The Dead King (Dimitri x Reader)

The Night

The nights were cold and lonely. The Monastery was a good location for Dimitri, but the cold dead of the night brought doubts.

Could he have saved Dedue? Would the voices of the dead cease when he killed El- No, Edelgard? Would he ever see his friends again?

Dimitri had rushed down to make quick work of some 'rats' that had found their way into the Monastery. What confused him, however, was the sound of the dog which normally heard the 'rats' still barking. He was sure he had routed the group, so why was it still being so loud.

As Dimitri approached, he heard it still growling at something. From a distance, it seemed to be just his coat, but upon further inspection, there was someone inside of it.

A (H/C) woman was inside his coat, shivering in the freezing cold.

He put a hand on his lance, considering for a moment the option of killing her. He watched her pull the coat closer, her shivering seeming to calm a bit as she did. Odds were, without the coat, she would freeze to death. She was exceedingly thin, barely any skin covering her bones. Her sword rested at her side.

Dimitri, also tired and somewhat cold looked to a bag of food he had with him. He placed an apple at her side and leaned against a wall near her.

She wasn't worth the effort.

—

The next morning, the apple had been gone, and the coat folded next to him. The following night, Dimitri went up a little earlier with an extra plate of food. He sat with his own food, setting his jacket and the other plate a little ways away almost like an animal trap.

He ate his own food, waiting to hear-

Tap Tap...

Light footsteps came through the nearby window, obviously trying to keep quiet. He looked around the corner to see the shivering girl as she wrapped herself in his jacket, sitting up and examining the food.

It was cooked boar with small spears of asparagus on the side. She gorged it down without much hesitation, as if she had never seen food before. Dimitri didn't fancy himself a chef, but the way she ate, you would think he was some professional cook.

When she finished and was about to lay down, Dimitri got up with his spear and stepped closer. The girl panicked quickly.

"Ah! H-Hi-! Uh, I'll go- but uh- don't kill me!!" She went to get up, but stumbled and fell. She shivered from the mix of fear and cold.

"Have you stolen anything?" He asked bluntly, holding the lance close to himself.

"Only your jacket and the apple... that's it!!" She said. "Listen, I-I don't know who you are, b-but-!! Please don't hurt me, I'm scared..." She bowed her head at his feet, pleading for mercy. "I want to live... Please..."

For another moment, he considered striking her down. But looking at her, for the first time he,,,

Didn't have the strength.

He sighed. "I'm not going to kill you." He said. "But tell me, is anyone with you or searching for you?"

She shook her head. "No one has looked for me in a long time... or- erm- I don't think they have,,,"

"You've lost your memory?" He asked, tilting his head. No wonder she had been so skittish.

"Well, yes. A few days ago, I woke up in a group of bandits, and I was already starving. Then, when they realized I was awake, they called me (Y/N) and started coming towards me. They gave me a sword, and wanted me to fight them. They kept hurting me... then there was this weird feeling and I took one  of them out... and I ran away." She explained to him. "I don't know who I am."

He nodded. "Right then. How about we make a deal."

"A... deal?" She asked. She wrapped the coat more tightly around her.

"In exchange for use of my coat, food, and refuge here, you can help me. Whether it be tasks around the Monastery or bandits." He said.

She quickly nodded. "Th-That sounds amazing!" She got up, hugging him tightly. The warmth gave Dimitri a... strange feeling in his chest. "Th-Thank you."

"Right, erm, you said you got a strange feeling when you attacked with a sword?" He asked. Feeling her let go of him was almost,,, disappointing in a way.

"Yes, I did." She said. "It was like something inside me made me,,, more powerful."

He nodded. "I would like to see. Do you think it will happen again if you swing at the wall?" He asked, picking up the sword from the floor.

She took the sword from him, taking on a sloppy fighting stance. She began swinging, and that was when he saw it.

An attack strong enough to crack the stone. A sharper look in her eyes. A glowing power. The power of a crest, and a crest that Dimitri had grown up close to. Unmistakable.

He looked on in awe as she panted, and even looked a bit panicked. "Th-There! What was that? What is that feeling?" She asked hurriedly.

He struggled. "That was a crest. A crest activation. How would you have-?"

"What? How would I have what?"

"How in the name of Sothis did you get the crest of Fraldarius?"