Not This Time

Mock Battle

The three houses had begun to fight.

Byleth had taken the lead, Edelgard by her side. Byleth hadn't even thought about her students beside her; Dorothea, Caspar, and Linhardt accompanied her into this battle. Byleth was just so used to taking the lead; she'd never needed to wait for any teammates.

A boy with purple eyes and a bad haircut rushed at her, an arrogant  look on his face. This poor boy has no idea what's about to hit him.

"Lorenz, why would you rush out without any instruction?" Someone sighed loudly, and Byleth recognized the voice to be Claude's. He sounded irritated, and for good reason. She couldn't see him; he must be further into the back line. "Now..Ugh."

This was her chance.

Byleth rushed forward, springing out of the bushes. She deftly swung her iron sword, slicing with maximum speed. Lorenz could barely keep up as all he could do was barely block her ferocious blows. His eyes widened, and he held his arm up in surrender as Byleth was about to swing her sword downwards toward his chest.

"Wait, wait, I surrender!"

Byleth halted her movement just before she cut into his chest. He looked guilty as he trudged off the battlefield, and Edelgard nodded appreciatively.

"Fantastic work, Professor. Now, onwards!"

For the first time since Byleth had been trapped at the monastery, she felt confident.

The Golden Deer didn't attempt to push further. Now that Lorenz had been stopped, they remained hidden. Byleth knew they were watching her, but she couldn't seem to find them.

Must be hidden in the forest somewhere...

The Blue Lions were the next adversary. Dedue led, his large frame covered in heavy armor. He was flanked by Dimitri himself, the blonde girl with her hair in a braid, the ditzy looking cleric, and the philanderer. They were heading as a unit towards her Eagles, and Byleth rounded back towards her students.

On Byleth's command, Dorothea's thunder struck downwards, piercing Dedue's heavy looking armor. The darker skinned boy grunted in pain, but managed to sustain himself. He moved forward to attack the Black Eagles house leader. Edelgard darted to the side to avoid his heavy blow, and she swung her own axe downwards. Dedue held his axe to block her, and it wasn't until Byleth jumped in that the stalwart boy was overwhelmed.

"Forgive me, your highness," Dedue muttered before he left the battlefield. While Byleth noted his devotion to Dimitri, she still didn't think it was as creepy as Hubert's loyalty. While they were similar, Dedue was silent. Hubert was jeering and condescending; he had even threatened Byleth.

Maybe I should have chosen any other house that didn't have him.

Next was the Faerghus Prince. Dimitri was a force to be reckoned with, his valiant lance swinging with a smile. He managed to sneak past Byleth and Edelgard, heading straight for Caspar. His lance whirled around, swiftly forcing Caspar into a defensive state. With a decisive strike, Dimitri slammed his lance downwards. The wooden part of his weapon thunked against Caspar's head, and Caspar mumbled his surrender.

Dorothea waved her hands desperately as Dimitri began to near her. Bolts of lightning stormed around the prince, and while he was fast, he was unable to dodge all of them. He grunted in pain, but before he could lunge at Dorothea, Edelgard stepped in and blocked him.

Byleth trusted her to take care of him. After all, Dimitri was injured; what could he do to her? Byleth then decided to take the rest of her Eagles onward. The rest of the Lions went down rather easily. the blonde girl had taken a bit of a struggle, but the flirty boy had simply thrown down his weapon. The devout cleric surrendered due to not having a weapon, and as Edelgard finally managed to land a hit on Dimitri, the Blue Lions were swiftly taken out.