June Catch-All

[flame_emperor]

🧙 WHO: Edelgard von Hresvelg and YOU
⚔️️ WHAT: After a month of having her general all to herself and practicing her magic, Edelgard is ready to get down to business and start building some bridges. Tea, painting practice, and some teru teru bozu-making.
🕒 WHEN: The month of June
🗺️ WHERE: Around Camelot and
⚠️ WARNINGS: None leap to mind!

A Tea Invitation (CLOSED TO THREE HOUSES CHARACTERS)

A letter is delivered to you by courier, your name inscribed on the envelope in elegant handwriting, and sealed with the familiar eagle insignia of the Adrestian Empire. Breaking the seal, the letter unfolds and is read as such:

I would be pleased if you would join me for tea and light discussion. I believe a clearing of the air between us would be beneficial to both parties, and there are matters concerning our different worlds I would ask you about, as I'm sure you have about mine. Please reply at your earliest convenience.

Edelgard von Hresvelg.

Should you agree to the meeting, you'll find Edelgard waiting for you at the appointed time. Fortunately, the weather has held and the veranda is sunny. The tea is brewed and has a familiar scent to it; it seems she's managed to procure your favoured blend, or at least the last she knew to be your favoured. She has forgone the crown and severe hair-buns in favour of a sidetail.

"I'm pleased you could join me. Have a seat, and I'll pour you a cup."

Some Happy Little Trees

Byleth was all too quick to see to it Edelgard was well-stocked with painting supplies not long after their arrival. It was a touching gesture, and Edelgard was eager to get back to it now that she had a surplus of time to devote to it. During the war, she'd never felt comfortable spending too much time on it even when the odd moment of free time since it seemed...wasteful. When there was so much else to be doing. However, free of the war and even with the responsibilities of magic studies, she felt more at ease practicing her craft. And Brocéliande and the surrounding countryside provided an abundance of material.

Today's study are green fields near the road to the Red Springs. Set up with her easel and chair Edelgard works, but it's a slow process. The sound of movement on the road catches her attention and she glances behind to see if someone is lingering.

"Can I help you?" She asks. Normally she's not adverse to conversation, but she'd prefer to focus on getting over the art-block she's having.

Wetding

Edelgard has a specific gift in mind to replay the art supplies Byleth gifted her, but that will take time to gather the necessary funds. While this quest opportunity doesn't supply money, a gift basket to liven up their living quarters will suffice in the short-term. But the sprites will require a selection of dolls to make their choice, so enlisting aid in crafting the dolls only made sense.

"I'm almost finished this one. Hand me the blue ribbon, would you? I just need to tie it off."

Later on, you get a message from Edelgard asking her to join you in the hotel room. She's looking out the window when you enter and she waves you over. "Come, you're just in time. The sprites have arrived and I thought you might want to see the results of our hard work." Below, the wedding ceremony is almost ready to start.

Obligatory Wild Card Prompt

[Feel free to throw me a curveball if you like, I'm happy to roll with whatever.]

Comments

[flame_emperor]

"Yes, this world is quite different from Fódlan." Edelgard replies, pouring her own cup. "It's been quite an adjustment, though I can't say I disagree with many of this world's amenities." She raises her cup to drink, but pauses as a thought occurs. "Perhaps Fódlan won't look so different from Avalon in another thousand years or so." What a strange thought to have, and not one Edelgard would have been able to conceive of if she hadn't come here. But the possibility intrigued her, especially now that her Fódlan was free of the Immaculate One's control. The Forbidden Library in Abyss had made for some rather intriguing reading regarding just how much she had interfered in Fódlan's development.

She takes a drink, and chuckles. "You're right there. It rather does feel like the Academy." She sets the cup down. "But I don't think we'll be remaining there long. Byleth has raised the idea of finding a house in the city for us to share, and the idea does appeal." She could certainly manage just fine in the hotel, as she'd done for six years in that tiny dormitory room at Garreg Mach, but there was something about the idea of sharing a home with the older woman that was...undeniably exciting to her. She hadn't been expecting the chance for such domesticity for at least another decade, but she wasn't going to turn down an early, if temporary chance at it.

"Quite well, thank you. Arriving with Byleth made things easier, certainly." Edelgard frowns for a moment. "Though it has been...difficult adjusting to having much less structured time. I'm not used to it." As much as Edelgard dreams of being able to laze around free of consequence, she's become too used to keeping busy, finding her days full of tasks that required her attention, between her duties as Emperor and prosecuting the war. "Focusing on my painting has helped, but hasn't quite alleviated the problem." Even with training her particular brands of magic still leaves her with more free time than she's been used to in quite some time.

[sereneadherent]

A thousand years into the future is mindblowing to consider, but Edelgard is probably right in her observation. Their respective future Fódlans will probably be different from each other, given the difference in events between them, but Marianne is hopeful for each of them all the same. At the very least, both should be a freer to grow and embrace more than what has traditionally been acceptable before.

What a blessing, to have had a hand in helping to create it. In creating both of them, honestly, since there's a version of her in Edelgard's Fódlan that fought alongside her.

Edelgard's fond tone in talking about the Professor and their plans together strikes Marianne in a way she doesn't expect and can't quite figure out. It isn't judgement, although part of her wonders if it should be given her background and close ties to the Church. Which is, of course, ridiculous and counter to everything the Deer have fought for. They're happy together, and that's what matters the most.

It isn't quite jealousy, either--her own Byleth is a trusted friend and mentor, surely, but never anything closer than that. If she were to have that sort of relationship with anyone, Marianne figures it would be with Claude. Their fearless leader is near and dear to her, but not so muchso that she'd feel jealous on his behalf.

Perhaps it's envy. That they're liberated enough to love and live as they please, whereas she's not quite there.

Regardless, her feelings are not Edelgard's fault or responsibility. And despite herself, she is truly happy for them. So Marianne smiles, albiet weakly, and nods. "I hope that you find something that suits the both of you. I'm sure it must be a nice change, to be able to spend time together like this. Unbothered by everything back home, even if the lack of structure is hard."

Marianne pauses to sip her tea, still trying not to think too intently about herself and to focus on the other woman instead.

"I had no idea that you painted." She can't help but brighten up at the discussion of a hobby. It makes Edelgard seem more approachable, somehow. "Ignatz is also an avid artist, and Hilda paints a little as well. If we had known, perhaps we might have reached out. Built better bonds of friendship, back when we had the chance."

[flame_emperor]

"...It is, yes." Edelgard agrees, a fond look on her face. "I didn't expect to be able to enjoy something like this with her so soon." The end-goal of course was to implement her reforms, find a worthy successor who would carry her work forward, and retire, abdicating both her crown and throne to that successor. Then she and Byleth would be able to live as they pleased, without the demands of Empire coming between them. And they could have something more real than the rings on their fingers. It was a fantasy Edelgard had dreamed of, but had never hoped to reach for herself, until only a short while ago. Now she wanted it more than anything; but there was still work to be done, so much work. In many ways, fighting the Church had been the easy part. Now the real work of reintegrating Fódlan and making the change she'd long desired a reality...and Hubert's war in the shadows against Thales and his cult, the cancer at the heart of the Empire that needed to be cut out. She had not expected to enjoy any sort of real domestic bliss with Byleth before she was thirty, at least. In a way, Avalon was a dream come true for her, despite the circumstances.

"I'm sure we'll adapt. You're fortunate though, that so many of your compatriots are here already." Edelgard replies with a smile. Avalon did seem to have a fondness for Claude's version of things if the number of Golden Deer was any indication. "How have things been with the other Deer here, if you don't mind me asking?" Claude, Dorothea, Flayn...it was a good group for Marianne to find herself in.

"I don't discuss it often. In truth, I was somewhat self-conscious about it for a long time." Edelgard admits. "And I certainly don't claim to be Ignatz's equal. But Hilda? I didn't know that." Hilda was one of the few students who resisted joining the Black Eagles, and Edelgard did not know her well. Apart from their school days, the last time she'd seen the younger Goneril had been...at Deirdru. She remembered hearing Marianne—her world's Marianne, the Black Eagle—voicing concerns about having to fight her once word came in she'd been placed in charge of the Goneril forces fighting for Claude. That's right, the two of them had been rather close, even after Marianne transferred classes.

"I appreciate the sentiment, but I doubt my counterpart would have accepted." She says with a shake of her head. "Set on the path that I was, I kept myself...closed off, especially to people outside of the Black Eagles. It was easier to deal with things that way. I expect the same is true of the Edelgard of your world." It's a shame, especially after finding out they shared something in common, but a sad truth nevertheless. "I've been working on a few pieces since I arrived, if you'd like to see them later." She offers. "What kind of painting did Hilda enjoy? I'm curious. I had never pegged her for the type." Painting, even with care did tend to get a little...messy by times, and Hilda gave ever indication she tried to avoid messes as much as possible, if only to avoid the work of cleaning up afterwards.

[sereneadherent]

"I don't mind at all." Marianne sincerely doesn't. The way in which her Fódlan--the Deer's Fódlan--is favored among the people she knows has not escaped Marianne's notice. She's prayed several times in gratitude that she isn't alone in how she remembers her world, just as she has in gratitude that she's been given a chance to repair bridges long burned back home. "The other Deer are doing very well. It's a little strange, that we all seem to have arrived from different parts of what has happened and will happen, but we managed to move past that quickly. I think either Dorothea or myself come from the earliest point?"

Very, very strange, thinking in such a way about history. Things that were so uncertain for Marianne are foregone conclusions to Claude and especially Flayn. Frankly, Marianne doesn't like to think too much about it.

Her face falls a little at Edelgard's response, although she's hardly surprised by it. Edelgard was always standoffish at the Academy aside from her own. But still, Marianne finds herself wishing she had at least tried.

The sad expression is brief, however, as the conversation shifts to Hilda. "Hilda's quite creative once you get to know her. I've only seen her break out her paints a few times, and she doesn't bother with anything so large or grand like landscapes and portraits. She sticks to small doodles and illustrations." Marianne pauses, then laughs a little. "Usually in the margins of her notes, even now that we're adults and she should know better."

Marianne's voice is soft and fond as she speaks of her classmate, not too dissimilar to how Edelgard speaks of Byleth. "More often than painting and drawing, she makes jewelry. It's a wonder to watch her while she does it--she's so focused, you could hardly believe that it's her." Marianne holds out her wrist, showing a delicate golden bracelet with two small blue stones set into the diamond-shaped charm that dangles from it. "She made this, for example. She told me it was a practice piece that I could have, but I think she just said that so that I wouldn't feel so bad accepting the gift."

"I wear it every day, especially now that... well, that she's not here." Out of all the Deer who aren't present, it's Hilda that Marianne misses the most. The reminder of her friend is nice, but it doesn't hold a candle to actually having her nearby.

[flame_emperor]

"Yes, I've wondered about that myself." Edelgard admits. "If being summoned here can pick us from specific versions of our world, why can it also not all pick us from the same time? It's curious." But this is powerful magic; far more powerful than anything even the mightiest Adrestian sorcerer has ever come up with, and Edelgard doesn't pretend to know how it might work. "Well, I suppose it's probably a question without an answer to it." They're here, and that's what matters.

The disappointment on Marianne's face is palpable, and reminds Edelgard of her own regrets as well; not needing to shut herself off was a lesson she had learned too late, and one that her counterpart in the Deer Fódlan probably never did. But then the subject turns to Hilda, and Marianne comes alive in a way Edelgard has never seen before from the Edmund heir, either version of them. Just talking about Hilda seems to fill her with happiness, and then Marianne shows off the bracelet. "My goodness." She breathes out, admiring the craftsmanship. That's not a "practice" piece by any means. "You could sell a piece like that in Enbarr and make a tidy sum off the profits. Ah, not that you should." She adds, quickly. "The craftsmanship is astounding. Hilda made this for you?"

...Come to think of it, shortly after Deirdru fell, hadn't something crossed Edelgard's desk? There were so many reports that demanded her attention in the days following the Alliance's fall, but...yes, come to think of it, there was a leave request submitted by the Black Eagle Marianne. It had been non-specific as to the exact nature of the request, only that she wished to return to Alliance territory to attend some sort of personal matter...but nothing to do with the affairs of House Edmund, or her adoptive father the Margrave, or so it had seemed. Edelgard had granted it, given Marianne's dutiful service up till that point, and the young lady had departed...

...And had met up with their forces after Edelgard deployed the Strike Force to personally oversee the defense of Fódlan's Throat against that Almyran force. Which meant that she'd either been very close to or already in Goneril territory when Nader's forces attempted to break through. And Edmund was not close to Goneril.

Curiouser and curiouser...

"It's beautiful." Edelgard says finally. "I shall have to see if our Hilda will take commissions when I return home, I'd be pleased to have something even half as splendid as this piece." A practice piece indeed!

She reaches for her cup, to take another drink. "It sounds as though you're both very fond of each other." She says before taking a sip.

[sereneadherent]

"I can't even begin to understand how any of this world-traveling magic works," Marianne concedes with a shrug. "I suspect you're right that we'll probably never know the answers to our many questions about it." It's the sort of thing that probably drives Claude nuts, but she's more or less made peace with it. Knowing one way or another doesn't really change anything about why they're here and what they have to do.

Edelgard's reaction to the bracelet confirms what Marianne already knew: it's no mere piece of practice handed over out of charity. Hilda had given it to her not long ago, actually--just after the troops regrouped in Gareg Mach after the strange attack at Fort Merceus. She'd insisted it was a meant as a pick-me-up to a friend, nothing more, please don't read too much into it, it's just a practice piece, it just seemed that Marianne could use something nice after something so scary, that's all. It was all oddly awkward, especially given how Hilda is usually so confident and astute.

And then there was a whispered conversation between Hilda and Balthus soon after that had stopped aburptly when Marianne had gotten too close. She'd meant to ask her friend about it, but she found herself plunged into the Bay of Avalon before she had the chance. Rather than try to rationalize on Hilda's behalf (and ultimately set herself up for disappointment should she be wrong), Marianne instead is doing her best to appreciate the gift as it was given. From a friend.

"That's all very nice of you to say. I'll pass the compliments back to Hilda, once we've completed the quest we're here for and I get to see her again." There's really nothing else to say but that. Edelgard doesn't need to know the whole story of the piece aside from what Marianne's already told her.

Marianne nods in response to her hostess's observation. "Hilda was my first friend back at the Academy, despite my best efforts to be left alone." Even now, five years removed from it, Marianne still wonders why Hilda had decided that she was worth all the effort. "She helped me out a lot, and I would repay her with pastries and tea. As we got to know each other better, the moments we spent together became... much more special. Especially now, with the war."

After a pause, Marianne realizes how that sounds and quickly rushes in to quell any assumptions. "O-of course, all of the Deer are special to me. They're the closest thing I've had to a family in a long time, and I don't mean to sounds like I'm playing favorites or anything."

Oh look, she has a cup of tea. She takes a drink from it. Better that than talking herself further into a hole.