Chapter Text
Alear returns to Gradlon after his little escapade to Solm. He peeks around the corner when he does not hear anything. There were no Corrupted roaming the halls, and he could not hear Zephia or Griss anywhere. That was fine with him, it meant he would not be stopped. He heads up the tower with his newly acquired books. As he walks up the steps, he hears voices ahead. Tensing up, he slows his steps to avoid being heard. Alear stops outside the door and listens as the voices talk.
"Geez! You are left alone for a short while and you get yourself hurt?!" Marni grumbles.
'Hurt? He is hurt?' Alear frowns but continues to listen.
"Marni, it is not his fault." Mauvier says. "Something must have angered Lord Sombron."
"What could have made him mad?" Marni asks, sounding surprised.
"The Divine Dragon returned. She fought against my brother." Veyle answers.
"Ugh... so the coward returned? I bet she wasn't a match for Prince Alear." Marni says proudly.
"No... she was able to injure him a little." Veyle says quietly.
"She probably caught him off guard!" Marni huffs. "I bet she uses underhand tactics! I doubt she trains at all! You wouldn't happen to know anything about her, would you prisoner?"
"H-Huh? Um... I only know about Queen Lumera. I never spoke with her daughter before..." Alcryst mutters.
"Oh! So she is a Divine Dragon that thinks she is above her people then!" Marni says indignantly. Alear could imagine her placing her hands on her hips as she speaks. "She probably looks down on us!"
"I don't think we should be making assumptions about her." Mauvier interjects.
"Don't defend her, Mauvier. It isn't like she did anything a year ago to help when the prisoner was in trouble." Marni scoffs.
"Um... can we... not talk about that?" Alcryst asks.
"Ugh... fine." Marni grumbles.
Alear sighs. It seems like he has heard enough now. That was all he needed to hear for now. He pushes the door open and steps into the room. He watches as Marni immediately straightens up.
"Prince Alear! What brings you here? Did I forget to lock the door again?" Marni says.
"Why would you lock the door?" Alear asks, tilting his head.
"Your father doesn't want the prisoner to run away." Marni answers.
"I don't know think he is able to run away with a bad foot." Alear looks over at Alcryst and frowns when he sees the bandages. "Are you alright?"
"I... I am fine. I will be alright." Alcryst looks away.
"Did Father do this?" Alear asks.
"Alear, I don't think we should talk about this..." Veyle says. "He doesn't-"
"It is fine. Alear is just... curious." Alcryst says. "It's alright."
"What happened?" Alear asks.
"Your father was upset about something." Alcryst mutters quietly. "And he just took it out on me."
"Is that all?" Alear pushes.
"That's all." Alcryst tenses.
"Are you sure?" Alear asks.
"Brother..." Veyle frowns.
"I was only asking." Alear scowls.
"It... it wasn't really all." Alcryst says after a few moments.
"Then what happened?" Alear asks.
"Lord Sombron forced himself onto me. I didn't want to, but there was nothing I could do to stop him..." Alcryst looks away.
Alear frowns but does not say anything. What could he do anyways? If he spoke out against his father, he would get into trouble. Veyle could get into trouble. He needed to avoid that.
"Well since you are here, I'll be leaving now. Bye!" Marni lets out a sigh. She walks out the door.
"I will trust that you will both be careful." Mauvier sighs and follows after her. "Lady Veyle, are you going to stay?"
"Just a little longer!" Veyle smiles.
"Be careful then." Mauvier steps out of the room.
Veyle turns to Alear with a smile on her face. "Where did you go, brother? I was looking for you!"
"Solm." Alear answers.
"Solm? Why did you go there?" Veyle asks.
"I heard there was an Emblem there, but I could not find anything." Alear frowns.
"Huh? You're looking for the Emblems?" Alcryst asks.
"Mhm! Papa wants to gather them!" Veyle answers. She turns to Alear with a frown. "You should have brought me with you!"
"I did not want to bother you." Alear says. "And Father was not supposed to know I went."
"You didn't want him to know?" Veyle tilts her head.
"Father did not permit me to leave." Alear answers.
"So you snuck out? Why would you do that?" Veyle asks.
"I got these." Alear places the bag on the bed.
Veyle opens up the bag and looks inside. "Oh! They are books!"
"Books?" Alcryst leans in closer. He picks one up and looks it over. "I never read this one before. You're lucky."
"They are not for me." Alear says.
"Then who are they for?" Alcryst asks.
"They are for you." Alear answers plainly.
"Me?! Why?!" Alcryst squeaks.
"You have nothing here." Alear says. "I thought you would be bored if no one comes to see you."
"Oh... You really didn't have to. I'm sure that if Zephia or Griss found out, they would just throw them away." Alcryst sighs.
"They will not. I will not let them." Alear frowns. "You were kind to me, so I want to give you something."
"That's kind of you." Alcryst smiles. "Thank you, Alear."
Alear feels a sense of pride swell up inside of him. It was like when his father would praise him for doing well. But this was different. This was not something he did because he needed to survive. This was something he did because he wanted to. What he does not expect is the hug that follows, so he tenses.
"Thank you for this gift. I am really grateful." Alcryst smiles.
"You are welcome." Alear says. He wraps his arms around Alcryst, pulling him closer.
'Father's scent is on him.'
Alear pulls back, looking Alcryst in the eyes. "Did Fa-"
The door is thrown open with a loud bang, and he turns to glare at Griss.
"Am I interrupting something, Prince Alear?" Griss sneers.
"What do you want?" Alear asks.
"Lord Sombron has an assignment for you." Griss answers.
"An assignment?" Veyle asks.
"You are welcome to join him, Lady Veyle." Griss grins.
"Just tell me what it is." Alear frowns.
"I can't be saying that around the prisoner. Why don't you two come along?" Griss says. "Lord Sombron is waiting for you."
Griss leaves without waiting for them to follow. Alear waits until the footsteps fade away. What could it be that their father wanted them to do? He hated how he could not just be told from Griss or Zephia. Why couldn't they just say it? Did his father just want him to go to him directly?
"Will you be alright on your own now?" Alear turns to Alcryst.
Alcryst nods. "It is alright. I'll be right here when you get back. It isn't like I can leave anyways..."
"Okay. We will be back soon." Alear heads out the door with Veyle at his heels.
"I wonder what Papa wants you to do." Veyle says.
Alear did not have the answer to that. For all he knew, this could be a test. Sombron loved to test them after all. He had seen many of his siblings die because they had failed these tests. Was that what was happening now? Alear knew that Sombron would not be merciful if he did not meet expectations, and he knew that failure would only result in his own death.
He opens the door to Sombron's room and steps inside. "Father. You wished to see me?"
"Alear. And Veyle as well. I am glad you two have come. I have an assignment for you." Sombron does not turn to them.
"What is it, Father?" Alear asks.
"What did you want us to do, Papa?" Veyle asks.
"We have the location of Emblem Byleth. I want you to claim the Emblem before the Divine Dragon does."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Diamant is anxious. He doesn't know if anyone had caught on to what had happened. If they did, no one gave any indications that they knew. He was grateful for that at least. However, he would have liked it if he had not been woken up early in the morning.
"I am sorry for waking you all up now." Alear fiddles with her hair. "But I think now would be a good time to go get the Emblem."
"At this hour?" Diamant asks. "We haven't cleared through the Corrupted surrounding Destinea Cathedral."
"It's okay. I have a plan for that." Alear says confidentally.
A plan? Diamant doubted she actually had a plan. He did not trust Alear to be able to succeed with whatever she was thinking of. No. He prayed she did not have a plan. If she had a successful plan, that only spelled trouble. If the Emblem were to fall into the Divine Dragon's hands, then Sombron would likely take out his anger on Alcryst.
'I refuse to let anything happen to Alcryst.'
So Diamant decides that he could not let this plan succeed. But for that to happen, he needed to know about this plan.
"What is your plan, Divine One?" Diamant asks.
"Some of us will keep the Corrupted distracted while the rest of us get to Destinea Cathedral." Alear answers, a smile on her face.
"That-" Diamant frowns.
"That sounds like a wonderful idea, Divine One. I would be happy to support you." Ivy approaches.
"Thank you Princess Ivy." Alear smiles brightly.
Diamant sighs as he listens to Alear and Ivy happily converse with each other. He never understood why Ivy was so keen on supporting the Divine Dragon. He would understand if it was Lumera, but Alear? Alear had done nothing to prove herself to him. When he had prayed for her to come and save Alcryst, she ignored those prayers and kept herself hidden. She did nothing to help anyone no matter how many people prayed to her. If there was a Divine Dragon he respected, it certainly wasn't her.
Diamant saw her as selfish. She only wanted to gather the Emblems to bring back her mother. She had told him no when he had said they could use the Emblems to rescue Alcryst. She was putting Lumera first. But a part of Diamant also knew that Alear had a point. Maybe if they had Lumera here, then Alcryst would be safe. Maybe he should let her get the Emblems.
'No. Sombron would know. I already made a deal with him. I can't risk it.'
"If everyone is ready, we can head out." Alear says.
"I will let everyone know." Ivy bows before walking away.
------------------
When they arrived at Destinea Cathedral, there were less Corrupted than the last time they were there. It was strange, and the thought made Diamant more anxious than before. If there were not as many Corrupted there to stop them, then the likelihood of Alear getting her hands on the Emblem increased drastically. If she got it, then he would have failed to do something to protect Alcryst.
'Please don't let that happen. I cannot fail him.'
"Prince Diamant? Are you alright?" Amber asks.
Diamant smiles. "You don't need to worry, Amber. I am fine."
"Are you sure? You look like you are worried about something." Amber says.
"You're right. I am worried." Diamant sighs.
"Really? About what?" Amber gasps.
"There are less Corrupted than before. I am afraid there may be an ambush if we proceed." Diamant says. It wasn't the truth, but if it worked to sow the seeds of doubt.
Amber looks around and frowns. "You're right. I'll warn the Divine One."
Diamant sighs with relief as he watched Amber rush off. If Amber had realized something was off, then he could be in trouble. This was only to make sure Amber was distracted with something. However, it does not seem like there would be any peace. He stops in his spot when he hears a shout up ahead.
Diamant rushes past the Corrupted blocking his path and sees the Divine Dragon clashing with a hooded figure.
"What happened?" He asks Ivy.
"That person came out of the cathedral. They have the Emblem." Ivy says. "We need to stop them."
'They have the Emblem? Are they someone who works with Sombron?'
Diamant turns and watches as Alear clashes blades with the hooded figure. The hood of their cloak flies off and Diamant finally gets a good look at the person's face. The person was a young man with red hair and red ryes. He seemed familiar. It was like they had met before. Then Diamant remembers that they had clashed with someone like this before. This person had shown up when they were trying to get an Emblem before.
"Prince Diamant, don't space out." Ivy says. "We should not let him get away this time. Let's assist the Divine One."
"Right." Diamant holds his blade, but he hesitates. If he attacked, then the red haired man would lose the Emblem. Then the Emblem would fall into Alear's hands.
As Ivy begins to cast a spell, a wall of flames scorches by them. Diamant had reacted in time to move away and pull Ivy out of range.
"I won't let you interfere with my brother's fight!" A young girl's voice rings out. "So I will be your enemy!"
'A young girl?' Diamant looks at the small figure that approaches them.
The girl wears a cloak like the young man did, but she keeps her face hidden. "I'll stop you right here!"
Ivy growls. "Prince Diamant, lets take her down quickly."
"Of course." But Diamant does not think it would be easy for them to defeat the hooded girl. Something about her told him she was strong.
Ivy casts a fire spell towards the hooded girl, but she easily leaps out of the way. As soon as she lands on her feet, the hooded girl casts a fire spell of her own. Flames erupt around them and block off any escape they can make.
"Princess Ivy! I won't be able to get close!" Diamant shouts.
"We still need to try! The Divine One is relying on us!" Ivy shouts, casting another fire spell. However, the hooded girl deflects it with a spell of her own.
"I said I won't let you through!" The girl cries out. She let's out a shriek when Timerra tackles her from behind.
"Sorry I'm late!" Timerra waves to them. "It looks like you two could use some help!"
"Princess Timerra! You're here!" Ivy smiles. "I thought you were still in Solm."
"Fogado and I have returned now. We got enough Intel to know where the Emblems are." Timerra says.
"You have? Could you tell us?" Diamant says.
"I will." Timerra smiles.
"I have to stop you or Papa will be angry." The hooded girl casts a fire spell.
Timerra weaves through the fire and knocks away the hooded girl's tome. "But first, let's deal with her."
"That would be wise." Ivy casts a fire spell, knocking the hooded girl down. "We should hurry and assist the Divine One."
"No!" The hooded girl cries, reaching for her tome. "I won't let you interfere with my brother!"
"Sorry!" Timerra quickly hits it away. "We can't let you have that!"
Diamant does not move from his spot. It seemed to him that the hooded girl was young. If the red haired man was her older brother, then Diamant couldn't possibly do anything to harm her. It hurt for him to lose Alcryst. That was something he could never wish onto anyone else, even if they were enemies. How could he?
He watches as Timerra swings her spear and Ivy prepares another spell. A scream causes Timerra and Ivy to stop. They whirl around quickly to see Alear crumbled on the ground, her opponent standing over her. Diamant could only conclude that the red haired man was able to defeat her.
"Divine One!" Ivy screams. She quickly commands her wyvern to rush to Alear's rescue. "You will pay for that!"
"Princess Ivy! Wait!" Timerra shouts, moving forward as well.
"I will not wait. He hurt the Divine One, so he has to be stopped!" Ivy growls. She casts a fire spell, hitting the red haired man in the back.
The red haired man looks over at her, completely unfazed by the attack. He watches Ivy for a few moments before he walks forward. His gave never leaves Ivy as he pulls out a red stone. The ominous glow the stone in his hands omits causes Diamant to feel a sense of dread. He doesn't understand why, but something was telling him that this was not a good thing.
"Princess Ivy! Get back!" He shouts. He runs forward, and manages to pull Ivy off of her wyvern.
Ivy looks at him, taken aback. "Prince Diamant! We cannot just-"
"You shouldn't fight him!" Diamant argues.
"And we cannot just let him go." Ivy snaps back.
"That's a dragonstone!" Timerra shouts, stopping them from arguing any further. "We need to run!"
So it was just as Diamant had feared. He nods, turning to Timerra. "That would be wise. We should retreat and make sure everyone does the same."
"Retreat?" Ivy's attention snaps back to Alear's fallen form. "Not without the Divine One!"
Before Diamant or Timerra could do anything, Ivy charges forward and leaps back onto her wyvern. Her wyvern immediately takes off and makes a beeline for Alear. Just as quickly as she had moved, the red haired man transforms into a large black dragon. It was not hard for Diamant to tell that this was not a Divine Dragon. They were face to face with a Fell Dragon now, and he did not think that they would be able to win.
The dragon knocks Ivy aside and stomps forward.
"Princess Ivy!" Timerra shouts, running forward. But a hand on her shoulder stops her.
Panette tugs her back. "We must go, Princess Timerra."
"Hey! Panette! What are you doing?!" Timerra shouts. "We need to help Princess Ivy!"
"We need to run." Panette drags Timerra back. She glances to Diamant. "You should run too."
Diamant nods and turns away. He couldn't help but notice the look of awe in Panette's face. He doesn't see any fear in her eyes, only admiration. He doesn't understand why. With a quick glance around, Diamant spots Pandreo pulling Fogado away. He also seemed to be admiring the dragon as well.
'Why? What do they see in the dragon?'
He looks back and sees the dragon coming closer. But he realizes that the dragon was not attacking them. Instead, the dragon stops and picks up the hooded girl and her tome before turning away. It lets out a low growl as it talks to the hooded girl who seems to understand everything.
"It's okay, brother. I'm not hurt. You came just in time." The hooded girl says.
The dragon hisses and looks towards the group.
"We can leave. Don't worry about them, brother." The hooded girl says.
The dragon nods, then it slowly walks further away from them.
"They are leaving?" Amber says.
"It looks like he doesn't want to fight us anymore." Pandreo says as he stops besides Alear with a staff in hand.
"Should we pursue?" Amber asks.
"No. He is not attacking us, so we shouldn't. We should not risk it." Diamant shakes his head.
The dragon glances back at them one more time before flying off.
"Wait! Come back here!" Ivy screams as she pushes herself back up.
"Princess Ivy. You *must* rest. You should not *push* yourself." Zelkov appears by her side. He pulls her up by her arm.
"He has the Emblem!" Ivy yanks her arm away.
"I know." Zelkov says.
"If you know, then do something! Stop him!" Ivy shouts.
"Princess Ivy-" Zelkov frowns.
"We aren't any match for him." Vander says. "We will have to let him go."
"Are you serious?! You are just going to let him go?" Ivy shouts. She turns and glares at Vander. "I thought you were protecting the Divine One!"
"I am. Right now, it is in her best interest that we leave." Vander says as he scoops Alear up in his arms.
"She wants to collect the Emblems! She needs them in order to bring back Queen Lumera!" Ivy grits her teeth. "Letting them just leave like this won't help. That is letting them have one of the Emblems."
"The Divine One will understand." Vander says.
"That's right." Framme grips her staff tightly. "The Divine One's safety is more important right now!"
"As her stewards, we promised to protect her." Clanne states.
"If that is what you all prefer to do, then you can." Ivy hops onto her wyvern. She pats the creature's side.
"Princess Ivy, what are you doing?" Diamant frowns.
"I will go after them." Ivy says. "If you do not want to, then don't."
"You are making a mistake." Diamant tries to argue.
"It is a mistake to just sit idle and do nothing." Ivy snaps before flying off.
"Stupid Ivy... she is being too stubborn." Hortensia huffs.
"Lets return to the Somniel." Vander shakes his head. He begins to lead everyone away, heading back to the Somniel.
Diamant lingers for a few moments, staring in the direction the dragon and Ivy had gone. He hopes Ivy would realize it was a mistake and return. But he also prays that the mysterious dragon was someone who worked with Sombron. If he wasn't, then Diamant does not know what will happen.
"Prince Diamant? Are you coming?" Alfred calls out to him.
"I'm coming!" Diamant quickly follows after Alfred. He hoped everything would be alright.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Alcryst had spent some time carefully organizing the books on the bookshelf. Now it was not empty, so the room seemed less empty. He had been bored waiting for Alear and Veyle to return from their talk with Sombron, but it was taking awhile. So he tried to find things to do. Now that he finished putting away all the books, he should find something else to occupy himself with. He grabs one of the books from the shelf and slowly walks back to the bed, wincing as pain shoots up his leg. His injury still hadn't healed yet.
He sits on the bed with one of the books in hand, a fairytale.
It was a story of a princess who was locked away in a tower all alone. A witch had trapped her there and would not let her leave. The princess did not have anyone there to keep her company aside from some forest animals, but she got a visit one day when a man found the tower. He set her free and killed the witch that held her captive. The princess ended up marrying her rescuer and lived happily ever after.
Happily ever after.
Were those really real? He doubted they were. It was just a story that was meant to entertain people. Happily ever afters did not really exist. They just could not be a real thing, but people would always hope.
It made him think of his own situation. Could he ever have a happily ever after? Maybe if someone saved him from this horrible place, but Alcryst doubted that would happen. He could ask Veyle and Alear, but he did not want to put them into any danger. He heard about how Sombron would kill his own children, so he could not put Alear and Veyle at risk.
That was enough reading for now. Alcryst pushes himself back to his feet and returns the book to the shelf. As he turns to get back to the bed, he trips over his own feet and crashes to the ground. Everything around him spins, so he doesn't hear the door open and does not hear the hurried footsteps rushing to his side.
He hardly realized someone else was there until he feels himself being lifted. He opens his eyes and sees a flash of red. "Alear?"
"What were you doing on the ground?" Alear asks, placing him on the bed.
"I fell." Alcryst says quietly.
"You need to be more careful." Alear shakes his head and sits besides him.
"I'm sorry..." Alcryst looks away.
"No apologies." Alear says. "Why are you apologizing?"
"I don't know..." Alcryst sighs. Why had he apologized? He felt like he had done something wrong, so that was it. He always apologized when someone would get upset with him, so he had felt like he should apologize.
"It is fine then." Alear says. He pokes Alcryst's cheek. "I want to show you something before I tell father."
"Show me something?" Alcryst tilts his head.
"Yes. There is something I want to show you." Alear nods eagerly. He pauses and glances towards the door. Then he quickly stands up and shuts the door before sitting back down on the bed. He hides something in his hands.
"What is it?" Alcryst asks.
"This." Alear opens his hand, revealing a ring.
"A ring?" Alcryst frowns.
"No. It is not a normal ring." Alear says. "It is an Emblem."
"An Emblem?!" Alcryst gasps. "I haven't seen one outside of Roy before... Which one is this?"
"This is Emblem Byleth." Alear says. He rubs his finger over the ring. "I wonder if Father will be proud of me..."
Alcryst grabs Alear's hand and smiles. "I'm sure he will! You did something he would be proud of! I think you did a good job!"
Alear looks shocked, but he does not try to pull away. Instead, he squeezes Alcryst's hand and mutters something under his breath.
"Huh? What did you say?" Alcryst asks.
"Praise me more." Alear says.
"H-Huh?!" That certainly was not something Alcryst expected to hear. "You..."
"I want to hear more praise. Father does not do it often." Alear states. His gaze never leaves Alcryst's face.
"I think you're a nice person because you were willing to get me some books. I still have to thank you for that. So thank you for being so nice to me, Alear." Alcryst smiles. He pauses and frowns. "Ah... is it really okay for me to just call you Alear though? Zephia said that it was disrespectful for me to address you like that... And-"
"Zephia is wrong. She thinks it is disrespectful? That is not her choice." Alear scowls. "I do not care, so you can call me Alear."
"O-Oh... okay." Alcryst takes a deep breath. "Thank you..."
"You do not need to thank me." Alear shakes his head. "It should be a normal thing."
"But I still feel like I should because you are being so kind to me!" Alcryst insists.
"You really do not have to." Alear says.
Someone clears their throat and the two of them tense up. When had someone else come into the room? And how had they not heard the door open? If someone else had entered, surely one of them would have heard.
"Was that you?" Alear asks.
"No..." Alcryst frowns. "I thought that was you... or maybe someone else."
"Excuse me." A voice says.
Slowly, Alcryst and Alear turn to see a glowing figure floating besides the bed. The person wore dark clothes, almost like armor and had a hard to read expression on his face.
"Who are you?" Alear asks.
The man sighs. "You were the one to summon me, yet you are unaware."
"I do not follow." Alear frowns.
"Summon?" Alcryst questions. "What do you mean by that?"
"Divine Dragons and Fell Dragons are able to call upon us." The man says. He points to the ring Alear is still holding. "We reside in those."
"Wait..." Alear's eyes go wide.
"You came from the ring?" Alcryst asks. "Doesn't that mean you are an Emblem?"
"Yes. I am Emblem Byleth."