Chapter Text
Byleth handed Hubert the dagger. The mage took it with a practiced hand, a sallow eyebrow raised toward his princess. Shall I cut his throat at the falsehood?
Edelgard shook her head. Her hands, quite unready and pale, took Byleth’s hand and pulled it slowly towards her lips. She held it, crimson trickling down, a few inches from her lips. “How much should I…”
“I’ve never done this before, either,” Byleth said quietly. “Just until… you can see her? Like I said, if this doesn’t work, I’ll tell you, and you’ll never have had to do this.”
Edelgard watched the steady drops leak from Byleth’s finger, slipping down his open palm, cascading slowly to splash on the wooden floor of the sauna, pooling there in her indecision. Blood. It all came down to blood, Fódlan, and her, and the rest of it, didn’t it? And more in the future, if this worked.
To hell with it.
Byleth’s breath stopped short, as Edelgard gently placed his fingertip in her mouth. Sothis, floating with her hand on her partner’s shoulder, was staring fixatedly at the semi-obscene act.
Edelgard sucked slowly, the metal taste of her teacher’s viscera flooding her. This was about as far from the niceties of sharing at a tea ceremony as it could get. Byleth’s blood was dripping down her lips and Edelgard wished she’d asked whether to swallow, or…
She chose the former, and, unsure whether it was revulsion or something else, staggered back on herself, Byleth’s finger loose, her head dizzying.
“Edelgard?” “My lady, are you–” “Byleth, the little one–”
Edelgard blinked desperately to clear the cloudiness, coughing in the thick air, hand against the sweating sauna wall for support. Voices swam fuzzily in her ears and she fell as some part of her very being began to surge in reaction.
Byleth and Hubert rushed to catch her, and taking each of Edelgard’s arms as the girl lolled, watched as her lilac eyes flamed radiant purple, flaming large.
“Hohoho, we have certainly done something,” Sothis grinned.
In the princess’ body, the blood was seemingly working, something certainly Sothis cementing itself in the fabric of the Crest-of-Flames magic that was already in Edelgard.
After a few seconds, the fire faded, and Edelgard blinked, unsteady, focusing her eyes and finding her feet. “I didn’t expect to go so lightheaded, apologies, my teacher. And Hubert, thank you.”
“If it did not work, it was certainly very impressive,” Sothis preened, a few feet away. “A good party trick.”
Edelgard went almost as pale as her hair. Her jaw, lip still stained with blood, fell open. “What on…”
Sothis floated over regally, before dropping to stand in front of Edelgard. She looked up with a shy smile. “Hello, Edelgard. I am Sothis. Would you mind giving me your hand?”
Edelgard reached out a trembling hand and Sothis took a gentle hold of her fingers in both hands. Then she blinked, and looked up at Byleth. “Byleth, I can touch her, too…”
Bemused by the way the rest were staring at his liege’s hand, Hubert broke the apparent silence. “My lady, are you alright?”
Edelgard stared at a rather bashful-looking Sothis, who couldn’t meet the leader’s intense gaze, and was staring sidelong as Edelgard moved her hand up and down in disbelief. “He was telling the truth,” Edelgard whispered, without breaking the stare.
“So I had surmised,” Hubert replied. His tone was slow, which passed for about as incredulous as Hubert could ever sound. “I also suspect it will not work for me, or others. The professor’s exsanguination seemed to react rather violently with your existing Crest.”
Sothis squeezed Edelgard’s hand. “I am sorry, Edelgard, if that is how it is. May I hug you now? As much as I love Byleth, I have never been able to touch anyone else.”
The princess nodded, blankly bewildered, and Sothis carefully wrapped her slim arms around Edelgard’s sauna-suit waist. “Thank you, Edelgard.” And then from her midriff: “Byleth and I know how much you asked the goddess for help, in your ordeal, how many of your prayers went unanswered.” Sothis’ hug tightened. “That Sothis is dead, or deep asleep in the Blue Sea Star. So I promise you, for my part, now I am here, I will do my best to keep you and your loved ones safe.”
Edelgard, exhausted, emotionally drained, erupted into tears.