“OH.” Something tightened in his chest at her response. A heaviness at the fact he could not remember. Perhaps guilt at the thought he had caused the quiet distress in her voice with his honest question. Of course, he knew her. Why else would she give him such tender care and hold him with her warm hands ?
What else other than the hold of the past ?
“You…you feel familiar at least…” he confessed. That much he was certain of. He furrowed his eyebrows deep, attempting to pinpoint when and how exactly they met. Or maybe, better yet, what had happened between then and now – what brought them to hide in a cave with no light or sign of life.
He furrowed his eyebrows deep, concentrating, trying to recall and remember. Yet every time he felt close to finding an answer, there was a pounding in his head that was unforgiving. Blinding. He closed his eyes tight, trying to stave off the pain.
He crumpled forward and whimpered under his breath. Gripping the first thing he could reach, which was simply her.
“I’m sorry –” he was quick to apologize. “I can’t – I can’t remember. I don’t know how or why, but I can’t. My name – I don’t think I even…” he didn’t even know his name.
“Shh,” Byleth rested her hand on his forehead and gently massaged the tensed muscles into relaxing “Worry not. If you do not remember who you are. I will tell you,” As he clung to her Byleth pulled him tighter against herself in response. She still felt so ill equipped to provide comfort. This simple gesture was all she could offer.
“You are strong,” she said gently brushing the overgrown bangs from his face “and you use that strength to protect everyone you can. Fate cursed you with a body that told you to destroy, but you decided to face the world with the resolve to build instead. You are kind, much too kind for your own good. So much so that at times I thought the weight of it would crush you. You excel at riding horses and lance work and though you had your share of shortcomings you’d face each of them with the intention of growing. I know better than anyone. I watched over you and your classmates for a year,” One after the other, she found herself voicing thoughts she had never spoken aloud. Maybe all this time she’d wanted to tell him. In a way this was as much a revelation for herself as it would be for him,
“Though I was meant to be your teacher....You saved me,” How she wished she could’ve told him those words at his graduation. Him and everyone else.
The days she spent with her Lions came rushing back to her. The days spent reading in the library with them, eating in the mess hall, most importantly, the days she spent with them in the classroom. They were all so happy a little bit ago. How could so much misfortune have befallen them?
“You are...” She swallowed. It was only his name , so why did it feel like she was bestowing upon him a great burden?
He was far from a stranger to misfortune, wasn’t he. Threads of tragedy were sewn into the very fabric of his past and they would not let him go so easily. Perhaps he didn’t even want to let them go.
Byleth was never really one to tell lies, but maybe one. Just this once
She absentmindedly ran her hands through his hair as she gazed into his eyes. “Desperately loved,” she finished. “There are many who await your return. So make sure to rest,” Rest, young prince. And for once dream of a kinder world for yourself rather than others.
