The War: Through the Eyes of a Commoner

A Show of Good Faith

The night was dark and chilly, mirroring Sarah's state of mind as they made their way through the barely discernible paths, the hoods of their cloaks up and their steps silent. She nearly failed to locate the opening that led to the Abyss underground tunnel; vegetation had grown wild, and buildings had crumbled, rendering their surroundings unrecognizable. It didn't help that she truly didn't want to go.

She took great comfort in the fact that Ashe was by her side, but she was afraid he would notice her agitation and ask questions about it later. 'Claude and I fucked repeatedly in that tunnel back then' was something she would much rather not discuss with him. Although they'd been sharing pretty much everything, sex was never brought up, to the point that she even wondered if it was something Ashe was interested in. Or rather, it was almost never brought up.

Sarah still remembered the awkward conversation they had five years ago after they'd come back from their field trip. Ashe had been convinced she lied to him when she said there was nothing between her and Sylvain because he'd seen them having sex in the woods. She'd been telling the truth; they just had a different conception of what 'something between two people' meant.

It was the same day they'd ended in her room, where she revealed everything to Ashe—her past, her identity, her mission, her deceit—and instead of pushing her away, he'd pulled her into his arms and made a promise.

'You have a new family now; we won't let anything happen to you.'

After that day, it became a habit for him to challenge everything she thought she knew about the world.

Sarah had once believed sex was something everyone did—usually as a means to an end. Manipulation, negotiation, control, reproduction, or just the plain and simple pursuit of one's pleasure. Her very first time had been at fourteen, with the son of a business partner, whom her father had tasked with teaching her how to please a man properly. She recalled having been captivated then—once the burning pain had subsided—by how easy it was to exert control over a man.

Thinking about it now gave her nausea—as did the prospect of crossing the tunnel in which she'd implored Claude to use her five years ago.

"It's here," Sarah whispered, relieved and anxious all at once. "Follow me." She slipped through the opening in the wall and came face to face—or rather, face to chest—with Sylvain, who smelled as divine as usual.

"Oops," he whispered as he took a step back, giving her a view of their very dimly lit surroundings.

The room was dark and narrow, just like she remembered it. She sensed—rather than saw—Claude and Byleth also standing nearby; they were all here. As she held her hands out to greet and guide Ashe, the darkness suddenly disappeared.

Sarah turned around, finding both Byleth and Sylvain holding a minuscule flame over their hands.

Right, magic.

There was no reason for them to walk in the dark if they had the option to carry a small flame that could be extinguished in the blink of an eye.

Sylvain grinned and put his free hand up, and to Sarah's surprise, Byleth gave him the high five he was requesting—albeit a slow and awkward one. It made her smile. Standing near the stairs, Claude put on the hood of his cloak and motioned for them to follow him.

Here we go...

"We'll be going down for a while. There are a lot of stairs," Sarah whispered in Ashe's ear as they followed Byleth and Claude, with Sylvain in the rear.

For a long moment, nothing but the sound of their boots crunching against the dirt-covered stairs could be heard. The way down was far more slippery and uneven than she recalled, so they were advancing just as slowly as if they were in complete darkness. She figured the tunnels must have degraded over the years; otherwise, she definitely would have fallen down the stairs back then.