21st Day, Great Tree Moon, Imperial Year 1180

That night, Byleth's sleep was interrupted by a dream.

It was raining. The sky was both dark and cloudy as water fell from the heavens in a steady pattern. The field of damp soil was trampled into mud by passing men and horses.

It began, as his dreams often had, with bloodshed.

Weapons clashed as desperate men met in a whirlwind of chaos and death. Their horses cried out in pain, and their armor protested with every blow. The rain and mud churned red with every bloody step, turning the battlefield into a painted nightmare.

But this dream had dwelt on one person in particular.

Her armor gleamed bronze and white, and her green hair glowed despite the darkness. All about her the battle raged, yet she gave no sign that she perceived the bloodshed. Her guard fell defending her against a vicious assault, crying her name in a plea for help, and yet she remained unmoved, her gaze fixed.

A faintly familiar figure…

"Tell me Nemesis." The woman's voice dripped with a venomous hatred as she leaned over her foe with a face twisted in rage. "Do you recall the red canyon?"

Byleth awoke with a start, uncomfortably sweaty. The last thing he had seen was this...Nemesis...eyes widening as she drove her dagger down.

That woman… Sothis trailed off, even as Byleth thought back to the dream. The more he considered it, the more disturbed he felt.

Whoever she was, she had looked exactly the same as Lady Rhea.

-Flower Red-

Hours later, and still feeling remarkably unsettled by his dream, Byleth found himself joined by Dimitri in the dining hall. Seteth and his father had abandoned him there after the morning assembly.

"Please accept my apologies for the other day." Dimitri told him from his seat across the table. "You came to our aid, yet I hadn't even the courtesy to properly introduce myself."

"We were somewhat busy at the time." Byleth excused him. It probably wasn't worth mentioning that Claude was the only one to introduce any of them.

"We were." Dimitri acknowledged. "But we have the time now. My full name is Dimitri Alexander Blaiddyd, and I am the crown prince of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus."

Huh.

Dimitri must have seen the look on his face, because he raised his hands disarmingly.

"Of course, at the academy I am simply a student. Please do not feel the need to stand on ceremony."

"I don't think it works like that." Byleth told him, still feeling a little poleaxed. He'd been feeling wary of possibly offending Lady Rhea, especially after that concerning dream, but this entire time he'd been speaking with a prince! "Although…what would the proper form of address even be?"

Dimitri sighed.

"I would feel much more comfortable if you could continue treating me as you were." Dimitri told him. "I don't see why this has to change anything."

"It's 'Your Highness' for anyone of royal blood." Edelgard answered for him. "Your Majesty is reserved for heads of state, and Lord or Lady serves as a basic title for nobles." Byleth turned to see Edelgard standing beside him, her arms laden with plates full of food. Was that all for her?

She frowned at Dimitri.

"You won't do him any favors keeping him in ignorance." She told Dimitri, before nodding at Byleth and indicating the open bench beside him. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all." Byleth replied, and she seated herself laying the food out before her. Dimitri had a peculiar look on his face.

"That is a simplification." Dimitri told him. "But she is essentially correct. Did you want something, Edelgard?"

"Only the same thing you do," She replied easily enough, but clarified further at Byleth's look of askance. "Unless I miss my guess, the good prince was looking to recruit you for the mock battle."

"The one for the students?" Byleth clarified. Seteth had announced something about it during the assembly, but Byleth had not been paying much attention at the time. The majority of the morning assembly had been announcements for the students, and therefore rather boring. "I'm not planning to join the academy."

"And I wouldn't ask you to." Dimitri assured him. "I was merely hoping that you would agree to train with my house this week. We could use the practice, and your experience would be invaluable."

"An education with the academy would provide you with opportunities across Fodlan." Edelgard noted. "But you don't need it. No, I was also hoping that you would agree to train with my house."

"I might be amenable." Byleth told them both. He was probably going to do some training anyway, depending on the length of their stay at the monastery. But first… "If someone could explain to me what you mean by 'house'." Surely they weren't referring to their nobles families?

"You haven't—" Edelgard seemed surprised. "Of course not, I keep forgetting that you're new to Fodlan. I'm surprised you don't have an accent."

"I learned the language from Jeralt." Byleth shrugged. "To be honest it was a little strange hearing everyone sound like me for a change, when I first arrived."

"Hm. To answer your question, the Academy is divided into three 'houses' for organizational purposes." Edelgard told him. "The Black Eagles, The Golden Deer, and the Blue Lions. Each of which represents one of Fodlan's great nations."

"The Kingdom, Empire, and Alliance?" Byleth clarified.

"Yes." Dimitri nodded. "Of course, not everyone is a member of their homeland's representative house, but by and large you will find that the students are organized accordingly."

"And you two are the head of your respective houses?"

"We are." Edelgard replied. "I am the head of the Black Eagles house, which represents the Empire."

"And I am the head of the Blue Lions." Dimitri added. "After the Kingdom."

"I suppose it makes sense for you to be the head of your house." Byleth mused consideringly. "Given your position."

"Dimitri has earned his place." Edelgard assured him. "But I never did properly introduce myself, did I? My full name is Edelgard von Hresvelg. I am the princess and heir apparent of the Adrestian Empire."

Did she just say princess?

Byleth paused for a moment as he considered that.

"Then you are also royalty, your highness?" He asked her with a raised brow. Edelgard grimaced.

"I am not trying to intimidate you with my rank." She shook her head. "As I am in your debt, I merely felt that it was inappropriate to leave you in the dark for any longer. Especially now that we have returned safely to the monastery."

Returned safely…Sothis noted. You did think someone might be after these two yesterday, did you not?

"Then…" Byleth noted carefully. "You believe the bandits yesterday were looking for you specifically."

"…it is one possibility." Edelgard shifted uncomfortably. "Claude and Dimitri are both highly ranked as well, however. It might have been any one of us, or all three."

"Claude?" Byleth couldn't deny feeling a little surprised. Their little trio already comprised two highly placed heirs…were they really implying what he thought they were?

"Claude is the Sovereign Duke's grandson and heir." Dimitri explained.

"…so the bandits might have been after all three of you." Byleth frowned.

"Most likely." Edelgard replied, her face solemn. "There have been other assassinations in…recent history." Her eyes flickered across Dimitri's darkened face so quickly that Byleth thought he might have imagined it. "The life of a member of royalty is not by any means easy."

Byleth set down his fork, his appetite lost for the moment. To think that somebody had been trying to kill any of the three of them merely because of who they were…he couldn't imagine living with that kind of threat hanging overhead.

Plenty of people have tried to kill you. Sothis disagreed.

While technically true, none of the people trying to kill him had been after his life specifically. He was usually just in the way of their real goal, doing his job as a mercenary.

Sothis conceded the point.

"Why not just give it up?" He asked them quietly. That was what he and Jeralt usually did when they ran into particularly…unfriendly…people. They moved on.

"Never." Dimitri refused vehemently. "I have a duty to my kingdom, and to forsake it would be a betrayal of all those who put their trust in me."

"It is tempting." Edelgard admitted. "But I cannot abandon my path, no matter how dangerous the road becomes."

They fell into an uneasy silence as Byleth stewed over their answers. He couldn't disagree…or at least he respected their resolve.

That didn't mean he had to like it though.

"Well, well, well." Claude's cheery voice filled the air as he leaned onto the table across from Edelgard. "If it isn't my three favorite…no two favorite people." He winked at Byleth. "I'll leave you to guess who's who."

What am I, chopped liver?

Byleth managed not to snort.

"Claude." Edelgard seemed wary. "Did you need something?"

"Only a few moments alone with Byleth, of course." Claude smiled. "I hear there's a mock battle coming up…and I really want to pound you all into the dirt."

"You can hardly expect him to pick your house." Edelgard replied sweetly. "He might want his new friends to actually win."

"Oh, you wound me." Claude clutched his heart dramatically, before addressing Byleth. "But I think you'll find training my house a little less…difficult, than the other two."

"Be that as it may," Byleth replied noncommittally. "I still don't know that I'll have the time to train with anyone."

"Leaving so soon then?" Edelgard asked.

"Probably not for a week." Byleth admitted. "But I can't be certain. The exact timing is up to Jeralt."

"If you're staying that long, you really should stay for the mock battle." Dimitri told him. "I should like to hear what you think of our performance."

"I don't know." Claude replied thoughtfully. "It's not as if any of our classmates have a great deal of experience."

"All the more reason to seek some assistance in the review." Dimitri disagreed.

"What do you say, Byleth." Claude shrugged. "Fancy watching a bunch of us running around like chickens with their heads cut off?"

"I'll ask my father." He relented. "But I'm not sure how you all expect me to pick which of you to train with."

Just pick your favorite, obviously.

"Oh that's simple enough." Edelgard told him. "Just pick the one you least want to make into a lifelong enemy."

There was a moment of silence, as Byleth, Claude, and Dimitri all turned their heads in unison to stare at Edelgard, faces etched with consternation. She calmly speared a bite of eggs with her fork before glancing up at them all.

"What?" She looked between them, vaguely confused. Comprehension dawned as she took in the looks on their faces, and she rolled her eyes with a huff. "Obviously I was joking."

"Ri-iiiight." Claude drawled.

"No one is going to hold anything against you." Dimitri assured Byleth. "We're none of us that vindictive."

"Speak for yourself." Edelgard muttered, but Byleth thought he caught a mischievous upturn at the corner of her lips. He rolled his eyes.

"How about I just train with all three of your houses." He offered. "We can do one session with each house to keep things fair and balanced."

"That's an excellent idea." Dimitri smiled at him. "I don't know why I didn't think of it. What do you think? Edelgard? Claude?"

"It will do." Claude allowed. Edelgard nodded her agreement.

"Good." Dimitri smiled. "I was going to offer to show you on a tour of the monastery in exchange, Byleth, if you're interested."

Byleth considered. Seteth had probably intended for him to wait in the dining hall for his return, but on the other hand…this might be a good opportunity to take stock of his surroundings.

"That would be appreciated." Byleth admitted with a glance down at his plate. He was just about finished.

"Have a good time." Claude told them, clearly settling in for a chat with Edelgard.

"I'll see you both later." Byleth assured them, before he and Dimitri cleared their plates.

"Was there anything in particular you'd like to see?" Dimitri asked him, once they were headed for the exit.

Actually, I have an idea. Sothis told him.

Byleth nodded slowly as she explained her thinking.

"Does the monastery have a library?"

-Flower Red-

The monastery did indeed have a library, and it was easily the largest Byleth had ever seen. When Dimitri first showed him in he had been overwhelmed to see so many books all in one place. For all his life, books were a rare and expensive treasure, which he had to diligently hunt for in every city they passed through.

But this…the monastery had a dragon's hoard worth of the stuff.

Just as I thought. Sothis had smugly proclaimed. We should be able to find some answers here.

Byleth had happily agreed, and successfully convinced Dimitri to leave him to his own devices. There were a large number of topics to look into. Sothis, his dreams, and Rhea's history with his father came quickly to mind. All he needed was the right information.

And libraries, as he swiftly grew to understand, are full of information.

Here was a book on the liturgical practices of the church. There was a history of Faerghus' wars with Sreng. Another book was filled with lectures delivered by a noted traveling theologian just two hundred years prior.

It was like drowning in the middle of the ocean. How could he be surrounded by knowledge, and none of it was useful?

"Did you need help finding something, young man?" An old librarian asked him. Byleth sighed, and offered him a sheepish grin.

"I'm afraid I do." He gestured at the stack before him. "I've been trying to find—"

Recent history! Sothis interjected.

"…something on recent history." Byleth managed not to frown at Sothis' interjection. "But I've only just arrived and I don't know how the library is organized."

"Oh, not to worry." The man smiled. "I find that the library is a tad confusing myself sometimes. That's why we have a reference book at the front."

"A reference book?"

"Yes, just to keep things straight." The old man gestured with his walking stick over to the door. "But you've only just arrived, and already visiting the library? Tell me, I must know, what is your name?"

"My name is Byleth." He told him. "And you are?"

"Tomas." The old man chuckled. "But I will leave you to your reading. It is good to see one so young as yourself who is dedicated to his studies."

"Thank you for your assistance." Byleth replied. The kindly old man merely nodded and walked away, hunched over his cane. Byleth meanwhile made his way over to a small pedestal near the entryway, where, sure enough, there was a large tome that listed various titles and their location throughout the library.

…Recent history?

Well, think about it. What do we really need to know first?

Byleth did think about it, while he idly thumbed through the reference book, and eventually concluded that Sothis had been correct. True, he would prefer some kind of explanation regarding Sothis or his peculiar dreams, but Sothis' presence had proven to be purely beneficial thus far, and his dreams were an age old problem. He couldn't remember a time they hadn't been around.

Meanwhile, studying recent history was both the most likely topic to lead him across Rhea's history with his father, and might even help him navigate Fodlan's surprisingly intricate politics. Definitely something he needed to make a higher priority given the way he'd been caught flatfooted at breakfast. Dimitri and Edelgard, and Claude for that matter, were friendly enough for nobles, but he doubted they'd be the last ones he meet during his stay in the monastery.

With that decided, Byleth turned his attention back to the tome before him. The book listed off several titles that stood out to him as useful, and he couldn't help feeling like a fool for all of those wasted hours picking books randomly off the shelves. Somebody needed to put the titles on the book bindings or something, to make them easier to identify.

It was the work of a moment to collect the books, and there was plenty of free seating. Byleth pulled open the first text and set to work.

-Flower Red-

"There you are." Seteth said, entering the library. Byleth glanced up in surprise. He had lost himself in his research amidst the quiet peace of the library and had failed to notice the man's approach.

"Here I am." He drawled back.

"The archbishop would like to meet with you, if that is agreeable." Seteth informed him. The look on his face made it clear that as far as he was concerned there was only one possible answer.

Oh dear.

"Of course." Byleth stood. Closing the book he had been reading, a history of the church, calmly. Despite racking his brains all day, he still had no idea what the archbishop wanted to meet with him for. It seemed he was about to find out.

"Right this way." Seteth told him.

They left the building and headed out into one of the monastery's gardens where Seteth showed him through to a well maintained space enclosed by tall hedges. Lady Rhea was seated at a small table beneath a gazebo with cups for tea set out, and rose to meet him as he approached.

"Byleth, it is good to see you." She greeted him. Unsure of the appropriate response, Byleth merely bowed silently in return, and in short order they were seated.

As he sat, and Lady Rhea began to quiz him concerning his morning, he couldn't help feeling inadequate. After all, while Lady Rhea appeared to be quite at ease, Jeralt had never taught him any thing about courtly manners or protocol. Byleth was undoubtedly making ignorant mistakes left and right.

Thankfully, the Archbishop of the Church of the Divine Seiros did not appear to be holding it against him.

Seiros. Unless he was mistaken, that was the name of the woman from his dream that morning. The famous saint who slew Nemesis was the Goddess' chosen hero sent to protect Fodlan from evil.

Over one thousand years ago in the past.

After a series of successful wars, Seiros had unified the continent in an era of peace that was considered Fodlan's golden age, and had established the church to guide the Goddess' creations. The Archbishops were traditionally chosen from among the woman's descendants.

Such as Lady Rhea.

There was no official genealogy available, but Byleth felt safe in the assumption she was related to the saint. The resemblance was striking. It had been a relief to learn that he hadn't been dreaming about the archbishop herself that morning, although his research still didn't provide him with any truly satisfactory answers regarding his increasingly peculiar life. It didn't make sense for him to be dreaming of a woman long dead either, and that wasn't even considering the situation with Sothis.

But it had at least made him feel better about this meeting.

They drank tea from the low table, and Byleth did his best to politely answer her questions. She seemed particularly interested in his tour with Dimitri, which had led them across most of the grounds before they entered the library.

"And what do you think of our monastery, was it to your liking?"

Byleth considered. The tour had been pleasant enough, but he had been distracted by that dream and of course, had only really been looking to pass the time. Was she looking for a particular answer?

What did he think of the monastery?

The gardens were beautiful, and the view of the surrounding mountains was quite good. The buildings were grand and well organized, but he'd ultimately just found his gaze drawn to the people. It was a strange collection, with the students mixing in with the church constantly. The way everyone walked about with a sense of purpose was interesting, and it was surprisingly peaceful.

"Ah." Byleth took a sip of his tea. "I rather liked it." It was true enough, and she could hardly be offended by a positive opinion of her own home.

"I'm glad." Rhea smiled, clearly pleased. "I had hoped you might, as I would like to invite you to join the staff of our officers academy."

Byleth didn't quite manage to contain his shock.

Well that's a surprise. Sothis muttered.

"You want to hire me?" Byleth had been worried about her strong-arming Jeralt into rejoining the Knights of Seiros, so he hadn't been expecting her to try and recruit him.

"Yes." Was Rhea's simple response. She considered him as he took in that new information.

"You are surprised?" She asked him with a pleased smile. "After all, you clearly have the skills. Alois recommended you himself."

"Alois?" Byleth managed to restrain himself somewhat, but some of his astonishment still slipped through. What had he possibly done to catch that man's attention?

"The way you stood to defend our students in that clearing, outnumbered and about to be overrun… He saw the look on your face." She pointed out. "Not a hint of panic, nor any fear. He almost thought you might defeat the bandits by sheer force of will."

Hearing that scene described from the outside hit him with a dull shock. Byleth remembered only the sinking feeling of failure, and the desperation he had felt. Certainly he had forged that emotion into a determination to see his charges survive, but that didn't change the facts. They had been in a tight spot and he hadn't seen any way out of it.

It reminded him that the archbishop was asking him to take on the responsibility for teaching these students how to fight. His success or failure would determine whether they lived or died. This was hardly a light matter, and the weight that settled on him at the thought doused his rising panic quite effectively.

"I'm not qualified." He told her flatly.

"Seldom few are." Rhea replied with equanimity. "We often have to do the best that we can, and trust in the Goddess that it will be enough. I believe you are more qualified than you know. But perhaps an explanation is in order?

Byleth couldn't see any harm in that, because it seemed unlikely that she could say anything to change his mind. Rhea was also much more likely to accept his decision to decline the offer if he listened.

"Please." He replied tersely.

"The officers academy is a relatively newer institution, at least as far as Fodlan is concerned." Rhea informed him. "It was established two centuries ago in response to the incursions from Almyra, which posed a threat to all three of the great nations."

A history lesson?

Byleth didn't mind actually. At least he was learning something useful out of all this. Although the information was probably in the library somewhere…

"Consequently, while the academy is intended as a school to raise up the next generation of leaders, we have always placed a strong emphasis on gaining personal combat experience." Rhea continued. "In times of peace we train this by putting the students through numerous mock battles and similar exercises."

That all sounded well and good, but Byleth didn't see how it had anything to do with him.

"Our current faculty…is not very suited towards this goal," Rhea pursed her lips. "They have a great deal of expertise in their own chosen fields, but we are sorely lacking in the arena of firsthand combat experience."

Now Byleth was beginning to get the picture. He held up his hand to interject.

"What about the Knights of Seiros?" Byleth asked her. "Dimitri mentioned that they served as additional tutors already, why not select one of them for a full time position?"

"The Knights are one possible solution." Rhea acknowledged. "But they are stretched thin as it is. I can, and will if necessary, appoint one to the academy. I would prefer to avoid it, if at all possible."

"So you decided to hire me." Byleth concluded for her. And naturally, she would disclaim Jeralt as an option for much the same reasons. Being that the Knights were stretched thin and she wanted him to rejoin them to help with their problems there.

Strange as it seemed, hearing this actually reassured Byleth a great deal. Lady Rhea had been looming over his head, a powerful figure with uncertain motives, and to hear that she had seen Jeralt and Byleth as a potential answer to some of her problems…well. That was how most people saw mercenaries. Byleth could understand this kind of thing.

That doesn't explain Jeralt's discomfort. Sothis reminded him.

"I don't think my father intends to stay." Byleth told her. After all, qualified or not, it would all be moot if they left at the end of the week.

"Yes, he informed me of that this morning." Rhea admitted. "I will pray that the Goddess may touch his heart on the matter, but you do not have to follow him if you would choose to stay. You will always be welcome at the monastery."

"That's…" Byleth didn't know how to respond to that. It felt as if his mind had just stumbled over a stone on the road, and he was still trying to regain his footing.

"But I understand this is a lot to take in." Rhea assured him kindly. "I do not wish to pressure you, please take some time to think about it. Meet with the students, tour the rest of the grounds, and consider your options."

Well that's considerate of her.

"How long do I have?" Byleth asked her.

"The classes are set to begin in a week." Rhea admitted with a wry smile. "So not as long as I would prefer to give you. I will need an answer by Sunday."

That was just six days away. Not a long time to make a life-changing decision. And Byleth truly didn't know what the right answer should be. He usually left such decisions up to his father.

Perhaps you should ask Jeralt. Sothis suggested. He knows more than we do about this place, after all

"I'll think about it." He allowed at last. Rhea smiled at him gratefully.

"Wonderful." She replied. "I will pray for the Goddess to light your path."

Author's Note: Well I bet no one ever thought they'd see this, and to be honest neither did I! You can thank inexacterminology for writing "Those Who Soar into Dawn", which is a fic on AO3 that I believe strikes many of the same notes I was going for with this story. They reminded me of just how much I love these characters/Three Houses story.

I'm partway into the next chapter already, so hopefully I can get back into a regular routine here. If you feel inclined to encourage me reviews/PMs with feedback are your best option!