Hilda:
Hilda felt someone shaking her shoulders, "Hey wake up" the person said. Hilda groaned in response; she was exhausted especially after that stunt Claude pulled by making them fight the second, they arrived at the monastery. Didn't Claude know she was a delicate flower after all! "Hilda, come on wake up" the person continued, it took Hilda a moment, but she realized that it was Byleth that was trying to wake her up.
"No, come back later" Hilda groaned and rolled over.
Byleth sighed, Hilda thought for sure that meant she was victorious and would be able to remain sleeping but Byleth was cunning. "I guess I'll just have to ask Lorenz for help with waking you up" Byleth said.
Hilda immediately shot up from her sleep, "What do you know, I'm not tired anymore" Hilda said to Byleth.
Byleth let out a small laugh, "I didn't think that would actually work.
"I would do anything to avoid having to be in Lorenz's presence" Hilda said, she looked at Byleth and admiring her handiwork. "You know Byleth, the short hair suits you" Hilda said, it was cut straight right at her shoulders, there were still pieces of uneven hair that had stuck out from places higher than Hilda had cut.
Byleth smiled, "Thank you Hilda" she said. "Come on, Claude came by earlier and said that he required our assistance today" Byleth added.
"Ugh, stupid Claude" Hilda sighed, "What does he even need our help with?" she asked.
"We need to start getting merchants to come back to Garreg Mach" Byleth stated "So You, Claude, and I are going to nearby towns to inform them that Garreg Mach is back and will be safe for them to conduct business again" she added.
"Ugh, that's not fair" Hilda whined.
"Hilda, Claude made the choices for you very clear" Byleth began "Either you join us to nearby towns or you stay here at Garreg Mach and help everyone else with cleaning and clearing up rubble" she added sternly.
"Damn, Claude thought this through" Hilda thought to herself, as she rose to her feet. Hilda stuck her tongue out at Byleth when she saw the smirk of victory she had plastered over her face.
Hilda was cursing Claude in her mind the whole trip that it had taken to get to a nearby town. Don't get her wrong, sure she understood the necessity of getting merchants to Garreg Mach, but she did not understand the necessity of why she needed to help. Why couldn't Byleth and Claude handled it themselves.
"Are we almost there" Hilda asked, interrupting whatever Claude had been saying.
"Well if you had been listening to what I was saying" Claude began "You would know that we need to take a slight detour" he added. "Before I reached the monastery, I had heard some talk about a one-eyed beast that was roaming the area" Claude said.
"A beast?" Byleth repeated.
"Yeah, supposedly it is a monster that has taken the form of man" Claude said, "The villagers were really spooked about it" he said "Although it seemed to be only targeting bandits" he added.
"That's odd behavior for a beast to be picky about who it kills" Byleth said.
"My thoughts exactly" Claude replied.
"How do you know that the villagers didn't just make this up?" Hilda said.
"I don't know that" Claude replied, "It's always a possibility" he said "Either way I don't want to risk us being killed by some feral man beast" Claude added.
"Fair point" Byleth said "Why do they think it's a beast, and not just a man?" she asked.
"I think it is from the depravity in which the beast kills" Claude said "And how it alone has killed herds of men" he added.
"It alone?" Byleth repeated, "So it has company?" she asked.
Claude shrugged his shoulders "Supposedly, it usually ranges from who you ask" he said.
"Jesh Claude" Hilda began "Just how many people did you bother about this legend?" she asked as she squinted her eyes at him.
"Enough, that I have a guess at what is true and what isn't" Claude stated.
"Hmm, so you think it is true?" Byleth asked.
"Eh, yes and no" Claude replied, "I don't think that it is a beast per say" he said "My best guess is a very feral man with a strange sense of justice" he added with a laugh.
"Claude are you afraid that the crazy man is going to kill us" Hilda teased.
"I think he might be" Byleth said with a laugh.
"Funny, you two" Claude said sarcastically, "I value my life, I have dreams I need to see to fruition" he said "So yeah I don't want to take any risks of a crazed man murdering us" he added.
Hilda leaned in close to Byleth, "I don't know sounds kind of hot to me" she whispered.
Byleth snorted as Hilda told her that. Claude looked at them both with disappointment, "Hey by all means if you want a psycho killer boyfriend, Hilda head that way" he said while gesturing to the right. "Byleth and I, on the other hand will be sensible and take the path that doesn't possibly lead to a brutal death" he added with a smirk.
Byleth sighed and shook her head, "Claude I don't think you have the right to decide what is sensible right now after you made us fight off that group of bandits" she said.
"Ha-ha" Hilda said "Even Byleth realizes that you are a dope" She laughed.
Claude shook his head "That was necessary, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to be at the monastery" he said defensively.
"Yeah ok sure Claude" Hilda retorted.
The three of them bickered the whole way till they reached the nearest town, once they arrived there Claude immediately got to work with informing the merchants that he met that going to Garreg Mach was now once again safe.
However, many of them thought Claude was crazy since it was widely known that Garreg Mach Monastery had been a base camp for bandits.
After a lot of persuasion, the three of them managed to convince a few merchants that going to Garreg Mach Monastery will be profitable for them especially once they get into the full swing of war.
Dimitri:
Dimitri walked in silence alongside Alois, Dedue, and Jeralt. "Kid" Jeralt said as he turned towards Dimitri "You need to bathe before we reach the town" he ordered. "There is dried blood all over your armor, it will bring unnecessary attention to you when we pass through" Jeralt concluded.
Dimitri did not say anything, "Your Highness, please" Dedue spoke up.
Dimitri glared at Dedue, "Fine" he hissed, then began making his way to the nearest river
While Dimitri was washing himself off in the river of all the blood and grime that he had built up, Dedue used this as an opportunity to get rid of the dried blood that had stained on his armor.
"How nice" a voice hissed, Dimitri knew who it was, Glenn. "You get to bathe, while we had to die" he sneered, "When are you going to bring us her head" Glenn shouted.
Dimitri flinched, "I promise you Glenn, I will have that woman's head soon" Dimitri said "I'll kill her so that you, Step- Mother, and Father will have peace" he sobbed, Glenn just glared at Dimitri with disgust.
"Hey, are you alright over there?" Jeralt called out, Dimitri made a grunt in response. Dimitri heard Jeralt chuckle at his response "Well you might want to hurry" Jeralt said "Some villagers passed by a moment ago and told me that there are people who are trying to talk merchants into selling at the monastery" he added.
"So?" Dimitri replied, what relevance did that have with them needing to clear out the bandits that were there.
"Either someone already took the liberty of clearing out the monastery for us..." Jeralt said "or maybe they are luring unsuspecting merchants to their doom" he said, "Either way we need to check it out" he added.
"Fine" Dimitri grunted; he really did not want to go into town they fear him. Not that Dimitri wanted them to like him, it just grew obnoxious when the town folk stare and the children cried. Jeralt recommended smiling at them, but Dimitri failed to see how that might help, either way he did not feel like smiling.
As they made their way into town Jeralt stopped by the merchants to interrogate them on the people that were trying to sway them to Garreg Mach. Dimitri watched as Jeralt faked interest in one of the items, in order to lure the unsuspecting merchant into telling them information. "So, I heard a rumor around town that there were people trying to get merchants back at Garreg Mach" Jeralt said to the Merchant.
"Ah- yes, earlier three people came by and gave a spiel about Garreg Mach Monastery now being safe to conduct business" The merchant replied.
"Do you think that they were sincere?" Jeralt asked "Last I heard Garreg Mach was being run by bandits" he added.
"Yes, that is true" The merchant said "I think they were sincere, especially since the man he bore a cape that represented the Leicester Alliance " he added.
"What did the man look like?" Jeralt asked.
"Tan, Brown hair and green eyes. I think he said his name was Claude?" The merchant said.
Claude? What is he doing at the monastery Dimitri wondered?
Jeralt nodded, "And the other two?" he asked.
The merchant had a wide grin on his face, "They were the finest ladies I've seen around these parts" he said. Dimitri felt disgusted by the man's comment, it reminded him of Sylvain.
"Uhh, that's nice" Jeralt said while scratching his head "But what did they look like?" he asked.
"The first lady had long pink hair and pink eyes" The merchant said, "The second one had light green hair and green eyes" he said "Kind of reminded me of Lady Rhea" he added.
Dimitri's blood froze, Green hair and green eyes.
"Did you get their names?" Jeralt asked, Dimitri was certain he was thinking the same thing as he was.
"No, only the man introduced himself" The merchant said.
Dimitri walked up to the man and looked down at him "Did she have a strange looking blade" Dimitri demanded.
"I don't know I wasn't looking in that area, I'm more of a bre-" The merchant began to say before Dimitri lifted him off the ground by the hem of his shirt.
"Dimitri" Jeralt said in a warning tone.
"Where did they go" Dimitri hissed.
"I- I don't know" The merchant said "P-probably the monastery" he uttered. Dimitri released him and the man fell to the floor, he immediately began heading in the direction of the monastery.
"Kid" Jeralt shouted at him, Dimitri stopped and turned to him. "I understand your eagerness but you can't do that to villagers" he scolded, "If that is her, how do you think she would feel about you doing that" he added sternly.
Dimitri crossed his arms over his chest and just stared at Jeralt, "Were wasting time arguing about this" he finally said once Dimitri realized Jeralt was not going to let him off the hook this time.
Jeralt shook his head and continued down the path to the monastery. Alois, Dedue, and Dimitri all followed him, "Captain Jeralt" Alois said breaking the silence "Do you really think that is Byleth?" he asked.
"I don't know, we will find out once we get there" Jeralt said.
Lysithea:
"I can't believe that I got stuck having to haul rubble around while they got to go and recruit merchants" Lorenz whined "It's not fair that I, Lorenz Hellman Gloucester am not a part of that team" he said "They need my whim and charm to woo them" he added.
Lysithea wondered how it was humanly possible for someone to be so self-absorbed.
"Give it a rest already Lorenz" Leonie groaned, "If you were vital as you claim to be, then Claude would have had you join them" she added.
"Either way we really need your help here" Raphael said, "So what part of the monastery do you think we should clear out first?" he asked "I was thinking the dining hall" he added.
Lorenz scoffed, "I fail to see how that should be prioritized" he said.
Raphael laughed "You need to eat, don't you?" he said.
Lysithea hated to admit it but he was right, that was as good as any reason on why it should be their first place to clean. "Raphael's right" Lysithea said, "And after that we need to clear out the green house, that way we can grow our own vegetables" she added.
Ignatz, Leonie, Lysithea, Lorenz, Marianne, and Raphael all got to work on the dining hall. It did not take as long to clean as Lysithea had anticipated, there was not any damage really to the building, so they were just cleaning up dust and the mess left behind by the bandits.
When it finally came time to clean the green house, Lysithea was glad that it was in a similar state as the dining hall was, it required hardly any cleaning aside from pulling out the dead plants.
"Phew, I'm beat" Leonie said, "I wonder if Byleth, Claude, and Hilda had any luck with the merchants" she added.
"Knowing them, I'm certain they did fine at persuading them" Lysithea said.
"Um- you guys" Marianne said, "Do you hear voices?" she whispered. The green house fell silent, Lysithea's stomach sank. She heard them it sounded like multiple men, maybe it way more bandits?
"I hear them too" Leonie whispered back, "I'll peek at them before we decide our next course of action" she added. Slowly Leonie crept to the green house doors, she peaked her head out "Huh?" she said "Captain Jeralt is that you?" Leonie called out.
Lysithea watched as a lance flew just narrowly missing Leonie's head, it clattered as it hit the floor of the green house.
Byleth:
"Oh crap" Byleth said.
"You took the words from my mouth" Claude responded.
Byleth, Claude and Hilda were crouched in some shrubs scoping out a makeshift camp for Imperial soldiers.
As they were beginning to leave from the town a villager began telling Claude how lately there have been Imperial soldiers in the area. So, Claude being the snoop he is decided to see if there was truth behind it, somehow, he managed to find out they are there because of the one-eyed beast he had warned them about earlier. Turns out the beast had a thing for killing Imperial soldiers alongside of bandits.
"Do you think that they will attack us at the monastery?" Hilda whispered.
"Honestly, there is a good chance of that especially since Edelgard has been attacking the Leicester Alliance territories and currently Garreg Mach is our territory" Claude replied.
"We need to prepare" Byleth declared, "We can't let them take the monastery, like you said before it's in an extremely critical spot" she said.
Claude nodded, "Alright, we should go now than before we are spotted" he whispered, and the three of them left from their hiding spot.
The three of them began making their way back to the monastery, "Claude we should get support from nobles in the Alliance, to help with our base at Garreg Mach" Hilda began, "There are so many things that we need" she said "We need soldiers, servants, healer, food, and weapons" she added.
"I know" Claude said, "I've been already drafting a letter to send out to the heads of the Leicester Alliance" he said.
"I think I should also write to Holst" Hilda said "I know he would be willing to help" she added.
"Good, we are going to need all the help we can get" Claude sighed, "I'm just glad for the time being the Dukedom and remnants of the Church of Seiros haven't considered us a threat" he added.
"We still have to fight them regardless though" Hilda said, "Rhea can't continue to be in power if she is that corrupt" she added.
Claude laughed "So where do you draw the line at for corruption Hilda?" he teased "On a scale of Holst to Rhea, where is the divide" he asked.
"Hmmm, I would have to say at Lorenz's Father" Hilda laughed.
It was late in the afternoon when they finally arrived back at the monastery, "Home sweet home" Claude said as they passed through the gates of Garreg Mach.
"Where do you think everyone is?" Byleth said.
"Either dining hall or cathedral" Claude said, "the most likely is the dining hall" he added.
They made their way there, and as Byleth entered the dining hall she heard a voice shout "Kiddo" the man said.
Byleth looked up and saw her Father, "Dad?!" Byleth said in shock she went running to him "You are alive?" she asked stunned.
Jeralt hugged her back, "Hey, I was just about to ask you the very same thing" he said with a laugh. Jeralt pulled back from the hug and held onto Byleth's shoulders, "Where in blazes have you been?!" he asked.
"Floating in a river" Byleth replied.
Jeralt chuckled, "Well I'm glad to see you have finally developed a sense of humor" he said.
Byleth frowned at him, "Dad, I'm serious" she said "I have been asleep for the past five years, I woke up yesterday" she said "The man that found me said I had been floating in the river" she added.
Jeralt let go of her shoulders, "Are you serious?" he asked.
Byleth nodded and proceeded to explain to him everything that had happened before her five-year sleep. "Last thing I remember was falling, and then everything was black" Byleth concluded.
Jeralt just stared, he looked completely lost for words. "I'm just glad you are safe" Jeralt finally said after a while.
"Ahem" Byleth turned and saw Alois and Dedue, at that moment something clicked in Byleth's head. Dimitri.
"Alois, I'd love to chat" Byleth said "But not now, I need to know is Dimitri alive?" she whispered.
Dedue stepped towards Byleth and patted her shoulder, "His Highness is alive" he said "I believe he went to the cathedral" he added.
Byleth was about to run to the cathedral but was stopped. "Kiddo, wait" Jeralt said "Dimitri isn't the same as you remember him" he said.
"Yeah like he threw a freaking lance at me" Leonie shouted "It just barely missed" she added.
Dedue nodded, "There is a lot that plagues Dimitri, please keep that in mind" Dedue said.
Byleth nodded and then began running to the cathedral.
There was a lot running through Byleth's head as she made her way to the cathedral, she thought about the first time they met on that fateful day, their first kiss. the first time they were intimate. Byleth thought about his smile and laugh, and the darkness that he had underneath it all. Dimitri. But what Byleth thought about most of all was that she did not have a future to give him, since her death was almost guaranteed.
Did she even have the right to promise herself to Dimitri? It seemed selfish, perhaps it would be best to let him find someone who he could have a future with.
Byleth swung the cathedral doors open, she heard them slam shut after her. A wave of disappointment fell over her once she realized she was the only one in the cathedral.
Maybe he went up to the goddess tower? she thought and began exited the doors on the left side of the cathedral that led to the tower.
Byleth's heels clacked with each step she took on the stone stairs, she saw the light that shone from the balcony on the goddess tower.
Dimitri, there he was hunched over like a wounded animal with his lance in his hand. Byleth wondered if that was the one he threw at Leonie, No, not the time for that.
Byleth walked closer towards Dimitri, he finally looked up. He grunted at her, how rude Byleth thought. Byleth now stood in front of him, he looked at her and she extended her hand to him.
Dimitri looked off to the side "I should've known..." he said, "That one day..." he added, "You would be haunting me as well". Byleth felt a pang of guilt in her stomach at Dimitri's comment
Dimitri stood up; he was tall before but now he towered over Byleth "You... What must I do to get rid of you?" he hissed.
His words stung, Byleth looked at him his hair was dirty and long, he no longer had both of his eyes and the one that he did have had a dark bag underneath. When was the last time he slept she wondered, poor Dimitri these five years have not been easy on him. The innocence that he once held in his eyes was now gone, replaced with the darkness that he tried desperately to suppress.
"I will kill that woman, I swear it. Do not look upon me with scorn in your eyes!" Dimitri said frantically.
Byleth furrowed her brows, "Dimitri... Everything will be ok" she said softly.
Dimitri glared at her, then his face looked as if he had realized something "You... It can't be! You're alive?!" Dimitri shouted "Hmph, if that is the case..." he began "That can only mean you are another imperial spy. Did you come here to kill me? he hissed. "Yes, that must be it..." Dimitri muttered to himself, "Answer the question" he commanded Byleth.
"Of course, not" Byleth said softly while shaking her head, his apprehension stung but she understood why he would think that.
Dimitri glared at her once more and then walked towards the stairs leading down the goddess tower. "I'm glad you're safe" Byleth said.
Dimitri stopped, "Am I" he said, and then he began descending down the stairs.
Byleth followed him, he finally stopped once he reached the cathedral there, he stood in front of a large pile of rubble from the partially collapsed roof of the cathedral.
"What have you been doing the past five years?" Byleth blurted out, Dimitri's back was towards her.
"I have been dead more or less" Dimitri responded.
"Why do you say that?" Byleth asked.
"What do you hope to gain, from asking me that? There are more important matters at hand..." Dimitri said, "Do you not smell them? filthy rats. Everywhere" he said "And traces of those who were here long ago. And thieves crawling from the woodwork, attracted by the promise of treasure" he hissed. "Heh... since the monastery fell order fell right along with it" Dimitri said, he cast an accusatory glare at Byleth "You must have seen the state of the town near Garreg Mach on your way here" he said. "Vile thieves run rampant. They pillage and loot to their heart's content" Dimitri hissed "I must kill every last one of them" he added.
Realization struck Byleth, she solved the mystery of the one-eyed beast. "Dimitri, that's not necessary" Byleth said "We have already taken down the bandits that were controlling Garreg Mach" she added.
Dimitri turned to Byleth, "I told you. I will kill them all" he growled.
Byleth grabbed Dimitri's wrist, he flinched at her touch "Dimitri we don't have to kill them to stop them" she declared.
"They must die" Dimitri said, "Someone must put a stop to this cycle of the strong trampling the weak" he added, "Or do you condone their actions?" Dimitri snapped "Do you believe that the pillaging and slaughtering those rats live for is justified?!" he shouted. "It is reprehensible, and they must be put down! I intend to give them a taste of the pain they have inflicted on others" Dimitri yelled.
Byleth stared at Dimitri with a frown, "How is what you are doing any different from them Dimitri" she shouted, Byleth took a breath and then sighed "You are being a hypocrite" she added.
Dimitri stared at Byleth, then he looked up and closed his eyes "Even if it means becoming a rat myself. I swore to at least do that much... I will not let them down..." Dimitri said.
"So, what you are going to kill all the bandits and Imperial soldier in Fodlan?" Byleth asked.
"It doesn't matter" Dimitri replied "All that matters is killing those who deserve to die" he hissed.
"Dimitri, this is ridiculous" Byleth scolded.
Dimitri grabbed her wrist, "You wouldn't understand" he hissed "You sided with that woman" he spat. Dimitri looked down and saw the ring he gave her still on her finger, he paused for a moment "I'm sure the others warned you about me" he said, "You are a fool, you're clinging to the love of a dead man" he hissed. "I should have never given that ring to you" Dimitri snarled.
Byleth's stomach sank, she pulled her hand from his grasp. "Take it then" she hissed.
Dimitri glared at Byleth, "What?" he growled at her.
Byleth slid the ring off her finger and threw it into Dimitri's hands, "I should have never accepted it in the first place" she said coolly, she stared back into Dimitri's eye.
Dimitri was the one to break their stare, he looked down at the ring "So be it then" he muttered, then flung the ring into the pile of rubble.
Byleth stood in shock over what had just happened, how quickly things went bad. She glared at Dimitri one final time before she turned and left from the cathedral.
Byleth left from the cathedral with an empty feeling inside, she felt the tears in her eyes burning for their release. No, she will not cry over this. It was necessary, she did not have a life to dedicate to another person. It is for the best Byleth would only stunt Dimitri more then he already was he needs someone who can live through the end of this war to help him, and Byleth knew that was not her. Despite the logic and reasoning behind her actions Byleth couldn't understand why it still hurt, why did she want to use her divine pulse reverse her actions. The only reason she could come up with on why she was tempted to do that is because she is selfish.
"Byleth?" a voice called out, she turned and saw Hilda. Hilda approached her, she had a concerned look on her face, "Are you alright?" she asked then furrowed her brows "Did Dimitri do something to you?" she asked. "I'll kick his as-" Hilda began to say.
Byleth shook her head and cut her off before she could finish that sentence, "There is no need Hilda" she said, "I appreciate the gesture nonetheless" she added with a weak smile.
Hilda nodded, "Come on let's go to your room to talk" she said as she linked their arms together.
Byleth proceeded to tell Hilda everything that had happened with Dimitri in the cathedral.
"Wait so the two of you were engaged?" Hilda asked in shock, "And you never told me!" she added.
"It wasn't for very long" Byleth said "He proposed the night before the Holy Tomb" she said. Byleth went quiet for a moment, "Before everything got complicated" she sighed.
Hilda nodded, "Forget about him Byleth, my big Brother Holst is still on the market" she said with a wink.
Byleth sighed "Hilda, I'm not trying to get married" she said "It's pointless for me" she added.
"Huh? Why is that?" Hilda asked.
"I'm just going to die either way so what is the point" Byleth said.
Hilda paused for a moment "I get it" she said, "When you die, no matter how you died, it's over" she said "But to me, It's more important to enjoy life. We only live once, after all" she added.
"Thank you Hilda" Byleth said "But that isn't quite what I mean" she added, Hilda looked confused. "I am going to die soon, once we kill Lady Rhea I will most likely die as well" Byleth said.
Hilda looked stunned, "Why is that?" she asked.
Byleth proceeded to tell Hilda how she is not even entirely sure how either but because of this connection that Rhea and Byleth share.
Hilda was silent for a moment, "But there's always a chance that you might survive" she said.
"I suppose, it's very slim" Byleth sighed, "Hilda please don't tell Claude or My Father, actually don't tell anyone please" she added.
Hilda nodded, "I won't, but you should at least tell them eventually" she added.
Byleth shook her head "I can't unless I'm certain they would still go through with killing Rhea" she said.
Hilda frowned then sighed "Well I can't force you to tell them".
After a while of chatting Hilda finally left for the night, and Byleth was alone. She wondered if Sothis would be disappointed by how Byleth handled things, or if she would agree and understand Byleth's reasoning. Byleth sighed, she had a feeling it was going to be a long night.