Chapter Text
Two Years Ago
To the outsider, Byleth was not a very sentimental person. Her eyes were always blank, her mouth set to a firm line as she would look on, almost bored. There were very few people that knew Byleth’s true caring, patient nature.
One of them was her little sister, Marianne, who always confided in Byleth with everything. The young girl adored her older sister and her loyalty was never ending. In return, Byleth always made time and room for Marianne, a feat that Jeralt, their father, was always proud to see.
The other was their neighbor and the boy that Byleth loved: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd. Despite being a year apart, Dimitri always followed Byleth like a shadow, hovering over her and listening to her very carefully. Everything he did, he always asked Byleth for her opinion. He was with Byleth so much that his father, Lambert, always joked that Dimitri was working on multiple ways to propose to her from the various tea parties they always had together, causing Byleth to display her rare blushes. However, that was not the case. Because Dimitri was dating Marianne.
When Marianne confided in her sister (as she always did), that she harbored a crush on the boy next door, Byleth simply gave her younger sister a gentle smile before she advised her sister to be honest with herself and do what seemed right. At her younger sister’s beautiful, gentle smile, Byleth could only not heed to her own words as she watched the young girl give a shaky breath before nodding enthusiastically.
That night, Byleth pulled out a pen and a piece of paper, and began to write.
To Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd,
I don’t think I could ever recall a time that you weren’t around. You were always there for me, through my first crush, my first kiss… In fact, I think you were the first person I’ve ever had a tea party with. I don’t know when it happened, but at some point, I fell in love with you.
This is probably going against all my teachings and lectures about doing what makes you happiest, but I just can’t put my love for your above Marianne’s. This letter is being written so I can get all of my feelings out for you so I can help her practice confessing to you. Marianne’s happiness is everything to me.
And so, Dimka, this will be the last day that I love you, but know that I will always be there for you. I wish you and Marianne happiness.
Byleth Eisner
The young girl folded up the letter, slipped it into an envelope, wrote the addressee on it, before placing it in one of her old shoeboxes. She slipped it under her desk before going over to Marianne’s room.
Present Day
Byleth looked at herself one last time in the mirror, taking in her appearance. It would be the last year that she would be wearing this uniform. She adjusted her glasses, brushing off some of the white fur their cat, Ranulf, left behind on her skirt.
A small mreow caught her attention and she bent down, picking up the white and strangely, blue, cat. “Good morning, Ranulf,” she said, carrying him as she walked down the stairs. The cat meowed in response and she gave a small chuckle.
He hopped out of her arms when she arrived into the dining room, meowing enthusiastically at her family.
Marianne gave a gentle smile when the cat rubbed herself against her clothed leg. Unlike Byleth, who chose to wear her silver and black uniform with exposed legs, Marianne preferred the more conservative darker, winter uniform. “Hello, Ranulf.”
Byleth greeted her family members, who returned her greeting as Jeralt set down a plate of breakfast in front of her. “I’m donating the items to the Church today. Did you two finish?” he asked, looking at his daughters.
Byleth placed some eggs into her mouth before responding, “Yeah. It’s in a box next to my desk.”
“Mine is right by my nightstand,” Marianne replied gently, stroking their cat’s fur.
There was a knock on the door at that moment. “Come in!” Jeralt called, knowing who it was.
Byleth vaguely heard the door open before she heard the shuffling of three footsteps. Wait, three? She glanced up, seeing Dimitri standing there with his step-sister and step-cousin. Dimitri nodded politely. “Good morning, Jeralt.” Edelgard and Lysithea gave their own hellos.
“Morning Dimitri, Edelgard, Lysithea,” Jeralt nodded his head. “You joining them today?” He looked at Edelgard.
Lysithea crossed her arms. “She broke up with Claude again.” Someone wasn’t happy to be in the middle seat. Edelgard tossed her younger sister a look but said nothing else.
“When did that happen?” Jeralt asked, looking at the older of the snow-haired girls.
Edelgard responded coolly, “Three weeks ago.”
“Do you want me to get your plate, Big Sister?” Marianne asked gently, looking at Byleth, who had finished her food.
“Oh, thank you, Marianne,” Byleth smiled and Marianne returned it easily, grabbing the plate and taking it to the sink. Byleth followed her sister and asked quietly, “Do you want me to sit in the front?”
“You’re closer friends with him,” Marianne pointed out. At Byleth’s frown, Marianne smiled. “Don’t worry. We didn’t break up on bad terms.”
Byleth nodded her head slowly. Her sister and best friend had broken up just a week ago before their junior year. Byleth didn’t know why and Marianne didn’t want to tell her, so she didn’t push. She trusted her sister to share when the time came.
Byleth placed a hand on Marianne’s shoulder and squeezed gently before heading over to the Blaiddyds. Well, only Dimitri had that last name as Edelgard kept her mother’s and Lysithea was Edelgard’s cousin, so she had a separate surname. But they were the Blaiddyds in Byleth’s head.
“Shotgun,” she called, slinging her backpack over her shoulder, heading towards the door. “Bye, Dad.”
“Bye, kids. Have a good day at school!”
“Ah, Byleth! Wait, I have to unlock the doors!” Dimitri jogged after Byleth and she heard the familiar beeping of the doors unlocking. Dimitri jogged past Byleth, opening the door for her.
Byleth gave a small smile up to the boy. She furrowed her brows. “Did you grow again? I just saw you last week.”
Dimitri scratched his cheek sheepishly, cheeks a light pink as his azure eyes looked down at her. “Just half a centimeter,” he admitted. Byleth reached forward, messing up his hair briefly. Despite his displeasure, he smiled slightly. He fixed his hair as Byleth climbed into his car.
Lysithea held her tongue as she watched her adoptive cousin with his ex’s sister and simply climbed into the car, with Marianne behind. “Are you okay with that?” she whispered quietly, to the bluenette.
The quiet girl looked at the younger one and gave an honest smile. “Yes,” she replied simply and even an idiot could see Marianne was nothing but sincere. Lysithea nodded, sitting back in her seat as her cousin climbed in next to her.
“Excited for senior year, Byleth?” Dimitri inquired as he started the car.
Byleth gave a small smile. “I suppose so,” she responded.
“Have you decided which college you want to go to? What are you majoring in?” Lysithea asked. Byleth looked into the rearview mirror to see her quite intrigued.
“I think somewhere locally,” Byleth answered truthfully. “Garreg Mach is an elevator system, after all. They’re a reputable school. I think I’ll major in education.”
“You always were a good teacher,” Edelgard complimented and the other three in the car nodded in agreement. Byleth was famous in their school for being a great tutor. Even Lysithea, a proud girl who usually didn’t accept help, would come to Byleth for answers. “It will be nice having you around still. I’d miss you if you went too far.”
Byleth angled her head slightly and smiled at the girl, who was sitting behind Dimitri. “I’d miss you guys too much, too.” Byleth was always way too dedicated to her family and friends and honestly, she was lucky that the city-state they lived in, Fódlan, was able to provide such great education and opportunities all on its own.
“How about you, Lysithea? Excited for freshman year?”
“I suppose so,” the young girl answered truthfully. “It’s just another four years of school, is it not?”
“Then that’s like saying it for me, too."
“Yes, but yours is different, Professor,” Lysithea called Byleth her nickname that some students affectionately called her. “You’ll be going to school so you can focus on a future job.”
“I suppose so,” Byleth responded. She didn’t say much after that, choosing to listen to the four younger ones talk amongst themselves. Occasionally, she’d give a small smile or a nod, agreeing with them.
Dimitri pulled into the lot of the high school division of Garreg Mach, quickly finding a spot. Garreg Mach was so huge that it allowed Dimitri to find a parking spot near the archery range and soccer field. Byleth got out of the car, giving a heavy sigh.
“I’ll see you guys later,” Byleth said, looking at the four. “I promised I’d meet up with Mercie and Hilda.” The younger students nodded their heads and she watched as Dimitri slung his soccer bag over his shoulder so she figured he had practice today. She wondered if she should watch soccer practice today after school since he was her ride. She could also ask Mercedes…
The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and Byleth moved out of the way, just as an arrow came flying where she was.
Her eyes landed on the arrow, which was right where she was standing just a split second ago.
"Eeeek! I'm sorry, Professor!" Bernadetta, a junior, looked like she was about to start crying. Byleth’s brows furrowed.
Claude von Riegan was right behind her and once his look of concern was gone, he turned to Bernadetta, trying to appease her. Byleth took the arrow off the ground and walked over to the archery team members, handing Bernadetta the arrow, who bowed and apologized profusely.
“A bird swooped down a bit too close and spooked her,” Claude explained. “You alright, Teach?”
Claude, like many other students in the high school division of Garreg Mach, had been tutored by Byleth sometime in the past. However, instead of addressing her as “Professor” like most, he chose to call her “Teach.” She never really questioned why Claude called her that, figuring that the junior just wanted to be different from the others.
Byleth nodded. “It’s all right, Bernadetta. I wasn’t hurt.”
“But you could’ve been!”
“I-it’s all right, Bernadetta,” Ashe said, coming up to her. “Professor said she’s fine.” The sophomore gave Byleth a small smile, which she returned.
“I insist.”
“W-well… if you say so…” She looked weary, but said nothing else. It was hard to believe, but she was the second-best archer in their team. She would have been vice-captain, if it weren’t for the fact that she was so stressed. So instead, Ashe, a sophomore, was chosen as he was hoping to prove himself and Claude had liked his spunk.
Speaking of Claude, she turned to the captain of the archery team, watching as he consoled Bernadetta. He was getting pretty good at this, but it also made sense, considering they had known each other since they were kids, being in the same grade and all.
It was common for students at Garreg Mach to be childhood friends.
The city-state of Fódlan was huge, but they only had one school: Garreg Mach. There was the elementary division in the Adrestrian District in the east. The middle school division was in the Faerghus District in the north. The high school division was in the Leicester District in the east. The college was located at the center of the three districts, known as the famous Garreg Mach University.
Byleth lived in the Faerghus District on Fhirdiad Street next to Dimitri. Edelgard originally lived on Enbarr Street with her father in the Adrestrian District, but then moved with her mother after she remarried. Lysithea, prior to her parents’ death, lived in the Leicester District on Gloucester Road. Marianne was also originally from the Leicester District. She was from Edmund Avenue, until it was discovered that her father abused her so she was taken away by social services. Jeralt, who worked for the government, adopted Marianne at the young age of eight.
It might seem strange to people that everyone goes to school at least twelve years together, but to them, it felt like it was a very large family. Of course, that meant everyone knew everyone to an extent. Most end up moving away to the other nearby city-states, but for the most part, they were happy where they were.
Fódlan was ruled by not one, but three heads: one from each district.
They were united through the Hresvelgs from the Adrestrian District (known as “the Empire”), the Blaiddyds from the Faerghus District (known as “the Kingdom”), and the Riegans from the Leicester District (known as “the Alliance”). It was a tradition as old as time, tracing back to the beginnings of Fódlan almost two thousand years ago.
The current heirs were actually all one year below Byleth: Edelgard von Hresvelg, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, and Claude von Riegan.
It might have seemed antiquated to use such a system to rule, but if it wasn’t broken, then it shouldn’t bother to be fixed. From what Byleth had heard, a country in the west wasn’t doing so great with their own form of government. But she was never fully involved in politics to actually know, anyway. In fact, Dimitri and Edelgard often explained to her how things were run due to their private lessons in politics.
Byleth bade the three younger students farewell and good luck, before heading into the school. Once there, she gave a heavy sigh before going over to her locker, which was the same as it had been the past three years.
“Good morning, Byleth,” a soft, kind voice greeted her from behind.
Byleth closed the door and gave a small smile to her best friend. “Hi, Mercie. How was Morfis?”
Mercedes smiled at the mention of the vacation she had spent in the city-state just south of Fódlan. “Oh, it was wonderful. Quite warm, though.” Fódlan was definitely colder than the more tropical Morfis, that was for sure. Well, at least Faerghus was, since it was closer to the mountains.
Byleth nodded, closing her locker before she began to walk with Mercedes. Luckily, they shared all their classes together except for one. Mercedes was taking home economics as her elective while Byleth had opted for a second period of study hall, where she could either tutor other students or study independently.
Her third class of the day was her first study hall. She shared it with her fellow seniors, Mercedes and Hilda.
She chose to go to the library today, like most who had study hall the first day.
When she entered the library, Lysithea, who was sitting at one of the desks with Cyril, perked up. She gave a small nod to Byleth, who returned the nod and walked over to them, sitting down with Mercedes and Hilda.
“Big cousin,” a voice called, causing Byleth to turn her head to look.
Flayn gave a large smile, quickly walking over to where Byleth was sitting. She sat in-between Byleth and Lysithea, who scooted over for her classmate to sit down.
“How are you enjoying your first day, Flayn?” Byleth inquired, cocking her head to the side as she propped her left hand underneath her chin.
Flayn clapped eagerly. “It’s been so much fun. High school isn’t as scary as I thought it’d be.”
Lysithea glanced thoughtfully at Flayn, before replying, “That’s probably because your father is one of the scariest teachers here.”
Flayn frowned at the mention of her over-protective father. “I suppose that is true, is it not?” Byleth thought about her uncle Seteth from her mother’s side and agreed that he was definitely very strict and very intimidating.
“Oh, thank goodness you guys have study hall now,” a voice drawled. The table turned to see who was approaching them and Dorothea threw her hair over her shoulder as Linhardt plopped into the seat beside Cyril, lying his head onto his arms immediately.
“Oh, hello, Dorothea,” Mercedes greeted kindly while the others gave their own salutations. The senior sat down next to the now-sleeping sophomore.
“Professor,” Lysithea said, showing the dark blue-haired girl a book. “Do you think you can explain to me how this formula is used?”
“Oh,” Dorothea looked at the complicated equation over Byleth’s shoulder. “Are you in Algebra II?”
“Algebra II/Trig,” Lysithea correctly simply, causing Dorothea’s eyebrows to shoot up.
“That’s impressive, Lysithea,” Dorothea complimented. “You’ll be in the same math level next year as I am as a senior.”
“Yes,” Lysithea nodded. “I have plans to be taking Pre-Calculus by next year. I have plans to take Calculus BC and AP Statistics my senior year.”
“The only other person I know crazy enough to do that is Byleth,” Hilda sighed heavily. “I’m fine with Pre-Calc in senior year.” Dorothea nodded in agreement.
“I’m only taking regular Statistics,” Byleth informed. “It’s the only one they offered online.”
“You really love school, don’t you?” Linhardt angled his head to look at the older girl. He yawned, shifting his head into a more comfortable position.
Byleth gave a small smile. “I enjoy tutoring you all,” she said truthfully. The group she was sitting with gave Byleth bright smiles in return. The girl then leaned forward, showing Lysithea how to properly use the formula.
So far, senior year was off to a great start.