Ashen Demon's Servant | Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Act I

How many years has it been?

As Beleth gazed at the grand palace before him, he could not stop the memories from flooding into his mind.

This estate used to be as rightfully his as it was for the royalty living inside, but returning now, almost eight years later, he was now nothing more than another servant.

He pushed the thought out of his mind. He had never thought of this palace as his own. Not as a child, not now, not ever.

"Are you the new servant?" A voice pulled him out of his thoughts. A man with dark hair pulled into a small ponytail behind his head was approaching him with narrowed eyes. The first thought Beleth had was how similar they looked to each other: similar height, similar hair colour, similar hairstyle, even a similar look in their eyes.

Yet they were clearly different. Beleth knew he did not have the same glint of hungry competition in his eyes. He made a silent note to himself. Such a spirit made a person strong, but it also made them dangerous.

"Yes, I am," Beleth replied.

The other man simply nodded and gestured for Beleth to follow him.

"I will introduce you to the Princess," he said. He paused. "Have you really only been hired as a servant?"

Beleth nodded.

"You don't seem like a simple servant or butler. You see, like me."

"I don't know what you mean," Beleth responded carefully.

"Felix Hugo Fraldarius," he introduced himself. "Member of the Princess' personal guards."

"Beleth," he responded. Felix looked at him as if expecting more, but Beleth did not say anything else.

"So, is this your first time at the palace?" Felix asked.

Beleth opened his mouth to respond, but he was interrupted by the ringing of bells. He stopped in his tracks, startled.

"Those are the church bells," Felix explained. "They ring each day at three o'clock."

Beleth gave a slight nod, not exactly listening to Felix, but to the tinkling laughs of him and his sister, running around in the courtyard. The bells rang every day, but this was his first time learning they rang at three o'clock.

He closed his eyes. It was also three o'clock that day when he and his sister were pulled apart. Their mother held his sister back as their father grabbed him, taking him away. As Beleth was ripped away from his sister's hands, he remembered the ringing of the bells.

An announcement of tragedy.

"Beleth?" Felix said, and Beleth's eyes flew open. Felix was now far ahead of him. "Are you sleeping where you stand? Keep up."

"Yes. Sorry," Beleth responded, quickening his pace to catch up with the other man.

"You sure space out a lot," Felix commented. "Something caught your eye? Something familiar?"

Beleth clenched his jaw. "No," he finally responded. "This is my first time here."

Thankfully, Felix did not ask any more questions. They walked quietly through the courtyard, into the servants' entrance, and up a number of stairs until they made it to the top floor.

Felix unlocked the door. Down the hallway was a girl, dressed in a dark but ornate dress. A blank expression rested on her face as she looked out the open balcony.

"Greet her," Felix said. "I will be waiting outside."

Beleth walked in and Felix closed the door behind him. It made a much louder sound than when it was opened, catching the girl's attention and she turned towards him. A flicker of emotion appeared in her eyes as she laid sight of him.