"What could have brought you here?"

A voice… it was familiar to him…

He slightly opened his eyes to adjust to his surroundings, only to find out that an empty void was everything that surrounded him. At least until his eyes fell upon the glowing throne that seemed to levitate in front of him, the familiar green haired girl sitting on top of it with her head casually resting on her hand, regarding him with a curious gaze.

He had seen her before, in another dream… and here she was again. Who was she?

"Who are you…?", his voice rang out into the blackness, causing the girl to grin and sit up straight as she seemingly regarded him with more interest now.

"I… am Sothis. Yes… I believe so.", suddenly her expression turned thoughtful, her gaze lingering on the ground as she was in thought. This didn't really… help him. Unsure of what to do, his own thoughts were interrupted when a deep yawn suddenly escaped her.

"I'm sorry, I just didn't seem to be able to recall my name for a moment… how strange.", as her gaze shifted towards him again, her eyes suddenly became lidded, another yawn escaping her as she sat down again, resting her head onto her hand.

"And I feel so… sleepy again…", before he could say something himself, a wave of fatigue overcame himself, his vision turning blurry as he gave in to the sensation.

"Hey, wake up.", with a gasp, Byleth awakened from his sleep, feeling as though everything that transpired in his dream was still in front of his mental eye. At least until his attention shifted over towards his father who took a seat beside him, causing Byleth to realize that he had fallen asleep on his chair. He could still feel the sleepiness tug slightly at his consciousness…

"It was that dream again, wasn't it? You've told me about it before. I can't say I've ever met a girl that matches your description.", Byleth heaved a sigh as he tried to sort out his thoughts, noticing only now that it had already gotten dark outside, the cold air creeping into the tent.

"I need some fresh air.", Byleth muttered as he closed his eyes briefly before he got up from the chair, halting for a moment as he let the dizziness fade away from getting up so quickly. Jeralt regarded him for a while before he sighed.

"Alright, just make sure not to dwell on it too much, it will do you no good on the battlefield. Our next job will be in the Kingdom, so we need to leave soon.", giving a curt nod, Byleth stepped out of the tent and into the cool night air, taking a deep breath before he looked at the surrounding forest around their camp, choosing to go for a walk there.

"As much as I honor his decision to act as a decoy, he shouldn't have done something so reckless. We need to find him quickly.", Dimitri pointed his lance forward, not letting his guard down as he searched for a trace of the Alliances future leader. Edelgard merely rolled her eyes behind him.

"I highly doubt that this was his intention-"

"Backed up in a corner, huh? Let's get him!", a harsh voice suddenly spoke up from a small distance, snapping Dimitri's attention away.

"There they are! We must hurry to assist him!", before she could reply, Dimitri had already barged ahead and further into the forest. However, Edelgard didn't move from her spot as she watched him run off, sighing to herself.

"I shouldn't…", she muttered before the sounds of footsteps caused her to snap back into focus, turning around to see another group of bandits emerging from the trees behind her.

"Another noble pipsqueak that's about to get slaughtered.", the leader of them exclaimed to which the others laughed in a mocking manner. Edelgard merely narrowed her eyes as she got into a battle position, tightening her grip on her axe while she waited for her opponents to make the first move, watching every single one of them closely as she remained calm. The bandit leader grinned in anticipation before he charged right at her.

Swinging wildly at her, Edelgard parried his blow in a defensive stance before repaying him in kind with a swift slash across his chest. Grunting in frustration, he caught her off guard as he still tried to hit her again despite his injury, managing to knock her weapon out of her hand. Reacting quickly, she still struck her elbow in a strong strike against his face, making him stumble backwards.

She looked to the ground for her axe before she noticed the bad shape it was in, its handle cut in half from the attack. Running out of options, she quickly pulled out her dagger from her belt as a last resort, facing the bandit leader again as he regained his balance, regarding her with malice reflecting in his eyes.

"You'll…die!", charging at her once again, Edelgard shifted into a defensive stance once again as she prepared herself…

…only for her to be suddenly pushed out of the way, merely being able to see a black figure moving in front of her who disarmed the bandit with a precise strike, pushing him backwards and onto the ground again. With a sigh, Byleth relaxed ever so slightly before he took a deep breath. The surprised stare he was receiving from behind went unnoticed by him as he watched the bandit group scatter upon seeing their leader defeated.

"Hey, over here!", the new voice caught the attention of both Edelgard and Byleth as several figures approached them, the mercenaries and Jeralt at the front immediately recognized by him while the two strangers along with a group of knights that he also didn't know were quickly recognized by Edelgard instead.

"There you are! I feared for the worst… but I see you handled yourself well, and you've managed to help one of those young brats along the way.", realization lit up in Byleth's eyes as he turned around slightly to look at the one he had helped, not having truly noticed her presence in the heat of the moment.

Meanwhile, one of the unknown knights caught sight of a few runaways, the remaining bandits scattering into the other parts of the forest along with their now injured leader.

"Hey, the thieves are getting away! Go after them!", Byleth watched the knights obey before he turned his questioning eyes back towards his father who merely sighed deeply in response.

"I… we might have gotten into something that I didn't wanted you to.", before Byleth could utter a single word in response, the knight from before suddenly spoke up from behind him once he caught sight of Byleth.

"So you must be Captain Jeralt's son, is that right?", the knight in question smiled enthusiastically, albeit speaking in a rather loud tone.

'Captain?'

With slight hesitation, Byleth nodded to which his expression turned even friendlier.

"Apart from the looks, you certainly have the same characteristics as your father. In that case, I would like for you to come to the monastery too!", more questions flooded his mind before Byleth glanced back at his father, who in turn looked to the ground.

"Garreg Mach Monastery… I suppose this was inevitable. I will explain it to you along the way."

Unbeknownst to him, Edelgard was paying her two companions no mind as she subtly listened to the conversation between Alois and the two mercenaries, glancing at the former Captain's son with multiple thoughts running through her mind. She continued to do so until Jeralt left together with Alois to gather his own group of mercenaries to prepare and head back to the monastery with them. It was then that she stepped away from the other two, intent to get the stranger's attention before he, too, would move along. There were too many questions going through her mind for her to ignore this opportunity.

Byleth perked up slightly upon noticing her approach, turning around slightly to face her directly.

"I appreciate your help back there, it might have gotten… slightly out of hand otherwise. I couldn't help but overhear your conversation, am I correct in my assumption that you are a mercenary as well?", Edelgard chose not to mention Jeralt, if he was indeed his son, then there was no need for her to bother him with that. She had seen part of his abilities first hand.

"Yes.", the brief response was new to her, his tone was not unkind but rather… the only term she came up with to describe it was neutral. Seeing that he was merely regarding her for whether or not she had something else to say, she continued after the brief hesitation.

"It would be rude of me not to introduce myself, then. I am Edelgard von Hresvelg. I am a student at the Officers Academy, but-"

"Hey, I believe we haven't met yet!", mentally groaning at the sound of Claude's voice, he along with Dimitri joined in on the conversation as they approached.

"We were quite lucky to run into such capable mercenaries like you in this village, I don't really want to imagine what else would have happened if you wouldn't have helped us out.", Byleth's gaze shifted to the stranger, regarding the seemingly cheery attitude he radiated before his companion gave a slight bow towards him.

"Indeed, we are in your debt. Without you, the situation would have turned out badly for us.", as Dimitri spoke, Edelgard merely regarded Byleth with a neutral expression, all the while observing his own expression and reactions during their conversation.

It didn't change one bit.

She wondered if he was merely annoyed at their interruption. She certainly was for those two to interrupt her. Or perhaps he was deep in thought? Something about the aura he gave off was... captivating. He was by no means looking bored, or annoyed, or anything else for the matter. It was as if he was just… analyzing them. Seeing that silence was briefly hanging in the air, Edelgard used the opportunity to say what she intended to.

"Anyway, what I wanted to say was-"

"I'm afraid the time for the chit chat is over, we should head back to the monastery now.", Alois suddenly barged in from behind them, interrupting her once more.

Now she was definitely irritated.

"Looks like we'll have to pick this up another time.", Claude said with his smile before both him and Dimitri turned around to follow Alois, Edelgard pondering about whether or not to say anything else before she internally sighed upon seeing that Byleth had also departed, begrudgingly following them as well.

"This will be your first time at the monastery", Dimitri broke the relative silence between the four of them as he looked at Byleth with a kind smile "I'd be happy to show you around."

"It really is Fodlan in a nutshell.", Claude commented with a grin. However, Byleth kept his gaze directed forward, unsure of the current situation. He could see his father talking with a few of the unfamiliar knights, however, they were seemingly very much familiar to him, though. At least he was not sparse with his words as he usually would be. And he still didn't know anything about the three students that were keeping him company, aside from them being students at the Officers Academy of which his father had told him about during the beginning of their trip.

They were friendly, he could tell that much. He was grateful for them not asking personal questions about himself, and their friendly demeanor was… lifting his mood. Slightly. But their attempts to start a conversation were regardless a bit much for him, instead, he was rather interested in merely listening to them.

At least that was the case with two of them, the one he managed to help earlier was different. She kept to herself, keeping her gaze directed forward as well. Byleth couldn't make out anything about her, her expression was unreadable. Which caused him to shift his gaze towards her slightly when she suddenly chose to speak up.

"Like it or not, we'll be there soon enough.", glancing at her out of the corner of his eye for a brief moment, he directed his gaze forward again as they slowly approached the end of the forest, a giant building becoming more and more visible in the distance. So that was it…

"Garreg Mach Monastery."

"So what was the deal with the bandits that attacked earlier? I doubt it was a coincidence.", Jeralt looked back at Alois, trying to at least find out how he and Byleth got caught up in this mess.

"We are trying our best to keep these assignments for the students a secret, but who knows? There might have been a crack in the wall somewhere. But until we have investigated this further, I can only say for sure that they were sent by someone. We'll surely get something out of the thieves we captured.", an unpleasant feeling settled in Jeralts stomach as the word 'captured' escaped him. He knew all too well what happened to those that got into trouble with the church…

"Ah, I almost forgot! Just a tiny little detail, the professor assigned to this mission in the forest turned tail and ran away during the attack. It seems there is a free place right now.", Jeralts eyes narrowed ever so slightly, annoyance settling into his eyes.

"That is truly unfortunate.", he avoided discussing this further, not wanting to get even further into this mess.

"It truly is. That a teacher of our esteemed academy would run away like this. But I've already got a few ideas in mind.", trying to suppress a sigh, Jeralt concluded that this was probably the best outcome he could manage out of this conversation, he just hoped that Alois wouldn't go ahead and do something foolish…

Sparing a glance upwards as they entered the great courtyard of the monastery, he caught sight of the Archbishop standing atop one of the towers, gazing down at something behind him. Turning around, he saw Byleth coming up to him before he followed his gaze upwards.

"Rhea's here…", Byleth glanced back at his father. He told him that he had a history with this place and that he was once a knight in their service, but he could hardly make a picture for himself from that. The only thing he knew and had always known was that the man beside him was… his father, and nothing else. He didn't needed or wanted anything else. There were just so many new things in general to take in for him...

"Rhea…?", sparing a glance back towards the tower, he noticed the absence of the woman that was standing there a mere moment ago.

"Yes, as I told you, the majority of folks in Fodlan are strong believers in the teachings of Seiros. And the leader of that ridiculously large religion is the Archbishop, Lady Rhea.", Byleth pondered about this, letting his gaze wander to the ground. Never once did he mention anything like this to him before. A mere day ago, he didn't even know that anything like this existed…

"Regardless, we should head inside. No doubt they're already expecting us.", though before Byleth could take a step, Jeralt turned around slightly to face him, a sigh escaping him.

"Look, I don't like this any more than you do. I know this is all not what you are used to, and after all these years, I feel very much out of place here as well.", upon hearing this, Byleth's eyes searched those of his father, his gaze glittering with a shimmer of hope for an explanation that he would better understand, but unfortunately he didn't get it.

"But I have a feeling we might be stuck here for a while."

"I apologize for the wait. I am Seteth, an advisor to the Archbishop.", a man with green hair, along with the woman Byleth had seen earlier, now stood in front of them. As his father had led him through the various corridors and ways through the monastery, Byleth had tried his best to remember as much of the place as he could, but it was too big for him to be able to keep everything in his mind. But he still saw the great amount of activity and liveliness that filled this place, along with the various students that were going through their daily routines.

He even caught a glimpse of one of the students he had met the previous night, caught up in a training session. And along with all that, he was also very well aware of the various stares they received. He didn't doubt the whole place knew that a group of mercenaries was here, and it seemed his father was well known by at least half of the people…

"I'm sorry for my many years of absence, but it was necessary."

"So I see.", Byleth was not oblivious to her gaze that was upon him from the start.

"What is your name, dear child?", he could feel his father glancing at him.

"My name is Byleth.", he gave a slight bow, choosing to behave as if they were talking to a client, being as formal as possible. Rhea smiled at him with kind eyes, giving him a weird sensation.

"An endearing name, truly.", her smile vanished slightly as she looked back at his father, an almost expectant expression on her face.

"I believe Alois might have already told you of what I want to propose…?", upon that, Jeralt seemed to blankly stare into nothingness for a moment.

"But I've already got a few ideas in mind."

Jeralt closed his eyes, cursing the knight.

"I won't say no, but putting me in charge to teach some of these kids might not be the best idea."

"Do you truly think so? I believe you would make quite a good example for our students. And I'd like to offer you something as well, Byleth. Alois has spoken highly of you for your help in defending the lives of our students, and for that, I am eternally grateful. I would like to offer you a place among the students here at the academy, it would be most fitting, as well as a fine opportunity to learn even more.", her kind smile returned in full as she spoke these words to Byleth. He stared at her for what felt like an eternity to him, blinking his eyes once. He could almost hear his father groaning internally as he spared a brief glance at him.

He simply nodded curtly, not having the time to truly think it through, and it unsettled him. The pressure he felt just now was only slowly fading away as Lady Rhea acknowledged his response with a smile before she faced his father again.

"I'm afraid I must take my leave for now. I will send the two current professors to you shortly in order to inform you which house you will be teaching, I think it would be most fitting if Byleth were to learn in the same house as well.", as she said those last words, her gaze met Byleth's own briefly with a smile before she, along with her advisor, left the hall. Upon their leave, Jeralt immediately heaved a sigh and put a hand to his face.

"It became worse than I thought, I have no words left for all of this. I'm so sorry for this mess.", Byleth regarded him quietly, yet unsurely, as he slowly reached out his hand to gently place it onto his shoulder, causing Jeralt to look at his gesture before a small but honest smile graced his face.

"I'm just worried. I know how much you prefer to keep to yourself, and to be forced into this student thing…"

"I hope you didn't had to wait too long.", the new voice caught the attention of father and son as the two newcomers entered the hall.

"Ah, so you're the new teacher? So handsome and strong, I'm sure you're a fine addition. I am professor Manuela.", the woman in question said with a wink at his father, giving Byleth a good first impression. In the meaning of he'll avoid conversation when possible. Jeralt merely kept an awkward expression, shifting his eyes rather to the second teacher in the hopes of getting himself out of the situation.

"Manuela, please spare our new teacher this nonsense. I am professor Hannemann, and also a crest scholar.", the rather old man in question introduced himself.

"Riiight, I'm glad to meet you so early. I believe Lady Rhea mentioned that you could inform me of the… school system?", Manuela gave a surprised look in return before she spoke up.

"Oh, you don't know already? Very well, I might as well do it then. The Academy is compromised into three houses, each of them representing their accustomed nation. The Black Eagle house is for students from the Adrestian Empire. Their house leader is Edelgard, who is also in line to become the next Emperor.", Byleth listened intently, trying to get a better grasp of this place. He knew of the three different nations, it was impossible not to, but his eyes still slightly widened upon hearing who exactly their house leader was.

"I am Edelgard von Hresvelg. I am a student at the Officers Academy, but… "

Her words rang in his mind again as he pondered about his previous actions in the forest. Somehow the thought of meeting her again was slightly… unsettling him.

"-of the Leicester Alliance, their house leader is Claude, who will be the next sovereign Duke of the alliance.", his attention snapped back towards the two teachers, realizing now that he had missed their explanation upon the other two houses. Almost, at least.

"Since you are the new teacher among us, we have decided to let you choose which one of the houses you want to teach. Oh, and of course, I haven't even greeted you yet.", Manuela said towards Byleth with a small grin on her face.

"You are going to be among one of the houses as well, no? If so, you might decide as well, after all, it would do no good to seperate the two of you, would it now?", Jeralt shifted his gaze towards Byleth who was in turn merely looking past Manuela, multiple thoughts going through his mind.

"I believe it would be for the best if you decided.", Jeralt muttered towards him, knowing that he had at least met the different house leaders before. As the attention lingered on him, Byleth thought back towards the three students he had briefly met, recalling every single one of them. He didn't know why, he had to decide solely based upon what little he knew of them, but there was still something that intrigued him when he thought about a particular person...

He made a choice.

The attention of every single student was upon them as Byleth and Jeralt entered the classroom of the Black Eagles, Byleth only briefly looking over every single one of them before his eyes stopped at the house leader that was standing in front of the little group, her own gaze looking back at him intently, causing him to shift his attention to the others again.

"Oh, I've heard that you're going to be our new teacher! It's going to be so amazing to see your skills, I want to see you in action!", a blue haired student broke the silence with enthusiasm, raising a fist into the air.

"Caspar, this is not an appropriate way to greet someone.", a female student said, Byleth already trying to get accustomed with their names.

"You expect Caspar and appropriate to fit together?", yet another one, a green haired male, spoke up with an uninterested tone. Despite his best efforts, Byleth could not shake the feeling away that accompanied him as he noticed Edelgard still glancing at him, not once shifting her eyes away.

"Alright, let's all settle down. I will get to know every single one of you with enough time, but this is too much for the moment.", Jeralt tried to calm them, however, it resulted in the students asking him various questions instead, their excitement getting the better of them. Byleth merely regarded the whole scene with an amused glint in his eye, his father practically pinned on the spot. However, suddenly he heard someone approach him, causing him to stiffen ever so slightly as Edelgard stood in front of him, a small but friendly smile on her face.

"I'm surprised to see that you will be learning among us, but I am looking forward to it nonetheless. I'm sorry for the commotion they are causing, they are not usually this… rowdy.", Byleth spared a glance back at his father who heaved a sigh as the students seemingly overwhelmed him. A trace of a smile would have graced his face, if only a sudden thought wouldn't have occurred to him, making him wonder why Edelgard had chosen to separate from them in order to speak with him.

"I didn't have the chance to ask you for your name back then. If you don't mind, that is…?", as he looked back into her eyes, he still found himself intrigued that he couldn't make out a single thing about her.

"My name is Byleth Eisner.", upon that, a glint appeared in her eyes.

"Then I welcome you to the Black Eagles, Byleth."

…

His gaze subtly shifted from student to student, trying to get an impression of those he was supposed to learn with from now on. The sympathetic glint in his father's eyes gave him a feeling of being understood, letting him know that his father was aware of his… uncomfortableness. He was never forced to be this close to others before in a matter like this, and he did not exactly plan to get closer to them. Neither could he truly grasp his current situation, he could learn and improve, that was positive and enough reason not to question all of this, but he was still a mercenary.

And not part of the Adrestian Empire's students.

But he was quick to learn their names, and he was interested in seeing more of their personalities. His gaze shifted towards Linhardt, seeing him rest his head on his hand as he dozed during the lesson. He made a mental note at that before he briefly looked at Petra sitting beside him, listening to his father's words. Byleth shifted ever so slightly in his seat, resting his hands on his lap. He shouldn't get carried away like this, maybe in time he would get more used to the presence of the students around him…

As he looked back to his father to pick back up on his lecture, a sudden feeling nagged on his mind before he shifted his gaze to the left side-

-to see a pair of violet eyes gaze back into his own. Taken aback slightly, he merely looked back at Edelgard as she seemingly observed him, her expression unreadable to him before he broke eye contact, shifting his gaze back to his father. That was… curious. And despite trying to clear his thoughts from anything related to the students…

…he could still somehow feel her gaze lingering on him.

I hope you enjoyed! Do tell me what you think about it, I like the idea very much ^^