That's just my answer to the week's task. [ He's never been on a date either. ] But I'm not sure how to pull it off.
[ It doesn't matter anyway, because before Claude knows it, they're somewhere else.
You wake up, and it's to a hand around your neck and the ominous glint of a blade in the moonlight.
It's the first time you've woken up like this. You're maybe five, or six years old, and you're filled with fear first, and panic second.
But you still know better than to scream.
You slap the arm that's keeping you pinned to your bed, and it doesn't do much, except wherever that knife misses wherever it was meant to cut, slashing deep and bloody over your chest instead, pain slicing through your veins as your legs kick out, earning a grunt of pain when they connect with—something soft and human.
The situation starts to take shape in your head, and something else seeps in around the fear: fury. Indignation. Rage that anyone would do this to you- you're a prince.
You kick again before your attacker manages to shield himself, into that same spot, another more pronounced cry of pain. But the reason your shadow stuck close was because this time, he lodges his blade into your shoulder, and it burns so much that you lose track of everything else. How hard your fists are beating into the arm around your neck. How furiously your legs are kicking at the shape above you until eventually it staggers back.
And against all odds, you get up too. The knife wasn't driven deep enough to stay in place when you move, and suddenly it's very accessible.
Suddenly the knife is in your hand and you're screaming, launching forward and you know that you hurt him, some where, some amount of times because there's blood spraying over your floors different from the droplets dripping from your own clothes. But you're only a child, and when the fog clears from your head you realize that the would-be assassin is gone.
It's just you, covered in blood and left without a scratch.
Claude stumbles back a step at that, inhaling sharply and rubbing his head. ]
[ oh what in the fresh hell!!! maya freezes up as this plays out, her eyes wide ]
[ he was just.. child.... it's like edgeworth, who was trying to protect his father (even though he didn't actually kill anyone). why would anyone want to...? ]
[ (no, she knows the answer to that). ]
[ once the memory clears, maya doesn't seem as surprised as one might expect. she bites her lip, though. ]
The more she understands, the more helpless he feels. She's not a child, needing to be shielded from the world, but he still feels as though he should've hidden the truth. ]
People hate for whatever reason is convenient to them.
You know... despite everything, you're a pretty positive person. I admire that about you. It takes a lot of guts to still try to see the good in people and care if you've had to grow up watching your shadow.
[ It's not what he expected from Maya, who is bright and vibrant. Caring and playful. He'd suspected that she might've lost someone, experienced something dark, given how she reacted to Dimitri and Byleth's return, but...
His brows furrow as their dorm comes back into focus around them, looking troubled. ]
Maya... that was awful. That woman didn't deserve you as her niece.
[ oh... claude... it takes her a few seconds to react but then her head thunks softly against his shoulder ]
[ logically she knows that's he's right... but she can't help but feel responsible.... this was really another fey family feud and that doctor got caught in the middle. ]
[ Though, as he says that the space around them changes again.
It's been five years since the fall of Garreg Mach, and you think the war might finally be drawing toward an end, though not because of any progress that you've made.
You've spent hours at the roundtable, bickering with the other lords of the Alliance in person and on paper, and it's becoming clearer with each day that you can't balance between those that want to side with the Empire and those that want to launch an offensive much longer. Soon the war will breech Alliance borders, and the loyalties of the lords with fracture and split.
You know that Edelgard has reclaimed Garreg Mach, and that you're running out of time and options.
But for once, you decide to clear your head, stationed at the archery range, arrow after arrow flying from your fingers until someone interrupts you.
"They took the Bridge, Claude."
It's Hilda, and as you lower your bow, you try to understand what this means.
With the Bridge of Myrddin under the Empire's control, there's no stopping their advance into the Alliance. Without the Bridge, you've lost your ability to launch your own offensive and take the Empire by surprise. You waited too long.
"Is Judith back?"
Hilda's silent for a moment, but she answers before you can ask again, "... No, she fell in battle."
"What?" There's ice and disbelief in your veins, a sudden fear that you can't comprehend. "That's imposs—"
"People say Edelgard has a new general leading her troops." The words don't stick. Don't make sense when you're still thinking about Judith, who you can't imagine being outmanoeuvred, outmatched. Who's too clever to lose her life. "It's Professor Byleth, Claude. She's back."
And it brings something tight and uncomfortable into his chest, making him tense, though he doesn't tighten his grip on her at least. ]
[ war memories..... once again, this is difficult for maya to grasp, but the feeling of someone you cared for dying is familiar, as is the feeling of ]
[ ... betrayal. ]
That can't... that can't be right.... the professor would never do that to you...
[ she remembers how worried byleth was about him-- ]
[ He doesn't agree with that statement. Can't quite, when the memory of Judith's death has returned so clearly in his mind. ]
She's not Byleth as you know her. [ Because, despite his own feelings, he doesn't want to sully Maya's relationship with someone that she cares about. ] It's complicated.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[ she says, even though she's never been on a date before ]
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[ It doesn't matter anyway, because before Claude knows it, they're somewhere else.
It's the first time you've woken up like this. You're maybe five, or six years old, and you're filled with fear first, and panic second.
But you still know better than to scream.
You slap the arm that's keeping you pinned to your bed, and it doesn't do much, except wherever that knife misses wherever it was meant to cut, slashing deep and bloody over your chest instead, pain slicing through your veins as your legs kick out, earning a grunt of pain when they connect with—something soft and human.
The situation starts to take shape in your head, and something else seeps in around the fear: fury. Indignation. Rage that anyone would do this to you- you're a prince.
You kick again before your attacker manages to shield himself, into that same spot, another more pronounced cry of pain. But the reason your shadow stuck close was because this time, he lodges his blade into your shoulder, and it burns so much that you lose track of everything else. How hard your fists are beating into the arm around your neck. How furiously your legs are kicking at the shape above you until eventually it staggers back.
And against all odds, you get up too. The knife wasn't driven deep enough to stay in place when you move, and suddenly it's very accessible.
Suddenly the knife is in your hand and you're screaming, launching forward and you know that you hurt him, some where, some amount of times because there's blood spraying over your floors different from the droplets dripping from your own clothes. But you're only a child, and when the fog clears from your head you realize that the would-be assassin is gone.
It's just you, covered in blood and left without a scratch.
Claude stumbles back a step at that, inhaling sharply and rubbing his head. ]
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[ he was just.. child.... it's like edgeworth, who was trying to protect his father (even though he didn't actually kill anyone). why would anyone want to...? ]
[ (no, she knows the answer to that). ]
[ once the memory clears, maya doesn't seem as surprised as one might expect. she bites her lip, though. ]
Did that... happen a lot?
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I suppose a few times. It's not uncommon for royalty, I think.
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[ ... ]
It shouldn't be like that.
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[ He flicks at her bangs, trying to lighten the mood. ]
But don't worry, I got quite good at giving them "stomach trouble" whenever they bothered me.
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[ she doesn't seem to like that joke ]
You're... next in line to inherit, right? That's why they're going after you?
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Not quite. My mother was from a different country than my father—the king. People didn't like having a prince with mixed blood.
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[ but... ]
Oh... I see.... [ wow it's racism ] Some people hate those who are different from them....
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The more she understands, the more helpless he feels. She's not a child, needing to be shielded from the world, but he still feels as though he should've hidden the truth. ]
People hate for whatever reason is convenient to them.
But that's not all there is in the world, right?
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You know... despite everything, you're a pretty positive person. I admire that about you. It takes a lot of guts to still try to see the good in people and care if you've had to grow up watching your shadow.
[ even tho she can tell he has trust issues ]
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I've gotta be positive or I don't know how I'd keep going. And I really do think people can be better if the circumstances around them are better.
I don't... forgive what happened to me though. I'm still a little petty.
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[ touches his arm lightly... ]
I understand how you feel.
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[ maybe she does understand a little lmao ]
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His brows furrow as their dorm comes back into focus around them, looking troubled. ]
Maya... that was awful. That woman didn't deserve you as her niece.
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[ maya, on the other hand, has backed a few steps away. she looks ready to run - in fact, if it were anyone else but him, she would be running. ]
[ she does flinch when he says that, not quite meeting his eyes ]
It's... okay, Claude. I'm sorry you had to see that.
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[ He doesn't hide the troubled look on his face, wishing for once that he had some of Byleth's ability to connect and comfort others. ]
... You know you didn't deserve to be treated that way, right?
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[ she hates the look on his face, too. she wants to cheer him up ]
I know... [ she doesn't sound entirely convinced, though. ] Nick proved my innocence. So. I'm okay.
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[ He's going to inch closer, and if she doesn't look like she's going to bolt, settle a hand on her head to guide her closer to him. ]
Just because he did his best doesn't mean you need to be okay. You still lost something along the way.
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Yeah... he's a good guy... he would defend you too, if he were here.
[ well after maya bullied him into doing his job. ]
... I've gotten used to that. [ she says quietly. ] I just don't want... anyone else to die, because of me.
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[ He's sort of hugging her now, just keeping her gently tucked against his chest. ]
All of that was done to you, and it wasn't your fault that you were manipulated.
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[ logically she knows that's he's right... but she can't help but feel responsible.... this was really another fey family feud and that doctor got caught in the middle. ]
[ but. ]
Thank you... Claude....
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[ Though, as he says that the space around them changes again.
You've spent hours at the roundtable, bickering with the other lords of the Alliance in person and on paper, and it's becoming clearer with each day that you can't balance between those that want to side with the Empire and those that want to launch an offensive much longer. Soon the war will breech Alliance borders, and the loyalties of the lords with fracture and split.
You know that Edelgard has reclaimed Garreg Mach, and that you're running out of time and options.
But for once, you decide to clear your head, stationed at the archery range, arrow after arrow flying from your fingers until someone interrupts you.
"They took the Bridge, Claude."
It's Hilda, and as you lower your bow, you try to understand what this means.
With the Bridge of Myrddin under the Empire's control, there's no stopping their advance into the Alliance. Without the Bridge, you've lost your ability to launch your own offensive and take the Empire by surprise. You waited too long.
"Is Judith back?"
Hilda's silent for a moment, but she answers before you can ask again, "... No, she fell in battle."
"What?" There's ice and disbelief in your veins, a sudden fear that you can't comprehend. "That's imposs—"
"People say Edelgard has a new general leading her troops." The words don't stick. Don't make sense when you're still thinking about Judith, who you can't imagine being outmanoeuvred, outmatched. Who's too clever to lose her life. "It's Professor Byleth, Claude. She's back."
And it brings something tight and uncomfortable into his chest, making him tense, though he doesn't tighten his grip on her at least. ]
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[ ... betrayal. ]
That can't... that can't be right.... the professor would never do that to you...
[ she remembers how worried byleth was about him-- ]
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She's not Byleth as you know her. [ Because, despite his own feelings, he doesn't want to sully Maya's relationship with someone that she cares about. ] It's complicated.
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