Heartbeats

Reunion

dedicated to DarkArts13. merry christmas! :)

Wake up...

Come now, you've rested for far too long!

Slowly, Byleth lazily opened her sea green irises, feeling incredibly disoriented. She tried to move, but her arms did not follow her commands and simply laid uselessly next to her. Yawning, Byleth eventually managed to roll over, weakly managing to sit up. Her arms began to regain feeling, and Byleth pinched at her legs, stretching them out as she tried to regain control of her motor senses.

Where...in the world am I?

Byleth shakily managed to stand, crawling herself out of the shallow river. She wrung out her dripping wet hair, clutching at her menacing sword subconsciously. By some miracle, it had remained attached to her. A scraggly man approached her with a concerned look in his eyes.

"Are you alright? I just saw you drifting out to shore.."

"Can you help me get to Garreg Mach Monastery?" Byleth said dizzily, somehow managing to hold herself together.

"That place has been overrun by bandits, though!" He panicked, hoping that she wouldn't pass out beside him.

"What do you mean...? What year is it?"

"Well, it's the year of the Millennium festival," He told her hesitatingly. Immediately, Byleth remembered her promise to her students.

We'll all show up here in five years, no matter what...

"I need to go there," Byleth immediately turned away towards the monastery. He ran to keep up with her long strides, panicking once again.

"Whoa, whoa there! You're injured!"

"My friends are waiting for me."

Without waiting for him, Byleth strode away again, leaving the man behind. He only sighed and facepalmed, hoping he wasn't making a grave mistake by allowing the mysterious woman to head off alone.

Meanwhile, Byleth finally made it to the monastery. She used her sword as a cane to travel up the stairs, about to collapse. Finally, she made it, panting heavily.

A figure in crimson armor and an elaborate crown stood in the middle of the room. The figure had ram-like horns on her crown, with her long white hair twirled into two buns on the sides of her head. She turned, her lavender eyes widening as Byleth's knees finally gave out underneath her, and Byleth uncontrollably collapsed to the ground.

"My teacher!"

It was her.

Byleth desperately tried to stand as Edelgard rushed over, reaching down to help her. She coughed as Edelgard held her arms out, cradling Byleth in her arms.

"What happened to you?" Edelgard questioned, a worried look in her eyes. She held Byleth in her arms, and Byleth weakly closed her eyes. Here, in Edelgard's arms, she felt safe. A warm sensation filled her bones as Edelgard cradled her.

"I don't know..." Byleth mumbled, inadvertently clutching onto Edelgard. "I just...woke up..and this man told me that it was the year of the Millennium Festival..."

"Are you telling me that you have been sleeping this whole time?" Edelgard had an extremely disbelieving look on her face. "It has been five years since I declared war, and you disappeared.."