RENAIS'S SILVER KNIGHT

"Monsters, is it?" Sigurd smiled, eyes lighting up with interest as he crossed ankle over knee. "I have to admit, the only monsters that I have come across myself were the ones that, at the end of the day, were distinctly men – and I suspect that it will be such the case for our mysterious spirits, as well." 

There was nothing on earth that could not be haunted by the actions of another, and any spirit was something that resided in the hearts of those left behind. 

Sigurd knew that better than most. 

His tone remained relaxed, with nary a hint of bitterness, as he continued; "Have you heard the story of the house? Something of a family, and a murder. These things are not as common where I am from, although perhaps some might have liked for it to be a more regular affair." 

Incorporeal spirits felt like another matter entirely. From what he could remember, the Demon King hadn't had any under his command. If they did happen to encounter such beings in the house, what were they supposed to? Drive them from their home? Calm them and let them exist in peace?

What was the possibility that they even witness the strange happenings the other townspeople mentioned?

In the moment, Seth feels as though for all his questions, he does not have the answers to them. His arms cross over his chest and he leans against the stone fire place while he recalls what he'd been previously told before they arrived. "That's correct. The victims and the murderer were of the same family. Lilly Bolden was her name, I believe. Perhaps we could start with trying to determine what motivated her to do so?"

"You seem not quite as ready as you could be." Her voice is light but her concern is sincere. Hands press firm but gentle against his shoulders. Insistent in his care.

"You know, I'm plenty strong myself." She presses a bit harder against his back as if in demonstration. "There's nothing you and I cannot handle together. Though, if we find need of him, we can call my brother." Part of her wishes to do this with only the two of them but she understands his unspoken concerns as well.

Her touch was soft and gentle, as it always was, and his eyes fall shut for only a moment as her fingers work at the tension knots in his back. "I know you are." As Eirika puts a little more pressure on his muscles, he can't help the small smile forming. "It will be a lot of work but I'm glad we get to do it together."

Seth did not doubt her. Not even once. There was no room for it in all the years that he's known her. Though a part of him did worry about his shoulder giving out in the middle of it all, and how that pain might affect his ability to teach but. He pushes the thought aside with a silent promise to himself that he'd tell her if the pain were to become too much for him.

“ I don’t live in the Academy, Seth, ” he explains, a coyness at the edge of his tone, “ but I’ll try to swing by every now and again, if that’s what you’re asking. As a treat. For you. ”

(Now, how honest of a threat that was, Valter would decide later; for the moment, he would talk for the sake of talking, and he would promise the now-professor all the torment his heart desires.)

—and then some, given the Knight’s appetite for discomfort appears about as low as the Moonstone predicted. One step forward is mirrored by an opposite back, and this, too, sparks amusement in his heart. “ Can a man not hunger for both? All things in due time, yes? ”

Actually—‘in due time’, indeed; there wasn’t any need to rush things, was there? Valter wasn’t going anywhere; Seth wasn’t going anywhere; he needn’t be impatient. He could pace himself with these things. That smile remains even as Valter withdraws—not stepping back, but standing upright, not quite so up close and personal: “ My taste hasn’t changed. ” Blood remains the most appealing. With arms crossed and an expression… not mellow, but somewhat tempered, he continues, “ But that includes my patience, luckily for you. ”

“ I’m not looking for battle at the moment. ” Not yet. Grow stronger first. “ But if we ever end up enemies again, ” (and the grin returns) “ I would love to cross blades with you once more. ”

Seeing him around more was the opposite of what he wanted. He knows Valter knows that, at least.

There is a small amount of relief he finds at the fact that he and Eirika don't live at the academy either. He is unsure of the lengths Valter will go to find any truth in what little Seth had told him. At the moment, he is not interested in finding out, nor does he have much else to say. They were done here, and he wanted to make that clear.

"For your sake, I hope that time does not come." There is no forceful shove to move the man out of his way, and instead Seth walks around Valter back towards one of the racks of training weapons near the entrance of the hall. As the other said: he was not looking for a battle. In the moment, there was hardly a reason to provoke him. "I will make sure you meet your end permanently."

When Seth reaches the rack, he puts the lance back and exits without another word or look over his shoulder.

She doesn't need to think as they move across the floor. Her trust in her husband is implicit and she follows his lead without hesitation.

Seth's 'sword' swings at him, slicing clear through his thoughts, and Ephraim jumps back and raises his stick in defense.

"You would attack your king," he asks playfully. He's no king here, just Ephraim, a student, and perhaps that has been weighing on him too. He should not be here, he should be in Renais.

He will always remember the words Seth spoke to him that day they freed castle Renais from Orson. They cheer for the future. For a better tomorrow. That is what he's trying to give his people by being here and he must remember that.

"I would. I needed to remind you why we're here." Not that he didn't enjoy talking with Ephraim. He valued his trust very much, but he didn't want him to think too hard about his friendship with Lyon. After everything that happened, they were still friends and that's what mattered.

"If I tire of the harsh ground I will simply lay upon my pillow." She squeezes his hand teasingly.

His arm must not be bothering him too much if he's not mentioning it so she doesn't ask further about it. "I feel similar." Eirika nods. "It is refreshing being here and learning so much about a new country. Fódlan feels not at all like Renais." Though she has largely led a sheltered life. Perhaps Seth feels differently. "Most of all, I am looking forward to what we can learn while we're here." Her words are followed by another squeeze of his hand, but this time affectionate rather than teasing.

Eventually, the two make their way home and pack for the small outing. It's still early in the day so they should be able to find the hot spring without too much effort. After a few directions from friendly, if wary, villagers, they finally find their way through the thick trees.

"Ah, so it is." Eirika had been keeping up alongside Seth without fuss throughout the journey, but now she picks up her pace to make the last climb all that much shorter.

As she crests the hill, she's greeted by a turquoise pool of water cradled by rocks. Steam rises in misty wisps and now that she's closer, she can feel it too. There's enough space next to the hot spring that they could even make camp here.

His pace quickens as he trails behind her, taking in the sight of the lush forest. It's quiet save for the gentle flow of water, birds, and occasional rustling of the tree branches in the wind. "The location is perfect. It's a shame we don't have any hot springs in Renais. It would have made for a good escape after training or between trips to help with restoration efforts." There's a small smile that forms when she offers her hand to him, and he takes it.

It is lovely, she thinks, and Eirika is so lucky that both her brother and her father must approve of her beloved. She has no living family to ever meet Sigurd and, while she is so grateful for the love and friendship of his sister, she deeply regrets never getting to meet his father herself. She often wonders if the late Duke of Chalphy would have approved of her.

"I know exactly what you mean. When he found me, Lord Sigurd promised he would never leave my side. That he would stay with me and protect me from anyone that might seek to harm me. As long as he is near, I know I have nothing to be afraid of. But he is a knight and so he must leave me and follow his duty far more often than I'd like." She tries to lift her chin to see if she can spot her husband in the kitchen and frowns when she realizes she cannot. "Even now, I know he is just over there but that is still too far." She sighs and shakes her head with a laugh. "You must think I sound terribly foolish!"

Deirdre takes a sip of her tea and cannot help but wonder what her Sigurd is up to. Is he enjoying his conversation too? It is nice to have friends like this together again. She remembers sitting like this chatting with Ethlyn while Sigurd and Quan were off doing something together nearby. It has been far too long, hasn't it?

Deirdre's story is much more somber than her own and reminds her of the night she truly realized her feelings for Seth, the first time they beat within her chest to the point that she could not ignore them.

"I am grateful that he was there to protect you. I believe it sounds silly to some, and sometimes it sounds so even to my own ears I admit, but once you realize your feelings in a moment like that, there is no turning back."

She closes her eyes as she recounts a tale. "The night Renais' castle fell, Seth saved me. He held me in his arms and rode as fast as he could. That night...I try not to think of it, as it is the day I lost my father, but even then Seth made me feel safe. That was the night I knew there was something more between us but I also knew we could not act on our feelings." Cerulean eyes open, as clear and vibrant as the sky. "Truly, I never expected that we would be able to marry." Her fingers curl around her wedding band protectively as she smiles in fond memory of the day he placed it on her hand.

"If I could have married him sooner, I know I would have no regrets about it."

Perhaps this was not the place to be talking about their duties or work, but it hardly felt like small talk. While Seth was not one of the Knights of Seiros, he was still a knight of Renais. He was still a general, and he was quite happy to have the opportunity to pass along his skills to the students here as a professor.

People from all walks of life were at Garreg Mach, and so far he's been happy with his experiences. Eirika seems happy in her classes, as does Ephraim, though Seth knows he much prefers physical activity than sitting with a book in his lap. He's glad that he accompanied them both here.

"There's still plenty I need to learn about cooking but if you need any assistance, I'm happy to offer what knowledge I have." Granted, to Seth it didn't seem like much but they had both been asked to cook for their wives and the least he could do was help the other man make something that was edible.

Instead, she stays to Seth's side, behind him but visible to the Moonstone. She will not give Seth anything more to worry about than he has to.

"You would say and do anything that suits your needs. How else would you be gainfully employed as a knight of Seiros? Or would the Lady Rhea not bat an eye if we were to approach her with proof of your actions during the war?"

Their first meeting was the night castle Renais fell. Yet she has very little memory of the man himself from that night, her emotions too fraught with grief to let her retain much recollection of it. All she truly recalls is that he was the one to give Seth the wound that he still bears to this day.

Azure eyes narrow critically at him. "What is your purpose in being here at the academy?" She does not expect a true answer, not really, but since he is here she shall ask.

“ Actually, I’ll assume the latter: after all, we have much to catch up on, don’t we? ” (A harsh glimmer in his eye as he speaks; a snap of his fingers, glee scarcely hidden.) “ So then, ”—stepping aside, rotating about the couple, an angle to stand ever-so-slightly closer to—“ Eirika. ”

(And the name is drawn out, each syllable mangled, torn up; jagged and sharp and broken into pieces–)

“ You want to know what I’m really doing at the Academy, yes? ” (Circling, snapping teeth and eyes transfixed–) “ I’m afraid I can’t give you an answer any more honest than I already have. I am—and always have been—a knight, sure and true. You might even ask Lady Rhea— ” (A wildness untamed in his eyes–) “ —I do my work well. ”

(Loyal to the crown, honorable in his service; he would bleed in the name of Grado just as he would make his enemies bleed.)

“ But that’s not something you could ever believe, is it, general? ” (Here, his eyes flicker upwards towards the princess’s attachment—ever affixed to her side, even now; even after peace had come.) “ By your measurement, I assume I’ll never be anything but the man who saw Renais fall into ruin. ”

(And my, what fun that had been! Given the chance, he would witness it all over again; the guillotine to a nation’s head and the final nail in his reinstatement in twain.)

“ Then again, I suppose that’s the difference between you and I—I don’t turn tail and run from battle. ” That’s weakness, General. To fear is to become lame. “ I face a threat head-on, and I prove my superiority. ”

—with blood; with bones; crackles and permanent deformation; the carnage that will never be recovered from, buried underground but never rooted out from the mind. One hand brushes across his shoulder, all the nonchalance in the world dedicated to the act; and as the hand falls, Valter smiles again, teeth jagged as they bleed through.

“ You wouldn’t understand that, would you? ”

The explanation Valter gives them has to suffice for now. If there were something more, he supposes the other may have a reason to hide it. And if magic had been involved, it likely would have been more powerful than Orson was promised for Monica. In the grand scheme of things, logistics hardly seemed to matter. His priority was and always would be keeping Eirika safe.

"Because you are. You're twisted and cruel, and whatever code you follow is the same." There were plenty of other words he wanted to use to describe Valter, all of them were within the same realm, but Seth is trying not to let his control slip. "We've seen it first hand and I don't have any cause to believe you'd act otherwise." His voice is sharp though one of his hands reaches back towards Eirika's to intertwine their fingers. If he could pull her any closer, he would have.

He doesn't let his gaze falter as the other mentions their retreat after their first encounter. Escaping to Frelia had been more important than proving the superiority that Valter spoke of. They both made it out alive. Eirika had her bracelet, and Seth... Well.. The pain from the wound he received that night still lingered now, and his stomach twists as the Grado general so calmly reaches out to touch it. He wants to grab his hand and shove him backwards but just as quickly as Valter's arm was raised, it was back at his side. Seth's shoulders go tense, it's visible in the way his posture grows rigid though he does not move.

"I understand I wouldn't have been able to do my duty if I had fallen to you." He would have run himself ragged or bled to death if he continued fighting that day. "We had far more important things to worry about at the time than me trying to prove myself."

”Always.” She inclines her head and smiles then lets him take the lead, whisking them across the dance floor. The vibrant red of her dress trails after them in slow motion.

Her other hand finds the curve of his shoulder as she settles into the movement. “I’m glad that we took the time to practice. It’s been too long since we’ve attended an event like this.” Yet it’s not quite like any event they’ve attended either. Here they are simply Seth and Eirika, husband and wife, not knight and queen.

"I enjoyed it. It was a nice change from our daily routine." Not that there was anything wrong with their routine. The fact of the matter was that he was content to do anything with her. Literally anything. They could sit next to each other in silence for all he cared and it would hardly matter so long as they were together.

Actually there was one little thing he could think of to improve her look... Just a little bit... With a delicate touch, Seth tucks some loose strands of azure hair behind her ear to replace them with one of the lilies from his bouquet. He then offers her his hand and as the music starts, he gives her a bow. It's polite, short, and he knows he hardly needs address her with such formalities at this particular event but he does anyways. If only to show her he was always trying to be respectful. "May I have this dance?"