Chapter Text
Hubert stared despondently at the empty outline of his Lady’s bed. Of course she had the foresight to leave a pillow decoy, but such simple tactics could never fool him. It was most likely meant for that Aegir boy.
And yet the fact remained that his lady had left without him.
The academic year was ramping up after all, and their plans were just being set in motion. She must have been, understandably, exhausted, and in such a state she had forgotten him. The idea that she hadn’t wanted his company was easily disregarded; his Lady would never leave without him.
Perhaps a more physical reminder was in order. The self deprecating girl in the Golden Deer house (threat level: little to none, and thus unimportant) had murmured something about keeping track of strays…
Yes. He would go to the market tomorrow and commission a tether. If he was persistent, he was sure Lady Edelgard would see the merit of it.
The idea of never being separated from his Lady again elevated his mood to near contentedness. He closed the door to his Lady’s room and started his search. Hopefully Lady Edelgard hadn’t gotten into too much trouble in his absence.
—
Edelgard was in deep trouble.
Of course it had to happen the one night she hadn’t taken Hubert with her (undoubtedly it was going to be the fuel of a thousand “I told you so’s after this mess was dealt with), but couldn’t she enjoy a little late night snooping without him? She was fully capable of keeping herself hidden.
Or so she had thought.
The cold green eyes of the Golden House leader belied his smile. “So, Princess, what brings you to the Holy Mausoleum this evening?”
Edelgard tilted her chin up. “I could ask the same of you.” Time spent in the Adrestian court has left her composure unshakable, but internally her thoughts raced. If Hubert were here, he would’ve taken care of Claude already, but as it was, they were at an impasse. Edelgard had no long range weaponry on her, and he would be expecting a frontal assault. And who wouldn’t miss the future head of an entire nation going missing anyway? So it had to be talking or fleeing, which would be much easier if—
“Claude! Edelgard!”
—she had a distraction.
Claude turned irritatedly towards the voice, and missed Edelgard’s small smile. He was instead treated to the sight of Dimitri flinging open the door to the Holy Mausoleum and creating cracks in the wall from the force of it.
That will surely go over well with the archbishop, Edelgard thought.
The prince didn’t seem to notice. He strode forward with a troubled look on his face. “Claude, how could you let Edelgard go into the Holy Mausoleum without informing her of the rules?”
“I just wanted to know what business she had in the Holy Mausoleum,” Claude smiled, crossing his arms. “I had to follow her in there to ask.”
There. An opportunity.
“Are you telling me you’re not curious as to what the Archbishop locks away in here? Don’t you wonder what she’s hiding?” Edelgard inwardly grinned as Claude tried to find a way to not agree with her, but Dimitri shook his head before Claude could answer.
“That doesn’t matter right now. You’re both trampling on Lady Rhea’s goodwill by being here.”
Claude scoffed. “And you’re not breaking the rules by coming in here too? Why were you waiting outside the Holy Mausoleum at night anyway? That doesn’t fit with your perfect princey image.”
“Don’t say that!” Dimitri’s face colored. “I just happened to be passing by and saw you going in. Your reputation leaves you no room to question mine.”
That had hit a nerve, Edelgard thought as she took a step back. They were so embroiled in their argument that they hadn’t noticed her slow inching away. Just a few more feet and she could run and put this behind her. She would keep herself busy so there would be no chance of them getting her alone to question her, and then—
Her smile died on her face. An ancient object had begun to rattle on its pedestal, glowing with an eerie green light. Minute tremors began to shake the ground.
Against her better judgment, Edelgard shouted, “Run! It’s going to explode!”
But it was too late. Green light flooded her vision, and the last thing she saw was the shock on Claude’s face.
—
“—ldgard, wake up. It’s going to be morning soon.”
“Alright, I’m…” she slurred, but then frowned. That wasn’t her voice. And that wasn’t Hubert speaking to her, either.
She opened her eyes to a blurry gold and blue form. “Dimitri..?”
“Ah…no,” Not-Dimitri coughed. “I’m Claude.”
Awareness ran over her like cold water. “What?” She sat up sharply, and then stood. Yellow flashed in her peripherals, and she found herself much taller than she had been initially. It wasn’t hard to piece what had happened together, though she didn’t want to believe it.
“Yes,” a familiar voice wavered from behind her, and she turned to find a blushing version of herself. “We might have an issue.”