Elgar let out a breath as he felt the carriage come to a stop. Well, today was the day his life would change forever. It was really his first time leaving Enbarr (that he could actually remember) and meeting people outside of the Empire... His time in the Kingdom had been so stressful he couldn't remember anything about it nor the people he'd met. Not that they'd recognise him now if they were here... 'Edelgard' had died a very long time ago as had El. Nobody had called him by either name in years unless one counted the shambling corpse of a father he remained.

  He stepped out of the carriage, a servant helping him step onto the ground. "Thank you. Take my clothes to my room." He offered the man a polite bow and adjusted his clothes before a woman greeted him. She led him to the Black Eagles classroom. Well, this was it... Really his first time showing his face to the public. He ran a hand over his brown hair and down the ponytail tied neatly with a purple ribbon before entering.

  Immediately, he recognised Duke Aegir's son. The resemblance was unmistakable. Regardless, he plastered the best smile on his face he could muster as the other Black Eagles came over. "Oh, you must be Elgar, the Emperor's son, right?" A rather tall girl with brown hair, green eyes, and a hat walked over, her hips swaying a bit. He could already sense she had an eye on him even if he was...unfortunately short.

  He offered a polite nod, his smile practiced and masking as much emotion as he could. "Hes, I am Elgar von Hresvelg, future Emperor of Adrestia. It's a pleasure to meet you. Might I ask your name?" Cool, controlled, and careful. He couldn't give anything away. Adrestia had nothing against people like him but he just didn't want to give it away if at all possible.

  "I'm Dorothea Arnault. It's a pleasure to meet you, Elgar. I hope we'll get to know each other better." She smiled and winked and he could feel a bit of heat rise in his cheeks. However, her smile faded and she glanced over her shoulder toward one of the desks. He tilted his head and watched after her.

  "What's the matter?" The other Black Eagles hung around, but they could clearly sense he wasn't going to talk to them quite yet. All the better for Duke Aegir's son. That man had destroyed his family with his horrible coup and then the Crest experiments... That man would face retribution for what he'd done. Taking over the throne would be incredibly difficult and quite the power struggle, but he hoped he could gain allies while here at Garreg Mach to help him overthrow the current power structures in Enbarr. Dorothea was obviously a commoner due to lacking the von part of a typical Adrestian noble name, but commoners could still be potential allies too.

  "Last night a girl showed up and she's terrified. Do you think you could try talking to her? I've been trying my best to help her but she's practically afraid of her own shadow..." Well... He was only 4'11" flatfooted, so his stature would be far less intimidating than somebody Dorothea's size. He hoped he could gain some rapport with all of the Black Eagles to help him overthrow Enbarr's power structures. He could see one of Count Bergliez's sons and one of Count Hevring's children... He would have to be careful about them along with Duke Aegir's son because he had no idea where their loyalties may lie. With their abhorrent fathers or perhaps with the Empire... Only time would tell.

  "I'll see what I can do." He bowed to Dorothea and followed her over to the desk where she'd been fussing over. The scion of House Varley. Why were so many people related to those damnable Seven here in Garreg Mach? Oh well. He had to put that aside for now and scooted underneath the desk. The purple-haired girl's eyes widened and she cowered away from him. He frowned. Granted, he did put on quite the air... So maybe that was it. He smiled at her as gently as he could muster and offered her a hand. "Hey, it's all right. I'm Elgar. It's nice to meet you. What's wrong?" He spoke extremely gently. At one time, they wouldn't have been so different. He could remember a time when he was gentle, softspoken, and anxious... But that person had died a very, very long time ago...

  The girl just let out a small noise and buried her face in her knees, making Elgar frown. He really wasn't the best for sensitivity anymore. He had really tried to kill off that part of himself. He'd had to make his way in the world more or less alone following the Crest experiments. No more mothers, no more siblings, and Hubert had disappeared between the time he had left for the Kingdom and returned. All he had left was himself. And since sensitivity could easily get him eviscerated alive in the Adrestian court, there had been no recourse but to kill that soft part of himself. He needed to be strong to take on the corrupt court and, one day, the Slitherers who had made his life such a living hell.

  He scooted closer to the girl and she startled, bumping her head on the desk above them. "Ow..." she muttered. Elgar really did feel sorry for her, but he wasn't good at this anymore. He'd been so isolated from others growing up that he didn't know what to do. He would need to be soft and kind for this girl's sake, but he had basically forgotten how to do that.

  He rubbed her shoulder with his arm. "Hey, it's all right. I'm not going to hurt you. I don't think anybody here wants to hurt others." They were here to be officers and fight, but he doubted anybody truly harbored ill intents for anybody else here. Then again, there could be Slitherers waiting around... They had infiltrated the Adrestian court, so what was to say they hadn't infiltrated the Church itself? They were crafty and could take the form of others so...there was no telling. This girl might even be one herself, but...he didn't want to come across as paranoid by not trusting anybody.

  The girl still said nothing, shaking like a leaf in a windstorm in his arms. He frowned. Yeah, he really wasn't cut out for this. "What's your name?" Hopefully that wouldn't be too invasive to ask. It was about as simple as a question could get. But for somebody this anxious, it could easily be enough to be seen as having negative motivations.

  "Um... Bernadetta...von Varley..." Her voice shook violently and Elgar patted her back.

  "I'm Elgar like I said. It's nice to meet you." The way she was acting... This was in no shape, way, or form any sort of mask. She was too anxious for it to be anything but genuine. He wanted to help her, but he didn't know how to. She was barely speaking to him. He could see Dorothea's boots hovering near the edge of the row of desks and she paced a little bit. This really was a messy situation. "Is there any way I can help you feel more comfortable...?"

  "I-I just want to go back to my room...but Seteth told me that I had to meet the heir apparent."

  "Well, you can go back to your room. I'm the heir apparent. You've met me, so I see no reason to hold you here any longer." Bernadetta looked at him, worried, but he offered her a smile. He didn't like showing people this side of him. He wasn't supposed to be kind or gentle or soft. But he hadn't managed to kill that side of himself completely. He was still empathetic to the plights of others and didn't like seeing people suffer. It was frustrating that he hadn't hardened as much as he would've liked to believe he had. But his heart remained intact despite everything... He just had to be careful and hide it as much as possible. "Go on."

  Thankfully it didn't take too much prodding after that for Bernadetta to get up and she rushed out of the room. He got out from underneath the desk and patted his pants down, letting out a sigh. She was going to be a handful, that much was certain. He looked at Dorothea. "Do you think you can help me with her? I can tell she's going to take a lot of work to handle correctly."

  She nodded. "She arrived last night in a flurry of activity... I've been trying to help her, but she freaked out whenever I approached her. It's hard to know exactly what's going on in her head other than she's terrified. I had to practically drag her out of her room to come here tonight." He could unfortunately relate. He hadn't really left his room following the Crest experiment for a few months. But once he had realised nobody would be there to support him, he'd had to accept defeat and leave. The only thing that had been a saving grace had been the one servant that had brought him all his meals in his room... A kind man, a few years older than himself. Something about him had seemed familiar, but he couldn't place it.

  "I'll see what I can do to help. Unfortunately, kindness and warmth aren't my strong suits." He tried to kill off Edelgard's soft, anxious nature as much as he possibly could, but there were still moments it shone through. He hasn't received any kindness since being released from the dungeons. All of his siblings were dead. All of his mothers were gone. He had nobody in the world. The Emperor was basically a dead man walking. He was basically kept under room arrest by Duke Aegir and his ilk due to not wanting him to exercise his power. They had basically left him alone, leaving him to build where he could. He had forged relationships with a lot of nobles his age while in court and he was planning his own counter coup for after Garreg Mach. If he could get Duke Aegir’s and the others on his side, he would be golden. Granted, he couldn't make an enemy of Count Bergliez or Lord Arundel. The man that controlled the Empire's food and the man who had once been his uncle, reduced to a shell and used by body snatchers... He still wasn't sure what all he should tell Rhea.

  "Thank you... I really appreciate it. I think she'll need to be forced to eat. She was so skinny and light when I picked her up and dragged her here." Dorothea frowned. On initial impression, she did seem to genuinely care. She might very well be a good ally to have. She was a commoner but he couldn't discount them. He had spent so many hours around commoners of differing gender identities and sexualities that he knew he couldn't discount them and their contribution at all.

  "It's no trouble. No member of the Empire should be afraid to approach me. Everyone has value. Life is incredibly important. Nobody should be undervalued." Unless they had committed heinous acts like the Seven and the Slitherers. He could never forgive them for killing all of his family and taking his vassal away like that. So much had been lost because of their selfish greed... But he had learned that he needed to give the power back his father had attempted to take from those houses. He couldn't risk Duke Aegir’s son or anybody else trying to usurp power from him.

  Dorothea smiled at him warmly, then bowed and obviously excused herself. He took in a breath and steeled himself as he turned to face Duke Aegir’s son and the others. "Apologies for the delayed introduction; apparently there was a bit of a crisis. I'm Elgar von Hresvelg, future Emperor of Adrestia." His heart pounded in his chest, but he kept the best smile on his face he could muster. Garreg Mach would probably make or break the counter coup he was planning so he could be installed with all of his power intact

  Duke Aegir’s son smiled and offered a showy bow. "I am Ferdinand von Aegir, son of Duke Aegir. It's a pleasure to meet you, Elgar." He did look a little nonplussed for a moment before the smile returned to his face. "I thought I heard somewhere the Emperor's only remaining child was a daughter, but I suppose I was mistaken. The grapevine isn't the best place to hear accurate information." Elgar did tense a little bit, but he relaxed. He had started making changes within a few months of being freezed from the Crest experiments, so it would make sense if Ferdinand had heard at a younger age. "I hope we can get along. Though I shall best you!" Oh. Oh boy, that already sounded like it was going to be obnoxious.

  Still, Elgar smiled and offered him a bow. "I hope we can get along as well, Ferdinand." He couldn't detect anything that made him think he was like his father, but time would tell. People could hide a lot of things behind masks. The most pleasant people were sometimes the most brutal. It was so easy to hide behind a mask in the Adrestian nobility. He would hold Ferdinand at an arm's length until he could fully ascertain his character. But he hoped he was loyal to the Empire and hadn't had any dealings with the Slitherers.

  Ferdinand bowed and excused himself. A purple-haired girl with braids in her hair approached next. "Hello. It is nice to be meeting you. I am Petra Macneary." Elgar couldn't help but cant his side to the head a little. This girl had an odd accent and way of speaking. He had never met her before, but her Common was fairly good. "I am hailing from Brigid."

  "Ah, that explains it then." He tilted his head to the side a bit again. "That's right... I think I remember hearing the granddaughter of Brigid's king was in Adrestia. Though, as Ferdinand said, the grapevine isn't the best place to get accurate info." He had made alliances with a fair few nobles his age that wouldn't be attending Garreg Mach and some of them had mentioned the wayward princess of Brigid being held. He hadn't really investigated the claim further because it didn't really apply to him. He'd been too busy rubbing shoulders and shaking hands to try to think about it. Not to mention doing his best to appear as masculine as possible through magic.

  "What grapevine are you speaking of? I have seen some grapes in Adrestia, but they were wild." Ah, apparently she struggled with sayings. He'd have to be mindful of that.

  "In this case, it's not a literal grapevine. It's a way to say you got information indirectly from people. A similar and related saying is the rumor mill. It's not a literal mill that mills flour or other goods, but people grind out nasty things to say about other people." He wasn't sure if she'd heard the rumor mill saying or not, but he figured he would explain it too. The two were pretty closely related, so it only made sense to explain the pair together. Granted, the sayings were completely different, but in terms of how they functioned, they were similar.

  "Ah, so I see. Thank you." She bowed to him again and smiled. She excused herself, leaving only Count Bergliez's son and Count Hevring's son. Though...the green-haired boy seemed completely indifferent to the gathering going on. He was buried in a book and hadn't even reacted the moment he'd walked in. Should he approach or...?

  He was blinded when the blue-haired boy walked over and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Heya, Elgar! The name's Caspar! It's nice to meet you!" Oh, oh dear, he was...boisterous to say the very least. "I hope you can be a good sparring partner for me! I can never get enough practice in!" Yep, he was going to be a handful. Definitely. He would have to avoid him as much as humanly possible. This sort of nature conflicted with his own massively. He wasn't as shy and meek as Edelgard had been, but this still really rubbed him the wrong way.

  "Oh, uh, it's nice to meet you too. But, I, uh, have to go meet with the other lords. I'll talk to you some other time!" He used that to make his getaway, pushing away from Caspar and leaving the Black Eagle's room. He shut the door behind him and leaned against it, his heartbeat through the ceiling. Well, that was a lot. His classmates were definitely going to be a lot to handle. He did need to go meet the other lords though... He knew Prince Dimitri from the Kingdom was there, Claude von Reigan from the Alliance, and a mysterious third boy from abroad.

  However, he frowned when he saw a very clear servant from the Adrestian court standing outside of the Black Eagle's room. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be helping sort my clothes in my dorm?" He knew he'd have to do a lot himself. Granted, it wasn't like he relied on servants for most things. He still did for a lot of things, but he took care of a lot by himself. He wanted to develop skills for when he'd attended Garreg Mach. He'd learned to cook, clean, do clothes, and a lot more on his own so he wouldn't be caught flat footed when he had to handle tasks by himself.

  "I was wondering if I could have a moment of your time, Your Highness..." The man looked hesitant and reluctant to say anything. Well, he saw no reason not to handle the request so he nodded. The man (who was well over a foot taller than Elgar) waved a hand in front of his face. His brown hair and blue eyes turned to black hair and yellow eyes. Magic? Elgar tensed. Why would he use magic to hide his appearance? He couldn't be an assassin. Or could he? But attacking royalty in Garreg Mach was perhaps one of the stupidest things a person could do—

  The man frowned. "You don't recognise me at all, do you?"

  Elgar shook his head. "No." He paused. "Wait." Black hair and yellow eyes... Those were incredibly uncommon features when paired together. He could remember one person with them—

  He stopped dead, his heart dropping through his stomach.

  No.

  No way.

  It couldn't be happening.

  He didn't want to say it.

  The man took a knee, bowing to him deeply. "My lord... I'm sorry I've been absent for so long." Tears sprang to Elgar's eyes and he couldn't stop himself from wrapping his arms around the man's neck.

  "Hubert... I thought you were dead..." His voice cracked. He had been missing ever since he'd returned from the Kingdom. He had assumed the worst. If the Seven were capable of killing off the entire Imperial family all save one, what would stop them from killing off another noble child? He had seen this servant around so much through the years... It wasn't like he'd been directly under Elgar's service but he was a common enough face that he'd come to recognise him, though he hadn't ever asked his name.

  "In a sense, I basically was. I became too unruly for my father to try to handle me, so he performed a memory wipe and gave me to a servant family. It was almost complete, but I never forgot my loyalty to you deep down. As usual, it was my guiding principle, my single light in the darkness. I could never think of why I felt so drawn to you, but I was." Hubert wrapped his arms around Elgar in return, holding him close. "When I heard you were leaving for Garreg Mach, the distress for unknown reasons broke the memory lock. I've...known for several weeks but I couldn't risk my father finding out. He probably would've had me killed if he knew I had remembered."

  Elgar hung onto Hubert for dear life. "We have to talk to Rhea about this. I-I can't let you go back to Enbarr. You'll die if I do! I don't have the money to pay for your tuition on me, but I can pay her back when I'm Emperor..." He had missed Hubert so much... He had assumed him for dead. How could he not? He hadn't seen him in over a decade. It was only fair to assume that he was dead. Especially with as selfish and greedy as the Seven were. What would be the disappearance and death of one more noble child even if it was one of their own? Granted, Hubert didn't have any of the resources that House Vestra normally did... He wouldn't make for a good Minister of the Imperial Household given that lack of information... He wondered if his mother would be willing to take over. He had spoken with Eike on a few occasions and she knew the job inside and out... She was dangerous and once she learned her son was alive...

  "We can speak to her as soon as you want to. Do you have anything else to do this evening?"

  Elgar nodded. "I have to meet with the other lords. We can speak with Rhea after that. Assuming she's free." He couldn't miss the first day of classes, but if he needed to explain everything that had come about to lead up to this point... Well, he wasn't going to be in good shape. Hubert would be disturbed to know what had happened to him in the intervening years since they had been parted.

  "Very well." He got up and bowed, brushing off his uniform. "I'm glad to be back in your service, but I'm afraid I won't be as useful as I would have been had this not happened to me."

  Eglar shook his head. "I don't care about your usefulness. I'm just glad to have you back." His life had been so lonely since everyone in his life had disappeared or been killed. Frankly, they had probably all been killed. He'd shut himself off entirely to the world. He couldn't risk being hurt like that again. He was opening himself up to hurt again by allowing Hubert back into his life, but they had been friends at one point. He had wanted nothing more than to have at least one person in his life... Hopefully he wouldn't be hurt again... They had so much to catch up on.

  Hubert offered a tired smile. "Let's not dilly dally any longer, shall we?" Elgar nodded and went to the room where he'd been told to find the other three lords. He looked at Hubert.

  "You can stay out here."

  "Yes, my lord." He bowed and took up a station outside of the door. Elgar took in a breath then let it out as he opened the door. He saw a tall blonde man talking with a man with curly brown hair, one in blue, the other in gold. Off to the side sat a blue-haired man with darker skin, flipping through a book, his cape purple. He cleared his throat and offered a bow as they turned their attention toward him. "I'm Elgar von Hresvelg, future Emperor of Adrestia. It's nice to meet you all." He noticed a crease in the blonde man's eyebrows, but the brunette's posture was relaxed. The blue haired man's expression was neutral and completely unreadable--the mask of a king. The same one Elgar tried to wear all the time.

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  "Heyo, nice to meetcha, Elgar. Name's Claude. Claude von Reigan. I'm the future Duke Reigan in the Alliance." He smiled but it didn't reach his eyes. Something about him didn't feel quite right. There weren't many dark-skinned people like him in Fodlan. Same with the blue-haired man. They were still people, so their skin color didn't define them, but it was definitely a noticeable trait in Fodlan.

  "Morgan Vastel, an expat from the Halidom of Ylisse in another world." That made Elgar raise an eyebrow. His tone was polite, careful, neutral, and unreadable.

  Elgar turned his attention to the last man, the blonde who had folded his arms and his expression had grown more severe. "Dimitri Blaiddyd, future king of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus." He seemed incredibly irritated and Elgar got the sense of something very dark lurking underneath the surface. Elgar felt his heartbeat increase several fold. The bloodlust was hung in the air and he could see from the corner of his eye even Morgan had picked up on it. He closed his book and took up a position between Elgar and Dimitri.

  "Do you have a problem with him?" Morgan's own voice dropped and took a dangerous edge. His hand went to the sword by his side, obviously daring Dimitri to make any sort of move. As far as he could tell, Dimitri wasn't armed, but he might have daggers on him somewhere. This situation had just become incredibly dangerous. But the way Morgan moved... He doubted Dimitri would be able to top him if it came to a fight.

  "He did something with El!" He could see Dimitri pointing accusingly and the sound of the ancient nickname made Elgar's heart stop in his chest.

  Despite everything, Elgar stepped out from behind Morgan slightly, just enough to be able to see Dimitri. "How...do you know that nickname?" His voice was soft. He couldn't believe that somebody outside of his very small circle knew that nickname.

  "Who...are you? You look so like El and you have her dagger..." Dimitri's eyes rested on the dagger that he wore on his back. Wait... He'd known him before his change? How had he somehow met the prince of Faerghus?

  "Morgan, Claude, could you leave us alone for a bit?" This felt incredibly dangerous. Dimitri was clearly going to be set off if he gave the wrong answer and his life could be in jeopardy. But he didn't want anybody knowing his secret if he could help it. The two men glanced at each other but Morgan gave a nod and Claude followed him out of the room.

  "So what did you do with her? Your name is incredibly similar to hers. Yet you're clearly a man...if short for one." Dimitri's arms remained folded, his expression severe. "You have the dagger I gave to her when we parted."

  Elgar hesitated before speaking. He really hated the fact that he had to give it up but...Dimitri had obviously somehow known him beforehand. "It's my dagger and always has been... Did you perhaps meet a young girl named Edelgard many years ago?" He hadn't gone by that name since after he'd come back from the Kingdom. Without his mother trying to hold onto her daughter, he'd been free to change himself as he wanted.

  Dimitri clearly wasn't connecting the dots but he nodded. "Yes. I knew her when we were children. We were friends for several years until she had to go back to the Empire. Those years were kind to us even if she couldn't always be consoled about missing her family..."

  Elgar sighed. "Edelgard...was me back then. I've never identified as a female, but my mother tried desperately to hang onto her daughter. I wasn't able to make the changes to myself I wanted to until after she was exiled. To make myself as comfortable as I could be with my situation." He placed a hand over his heart, looking down. He just had so much discomfort with his body and had changed everything he possibly could through magic. He'd become an incredibly proficient mage due to all of the changes necessary to his body to make him comfortable.

  He could feel Dimitri soften. "You...are El? I...never expected anything like this. Do...Do you not remember me?"

  He shook his head. "I don't remember anything about my time in the Kingdom. Literally nothing other than I hated how cold it was there. I think being away from my family made my mind reject that time period." He wished he could say more, but he didn't understand how the mind worked. He literally did not remember anything about the time period. "Well..." He put his hand on the dagger. "That and a good friend gave me this." He made no moves to pull it. "All I remember was cutting my own path was attached to it."

  "That's...exactly what I told El when I gave it to her. You...really are..." He sighed. "I'm sorry if it takes me a while to adapt to your changes. This...sort of thing is very unusual for the Kingdom but...if it makes you happy and comfortable, who am I to say anything against it? It's not like you've harmed anybody in doing so." Elgar blinked. It was really that easy...? He knew the Kingdom was incredibly stringent on its traditions so for Dimitri to accept it so easily and readily... Then again, he wouldn't complain.

  He nodded. "It's all right if it takes you a while. As long as you're not purposely trying to make me be Edelgard instead of Elgar..." He'd kept himself at a distance from anybody could really know who he was during. It was all secret aside from his father. Few people had known all of the Imperial children, so it was easy enough to pass himself off as a son instead of a former daughter.

  He shook his head. "No. You cut your own path even if it's in an...unexpected way." He smiled though it faltered. "Are you okay with the name El still? I'll want to call you that reflexively since it was what I called you the entire time you were in the Kingdom."

  He smiled at Dimitri. "That's fine. I still like the nickname. I have no problems with you calling me that. I chose this name so I can still be called El. Granted, I haven't heard that nickname in a very, very long time..." It was hard to believe he had somebody to call him that again. It almost made him want to cry, he was so happy. But he kept his emotions down. He wasn't Edelgard anymore. She had died the day he'd come out of the dungeons following the Crest experiments.

  "All right then." He smiled, but a look of hesitation crossed his face. "Can I...give you a hug?" Elgar blinked, surprised by the question, but nodded. Dimitri opened his arms and Elgar tucked against him. It'd been...far, far too long since he'd had any sort of comfort from anybody. He hadn't had any since Juliane.... He missed that woman so much. She had been the mother he'd wanted to have been his, not his strict mother that refused to accept that she had a son instead of a daughter.

  After a moment, Elgar stepped away. "Anyway, I need to go speak to the archbishop. I don't mean to cut this short but it's a pretty pressing matter." He couldn't leave Hubert to go back to Adrestia and be killed. This was literally a matter of life and death.

  "All right. I'll see you around anyway." Dimitri ruffled his hair a little and he leaned up into it. With that, Elgar left the room where Morgan and Claude were talking.

  "Sorry to bounce, but I really need to go talk to the archbishop about something that's a matter of life and death. So I'll see you around." He didn't let either man respond, Hubert falling into line behind him a few feet away. It felt good to have Hubert back even if he wasn't the same person he remembered. And Elgar was not the same person that Hubert remembered either. He had been Edelgard last time they'd seen each other. She was long dead. He hoped that things would work out well between them again.

  He found his way to Seteht's office, following the map of the monastery he'd been given before arriving. He hesitated before steeling himself and knocking. It took only a moment for a green-haired man to answer. "Is there something I can help you with?"

  Elgar frowned. "I'm Elgar, future Emperor of Adrestia. I need to speak with the archbishop now. It's a matter of life and death as well as the security of Fodlan." He'd probably need to go into his whole story unfortunately. He couldn't just say that the Seven had taken over the Empire and leave it there. Plus, the Church could still potentially be a good ally. He wouldn't have the resources to track down the SLitherers on his own unless Eike had done the legwork for him. He didn't know the woman well, but he knew she was on his side at least.

  Seteth raised an eyebrow. Elgar's expression turned severe. "I'm not joking or exaggerating in the slightest. I know she's a busy woman, but I cannot wait until tomorrow."

  Seteth nodded and sighed. "Very well. Follow me." He left his office and they headed into the more sacred, off-limits areas of the monastery. They entered an incredibly fancy door and into what was clearly a waiting/reception area. He and Hubert settled on one of the couches, Elgar leaning lightly against Hubert. Thankfully, the older man didn't push him away and, instead, wrapped an arm around him.

  It did take a little while for the main door to open but Rhea approached and settled on the couch across from there. "Good evening, Prince Elgar. To what do I owe this visit? From Seteth's words, it sounds most severe. A matter of life and death? The safety of Fodlan?" She tilted her head, her voice calm and even.

  He clasped his hands in his lap, nodding as he swallowed. This wasn't going to be easy. He so rarely ever touched on the traumas that had plagued him for the last decade. He'd probably break down bawling even though he didn't want to. "I know that probably sounds like an exaggeration, but I promise it isn't, Archbishop." He looked at Hubert. "This is Hubert von Vestra, my vassal that I was only reunited with a short time ago. I thought he was dead for basically a decade." He glanced back at Rhea and saw her eyebrows raised, but nothing more else on her face. The expression told him to keep talking. "Do you want to explain, or should I...?"

  "I can, my lord." He offered a polite bow of his head to Rhea. "First, I don't know if you've noticed...changes in the Emperor over the past decade or not. Unfortunately, seven high nobles of the court decided the Emperor had too much power and instigated a coup against him. They stripped him of his power and made him little more than a figurehead. My father...was one of those that helped in the coup. Shortly before it began, my lord was taken to the Kingdom to be safe from it by his uncle, Lord Arundel. I...put up quite the fuss in regards to it after we were separated. My father decided I was too much trouble...and stripped me of my memories, then gave me to a servant family. I've been living life as a lowly servant for almost a decade now. If I were to return to Enbarr and my father were to learn I had my memories back, I would likely be killed."

  Elgar shifted a bit uneasily. "I know accepting new students on such short notice is unusual, but please, allow Hubert to enroll. I can't pay right now for the tuition and we can't exactly beseech the Emperor to pay the fees or else it would get back to Marquis Vestra that Hubert's with me. I'll ascend the throne in due time and I can pay you back then. Please, please don't send him back. He's...He's the only person I have left in the world." His voice trembled. He didn't want Hubert to go back. He wanted him to stay by his side. The world had robbed him of everyone. He didn't want to send the one person back he had to his death.

  "It is an unusual request but, given the circumstances, I think I can allow it. Is he up to date on the education nobles need to enter their final year?" Rhea's voice remained calm and composed.

  Hubert shook his head. "Unfortunately not. I've been a commoner for the past decade. I remember what I was taught of magic, but I wasn't extensively trained in combat or anything of the like at such a young age. I was entering some advanced drill sets, but it's been a decade since I was able to last practice."

  "I know you two would likely prefer to be together in classes, but I think we would have to put him with the first or second-year commoners depending on where his knowledge is." Elgar sighed but nodded at Rhea's words. Yeah, that unfortunately made perfect sense. Hubert hadn't been educated in anything in around a decade and had zero practice with weapons and magic as well. He was basically starting from scratch in some regards. "As for the matter of tuition, I can accept your offer. Normally, we wouldn't allow a student to not enter with their tuition not paid but given the state of Adrestia right now, it's best to not risk upsetting the balance." She paused. "How...does this play into the safety of Fodlan?" She tilted her head to the side, obviously willing to hear him out. Though she did seem a little skeptical at how this all fitted together.

  Elgar frowned, his gaze dropping. "That's...where the second part of the story comes in. The Insurrection wasn't just the Seven. It was carried out in part by a group I don't know the name of. I've called them Those Who Slither In the Dark since that's what they do. They're shadowy and manipulate people to the point they can't be pinpointed. They aided and abetted in the deaths of all ten of my siblings. We were put into terrible experiments to try to imbue one of us with the Crest of Flames." He wrapped his arms around himself. "And, well...they succeeded with me." His voice was quiet and Hubert's grip on him tightened. Unfortunately, Hubert hadn't known that.

  Dead silence greeted him and the tension suddenly grew in the room. He hesitantly looked up and saw Rhea obviously not in a good place and Seteth equally alarmed. "They're still around? I-I thought they were killed generations ago--"

  "Lady Rhea, watch yourself. I--"

  Elgar hesitantly interrupted them. "They...They told me...a lot about how the Church has rewritten history. I...know a fair bit about your actual identities." His voice was incredibly quiet, not sure if this would get him marked as a heretic or what. He knew they were dragons. He knew Rhea was Seiros. He wasn't entirely sure who Seteth was outside of another Child of the Goddess. But he knew he was a dragon too. "I...won't be marked a heretic for that knowledge, will I...?" He was the only member of House Hresvelg remaining. He needed to pass on his bloodline to continue the Imperial line. He hoped that he wouldn't be in trouble for knowledge he'd had implanted into his head against his will.

  Rhea rose and wrapped her arms around Elgar from behind. "No, child; you've done nothing to earn punishment. You didn't ask for this to happen. You didn't specifically seek out that information, correct?"

  He shook his head. "The Slitherers implanted it there against my will... I don't remember much of anything from the Crest experiments but the information about the Church is seared into my mind. I never sought out information about the Church like that. They probably did it to try to turn me against you." He had been angry at the Church for a few years there, but after he'd sat down and thought about it...why should he trust information coming from people that had literally tortured him and killed his siblings? Some of it was probably true, but he didn't trust it entirely.

  "Then there shall be no punishment for something you never wanted in the first place." She rubbed his shoulder. It felt strange to be comforted by Rhea of all people. He had still expected her to be a heartless monster that didn't care about humanity. But by her reaction... Well. She had obviously hit something in her past that made her think about something not so pretty. He didn't know what it was but he wasn't going to push for it. "You said they gave you the Crest of Flames?"

  He nodded and pulled down the uniform collar he'd had elongated to come to the base of his jaw. It revealed some of the ugly scarring on his neck. "This...isn't even the worst of what they did to me." He also brought up the manifestation of the Crest of Flames to further prove his words.

  Rhea was silent for several minutes. "If you would like...I can remove that for you in due time. It will be a hard process but I can do it. Inserting a second Crest like that forcefully... Your lifespan has likely been greatly shortened and your health incredibly impacted. The choice is yours on if you want it removed or not, of course."

  "Maybe after I graduate. I don't want to interrupt my studies. how long would that be for would you estimate?" She was offering. He just wanted to know what the time investment for him would be.

  "Probably around a month, It would be a long, involved process and you would be prone to fatigue for quite some time afterward." He frowned at that.

  "If I did take you up on that offer while I was here, would you be okay with me missing that much class?" He had studied as much as he possibly could to make sure he'd be good to enter Garreg Mach. An entire month of studies would be difficult to catch back up on. He could do it. He knew he could. But it would definitely be rough. "I...just don't think it'd be a good idea for me to leave the Adrestian court like that and take months to recover afterward." He couldn't be fatigued. He would be too prone to be taken advantage of if that happened.

  "It's not something I'd normally allow, but these are clearly extenuating circumstances. Let me know when you'd like me to do it." She felt her give him a soft squeeze and he nodded. He wasn't sure when he'd take her up on it. He didn't want to be out at the beginning of the year, but he wasn't sure if missing that much class in the middle or even the end of the year would be good or not. He had a decision to make and relatively quickly at that.

  "And about where Hubert's staying... I know it's probably unusual, but could he stay with me?" He didn't doubt there would be extra dorms available, but he'd feel more comfortable if Hubert were staying with him. Or at least near him.

  All he heard was a small, amused sound from Rhea. "There's a reason the beds can fit two." Elgar felt his face heat up quite a bit and Hubert cleared his throat. Oh. He hadn't even thought about--

  He shoved the thoughts away, nodding. "All right. Thank you."

  "We'll have some uniforms delivered to your dorm in the morning. Is there anything else you wanted to discuss?"

  Elgar shook his head. "Not really. That was about it."

  "Although if you don't mind me being a little nosy... I can offer you some spells to help with what you're doing." He startled, looking up at her with wide eyes. He was just met with a soft smile. "I'm aware of Princess Edelgard. Your names are similar enough that it's not hard to guess who you used to be." She left the room, then came back with a thick tome and handed it to him. "These should help you." He knew the Church didn't preach against anything like this, but he was more than a little surprised. But he nodded a bit.

  "Thank you. I'll take my leave." He stood up and bowed, then left to head back to his room with Hubert in tow.

  Elgar found his way to his dorm room which had been fully straightened up and laid out by time they got there. It was quiet in here. Then again, silence was a constant in his life at this point. The only time he got any sort of noise was if he ventured down in Enbarr for functions for people like him. Nobody knew who he was though... He had mastered appearance spells at a relatively young age once he'd started studying magic in greater depth.

  But it was deep into the evening now and he yawned. There was still sunlight in the day, but he honestly just wanted to retire for the night. Though he did look at Hubert with a frown. "Do you have any night clothes with you?" Well, he obviously had to have changes of clothes with him in order to come on the journey but even so... Would they be here with him? Thankfully, the dorm was pretty spacious and would be able to hold enough for both of them. Though how he was going to explain this to the rumor mill... Their prince slept with other men. What a mess.

  "Yes; I stashed my clothes outside just in case this did happen." Hubert bowed and excused himself, coming back about ten minutes later. By that point, Elgar had changed into his own night clothes: pants with an adjustable waistband and a long-sleeved, high-necked shirt. He ded in the Enbarr heat, but he didn't want anybody to see the ugly scarring that crossed his body due to the experiments that had imbued him with the Crest of Flames. Plus, he was at least presentable should somebody come to him, needing something.

  "I'd like to head to bed if at all possible." The journey had been long. He wasn't really used to traveling like that. The last time he'd traveled any significant distance had been his trip back from the Kingdom...right before he hadn't seen Hubert again. Though...sleep would be hard. Nightmares had plagued him since shortly after the Crest experiments.

  Hubert nodded. "Can you wait a little while until I unpack then get ready for the night?" Elgar nodded and helped Hubert unpack, helping the process take much less time than it would have otherwise. Hubert changed into his night clothes, then Elgar settled on the bed. Hubert sat on the edge of the bed and looked at him, frowning a bit. "Are you still as physically affectionate as you were when you were younger? If so, I could hold you while we sleep."

  Elgar sighed, propping himself up on his elbow. "I haven't had any sort of physical affection since before the Crest experiments. The Imperial women are gone, probably dead. My siblings are all dead. I have nobody left in the world...or at least, I didn't until you showed back up. And...just to warn you, but I'll probably be restless. I haven't had a single good night's sleep since I was released from the dungeons below the palace." Might as well just give him that warning. Hubert probably wouldn't be getting any sort of good night's sleep as long as they stayed together.

  "That's perfectly fine. My dreams have been fraught since I got my memories back. If we need to keep each other up at night, we can." He offered a tired smile. Tired was probably the best way to describe Hubert now... He had been a bit severe when they'd been younger, but now, he just seemed incredibly weary. Then again, probably came from being a servant. He was basically invisible as far as anybody above his status was aware. He probably constantly got berated by people above him. Well, at least that wouldn't have to happen any longer.

  "All right. But...yes, your offer does sound nice." He hadn't been held in so long. He wasn't allowed long visitation with his father. Duke Aegir and his ilk were constantly breathing down his neck. It was so frustrating. He couldn't even have time with the one person he had left in the world. Though their relationship had turned from loving to frigid over the years... He didn't blame his father, but the man wasn't the same person. He was entirely broken, ill basically all the time due to the severe stress he'd suffered over the past decade of his life.

  They got themselves situated and Elgar closed his eyes as Hubert ran his hand through his hair. That...felt really nice. As did being held. He'd forgotten how nice it was to be close to somebody. He'd avoided any and all romance possible... He knew some ladies in the court fancied him, but he had tried to avoid it. He knew he couldn't forever though... He would have to continue House Hresvelg someday. Even if it was a political marriage, he'd take it... He just didn't want to fall in love with another man... Being pregnant was his absolute worst nightmare.

  However, as Hubert continued to stroke his hair, he found his eyes starting to slowly close and his head to start tucking against Hubert's chest more. In due time, he found himself swept asleep like the gentle silence of an owl's wing.