Byleth:
"Can you stop that Dimitri" Byleth said, trying to hold back the irritation from seeping into her tone.
Dimitri's foot immediately stopped tapping the wooden floors of the Cardinal's room. "My apologies" he said in a sheepish voice.
Claude leaned forward resting his face in his palms, "How could Gilbert just say something like that then leave us to handle business" he said.
Edelgard nodded her head in agreement, "You do realize what it is about though, right?" she asked.
"I've got a general idea," Claude replied.
Dimitri sighed, "It seems we will be fighting the Church of Seiros sooner than expected" he said.
Byleth shut her eyes, waiting was nerve racking.
A few minutes passed; Dimitri's tapping began once again.
"I swear to Sothis Dimitri" Byleth groaned.
Claude chuckled, and Dimitri's face turned red. "I'm nervous" Dimitri murmured.
Byleth sighed. "I know, I'm sorry," she said.
A few more minutes passed.
"Gilbert sure is taking his time," Claude said.
"Perhaps he forgot that we are in here" Edelgard suggested.
Claude laughed, "I don't think Gilbert is that old" he said.
Dimitri shook his head in disapproval, and opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by the door opening and Gilbert followed by Alois and Jeralt walked in.
"Sorry to keep you waiting Your Highness" Gilbert said to Dimitri.
Dimitri nodded and smiled slightly, "No worries, Gilbert" he replied and paused for a moment "What was the purpose of Rhea's letter?" Dimitri asked.
Gilbert sat down at the table and sighed, "She offered to give you Faerghus back, and to get rid of Cornelia herself" he said.
Dimitri tensed up, "And what does she want in return" he said sternly.
Gilbert was silent for a moment, "She wants you to surrender Byleth over to her" he said "And I would assume Edelgard as well" he added.
Dimitri frowned, "No" he said sternly "We will liberate Faerghus from that woman" he added.
Gilbert nodded, "That is not all" he said.
Dimitri's brows furrowed, "What do you mean?" he asked.
"The Church of Seiros has dispatched a group of soldiers to attack Garreg Mach" Gilbert said "We estimate they will be here in two days' time" he added.
"Then we must prepare to face them" Dimitri said and stood up from his chair "I will not let Rhea take them, either of them" he declared and left from the room.
Gilbert got up and followed after Dimitri.
"I figured as much" Claude said, "However we can use this to our advantage" he said.
Edelgard furrowed her eyebrows at him, "What do you mean?" she asked.
"Right now, Rhea thinks you are dead" Claude said to Edelgard "She sent that letter hoping we would comply after being weakened by the Imperial army" he said "Which is why they sent out troops prior to knowing the results of that battle" he added.
"Ah, so you want to surprise them with three joint military forces" Jeralt butted in.
Claude nodded his head, "Exactly!" he enthusiastically.
"There is also a good chance they will send a good chunk of their army, in an attempt to get us while we are weakened" Alois said.
"So, in other words this is the perfect opportunity to start our war against the Church of Seiros in our favor" Byleth said.
Claude nodded, "Yes" he said then turned to Edelgard "We are going to go and have a chat with the Death Knight" said "Byleth, you should tell Dimitri our plan" he added.
Byleth nodded and got up, "Of course" she said then left from the Cardinals room.
Edelgard:
"Perhaps we should have gone with Byleth to speak with Dimitri," Edelgard suggested.
Claude shook his head, "Nah, it's best Byleth does it" he said.
Edelgard shook her head, "Meddling?" she questioned.
Claude chuckled, "Something like that" he said.
Edelgard sighed, then a thought crossed her mind.
Does he know?
Edelgard's pace faltered for a moment.
Claude turned and looked at her with his eyebrows furrowed, "Something wrong?" he asked.
"No, sorry my heel got stuck" she lied and continued walking to the entrance of the Abyss.
Some things never change, sometimes that is for the best, and sometimes it is not.
The Abyss is an is not.
You would think that since the Church of Seiros was gone that they would use that time to, I don't know maybe spruce the place up a bit? Not leave human waste on the floors anymore, maybe a few torches so it isn't so dark in here.
Edelgard thought she saw something scurry across the cobblestone in front of her.
Please, don't be a rat.
Whatever it was scurried away, Edelgard let out a sigh of relief.
"Nervous?" Claude asked.
Edelgard shook her head, "No, this place just reminds me of things I would like to forget" she said.
Claude was silent for a moment, "Of what?" he finally asked.
Edelgard sighed, "Beneath the palace, where I was imprisoned while the experiments" she said with a shudder "Were conducted" she added.
"I see" Claude said quietly, "Perhaps you and Lysithea can find comfort in one another" he said.
"Oh? You wish to get rid of me so soon?" Edelgard asked with a slight laugh.
Claude shook his head, "No" he said firmly "It just might be nice to have someone to speak with that understands what you are going through" he added.
Edelgard sighed, "Perhaps you are right" she sighed.
Claude nodded and smiled, "Of course I am" he said with a laugh.
It wasn't long before they reached a door that was guarded by a purple haired man.
He looked familiar... What was his name?
"Hey there, Yuri," Claude called out.
Yuri.
Right, they'd met before.
Yuri's eyes widened as he looked at Edelgard, "Wow" he said "Byleth really did it, huh?" he added.
Claude chuckled, "Of course she did" he hummed.
Edelgard nodded to Yuri in acknowledgment.
"So, you came to visit the prisoner?" Yuri asked.
"Not exactly" Claude said, "We will be releasing him" he said "But first we need to speak with him to ensure the safety of the populace first" he added.
Yuri was silent for a moment, "I suppose you guys have already talked this through" he sighed and moved out of the way of the door "I hope you guys aren't making a mistake" he said "But I bet Mercedes will be thrilled by this" he added.
Claude nodded and opened the door and walked in.
The Death Knight, her best ally.
How odd to think they managed to capture such a person and keep him imprisoned this whole time.
Edelgard followed after Claude and closed the door behind her.
The Death knight is sitting on his bed, staring at Claude. "What do you want?" he said in a monotone voice.
"We have come to speak with you, Death Knight" Edelgard said and drew closer to him.
"So, she succeeded" Jeritza said "Hmph, I am Jeritza" he added.
Edelgard nodded, "Jeritza, I wish to speak with the Death Knight" she said sternly.
"Uh, Edelgard?" Claude said in a questioning tone.
Edelgard raised a hand to silence him. She knew what she was doing.
Jeritza stared at her, "Not now" he said sternly.
Edelgard frowned at him, "If the Death Knight wishes to sate his thirst, he will speak with me" she said sternly.
"And what will it cost?" Jeritza asked.
"You cannot kill her," Edelgard said.
Jeritza grunted, and shut his eyes "So... Even you get in the way of my pleasure" he quietly.
"If you wish to help kill those who Slither in the Dark and the Church of Seiros you will agree" Edelgard said.
The Death Knight was silent for a moment, "Fine" he said "I will comply for the time being" he grunted.
Edelgard nodded, "Good, and while we're at it no harm will befall any other allies, got it?" she said.
Jeritza stood up, "I understand" he said.
"Good," Edelgard said, "Now come on, we must prepare," she added and turned to the door.
Dimitri:
"Your Highness" Gilbert called out from behind Dimitri as he was swinging his lance at the training dummy.
Dimitri ignored him.
"Your Highness," Gilbert said again in a louder, more stern voice.
Dimitri threw the lance to the ground and whirled around to face Gilbert. "I won't consider it Gilbert," Dimitri said sternly.
Gilbert frowned at him, "I wasn't going to ask you to," he said.
Dimitri's eyes widened in surprise, "You, weren't?" he said in a confused tone.
Gilbert nodded his head, "I wasn't" he said "I think it would be foolish to side with a woman who didn't even mourn the loss of the Prince of Faerghus" Gilbert said sternly "She, must realize that we will come for her next, so she is trying to save herself" he added.
Dimitri nodded, "That makes sense" he sighed.
"She believes we are weak after our fight with the Empire" Gilbert said "When they attack, we will surprise them with our new military strength" he added.
Dimitri nodded; a small smile grew on his face "Thank you Gilbert" he said.
Gilbert nodded, "No, need for thanks" he said "Now I will leave you to your training" he added then turned around and left from the knights training grounds.
Dimitri sighed, he felt... Relieved.
He was certain that Gilbert would think that it was best to hand over Byleth to Rhea, but instead he agreed that they shouldn't. And even if they did there is no way that Rhea would keep her word, especially not since she had already sent troops to march here.
Or perhaps Rhea knew that he would not yield to her.
Regardless, a fight would ensue.
And Dimitri is certain that they will not lose, not with the three powers of Fodlan united.
"Dimitri?"
Byleth.
She is standing by the entrance lingering, scoping out whether she should enter or not.
"Byleth..." Dimitri said.
Byleth walked in the training grounds and stood in front of Dimitri, "Are you alright?" she asked.
Dimitri laughed weakly, "I think I should be asking you that" he said "Rhea, was asking for us to give you over to her" Dimitri said looking into her eyes for any hint of worry "I can imagine that you have some feelings about this" he added.
Byleth sighed, "I suppose, but it matters not" she said.
Dimitri frowned slightly, "That's not true" he said sternly.
Byleth shrugged, "Oh, right I came here to tell you Claude and Edelgard went ahead to speak with Jeritza" she said.
Dimitri sighed, "Changing the subject so fast?" he said while shaking his head. "Do you think that Jeritza will comply?" he asked.
"I think so," Byleth said.
Dimitri nodded, "So, I assume he will be fighting alongside us while the Church of Seiros attacks?" he asked.
Byleth nodded, "That is the plan" she said.
"It's a bit odd thinking that we spent so long fighting against them, and now we are fighting beside them" Dimitri sighed.
"Do you regret it?" Byleth asked.
Did he?
Dimitri was silent for a moment, "I- I don't know yet" he replied.
"Hmm, I see" Byleth said softly she was staring into Dimitri's face then sighed. "I have to agree with you though" Byleth said "It is a little odd" she added.
Dimitri smiled, "Really?" he said in a shocked voice "I'm a little surprised that you feel that way" he added.
Byleth raised her eyebrows at him, "Oh? Why is that?" she asked.
Dimitri rubbed the back of his neck, "Well you always seem so... assured of what you are doing" he said softly "So I just assumed you had already prepared yourself" he added.
Byleth stared at him for a moment, and a sad smile formed on her lips.
Had... Had he upset her?
Dimitri opened his mouth to speak, but Byleth began speaking.
"That couldn't be furthest from the truth" she said quietly, "I had hope that I would succeed" she began "But I also had to prepare for the harsh truth, that not everyone can be saved" she sighed and frowned, "Dimitri..." Byleth began, there was a look on her face that he didn't recognize and she shifted awkwardly. "There is something I need to tell you..." Byleth said, her brows were furrowed.
Dimitri stood there waiting for her to speak again, but she just stood there with a distressed look on her face. Dimitri sighed, "Byleth, it is alright" he said "Tell me when you are ready" he added.
Byleth looked up at him and nodded. The look of distress remained, "Thank you Dimitri..." she said quietly, then cleared her throat "We should go and join Claude and Edelgard" she said.
Dimitri nodded, "Right" he said "Come, let's go to them" he added then headed to the exit.
Dimitri had to wonder...
Just what was Byleth going to tell him?
Claude:
Claude watched with interest as Edelgard began her conversation with the Death Knight.
It was... Interesting.
Not exactly how he would have gone about handling a homicidal maniac, but to each their own I suppose.
"If you wish to help kill those who Slither in the Dark and the Church of Seiros you will agree" Edelgard said in a stern voice to the Death Knight.
The Death Knight glared at Edelgard in silence, "Fine" he said "I will comply for the time being" he grunted.
Edelgard nodded her head in approval, "Good, and while we're at it no harm will befall any other allies, got it?" she added.
Jeritza stood up and frowned slightly, "I understand" he said.
"Good," Edelgard said, "Now come on, we must prepare," she added then exited from the room.
The Death Knight followed behind her.
Claude stood there dumbfound for a moment.
Is that all?
That is all it took to get the Death Knight not to kill Byleth?
Claude shook his head then followed after them.
Edelgard and Jeritza were waiting outside of the room, "Were you planning on staying in there" Edelgard said with her brows furrowed at Claude.
Claude shrugged his shoulders, "I was just thinking, jeez" he said defensively.
Edelgard shook her head, "Whatever, come on" she said "We should have Jeritza speak with those two" she added.
Claude nodded, "Alright, let's go then" he said, then began leading the way through the dark hallways of the Abyss.
Jeritza was eerily quiet, for a brief moment Claude was worried that perhaps this wasn't the best idea. Maybe he should have waited till Byleth and Dimitri could accompany them down here.
Well.
A little too late to change that, he supposed.
"So, Claude" Edelgard called out.
Claude looked to her, "Yes?" he asked.
"What are your thoughts on the Church coming here so soon after Enbarr?" she asked.
Claude was silent for a moment, "Honestly, I'm a little surprised that it took them this long to act out on us" he said "I always knew this moment was coming" he added.
Edelgard nodded her head, "I see" she said.
"When will they arrive?" Jeritza asked.
Claude shrugged, "We don't know yet" he said "Gilbert assumed within the next couple of days" he added.
Jeritza remained silent after that.
"There you are" a voice called out from a few feet in front of them.
Byleth and Dimitri.
"What are you both doing down here?" Claude asked.
"We came to accompany you both in bringing Jeritza to the surface" Dimitri said.
"Did you think us incapable of doing it on our own?" Edelgard questioned
"Yes," Byleth said.
Edelgard's eyes went wide and Claude laughed, "Oh Byleth" he said while shaking his head "Your humor still needs work" he added.
Byleth shrugged, "Come on then, let's go and re-civilize Jeritza" she said and turned in the direction that she came from.
Claude shook his head and followed her lead.
Mercedes:
Mercedes had been in the dining hall when she heard the news.
Her friends had returned and looked exhausted, she hadn't had a chance to speak with Byleth, Claude, or Dimitri.
From what she heard...
They had their plates full at the moment.
"Mercie it was crazy" Annette said in a loud voice, she was eager to tell her what had happened, but she looked simply exhausted. "Byleth and Edelgard fought while we were fighting everyone else off" Annette began "And then, Edelgard calls out for the fighting to stop then she gives up her throne" she said.
Mercedes eyes grew wide, "Really?!" she asked in shock.
Annette nodded her head, "Yup" she said "I still can't believe that Edelgard actually joined us" she said.
Mercedes smiled softly at her friend, "Are you not tired, Annie?" she asked.
Annette smiled back, "Oh, I forgot about that" she said with a laugh "I am exhausted" she added.
Mercedes stood up from her seat, "Come on Annie, I'll walk you to your room" she said while shaking her head.
"I'm fine Mercie, really" Annette yawned.
Mercedes shook her head, "Nope, sorry Annie" she laughed "But you need your rest, we need to prepare for the times ahead" she added.
Annette reluctantly agreed and began heading to her room to rest.
They had almost reached Annette's room when she had stopped and was squinting off in the distance.
"Annie" Mercedes said sternly.
Annette's eyes grew wide, "Mercie, look" she whispered.
Mercedes sighed then looked where Annette had been staring.
It took her a moment to realize why Annette had been shocked.
Byleth, Claude, Dimitri, and Edelgard had been walking beside one another, they appeared to be heading to the Cardinals room.
Although it was a big deal to see the Emperor, well former Emperor alongside them that is not why Annette, nor Mercedes stood in shock.
It was Emile.
Poor sweet Emile.
"Annie, I will check on you later" Mercedes said then rushed off in their direction.
Once she drew closer to them, she began to call out to her Brother, "Emile!" Mercedes shouted.
Emile didn't look at her but Byleth did.
"Hello Mercedes" Byleth said while nodding her head.
Mercedes stood there for a moment, what were they doing?
"Emile..." Mercedes said softly, "Why is he..." she began but didn't finish her sentence.
"For now, on Jeritza, here is going to be up here with us" Claude said while patting Emile's shoulder.
Emile glared at Claude.
Mercedes was thrilled.
Finally.
Her little Brother would join them.
"I'm so very glad," Mercedes said happily.
The former emperor was staring at Mercedes with a look of confusion but remained silent.
"Go away," Emile said sternly.
Mercedes frowned slightly and shook her head.
"Mercedes we are heading to the Cardinal's room" Byleth said "I am going to find the others so we can explain this, would you like to accompany me?" she asked.
Mercedes was silent for a moment then nodded her head, "Of course" she said.
Byleth nodded her head, "We will meet you all there once we've found everyone" she told the others.
Dimitri nodded his head, "We'll see you there" he said and began guiding the others to the meeting room.
Byleth stood there for a moment, "Are you alright?" she asked.
Mercedes sighed, "Yes, I deserve it" she said sadly.
Byleth frowned at her, "I have a hard time believing that Mercedes" she said sternly while shaking her head "Now come on, let's find the others" Byleth said and began heading towards the greenhouse".
Sylvain:
"You guys are morons" Felix said bluntly as soon as Claude finished telling them about Jeritza joining them. "The former Emperor barely joined our side and you trust her word that the Death Knight won't attack anyone?" Felix said sternly.
Hubert glared at Felix, "How dare you question Lady Edelgard" he hissed.
"Enough Hubert" Edelgard said sternly and looked towards Felix, "I understand the apprehension" she said "But I give you my word that he will not cause any harm to our allies" she added.
Felix frowned at her, "Your words are worthless" he said sternly.
Sylvain looked to Hubert; he was glowering at Felix.
"Felix" Ingrid said sternly while frowning at him.
Felix shrugged, "What? It's true" he said.
"It matters not, whether you think her words are worthless" Claude said "We need the Death Knight's help" he added.
"Uh, what do you mean by that Claude?" Lysithea asked.
Claude sighed, "We got a letter from Rhea" he said.
Sylvain's eyes grew wide.
From Rhea?!
"Hmm, that can't be good" Linhardt sighed.
Bernadetta fidgeted around in her chair, "Yeah, no kidding..." she murmured.
"What did she want?" Felix asked.
"Rhea wanted us to surrender Byleth over to her" Dimitri said, "She has already sent military forces, Gilbert anticipates that they will be here in two days' time" he added.
The room fell quiet.
"So, either we give Byleth to them or they take her by force?!" Ingrid said.
Dimitri nodded, "Yes, precisely" he said "She said she would get rid of Cornelia, thus leaving Faerghus for me to reclaim" he added.
Felix frowned, "She's trying to save her own skin" he said sternly.
"Exactly what we thought" Claude butted in, "Although, I don't believe peacemaker was ever her goal" he added "Whether or not we give them Byleth Rhea will still attack us" Claude concluded.
"But we have the element of surprise" Sylvain said, "Don't we?" he added.
Claude grinned at him, "Yup, they think we are weakened at the moment" he said "And we will use that to our advantage" he added.
"I can't believe that we will be beginning fighting the church already" Ingrid said while shaking her head "But it also means that we are one step closer to liberating Faerghus from the Dukedom" she added.
Dimitri nodded, "That we are" he said.
"Um, are we going to have to fight Rhea in..." Annette began pausing for a moment, "Her other form?" she questioned.
"We must be prepared for that," Edelgard said.
Sylvain looked down at the table.
How could he ever forget witnessing something like that.
For someone such as Lady Rhea...
She really had them fooled.
"How the hell do we even prepare to fight a dragon?" Felix questioned.
Claude shrugged, "Beats me" he said "Ask the ones that fought her" he added.
Byleth sighed, "We didn't fight her in dragon form" she said "Only human" she added.
"I'd assume it would be like any demonic beast" Edelgard said, "Either way, I doubt Rhea will be amongst the troops coming here, she has yet to take the battlefield" she added.
"Really?" Byleth questioned.
Edelgard nodded, "Really" she said as conformation "Rhea and her family have yet to join the battlefield" she added.
Claude shook his head, "Go figure" he sighed.
"It matters not who is on the battlefield" Dimitri said "We will prevail" he concluded.
Sylvain sighed, he hoped Dimitri was right for all of their sake. But then again, they've made it this far already.
Author's note:
TO CELEBRATE MY FIRST HATE COMMENT ON AO3 HAHAHAHA! Also I felt bad about leaving my last chapter the way I did, I meant to put this one up yesterday but I was busy and so today will have to do. Anyways I'll update Monday and Friday next week. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter if not, feel free to voice that too I enjoy any and all feedback even if it is a bit hurtful. Have a good early weekend as well everyone!