alt. title: the girl in the tower — male byleth x reader
Requested x reader
•••
It had been a few weeks since Byleth had arrived at Garreg Mach Monastery. It brought him joy to think that the class he chose to teach, the Blue Lions, were warming up to the stoic male faster than he had thought. Every single day, he'd pass by the Officer's Academy doing something with his students, whether it be delivering papers, teaching weapon techniques, or just spending time with them.
But no matter what, everyday Byleth noticed something peculiar near the Knight's Quarters. It was a rather tall tower, around 3 quarters of the height of the cathedral. It always had caught the professor's eye, with the windows always covered with curtains, and today he decided to approach Rhea, or maybe anybody, about it.
"Cyril, was it?" He called out to the shorter boy near him. Cyril was sweeping the floor of the Reception Hall, and his head perked up once he heard somebody call his name. Cyril lowered the broomstick and made eye contact with the professor.
"Oh, hello! You're that new professor I saw near the greenhouse a few weeks back." Cyril pointed out. Byleth nodded. "Okay, just making sure. Is there anything you need help with?"
Byleth nodded yet again, causing Cyril to face directly at him. "Do you perhaps know about the tower near the Knight's Quarters? I've been curious about it for a while now."
"Oh, that tower." Cyril sighed. He fixed his shirt, and put a hand on his hip. "It's quite a long story that Lady Rhea told me. I don't have time to explain, but I'm sure Lady Rhea will tell you if you just ask politely. One things for sure, the girl that lives there had a rough life."
This piqued Byleth's curiosity even more. Rhea has associations with the girl in the tower, given that there even is a girl anymore? Well, of course, why would she be here if Rhea didn't know them. But to know a whole story about why she's up there... Was she up to no good? Was this a punishment for a crime, perhaps?
They bid each other farewell, and Byleth climbed the stairs to the second floor. Once he entered the Archbishop's chamber, Rhea almost instantly took notice of him. She welcomed him with a warm, genuine smile as he approached.
"Welcome, professor." Rhea greeted. Byleth kept walking as she continued on, "I hope you're growing accustomed to the monastery."
"Let's put it that way." Byleth responded. "May I ask you a question, Lady Rhea?"
"Of course, professor. Ask me anything."
"Cyril told me there's a girl that's living in that tower near the Knight's Quarters." Byleth said. "If it isn't too much of a bother, can you perhaps tell me why she's up there?"
Rhea turned away, looking up at the stained glass art behind her seat. "Ah, you must be talking about Y/N.
"She was born in the Empire, under a locksmith's name. Y/N always tested her father's locks for him, and she didn't seem to mind, as she was an excellent lockpicker. However, one day something or... someone was able to break into their home and took everything; Including her father. During this time Hanneman was visiting the Empire and managed to take her in under his care after her father's funeral. Y/N's never been the same ever since.
"Y/N isolated herself and became somewhat like her father, and even her mother. She'd stay inside her room, making new things, reading books, waving a dagger around or even just singing melodies she heard Manuela sing when she visited instead of Hanneman. To keep herself from going insane, she'd go on walks to grab whatever she needed from the library, food from the kitchen, very early in the morning. She's a pleasant one, she just doesn't like showing her face anymore.
"... Professor, would you be so kind as to try talking to her?" Rhea looked back and faced Byleth with pleasing eyes. "Perhaps she just needs to surround herself with the right company."
Byleth nodded, and they said goodbye before he exited the chamber. A girl who voluntarily isolated herself? That sounds familiar... *COUGH* bernadetta *COUGH*. He had some spare time left, so he headed towards the lonely tower, with his cloak hanging from his shoulders.
•••
After a long, very long flight of stairs Byleth was face to face with the door to the room of... Y/N, was it? The door was decorated was flowers of all types, whether it be purple, yellow, white, or red. Byleth heard feint sounds of wood and steel clashing together.
'Should I... knock...?' The professor asked. He nodded to himself and knocked the door trying his best to be quiet.
"WAGGHhh!" A voice yelped. The supposed pieces of wood and steel along with what sounded like a stick hit the ground. "Not again...!"
Byleth tried his hardest to stay stone-faced.
The girl inside slid her chair back and stood up. It was clear she was walking towards the door. She took what Byleth could only hope was a peek through the peephole Y/N probably put there herself.
"You're definitely not Manuela. Far from 'er." She spoke. "... What do you want? State your business and leave!"
'Pleasant indeed, Lady Rhea.' Byleth rolled his eyes. "I'm... I'm here to keep you company. You're Y/N, correct? Have you heard of the new professor that came recently? That's me."
A gasp was heard through the door. "You're really the new professor? For you to be so young... Say, which house are you teaching?"
"I'm teaching the Blue Lions. Why?"
"Oooh, them! I saw their leader pass by here with the two other ones. They look so cool but look so unapproachable... They're just so scary!" Byleth somehow felt a smile come from the girl behind the door. For once in his life, Byleth felt inclined to smile too.
Byleth put his small stack of papers onto the floor and sat down. This was going to eat up at his time, he was sure, but he didn't mind. "They are intimidating, yes. Maybe I could bring Dimitri here and you'll see that he's not as mean as he seems."
"You'd do that for me?" Y/N looked through the peephole to see Byleth smiling, and nodding his head. "Aw geez, you really don't have to, but it gets real lonely up here... Thank you so much, professor."
The two spent the rest of Byleth's free time talking about his students. He had also found out the reasoning behind Y/N's secrecy; because she didn't want herself or anybody who became close to her to become a target for assassination like her father. Although Byleth couldn't help but feel as though he could relate to Y/N's insecurity, he did his best as to listen to her problems. It really did sound like talking to somebody about things that trouble you helps...
•••
"S-So, you're Dimitri, huh?" Y/N spoke from behind the door.
It had been exactly one day since Byleth's first visit. Byleth invited Dimitri to come with him to the tower, and he gladly accepted, despite the tower giving him a shiver that came out of nowhere. And of course, Dimitri wouldn't go anywhere without Dedue by his side. Byleth was standing near the stairs, watching the conversation unfold. She's finally talking to people!
"Yes, I am. You're the girl living in this tower, presume?" Dimitri responds. "I've heard about you all around. Rumours about the girl in the tower, coming to haunt you if you stay out too long."
Y/N sighed from behind the door. "So that's what my label is, huh? 'The girl in the tower?' Jeez!"
"Oh, my apologies if that bothers you!" Dimitri almost immediately responded when he heard Y/N wailing.
"Oh, no no no, it's fine. It's really interesting how rumours spread, and some aren't even true. Like that haunting thing."
Over time, Y/N quickly became friends with the other students of the Blue Lions, granted they came in pairs.
Sylvain jumped at the chance of wooing a new girl and Ingrid decided she'd need to come along too if nobody wanted the tower to crash down into dust.
Ashe visited with Felix, for the sole reason that 'Y/N might be a good sparring partner' and 'She might teach us a lot of stuff'. Needless to say, Ashe did all the talking.
Mercedes and Annette baked sweets the night before Byleth took them up to Y/N, and that was the first time Y/N opened the door for anybody, really. Though, she opened the creaky, loud door just enough so that they could slide the sweets to her, but not see any of her physical features.
No matter what, all they could use to recognize the girl behind the door was her voice. She made sure of it, too.
Byleth enjoyed hearing the joyous laughter and chatter between his students and Y/N. That girl was very lonely before their visits. Looks like she just needed the right group of people to talk to.
•••
"Professor!"
Byleth looked up from his plate of breakfast food to see Mercedes and Annette calling out to him in the table of the Blue Lions, both smiling from ear to ear."Can we go see Y/N again? We have more things we want to ask her!"
When the duo visited Y/N, the three of them really hit it off. They kept on talking and talking about all sorts of things, like fighting, sweets, cute things Y/N sees from up there, it was utter chaos. They became closer quickly, and Byleth had to cut into their conversation to tell the girls it was time to go. However, they didn't leave without saying a ton of goodbyes.
"Alright, what time works for—"
Before Byleth can finish his sentence, murmur started filling the dining hall. Whispers were shared as quiet as the wind, and it made Byleth curious as to what caused this sort of commotion. Mercedes and Annette turned around, their eyes widening at the sight.
Byleth turned around too, to see a girl around his student's ages. It was clear that almost nobody in the room had seen her before. Her H/C hair would fall behind her and shy E/C eyes would scan the room, like she was looking for something. Her H/C eyebrows her creased upwards. She seemed to be breaking into a nervous sweat, and the hands holding her food were shaking. Hanneman and Manuela were staring in shock.
She seemed to be mumbling something under her breath, until her eyes met Byleth's. The dull, quiet eyes were replaced with what seemed to be normal ones as she walked towards him. Byleth, Mercedes and Annette, as well as the rest of the room, were in shock as she took her seat across from him.
Making sure that no one else was paying attention to her except for the students and their professor, she turned to them and waved timidly. "Hello there. Recognize me?" Once she talked, the majority of the Blue Lions of which her conversations have gone well with welcomed her with open arms.
It was Y/N.
They gave her the courage to step out of her shell.
And it all started with Byleth.
•••
Hhhhhh does this count????
im so sorry if this wasnt what you were expecting
it was my only good idea
published: 09/17/19