Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem: Three Houses or its characters, I only own Blythe, Celine, and the changes in the plot that I make in the war phase.

Enjoy the chapter!

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Last Time:

"Gods... how could I have been so oblivious?" Felix muttered, slamming the door to his room once he was inside. "The name and hair could have been conditional, but that just proved it."

Felix pulled out a small hairclip from a secure place in his room. "Glenn only taught that wrist move to Celine and I. No one else in Faerghus knows it."

He placed the hairclip back in the drawer, closing it. Felix walked out of his room, closing the door behind him.

"It was so obvious. Blythe found Celine four years ago with amnesia, right after Duscur. We lost Glenn and Celine at Duscur, but now we got her back. My sister's alive... but she doesn't remember a thing."

Felix sighed. The goddess could be so cruel.

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29th of the Garland Moon, Garreg Mach Monastery, Marketplace (Late Morning), Imperial Year 1180

The marketplace was bustling with activity. While the area was always a busier part of the monastery, the free days the students had every Sunday made all of the shops even busier than normal. Sometimes, the shopkeepers had a hard time keeping up with all of the activity!

Some students were in the marketplace for recreational purposes, using the area to spend time with their friends. Other students, on the other hand, only used the marketplace for business, even if it was a free day.

Celine was one of those students who only came to the marketplace on business purposes. In her current circumstance, she was helping Byleth complete some last minute preparations for their upcoming mission the next day.

The blue-haired young woman blew some of her bangs out of her face. However, they just fell right back down. Lightly growling in frustration, Celine tucked them behind her ear... as much as she could, anyway.

"I need to get Hilda or Dorothea to trim these." Celine muttered to herself, weaving through a group of people with a brief apology. "My bangs are getting too long. I like my bangs, but this is ridiculous. They're going to impair my sight during battle if they get any longer."

When Celine was just getting her hair into the right place, a gust of wind blew through the marketplace. It tossed Celine's hair into a jumble, making her have to fix her hair again. However, when she was fixing her hair, the piece of paper in her hand blew away as well.

"Can this day get any worse!?" Celine groaned, chasing after the small piece of paper. She sprinted through small crowds of people, her hand desperately trying to grab the paper flying through the air. "Sorry! Coming through!"

People moved out of the way at Celine's yell, but none of them offered to help. They just watched as a young woman, with her dark blue hair in a ponytail, chased after a piece of paper. The townspeople shook their heads and continued on with their day.

After chasing the paper for what seemed like an eternity, Celine saw the paper gently land on the ground.

"...Finally!" Celine heaved, stumbling to a stop. Her chest burned as she rested her hands on her legs, bending over. She tried, in vain, to catch her breath. Someone picked up the piece of paper. Celine widened her eyes. "Hey-! ...I need that! Give it back!"

She heard the person who grabbed the paper lightly turn it around in their hands. They gave off a small hum as they read the contents of the paper.

"Vulneraries, Concoctions, and Antitoxins. Are you on a supply run. Moonbeam?"

Celine's thoughts halted in their tracks. Only one person called her Moonbeam, even if it just started in that month...

"Sylvain?" Celine looked up, albeit a bit sluggishly. Her dark blue eyes met Sylvain's brown ones. He smiled at her with a nod. She smiled back as she responded with, "Yeah. I'm just getting some supplies to prepare for our mission tomorrow. The professor couldn't do it this time. He tried to ask Blythe, but she was already doing something today with Ashe. If I had to guess, it's probably to keep his mind off of Lonato. I was going to train today, but I can always do it later."

Sylvain nodded while he helped Celine stand upright. He gave her back the piece of paper, letting her stick it into a pocket of her uniform. "Need some help? I'm happy to assist a wonderful woman."

"Did your date not go well? You normally don't flirt with me unless you have some ulterior motive." Celine crossed her arms, her energy now returning to her. When she saw Sylvain look away from her, Celine gave out a small smirk. "I thought so."

Sylvain's shoulders sagged, his eyes turning slightly downcast. "How did you know, Celine?"

"Your posture and demeanor. Even if you're trying to hide it, it's obvious to those who know you. We don't have the time to discuss this in detail now, but I would appreciate the help."

"Really?" Sylvain looked to Celine. He saw her place her hand on his arm, giving him a soft smile and a nod.

"Really. Once we're done with the mission, come find me in the monastery whenever you get a chance. I'll be happy to give you advice."

Sylvain shook his head fondly. "I don't know what I would do without you, Moonbeam."

"Well... I'm always happy to help."

Now with Sylvain, Celine continued her trek through the marketplace. She had a full schedule of activities to complete during her free day, so she wanted to get this shopping trip done as soon as she could.

While the two students went to the weapon vendor to get the training weapons the first time, they would have to go to a different vendor to get what they needed. They would need to go to the item vendor.

Celine reached up to fix her ponytail, which had just fallen out of her head. Her hair was now down, sprawling over her shoulders, stopping at the middle of her back. However, when she went to put her hair back up using the hair tie on her wrist, Celine felt Sylvain gently grabbing her wrists. "Keep it down. It looks better that way."

"Only when I'm not training or in a battle." Celine compromised, positioning the hair tie so it was on her wrist. She liked her blue hair cascading over her shoulders, but putting her hair up in a ponytail was something that was ingrained into her due to the mercenary band. It would be a habit that would slowly be broken as time went on.

"Always the practical one, aren't you?"

"Yep. Always have been, and always will be."

After a few minutes of walking, Sylvain and Celine finally arrived at the bustling center of the marketplace. Quickly scanning through the stalls and canopies, Celine found where they needed to go. Both her and Sylvain walked over to the stall they needed, where they were greeted by the item vendor.

"Hello! How can I help you both today?" The vendor asked, putting on her best smile. She was behind the counter, leaning on the edge of it.

"We're here to pick up an order made by Byleth Eisner." Celine said, stating the purpose of the two Blue Lion students.

The merchant's eyes lit up in recognition. "Oh! The new professor of the Officer's Academy. Are the two of you his students?"

"Only a few of them." Sylvain responded, easily wrapping his arms around Celine's shoulders. "We need what the Professor ordered to prepare for our mission."

The vendor nodded, disappearing into the confines of her stall. She came out again a few seconds later with a cloth bag in her hand.

"Here you go!" The vendor slid the bag across the counter, letting Celine pick it up. "Your Professor already paid ahead. Have a nice day!"

Celine said a quick goodbye to the vendor while her and Sylvain left the marketplace.

They would enjoy this free day while it lasted. The next day, little did they know, would be full of hardships for the Blue Lion House.

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30th of the Garland Moon, Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, Magdred Way (Early Morning), Imperial Year 1180

As soon as the first peek of the sun came over the horizon, the Blue Lions and the Knights of Seiros left on their mission. The Blue Lions left earlier than when they left for their mission the prior month, so even those who were wide awake last time were somewhat incapacitated.

Byleth and Dimitri were the only two Blue Lions who were still wide awake. Catherine, the leader of the knights the Blue Lions were assigned with, was wide awake as well.

"The last time I woke up this early was about three months ago." Blythe moaned, stumbling into Dimitri. He steadied her while giving her a soft smile. "...I need to... get used to this again."

"You're used to the monastery schedule, aren't you?" Catherine looked back at the turquoise-haired Eisner. "Going back to a mercenary and knight schedule is jarring, even I will admit that."

Blythe sluggishly nodded in response.

Celine walked up to the four individuals, somehow wide awake. She tapped Blythe on the shoulder, giving a long, rectangular piece of something to Blythe. "Here. Eating something crunchy always helps me wake up when I'm in a hurry."

"So that's why I always see you eating granola bars early in the morning." Blythe realized, lightly grabbing the bar in Celine's hand. She took a bite of the granola bar, savoring the crunchy texture in her mouth. Blythe perked up after a few bites, now smiling and wide awake. "This really does work! Where did you get this trick from?"

The blue-haired swordsman shrugged her shoulders in response, taking a bite of her own granola bar. "It's always been second nature to me. Maybe it was a habit from my past?"

"That's the most likely possibility." Byleth cut in. Catherine looked over to the four Blue Lion members beside her, bewildered at what both Celine and Byleth said. "What are you two even talking about?"

"If the archbishop mentioned an amnesiac in the Blue Lion House, she was talking about me." Celine said, waving her hand. She put her hair, which Blythe just noticed was down, up into a ponytail. "I've lost most of my memories before four years ago. They've slowly been coming back, along with me just noticing that I had a Crest of some kind."

Dimitri quirked an eyebrow. "Do you know which Crest it was? That would surely narrow down, or even solidify, your lineage."

"No. I'm not as Crest-savvy as other people." Celine shook her head, frustrated. "I just notice that some of my sword strikes are stronger than my other ones. Sometimes, I even get faster than I normally am."

"Hmm..." Dimitri trailed off in response.

Catherine widened her eyes slightly, but none of the Blue Lions noticed it. The blonde-haired knight had a bit of a... unique ability. For as long as she could remember, Catherine could sense a person's Crest just by looking at them. What Celine just said explained why Catherine sensed a Crest of Fraldarius from Celine.

'Looks like the Prince's childhood friend that went with him survived Duscur, after all. She doesn't know yet, so I'm not going to tell her. Only give her guidance when she asks for it. Celine needs to find out on her own.'

While the group journeyed through the path they were walking on, the back group was guarded by the Knights of Seiros. The front group, the group with Byleth the others, scouted ahead.

A few hours later, the group came into a clearing. Blythe looked around at the foggy atmosphere, not able to see anything. "It's so foggy here. Are we even near Gaspard territory?"

"We're actually in Gaspard territory right now. We're on Magdred Way."

"Oh! Ashe!" Blythe turned around, watching the gray-haired archer stop and stand next to Celine. He had a turbulent expression on his face, fiddling with his fingers. Since they were so close to the rebellion site, Blythe could understand Ashe's apprehension.

"My apologies for not stating this earlier." Dimitri turned to Catherine, moving his hand as he spoke with awe. "I have to say... It's a real honor to accompany such a brave and distinguished knight. None other than Catherine, wielder of Thunderbrand!"

"Thunderbrand?" Byleth crossed his arms.

Catherine shook her head, raising both of her shoulders. She gestured to the old and ancient sword in her sword sheathe, the stone inside glowing red whenever Catherine's hand brushed against it. "You mean you don't know? My weapon is called Thunderbrand. It's one of the Heroes' Relics."

The Blue Lions present looked at the sword while Catherine explained the sword's origin. "A long, long time ago, the goddess bestowed divine weapons upon ten heroes, which were passed down to their descendants."

"It's an honor to wield, but I'm afraid there won't be any chance for that today." Catherine told the group. "Our mission is to help clean up the aftermath, not to fight."

Ashe looked down, his shoulders shaking. Celine placed a hand on his shoulder. "Ashe?"

"Why would Lonato incite such a reckless rebellion?" Ashe shook his head, his green eyes filled with sorrow.

Catherine responded to Ashe, her voice devoid of the bombastic tone it was a few seconds ago. "You should know more about that than any of us, Ashe."

"Well I don't. Lonato never mentioned anything of the like to me."

Blythe nodded in agreement, resting her chin on her fingers, her signature thinking position. "He's right. Ashe told me that at the beginning of the month."

"He probably didn't want you getting caught up in his own personal vendetta." Dimitri responded, shaking his head.

"What vendetta?" Byleth's voice cut in.

Catherine moved her head so she was facing Byleth. "How much do you know about the Tragedy of Duscur, Professor?"

"I've heard of it. Especially in recent times. However, if you want to explain it from the beginning, I would not be opposed."

"Very well." Catherine's face dropped as she explained the tragedy. "It's when the king of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus was... was murdered by the people of Duscur. It happened about four years ago..."

She stopped herself from continuing. Normally, she wouldn't have stopped her explanation, but Dimitri was to her left. The knight looked towards Dimitri, who gave her a gesture to continue. "It's okay, Catherine. Please, go on."

"Right." Catherine brought her left hand to her head. "Well, Lord Lonato's son, Christophe, was accused of being involved in that whole awful affair. He was executed by the Church."

"Why was the king targeted?" Byleth asked, positioning himself into a thinking position.

Dimitri looked down, lightly clenching his fist with a shaky breath. Blythe rested a hand on his arm, looking at the prince beside her. Catherine was about to explain, but Dimitri rose a hand. "Let me, Catherine..."

The prince looked towards Byleth. "At the time, my father, King Lambert, was attempting a political reform. That potential reform left him in a position where he was heavily scrutinized. As king, he had many enemies, but his political reform took it to the extreme."

Dimitri let his explanation soak in for a second, but Blythe took her hand off of Dimitri's arm. Her eyes, hiding her heavy befuddlement, addressed Catherine with a question. "The church executes criminals?"

"Speaking from the church's perspective, we simply passed judgement according to our doctrine in place of the Kingdom, which was in complete chaos." Catherine explained before saying something else. "Whatever the truth behind that incident may be, Lord Lonato has harbored resentment toward the church ever since."

"Well..." Catherine looked down to the ground, guilt running rampant through her mind. "To be more specific, his grudge isn't only against the church. It's also against the one who turned Christophe over to them..."

"Lady Catherine! A report!" One of the knights ran up to the group, interrupting their conversation. All of them looked to the knight, faces serious. "The enemy is approaching! They can't be avoided. Their numbers are far greater than we predicted. They used the fog to slip past the knights' perimeter!"

"Damn!" Catherine cursed. "It looks like our mission just changed, Professor. Everyone, prepare for battle!"

"Celine, Ashe! Mobilize the Lions! We don't have a moment to lose!" Byleth commanded the two, both Blue Lions running back to the crowd further back. The professor looked towards his sister and Dimitri. "You two stay together during the fight. We're using the same system that we used last moon. I'll fight with you guys as well."

"Understood, Professor." Dimitri nodded his head. Catherine, Byleth, Blythe, and Dimitri unsheathed their weapons, ready to defend themselves from the ambush.

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30th of the Garland Moon, Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, Magdred Way (Morning), Imperial Year 1180

Celine and Ashe dashed through the forest, jumping over any tree roots and branches. The rest of the class was further back from the clearing, stationed with the rest of the knights.

The female swordsman led the way, but her pace slowed a little bit when she heard sniffling behind her.

"Ashe. Look at me." Celine stopped, glancing at the gray-haired archer. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve before looking up.

Celine walked over and placed her free hand on Ashe's shoulder. "I know this is hard for you, but we have no choice. We have to defend ourselves and incapacitate this rebellion as much as we can."

"It doesn't make it any easier." Ashe gasped, holding his bow tightly, his knuckles turning white. The arrows in his quiver moved as Ashe's shoulders shook. "I've grown up with some of the people we're about to fight. I don't want to kill them! There has to be another way, Celine!"

"There's not." Celine shook her head. Her eyes were filled with regret at Ashe's circumstances. "How about this; I'll talk with the Professor and see if you can be in the rear of our formation. That way, you won't have to kill any of your countrymen."

Ashe just wordlessly nodded in response.

"I'll handle everything with the rest of the class." Celine began to run again. Ashe followed behind her as Celine continued her statement. "We don't have much time. Byleth, Blythe, Dimitri, and Catherine could have been forced into combat by now."

"....Right."

"Hang in there, Ashe."

"I'll try."

They ran through the forest at a faster pace than before. After a few minutes of running, Celine knew her and Ashe were almost where the class was. She suddenly ducked, avoiding a low-hanging tree branch that popped out from the fog.

That was how she knew. Celine ran into the branch when she passed this part of the forest the first time. The second time through... she knew it was coming.

Hearing voices up ahead, Celine beckoned Ashe to follow her. As he did so, both of them burst into the clearing.

Annette, who was talking with Felix and Sylvain, whirled around at the noise. "Bah!"

"Celine? Ashe?" Sylvain put his hand on his hip, watching his classmates come to a stop. His jovial expression quickly disappeared once he saw Celine's serious expression and Ashe's saddened one.

"What's going on?" Felix asked while crossing his arms over his chest.

Celine's eyes glanced over to where Sylvain was. However, she quickly shook her head.

'Ask him about the memory later. If he was in it, he'll explain. We have other things to worry about.'

"The rebellion used the fog to surround and ambush us. The Professor's calling us to combat."

"We only have two knights..." Annette trailed off, fidgeting her fingers. "The others had to engage bandits and militia."

Felix tsked, drawing his sword. "The two knights are going to have to suffice."

Celine and Sylvain nodded in agreement. Celine walked forward, clearing her throat.

"HEY!"

Mercedes, Dedue, Ingrid, and the two knights looked over to Celine.

"Lady Catherine and Professor Byleth are requesting our help in the forest ahead! The rebellion has used the dense fog to surround us. We need to take matters into our own hands and incapacitate this rebellion ourselves!" Celine drew her sword as she addressed the small crowd.

Felix looked over to Celine, hearing everyone get ready behind him. "We'll follow your lead until we get to the Professor."

"Let's go!" Celine yelled to the group, her and Ashe leading the way to Catherine and Byleth. "We don't have any time to lose!"

The two knights yelled while the rest of the Blue Lions followed Ashe and Celine. Those knights brought up the rear of the formation, and the Blue Lions brought up the front.

Ashe expertly weaved through the dense fog covering Magdred Way. With his expertise, along with Celine's ability to lead, the Blue Lions quickly arrived to where Byleth, Blythe, Dimitri, and Catherine were.

"Thank you both." Byleth quickly addressed Celine and Ashe, also listening to Celine's quick whisper, before addressing the rest of the Blue Lions. "We don't have much time. Our forces are going to be attacked at any minute. Sylvain and Annette, form the middle of our formation. Ingrid and Ashe, you both form the rear of the formation. Felix and Celine will float between the vanguard and the middle, while Mercedes and Dedue will float between the middle and the rear. Dimitri, Blythe, and I will form the vanguard. Am I understood?"

"Understood, Professor!"

Byleth turned around as everyone heard rustling from the forest ahead.

Brandishing his sword, Byleth sighed at what the Blue Lions were about to do.

All of them, not counting his siblings, needed to learn that some combat can't be avoided by diplomacy. Sometimes, ideals face ideals. His students would be taught a valuable lesson...

...You can't save them all.

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I had to split this one up into two. Next part will have the battle.

Hope to see you next time on...

Chapter 19: Lonato's Fate

- YugiohChick