All This Time

Secrets

The Sword of Begalta looked so much less sinister than Claude's Failnaught.

Claude ran his fingers gently across the sharp blade, admiring the design of his sword. Compared to his Failnaught, which was made of some unknown material and glowing bright red, his sword looked heroic and shone brightly. All of this just raised more questions.

Why does my weapon look so deadly....?

It may have seemed like a slight upset, but Claude had always been overanalyzing and scheming. There had to be a reason why these so called "Hero's Relics" didn't look extremely heroic in the slightest. Claude felt like he was so close...but all he had was questions. He needed Rhea to tell him just why. There were so many holes in Fódlan's history, but why? In the time period where Claude had just wanted to use his Teach as a weapon, she had pointed out the deadliness of the weapon.

"You know, this new sword doesn't exactly look very valiant," His Teach pointed out with a blank look on his face. Claude shrugged, a superficial smile plastered on his face.

"Couldn't tell you why," Claude said nonchalantly, making sure he kept a relaxed and carefree attitude. If he acted up in even the slightest, he was sure someone would report him and tell his grandfather to boot him, and he couldn't afford to let that happen. "We were told they were gifts from the Goddess..But I'm pretty sure that a goddess wouldn't want her gifts to look so horrendous."

"Are you saying that the church is wrong?" She had bit her lip in surprise at his statement. "Aren't you worried that someone will hear you...?"

"Well, it's not like they can just kick me out for not worshipping the church," Claude ignored the very real fact that they could indeed kick him out for not following the same path as everyone else. Religion was strongly upheld in Fódlan, a sentiment Claude didn't particularly agree with. Judging by how she really didn't know much about the church, he assumed he could sway her judgment. "I'm saying we're missing something."

"...Do you think I know something?" His Teach crossed her arms. Her Sword of the Creator was sheathed at her waist. Claude's eyes drifted towards the mysterious sword. "Do you think I know something just because I can use this sword?"

"Well, Rhea seems to trust you for some reason," Claude let another carefree smile spread across his features. "Forgive me for thinking that."

"...Good day, Claude," She dismissed him, annoyed. His Teach was mad; did she know about his true intentions? "Goodbye."

Hm. Even through his short termed infatuation with her sword, he still couldn't figure out just why they looked so menacing. If they were truly a gift from the goddess, why did they look so dangerous? His Sword of Begalta was more what he expected a divine weapon to look like.

"You look like you've been thinking far too hard."

Claude's lips curled into a smile as he recognized the sound of his Teach's voice. Claude gently placed the sword down onto the table, turning around to see her standing in the doorway. She walked in, shutting the door behind her.

"I was just thinking about these relics," Claude told her as they sat on the bed together. "Isn't it weird that they're so...I don't know. They don't look like divine weapons at all. Your Sword of the Creator and my Failnaught look destructive. This sword looks more as if it was forged from the goddess in your mind."

"..It's not like I can even ask her, either. She's gone..."

"...The questions to ask Rhea keep building up," Claude sighed, laying back on his messily made bed. He used to keep his room somewhat organized, but had given up ever since the war had started. Now, papers and maps were scattered around his desk haphazardly. "The entire history of Fódlan, these Relics, the crests, what she did to you..."

"...Let's not think about that," She frowned. She's really dreading the future...Damn. I wish I could change something about that, but... "When we find her, we can ask her. But I don't want to waste time worrying for something we can't know yet."

"Okay," Claude agreed, mostly for her sake rather than his. His Teach laid next to him as they both stared at the ceiling. "...So, I'm curious. What was your favorite lesson when you were teaching?"

"Favorite lesson..? Nothing beats when you were hanging down," She smiled, scooting herself closer to him so that their bodies were touching. "Other than that, um...I'm not sure. Perhaps the one where Lorenz was scolding Raphael for eating, and Ignatz tried to jump in and cover for him."

"...wasn't that the one where you yelled at him?" Claude smirked knowingly. His Teach blushed slightly.

"Well, it happened quite a bit."

"Like when you punched him?" Claude reminded her with a laugh. Immediately, she face palmed, extremely embarrassed by that incident.

"That was so unprofessional. He wouldn't talk to me for days..."

"Well, it was hilarious and well deserved," Claude responded with an easygoing grin. "You know, he actually complimented me and told me I would be a wonderful leader. Can you imagine?"

"Really? Well, actually, he's mellowed down quite a bit," His Teach smiled, relieved that Lorenz wasn't as stuck up and shallow as before. "Still, it must mean a lot to come from him. How does it feel, Mr. Leader Man?"

"Oh, not you too," Claude groaned upon hearing another nickname. She only grinned unforgivingly. "Never again. Please."

"Sorry, my love," She said with a superficial smile. He couldn't help but grin at her attitude. "Do you like that nickname better?"

"Hmm...Yes," Claude pulled her closer to him so that he could cuddle with her. He rested his chin on her head, enjoying the vanilla fragrance of her silky hair. She shifted in his arms, closing her eyes in repose. "You know...I hate nicknames, but I'll have to allow that one."

"...good," She replied quietly, a peaceful look on her soft features. How did I get so lucky? "You're my love."

"Of course. Yours forever...Teach."