A Force I Can't Run From (A Fire Emblem Twisted Tale)

Chapter 8: A Past in Ruins

The pond was about the only decently kept area in the whole monastery. The greenhouse plants were all wilted. The image of Dedue and Ashe excitedly showing Byleth their extensive knowledge on plants. (Or at least Ashe being excited. Dedue was as stoic as always, but Byleth could've sworn whenever she did encounter him in the greenhouse, the gentle giant would be smiling.) She remembered Annette telling her about an encounter she had with Felix in the greenhouse, where he walked in on her singing one of her silly songs to herself and she was embarrassed to the point of hiding in her room like Bernie for the rest of the day.

Byleth noticed a small pile of unused seeds out in the open. She planted them for a brief moment of nostalgia and to feel at least a slither of emotion.

The dinning hall was dusty and filled with expired and rotten foods. The many feasts that were held there seemed like a far off memory now. The empty room served as a reminder of the past, back when everyone was united and didn't care about the future or each other's status's. It's unfair.. We can never do that again.. Byleth added in her thoughts.

The entry halls walls and carpets were destroyed, the courtyards were overgrown and unkept, the Knight's Hall trashed with books and broken training dummies scattered around, and the graveyard was severely unkept with the overgrown grass and dead flowers.

While surveying the damage, Byleth made a stop at the graveyard where her parents were buried. She crouched down and wiped off the thin layer of dust on the tombstone and read the same words carved on there from nearly 2 years ago.

Jeralt Eisner

???-1180

Sitri Eisner

1139-1159

Missed by many, but still in our hearts

For nearly the first time in a year, Byleth felt a twitch of emotion. Sadness, regret, guilt, all of the emotions were releasing after being suppressed for a year. Her eyes watered quickly and silent tears fell from her face onto the gravestones. Despite her father being dead for nearly 2 years, the hole left in her soul still felt empty as if it happened yesterday.

"Father.. I'm sorry I couldn't save you." Byleth said to herself out-loud. "But I promise I will avenge you. Everyone involved in your murder will pay."

Before departing her parent's graves, Byleth found some wildflowers to put on the graves. While it's not the best gesture, it would have to do until the flowers in the greenhouse she planted bloomed.

Meanwhile, Dimitri was surveying the damage on the other side of the monastery. Some of the dorms were untouched and even still had belongings of former students. Vines grew along the brick walls and some even reached the top of the second floor. The sauna appeared out of order but could probably be fixed with the right person. The training grounds were littered with broken dummies and weapons. Whoever used it last clearly had no regard in at least cleaning up the place. Thieves will be thieves, Dimitri supposed. But that doesn't mean they should run free. Especially the ones that kill for sport. Dimitri thought.

As always, the voices where murmuring to him. Mostly about Edelgard or even how he shouldn't be wasting his time with trivial things at the monastery. Dimitri mentally sighed and picked up a training lance to practice fighting against one of the few unbroken dummies.

Byleth was doing one last check around the grounds when she spotted a mysterious passage way she never saw before. She crept closer to inspect it. It was a somewhat hidden trapdoor the led underground. Maybe that was where the thieves are hiding. Before going in, Byleth debated if she should tell Dimitri where she was going. On one hand, if she doesn't, there's a chance Dimitri would get too worried about her. And if she didn't make it out alive, that could spell disaster. However, what lurks down there would be just petty thieves. She could easily take them out alone. Bringing along another mentally deranged person wouldn't be wise.