Annette could hardly believe what she was seeing. It was just about as ordinary as any other mission that didn't directly advance their campaign against the empire. A simple mission to rout some bandits that were attempting to approach a village near Garreg Mach; an almost mundane event of slashing and incinerating bandits that had thrived over the five years the monastery had been abandoned.

So why did it go so wrong?

All it took was one unexpected enemy- one that didn't belong amongst the group of bandits; a man dressed in an all black mages outfit with a bird mask, a strange black mist unlike anything Annette had ever seen emerged from his hands.

Annette had prepared the strongest spell she could think of at the time: Aura; of which she would have had used to hit her target, had she not realised that he was positioned on the front lines.

Right in the way of one Felix Hugo Fraldarius.

Annette looked towards the Fraldarius heir and called out to him to fall back, her words falling on deaf ears; her sudden lack of focus causing her charged Aura to misfire into two of the Mage's battalion units, causing them to evaporate. With a Levin Sword in his hand, Felix conjured up an Arc Thunder spell to incinerate the mage, his magic proving to be ineffective as the mage dodge the attack with ease. The mage retaliated right back at him, firing chains of black magic that Felix had been mostly fast enough to dodge.

All except one.

Switching to a non-black magic attack, the mage's attack had become faster than before, catching Felix off-guard, chains of light wrapping itself around Felix's head.

Annette could sense something was off. The spell was eerily similar to Silence but was.. different.

The Fraldarius heir became confused, dropping his sword to furiously pull off the chains, with minimal success. Amidst his confusion the black mage and his battalion took them chance to eliminate Felix.

Fortunately, Annette and Sylvain, along with their respect battalions arrived in time; their sudden appearance clearly not expected as Sylvain pierced the Lance of Ruin through the Black Mage's chest, causing him to slump over. Annette lead the rest of the two battalions against the one overpowering them immediately, Sylvain chasing down any remaining stragglers.

With everyone in the clear and the enemy forced to retreat, Annette rushed to Felix's side. The raven haired man was slumped on the ground, gripping the magic chains around his eyes.

"Dammit… I can't… I can't…!"

"Felix!"

Felix's head snapped up upon hearing her voice, but his daze making him unable to pinpoint where she was.

"Annette? Annette!

"Felix!" She called out again.

Felix gripped the chains around his head, unable to release them.

"Annette, where…?"

Annette tripped on air, landing in front of Felix. "Ugh.. Felix? Felix, what's wrong?!" Annette's voice became strained and panicked, not unlike Felix's who thrashed around desperately. She knelt next to the Fraldarius heir.

"Annette, where are you…?"

Annette froze, upon placing her hands on the chains that gave off a light glow. Her suspicions were right. This magic, Whatever it was, was similar to Silence, but with clearly different uses, something Annette hadn't seen before.

And for the first time in a long while, she was at a loss.

Completely useless.

"Annette…"

The redhead snapped out of her daze and put her hands on his cheeks. "I'm here. I'm right here Felix," she lowly whispered to him, a little more intimately than she'd like.

"I can't see. I can't see a damn thing at all…!"

After the march back home, Felix was immediately guided up to Manuela's office, and put under sedation soon after, every single notable user of magic in the army is called in to investigate in anyway they can. Besides Manuela and Annette herself, who stays by Felix's side the entire first day, she's joined later by the likes of the professor herself, Hanneman, Linhardt, Lysithea, Flayn, Dorothea and Mercedes; Sylvain joins them too. He knows his way around some magic thanks to the professor, but stays around mostly to give Annette moral support.

"He'll pull through, I know it," Sylvain says with the best smile he can muster, but even Annette can see the sadness behind his eyes.

And yet, in spite of all of the best magic users of all the army trying their damndest to crack the code on the mysterious, lingering magic that blinds Felix, not one can figure out how to break the magic construct.

Despite how much it frustrates Lysithea, she can only give Annette a hypothesis at best.

"As far as I can tell, this magic shouldn't exist." Annette gives her a blank stare before dots connect in her head, her eyes widening.

"You mean…?"

Lysithea nods. "Yep. This magic is a mix of both light and dark magic. An impossibility, as I'm sure you're aware, since Seteth claims it's impossible for this kind of dark magic to exist with a certain range of the monastery; but this the only way I can think this sort of magic seal containing dark magic can exist here. The chains contain large quantities of faith spells, but enough extremely powerful reason spells mixed to be able to pull off having such absurd power to boot."

"Not only that, but to be able to conjure up and manipulate magical energy into an object, and for it to remain in place suggests a great deal of control and power- especially since the user is dead. I'm half tempted to call this a new form of magic, but I wouldn't go so far just yet. Other than that, I'm stumped," Lysithea said bluntly, frowning at Annette. "I'm sorry I couldn't do more, but I'll try and look into this as much as I can."

Annette thanked Lysithea for her help as the white haired woman excused herself from Manuela's office.

She looks over Felix's sleeping form and remember all the times she saw him training in the training field using his sword to expertly cut down the training dummies one by one, before casting fire and thunder magic to take care of the rest; magic that she taught him.

And now, all that effort- years of effort on his part to become stronger than anyone else with the blade, his reluctant training sessions where they'd spar together, sword in his hand and an axe in hers, striving to perfect their and each other's craft.

Annette recalls all the time she gave to him in return, training and studying to hone his reason ability. She rationalized it as nothing more than holding up her end of the deal for sparring with Felix, a foolish one in hindsight; the memories of all the times their hands had come into contact over the littlest of things like passing a damned book between one another and the awkward small talk that progressed into impassioned speeches about dancing and hunting.

Annette wasn't sure if Felix felt the same way, but she knew that their training grew beyond merely holding up deals. Soon, they began to train together- just the two of them of their own volition, Annette wanting to push him further to his goal of becoming the strongest he could on the battlefield and Felix with her personal endeavors to reconnect with her father.

All the effort they made, and the memories that came from them- bad and good disappeared before her.

All because of her lack of awareness on the battlefield.

With a guilty conscious, she excused herself from Manuela's office later that night, solemnly locking herself in her room.

She fell into bed and cried herself to sleep.

Annette spent the days after the last battle huddled up in her room and the library, trying her hardest to find anything- about the magic that blinded Felix. Nights upon nights studying book after book, trying desperately to find something she could use to help Felix.

Anything to not be so useless again. Especially for him. How could she speak to him again if she didn't have anything to show for it? The young woman's eyes began to close, Annette desperately trying to stay awake.

As fate would have it, a knock at the door forced her awake, Annette blinking wildly as she stumbled towards the door. She opened it and to reveal Manuela standing before her.

"Good evening, Annette. How are you feeling?"

Annette rubbed her left eye. "Just… just a little tired," she admitted.

"Hmm… I can tell. Oh, before I forget, I actually came down to tell you that we've had to make some changes to Felix's accommodation," Manuela began, clearing her throat. "To be more precise, Seteth and I were discussing where he should stay due to his… unique situation. Currently he is stationed in his the infirmary, but we've decided that it was best we move him down to one of the dorms on this level for the time being," Manuela explained.

Felix is going to be close by was all that registered in her head.

"But, it seems Felix is being rather… picky about it," she said, Annette blinking in confusion.

"Why…?"

"We originally had planned for Felix to remain in his room and Sylvain, or perhaps someone else, assist him up and down the stairs when needed, but he… well, rather bluntly, he said he'd rather stay in a room where you were close by and refused any other suggestions we've given him. Aside from not wanting to bother Sylvain with helping him and not trusting Dimitri either, he wants to be near you- if only so it'll be easier for you to figure out how to break those glowing chains around his eyes; he's totally convinced you'll figure something out."

At that moment, Annette flushed red, feeling a huge weight being put on her shoulders, the weight of expectations she knew she could live up to. The redhead looked to the ground in shame. Whether it was shame for not being able to find a cure for Felix, or shame in wanting to give up, Annette wasn't sure.

Perhaps it was both.

"I personally think it's rather poor excuse. The poor boy has it bad, but you didn't hear me say that," Manuela yawned, "I'm going to be out tonight, and I probably won't be back until tomorrow morning. Felix has requested that you be the first one to see him- barring me of course. So if you so wish, you may talk to him as long as you want," Manuela said with a knowing smile. "Good luck, Annette," she said walking down the hallway and out of the dorms.

Annette remained standing in the doorway, unsure of what to do.

I want to help him, but I just… can't! I don't want to disappoint him… she thought to herself as another voice in her head spoke up.

You've never disappointed him, stupid! Who cares if you don't have the cure right now?! Hurry up and go talk to him, else you disappoint him for real!

Annette balled her fists and promptly left her room, shutting the door just a little too loud. Quickly exiting the dorms and head up to the infirmary as quickly as she could. Once there, she slowly stepped in, calling Felix name.

"Annette?"

The redhead quickened her pace and saw Felix, his eyes still blocked out by the mysterious magic chains.

"Hey Felix," she hoarsely whispered. Grabbing a chair nearby, she sat down next to Felix's infirmary bed. "How… how are you feeling?"

Felix looked up to the ceiling. Well, he could only guess it was. "I… I don't know. Everything's a haze. Can't remember much from the battle, I remember Sylvain..."

He soon went quiet, unsure of how to express his feelings. Felix tilted his head back towards the general direction her voice came from.

"What happened after the battle, Annette? Did we win?"

Annette couldn't look at Felix. "You'd never believe this, but it seems like Dimitri has come to his senses. It's as if the Dimitri we once knew has come back." Annette looked up at Felix to see his mouth turn into a scowl, before it quickly disappeared. She already put two and two together before he spoke.

Felix stared up at the ceiling. "No doubt because of my old man's sacrifice."

Annette hummed, eager to dodge the subject entirely. "So instead of heading for Enbarr, we're heading back to the Kingdom Capital to reclaim it from Cornelia, on his orders."

"Hmph. At least the boar's got his head screwed on right now"

She never understood Felix's disdain for Dimitri until Edelgard revealed herself as the Flame Emperor. Seeing him snap the way he did scared her more than anything ridiculous ghost story could force out of her, but to see him 5 years later, more vengeful than ever only served to make her feel sorry for the prince. She couldn't help but think that even if Dimitri had returned to his senses, that underneath, still lived the suppressed boar that Felix despised so much.

It was clear that Felix felt this as well.

Annette opened her mouth to speak, but the words died in her throat. The more she looked at him, the more the feeling of guilt within her began to grow.

"I… I guess I'm okay. I've been trying, I really have been. To find a cure… for this, I mean. Unfortunately, my body won't let me stay up for as long as I need it too," Annette said letting out a hollow laugh. Felix frowned. "But, I-I think I found a lead! It might take a while to figure everything out though, so you'll have to bear with me for a little while, okay?"

Annette didn't want to lie, but she had no choice in her mind. She was desperate, but she didn't want Felix to hate her for her incompetence. Felix looked to the side, as if he were concentrating on something

"Annette," Felix whispered. "What's going on?"

Annette couldn't stop blinking. "N-Nothing! Really, Felix it's fine. I found a lead on the origins of this magic construct, so soon we'll be able to fix this for you! Then everything you've done until now- all that work you've put in to become strong with won't be a waste, right? I know it's my fault that this happened to you, but don't worry, everything will be okay, I swear…!"

Felix sat upright against the bedhead and looked at Annette, reaching out his hands, managing to cup her face; his calloused hands wiping away tears on her face.

"You're crying."

Annette grit her teeth as the tears rushed out faster than she expected.

"N-no I'm not…!"

"Stop blaming yourself," Felix spoke seriously, a tone he'd rarely spoke to her with, but often to his peers. "What happened out there was not your fault. And you don't need to lie to me either. I know you haven't found anything to stop this. And that's fine."

"But why? Why would you say that? You're blind now, and, and...!"

Felix interrupted her swiftly. "I know. I remember now, Sylvain told me on the way back to the monastery. And it pisses me off that my old man went out the way he did. And to be quite frank, I'd rather be left alone to grieve, but I can't exactly kick you out now, so I guess I have to be selfish and get you to sing," Felix remarked, wincing slightly when he realised he came across too bluntly. "Please, Annette? Any song you'd like."

Annette sniffed, pushing his hands from her face. "You… you idiot! What about all those years of training? All those times we sparred and studied magic together?! It's all useless now. And your father- what about Rodrigue?! And why are you acting so strangely? It's so weird seeing you all lovey dovey," Annette sobbed.

Felix blushed, pouting as if someone was teasing him.

"Ugh, I don't know… I… I guess, you being here makes up for that."

Annette felt her face light up red by his comment. She hated how nice he could be sometimes. She grumbled something incoherent under her breath, letting out a loud sigh before Felix could ask what she said.

"Fine. I'll sing for you, okay? I'll try anyway," she pouted.

"You don't have to…"

"What?! Do you want me to sing or- oh who am I kidding, of course you want me to sing," Annette scoffed, crossing her arms. "Okay, one more time then…"

Well, if she demanded that she sing, who was he to refuse?

And so she sung. Or tried her best to, she really did, but the words constantly died in her throat, the lyrics of her songs became forgotten in place of the events at Gronder Field only days before. Armies clashing with each other with violent bravado, the friends she made in the Black Eagles and Golden Deer houses being forced to face her and the many other friends they made years prior. The professor recognised this, and in the process of almost killing herself, spread the fire Edelgard had started where the ballista was located in order to push the Empire back into retreating. Claude had recognised her efforts, realising she hadn't laid a hand on the Alliance forces and called for a retreat.

The battlefield was a bloodbath, but no matter how much she tried to distract herself, it always came back to that damned smile on his face, the few occasions where he'd break his walls down and let her in to see the real him.

A young man still grieving his brother's passing after 9 years, strained even further by the passing of his father.

She eventually gave in, falling into bed with Felix and crying into his chest as the two embraced each other, falling into a deep sleep.

Manuela didn't bother waking them up when she entered the infirmary the next morning.

As the days passed by, though Seteth was reluctant, Manuela managed to convince him to allow Felix to move into the dorm next to Annette's; a little faster than either of them expected, if they were being honest. Thankfully, Mercedes assisted with the move, willing to swap dorm rooms with Felix for the time being.

Felix was eventually moved downstairs with the help of Ingrid and Sylvain to guide him down. Much to Felix's chagrin, Sylvian offered to move his belongings to his new temporary room; but in the end he brushed the thought off. Better than having to argue with Sylvain about it as the blind one, he reasoned with himself.

Of course, he respectfully declined in the most Felix way possible when his childhood friend offered to assist him in changing clothes between morning and night. Felix could care less about the offer itself, but the reason behind the offer pissed him off.

"Don't use that older-brother tone on me," Annette heard him sternly say to Sylvain. "I don't need another one to annoy me."

Annette had to wonder what he meant by that.

For weeks she'd come in to sing to Felix and to give him updates on various goingons of everything outside his room- the campaign against the empire, the state of the training grounds, the state of his childhood friends (especially the boar with his reduced temperamental attitude) and finally, Annette herself.

In a sad way, she was thankful Felix couldn't see her blush whenever he'd smile upon hearing her voice.

On occasion, she'd also lead Felix out and about the monastery to get him fresh air, sitting down to have tea in the garden as often as they could. For Felix, the lack of vision was something that took a long while to get used to, having to use ears more to follow another person's voice if they entered his room to speak to him.

While Felix had the utmost faith that Annette would find something to dispel the chains causing his blindness, he couldn't help but feel concerned at the potential eventuality that he'd be blinded for the rest of his life.

Days before the Kingdom's army would march out for Fhirdiad, Felix and Annette decided to leave the monastery for a little while and visit a large nearby town. Amidst the strange stares at them, they enjoyed the time spent with each other, finding a small bakery that sold some of the most delectable sweets Annette had ever feasted on. Of course, she knew Felix had no sweet tooth, so a trip to another stall that sold spicy meat skewers was more than enough to satisfy him.

"Don't wear yourself out," he said, offering a spicy meat skewer.

Annette sighed, having heard the same line from Felix an innumerable amount of times. "No thank you, Felix. And don't worry, I'm getting more sleep like you've told me to."

"And here you are yawning like you haven't had any sleep in days. What's up with that? Is my company not up to par now that I can't see a damn thing now?"

Annette's eyes went as wide as saucers. "N-No! You've been great company! I-I enjoy our time together, you know this!" Annette panicked.

Felix let loose a small smile, Annette grumpily pouting when she realised she was just teasing her. "S-Stop doing that-oh! Watch your step here," Annette suddenly cut away from her embarrassed demeanor, turning serious as she focused on guiding Felix down stairs that lead from the small bakery down to natural ground; Felix gave her a quite thanks. The duo continued walking through town in a comfortable silence before Annette yawned again.

"Are you sure you should be taking me for a stroll? You should go get some sleep."

"Look," Annette responded, "I may have had a couple of late nights studying, but there's not thing wrong with that!

"Annette…"

"Fine, okay, okay…"

Silence overcame them as they chipped away at the food they bought from the small bakery and store nearby. Eventually, they both stood up, Annette's arm around his as they continued approaching the outer edge of town. "Have you tried using a sword again? I know it's a little silly knowing your condition, but knowing how often you train…"

Felix's nose scrunched. "Sylvain dragged me to the training grounds yesterday," Felix began. "It's… different. My strikes are weaker. It feels like I can barely cut down one training dummy, like I'm back at square one again. Goes to show you much I take for granted."

Annette looked down at the ground with a small sigh. The redhead looked up to Felix, who'd placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. Annette wanted to laugh at how ridiculous her apologies had become where even Felix instinctively knew when she'd blurt out an apology.

"R-right. Well, Dimitri's in high spirits again! He's been talking more with the professor again. She says that he's been getting along well with the rest of the army- but he hasn't talked to you, has he?"

Felix shook his head. "A few times," he admitted, surprising Annette. "He came to my room the other day and started profusely apologizing. It got annoying to hear him grovelling for so long so I kicked him out. He's come every now and then afterwards, if only to bring me food and make small talk."

'So why is it not annoying when I do it?' Annette wanted to ask, but pushed the silly question to the back of her head.

"Huh… well, that's good. Dimitri hasn't been going to the cathedral as much now. I wonder if it has to do with the way he recovered..."

Annette caught a frown that formed on Felix's face in the corner of her eye, an expression she couldn't read at all. "Glenn's always been nicer to me than them."

Before Annette could process what he said she just had to spot a small party of imperial soldiers just outside the town. Pulling Felix down to the ground on a hill overlooking where the imperial soldiers were headed, then stopped close to a small clearing in the forest outside the town.

"Imperial soldiers? Here?"

Annette nodded. "Mhm. But why…?"

Her question was answered when two dark flashes of dark magical energy caused two men in fully black clothing to appear before the party, much like the one that had stolen Felix's eyesight.

A strange feeling had boiled within her- one that Annette could count on her hands when it came to how often she experienced the mostly unfamiliar emotion.

She was pissed beyond belief.

Annette watched on as the imperial unit and the mages in black conversed with each other. Something was said that seemed to upset the mages a little too much, two dissolving the unit into a black mist. Her arms twitched, magic at the ready at her fingertips, fire, thunder and wind ready to rain down on the two mages in black.

It wasn't until Felix placed a hand on her shoulder that it began to subside, his surprising action jolting Annette out of her anger.

"F-Felix!"

"Annette, what's going on down there?"

Before she was given the chance to explain, the two mages suddenly disappeared, feet suddenly pressed against their heads.

"Well, what do we have here?" one of them says, kneeling down to grip the back of Felix's shirt, who's instincts have kicked in, thrashing at the mysterious mage. The mage slammed a fist of dark energy into Felix's back, the magic he attempted to conjure having disappeared entirely.

He felt his blood run cold.

"W-What?!"

"Oh, he's definitely the one she's looking for. Thankfully for you, she's given us the order to retreat after retrieving you, so your little girlfriend here won't get hurt," the black mage snarked. Annette felt her blood boil again, fire erupting from her arms and towards the mage who pinned her to the ground, lighting him on fire and incinerating him entirely. The second dark mage cursed as Annette rolled over, another fire spell at the ready protruding out of her palm and fingertips before he disappeared in a dark flash, leaving no evidence that they were ever there.

Annette felt drop when he saw the mage disappear along with Felix. She crawled over to the spot where Felix had been lying and pressed her hands against the ground. Realising he had disappeared into thin air, she bunched her knees together, arms hugging them as she rocked back and forth, trying her best to reassure herself amidst the pained tears that escaped her again.

"Strike two, Annette…"

For the second time that month, she lost Felix, and it was truly her fault.

The march to Fhirdiad was a long, arduous and completely solemn for most of the army. Morale would've been high, but between Felix's sudden condition and his disappearance, it was hard not to feel the weight of not having one of the Kingdom's strongest soldiers to back them up.

Especially in the wake of Rodrigue's untimely demise.

The weight of these events weighed her down heavier than her own relic, Crusher, as it sat on her shoulder. Many of her comrades in arms had attempted to comfort Annette; Byleth and Dimitri approached her first offering her assistance in cleaning the greenhouse and the library, it which she declined. Soon after, many of her other comrades attempted to find ways to cheer the redhead up. Sylvain and Dorothea invited her to tea, Dedue and Mercedes offered to bake food with her, Ingrid and Ignatz suggested she come and assist in landscaping a cliffside, and Ashe and Petra borderline begged her to come out to town to eat with them. She respectfully declined all of their offers, citing that it was too much to ask of them when they were so close to leaving for Fhirdiad, instead opting to spend the rest of her time studying in her room or at the training field.

How ironic that after all this time, it was her father that convinced her to break her cycle of training and studying. Ever since he approached her to have tea, they two made up for last time as best they could.

And yet, even then, Felix would just never leave her head. It was always the rare times she saw him smile when it was just the two of them that she remembered the most; it became almost obsessive, almost to Annette's amusement; especially with the way she dedicated herself to training after disappearance. "The more I think about him, the more I'm becoming like him. Why won't he just leave my head?"

Soon, the gates to the Kingdom capital were open, and a path was made for the army to advance towards their destination, to free the Kingdom from Cornelia's grip. With an impassioned speech from Dimitri to rouse the army, her battalion following closely behind her. Upon the breaching of the main square of the capital, the army began evacuating and assisting citizens amongst the violence and unrest throughout the city; a total blood bath.

Soon the main forces began to spread out. Their Professor, along with Dimitri headed up the charge down the middle with her father, Sylvain, Ingrid, Ashe and Mercedes taking the middle route. Cyril, Seteth, Flayn, Caspar and Bernadetta were chosen to lead the charge through the left end of the main square, and Annette along with Dedue, Petra, Lysithea and Marianne leading the charge along the right side.

Just as their forces began moving forward, giant mechanical beings in the streets began to light up with life and move. Each one looked down at the rebelling citizens and soldiers near them, swiping at their bodies and blasting them to dust.

"Yes! The Titanus are finally awake, and now the preparations are all complete! It's time to meet my old master and give him and his friends a welcome they're never going to forget," the pink-haired woman, Cornelia laughed.

Annette jumped when she felt Dedue press hand on her shoulder. "Annette. Though we don't know his whereabouts, He- Felix, will be okay. But for now, please focus on the upcoming battle, we need everyone to be at peak performance today, and I'm sure Felix wouldn't want you getting yourself hurt." The redhead couldn't help but smile at Dedue attempt at comforting her, his way around words certainly helped, feeling a little more at ease than before. Even with how Felix used to treat Dedue, the retainer still respected him, even if it wasn't returned. It was no wonder why Mercedes took such a liking to him. She smiled as best she could, fists balled around the handle of the Crusher.

"Thank you, Dedue."

On the other side Dimitri let out a war cry, signalling for the army to push through. Dedue, Petra and Lysithea moved ahead with their battalions, Annette and Marianne staying close behind them. Cornelia's army retaliated almost immediately, charging at the Kingdom's army before being snuffed out quickly, be it through Dedue's wide strikes, Petra's nimble attacks or Lysithea's powerful spells, Annette had little reason to worry about Cornelia's army.

Dedue cut his way through the armoured enemies, Petra dashing out from behind Dedue to surprise an enemy mage with a swift assassination, the second mage incinerated by Lysithea's own magic. Annette watched on as even Marianne begun healing some of the soldiers that passed by, closing a wound on Dedue's shoulder caused by an enemy axe piercing his armour and cut slightly into his shoulder.

As she marched on behind the group that lead the charge up towards the stairs, she couldn't help but grow to feel useless.

That was until she spotted a familiar enemy nearby. "Dedue! Petra! Move!" Annette exclaimed behind them, preparing an Aura spell underneath their feet. Safely leaping out of the way, a large projectile flew up in the direction they once were standing, Annette's attack stopping the dark magical energy from hurting her comrades. Annette moved up towards the front lines to join Lysithea as 3 mages dressed in black confronted them.

"Perhaps it would be best if we held back," Dedue called out to Petra. The Brigid princess nodded, staying on guard as Annette, Lysithea and Marianne lead the charge towards the formidable opponents.

Annette's senses suddenly shifted into hyperdrive when she noticed Lysithea's hand left hand violently twitching, her teeth grinding in extreme anger, an emotion she'd never seen grow on the gremory's face. The mages across from them summoned dark energy from their hands that rose into the air and shot back towards the ground where they stood. Annette, moved to dodge the pillar before realising she wasn't the target. With a shrill scream, Petra flew back and into the ground, struck by the pillar exploding before it struck the ground.

What on earth…? Magic with that kind of range is borderline impossible, and yet…

Annette shook her head, gripping her hero relic. "Marianne, Dedue! Go check on Petra, Lysithea and I will deal with this!"

Marianne hesitated for a second. "Alright, I'll go. Dedue, quickly!"

Annette diverted her attention back to the mages. "Lysithea," Annette spoke to her in a soothing tone that wasn't suited for the battlefield. The gremory's head snapped towards Annette with an angry glare. Annette held up her glowing hero relic, Lysithea giving her a nod she read loud and clear.

I'll cover you.

Annette pushed forward, inching her way to the three dark mages that stood guard to where Cornelia lay in wait. Two of the mages raised their hands into the air, readying dark magic to cast at any one of the five before them.

The third, noticing Annette rapidly approaching them with Dominic's relic, cast a large fireball at her. Dark energy swirled around it, growing rapidly in size and moving caster in the air. Shifting her body to the side, she pulled the Crusher around her left and slammed the projectile back towards the trio. The projectile flew back faster than it had come forth, joined by a hurricane of wind magic from Lysithea that tempered the fireball's size and potency, crashing into the mages and destroying their ball of growing dark energy.

Or so she thought.

The large sphere of dark energy had absorbed the impact of the fireball's explosion, only reducing its size. With Annette too close to them, the two dark mages fired it into the air as multiple dark pillars split from the dark ball of energy, shooting past Annette with such speed that she almost missed them entirely. Annette spun around, Thoron erupting from her hands, and just like lightning, struck one of the projectiles, evaporating it into thin air. Lysithea kept true to her word, destroying the pillars with relative ease before they could harm anyone nearby.

Annette knew she didn't have time to spare, already aiming her next strike of the Crusher at one of the mage's sides. Before they could conjure up a spell, Annette slammed the crusher into her opponent's neck, a loud cracking sound indicating that it was over for them as their body hit the ground and remained unmoving.

The two mages attempted to retaliate, before a flurry of wind spells rained down on them, tearing them apart with loud screams. With the three mages draped in black out of the way, Annette pressed on, Lysithea, Marianne, Dedue and a healed Petra closely following behind her. Reaching a wide alleyway, Annette came to a halt, peeking her head out to the large open square where Cornelia lay in wait, if her screaming orders was anything to go by. A loud crashing noise erupted from the middle lane where Annette last saw the professor and Dimitri followed by a loud whirring sound.

"Annette!" the redhead looked for the source of the voice, only to find Petra on the opposite side of the alleyway, her heading peeking out from a building's doorway. "I have found a strange lever here! Perhaps it will be doing the deactivating- rather, perhaps it may deactivate a device nearby!"

Annette was stunned for a moment, absolutely sure she saw Petra follow behind her moments earlier. Before Annette has a chance to respond, a loud victorious cheer from the Kingdom army in the middle lanes reaches her ears as one of the Titanus fall onto a wall nearby. Strangely, she can hear Cornelia conversing with someone, mocking them from above. She hears Dimitri call for her head soon after. Eager to use the moment to attack, Annette rounded the corner and directly into the square followed closely by her comrades.

The rest of the Kingdom army had the same idea it seemed, having converged on Cornelia collectively in that moment. Annette stared Cornelia down, who seemed to smile at the oncoming army. Annette knew something was wrong. They had broken through their defenses, and reached the end goal, Cornelia herself, and she remained confident all the same. As such pondered this, Cornelia raised her right hand and snapped her fingers. Five dark pillars of energy appeared above them, four contorting into large behemoths that towered over them and the fifth turning into the body of a man that landed at Cornelia's feet.

A shadow overcast over Annette as one of the fresh Titanus fell down on top of her. Annette tried her best to run, but wasn't fast enough as the 4 four new titanus landed with a loud slam that shook the ground akin to a small earthquake. Annette's heart stopped for a single moment, feeling it beat rapidly as the pain of scrapes and bruises on her arms and knees forced her awake, a bright light rising from her body as the light damage she took began to heal over slowly.

Annette pushed herself to her feet, realising she stood behind the Titanus, the larger-than-life beast distracted by the.

"Annette! Don't worry about us! Go after Cornelia!" Lysithea snarled, launching a Dark Spikes spell into the Titanus' armour.

"A-Alright!"

"Oh? Did someone call for me?" a new voice spoke behind her, Annette freezing in place. "Oh~? What's this? It looks like someone managed to just get through…"

Annette pushed herself off the ground, dragging her hero relic with her, grasping it firmly in her hands, shifting into a battle ready stance. Annette steeled herself when her eyes met Cornelia's, a shiver shooting sent down her spine by the older woman's sadistic smile. Knowing she couldn't fall against Cornelia, her hero relic began to glow, energy from a charged Miasma spell leaking out of her fingertips before the woman's smile fell into a frown, tilting her head at Annette.

Her eyes lit up with recognition.

"Oh! Yes! I recognise you! You're the daughter of that pathetic knight, Gustav, aren't you?! Yes, yes, you are, I'd recognise that hair and stubborn streak anywhere. Seeing you, I can see why he'd run away now. I can't imagine the shame of being so weak that your own daughter outclasses you," Cornelia laughed, her sadistic smile reforming on her face. Annette grit her teeth, holding herself back from doing anything rash.

"You're also quite close to him, aren't you?"

Annette didn't react to her question, pondering over it for a moment. "Him?"

"Why, him, of course," Cornelia smiled, warping away from Annette and to a man on the ground nearby. Annette gave chase for a second, a sharp gasp emanating from her mouth.

There he was. Felix, bloodied, beaten and bruised, bound together by magic energy. Annette felt her hands twitch upon seeing Felix, hardly able to believe that he was really there.

"F-Felix?! Is that you?!"

The raven-haired man tilts in his head up in recognition, hearing Annette's voice clearly desperate. "Annette? Annette?!"

"Felix! Just wait there, I'm going to…!"

"No!"

She flinched, confused by his refusal. "W-what?"

"Get away from here, Annette! Tell Dimitri to order the army to retreat from Fhirdiad!"

"Felix, what are you saying?"

"Dammit Annette, just do as I say!"

"What are you saying Felix?! We've come so far, we can't just turn back now!" she protested, alarmed by Felix's rising anger.

"You have to get out of here! If you don't then every one of you is going to die! Ashe, Mercedes, Ingrid, Sylvain, the boar, his retainer all the others that joined us and..." Felix trailed off, grinding his teeth in anger. "...And you!," he exclaimed, his voice raspy and broken. "What happened nine years ago, I can't let that happen again. I won't lose them, especially… especially not you." Annette's heart broke hearing Felix almost break at the mention of the Duscur tragedy, sparking a fire within Annette.

"Listen to the poor boy, he's pouring his heart out to you! In exchange for you heeding your beloved's cries for His Highness to turn his army away from Fhirdiad, I shall allow you safe retreat out of Fhirdiad; else I summon more than a mere few Titanus to squash his army. If the incident nine years ago was a massacre, then I suppose what's to come might be called… a genocide," Corenlia grinned. "Unfortunately that also means giving up your little boy toy here. I still need to experiment with this little creation of mine," Cornelia pointed to the magical chains that blinded Felix.

Annette wanted to vomit at the thought of such a thing happen, but Annette knew better than anyone she wouldn't let that happen, nor would she let Felix throw his life away to serve Cornelia to save them.

Annette summoned a fireball in her palms, letting it sit in the air then smashing the projectile towards Cornelia who swiped it away with ease. The older woman frowned at Annette's attack.

"You dare…?"

Annette kept her guard up, ready for Cornelia to make her move.

"We won't back down, Cornelia," she said with absolute resolve in her voice. "And you better keep your hands off my Felix."

"Dammit, Annette! Why do you have to be so stubborn…?"

Cornelia threw her head back in laughter. "Oh~? You truly wish to face me? Very well then. Let me show you what you're dealing with, little girl!"

"Don't lay a finger- gah!" Felix flew back from a wind spell knocking him in the stomach, skimming along the ground as the magical chains that bound him loosened slightly, reaching out back towards a nearby wall and attaching it and Felix there. The sudden movement caused him to hit the back of his head on the wall. The raven-haired man struggled to no avail, trying to muster all the strength he could to break free from the magical chains. A sudden dizziness overcame him, his head tilting to the side as Felix fell unconscious.

Cornelia grin's somehow became more sinister than before, magic erupting from her hands with an effortless Thoron that Annette answered back with her own. The two magical energies clashed together exploding with a loud crack like thunder. Cornelia summoned two fireballs, throwing them in Annette's direction. The redhead leapt out of the way, turning her back on Cornelia. As Annette predicted, her opponent pulled them back along the path they once came. In the corner of her eye, Annette noticed that her shadow began to shift unnaturally. Lifting her Crusher up into the air, she slammed it down on the ground, an improvised wave of magic forming around her, not unlike Aura.

Cornelia raised her eyebrows, curiosity taking hold of her voice. "Well would you look at that. I knew that the hero relic you hold is powerful, but to manipulate magic like that… no. That's all you isn't it?"

Annette slowly walked out of the smoke cloud, dragging Crusher along the ground. "Did you think I'd be weak because of my father? Or because I'm from a minor house?" Annette growled. "Think again."

Summoning a Miasma spell, Annette slammed her glowing crusher into it, sending the projectile flying towards Cornelia. The older woman grinned, catching it with her hand and crushing it to dust. "I'm going to have fun breaking you!" Cornelia screamed, thrusting one hand in the air to summon a ball of black energy, effortlessly doing so unlike the dark mages from earlier; unfortunately, this meant a faster charge time. Unprepared for the sudden beam of dark energy, Annette attempted to dodge black magic partially singeing a part of her dress and leg in the process. She stumbled onto the ground, losing her balance no thanks to the dark burns left behind on her leg. Annette bit her tongue. She knew she couldn't hold out with Cornelia forever but she had to fight back until reinforcements could come.

Cornelia swung the beam back around towards Annette, just barely missing the younger girl as she stood on her feet once again. Raising Crusher behind her, she channelled a cutting gale spell into her Crusher, slamming the flat of the glowing hammer in the ground. The hammer dug into the ground, Annette violently rising it up into the air. The resulting attack was a large violent, continuous wave of wind energy that tore apart the grounds of the main square with ease. Corenlia redirected her dark beam to clash with the incoming wave, holding it back from hitting its target.

Cornelia grinned. "You are quite strong. Perhaps I should take you a little more… hm?!" The royal mage's eyes widened, realising Annette no longer in sight. "Where did she…?"

Just as quickly as the realisation hit her, Annette emerged out from her own wave of her tempered cutting gale spell, ignoring the damage her own attack did to her body, lifting Crusher behind her and ready to slam into Cornelia's head. Realising she had no choice, Cornelia pulled out a levin sword from her hip and clashed with the hammer. With her own strength to back the hammer's, Annette's surprise attack pushed through Cornelia's attempt to deflect it with some degree of success, hitting her right arm instead; the force from the impact reverberated throughout the square as the royal mage was sent flying through the air, recovering with shaky landing.

With a loud clang, Cornelia's levin sword landed near Felix's unconscious body. "Felix!" Annette cried, running as best she could towards the Fraldarius heir. Cornelia balled her fists.

"Why? Why am I underestimating a little girl?!" Cornelia raged, fists full of magic emanating from her hands. "I will end you! I'll end you all!" the older mage roared firing a surge of magic at Annette, contorting into swords, axes and spears, that homed in on Annette's position. The redhead's arm snapped up towards the legion of magical constructs that rained down on her, casually destroying them with an Excalibur spell; a hurricane of wind raged towards Cornelia, sucking the magical constructs in and tearing them apart.

Annette didn't let up, using Cornelia's stunned state of confusion and the dying Excalibur hurricane to mask her approach.

"You want me to do what?"

Felix sighed. "When I give you the signal, summon Excalibur-"

"No, no, no, I heard you the first time, it's just… why?"

Felix sighed, shaking his head. "Just do it. Let me show you something that could come in handy one day."

Annette grinned as she leapt into the air above Cornelia, the older woman teleporting away before the hammer could connect. Annette spun around to see a fuming Cornelia, conjuring up magic spells of all different kinds. And yet, even in the face of such a threat, a grin began to grow on her face. Before today she'd never felt the thrill of battle like this before, but deep down she knew why.

"Don't do anything stupid out there," Felix said to her bluntly. "But even if you do, don't worry. I won't let you die, much less get hurt."

So many times Felix had been there to protect her. His strength was something she grew to admire, find attractive even. It had saved her so many times, and yet not once did she remember saving Felix herself, protecting him with her own strength. And with Felix out of the picture and unable to fight, Annette lost sight of that pillar of strength she helped foster so much.

Perhaps it wasn't until now she realised it, but in order to have supported him, she would've had to grow strong alongside him, something she didn't realise she had done until today. Even light of Felix telling her she was strong before, she never believed him.

She was strong. She'd always been.

And this time, she'd protect Felix.

"I'm going to end this!" Cornelia bellowed from the otherside of the square. Annette looked down at her leg. The pain getting stronger by the second, the rush of adrenaline from after she received the wound starting to wear off. Annette pushed off her heels charging at Cornelia. Watching each of the spells that flew her way, Annette swiped each one out of the way with the crusher, rushing Cornelia down as fast as she could. A Miasma spell flew her way, Annette sliding under it. Dark Spikes suddenly converged around her three of the four missing, while one lodged itself in her arm. Annette suppressed a scream and pushed forward.

"Fight through the pain, Annette…!"

If she couldn't hold out until the army could defeat the Titanus and move in to defeat Cornelia, then there's no telling what would happen to them. So she kept running. In spite of the wounds she sustained and the pain that pulsated throughout her body, she had no choice but to run. To save the army, her father, her friends, and Felix. Even if it meant death itself.

More spells appeared before her, this time a familiar hurricane that housed a fireball raged towards her, Annette slamming the flat of her hammer into the ground, throwing it up to create a wave of wind energy that sliced the hurricane straight through the middle. The split caused the magic to wildly diverge from its path and explode behind Annette.

The more experienced mage shot out a bolt of lightning towards Felix's unconscious body. Knowing it was to distract her, a simple wind spell from Annette threw it off its path, hitting the wall from where Felix lay.

Cornelia, assuming it had been enough to distract Annette, took all her conjured magical energies she could conjure with dark magic and compressed it into one tiny ball. "It's over for you! Now! You! Die!" Cornelia cackled as the tiny ball exploded into a large beam that'd been bigger than any she'd seen before.

"You really think this is going to work?" Annette bit her fingernails.

"I'm sure. If you're strong enough to make yourself float, then this should be a cakewalk," Felix complimented her.

Annette blushed. "Strong, huh? I don't think that's the case but... Ok, Ok! I'll do it then! Here goes nothing!"

"There!" Annette swung her hammer overhead as hard as she could, the impact of the smash so strong, it threw Annette into the air flying above the large beam that destroyed a nearby wall incinerating it entirely. Annette raised her Crusher again aiming for Cornelia as she fell down towards the royal mage, who seemed to quickly adapt to her surprise tactic, pulling the beam towards Annette in the air.

Annette knew what might happen when she started this battle. With absolute resolve in the face of death, she brought down her Crusher rushing towards Cornelia's head.

…

Felix stirred awake- at least, he thought he did. He was still bound by Cornelia's magic, and the chains pressed against his eyes were ever tightened, but Felix swore under his breath that he could feel and even see someone approach him. Felix couldn't make out their face, but he recognised that armour. It was the same armour that he remembered Glenn wearing before he left for Duscur all those years ago.

Even worse, it was Glenn, as if he were alive and in the flesh before Felix. The young man walked up to Felix and sat down next to him. Somehow he could see him so clearly amongst the darkness. Felix had always heard his brother's voice in his head ever since he died, but to see him so vividly? Felix hoped he could wake up such a terrible dream soon.

"Felix."

He doesn't respond. He knows that its a figment of his imagination. Maybe it's a subconscious part of his head wanting to give him some sort of hope for Annette. If he ignored him long enough, then he'd disappear and he'd wake up, Dimitri's army retreating Annette alive…

And Felix a human experiment. But that didn't matter. So long as the others were safe, as long as he protected him. Maybe, if he ever escaped Cornelia's grasp, he could tell Annette about the silly ghost stories he experienced while away.

"He died like a true knight," the voice spoke.

Felix's head snapped up. To hear that from his father from one thing, but to hear his brother so vividly say it anger him.

"That's what father said right? That's what he was always going to say," Glenn sighed, leaning back against a wall of darkness.

"I know you hate it, Little Fe," Glenn said with a sad smile. "But I suppose for me… I never really hated it. I had grown up around hearing the phrase about many other fallen knights. I wanted to be a knight too. And in the end, I was ready to accept death at any time."

Felix couldn't believe what he was hearing. Convinced it was a bad dream, he tried to tune out the voice as long as he could, but couldn't help but listen.

He was his big brother after all.

"Death was inevitability for us all, especially knights. Even I accepted it despite my strength. But what I wanted most of all… was not to die with regrets."

"Regrets?"

Glenn didn't answer him. "That friend of yours, that girl from house Dominic. She reminds me a lot of Ingrid. Headstrong, stubborn. She's someone who's perfect for you, Little Fe."

Felix looked away, somehow feeling his cheeks redden even in a dream. "I wish that I had told Ingrid how I felt before I left… that's one regret of many that I had before I died. I never got to tell her that even with arranged marriage… I still loved her."

Whoever was playing this sick prank on Felix, the Fraldarius heir swore to have serious words with, even if was the Goddess herself.

"I don't want you dying without regrets, Little Fe," Gleen said seriously, their gazes meeting each other. Even though Felix knew that it was merely a dream, he never wished anything more than for this to be Glenn himself, still alive after the massacre.

But he couldn't bring himself to talk to ghosts.

Suddenly a golden glow shone from in front of Felix's knees. Sparks emanated from the light until a levin sword appeared before him.

Glenn grinned. "Well, that's your cue!"

"My cue? What? No, no wait Glenn…!" Felix pleaded before his brother stood and crouched down next to him. Glenn raised his hand and tugged on the not brittle magical chains that bind him. Glenn picked up the Levin Sword and held it out for Felix. The younger brother froze at Glenn's ghostly cold touch. Felix knew what he was. A voice in his head, a spirit, a ghost, but something about it felt so… real.

Glenn gripped Felix's right arm and lifted it up, sparks flying out from his hand, his other hand attached to his side, pulling Felix to his feet.

"It will be okay, Little Fe. Everything will be okay. Don't worry about being me and father. Don't worry about trying to live up to my legacy. You're not Glenn Fraldarius. Carve out your own legacy, one that only you can live up to. Live a life with no regrets. I died with too many to my name like how I never told Ingrid I loved her," Glenn lamented with a sad smile. "I've seen the way you look at that Dominic girl. Cherish her for as long as you can and never let go."

"Glenn..! Glenn, I… I miss you," Felix lamented, trying not to cry. He had so much to say, yet the words to say them died in his throat.

And for the first time, he finally responded to Felix. "I miss you too, Little Fe. But don't worry about me anymore. I'll be okay, and so will father!" Glenn spoke with the happy-go-lucky attitude Felix used to remember. He pushed Felix on the back, pushing him forward to the light.

"Win! Not for us, but for all of Fodlan! I believe in you, Felix!"

In a moment of pure clarity, yet still blinded by the magic of Cornelia, Felix broke free of his magical chains, its energies used to maintain it taken in by Cornelia's last ditch effort attack. Raising his right hand, a violent Thoron blasted out from his hand towards Cornelia, the royal mage letting out a ear-shattering scream, writhing in pain as electricity shot all throughout her body. Felix dashed towards the sound of Cornelia's scream as he had trained himself to do in the weeks since he became blind.

"No… it can't be…!"

Not a second later, Felix appeared behind Cornelia, feeling a ghostly touch of a hand guiding his movements.

In a loud crescendo of pent up emotions, the crest of Dominic and Fraldarius shone brightly as one, Annette rammed the Crusher into the side of Cornelia's skull and Felix slammed his levin sword into Cornelia's neck. With all their might, they pushed as hard as they could, forcing Cornelia's head to roll and fall off her body. As Cornelia's magic evaporated from Fhirdiad, Titanus after Titanus falling to the ground, so too did Felix see a crack of light. The cracks became bigger before the magical chains holding his sight hostage fell away. His eyes squinted, adjusting to the light for the first time in so long.

"Felix!"

The Fraldarius heir's eyes widened as she fell towards Felix, arms thrust out before her to grab on to him.

"I've seen the way you look at that Dominic girl. Cherish her for as long as you can and never let go."

Felix did the same, the couple catching each other, Annette's momentum forcing Felix to fall to the ground. Annette gasped crawling over top of him upon hearing Felix groan

"F-Felix, are you okay- W-wait! The chains, they're gone! You can see!"

"Idiot," Felix deadpanned, reaching up a hand to poke her cheek, seemingly uncaring of the fact he could see again. "I told you not to do anything stupid out there, remember? Now look at you,.."

"You're the one that told me to run away. You know me better than that, Felix," Annette pouted, reaching down to do the same.

Felix couldn't muster a response, staring into her deep blue orbs, totally and utterly lost in love with the woman before him.

"I know that you're beautiful too."

"W-what?! F-Felix, there's no time for that now!" Annette sputtered, feeling very warm in the face from the sudden compliment.

Felix wordlessly sat up, pulled her in by the neck and planted a kiss on her lips. Annette, shocked by the sudden act of affection, hesitated before kissing back, wanting nothing more than the moment to last forever.

When the two broke off the kiss, they quickly kissed again, and again and again, whispering apologies and confessing over and over again, releasing all their pent-up emotions they began to build from five years prior. They soon embraced each other, noticing people had begun to gather where they stood.

"I'm never letting you go, Annette" Felix whispered, wiping tears from Annette's eyes.

Annette beamed, smile as bright as the sun, cupping his face in her hands, thumbs wiping away at rare tears that fell from Felix's eyes.

"Neither am I, Felix."

Remember kids: Quality. Over. Quantity.

Seriously. I have no idea what I was doing half the time I was writing this.

If there's one thing I wish I did in hindsight was expand on how Felix's life was affected after being blinded more. That IS a major part of the prompt after all, but no I guess lol.

Of course, when you're about 8.5k words into writing before realising this, finding the motivation to rewrite kind of just goes away. My fight scenes need work, but eh, it is what it is I suppose.

Regardless, I hope you all enjoyed! Leave kudos and comments, and I hope you all enjoyed and have a good one!