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Burnished Night

Category: Fire Emblem: Three Houses Rating: PG/SFW Genre: Fantasy Word Count (currently (all parts)): 2635 Status: Incomplete

Summary: A second chance at life is hard to come by; one granted when the first was all but forfeit is unheard of. Even so, Edelgard survives; unprepared to face the Fodlan that greets her when she awakens, but not alone in the slightest.

This is a sequel to Tarnished Dawn. It is highly recommended to read that first, though not necessarily required.

Directory: I (you are here)

***

Chapter One: Woke Up In Chicago (And The Sky Turned Black)

chapter title taken from June by Florence + the Machine

She feels it like a whisper, at first. The hint of warmth, faint but steady in the way it seems to wrap around her where she lays. Edelgard flexes the fingers of her right hand, where the sensation is strongest, and is startled to find that she cannot move them much at all, restricted as they have been by that warmth. Then the sensation tightens; her hand lifts, though not of her accord, and a voice she will always recognize speaks softly near her ear.

"El?"

Dimitri?

Her childhood moniker slips from his mouth like a sigh, all quiet and soft. A beat passes, then another, and when she makes no move to respond, that feeling - his hand, she realizes - tightens again, and something gentle brushes against her knuckles, the touch featherlight. His voice, when again he speaks, hums against her skin there like a vibrato.

"El, can you hear me?"

His words almost seem to trail off at the end; to quiver, as if afraid to be left unanswered. For how long he has sat at her beside, how many times he has gone without a reply, Edelgard does not know. But she does know that she does not have it within herself to hear his voice tremble again.

When did I become so soft?

It takes far more effort than it should, but slowly, Edelgard manages to crack her eyes open. Just a sliver, enough to make out a portion of the room and some blurry shapes contained within. It must be enough, for she can hear Dimitri suck in a breath and hold it, low though it is. His grip on her hand tightens once more, and as she works on getting her eyes open wider, the blur to her right shifts closer and becomes clearer, and then she finds herself looking up into Dimitri's face as he stares back down at her.

It is a hauntingly familiar position to be in, even if she is bedridden instead of kneeling in defeat. And there are other changes, too. He still wears an eyepatch, his one eye still the same cerulean she remembers; but gone are the deepest lines of fatigue that decorated his brow. Some smaller ones linger still, but he no longer looks to be carrying the weight of the world upon his shoulders. And where before his hair hung unkempt and limp, it is now tied back at the sides - it leaves the whole of his face open and unhidden in a way Edelgard has not seen since their days at the academy, and for a moment it throws her. But whatever shock she lets slip on her features is composed soon enough, and then she opens her mouth to speak.

Or she tries, at least. But what comes out is little more than a croak, the rasp of a voice gone unused for far too long. Dimitri shifts at her side, glances away for a moment before he turns back and there is a glass of water held to her lips. At first she accepts a small sip, then another; before she knows it Edelgard has gulped down the whole thing, her dry, greedy throat rejoicing at the sensation of relief the cool liquid brings. She relaxes back into the pillows with a sigh, and this time when she speaks, her voice is clear, if not a touch quieter than she would prefer.

"... Thank you."

Dimitri nods, sets the glass back down with a quiet clink all without ever taking his eye off of her. Edelgard is a little unnerved by it, at first, but when all she can see in his gaze is concern, rather than resentment, she exhales a little breath she hadn't known she had been holding in. Dimitri gives her hand a gentle squeeze, and it's only then that she realizes he hasn't once let go of it since she awakened - though she is quick to push that thought aside.

There are more important things to focus on than that, right now.

Edelgard clears her throat softly, glad to find it no longer feels raspy or dry. Then she speaks, her voice a quiet hum in the otherwise silent room. "How long has it been?"

"About a month. Wyvern Moon is almost here," he replies. The first thing he has said since she awoke, and though his tone holds composure, it is still soft - and it softens further still as he continues. "I am glad it's not been longer."

A month. This revelation surprises her, but only in the fact that it has not been longer, indeed. When she had used the Hegemon Husk in Enbarr she had been fully prepared to die, and the weakness that had suffused her limbs moments after its power was extinguished had been all-consuming. She still feels some of it, in her extremities and her core, but it is far duller than she presumed it would be. To have awakened after only a month…

Well, it is both a curse and a blessing, she supposes. Clearly the world is not finished with her yet.

"I must extend my thanks to your healers, then," Edelgard murmurs, her gaze shifting to meet Dimitri's once more. "They are clearly very skilled, to have brought me back so quickly."

For the first time, Dimitri’s expression changes, and his lips mold into a small half-smile as he nods. “Mercedes and Marianne have barely left your side, these past weeks. Even when the Imperial Physicians began to waver, they were not deterred.”

Edelgard’s eyes widen in surprise. “The Imperial Physicians? Are we still…?” she trails off, uncertain if she should finish. But Dimitri simply nods again, and answers that silent question all the same.

“We are still in Enbarr, yes. Your condition was too critical to be moved anywhere else,” his smile disappears, and though he does not frown, Edelgard can see that it is more out of restraint, rather than a lack of unease. “Those first few days were… especially rough.”

Though he falls quiet once more, Edelgard can hear his words on repeat in her head. Especially rough. Perhaps she had been closer to death than originally presumed. The thought of that brings a number of questions to mind, but at the forefront of them all is one she knows she has held onto since she remembers looking upon him last. And though perhaps it is not the time, nor the place, Edelgard cannot help herself from asking it of him, anyways.

But she cannot meet his eyes while she says it.

“Why did you let me live, Dimitri?”

He sucks in a sharp breath. Silence follows, thick with tension, and Edelgard wonders if maybe it really was the wrong thing to say. But after a moment that feels longer than it truly is, Dimitri exhales; the sound slow and controlled, and the hand that still clasps hers relaxes its grip as if to let go, but still does not pull away.

“I went into that battle prepared to extend mercy, should you have chosen it,” he says, and in his voice she hears an echo of that day, of the plea he had not given words to but could not hide from her all the same. “And it was not out of pity or sympathy; if anything, it was born out of my own selfish desires.” Dimitri pauses, as if to brace himself, then continues.

“I am done losing the people that I care for, Edelgard. And despite the last five years - or perhaps in spite of them, this includes you.”

Edelgard’s breath escapes her in a rush; only then does she realize she has held it since he began to speak. Her gaze darts back to him, sharp as she meets his one-eyed stare. But no matter how hard she looks, how determinedly she searches, Edelgard can detect no lie in the azure she looks back into; only sincerity.

She doesn’t know how to feel about that.

Maybe he can sense that he’s unsettled her thoughts, for suddenly his hand slips out of hers and he rises from his seat at her side. “You should rest up - I imagine you are still exhausted, given everything. I’ll have a healer come in to check on you shortly.” And before Edelgard can protest, even utter a syllable to the contrary, he slips from the room; the soft click of the door as it latches behind him the only sound left to accompany the mess that is her thoughts.

***

True to his word, Dimitri must have spoken to someone fairly quickly; for it’s only minutes later that Mercedes comes bustling into the room, a basket of what she can only presume is medical supplies clutched in her hands. So when the other woman settles herself into the chair and opens it up to instead reveal a sizable pile of sweets, Edelgard can only raise her eyebrows in shock as she looks upon it. Mercedes must see how wide the Emperor’s eyes have gotten, for she lets out a pearly little laugh before she reaches into the pockets of her dress and retrieves an Elixir bottle from its depths.

“You shouldn’t look quite so surprised, Your Majesty,” she says as she uncorks it and hands it over, mannerisms clearly conveying that Edelgard should down the contents - she does so without complaint. “After all, it has been a whole month since you’ve eaten last, and I find there’s not a better way to both perk someone up and build up their energy than with fresh-baked sweets.”

“Well… I suppose when you put it that way, it makes perfect sense,” Edelgard concedes as she sets the bottle down, lips now curved into a slight smile as she accepts a pastry from the blonde. She takes small, cautious bites at first, uncertain as to how her empty stomach will take to the food; but when it sits without incident, she becomes a little more gregarious in her eating. When it is gone, she is only mildly surprised to find Mercedes at the ready with another to press into her grasp, but Edelgard accepts it without issue. Even prior to her extended rest, she had kept her consumption of sweets and baked goods to a minimum; this feels purely decadent, and given that she lives when before she had fully well expected not to, a little bit of indulgence seems warranted.

When the second pastry is finished, she accepts another Elixir from Mercedes, then settles into the pillows behind her with a sigh. She allows herself a moment to enjoy the sense of calm that has suffused the room, then turns to Mercedes with as much purpose as she can currently muster.

“What can you tell me about all that has happened since the battle?”

Mercedes hums, the sound thoughtful as she closes the basket and sets it aside. She doesn’t seem at all shocked that Edelgard has asked - indeed, she rather looks as though she expected it. “Well, we’re still in Enbarr; several of the healers - myself included - had actually wanted to move you to Fhirdiad, as the School of Sorcery is closer by if any complications were to arise, but your condition was rather unstable, and neither Dimitri nor Hubert would hear of it.”

“Hubert is alive?!” Edelgard can’t help it; she starts at this revelation, pushes herself up from the cushions with as much force as she can muster. She must look near-ready to swing herself out of the bed, for in seconds Mercedes is on her feet, hands on Edelgard’s shoulders as she gently - but firmly - presses her back into a reclined position. She leaves her hands there, perhaps afraid that Edelgard will try to rise again as soon as she lets go.

“Yes, alive and well. His injuries, while bad, weren’t anything quite so severe as yours. He was up on his feet maybe a week after the fighting stopped,” she explains. All of Edelgard goes limp in relief at her words, sinking into the cushions, and Mercedes sits back down. “I’m quite surprised he wasn’t here when you woke up, actually. It’s been almost impossible to get him or Dimitri to leave your side.”

There it is again. She had almost missed it before, as struck as she had been by the knowledge that her most trusted friend still lived, but with Mercedes saying it so casually, Edelgard can’t help but get stuck on that thought.

‘Neither Dimitri nor Hubert would hear of it…’

‘Impossible to get him or Dimitri to leave your side…’

Hubert, she understands. Of course he would resist her being moved to Fhirdiad, regardless of the resources available there - truthfully, Edelgard thinks he would have resisted even if her condition had been stable, so stubborn is the man. And for him to refuse to leave her but for short periods of time runs par for the course, as it has since her return from exile in Faerghus more than a decade ago.

But Dimitri… surprises her. That he was with her at all when she awoke was enough of a shock; but his earlier admission, coupled with this discovery that he has been remiss to leave her sickbed, is…

Well, it’s rather a lot to deal with all at once.

Edelgard sighs. There is no use dwelling on it, not while she is still bedridden and with other things to worry about. She pushes the thought from her mind, and Mercedes seems unsurprised when she avoids the topic entirely upon speaking again. “What else? I know that Leicester has been ceded to the Kingdom - has Dimitri spoken of his plans regarding it, or the Empire, for that matter?”

Mercedes shakes her head. “Not a thing that I’ve heard. I know that when Claude first left, Dimitri tasked Lorenz with managing all former Alliance lands in the Kingdom’s name, and Hubert has been taking care of matters here in your stead - but outside of that? I couldn’t really say.”

This news feels both unexpected and unsurprising, and it’s an odd combination for Edelgard to contend with. On the one hand, it wouldn’t have been without reason for Dimitri to simply conquer all of Fódlan under the banner of Faerghus, to install loyal, Kingdom-born vassals as rulers over new administrative regions - it’s what Edelgard herself had nearly done, and would have had she been the victor. But such a move would be unlike Dimitri, this much she is certain of, and to instead leave lands in the charge of those who would best know how to govern them… well.

It makes her wonder just what Dimitri has in mind for the future of the continent as they know it.

So caught up in her musings, Edelgard hardly notices as Mercedes rises from her chair; only glancing over when she sets the sweet basket and a few additional bottles of Elixir and water on the chair within the Emperor’s reach. She gives Edelgard a soft smile when she notices her stare. “I think you’ve had enough excitement for one day, Your Majesty. If you need anything or if there’s any trouble, a guard is posted just outside of the room - just ask him to fetch me and I’ll come running.”

Edelgard returns her smile - it’s hard not to, what with the older woman’s calm demeanor being so infectious. All the same, however, she is grateful for the promise of solitude. There are too many things running rampant in her brain to parse through while in the presence of company, and it must be evident in her features for how efficiently Mercedes excuses herself from the room.

The door clicks behind her, just as it did for Dimitri earlier, and for the first time since she woke, Edelgard is alone with her thoughts.

#‣ fic.#‣ sfw.#‣ au.#‣ rating: pg.#‣ category: fire emblem.#‣ fic: burnished night.#‣ ship: edelgard/dimitri (fe).#c: it is here #it is fucking long c: c:#and i am not fucking done with it c: c: c:#originally any follow up to tarnished dawn was gonna just be a one off like td was #but uh. they said No.#also unbeta'd #also not proofread i proofskimmed

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