The Bright Star [Fire Emblem: Three Houses AU]

Dance of the Herons (Hilda)

The day of the White Heron Cup arrived. At the end of the school day, all the classes sent down their chosen representatives to the Reception Hall for the competition. Shortly after, all the other students sat down in the seats within the hall to give the performers enough space, separated by class. The Black Eagles sat on the left, Blue Lions in the middle and the Golden Deer on the right.

The representative for the Black Eagles was Dorothea, Mercedes for the Blue Lions, and Hilda for the Golden Deer. All three dancers were dressed in dresses that contained white and their house's color as well as wearing additional accessories that they each chose for themselves.

An optional choice for the dancers was that they could add some of their own, unique talents into their dance as long as it wouldn't hurt anyone. Hilda would've added magic to her dance if only she knew how to use it to enhance the visuals for her audience, but she didn't know how to use it. Instead, she dressed in accessories that fit the theme of her dress and hair color, with pink and golden flowers in her hair and many other various accessories.

"Good luck, you two," Mercedes said to her opponents.

"You, too," Dorothea and Hilda said to their opponents, awaiting further instruction from the hosts.

Several officials from the Church walked in: Rhea, Alois, Manuela, and Shamir. Rhea was just there to watch the competition, while Alois would host and judge, and Manuela and Shamir would just be judging. Rhea stood in the back of the Reception Hall to watch the students.

The other three officials stood in front of the seated students. "Welcome to the White Heron Cup!" Alois announced as the students cheered. "As you may know, each of your classes has chosen a representative for the competition. Whichever class wins will get a special celebration just among themselves after the ball. The judges will be me, Manuela, and Shamir. Let's hear some hype!" He pointed to the Black Eagles section. "Black Eagles!" The students from that section cheered. "Blue Lions!" The students cheered. "And last but not least, the Golden Deer!" The students cheered as Alois stopped pointing at them after a bit. "Alright, let's begin! We'll start off with the Black Eagles, then the Blue Lions, then finish off with the Golden Deer. First up, Dorothea from the Black Eagle house!" The crowd clapped as Dorothea stepped up to the stage and curtsied. "Begin!"

Dorothea began her dance by carefully placing her feet in certain directions, gracefully moving her body in directions that captivated her audience. She combined her dance with a melody, singing while she performed to add a bit of charm. "The eagle pierces her prey's heart with shining talons," Dorothea sang. "But when you take a look at her feathers, she's such a beauty!" Her dance ended with a smooth transition to a curtsy, making the crowd go wild. Hilda was jealous of her skills in both singing and dancing, as she wasn't sure how to make her dance better than it already was, and Dorothea already seized the crowd's attention.

"Give it up for Dorothea!" Alois clapped. Dorothea exited the stage. "Next up, Mercedes from the Blue Lion house!" Much like with Dorothea, the crowd clapped as Mercedes came to the center of the stage and curtsied, waiting for Alois's signal. "Begin!"

Mercedes began her dance by using light magic to enhance her steps, making her look like she was walking on light beams herself. The audience was immediately intrigued, watching as she swiftly danced. She even used her magic to lift herself within the air and kicked her feet up high as the magic bound her in midair. The crowd went wild to see Mercedes's talents in both dance and magic at play. She ended it off with a curtsy midair, levitated by and surrounded with beams of light thanks to her magic.

"Let's give it up for Mercedes!" Alois said among the wild crowd. Mercedes carefully let herself down and went to the side to make way for the last upcoming performer to walk the stage.

Hilda was worried. Now that she saw the abilities of the others, she was worried that she didn't have any abilities that could captivate the audience to where she would win. She would have to rely on her accessories⁠— and pure luck. However, people from other classes knew her for being the little sister of General Holst of the Alliance, so perhaps she could show off some battle tactics. Well, she could if she brought weapons with her, but the Church most likely wouldn't allow it for fear of it accidentally being dangerous for the audience.

"Next up, Hilda from the Golden Deer house!" Alois said as Hilda began to walk up the stage. Like the others, Hilda curtsied in front of the audience.

"Alright guys, this is it!" She heard Claude say to her house. "We're gonna cheer for Hilda! Ready, Golden Deer?"

"Yeah!" said the other Golden Deer students, turning to her and putting their arms in front of them as if they were cheering. "Hilda, Hilda!"

Hilda smiled as she awaited Alois's command.

"Begin!" Alois said.

Hilda began her dance by taking a peony from her hair and throwing it up in the air. As it slowly began to rain down, Hilda put her legs up to catch the flower on her feet. Everyone was impressed, clapping for her. She took the flower from her foot and several other flowers and threw them up in the air as she twirled around them, making sure she was to catch them in the end. She ended off her dance by putting the flowers back in her hair and curtsying.

"Let's give it up for Hilda!" The crowd went wild for the final performance, and Hilda truly believed that she did amazing. Hilda went off to the side with the other performers.

"You did great, Hilda!" Mercedes said to her.

"I agree," Dorothea added. "I really loved the flower motif you included in your dance."

"Thanks, I thought each of you both did really good," Hilda said.

Alois walked up to the front. "Alright, now that the dancing has concluded, the judges and I will temporarily exit so we can decide on a winner. Lady Rhea also has a few things to say, so while we judge we will be giving her the stage." Alois walked off and exited with the other judges as Rhea stood in front of the students.

"I would like to just let you all know a few things," Rhea said. "Now, you may be wondering about Professor Byleth, who recently sustained a massive injury and hasn't held any seminars in a while. Yes, it's true⁠— I've checked up on him in the infirmary before and it really pains me to see him like that. However, he recently recovered and told us that he will be attending the ball. I ask that you don't bother him about his injury. Understood?"

"Understood," the students said.

After a little bit, Rhea noticed the judges coming in. "Looks like the winners have been announced," she said as she cleared the stage for the three judges.

"Thank you, Lady Rhea," Alois said. "Yes, we have decided the winner of this year's White Heron Cup. And the winner is⁠—" He paused for a little bit to add suspension. "⁠—the Blue Lion house!" The crowd erupted in cheering, especially the other members of the Blue Lions.

"We know you could do it, Mercedes!" Dimitri said in excitement!

"Hooray for Mercie!" Annette said.

Mercedes came to the front of the stage. "Thank you, everyone, thank you!"

"We were amazed by you putting your talents in magic at play while you danced," Manuela said.

"It was stunning to look at," Shamir added.

"The Blue Lion house will be receiving an additional party after the ball," Alois said. "Congratulations!"

The other dancers went back to their respective classes. "Sorry that I didn't win," Hilda said to her class.

"No worries, Hilda," Claude said. "In our hearts, you were the winner."

"Yeah, we thought you were stunning!" Lysithea said.

"I'd paint a picture of you dancing if I could!" Ignatz said to cheer her up.

"Oh, I'll buy it off of you if you do so, Ignatz," Hilda said. "I appreciate that you all were here for me today. It really helped me with the motivation to dance."

"Hey, it's never a problem," Claude said, winking. "We're the Golden Deer house⁠— we always rely on and help out each other in times of need. That's what makes us so special from the other houses."