Fire Emblem: Crimson Flower

chapter 27) Her Distant Past

Source: Screenshot from the original game 

"Professor, you're awake."

"I always find it difficult to find true slumber. I have been told it is because I have insomniac traits."

Edelgard nodded her head in acknowledgement. She was too cold to answer anything. Noticing her shivers, Byleth took off his coat and offered it to her. It was an odd coat; once with cut out holes in odd places to insert the arms of an individual. It looked strange when worn, however both the siblings had not minded such designs on their clothing. Edelgard took the coat with some hesitation, however she refused any more help given.

"Did you hear anything?" Edelgard asked, aware of her screaming. "If you didn't, then that's alright as well."

"Walking through the 2nd Floor Dormitory, I noticed a scream crying for help across the hall. I followed you out of necessity, to see if you needed help."

"So you did it not out of care, but out of duty?" Edelgard asked. She had always been perplexed by Byleth's unusual behaviours, so this did not surprise her.

"In a way, yes. Still, though, I would be a fool to neglect a student who cried so desperately for help."

"No matter what you do, Professor, help would never arrive in the place I was in."

Byleth felt confused by this. He had assumed this was some sort of trauma carried by Edelgard, but what about it had made the situation so helpless? Moving forward, he too looked out onto the rest of the emptied academy fields. If Edelgard were to be honest with him, then putting her under pressure was not going to work in this scenario.

"I used to be a mercenary." Byleth reverted the subject of conversation. "Some would call me the Ashen Demon. To me, that name never mattered, however I have some understanding that the world is not a perfect place. Even now, I am seeing parts of it. Trauma induced by noble behaviours, bandits flowing across Fòdlan as if it is their homeland, and prejudice towards the lower-classed. I have seen all of that in the time that I have been in this academy."

Edelgard nodded. "You're right. Fòdlan was never a perfect place." Pushing her confidence higher, Edelgard wanted to talk about something that had troubled her for a while. "The dream I had - it was a memory from childhood. It was one that pointed towards a fate I could never escape, and I've never found a way to get rid of it."

"A childhood dream?" Byleth questioned. "I would have thought that the princess of Adrestia would have an easy life."

"Far from it," Edelgard corrected.

"I see..."

Silence had filled once again. With each level of confidence Edelgard had reached, she had to take a moment to reclaim herself. Usually, she always seemed confident enough to give her views on any particular subject. To see her emotions so weakened and distressed must have truly meant something.

"You've always struck me as peculiar. I'm sure I've told you that before."

"You have."

"It feels strange to think about, but something in my heart tells me you can keep a secret. You don't seem like the type to gossip out of enjoyment, and I know you're very strict about your duties."

"I find telling secrets to others to be disingenuous to previous relationships. As such, I try to keep to myself."

"I suppose I can relate to that." Edelgard smiled, feeling minor joy from being able to project herself onto Byleth. "If I were to tell you about my dream, I want you to promise me not to tell a soul." Finally looking at one another from a respectable distance, Byleth nodded his head. "I appreciate it. Allow me to continue, then.

"The dream... I dreamt of my older brother, paralysed, helpless, confused. He shivers sporadically, unable to notice anything around him. My older sister is crying for help that never came. Her dreams and aspirations have crumbled, and she forgets completely who she used to be. As far as I recall, she turned into an empty shell of herself. The youngest of the ones alive is babbling words beyond meaning. He is unable to grapple onto what he loved and cherished. He cries, chokes upon his own words, and breathes at an alarming rate, eventually wheezing heavily as a result. There all of us are, waiting in the darkest depths of the abyss, for the brightest glimmer from outside to come; though, it only came for me.

I once had 10 other siblings, with there being eight older and two younger. Do you think you can guess why I alone became the heir to the throne of such a large family?" Byleth stayed silent. For the first time in his life, he hesitated to answer haphazardly. "Every last one of them was crippled by disease, lost their mind, or died. By the time it had all been done and dusted with, I was the only one who could take it.

"I'm the only one left. After things kept getting worse, the darkness kept getting darker, until I was the only one crying in silence. This dream - it's a reminder to never forget such a memory. It's a reminder that I was the only one to carry the burden of the Adrestian Empire, and it's a reminder that the future of the Empire itself... and everything: it all depends on me."

For the time she had been talking, Byleth had tried his hardest to not comment on the matters that had distressed Edelgard, however as a result of this, by the time she had finished talking he was rendered mute. He looked down onto the grounds below again. Edelgard noticed he had been silenced. She sighed, returning the coat given to her in the process.

"I shared more than I had originally intended to. I suppose there is something in the air tonight. Never before have I talked of my past." Turning back, she slowly walked away. "Please forget I said anything. It would do us well." She was embarrassed. "Good night, Professor. Sleep well, My Teacher."

Byleth turned back now, seeing her leave off into the distance. He had learnt a lot on this night, and it was clear this was information that could disrupt Fòdlan as he knew it. As he watched her leave, he hesitated to reply. Looking back and forth again, he finally found the confidence to respond.

"Sleep well, Edelgard."

No reply was given, but the sounds of footsteps had stopped. Byleth stayed still, waiting for a response of some sort. Eventually, a lone voice rang out in the distance, fully sombre and sympathetic.

"Thank you. I'll try."