How many years has it been?
As Beleth gazed at the grand palace before him, he could not stop the memories from flooding into his mind.
This estate used to be as rightfully his as it was for the royalty living inside, but returning now, almost eight years later, he was now nothing more than another servant.
He pushed the thought out of his mind. He had never thought of this palace as his own. Not as a child, not now, not ever.
"Are you the new servant?" A voice pulled him out of his thoughts. A man with dark hair pulled into a small ponytail behind his head was approaching him with narrowed eyes. The first thought Beleth had was how similar they looked to each other: similar height, similar hair colour, similar hairstyle, even a similar look in their eyes.
Yet they were clearly different. Beleth knew he did not have the same glint of hungry competition in his eyes. He made a silent note to himself. Such a spirit made a person strong, but it also made them dangerous.
"Yes, I am," Beleth replied.
The other man simply nodded and gestured for Beleth to follow him.
"I will introduce you to the Princess," he said. He paused. "Have you really only been hired as a servant?"
Beleth nodded.
"You don't seem like a simple servant or butler. You see, like me."
"I don't know what you mean," Beleth responded carefully.
"Felix Hugo Fraldarius," he introduced himself. "Member of the Princess' personal guards."
"Beleth," he responded. Felix looked at him as if expecting more, but Beleth did not say anything else.
"So, is this your first time at the palace?" Felix asked.
Beleth opened his mouth to respond, but he was interrupted by the ringing of bells. He stopped in his tracks, startled.
"Those are the church bells," Felix explained. "They ring each day at three o'clock."
Beleth gave a slight nod, not exactly listening to Felix, but to the tinkling laughs of him and his sister, running around in the courtyard. The bells rang every day, but this was his first time learning they rang at three o'clock.
He closed his eyes. It was also three o'clock that day when he and his sister were pulled apart. Their mother held his sister back as their father grabbed him, taking him away. As Beleth was ripped away from his sister's hands, he remembered the ringing of the bells.
An announcement of tragedy.
"Beleth?" Felix said, and Beleth's eyes flew open. Felix was now far ahead of him. "Are you sleeping where you stand? Keep up."
"Yes. Sorry," Beleth responded, quickening his pace to catch up with the other man.
"You sure space out a lot," Felix commented. "Something caught your eye? Something familiar?"
Beleth clenched his jaw. "No," he finally responded. "This is my first time here."
Thankfully, Felix did not ask any more questions. They walked quietly through the courtyard, into the servants' entrance, and up a number of stairs until they made it to the top floor.
Felix unlocked the door. Down the hallway was a girl, dressed in a dark but ornate dress. A blank expression rested on her face as she looked out the open balcony.
"Greet her," Felix said. "I will be waiting outside."
Beleth walked in and Felix closed the door behind him. It made a much louder sound than when it was opened, catching the girl's attention and she turned towards him. A flicker of emotion appeared in her eyes as she laid sight of him.
It took everything in Beleth not to break into a run. Instead, he took a deep breath and calmly approached the Princess. Her blue eyes were wide, a fan hiding her mouth, likely agape with shock.
Beleth stopped a respectable distance away from her. "Your Majesty," he said, forcing his voice steady.
Byleth took a shaky step towards him. She raised her other hand to his cheek, as if unable to discern if he was real or not. "...Beleth?" she whispered in disbelief. "Is...Is that you?"
Beleth gently took her hand and bent a knee. "Yes, Your Majesty." He kissed the back of her hand.
"You're really here. You came back to me."
"As someone you need. I won't be as useless as I was before."
To Beleth's surprise, she pulled him to his feet, and they stared eye-to-eye. She had grown taller, but so did he—with her high heels, they were almost the same height. Her hair was quite short; if Beleth took out his ponytail and let his hair fall to the top of his shoulders, their hair would be the same length. Their face may have been the exact same, but the difference in their clothing clearly showed the difference in their status.
But at this moment, Beleth did not see the Princess of the Adrestian Empire, but just his twin sister, who he had, for years, longed to be reunited with.
"Beleth," she said.
He wanted to hug her, but he reminded himself of the reason he returned. It was not to take his place as Byleth's brother, but to be her servant so he would be able to protect her in the way he was not able to before.
He swallowed the lump in his throat. "Yes, Your Majesty," he responded.
Beleth had just finished preparing afternoon tea when the bells rang. He stiffened as he listened; they chimed three times before leaving with a ringing silence.
He stood at attention, patiently waiting for the Princess to return. The time ticked on.
He checked his pocket watch. Five past three. Quarter past three. The tea would be getting cold soon.
"Excuse me," Beleth stopped a hall boy passing by. "Where is Princess Byleth?"
"The Princess?" the dark-haired boy slowed down but did not stop. "I believe she is still in the throne room," he told him over his shoulder.
Beleth headed to the throne room, where he immediately spotted her, sitting at her throne. She was resting her head on her hand as she listened, emotionless, her fan limp in her hands. There was a man, standing in front of the throne, looking calm on the surface, but Beleth could tell from his clenched fists that something was wrong.
"Your Majesty," the man said in a strained voice. "Please understand I am only thinking of the good of the Empire and Your Majesty's image to the people. I—"
"I have no need for you to worry about my image," Byleth cut him off.
"Your Majesty—"
"Are you suggesting I am to serve the people?"
"No, but—"
"I have heard enough." Byleth waved her hand, and a team of guards grabbed him, wrapping his arms behind his back. "Kneel before me."
The guards forced the man to his knees.
"Don't you forget your place. Take him to the execution yard," Byleth commanded, not a hint of doubt or guilt in her voice. She could have been asking for a cup of tea or asking the curtains to be drawn with how casually she sentenced him to death.
The man's eyes widened as he realized what had happened. Beleth felt his blood grow cold, but he did nothing. He stood still and watched blankly as the man, despite his protests, was taken away.
Byleth rose to her feet, and everyone in the room immediately dropped down to one knee. She turned to look at the person who dared to not kneel, and her eyes brightened slightly when she realized it was Beleth.
He bowed as she approached him. "Your Majesty, your afternoon tea is ready."
"Ah, yes, it's past tea time. Thank you," Byleth said. He offered his arm, and she took it. He guided her out of the throne room, ignoring the burning looks of the other servants and guards.
"You did well today, my lady. You must be tired," Beleth said, escorting her to the indoor garden, where the table holding the tea and an assortment of snacks were waiting.
He helped her into her seat before pouring tea into her teacup. Thankfully, it was still warm enough to steam as it was poured.
"Thank you." Byleth took a sip. "...It tastes wonderful."
"May I offer you a scone?" Beleth gestured towards the jam-filled scones, and when his sister nodded, proceeded to fill a small plate with them.
Byleth watched him closely. "You know, Beleth, you don't have to be so stiff around me like everyone else. I don't mind."
A warm feeling spread through his chest. "Then I'll take your offer on that," he said. "You too. Don't be afraid to request anything."
"Then..." Byleth handed him her fan. "I won't be needing this anymore today. Could you put it in my room?"
"Of course, my lady."
Beleth headed up the stairs towards her chambers on the top floor. While walking down the open hallway, a wail drew his attention downwards to one of the courtyards.
A girl had collapsed to the ground, her tattered clothes showing that she was a normal villager. A man was laying limp in her arms. After a moment, Beleth realized the man was headless.
She must be the sister or lover of the man Byleth had just sentenced to death. She looked young, perhaps the same age as them, but her brown hair tied into pigtails made her look even younger. She gripped the body in her arms, as if he would magically regrow his head if she squeezed him hard enough.
"Hubert...no!" Beleth heard her cry.
He spotted Felix standing in front of her, watching silently. Beleth was surprised he did nothing to stop the racket she was causing, but after thinking he realized it must be because the Princess would not be able to hear her grieve. After she finished crying, Felix would surely kick her out with the body.
But this did not involve Beleth, and it did not pose any threat to the Princess' happiness, health, or safety, so he had no reason to care.
He tore his eyes from the scene and continued down the hallway, but the image of the girl clutching the headless body as his blood-soaked her hands and clothes continued to trouble him.
Those tearful eyes...
Beleth had no problem imagining those same eyes lit up in rage and fury.
As Beleth ran down the hallway, he felt his heart was going to explode out of his throat.
Please be okay, please be okay...
"Byleth!" Beleth shouted, throwing the doors to the Princess' room open.
The lighting was dim, but he could make out the bloodied figures of people, laying stone-dead on the ground. Felix was standing with his back to her, sword in hand. When he realized it was Beleth who had burst into the room, he lowered his sword.
"Beleth," Byleth said.
He rushed to her side. "Are you hurt?" When she shook her head, he let out a silent breath of relief.
"Assassins," Felix said. "How cowardly."
Byleth looked emotionless as usual, but Beleth could tell she was holding her fear back. He pulled the blanket off of her bed and wrapped it around his sister. Felix, rightly understanding that his work was done and he was no longer welcome, left the room quietly.
"I'm alright," Byleth told him. She could probably fool anyone else, even Felix, who had been around her for a couple of years now. But not him, who shared the same face as her. "I will make sure this doesn't happen again," he promised.
"You couldn't have done anything to prevent this."
"There's always something I can do. I will do whatever it takes to protect you, my lady," Beleth said. He took her hand in his and brought the back of her hand to his lips.