Dimitri:
Dimitri sat in his bed recounting what Byleth had told him and Claude. Dimitri wondered if it was possible that the Immaculate one was somehow related to the Relics and if so why was the church so keen on keeping it out of grasp."This is frustrating" he thought and sighed. Dimitri was never particularly fond of the church as others were but as the next heir to the throne he understood that there was a necessity for them to keep stability for the people, but what if they weren't doing that and instead were following their own agenda. Would he be able to let them coincide in his kingdom? "That's blasphemy" Dimitri thought to himself. He sat up and looked out his window the sun was already coming up and if like clockwork there was a knock on his door. Dimitri felt a pit in his stomach he knew who it was and he didn't want to deal with her right now, he can't handle another one of her sessions where she is just sucking his face.
"Prince Dimitri" A high pitched voice sang outside of his room "It's me!" The voice added. Dimitri shuddered in horror, although he did feel a little guilty that he had yet to learn this girl's name but the chance to ask her never came so he just learned to move past that. Dimitri got dressed and then opened the door, and ran straight into Sylvains room.
"Uh... you're highness? why are you in my room?" Sylvain asked as he got himself out of bed.
"Sorry I need to... hide. In here. Just for a while. I'll have you know this is all your fault!" Dimitri said.
"Hide? From who?" Sylvain asked.
"It's, ugh.. a girl" Dimitri mumbled.
"I'm sorry a what?" Sylvain said teasingly "Could this be that girl who's been following you around like a lap dog for this past month?" Sylvain asked
"This is all because of your insistence that I go and ask a girl out!" Dimitri shouted.
You didn't give her a dagger did you? Is that why you are hiding? Does she have a dagger, Dimitri?" Sylvain joked. "So you invited a girl to dinner, and now she's chasing you around. What's the big deal? Sylvain sighed. He was quiet for a moment and then a grin crossed his face "Unless... Did you use one of my pick-up lines? Those words are dangerous in the wrong hands" Sylvain laughed. "With me, people know a line is a line and I'm joking. But you... Nobody's ever accused you of being funny. Sylvain added.
"I clearly underestimated the difficulty of the task, but... what do I do now?" Dimitri asked.
"Relax your highness I'll sort this whole thing out real easy" Sylvain said "All we have to do is figure out how to make this girl lose interest in you" he added. "And making girls lose interest is what i'm best at! You just wait right there, and I'll fix everything" Sylvain said determined.
"It was my naivete that brought this about, I cannot place this immense burden on your shoulders..." Dimitri sighed.
"This is no job for an amateur, you need a professional's help" Sylvain said sternly. "Trying to do everything by yourself has never served you well, so just leave this to the master" he said confidently "Even the dagger incident could have been avoided if you had just talked to me beforehand" Sylvain added.
"There wasn't time for consultation! I had only learned of her leaving on the day of her departure" Dimitri said defensively.
"Whatever you say, The point is you need to rely on me for these types of things in the future" Sylvain said "For now I got this. And if I ever need help with... something you have to help me with, then maybe you can do the same for me" Sylvain added.
"Sylvain..." Dimitri said "Very well when that time comes, I promise to help you as best as I can" Dimitri said with a smile "A knight of Faerghus never goes back on his word... Isn't that right?" he added "You're a good man, Sylvain. I'm sorry to do this to you. Best of luck!" Dimitri said.
"Please, your highness I've spent years honing my skills for just this situation, watch and learn" Sylvain said confidently then he walked outside of his room to deal with the girl. Dimitri waited a few minutes until Sylvain returned.
"So how'd it go?" Dimitri asked.
"Boy, your highness you know how to choose them" Sylvain sighed "I think you can imagine she was upset, and very insistent that she would be the next queen of Faerghus" he added "I did however get her to agree to leave you alone but... she wants to be the person you do the first dance with at the ball" Sylvain said.
"Whatever it takes to get my freedom back," Dimitri said.
"Hmm... I'm a bit surprised by that response" Sylvain said "I figured you'd want your first dance to be with Byleth" He added "I suppose there is no use dwelling on it though" he sighed "As of today you're a free man Dimitri, Go be free" Sylvain shouted while shoving Dimitri out of his room.
Dimitri walked around the monastery by himself for the first time in a month, he made his way to the training grounds when he got there he saw Byleth and her Father Jeralt training the orphans. Dimitri laughed a little at the thought of her roping her Dad into helping as well. "Dimitri" Jeralt called out "Come join us in training these kids" he added, Dimitri complied he went over there and picked up a sword. "Alright now you and Byleth demonstrate to the kids how to use a sword" Jeralt said, and both Byleth and Dimitri followed his command. As they fought each-other Jeralt was giving instruction to the children on what they should be looking for in their postures and swings. Once they finished training the kids Jeralt turned to them "Hey did I tell you kids that I'm assigned to teach your class this month?" Jeralt asked. Both Byleth and Dimitri looked surprised "Heh I don't think I've ever seen you look that shocked kiddo" he said to Byleth while tussling her hair. "I'm a bit surprised too kiddo, I thought Rhea might send me on some mission so that I wouldn't be able to do it this month" Jeralt added, and Byleth nodded. "Anyways I've got to get some things for the lecture from my office so I'll see you two in class" Jeralt said leaving Byleth and Dimitri alone.
"Should we head to class?" Dimitri asked Byleth and she nodded, the two walked in silence for a while, "Thank you for your help Byleth" he said referring to her help with the orphans., "Please allow me to express my gratitude by taking you to dinner" Dimitri said.
Byleth seemed surprised at Dimitri's gratitude, she paused for a moment thinking it over "I would be delighted" Byleth responded.
Dimitri seemed pleased by her response "Fantastic, Please think about what you'd like to eat, After all such magnificent guidance must work up quite an appetite" Dimitri said "You know I've studied swordsmanship for quite some time, but your mercenary skills are something else entirely" he said excitedly "Speaking of which, there's... another question I must ask you" Dimitri said hesitantly, and Byleth looked at him curiously. "Were you reconciled with the reality of battle from your first foray?" he said "With... the killing part, I mean" Dimitri added quietly.
"No, It was never easy" Byleth sighed.
"I see," Dimitri said.
"And you?" Byleth asked.
"No... I do not carry that burden well, I doubt that will ever change, no matter how many years come and go" Dimitri sighed "The first time I led on the battlefield, I was sent to quell a rebellion in the west" he said "It was not a difficult fight, the enemy was not well trained and their morale was low" he added. "A swing of the lance, and your opponent falls. A flash of your blade, and a path opens up. That's the sort of battle it was, easy... right?" Dimitri said, shaken.
"What caused the rebellion?" Byleth asked.
"The noble area from that area sought to seize the throne after my Father's untimely death" Dimitri said sadly "The leader of the rebel army was defeated and the rebellion quelled, This was the height of the post- war period" he added. Dimitri began telling Byleth about this locket he came across on a dead soldier's body that held a lock of hair in it. "I don't know to whom it belonged to, his wife, his daughter... mother, lover... I'll never know"Dimitri sighed "He was a soldier, an enemy, someone we had cut down without hesitation" he added "But in that moment, I realized he was also a real person, just like the rest of us" Dimitri said sadly. "Of course we cannot stand idly by and allow anyone to commit senseless acts of violence" he said passionately "Yet in dispensing what we call justice, we take the lives of cherished family members, Beloved friends" he sighed "Killing is part of the job, but even so... There are times when I'm chilled to the bone by the depravity of my own actions" Dimitri said sadly.
"I've felt the same way," Byleth said with a sigh.
Dimitri let out a sigh of relief "That you feel the same way is more comforting than you could know" Dimitri said, "Byleth? May I speak freely?" he asked and Byleth nodded "When we first met, I thought of you as someone who felt no strong feelings about killing your enemies" he said, a flash of hurt fell across Byleth's face "I could never trust someone who kills without batting an eye, My heart won't allow it" he added "But after speaking with you and getting to know you better, I can see you're not like that" he said "Now I know with all my heart that I can trust you, Thank you for that" Dimitri said, he looked over at Byleth for a moment he thought he saw a smile forming on her lips but it never showed.
Once the two of them made it to the Blue Lions classroom Byleth was immediately bombarded by the excitement of her return from their fellow classmates. Byleth was dragged away by Annette and Mercedes to sit with them so they could fill her in on all the gossip from the class for the month she missed. In the corner of the room Dimitri saw Sylvain pouting "They didn't welcome me like that" Sylvain sighed as Dimitri approached him.
"You're an idiot," Felix told Sylvain. A few minutes passed and Jeralt still hadn't come yet "Hmph, I wonder what's taking the professor so long" Felix said "Has anyone heard who it is yet?" Felix asked.
"Ah yes, our professor for this month is Jeralt" Dimitri said and Felix's eyes widened in excitement.
"Sorry for my tardiness" Jeralt's load voice boomed as he entered the classroom, "I had to attend an unscheduled meeting this morning with Lady Rhea" he said and the class looked at him in confusion "As some of you may know Flayn has gone missing" Jeralt began "We had knights searching for her all day yesterday" he added "However we have yet to find her, and in response to this Lady Rhea has assigned us to find Flayn as our monthly mission" Jeralt said "This is because there has been news of someone called the Death Knight who has been kidnapping people in the dead of night" he added "So our mission for this month is to find Flayn alive and well" Jeralt concluded. The class seemed shocked at the news of Flayn's disappearance, he heard whispers of hope that Flayn would be found alive and well. The rest of the class day Jeralt took them out to practicing sparring with one another at the training grounds. "Alright you kids are done for the day" Jeralt called out "Don't forget to be on the lookout for Flayn and go snooping around for some information" Jeralt added before he took off, probably to attend to his knightly duties Dimitri guessed.
Dimitri looked around for Byleth and he saw her exiting the training grounds, Dimitri took off after her "Byleth" he shouted. Byleth stopped in her tracks and turned around to Dimitri "Did you forget already? I was going to take you out for dinner" Dimitri said.
"Oh right" Byleth said "Maybe we should do that another day though" Byleth began, and Dimitri felt a little disappointed "It's just bad timing we should be investing our energy into finding Flayn" Byleth said.
Dimitri felt a little stupid for not having realized that on his own "Of course, you're right" Dimitri said "Let us begin our search for Flayn" Dimitri stated.
"Agreed" Byleth said while nodding "Although, now that you mentioned it I am a bit hungry" She said "How about we stop by the dinning hall first and then start looking for Flayn?" Byleth asked.
Dimitri let out a laugh "Ok, let's go shall we" Dimitri said and Byleth nodded in agreement.
Once they finished their lunches in the dining hall Byleth and Dimitri set out to interrogate the residence of the monastery about the whereabouts of dear Flayn. Most of the leads they got were baseless to say the least, however no tip was to small so they investigated it regardless of how stupid it seemed.
"Why'd you kidnap Flayn, Alois?" Byleth asked, the bluntness of her question caught both Alois and Dimitri off guard.
"What?!" Alois said in shock "I would never kidnap Flayn" he added.
"We heard that Flayn was seen yelling at you on multiple occasions" Byleth said.
"That was because of my jokes" Alois said "She thought they were incredibly unfunny" he added "Also that is hardly any reasoning for me to kidnap a person" he said "If it did I would have kidnapped almost everyone in the monastery" Alois laughed.
Byleth and Dimitri left Alois alone once they determined he wasn't the abductor, they checked out a few more leads but they didn't pan out either. Frustrated the both of them went to the dining hall to cool down. "Hey Felix" Byleth said once she saw him sitting alone at a table.
"Hello Byleth... and Boar" Felix said "Byleth why are you accompanied with the boar don't you have better things to do?" he asked and Dimitri felt a bit hurt by his remark.
"We're following up on tips for Flayn's disappearance" Byleth said.
"Oh, If I were you I'd look into Jeritza" Felix said.
"Jeritza?" Dimitri questioned.
"Yeah, there something about how he's been holding his blade lately that's been more impulsive and reckless, I also heard he wanders at night" Felix said
"Hmm, we should find out more about this then" Byleth said while heading towards the door to exit the dining hall.
"Thanks Felix" Dimitri said while chasing after Byleth. "So who should we ask about Jeritza?" Dimitri asked Byleth once he caught up with her.
"I was thinking maybe some of the knights?" Byleth said "Catherine for sure" she added.
Dimitri nodded "To the knight's training grounds it is" he said.
Once Byleth and Dimitri reached the knight's training grounds they immediately saw Catherine, they approached her and began asking her about Jeritza. "What's this about?" Catherine asked "Because not too long ago Manuela came to me to ask about Jeritza as well" she added.
"Why was Manuela asking about Jeritza?" Dimitri asked.
"I think she found his mask and was trying to return it" Catherine said "So what made him your suspect" she asked.
"He wanders the monastery at night, and he's been acting strange lately" Byleth said, Catherine seemed surprised by the response and told them that he'd probably be in the knight's quarters.
Byleth and Dimitri were going to head there right there but they decided to check in on Manuela to see what she found out . When they got to her office it was Empty "Hmm that's odd for Manuela" Byleth said, she then proceeded to go to her dad's office "Hey Dad have you seen professor Manuela?" she asked.
"Oh yeah I saw her a while ago, she told me she was heading to the knight's quarters, and she was carrying a mask" Jeralt said.
"Jeritza's mask?" Byleth asked.
"Um I'm not sure, I don't know the guy all that well" Jeralt said and Byleth nodded
Byleth turned to Dimitri "I'm going to head to the knights quarters" she said "Dimitri can you go wrangle up our class and meet me there" Byleth added. Dimitri was about to protest but then she unsheathed the sword of the creator "I'll be fine don't worry" Byleth said before taking off to the knights quarters, and Dimitri left to find their classmates.
Byleth:
Byleth made her way to the knights quarters once she got there she noticed Hubert outside "Hello Byleth" Hubert called out once she was about to enter, this irritated Byleth.
"Hello Hubert," Byleth said annoyed.
"I heard that you're looking for Flayn" he began "I don't think that Flayn will come up dead" he added "I'm fairly certain that it's just a kidnapping, and that Flayn will be returned eventually" Hubert said.
Byleth stood dumbfounded by what Hubert had just said, but now wasn't the time to fight him on his lack of empathy for the situation "I hope you're right" Byleth said through her teeth, then turned around and continued on to the knight's quarters. Byleth carefully approached Jeritza's room, she noticed that the door was already partially open.
"Byleth '' A voice called out, Byleth jumped in shock and she turned to see that it was Dimitri along with the rest of their class. "Sorry I scared you" Dimitri said apologetically, "It seems we got here just in time" he chuckled "Blue Lions brace yourself, we don't know what to expect'' Dimitri said then entered the room. The room would have seemed completely normal except there was a massive passageway in the wall that led who knows where and in front of the passageway was Manuela unconscious on the floor.
"Is she dead?" Annette said in a low voice.
Felix kneeled on the ground by Manuela and checked her pulse "No she's still alive" he said.
"What's going on in here?!" A voice boomed, the Blue Lions turned to see Professor Hanneman. Dimitri quickly explained what had happened. "I see" Hanneman said "Quick help me take her to the infirmary" Hanneman said to Dimitri. Dimitri seemed hesitant about leaving his classmates but he followed Hanneman's order.
"Be careful," Dimitri said before leaving with Manuela and Hanneman.
"Should we call for the knights?" Ashe said looking into the passageway.
"No, there is no time we have to act fast," Byleth responded.
"I agree," Felix said, and with that they entered into the passageway in hopes of finding Flayn.
"What is this place?" Annette asked as they explored further into the passage. "Byleth, someone is coming from further in! That scythe... Is that the knight who attacked us at the Holy Mausoleum?" Annette asked
"That sword, you must be..." The Death Knight said in a deep voice as he drew closer to them. "One of us will die, the other will live. I will enjoy this dance of damnation" he said, then warped away.
"Byleth be careful, it wouldn't be good for you to fall here" Sothis said.
"I know" Byleth responded, she continued onward.
"Are those soldiers?" Sylvain said in shock, Byleth looked and saw what Sylvain was referring to. The passage led into a room maze type thing that was filled with soldiers.
"Wait" Dedue shouted "Look at the floor, I would be careful where you step" he said, Byleth looked at the tiling on the floor and on every other tile it was different. With this in mind the Blue Lions proceeded onward with cation.
The battle proved to be difficult, there were many different twists and turns that awaited them alongside well trained soldiers, despite this the Blue Lions class was successful in this fight. They stood outside of a door that was in the way of them and the Death knight, Byleth opened the door with a key she found on one of the fallen soldiers. Two mages and two Cavalry units came from the room and attacked the students. Once they were taken down Byleth approached the Death Knight, behind him she saw Flayn unconscious on the floor along with another girl with red hair.
The Death Knight lunged at Byleth, and figure warped beside the knight to stop him"Halt, You're having a bit too much fun" The masked figure said.
"You're getting in the way of my game" The Death Knight said.
"Hmph, you'll have more opportunities to play soon, your work here is done" the unknown person said
"Understood, I will go..." The Death Knight said and warped away.
The individual then turned to Byleth "We will cross paths again, I am the Flame Emperor... It is I who will reforge the world" the Flame Emperor said, then followed the Death Knights lead and warped away.
"Are they both ok? We should get them out of here" Mercedes called out.
"The enemy's withdrawn let's carry them up" Dedue said while lifting one of the girls, and the Blue Lions made there way back through the passage.
"Thank goodness, those girls are pale as ghosts, but at least they're alive" Mercedes said as they re-entered Jeritza's room. "But that Death Knight person... feels so familiar" She mumbled.
"You found Flayn?! Thank goodness!" Dimitri said, barging into Jeritza's room.
"She was unconscious at the end of that secret passage, We found the culprit too... but he got away" Annette sighed.
"We almost had him," Byleth mumbled.
"I'm just grateful that everyone is safe, that's what matters most," Dimitri said in an attempt to raise their spirits. "I'd like to hear what transpired, but first we need to get these ladies to the infirmary" he added.
"Understood, we will go at once" Dedue said, then he left with Annette and Mercedes to the infirmary.
Dimitri turned to Byleth "I'm... I'm sorry, Byleth. I'm so relieved, I suddenly felt weak" he said.'' I couldn't be happier with how things turned out, and I imagine that no one will be more overjoyed than Seteth" Dimitri added. This made Byleth's chest feel warm that something she had done would make someone happy, A smile fell over her face and she turned her head in an attempt to hide it. "Hm? Hey Byleth, can you make that expression one more time?" Dimitri asked, looking at her stunned by this sudden showing of emotions.
"Like this?" Byleth asked, turning her face towards him with a grin.
Dimitri looked stunned "I don't think I've ever seen your face like that" he said "Heh, I apologize, I've forgotten myself and come dangerously close to teasing you" Dimitri said while his face turned a shade of red "It's just I've never seen you look so happy before, it's downright mesmerizing" he said shyly. "Ah but this isn't the time for idle chit chat, We must hurry and share the good news with Seteth! Dimitri said and then left from the room to find him.
After Dimitri had told Seteth what had happened he had requested to meet with Byleth, and once she arrived he thanked him profusely about saving Flayn's life. "I'm just happy she's safe" Byleth said to Seteth.
"Yes indeed, I... I too am overjoyed" he responded.
"But why was Flayn taken to begin with?" Byleth asked.
"I have an Idea, I believe that the enemy may have been after Flayn's blood" Seteth told Byleth "The blood that flows through her veins is special, it is extremely rare... and extremely dangerous" he added. He proceeded to tell Byleth how Flayn and him will most likely have to go into hiding.
"Brother wait" Flayn shouted and walked into the room.
"Flayn?! What are you doing here? you should be resting!" Seteth said sternly. Flayn begins to tell him how she doesn't want to go back into hiding that she dislikes the isolation greatly, then she suggests that she joins Byleth's class since she's capable and strong and if anything happens she can protect her.
"That's a great idea" Byleth said and Flayn looked overjoyed at her response.
"I see, I'm afraid you have a good point" Seteth sighed. He turned to Byleth and apologized for initially distrusting her. "So what do you say can I entrust you with Flayn's safety?" he asked.
"It would be my pleasure" Byleth said
"Excellent" Flayn and Seteth said in union.
"We should spend this day becoming more acquainted!" Flayn said to Byleth happily then dragged her off.
After a while of spending time with Flayn, she had to return to the infirmary and Byleth went to her room. "It's been a long day" She thought to herself, she felt a smile fall upon her lips once again.
"Aww, you really are happy to have found Flayn aren't you" Sothis said. "I am to but there is one thing bothering me, that girl that was with Flayn... who is she?" Sothis asked. "She appears to be a student since she had the uniform, but I haven't seen her around the monastery..." She said "Ugh so many mysteries" Sothis sighed.
"I agree it is a bit frustrating" Byleth said "However it's late, we'll find out more tomorrow in the meantime i need sleep" Byleth said with a yawn, she laid down and fell asleep immediately.