The Pond Behind the Kitchen [Ashe x Dedue]

The Battle at the Great Bridge of Myrddin

 Things weren't going well. Many soldiers had died already and many more were injured, it was to the point the healers were overwhelmed with the number of people who needed assistance. The army was losing its motivation, and it didn't help that Dimitri was clearly running low on his own monstrous energy. Everyone could tell that they were going to lose this battle, but they at least wanted to die trying.

A scream caught Ashe's attention. He was perched up on top of a building, bow in his hand. The Professor had told him to stay up high, aim for those who were getting too close to any of their soldiers. It was a smart idea that worked for a while, but Ashe had no way to replenish his arrows, and that issue finally kicked in. He saw Annette fighting against an enemy soldier, and it appeared as if she was winning at first. But a second enemy was sneaking up behind her, ready with a sword aimed right at her neck. Quickly, Ashe reached behind in his bag for an arrow to load into his bow, but all he grabbed was air. His face went from determination to horror in a split second as he realized he forgot to replenish his stash before they left. He looked around the roof before leaning over the edge to yell at her.

"ANNETTE! Behind you!!"

She kept fighting, Ashe's yell unheard. He threw his leg over the edge, ready to jump down in hopes that he'd get between them in time. She needed to live on to fight longer, Ashe was replaceable. Just before he got ready to jump tho, the soldier behind Annette fell with a thud, along with the enemy soldier she was fighting. Ashe turned to see where to attack had come from, but whoever did it had already moved on. Annette turned, but rushed off back into battle. Ashe slung his bow over his shoulder and jumped down onto the ground. He no longer had to get between Annette, but it wasn't fair for him to stay up on the roof when the rest of his friends were fighting for their lives. He picked up a sword from a fallen soldier and ran head first into the heat.

After a while, the tides started to turn. The Kingdom's army had started to gain more energy, fighting harder in a final attempt to win the battle. Ashe noticed that the energy had become electric, as if something, or someone, had given the army so much motivation that they no longer saw the fight as a lost cause. Whatever it was, Ashe was grateful. For a short while later, cheers erupted from the army's remaining soldiers. They had won. After long hours of fighting, the kingdom had won the Great Bridge of Myrddin. Ashe dropped his bloodied sword and fell to his knees, thankful that the battle was over. The amount of death he saw today, the amount of death he CAUSED today, was too much for him to handle. He hid his face in his hands and sat there, trying to take deep breaths.

Slowly, things started to calm down. Anyone who knew healing magic was asked to help. Those who were in good health were asked to check on everyone, and collect the dead of both friend and foe. Regardless of where you stood during the war, nobody deserved to not have a proper send off. Ashe stayed where he was, not caring about the time that passed. He would've stayed there for longer until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Ashe, are you alright?"

He lifted his face out of his hand, cheeks smeared in tears as he looked up at the voice that spoke to him. Mercedes stood there, smiling gently down at him. She looked like an angel who was blessed by the goddess, the sunset behind her making her look like a dream.

"You've been sitting there for a while, are you injured?"

"No... No, I'm fine. Thank you," he forced a smile and stood up. His muscles ached, from fighting than from sitting for so long.

"Oh dear! It looks like your leg got injured, would you let me heal that for you?"

Ashe looked down at his thigh, and sure enough there was a gash wound from a sword in it. The blood around it was nearly dry, but the injury was still clear as day. He nodded at Mercedes as she used her magic to heal up the wound to the best of her ability.

"Thank you, Mercedes. I didn't realize I was injured..."

She chuckled. "You must have been fighting very hard! Come with me to the health tent, we can clean up your clothes a little before we head back to Garreg Mach, alright?"

"Yes, thank you," Ashe said again as he followed her towards the tent. He was starting to fall lost in thoughts until a certain voice kicked him out of his head. He stopped and looked around, wondering if it was an imagination or reality.

Mercedes noticed he was no longer following her, and turned to look at him. "Is everything alright Ashe?"

"I..." he hesitated, wondering if it was okay to say what was on his mind. "I thought I heard Dedue's voice just now. Maybe i'm just exhausted, he's dead... has been for a while," he rubbed his eyes with a sigh.

"Well, actually-" Mercedes had started before Ashe opened his eyes again to look around. She chuckled and pointed over towards one of the health tents.

Ashe turned towards her finger and froze in his spot. There Dedue was, sitting on a cot next to Dimitri, alive. He looked older than when Ashe last saw him. His hair was longer, however it was messy as if he just fought for hours on end, and he had grown larger and more muscular, or maybe it was just the armour that made him look that way. That's when Ashe realized that he had a large gash in his armour, as if someone had swung an axe just right that it broke through the metal. His own axe laid next to him, bloody. Possibly from the person who tried to kill him. He was talking with Dimitri as a healer tended to his wounds.

"He joined us towards the end of the battle," Mercedes spoke up, snapping Ashe out of his thoughts. "Nobody knows the truth of what happened to him, but as soon as they saw him, everyone's spirits were lifted. I'm sure you noticed it."

Ashe nodded, it explained so much. Dedue was always one of the strongest members of their house, so seeing him appear in battle to help assist your losing army was enough to lift anyone's spirits. He thought about when the air became electric earlier, wondering if that was the moment Dedue had joined in on the fighting.

"Him and Dimitri have a lot to catch up on, so let's leave them be. Let's go clean your pants now, alright?" She didn't wait for an answer before she started heading towards their original health tent.

Ashe watched Dedue and Dimitri for a while longer before following behind Mercedes. He was sure he would have a chance to catch up with him later. They had a month before their next expedition anyways. After all, he had a few things he wanted to share with him in case he never got the chance to say so again. Ashe would make time to talk with Dedue if he had to, but he really hoped he didn't have to.