Book One The Black Lion Old Version

mother's blessing

Jeritza was holding tulips, his sister's favorite flower. He wanted to give the flowers to her, but he didn't want her to know it was him. He waited until she was asleep. He opened the door to her room and then saw his sister peacefully asleep. He was quiet as he walked towards the window and placed the flowers on the nearby table. Looking at his sister, this woman had gone through so much. He wanted to comfort her, but he knew someone like him shouldn't be near her.

She was so peaceful. He walked out of the room; he didn't want her to see him when she woke up. As he was walking, he saw a raven-haired man training with a sword - the same man that he had seen in Blue Lions. He put his hand on his right shoulder; he had nearly died by his hand. He doesn't feel angry; in fact, part of him feels relieved that somebody has the potential to kill him.

He had been observing Sasuke Uchiha since the day he arrived at the monastery. He noticed how Sasuke looked at his sister, who is five years his junior. It was no secret to anyone paying attention that he was in love with his sister since they first met. He wanted to know if he was worthy, if he could do what Jeritza could not. He wasn't ready to challenge him yet; his wounds had yet to recover, and he did not want to draw suspicion to himself or Edelgard.

When he was about to leave, Sasuke stopped what he was doing and looked right at him. The two men were staring as if they were suspicious of something.

"Do you need something for me, Jeritza San?" Sasuke asked him as he put his sword back in its sheath.

"Why do you fight? Why do you train?" He asked him philosophically.

"What kind of question is that? I train to get stronger there is no other reason."Sasuke said, turning around to face him.

"You're not going to be able to protect her if you are weak like you are," Jeritza said, which caused Sasuke to get in a fighting stance.

"Would you like to say it to my face?"Sasuke said with barely controlled anger he was on the mark.

"You are exhausted; you have barely slept. Do you think you could defeat me in such a condition?" He asked him rhetorically.

"Whatever," Sasuke said as he walked past him. He was heading to his quarters. He must have touched a nerve. Someday, he would spar with him and find out if he truly was worthy. But until that time, Jeritza would stay undercover and protect his sister Mercedes for as long as possible. Even if the Death Knight overtook him, he would protect her by any means necessary, even if he had to protect her from himself.

Mercedes had a peaceful look on her face. It had been days since she had woken up. She had not been able to get out of bed due to how weak she felt because of the curse mark. She got visitors frequently from her classmates to Annette and the mysterious person that left her flowers. The only thing the letter said near it was "get well". Whoever gave her these flowers knew her favorite flowers were tulips. She felt touched, but there's no way Sasuke could have known. She had never talked to him about her favorite flowers.

It perplexed her just who this person is. She wishes she could get out of bed. She hated being in hospital beds, but she was told by Manuela that she would not be allowed to attend class again until she was fully recovered and until Tsunade was fully satisfied that she was well enough to attend class. It was frustrating; she was bored and had nothing to do, and worst of all, Sasuke's birthday was in a few days, and she had no way of doing anything for him. That was the most frustrating thing of all: he went through all the trouble to make her earrings that she currently has on her ears, and she cannot do anything that compares to the gift that he gave her.

She heard a knock on the door. She saw a woman in her early 40s. The woman had short blonde hair and blue eyes. She wore a brown dress with white on the upper chest. She looked like an older version of Mercedes or what she would look like in her early forties. She couldn't believe she was here. She didn't expect to see her so soon.