Chapter XVI: The Prince in Distress: Finale

"Edelgard is worth every limb on my body!"

She didn't know why those words held such a profound and powerful weight, why they effected her so surely, but nevertheless she found herself watching the panting prince with wide eyes. His arm was completely crimson, his muscles were quaking with fatigue, and still those bright blue eyes burned with an insatiable fire.

For her.

As Miklan slowly stood, lance burning brightly within the cave's gloom, Edelgard placed a palm atop Dimitri's chest and pushed him back slightly. "Stay back, you're injured."

Dimitri shook his head stubbornly. "I won't let him touch you."

"He'll kill you—"

"Let him try," Dimitri locked eyes with her. "He should have never harmed you. I won't let him get away with that."

"Dimi—"

Edelgard wasn't able to argue further, for with a ferocious war cry Miklan charged forward and swung his lance. Edelgard shoved Dimitri behind her and dashed forward to meet him, blocking with her dagger. The sound of the weapons clashing echoed throughout the cave, their respective wielders pushing against the other with all their might.

Within a moment however, Miklan's weight overpowered Edelgard and she was forced to quickly duck out of the way of the blade's path before lunging forward and aiming a stab at the bandit's stomach.

Miklan jumped back, swinging his lance in attack once more but this time, when it connected with Edelgard's dagger, the force made her arm falter.

An error that she shouldn't have allowed, for this allowed The Lance of Ruin to continue its previous trajectory and cut a deep gash across her cheek.

The princess could hardly muster an exclamation of pain before Miklan kneed her hard in the chest and sent her flying against the wall.

"Edelgard!" Dimitri cried as her head thrummed with pain, her dagger clattering somewhere nearby.

"Stay back, Dimitri!" Edelgard yelled, as Dimitri levelled a murderous glare towards Miklan and charged forward with his weary body and bloodied fists.

Edelgard gritted her teeth. Fool!

She pushed off the ground, snatched her dagger, and dashed forward, darting between the two charging men and forcing Dimitri to skid to a stop.

Still glaring at him, Edelgard whipped her dagger up over her shoulder to shield a blow from Miklan, wincing slightly at the impact. "Stay. Back," She said sharply before twirling around and burying her dagger in Miklan's exposed shoulder.

He cried out in pain and she danced away before she could be hit with his retaliation strike.

"Edelgard..." Dimitri uttered, brow furrowed in uncertainty.

"You can't fight; stay back," Edelgard repeated through her laboured breathing as she parried another blow from Miklan, shifted to the side to avoid a second and blocked a third.

"Pathetic," Miklan sneered as the two blades clashed for a second time. "Letting your girlfriend fight for you?"

"Ignore him," Edelgard said firmly, eyes still focused on Miklan's hateful brown ones. "He shouldn't be talking anyhow—the only reason he's still alive is due to that weapon he stole."

Miklan narrowed his eyes and pushed back harshly. Edelgard grunted and staggered backwards, hitting the cave wall, but she didn't stop for respite.

She gripped the jagged wall behind her and used it as leverage to jump upwards and push off the wall. She successfully lunged over Miklan's head and landed with a roll, not stopping to regain her bearings or her breath before standing, spinning back around and dashing forward with a war cry of her own, stabbing Miklan with her dagger in the back.

Miklan screeched and pain once more, back arching before he looked over his shoulder with a fiery glare. Quickly, Edelgard dislodged her dagger and leapt back just as he twisted and and slashed at the place she had just been standing, leaving red crackling energy in the blade's wake.

Edelgard landed next to Dimitri panting and the prince gripped one of her shoulders to steady her. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." She responded as her dagger dripped blood onto the pebbled ground.

With a roar, Miklan charged again and Edelgard readied her dagger, telling Dimitri, "Don't worry, I'll have enough magic to get us out of here shortly."

Dagger met lance once more, again and again and again, a dance of glinting blades and dodging figures.

Edelgard felt her already waning energy depleting further and she silently willed her magic to return; all she needed was little bit—just enough to warp away with Dimitri before their situation became too dire.

-o0o-

"I thought you said you could warp. Why are we in the library looking at books?" Felix demanded as Jeritza pulled yet another book from the bookshelf, squinted at it then put it back.

"Yeah, it's been an hour! Shouldn't we bust a move?" Caspar said.

At the two's question, Jeritza gave them a sideways glance and said, "A mage can only Warp to places they've been and it only pinpoints a location, not a person or living thing." He then took out another book, sighed at the cover and returned it.

"I know a tracking spell," Hubert said with a scowl. "Had you let us know what we were in here for, I could have used it promptly instead of you forcing us to waste precious time."

Jeritza silently took out a book and nodded, flipping through the pages before saying, "Dorothea, when did you see Edelgard leave?"

"Last night," Dorothea said with a little frown. "During Dinner."

"And what time is it now?"

"Um...noon, I think."

Jeritza looked up from the book to blink at Hubert. "As Dorothea has so kindly revealed to us, Edelgard has been separated from her possessions for far too long to use in a Tracking Spell. It is truly embarrassing that a mage of your supposed caliber doesn't know that simple fact."

Hubert's scowl darkened and Manuela placed her hands on her hips and said, "Now, now, Jeritza, don't be insulting my students. Don't want me to go Mama Bear on you, do you?"

"I don't much care," Jeritza sighed as he turned back to the book, read over the page he was on and slammed the book shut. "I have found a spell. However, it will only be useful if the person of interest is able to communicate to us."

"Okay, great," Sylvain said, an urgency in his voice as he stepped forward. "How do we find His Highness, then?"

"Wait...I thought we were finding Edelgard," Bernadetta piped up.

"We should go for His Highness first," Dedue said firmly. "He is in immediate danger."

"Yeah, but what if Edelgard is too?" Caspar argued.

"As far as we know, she's perfectly safe," Felix sniffed.

"What are you talking about? She went after a lunatic with a Hero's Relic!" Dorothea snapped.

"But guys!" Ashe said. "If Princess Edelgard found His Highness, then that means they're together and we can save them both!"

"Exactly, Ashe is right," Mercedes nodded. "There's no need to argue."

"And if she didn't?" Lindhart asked with a frown and a raised eyebrow.

"Well—"

"Enough," Jeritza said firmly, ending the argument as he strode out of the library. "We will find a secluded area to depart. Do...any of you have anything in mind?"

There was silence except for the sounds of footsteps against marble and Jeritza sighed heavily. "If you raise your hand...I will obviously not be able to see."

Bernadetta squeaked and muttered a, "Sorry Professor," before shakily stating, "U-um, we can go in one of our rooms?"

"Bernadetta!" Ferdinand cried. "The implications of—"

"Done. We will converge in my room," Jeritza said.

"Will we fit?" Ingrid asked doubtfully.

"Certainly," he replied vaguely.

"What about the Training Grounds?" Felix asked.

"Too public," Jeritza responded.

One of the knights watched curiously as their merry band passed and asked, "Uh...Professors, what's going—?"

"A drill designed to prepare the students lest we are invaded," Jeritza stated monotonously. It was the same line he'd used throughout the day whenever a confused knight, nun or Seteth (who had come out of nowhere and squinted suspiciously at the group thrice already), decided to question him.

"Of course! Carry on," the Knight saluted as the group exited the Monastery building and trudged across the lawn.

Once Jeritza's room was reached, the man opened the door and gestured inside.

The students glanced at the humble space and shifted awkwardly. All save Dedue, Hubert, Sylvain and Dorothea who entered immediately, the brunette turning to say, "Come on, guys! The less time we waste the more time we have to save them."

Reluctantly, the students and Manuela filed in, Jeritza waiting patiently as they packed tightly against one another with grumbles and declarations of stepped toes.

"Why Felix!" Ferdinand, whose nose was pressed against a scowling Felix's head courtesy of a partially snoozing Lindhart from his left and a twitching Sylvain on Felix's right said. "Your hair smells...fantastic! What shampoo do you use?"

"Oh that's what that smell was?" Mercedes said. "I thought it was somebody's perfume."

"You put perfume in your hair?" Caspar snickered.

"What is the wrongness with putting perfume in your hair?" Petra questioned. "In Brigid—"

"I do not put perfume in my hair!" Felix snapped, jerking his head away from Ferdinand with an even darker scowl.

"Come now, Felix!" Ferdinand said. "There's nothing wrong with—"

The students stopped speaking and their eyes fell to Jeritza as his fingers glowed blue, the light vivid and harsh. "We will find Dimitri first."

"After everything's she's done for you," Hubert sneered.

"Forgive me, Hubert," Jeritza said nonchalantly, not even sparing the mage a glance as he concentrated on the spell. "But I don't quite care."

"Honestly, Professor Jeritza!" Manuela scowled. "Are you serious? You wouldn't at least let us take a vote?"

Jeritza rolled his eyes. "How useless. The Blue Lions and I would simply vote for Dimitri and you and your Eagles would vote for Edelgard; a show of hands would do nothing but prolong the arguing as there is an equal number of us."

Hubert scoffed and tried to cross his arms but one of them was pinned by Mercedes's body. Still he grumpily stated, "So in other words, we Eagles came here for nothing."

"Nobody said we were never going to save Edelgard," Annette said placatingly. "We're just going to get Dimitri first. And like Ashe said, if they're together it doesn't even matter."

Manuela sighed. "I suppose that's fair."

Jeritza drew a circle with his glowing fingers, and when they connected the flat circle filled with blue.

-o0o-

Dimitri hated this feeling.

Blood loss had muddled his thoughts and had made the pain fade into a distant dull pulsating. From his spot sitting against the hard stone wall, Glenn stared blankly at him.

When he turned back to the fight, his heart lurched. He couldn't stand any longer, but El was in danger...

Curling the fingers belonging to his uninjured arm he called upon his weak but now present Crest, trying to force himself to his feet with one hand.

He needed to save her...he needed—

Even with his Crest, his legs were spent, not having the energy to support his body he crashed back to his knees in defeat.

Damn him. Damn him for letting Miklan capture—

A blue orb of light flickered before him. Dimitri furrowed his brow in confusion before the orb...spoke.

"Dimitri?" A familiar voice said, and this sparked Dimitri's confusion more.

"Dimitri. Do tell me this is you—it would be utterly embarrassing if my spell failed, and it's eating up an abnormal amount of magic," the orb continued.

Dimitri pulled himself closer to the orb, wincing at the tearing of his wounds before weakly murmuring, "P-Professor Jeritza...?"

This response was met with the cry of a dozen voices overlapping one another and Dimitri winced, feeling a headache blooming. His gaze darted towards Edelgard and Miklan—Edelgard sporting multiple gashes on her face and torn spots in her clothing. It was clear Miklan had the offensive hand, but Edelgard was faster.

She couldn't last forever though.

"Professor...what is this?" Dimitri promoted in a low voice.

The voices faded away with several "shh" and "shut ups!" from their peers before Jeritza spoke. "I assumed it would be obvious. But this is a communication orb, it will only exist for a few moments so tell me your location before it disappears and you inevitably die from whatever threat you're facing."

"Oh, Professor!" Dimitri heard Annette complain and he smiled despite the dire situation.

"A...a cave. We're in a cave."

"...and?" Jeritza promoted before being cut off by and urgent Dorothea, "Dimitri, is Edelgard with you?"

"Yes. She's fighting Miklan," Dimitri responded, eyes darting back to the fight. Edelgard hit the ground with a grunt but quickly rolled back to her feet to avoid a downwards stab from Miklan's lance. Rock struck the eldritch weapon and black and red sparks exploded in the air.

"Obviously. He said 'we're'," Felix scoffed and Dorothea immediately snapped back, "I know my grammar Felix, thank you. I was just making sure."

"Enough with your squabbling," Jeritza said firmly before asking, "Give me specifics of your location, Dimitri. 'A cave' is simply too vague."

Dimitri opened his mouth to respond with some other specifics when Edelgard's dagger pinwheeled through the air and clattered against ground, Edelgard meanwhile sprawling to the ground beside him with a cry of pain and a bleeding side.

Dimitri gasped, eyes snapping to the slowly approaching Miklan as he twirled his lance proudly, flicking blood into the air.

"For the love my sanity, Dimitri," the oblivious Jeritza uttered, spurring Edelgard and Miklan to stare at the orb in confusion. "Which isn't much may I add—specifics...please? Before the spell becomes naught."

Understanding bloomed on both the now kneeling Edelgard and the now pausing Miklan's faces, before slowly their expressions morphed. Edelgard in dread and Miklan in sick glee.

"Aw, are you calling for help, Dima?" Miklan cackled mockingly and Dimitri's heart plummeted to his toes.

"Miklan!" Sylvain growled angrily from within the orb and Miklan's glee intensified.

"Baby brother, good to hear from you! How've you been? Personally I've been busy injuring noble brats! And you?"

"Where is His Highness?" Dedue demanded darkly.

"And Lady Edelgard," Hubert said in a voice that equally promised violence.

Miklan smiled and leaned his lance against the wall before standing behind Dimitri and Edelgard and digging his fingers into their hair.

"Oh, them?" He gripped the individual heads of hair and tugged sharply, causing them both to cry out in pain. "They're doing fine, trust me!"

"You didn't answer the question, Miklan," Sylvain growled. "Where are you, you bastard?"

Miklan hummed and crouched, blessedly releasing Dimitri and Edelgard's hair from his tight grasp before draping his arms around their necks saying, "Tell you what, Sylvain. If you want Dima and the princess so badly I'll let you and your little friends fight for them. You can meet me...huh, somewhere suitability atmospheric...how about Conand Tower? Any of you kids know it?"

"Faerghus," Ingrid said tightly, voice shaking slightly. "Near...near Galatea."

Miklan grinned and tightened his bruising grip on his two prisoners. "Good girl, Ingrid. Meet me there, bring your weapons, and show me what you can do, okay?"

"We'll come," Sylvain said. "Just...don't hurt him anymore in the meantime."

"Yeah no. Can't promise that, Baby Brother! He's just too much fun to make squeal," he emphasized this point by reaching over and crushing Dimitri's deeply gashed arm with a meaty palm. The prince couldn't stop the scream of agony that escaped his lips as the darkness behind his scrunched lids spotted with flashes of light.

Miklan laughed as Sylvain yelled, "Stop it!" Before he let Dimitri's arm go.

"Conand Tower then?" Jeritza asked calmly. "We will come...I look forward to facing you."

"Yeah!" An unfamiliar voice yelled. "Bring it on you big jerk!"

The orb disappeared in a quick burst of light and the only remaining colour in the cave became the orange light of The Lance of Ruin.

"Well!" Miklan said happily. "Looks like we're going on a—!"

The cave lit up with a second burst of light —a brilliantly glowing orange and white light—before Edelgard pressed her flaming palm against Miklan's chest.

Miklan yelled in pain as Edelgard shoved his arm away and lunged for her dagger—fingers brushing the hilt when the bandit slammed her face into the ground.

"No! Edel—gah!" Dimitri's attempt to reach for her was stopped abruptly as well as Miklan squeezed the prince tighter around his neck and weakened his air supply.

"Alright, Princess," Miklan said, leaning towards her writhing, struggling form. "If you got enough magic to do a Flame Spell, I'm sure you have enough to

take us to our new destination, yeah?"

He grabbed her by the back of the neck and trapped her to his chest with a headlock once more, Dimitri feeling rage stab his heart when he witnessed the blood pouring from Edelgard's nose and the gash on her forehead. However his attempt at breaking free from his current predicament and helping her once more was proven futile due to his pathetic state and the way Miklan still held him.

Still, she glared defiantly up at him before stating with a raspy voice, "If you were banking on my aide, I'm afraid I'll have to sorely disappointed you."

"But would you disappoint Dima?" Miklan asked with faux innocence, knowing smirk sliding on to his face as he tightened his hold on Dimitri's throat.

Dimitri grunted in discomfort at the pressure, using his uninjured hand to claw at Miklan's wrist.

Miklan's words became muffled and gave the effect of an echo as Dimitri's vision blurred, but he could still make out his words. "Would be a shame if you went all this way for nothing, wouldn't it?"

Edelgard didn't respond, and Dimitri couldn't tell her expression through his waning vision. "Well?" The bandit promoted, squeezing tighter. Dimitri let out a desperate gasp for oxygen as Edelgard firmly said, "Stop."

"I want your answer, Princess. You going take us to Conrad Tower or are you going to let me kill Dima and drag you behind my horse instead?"

"Why don't I burn you again instead?" Edelgard challenged.

"Why don't you?"

Edelgard went silent.

Miklan laughed as Dimitri's oxygen deprived brain lit with an idea.

Why didn't he?

"Oh that's right!" Miklan mocked as Dimitri allowed his grasping uninjured hand to drop and focused on his magic. "Still magic wasted, yeah? Saving up for the impossible chance you and Dima can slip out of my grasp? Can't help but admire the naïveté!"

"How dare you," Edelgard snarled as Dimitri's palm lit with a weak flame through his fluttering eyelids—not nearly as bright as Edelgard's, but he was certain it'd make Jeritza proud. Then, before darkness could claim him and Miklan could open his vile mouth again, Dimitri used the rest of his remaining strength to throw his arm back and press his flaming palm against the bandit's face.

Dimitri heard a muffled agonized scream that echoed throughout the cave before the bandit's arm slackened and the prince's limp body slumped to the ground.

He felt a pair of small hands hoisting him from underneath his armpits, dragging him swiftly away as the horrible scent of burning flesh filled Dimitri's nostrils.

"Edel...Edelgard..." he murmured weakly as she felt her lean him against the wall.

"DIMITRI!" Miklan roared in rage in contrast to Edelgard's soft, "Once we're safe I will heal you. Just stay with me for a few more moments..."

Dimitri felt magic spark the air, breeze flutter through his hair and a moment of weightlessness before it ended abruptly and the scent of devouring flames filled his nose again.

"Come on..." Edelgard said through gritted teeth, hands squeezing Dimitri's shoulders. "Blasted spell..."

Dimitri forced his eyes open, tensing at the sight of Miklan stumbling towards them, lance raised and burning a vivid red, face horribly charred and hair singed and falling in clumps from his head.

He was bleeding from multiple wounds and burnt on the chest and face, and yet he still perused them. What would warping to safety do? Dimitri was positive Miklan would single handedly break into Garreg Mach just to get to them.

And Dimitri had down this. He had dragged Edelgard and now the rest of his friends and the Black Eagles into this, because he'd let himself get captured.

Why didn't Edelgard just leave him? Why hadn't she just let Miklan take the ransom and inevitably kill him once he got what he wanted?

Edelgard tried again, oblivious to the slowly approaching danger as she glowed magenta and the magic kicked up once more, white hair hovering ethereally in the air as the magic flickered in and out of existence. Hair that had once been a warm brown, now a pale alabaster testament to all she had to endure—all that Dimitri couldn't save her from.

In that moment, he made a split second decision.

Just as he felt the environment fade away and the spell finally take hold, Dimitri rose his weary leg and kicked Edelgard in the chest, successfully dislodging her from his shoulders.

Her body fell backwards and her eyes snapped open in shock before she disappeared in a flash of magenta.

Instantaneously, a weight lifted off Dimitri's shoulders. Not even Miklan plunging The Lance of Ruin into his leg and pulling forth a scream from the prince's lips could lessen the sense of sheer relief.

"You are one idiot noble, Dima, aren't you?" Miklan wheezed, his horribly burnt lips twisting into a cruel grin. "Giving..." wheeze "your freedom away like that is just..." Miklan let out a delirious choked laugh before kneeling before him and grabbing his chin in a firm grip.

"You...you would f-find us once more if...if we ran again," Dimitri breathed weakly.

Miklan chuckled and coughed wheezingly. As Dimitri continued. "Edelgard is out of your grasp now but...you have me," Dimitri locked eyes with him, seeing the reflection of his bleeding and bruised form in those hateful brown eyes—oh so different from Sylvain's. "Just like you wanted, Mik...Miklan. Ransom me, kill me...torture me, even, but don't chase her. Please."

Miklan tilted his head to the side and roughly wheezed, "Tempting, all three of those requests. But you see..." cough "I have a feeling that that wouldn't hurt nearly as much as what I'm going to do once your little friends and no doubt the Princess come running for you at Conrad Tower."

Dimitri's heart stuttered, eyes wide as he watched the deadly glowing weapon before him. They were going to die. They were all going to die for his sake.

"Miklan—"

"Save your begging for the Goddess, yeah?" Miklan sneered.

Dimitri's breath caught. Pain, hopelessness, regret and indignation clenching his heart.

He had no words for her.

-o0o-

Edelgard landed unceremoniously, crashing to the hard ground and tumbling across the grass before her body slammed into the hard wood of a tree.

Grunting in pain as a bruise formed on her thigh, she squeezed her eyes shut waiting for the spinning in her head to fade away.

Think, think, think...

Edelgard curled her fingers into fists and pushed herself to her knees on quivering arms, wincing as the gash on her side protested with a sharp sting.

So.

She'd tried using all her regained magic to warp directly into the Monastery and save Dimitri's life. Instead, Edelgard was in the middle of nowhere with no Dimitri, no magic, and...

Her hand fell to her hip and her heart sent icicles shooting through her veins. No solid, omnipresent and comforting dagger hilt greeted her gloves and filthy fingertips.

Edelgard sighed heavily and let her hand drop. Just as she feared, she had lost her beloved weapon—so she was also weaponless on top of not knowing where she was, bleeding out on the unfamiliar forest ground, and failing to rescue Dimitri after all her troubles.

Although, to be fair...that last part wasn't really her fault. In fact with the exception of forgetting her fallen dagger her entire current predicament was Dimitri's fault! He'd broken her concentration and botched the spell, agitated her wound by kicking it, and had been dislodged from the magic's pull.

Edelgard shook her head angrily as she gripped a low hanging bough and slowly hoisted herself to her feet. "Fool," she hissed. They were so close! Why did he do that? She couldn't fathom—?

It was at that moment when she remembered his face a split second before she left—dull. The fire once alight in his eyes moments ago quenched and turned to hard coal, lids and head lowered in resignation.

The same face that she'd seen that night during The Great Tree Moon.

But...no. That couldn't be it, could it? He couldn't just throw his future...

"What promising future, Edelgard? The one where I take the throne I'm not worthy of? Or the one where my sins catch up to me and I die on the battlefield chasing vengeance?" Dimitri's words that night answered her silent query, and she was also brought back to the far more recent fight—how Dimitri had used his own arm to shield her from a Hero's Relic of all things.

Gritting her teeth Edelgard stumbled forwards, wrapping her wound with her arms as she trudged through the woods.

So after she she had told him her deepest pain and coaxed him away from his demons he still didn't see the point of a future? She had lost family too, lost part of her life span even—why was he allowed to give up?

No, that was wrong. He wasn't allowed to give up—Edelgard wouldn't let him. She wasn't about to loose one of the very few people she cared about to an impromptu suicide attempt!

Edelgard continued staggering onwards, sweat sliding from her brow and crimson darkening her clothing. She had no clue where she was going, she just hoped it was towards a village of some sort—if she could just rest then she could warp back and—

'Who am I kidding?' Edelgard's mind uttered. 'He'll surely be dead by then—if not by Miklan's hand than surely from blood loss.'

Edelgard shoved those thoughts to the back of her mind; she didn't get this far listening to foolishness like that after all.

She had been pathetically limping for Fódlan knows how long before she heard a sound that stopped her in her tracks. Edelgard inhaled sharply, eyes snapping towards the rustling bushes besides her.

She was wounded, weaponless, and currently couldn't even make the tiniest fireball.

Fantastic.

Edelgard was in the middle of contemplating if she should make a quick retreat, wait and see if this was just a woodland creature, or stay and fight when a blue and black blur shot out of the bushes with a war cry and slammed into her.

She gasped in pain at the impact of her body hitting the ground and the weight above her, preparing to deliver the strongest punch a dazed and bleeding five foot tall girl could deliver before the body above her cried, "What the—Edelgard?!"

Blinking in surprise, Caspar's surprised face came into focus. "Caspar?" Edelgard said in shock as the boy quickly scrambled off her.

"Whoa, you're okay! I can't believe—!"

"Caspar! You did not just chase after what you assumed to be a bloodthirsty bandit!" Manuela exclaimed in the distance as her

footsteps crashing through the undergrowth.

"Nope! Just Edelgard!" Caspar called back with an air of smugness as he helped Edelgard lean against his shoulder and stood up slowly with her.

This revelation elicited the sound of multiple curious voices and more running footsteps as Manuela finally emerged, eyes wide and jaw dropped. "Oh Goddess..."

Moments later, Hubert had charged through as well, leaves and twigs stuck in his hair as he breathlessly said, "Lady Edelgard."

One by one, the Eagles and Lions all ran towards her and Caspar, questions and exclamations overlapping one another and bodies pressing close to her—too close for comfort—it didn't help that Caspar was shouting his own excited questions while she was still leaning against him. Hubert's sharp demands to step back and Manuela's attempt to shove forward and properly tend to her wounds proved frustratingly futile.

Then, Jeritza simply stated, "She is in the midst of bleeding to death."

His voice wasn't even raised, but it seemed to remind everyone of the current situation.

"Oh, Edie," Dorothea gasped, staring in horror at Edelgard's darkening uniform as she and the other students stepped back with the exception of Caspar. Some looked rather guilty while others looked like they were impatiently itching for answers—Felix most notably.

"Set her down gently, Caspar," Manuela instructed, and the boy complied. The students and Jeritza formed a curious circle around them as Manuela raised her her hands to Edelgard's chest before they glowed a ghostly pale light.

Edelgard closed her eyes and sighed blissfully as the magic washed over her like a comforting wave of warmth. It was reminiscent of a loving hug or a warm blanket on a cold evening as Manuela moved her hands from one are to another. Slowly, she felt her wounds close and the weariness in her muscles dissipate into nothingness—it was almost as if they were never there in the first place.

"Well, it seems you stupidly charging into battles actually did some good for once," Lindhart stated begrudgingly. Caspar looked up at him and grinned. "Aw, thanks Lin!"

"There we are," Manuela said as the magic stopped. Edelgard felt strangely cold and dazed as the woman pulled her hand back.

"Where's The Boar?" Felix said as soon as Manuela stood up once more and Caspar helped Edelgard follow suit. The swordsman crossed his arms and regarded her with narrowed eyes as he continued, "He was with you, wasn't he?"

Edelgard took in a deep breath and locked eyes with Felix coolly, ensuring she was wording her sentence correctly before saying, "Dimitri forced me to leave him behind." Straightforward and blunt, and excellently covering up the anxiety she was truly feeling on the subject. "I tried warping us both to safety but he kicked me away seconds before the spell was supposed to teleport us."

"Oh no..." The Blue Lions healer said with worried frown, exchanging a look with the equally worried looking strawberry blonde mage.

"Fool," Felix scoffed as Sylvain urgently asked, "Where was he last? Do you know? Maybe we can—"

"If we confront that bandit now wouldn't that put the prince at risk?" Ferdinand chimed in, pushing between Sylvain and Felix who both glared at him in annoyance. "Breaking his terms seems like a dangerous thing to do given how clearly unstable he is."

"But wouldn't catching him on his way to the tower take him by surprise?" Ashe asked. "And with our numbers—"

"He has a Hero's Relic," Lindhart emphasized. "Who knows what he can do with that despite our numbers?"

"I am confused as to why we are having this conversation," Hubert drawled. "Lady Edelgard is now safe, the Eagles can take our leave."

"Leave if you'd like, Hubert," Edelgard said firmly. "I left the Monastery to save Dimitri and I won't go back until I do just that."

Hubert frowned in confusion as he turned to her. "Lady Edelgard?"

"I'm going to stop Miklan and bring Dimitri back," she said resolutely, before turning to the Eagles. "If you all share Hubert's reservations, you can leave now."

"No way!" Caspar said automatically, pumping a fist. "I came for a battle and I'm getting one!"

"I'm staying too," Dorothea said seriously, clasping Edelgard's hands, much to the princess's surprise. In a more jokey voice she added, "Can't risk your loosing your sweetheart, right?"

Edelgard scowled and snatched her hands back as Dorothea laughed amusedly.

"I shall stay too," Ferdinand announced proudly, placing a fist over his heart. "You all will need someone well versed on the lay of Fódlan's land after all!"

"I'm staying because Caspar is going to die without me," Lindhart said and Caspar snapped, "Will not!"

"I too will be giving my assistance," Petra promised with a smile.

"Bernadetta?" Edelgard asked, and the girl squeaked.

"U-Um," Bernadetta shuffled her feet and looked down at her toes. "I...I really wouldn't be that much help I don't think—"

"Nonsense, Bernie!" Dorothea said. "You're a fantastic archer! You'd be a great help if you came with."

Bernadetta peered up the brunette and gave a shy smile. "Um...well...okay."

"Great! The more the merrier!" The strawberry blonde Blue Lions mage cheered and Hubert huffed and crossed his arms.

"Oh come now, you!" The Blue Lions healer chided lightly, placing dainty hand on Hubert's shoulder. He blinked twice in surprise as he instinctively tensed while the young woman continued, "The Goddess sees all good deeds; she'll bless you for this."

Hubert wrinkled his nose and jerked his shoulder away, Edelgard similarly feeling a mild twinge of disdain at such ludicrous statements.

"Alright, what's the plan?" Edelgard said, turning away from her retainer and the hurt healer towards her peers.

"Hubert, Lindhart and Professor Jeritza had never visited Faerghus—let alone Conrad Tower," Ingrid said. "But Hubert has been to places near it; hence our current location. We were planning on walking from here to the Tower which should take a day or two."

"But you have seen His Highness last," Dedue said, turning to Edelgard. "If he is still there fighting Miklan, perhaps we can forgo this entire ordeal and bring him to safety immediately."

"That is if Miklan keeps his word and doesn't kill him," Sylvain muttered.

Edelgard frowned and clenched her jaw, once again pushing away the feelings of fear twisting within her chest. "He...isn't fighting Miklan. He doesn't have the strength to."

"Then chances are he's not even there anymore," The freckled archer said dejectedly.

'Or dead,' was the other option that hung silent in the forest.

"I have feelings that we should still go," Petra piped up, everyone turning to her as she continued. "There can be clues on his whereabouts—footprints, cloth, blood, dropped weapons."

'Like my dagger,' Edelgard immediately thought hopefully before cursing herself for the irrelevant thought.

"What would blood and a damn footprint do for us?" Felix snorted.

"There are many rituals in Brigid that can summon helpful spirits—it would be requiring Dimitri's blood, or the essence of his footsteps to help him specifically," Petra responded simply.

The Blue Lions archer turned to Petra slowly with wide eyes. "Sp...spirits?" He repeated in a quivering voice.

"No, Petra noooo!" Bernadetta cried in horror. "Don't summon any spirits!"

Petra tilted her head to the side and frowned. "I lack understandings—what is the issue with spirits, most are kind...unless...have any of you disrespected nature or any burial grounds recently?"

"Could we get back to the subject, please?" Ingrid asked irritably as the archer paled and Bernadetta wailed pitifully.

"Enough, Bernadetta," Hubert said shortly, causing the girl to clamp her mouth shut immediately.

"If Dimitri has indeed dropped something of personal belonging, we could track him down with normal magic," Jeritza mused. "But...could blood work? I have never attempted it. Interesting."

"What's the point? Shouldn't we all just hurry up and get to Conrad Tower?" Sylvain said with a smudge of impatience in his voice. "Because time's ticking—if Miklan gets there first and we take too long he could—"

"Never fear," Ferdinand said earnestly, raising his lance. "I, Ferdinand von Aiger, will not rest until Miklan is brought to justice!"

"For the love of—do you talk like a fairytale character on purpose?" Felix demanded in annoyed exasperation.

"Right?" Lindhart sighed. "It's tiring."

"No, no, it's all high and mighty noble talk; nothing Prince Charming about it." Dorothea said, inspecting her nails.

Ferdinand deflated and mumbled something about human cruelty. "What's wrong with chivalry? It's an admirable trait that Prince Dimitri displays all the time," Ingrid said.

"It's The Boar's so called chivalry that's kept him in Miklan's dirty clutches," Felix retorted. "Nothing admirable about self righteousness at all."

"Guys!" Sylvain snapped. "Come on, if we're going we have to go now."

Jeritza nodded towards Edelgard. "Edelgard, warp us there and we'll see if there's anything of value. Perhaps we can, like Ashe suggested catch him off guard by locating him first."

-o0o-

Miklan was insane.

He stank of blood and his clothes were weighed down with the leaking dark fluids, not to mention his charred and partially missing face—and yet he carried on with little inconvenience. On the ride to Conrad Tower he had been twirling his brightly glowing lance with one hand and gripping the reins of his horse with the other, all while he sang cheerfully and Dimitri lay draped over the horse's rear, slipping in and out of consciousness.

Part way through the journey, the horse had collapsed from exhaustion and had sent both riders tumbling to the forest floor, but Miklan after a curse had got up, hoisted Dimitri over his shoulder and continued onwards.

And now he was watching a wounded man kill dozens upon dozens of guards.

Rain poured from the sky, washing away the blood and mud off Dimitri's body and blurring his vision from his spot leaning against a tree, legs and arms bound like they had for the entire long journey.

Dimitri didn't know why Miklan even bothered—he wasn't going anywhere in his condition, even if he wanted, cloth bandages or no.

Blood painted the translucent droplets in crimson and the Lance of Ruin flashed brilliantly in the nighttime downpour. Dimitri couldn't stop imagining those faceless soldiers as Felix, or Sylvain, or Ingrid. Ashe, Mercedes, Annette...

El.

Dimitri's lip trembled and he looked away, swallowing the lump in his throat. He should escape, he should. But he couldn't—how far could he run with a wounded leg and a sore body?

His weakness was going to kill people he loved all over again. They were going to become ghosts and haunt him like Father, Glenn, and Stepmother.

"Why?" He whispered, voice cracking as he trembled with sobs. Why?

"Aw, don't cry, Dima!" Miklan crowed and Dimitri's head snapped up, the rain whipping away the tears on his cheeks as he watched the bandit stepping towards him. "It'll all be over soon, yeah? Up we go!"

Miklan grabbed the rope binding Dimitri's wrists and forced him to his feet. The prince grunted and fell to his knees as his weak limbs gave out immediately and moments later, Miklan had thrown him over his shoulder again.

"Yeesh. Can't believe you're the heir of Faerghus," Miklan chuckled and shook his head as they entered the broken gates that had once guarded the tower, bloodied corpses littering the ground all the way into the tower proper. "Don't think I've ever met someone so weak!"

Dimitri didn't argue, didn't even feel hurt—it was the truth after all.

"You've been oddly silent, Dim—" Miklan coughed and spat out yet another broken tooth spotted with blood before continuing, "Dima. What's the matter? You're making this kinda boring with this depressive routine."

Silence except for the echoing of footsteps on dark stone and the dripping of water droplets from Dimitri's hanging bangs.

"Well?" Miklan said, jostling the prince firmly. Dimitri tensed and sighed before muttering, "What...what do you want me t-to say?"

"Just about anything would be nice! Like last time, threaten to turn my lungs into balloon animals or something, or, or, even better! Beg for the lives of your friends," Miklan supplied as his footsteps echoed across the large clearing the steps had led up to.

"I don't...don't have the strength to be a threat, and begging is wasted on merciless men like you," Dimitri said, voice tinged with a hint biting bitterness.

Miklan snorted as he descended a set of steps and kicked away a dead archer while he did so. "True, true. That's what makes it so fun though!"

"I'm n-not going to entertain you, Miklan," Dimitri said coldly.

Miklan shrugged, the motion jostling Dimitri again as he kicked an already broken door down and stepped inside the giant circular room, rain drummed against the windows and lightning crashed outside.

"Well whatever," Miklan said tossing Dimitri unceremoniously onto the ground, causing the prince to cry out at the sharp pain of impact. "The real party starts when your moronic friends come along. I'll get to see you crying and screaming when I bring their corpses for you anyway."

Dimitri looked away and let out a shuddering breath, the lightning outside giving an almighty crash.

-o0o-

When taking Petra and Jeritza with her to scour the cave, nothing of value had been found—all except the dagger of course. There was no Dimitri and no Miklan—all that remained were torn rope, bandages, and horse hoof prints.

That meant they had wasted precious minutes on a useless detour, something Felix was all too glad to point out as they started their long trek.

"It is appearing to be a half-day walk through rest of the ways," Petra said from atop a tall tree bough later that evening as they got their camp ready for the night.

"Good," the archer Edelgard learned was named Ashe said with a smile, looking at the map draped over his lap as he sat on a far lower bough. "It seems we're making good time!"

"You guys think Miklan's there already?" Sylvain asked, staring at the looming tower in the distance. "You think he's even going to keep his promise?"

"I believe so," Edelgard responded as Petra nimbly leapt down from the tree. "Before I managed to escape he attempt to threaten me into warping us there. He's certain of his abilities."

"He must be if he's choosing Conrad Tower of all places," Felix said, helping Annette and Dedue with the fire. "That place is guarded to the teeth."

As the fire was lit, the students and their two professors sat around it in foreboding silence, weapons placed nearby along with camping bags and fish being roasted by the licking flames.

Finally, the girl Edelgard learned was Annette sighed heavily and said, "Guys come on! We can beat him!"

Lindhart snorted and poked idly at the flames as Annette continued, "We're all super good fighters and there's a bunch of us!"

"There's a bunch of guards at Conrad Tower," Ingrid said in subdued tone. "If Miklan's inside then—"

"But they weren't prepared," Ashe said firmly. "We are!"

"Are we?" Lindhart said. "He has a Hero's Relic."

"But we have something even better!" Annette said excitedly.

"What? The power of friendship?" Felix scoffed.

"I was going to say teamwork," Annette said. "But yeah, we have that too!"

"Annette is right," Ferdinand said, standing up and placing his fists on his hips. "We cannot loose hope now!"

"Too late," Bernadetta muttered, who was currently laying in a fetal position on her side.

"I have a good feeling about tomorrow," Mercedes said with a smile, just as the distant sound of a man's scream filled the air.

All turned to the imposing sight of the tower where the scream had come from.

"I need a drink," Manuela sighed as she stood up and walked off to retrieve her flask.

-o0o-

Dimitri coughed and choked on the water Miklan forced down his throat before the bandit deemed him quenched enough and blessedly moved the bowl away.

"Ah," Miklan grinned, showcasing an array of missing teeth and tearing the scab at the side of his lips. "Showtime." He got up and tossed the bowl aside as he looked out the window with sick glee in his eyes.

Dimitri swallowed both the water and mounting dread as he asked, "Do you...see them?"

"Not yet," Miklan responded, twirling his lance causally. "Only a matter of time though. I can feel it."

Dimitri tried willing his sporadically beating heart to slow, tried lessening the tremble in his bones but...oh Goddess he was so scared. So scared for them.

But he couldn't give up hope. Edelgard had held her own against Miklan while he was at his most angry and vicious. Certainly she could again while he was smug and careless, certainly she and the Eagles and the Lions combined could win against him.

Right?

"Ready to watch your friends die, Dima?" Miklan asked, grinning eerily at him over his shoulder. "'Cause I am." He lifted up his lance and it glowed brighter, twitching like a fleeing insect—it made Dimitri's skin crawl. "And so does Lancey! Right, Lancey?"

Miklan stroked the weapon with an almost tender smile and Dimitri looked away with a shudder. To stroke a weapon in the way you'd touch lover was simply...

Goddess, was Miklan always this...unhinged or was it that terrifying weapon? Could that be why he was still fighting and walking and speaking gleefully as he left puddles of blood in his wake?

"How are you still standing?" Dimitri voiced his question out loud. The bandit turned to him, gaze blank and brow muscles furrowed as if the prince had just spoken a foreign language.

"How am I...?" Miklan glanced down at his blood drenched clothing for what looked like the first time. "Huh," he said in mild surprise. "Maybe I should thank you?" He suggested, striding forwards and crouching before Dimitri once more with his deformed grin.

"Hadn't felt a single wound since you burned my face," he said with a little laugh, tilting his head to the side before giving his precious lance a sideways glance, giving its handle a little squeeze. "Although...wouldn't be surprised if Lancey helped me out as well."

Could Hero's Relics do that? Detach you from pain? What exactly were they made out of?

"It's a good thing too!" Miklan continued, turning back to Dimitri. "Your girlfriend gave me a bunch of wounds that hurt like hell—need to be in top shape for the show, y'know?"

A loud thud and a war cry echoed throughout the empty tower, and both figures tensed, two pairs of eyes locking on the room door behind them.

"Anyway, like I said," Miklan grinned as he stood and strode towards the doors, standing with his lance out in a fighting stance. "Showtime."

-o0o-

"Ugh," Lindhart groaned in disgust after Caspar had kicked the already unhinged door open with a whoop. He covered his nose and backed away from the entrance as Mercedes echoed his thoughts. "Oh! This is awful," she said, wide blue eyes flickering from mangled corpse to mangled corpse. "One man did this?"

"It would appear that Miklan is a powerful advisory after all...intriguing," Jeritza smiled as he stepped into the tower completely nonplused.

Manuela stepped forward as well and turned to the students with a frown. "Alright, kids. This isn't any ordinary thief or bandit—this is a dangerous lunatic. If any of you want to back out now, do it."

"I'm going," Edelgard said firmly, feeling considerably more prepared with an axe hefted over her shoulder.

"It's not even a question for the Blue Lions Professor," Ingrid said seriously.

Manuela rose an eyebrow at her own students. "And my Eagles? Any second thoughts?"

"I follow wherever Lady Edelgard goes," Hubert said, stepping beside the princess.

"Me too," Dorothea agreed stepping forward as well, hands sparking with electricity. Her lips quirked into a smile as she added, "And what a tale to see, the beautiful princess saving her dashing prince instead of the other way around!"

"Now that you say it...yeah!" Ashe said enthusiastically. "I should start doing that—spinning situations into fairytales so everything's a lot less scarier."

"This isn't a fairytale," Felix said sharply, glaring at Dorothea and Ashe both. "We go in there there's a chance we don't come out."

Dorothea looked exasperatedly into the sky and said, "Sure, Mr. Moody."

Bernadetta shuddered and hugged herself. "Ah...I um...maybe I should—"

"I'll...probably stay out here with Bernadetta," Lindhart said, disgustedly eyeing the row of corpses splayed throughout the entrance hallway.

"Aw, come on, Lindhart!" Caspar said with a disappointed frown. "Your magic skills are sick! They'd totally help us out."

"You have a bunch of mages with you already," Lindhart argued. "Besides, someone has to stay with Bernadetta and I'm sure you all will need Professor Manuela's power to—"

"Miklan!" Jeritza's voice echoed deep within the tower. "Show yourself, and battle me."

"Well time's up thanks to that adrenaline junky," Manuela grumbled, hands glowing. "Can't have him fighting that bandit on his own after all. Anyone who's fighting, come along quick."

Taking in a deep breath, Edelgard steeled herself, gripping her axe hilt and stepping into the bloody hallway, tensing every time her heel crushed a severed finger or squelched within a pool of blood.

She swallowed her doubt as she stood before the steps leading upwards and glared into the darkened platform above. She had nearly bested him before with naught but a dagger—now healed with magic and wielding something stronger, as well as accompanied with allies...

"You made a foolish mistake, Miklan," Edelgard stated out loud into the darkness as she ascended the steps. Behind her, she could here the sound of several other footsteps and the glow of magic spells shimmering against the smooth blood soaked marble walls.

As Edelgard reached the top, she found Jeritza with his sword drawn, frown on his face as he glanced around the large floor. "Either Miklan has lost his nerve or—"

Behind them both, Caspar charged forward with a war cry as he finished running up the final steps, slashing his axe around blindly. "Hey! Jerk! Where are you!?"

"Making this much noise is unadvisable," Dedue said, stopping Caspar's movements with a firm hand on his shoulder. "We may have surprise on our side."

"Doubtful," Felix scoffed. "That fool screamed kicking the door down and this one—" he tilted his head towards Jeritza. "Already announced our presence."

"Too true!"

Edelgard inhaled sharply and her head snapped up. There, standing at the ledge of the third floor stood a silhouette—a silhouette dripping blood down the walls.

Seconds later, he leapt off, landing so hard atop the marble that it cracked and splintered. Then standing up to his full height, and holding up his glowing lance proudly, Edelgard could properly see Miklan's face.

Or at least what was left of it.

The skin had been peeled away and singed, leaving red muscle and dark scars in its wake. The wicked grin he showcased revealed many missing teeth and pulled multiple scars taught.

"Oh my...!" Mercedes gasped as everyone else either backed away in horror or readied their weapons.

"Miklan," Sylvain ground out, stepping forward with his own iron lance clenched in hand.

Miklan's eyes landed on Sylvain and his smirk disappeared. "Sylvain . Did you come to get The Lance of Ruin back?"

"I came to get my friend back," Sylvain spat. "Unlike you, I can look outside myself."

Miklan laughed bitterly. "Ever thought it's because your Crest bearing privileged ass is able to not care about your own well being?"

"Oh boo-hoo!" Dorothea said, rolling her eyes. "News flash, there's a lot of us without Crests who are just fine not antagonizing people for no reason, thank you very much."

"Yeah!" Caspar echoed. "What gives you the right to be a whiny jerk? Why hurt innocents?"

"Innocents!" Miklan repeated with another bitter laugh. "What innocents? The nobles who cast us aside for not having 'Blessed Blood?' The weak commoners who accept it with a bowed head?" His eyes locked on

Edelgard's and his semi-toothless snark intensified. "The royals who do jack about it?"

Edelgard's current frown deepened as Miklan continued. "Sorry to break it to you kiddos but there are no innocents in Fódlan." He then nodded towards Dedue. "You'd know, wouldn't you?"

Dedue narrowed his eyes slightly as Miklan then nodded towards Petra. "And you! Aren't you a pair of puppet strings wrapped with flesh? Are you okay with being a pawn to keep your country in line?"

Petra blinked and frowned slightly as Dedue stepped forwards. "Where is His Highness?"

"Oh! I forgot about Dima!" Miklan cackled and looked upwards, holding his lance skyward and casting a bright glow all around the cavern. "You've been all alone in the dark, haven't you?"

There, battered, bruised, bleeding and slumped over the lip of the third floor's ledge was Dimitri. Blonde bangs covered his face and his skin was a ghostly pale peppered in blue, green and red—Edelgard wouldn't be surprised if he was nothing more than a corpse.

"Dimitri!" Annette cried in horror as Sylvain shot his brother a glare and snapped, "Damn you!"

"Want him back?" Miklan grinned sinking into a fighting stance. "You're going to have to get him over my dead body!"

Edelgard narrowed her eyes and held up her hand, flames erupting across the gloved surface before separating into multiple smaller fireballs. They found their home in the several torches hanging on the walls and illuminated the tower in a warm orange glow. "Right then," she said coldly, flicking stray strands of hair over her shoulder before twirling her axe. "Have it your way."

And then she charged.

Axe and lance met with a clang, and knowing Miklan had a weight advantage, Edelgard wasted no time spinning away and aiming for his arm. The two weapons clanged again, again and again, Edelgard twisting and twirling after every swing before squeezing the hilt of her axe with two hands and forcing all her weight into a final swing aimed for his neck.

Miklan, much to her frustration, simply blocked before sweeping her legs from under her. Edelgard gasped in surprise before bracing her palms against the ground to stop her descent and cartwheel her out of the way of a stab that instead struck the marbled grown below.

Before Miklan could charge Edelgard again however, Hubert had sent Miasma soaring towards the bandit.

Miklan snarled, charging against each violet orb thrown at him before grabbing one from midair and tossing it back at Hubert with a yell.

Hubert's visible eye widened in surprise and he quickly held up a shield that successfully blocked his renegade spell but couldn't stop Miklan's lance—it shattered the barrier with ease.

Luckily for him, a giant orb of bright, glittering translucent blue light exploded from the ground between the two and sent both flying with a cry of surprise, rescuing Hubert from the deadly blade just in time.

"Sorry!" Mercedes apologized to Edelgard's groaning retainer, unaware of Miklan jumping right back to his feet and charging at her.

"Mercie!" Annette cried, creating a slicing motion with her hand and sending out a swiftly speeding flat blue circle of Wind.

Mercedes gasped and spun to defend herself but was too slow; Miklan grabbed her by the front and flung her in the Wind spell's path with a laugh.

"No!" Annette yelled in panic as Wind sliced into her friend and sent her tumbling to the ground with a cry of pain and a deep slide wound on her back.

Jeritza's eyes flashed in rage behind the mask and he left his position beside the other students to unsheathe his sword and dash forward with terrific speed.

"You will die for that," he threatened with a growl, electricity crackling around his blade. He then pointed it forwards with a war cry and sent the bolt flying at Miklan's heart.

The spell hit home, sending Miklan to his knees with a mere growl of annoyance before he lunged forwards off the ground and swung.

Jeritza jumped over him nimbly and spun to stab Miklan in the neck. The bandit grunted as the blade plunged into the thick flesh before spinning around and attempting to stab Jeritza in the abdomen.

Jeritza's eyes narrowed as he jumped back out of the way blocking blow after blow from the eldritch blade.

"What the fuck!" Caspar exclaimed. "That guy has a deep neck wound and he's still going! What the hell is happening here?!"

"Is he a zombie?" Ashe asked in similar bafflement. "Professor Jeritza's attack should have been fatal!"

"The Lance of Ruin," Ingrid said in a foreboding tone, green eyes narrowed on the blurred sight of the rapidly swinging blade. "It must be."

"You're sure?" Dorothea asked her with a frown.

"I don't see any other explanation—unless there's a spell he's using?"

"Magic does not grant immortality," Hubert responded with a narrowed eye. "It would seem Galatea is correct."

"But as far as I'm aware, Hero's Relics don't either," Manuela said with crossed arms. "Nemesis bore the Sword of the Creator if my memory serves me right—and he's dead and gone."

Edelgard frowned in contemplation at that, watching the swiftly moving figures of Jeritza and Miklan. Perhaps Hero's Relics affected the Crestless differently but...why would it make them stronger?

"I'll blast him while he's distracted," Annette said angrily, holding Mercedes as she healed herself and glaring at the red head. "Maybe I can take him down then!"

"That does not sound available," Petra warned. "They are moving too swiftly."

"Maybe we can save Dimitri while he's distracted instead," Mercedes suggested, now healed and pushing herself to her feet with the help Annette.

Edelgard glanced at the limp body, above the battle and nodded slowly. "I can warp you and Professor Manuela to him and you two can heal him."

"Not possible," Sylvain informed Edelgard, catching her attention. "This place doesn't allow people to just Warp in and out just like that."

"So you would have to run passed and hope he doesn't notice?" Ashe asked with an anxiously furrowed brow.

"We will cause a distraction," Ferdinand promised, lifting his lance. "Take his attention away from you."

Edelgard nodded in agreement as Ferdinand turned to the other students. "Alright, everyone else with me—if we get close to him we can garner his atten—"

"I'm not taking orders form you," Felix sneered before charging forwards.

"Here, here," Dorothea chirped before speeding after him, followed by a war crying Caspar and Hubert with magic dancing at his fingertips.

"Wait! Hold on! Everyone!" Ferdinand cried before groaning with slumped shoulders and gesturing to Petra, Sylvain, Ingrid Annette, Dedue, and Ashe to follow as he charged forwards.

"Alright," Edelgard told Manuela and Mercedes. "Go."

The three dashed forwards, keeping a wide breadth between them and Miklan who was now gleefully attacking her peers. She couldn't stop the lingering worry pumping through her veins as she glanced at them every few moments.

"You slow down if you look back, sweetie," Manuela told her, effectively spurring Edelgard to look forwards and concentrate on her current goal, getting to the prince.

"Oh Goddess..." Mercedes breathed in horror as the three ascended the staircase and found the piles of other bodies along the ground leading up to a room. But before that empty room and beyond the bodies lay Dimitri.

Edelgard swiftly ran over to him and fell to her knees, rolling him over and looking up at Manuela worriedly. "Professor..."

Manuela and Mercedes knelt as well, Manuela placing two fingers on Dimitri's neck and saying, "He's alive—but we have to hurry. I'll heal his awful arm wound, Mercedes you deal with that one on the leg and Edelgard, heal his pretty face, yes?"

Edelgard nodded in understanding and got to work, cutting his binding with her dagger before placing Dimitri's head atop her thighs and her hands on either side of his head.

She wasn't exactly good at faith magic...but she hoped what little she could do was enough.

-o0o-

Dimitri awakened to the sensation of energy pooling into his bloodstream. He groaned, eyelids fluttering and vision blurred momentarily before two familiar faces appeared above him.

"Dimitri!" Mercedes said happily, moving her hands from the crude bandage at his leg while Manuela healed his arm.

"Mer...cedes? Professor Manuela?" He croaked. There was another pair of hands gently cradling his head, and underneath his neck he could feel something beneath him that certainly wasn't the cold floor of Conrad Tower.

Looking up, he could see Edelgard, her brows furrowed and lips pressed in concentration as light poured from her hands. He then realized the surface his head was on were Edelgard's thighs.

His breath caught and he was luckily spared the shameless act of having his brain vividly detailing the way they felt when he heard Miklan exclaim, "Going to have to try a little harder than that, kids!"

Oh Goddess.

"You shouldn't have come," Dimitri said quietly, looking away and staring down at the Lions and Eagles fighting with fear shuddering his bones. "He'll kill you."

"I'd like to see him try," Manuela laughed, giving his now healed arm a pat. "Ask Dorothea what happened to men like him!"

Dimitri furrowed his brow and shook his head as he pressed his quivering palms against the ground and sat upright. "You didn't see him as he massacred an entire tower filled with men."

"We saw him survive a neck wound," Edelgard said darkly. "I do believe that shows something of his formidability—we know he's dangerous, Dimitri."

"Then...then why did you come?" Dimitri whispered hoarsely, squeezing his eyes shut. "Why would you—?"

"Because we wanted to save you, Dimitri," Mercedes said, as if it were obvious. Dimitri opened his eyes and looked bewilderedly into the kind girl's eyes as she smiled at him. "Don't feel guilty, you don't need to."

"I—"

"Dimitri," Edelgard said, holding out her hand for him and staring him seriously in the eyes. "We spoke of this. Enough. Come, let's take down Miklan."

Dimitri was about to protest when she said, "Don't try the martyr routine again—I won't let you."

Just like Miklan, Edelgard was insatiable too.

He smiled.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Mercedes asked worriedly.

"I agree, Dimitri should lay down for awhile—"

"No," Dimitri said, squeezing Edelgard's hand tightly and allowing her to help him up. Once standing, he turned downwards to the raging battle below and clenched his fists. "I'll fight."

Miklan would pay.

-o0o-

Miklan didn't know why they kept trying.

He couldn't feel a single blow no matter how fatal, anytime he was knocked down he would get back up again without fail, and the more they kept fighting the more excited he was getting.

This was so much fun.

"Pathetic!" Miklan laughed as he stared at all his fallen rivals. They were panting for breath, bruised, or bleeding—except for that weird mask guy but whatever.

"Look, how about you all just surrender and—" Miklan paused, noticing something missing from the crowd of losers.

...where was the princess?

His thoughts couldn't be answered before a war cry echoed throughout the large room. Miklan turned just in time to have Dimitri ram him in the face with a Crest powered elbow.

The two tumbled to the ground, Dimitri momentarily above him before Miklan threw him off and slammed him to the ground with by the throat.

"Aw, trying to fight back, Dima?" Miklan spat as Dimitri gasped for air. "Well I'll tell you—"

Dimitri kicked him hard with both legs in the chest and sent him flying backwards, the impact releasing his grip on The Lance of Ruin and causing it to clatter out of reach.

Instant panic erupted within his system as he scrambled to his feet and ran towards it, eyes widening as he saw the princess running towards it as well.

With a roar, Miklan threw himself forwards and wrapped his fingers around his beloved weapon, feeling that sweet electric jolt rock through his system.

"Ha!" Miklan said triumphantly as he stood slowly and grinned wildly. Edelgard narrowed her eyes and stepped back as he said "Ready for round two? Just you watch, I'll kill you, I'll kill every last one of you!"

Sylvain gritted his teeth, he was sporting a cut on his cheek and a gash on his side but he was still standing.

"You're not going to stop be, Sylvain. Even with your precious Crest," Miklan continued.

"'Precious Crest?' You really think—you know what? Of course you do!" Sylvain spat. "You don't know anything about me because you're too busy hating me for things I didn't cause!"

"Don't play that card with me again, Sylvain," Miklan snarled, pointing the lance at his neck and stepping forwards. "You're very birth is the reason I'm like this!"

"Enough," Dimitri said sharply, stepping forwards with narrowed eyes. "I won't have you insult Sylvain any longer—not when you're threatening the lives of innocents."

"You missed my speech from before, Dimitri," Miklan said, advancing yet again and watching as the lance's light burned brighter than ever before. "But I'll cut it down to size for your small brain to grasp on to. There are no innocents in Fódlan. Anyone who says they're innocent is liar."

Dimitri's expression shifted then to one Miklan couldn't decipher before the bandit smirked. "Anyways, say your last words because—"

The Lance of Ruin shuddered violently in Miklan's hand and his eyes turned from the group before him to the weapon's blade.

It twisted and twitched, rattling so hard it felt as if it was trying to jump off the handle. Miklan frowned in confusion, standing the weapon upright to squint at it properly. "What's going on with you, Lancey?" He demanded.

The Crest Stone spat a thick glob of...something into his face and Miklan yelled out in surprise, staggering backwards.

He lifted a palm to his face and gripped the glob, trying to pry it off only for the gunk to get stuck on his palm as well...and then it began to grow.

-o0o-

Dimitri gasped as the dark goo began tangled around the bandit's body like poisonous crawling ivy.

Miklan's eyes widened as he staggered backwards and tried to remove the goo and let go of the weapon to no avail. The burning energy illuminated the tower and caused the ground beneath his feet to crack and crumble, dust particles exploding into the air.

The students all took several steps back, a horrified Dimitri turning to his peers and finding similar looks of horror on all of them—except for Edelgard who was pointedly looking away with a furrowed brow.

She had said that some of her siblings had turned into beasts. Was this...?

Miklan screamed and fell to his knees as the tendrils began to cover him like a rippling tar cocoon.

"No! No help me—!" Miklan let out a terrifying wail for respite before the substance covered him fully and cut him off abruptly.

There was a beat of silence before a long muscled claw sprouted from it, splattering the acidic like goop towards the terrified spectators.

'Oh Goddess...' Dimitri thought in terror as limbs continued to explode from the cocoon until finally, a towering Demonic Beast stood before them.

Annette was the first to break the silence with a panicked shriek. The second was the Beast itself who roared so loudly that the walls shook.

"What happened?" Mercedes cried in horror.

"Did Miklan just transform?!" The blue haired Black Eagle boy exclaimed.

"Alright, kids," Manuela said hesitantly, slowly backing away and pushing the students nearest her back as well. "I think—I think we need to go now."

"No, he has the Lance of Ruin," Edelgard said, swallowing thickly and staring the beast dead in the eye.

"So? Edie, did you see what that thing did to him?!" Dorothea demanded. "Why would you want that?"

"If we don't defeat that monster someone else surely will. Do you truly want to take a chance that another power hungry bandit like Miklan will get their hands on that weapon?" Edelgard argued, reading her axe.

Dimitri nodded slowly. "I agree with Edelgard. We take it down, here and now."

"Easier said than done," a voice commented. Turning, the group were greeted with the sight of two Black Eagles—one pulling his violet haired companion by the sweater front as she dragged her feet and whimpered.

"Aye, Lindhart, Bernadetta! You came back!" the blue haired boy said with a grin.

"Don't make a hero out of me, Caspar. I'm only here because that stupid thing ruined my nap—and I figured you all needed somebody to drag your corpses out, that's all," the boy names Lindhart said with a shrug.

Dimitri blinked slowly at him and frowned slightly, "You're...not very optimistic, are you?"

Lindhart turned his nonchalant gaze towards Dimitri. "How very astute of you, Your Highness. Would you like a cookie or a medal?"

Felix snorted as Dedue warned, "Do not mock His Highness."

"Uh, guys? Can we worry about the monster in the room?" Annette asked nervously as the Demonic Beast slammed its claws into the earth and charged forwards.

The students and the two Professors quickly jumped out of the way, Manuela sending three Wind spells in rapid succession at its pumping legs, only for them to bounce against a sudden golden barrier and dissipate harmlessly.

"Bernadetta!" Caspar yelled, dashing forward towards the panicked and frozen archer and shoving her to the ground just as the Beast stormed by.

He skidded, sending bricks flying into the air before flicking his thick tail towards the remaining students.

Dimitri broke off, running towards the tale and slamming his palms against it to halt its movement, boots sliding against the crumbling brick and stone. "Quick!" He yelled over his shoulder. "Run!"

The students complied as the muscles within the tail twitched beneath the leathery skin and pushed harder against Dimitri's might, the prince grunting and calling upon his Crest for extra aide as the last few people ran out of the tails reach.

With everyone else safe, Dimitri vaulted over the tail and watched as the large muscle crashed into the wall his peers had once been, causing cracks to spread up towards the ceiling.

Caspar attempted to charge the monster with war cry and a swing of his axe, but like Manuela's spells, his weapon bounced off harmlessly and sent Caspar teetering off balance.

"That won't work," Edelgard told him. "Like most Demonic Beasts this one has a barrier."

"And? How do we destroy it?" Felix demanded as the Beast turned its eyes towards the group and began to turn around.

"The eyes," Lindhart responded, pointing upwards. "That's the weakest point in the barrier." We injure it there enough and it will come apart."

"Ashe," Dimitri said, turning to the archer. "Can you do it?"

Ashe nodded confidently and nocked an arrow into his bow before letting it fly. The arrow pinged off the Beast's crimson eye and clattered to the ground, causing the monster to roar in rage.

"What?" Ashe cried. "But—!"

The Demonic Beast charged again and the students scattered once more while gritting his teeth, Ashe let another arrow loose. Just like last time, it pinged off the eye, but this time the beast retaliated by bringing up a claw and swiping at him.

"Ashe!" Dimitri cried as Ingrid narrowed her eyes and squeezed her lance Crest of Daphnel burning bright green on the back of her hand as she swung with a war cry. A thin green line of light unfurled like a whip and slashed across the monster's face.

While still frustratingly unharmed, the attack momentarily blinded the Demonic Beast and allowed Ashe to run out of the way.

"It would seem your theory is flawed," Jeritza told Lindhart simply.

"Yes, what was that about the eyes being the weak point?" Hubert sneered and Lindhart glared back. "I'm sorry, but my information comes from books, it's not my fault that the one I happened to read had an unreliable author!"

"Perhaps we simply need a stronger weapon," Ferdinand suggested. "Or a combined attack?"

"Well I only brought iron weapons," Manuela said apologetically with a sigh. "And Ingrid basically proved that magic is a no show either."

"There...is a silver weapon here," Dimitri corrected, turning to Edelgard. "Edelgard, your dagger."

Edelgard blinked in surprise, and turned to the weapon at her hip. "Truly?"

Dimitri nodded and Dedue questioned, "How will she be able to throw it from down here?"

"We get her up!" Annette said, pointing at the upper level. "She can jump from there like Miklan did and—"

The Demonic Beast roared and tug up a part of the floor, throwing it at the group. They all parted once more, but the chunk of stone dirt and bricks manages to crash into the upper staircase and destroy it completely.

"Aaaand there goes the stairs," Caspar said dejectedly.

"She can still get up there," Dimitri said firmly, turning to Edelgard once more and saying, "If I gave you a leg up—"

"Paired with our Crests it should work," Edelgard confirmed with a nod. When The Demonic Beast charged forwards once more, Hubert held up a barrier this time, the monster crashing into it and roaring in frustration.

"Make haste," Hubert warned as the two backed away from one another, Dimitri took a deep breath and crouched, cupping his hands together as Edelgard sank into a runners' lunge.

Then with the bright flash of her Crest, she charged forward, hair billowing behind her and eyes narrowed in determination. Dimitri called on his Crest as well, and as soon as she jumped into his palms on the balls of her feet, he stood sharply and pushed her into the air with a grunt of exertion.

Dimitri and the others sans Hubert looked up as she shot through the air like a silver and black comet. Far above the third level, gravity pulled her back down and she rolled to break her fall before immediately running across the platform and unsheathing her dagger all at once.

"Woo! Go Edelgard!" Dorothea cheered with two pumped fists just as the Demonic Beast curled its back and shot multiple stone spikes from its back.

One was all it took to finally shatter Hubert's barrier and he and everyone else ducked as the deadly projectiles flew overhead.

They found their home in the foundation of the floor behind them, creating cracks until a final one caused it all to tumble down.

A gigantic chunk of the top floor fell towards the group and Dimitri's heart stuttered, eyes wide and throat tightened before Annette cast a giant Wind spell that held the chunk up and slowed its descent.

The girl gritted her teeth, arms shaking with exertion before with narrowed and concentrated eyes, Dorothea shot two handfuls of lightning at the dangerous rubble, exploding it to dust.

The Beats roared and shook his head as the others coughed and rubbed their eyes. Ridding his face of the rubble dust he looked up and cried a panicked, "Edelgard!"

A moment later, she dove out the settling dust, dagger brandished and her body arched downwards. The Demonic Beast looked up, grave mistake for him, for this gave Edelgard the perfect opportunity to land on his snout and plunge her dagger deep within his eye.

And then finally, finally, he let out a roar of pain, eldritch blood leaking from the wound as Edelgard leapt off towards ground and landed in a crouch.

The yellow barrier appeared, shuttered, and shattered.

"All right!" Caspar cheered as The Demonic Beast shook his head angrily before opening its jaw and shooting multiple fire balls from his mouth.

Dimitri gasped, too slow to dodge the flames that slammed into his chest and sent him crashing into the rubble, along with several of the others.

Grunting and pushing himself to sit up, Dimitri saw one of the Black Eagles—the Brigid girl—nimbly darting between the rapidly approaching fireballs. Growling, the Beast fired a spike from his back at her and Dimitri watched in awe as she leapt atop it, jumped off and plunged her sword into the roof of the Beast's mouth.

The girl back flipped back to the ground as the Beast shrieked and shook his head again, attempting to bite down and bend the metal keeping its jaws separated.

"Now, while it is confused," the girl said. "It will in eventual realize it can still fire."

"That was amazing, Petra!" Ashe gushed in awe and the girl smiled at him over her shoulder.

"Mages, together!" Manuela said before she, Hubert, Annette, Jeritza, Dorothea, Mercedes and Lindhart fired in unison.

Multiple blasts sent the Beast stumbling backwards as it roared in distress, causing the wall behind it to crack and crumble while the ceiling shuttered.

"Keep it blind," Edelgard told the two archers. Ashe nodded firmly and Bernadetta hesitated before following along. Once in range, Bernadetta fired in arrow in the bleeding eye while the other was taken out by Ashe's arrow.

"Alright then," Ingrid said, pointing her lance forwards. "Our turn!" She, Sylvain, Felix, Ferdinand, Caspar, Dedue and Edelgard charged forwards.

Dimitri and Petra lingered behind watching anxiously as the other moved in.

With a loud war cry—that Dimitri was beginning to think was a stable for him—Caspar swung his axe and tore to bone, spurring blood to gush forth and shove him back with a yelp of surprise. The Beast leaned away from that leg and put more pressure on the other three. This action did not stop Edelgard and Dedue from similarly damaging two other legs with their own axes, Edelgard leapt out of the way from the onslaught of blood and Dedue simply stood his ground, bringing his axe to the side and chopping again.

The Beast teetered on his final leg, but that too gave way as Ferdinand triumphantly cried, "Taste the sting of Ferdinand von Aieger!" Plunging his weapon deep into the monsters leg while Ingrid stabbed it from the other side.

He finally collapsed to the ground in its own blood, groaning pitifully as Felix plunged his sword between his eyes, and Sylvain jumped atop his back, hesitating for a brief moment before plunging his lance through the heart with a roar.

At last, the Beast slumped and moments later exploded in a myriad of shadows in red and black.

Everyone crowded around the phenomenon curiously as the shadows twisted and dove downwards, returning to The Crest Stone of Gautier where the lance now lay in the monsters wake.

Slowly, Sylvain knelt to pick up The Lance of Ruin, gaze falling to corpse of his brother. He rested in the blood of the Beast, brown eyes dull and devoid of that rage filled fire it had held not too long ago.

"Miklan..." Sylvain said quietly, looking at him with what could only be sheer anguish. His shoulders shook and he breathed in deeply, Ingrid immediately coming to his side to hug him to her chest and rest a cheek on his head. Dimitri rubbed his back soothingly and Felix squeezed a shoulder firmly.

Then, the unmistakable sounds of his sobs echoed as he hugged Ingrid back with one quaking arm.

Dimitri looked back at Miklan's corpse, feeling a mixture of relief, resentment and pity.

But most particularly, dread...and sad acceptance.

-o0o-

In hindsight, Edelgard, Hubert, Lindhart, and Jeritza using their combined magic to warp into the Garreg Mach courtyard was a terrible idea.

As soon as their dazed and bloody group appeared in the very public courtyard that evening, the knights were immediately alerted.

Edelgard supposed she expected to be found out anyway—she just wished she'd had more time to prepare, because right now she was filthy, and tired, and all she wanted was a bath, a cupcake, and a mattress.

But no, Rhea did not wait for anyone—especially when she was angry.

"How dare you," she hissed at the group crowded within the Audience Chamber, her serene face tightened with rage. Beside her, Seteth stood with an equal scowl of displeasure.

"Please, Archbishop," Dimitri said, stepping forwards with a quick bow. "Don't be angry with them. Had it not been for the Lions and the Eagles there's no telling what Miklan would have done with me."

"We are of course pleased that you have returned to us safely, Prince Dimitri," Seteth said. "However that does not excuse the fact that your peers and professors have broken direct orders."

"What do you all have to say for yourselves?" Rhea asked coldly.

"You are correct," Edelgard spoke up, stepping forwards as well, drawing the room's attention to her. "We broke your rules, and I'm not sorry."

Rhea's eyes flashed as Edelgard plowed forwards, "As Dimitri said, had we stayed within your boundaries his life could have been forfeit And what then? What would you tell Faerghus? And how would they take the news that their beloved prince had lost his life because The Church turned the other way?"

Rhea narrowed her eyes and Seteth crossed his arms, contemplation in his eyes.

"Not only have we saved Dimitri, we saved you from an irredeemable smear on your reputation. If your inaction had caused the abrupt end of their prince's life, they would surely draw away from you," Edelgard continued, knowing she was touching on that ego Rhea and her kind must have with their puppeteering and manipulation. "Yes, we broke your rules but not harm came from it, as opposed to the alternative."

Silence reigned before Rhea closed her eyes and sighed. "Your...points are valid, Edelgard I will confess. Perhaps it was a mistake on my part to lay in wait. However rules are not made to be broken, and without consequence they become useless."

Bernadetta squeaked. "Oh no! We're going to be beheaded!"

"Absolutely not! Don't be absurd, Bernadetta," Seteth frowned. "Instead tomorrow, all of you—barring the prince of course, will take part in a Monastery wide clean up. The floors, the windows, the stables, the gardens, the lawn, the walls—everywhere without aid of spells or other knights or faculty.

"As for you two," Seteth said, turning to Manuela and Jeritza standing off to the side. "We will speak with you in private about your transgressions."

Rhea bowed before the students and said, "Your are dismissed, may the Goddess be with you."

Everyone left grumbling and groaning.

"Oh dear," Mercedes said sadly. "Looks like we're in a pickle now..."

"It isn't fair!" Caspar snapped. "All we did is save Edelgard and Dimitri, and kill a lunatic! What's wrong with that?"

"I am so, so, sorry, everyone," Dimitri said regretfully as he sighed and shook his head. "I—"

"Dimitri," Edelgard said firmly, pleased when he clamped his mouth shut before saying, "I'll help you all."

"You should rest, Your Highness," Dedue said. "You have been through much."

"Tonight will be all the rest I need," Dimitri insisted with a smile.

"Truly admirable," Ferdinand said earnestly. "All nobles should strive to be like you, Prince Dimitri."

Dimitri blushed at the praise, not saying anything to construct the compliment, a simple act that made Edelgard smile despite the unfair situation.

-o0o-

Of course he couldn't sleep.

Of course he couldn't get thoughts of Miklan's burnt face and taunting laughter out of his thoughts.

Dimitri had changed and left his room, set on training into exhaustion like he frequently did when he saw a familiar figure walking off in the distance.

And it was how he now found himself out on the balcony in front of the Dining Hall, watching Edelgard stare of into the distance.

"I suppose it's only natural you couldn't sleep as well," she said quietly, not turning around as he stepped closer.

Dimitri silently stood beside her, leaning against the stone banister and staring up at the stars with a soft chuckle. "I...suppose I truly am predictable."

"That better not have been self depreciation," Edelgard responded with a sideways glance and quirked eyebrow.

"Sor—"

"Dimitri."

"S—oh, Goddess," he sighed, his annoyance with himself elevating slightly when he heard Edelgard let out an amused breath.

"Baby steps, yes? Aim for the stars for now," Edelgard said, smiling at him. Dimitri returned it, a sudden idea coming to him.

"I want to show you something," Dimitri said, gesturing with his head towards the steps and walking down. Edelgard eyed him curiously but followed as he lead her towards the gazebo.

"What are you planning?" Edelgard asked, as Dimitri stopped by a nearby tree and patted its trunk with a smile. Yes, this was tall enough.

Grabbing the lowest bough, Dimitri heaved himself up with ease and straddled the trunk, holding out his hand for Edelgard to take hold of.

"You've taken me here for a midnight tree climb?" She asked with a confused frown.

"Not quite," Dimitri assured her, and after another moment of hesitation she took his hand and allowed him to pull her onto the breach next to him.

"Alright, just a little higher," Dimitri said, climbing up with aid of other boughs and branches until his head and emerged from the canopy of leaves and had eased his way onto a high jutting bough.

He looked down to help Edelgard once more but she had already climbed up herself, picking leaves from her hair and sitting next to him.

"That night...when you shared your pain with me," Dimitri began, noticing Edelgard tense and quickly continuing on. "You told me you hadn't seen the sky much and I know...I know this isn't the first time you couldn't sleep."

He glanced at Edelgard and tilted his head towards the sky. "Does this, being so close to the stars and the moon make you feel better? Does it remind you that you're safe now?"

Edelgard looked up at him with realization in her eyes, before turning to the sky as well, a delicate smile spreading across her lips.

Dimitri watched her, those pastel eyes bathed in shimmering in starlight, those billowing strand of winter hair illuminated by the moon, those lips...a pretty petal colour parted slightly in wonder.

"Spring," Dimitri said quietly.

Edelgard blinked out of her revere to glance at him. "Pardon?"

"You asked me what my favourite season was yesterday. Spring. The colours are soft and watching snow slip away from the trees is quite a sight," Dimitri said.

Edelgard's face slowly became that mask of contemplation he'd come to know and for a moment, Dimitri was worried she'd notice him staring until she said, "Speaking of yesterday—and forgive me for being this up but I've been meaning to ask you; when you looked at Miklan's corpse you seemed...sad."

Dimitri's smile became forced. "Ah. Well I—I suppose I understood him." He breathed in deep and leaned back against the trunk. "He was right."

Edelgard frowned. "Explain."

"'There are no innocents in Fódlan', I realized—he was right, I'm—nobody is innocent. Who am I to pretend that I'm any better than he? Angrily pursuing a goal based on resentment and vengeance, not caring who gets hurt...is that not what I am too?"

There was a pause before Edelgard spoke once more. "No. We spoke of this before, haven't we? You're not a monster, Dimitri."

"But when I find him—The Flame Emperor, I know, I know I'd do anything to kill him, anything. No matter what innocent stood in the way. Perhaps I'm not a monster now but...I believe I've come to terms with the fact that I will be. And I'm going to bask in my humanity for now but until then..." Dimitri took Edelgard's hands in his and stared deep into her eyes. Her face had become completely guarded once more as he said, "I want you to promise me something, Edelgard."

She hesitated, then nodded. "Of course."

"When I became a monster...I want you to kill me," he said.

Edelgard stared into his eyes, then down at their clasped hands and looked back up at Dimitri with a slow nod.

"I promise," she whispered.

He could've sworn he heard regret in that voice.

-o0o-

AN: Look at me posting the next chapter *checks calendar* 5 weeks after I promised it! Whaaaat? Go Me! Give them nothing!

Jokes aside, the world has become fairly more dangerous these days, so I urge all of my readers to stay safe! I also have BLM petitions in bio you can sign if you'd like.

Anyway, sorry for the delay. I'll TRY to be more consistent with updates!

Also, no, I'm not doing the kidnapped Flayn plot because two arcs like that in a row is...no. So next chapter is a little dip into uncharted territory before we get back on track!

I'll be answering reviews in the next chapter :D

Fantasy Fan OUT!