Chapter Text
A field of beautiful green grass lay stretched out before Byleth. She could see two figures in the distance, one taller than the other. They were smiling and beckoning to her and so she made her way towards them. Flowers sprouted beneath her feet as she walked and the sun beamed down. As she drew closer to try and distinguish the faces of the figures, her vision began to fade in and out.
A rush of wind pushed her back as the sky darkened suddenly. She put a foot behind her to steady herself and heard a splash. When she looked down her foot was stained a deep red. Blood began to seep up from the ground and as she looked up in fear, she saw the two figures had turned away from her and were raising weapons against each other. The taller figure rushed forward with anger. A voice, faint as the wind, whispered to her.
“Stop him.”
She tried to cry out, to stop them as the voice willed but she couldn’t make a sound. The two figures clashed blades with a sound that rumbled like thunder before a blinding white light filled her vision.
A crack of thunder and a flash of lightning woke Byleth with a start. She blinked her eyes a few times, becoming aware of her surroundings again. What a dream, she thought, running her hands through her pale green hair as she lay there, trying to make sense of what she had just seen. The wind howled through the ruined courtyards of Garreg Mach and the rain lashed against the remaining intact windows. The goddess sure is angry tonight, she thought. Sothis, what ails you?
She rose from her bed and stood by her window, watching the rain and wind batter the trees outside. She stood there for some time, thinking about the war and how hard everyone was working. They would soon need to plan their next move - Fhirdiad or Enbarr. She hoped that Dimitri would pick Fhirdiad if she was truthful. She knew his people needed him and she had hope that somewhere, beneath his cold grieving exterior, there was still the kind noble prince that she used to spend countless hours talking to hidden underneath. Now he wouldn’t even say more than few words, but she just knew he was still in there. She had seen him looking at her across the cathedral whilst she had been talking to Ashe, but when she turned to address him he had turned away like always, like those old days were long gone. She felt a dull ache in her chest at the thought. Another flash of light took her out of her absent minded thoughts as the light illuminated what she thought was a figure making it’s way towards the stables. She blinked her tired eyes and strained to see through the rain. Another flash and the figure was gone. No one would be crazy enough to be out in this, she thought and made her way back to bed to try and get some more sleep.
The next morning, Byleth rose late to find the monastery buzzing with activity. She saw residents rushing around, hushed conversations being held and a look of unease amongst everyone. Concerned, she made her way to the cardinals room to seek the council of her allies and was met with a wall of worried faces. She entered and made her way to Felix, who seemed to be one of the few present not openly panicking.
“Felix, what’s going on?” Byleth asked.
“He’s finally done it.” Felix replied.
“Felix please, now isn’t the time to be cryptic with me.”
“The boar has abandoned his people in favour of his bloodlust.”
At this point, Dedue made his way over. “Prince Dimitri is gone, Professor.
"Gone?" Byleth replied, taking care to hide her inner turmoil from her expression. She was grateful for Dedue's calm demeanour as it helped settle her a little.
"Yes," Dedue continued "I went to saddle his horse for the march today. It was not in it's usual stable box so I went to inform His Highness. I thought, maybe he had taken the horse for a ride yesterday and staked it somewhere else for the night. When I checked his quarters, well the area of the cathedral where he has been sleeping recently, he was no where to be found. We have searched all morning and can not find him. We are currently ascertaining if the enemy has infiltrated our ranks and taken him as a prisoner of war. We know the Imperial army has been close to Garreg Mach recently.”
“Don’t be so foolish.” Felix snorted. “You know as well as I that no one could restrain that beast. No, he went of his own accord.”
“He would not abandon his people” Dedue insisted, the first sign of cracks appearing in his calm appearance.
“He hasn’t cared about his people for years. Tell me Dedue, why are we still waiting to decide if we are marching for Enbarr or Fhirdiad? It shouldn’t even be a question. He doesn’t care for anything but revenge.”
Byleth found her mind drawn back to something, something that she was struggling to remember. She quickly pushed it aside.
“Now isn’t the time for guesswork." she interjected. "We must keep searching and I will help. You say his horse is gone?”
“Yes Professor. I could not see it staked anywhere around the monastery. I had thought it may have bolted in the storm...” Dedue’s words trailed off and he looked at Felix out of the corner of his eye, as if knowing he was right but not fully wanting to entertain the thought.
“Okay, lets go check the stables first. Maybe there are some clues. Come with me Dedue, I could use your eyes. You know Dimitri better than most.”
The two made their way over to the stables and began searching the area. No sign of storm damage , Byleth thought. The latch on the door doesn’t seem to have broken so its unlikely the horse kicked it down in fright. Maybe the wind moved the latch. She went and wiggled the handle and found it stiff with rust. Well that idea isn’t right either. She bent down to check the ground for any signs of movement. The storm had washed away any tracks she noted with a sigh. She worked her way around the stall until she found a small piece of long black fur caught on one of the saddle racks.
"Dedue, come check this.”
“Professor, that is red wolf fur, much like His Highnesses’ cloak, he was definitely here.”
Byleth clutched the fur between her fingers and her mind suddenly filled with the image of a blood soaked field and two figures clashing swords. With a quick intake of breath, she dropped the fur and turned to Dedue.
“Dedue, go and tell the others to remain calm. I am going to find him.”
“Please Professor, you cant go alone, I will come with you.”
“Dedue, someone needs to stay and handle the others. We can’t have them thinking their future king has abandoned them. Besides, it will be quicker without a group. I hate to say this but you aren’t the strongest rider. Please, trust me.” She met his gaze with an intensity that could only force him to concede.
Dedue looked at Byleth and exhaled. “Bring him back to us, Professor.”
“I will.”
With that, she bolted back to her quarters and grabbed her field pack. She always had one ready these days in case of a surprise attack and was grateful for it now. She hurried back to the stables, grabbed a saddle from the rack and readied the swiftest horse remaining. As she spurred the horse through the main gates of the monastery and turned south, her mind began to race.
Sothis, you knew didn’t you? It was your voice. I’m sorry I didn’t listen. Were you trying to stop him leaving? The storm, the dream, I didn’t understand until it was too late. Please, let us reach him in time. She galloped her horse until she could push it no harder, rushing through farmland, forest and meadows, eyes wide for any sign of tracks.
Morning turned into afternoon and soon the night drew in. She knew she had to stop but pushed on. Exhaustion and fatigue began to overtake her, she felt the horse begin to slow and knew it was hopeless to continue. She reined the mare to a stop, dismounted and began leading it along the edge of a cliff face seeking shelter. Thankfully she came across a small cave opening set into the cliff wall and made her way inside. It was dark and slightly damp, but at least it was out of the elements. She had slept in worse in her mercenary days. As she staked the reins and began to build a small fire, the cold night air began to roll in.
She sat up for a while, ate some trail rations and tried to think about where Dimitri could be going. She had ridden out on a whim it was true but she knew there was some clue amongst that dream. She had a guess but she really didn’t think he was foolish enough to march for Enbarr alone. She really hoped Felix wasn’t right on this one. She laid on her bedroll, staring into the flames and shivering before she was overcome with fatigue and found herself drifting to sleep.