed seeing that. 

“Now get out of here you knucklehead!”

The knucklehead in question straps on her helmet, and takes off, not wasting any more time. Ingrid watches her friend fly away, growing smaller and smaller as she leaves once again. This time Ingrid knows, it won’t be forever.

Ingrid can hear the scouts land next to her and dismount, though she doesn’t pay much attention to them.

“Dame Ingrid, you’re alive! Who was that other rider?”

Ingrid contemplates how to respond before answering.

“Just an old friend.”