Throne of Lies ▸

⚔️𝔗𝔴𝔢𝔩𝔳𝔢⚔️

"LIN-," Caspar gasped for breath as he bolted out of his room, and all but threw himself down the whole set of stairs. The girls stood there still chatting idly, before stepping back incredulously to get out of the speeding boy's way. Their eyes widened with horror as they saw the panic stricken in his features.

"LINHARDT!" He managed to shout, wheeling the corner and buzzing past two boys, one blond with blue eyes, the other a brunette with green eyes.

The brunette knit his eyebrows together and turned to the blond, who abruptly moved to follow Caspar, but then stopped, realizing Caspar was moving too quickly to catch up with him. He saw Edelgard approaching from the opposite direction and ran up to her.

"Dimitri," she greeted with an incline of her head.

"What's going on with Caspar?" The brunette asked, approaching Dimitri and Edelgard.

Edelgard froze, glancing hesitantly between the two.

"I can't really say," she spoke softly. Her eyes emitted that there was way more to the story to express out here in the open for the other students to possibly hear. "Why do you ask?"

"He just bolted off that way," Dimitri said, nodding his head in the direction he went.

"Screaming Linhardt," the brunette added. "I mean, it's obvious those two have a thing for each other but this was really urgent sounding." He rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish smile, the singular braid that framed the right side of his face swaying slightly.

A stale breeze billowed around them, the feeling of suffocation settling into their throats. Edelgard sighed, shifting her gaze from the boys to the ground.

"Is something the matter, Lady Edelgard?" Hubert was beside her and she started, hadn't noticing him approach.

"I must speak to these two, but I need someone to follow Caspar. He went that way," she pointed, her face losing some of its color.

"Is he causing trouble again?" He said with a shake of his head, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm afraid trouble is seeking him, in fact," Edelgard said solemnly.

"Very well then." Hubert was off in that very direction and soon disappeared around the left corner. Edelgard took the boys and led them somewhere private.

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Linhardt was sitting beneath the largest tree in the meadow, his back braced against the rough bark. A rather large, vintage leather bound book was sprawled across his lap, and his eyes scanned the page with careful depiction.

He heard footsteps in the grass, but chose not to acknowledge the person approaching.

"Reading in the rain? You're not hoping to catch a cold, are you?"

Linhardt kept his attention bound to the book, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. He could feel her staring at him, and it was like she was looking through his exterior and into the soul within.

She flattened her skirt and took a seat beside him, crossing her legs and folding her hands neatly in her lap. Peering over his shoulder, he could feel her breath on his cheek. He turned the page and held his hand just over the crinkled parchment, without glancing over at her.

"I'm quite free to do as I please," he finally said, moving his hand from the book and tucking it under his other arm.

"That you are," Cassandra agreed with a slight nod of her head. "Although some choices aren't really the best, are they? I see that you're into some interesting content there. Something about Crests?"