Chapter Text
The day had finally arrived in which he would enroll at the Officers Academy at Garreg Mach Monastery. Donned in the traditional Golden Deer house leader uniform, Claude trotted along the halls of the monastery on his way to the chapel, to await the entrance ceremony. He found himself mesmerized by the structure of the almost a millenia old building, nothing alike anything from his home country or the Leicester Alliance.
Claude had payed a visit to the eastern church in the Alliance territory prior to his arrival, but the chapel of the central church was on a whole different level. He found himself awestruck admiring the design and the reflected light creating mesmerizing patterns along the decorative walls. Exiting the halls leading up to the bridge connecting to his destination, his eyes wandered to the cliques of students merrily chatting amongst each other and walking across the bridge. Smiling at the bright mood he entered the breathtaking chapel.
Inevitably, a few students have noticed his yellow cape and so the whispers began. After all, this would be his first appearance as duke Riegan’s grandson outside of the Alliance. Even within Leicester, almost only those attending the roundtable had met him before. Claude paid them no mind, basking in the enigmatic nature surrounding him, and moved ahead to chat up the two persons sitting at the front. If the rumors were true, these two would be the future rulers of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus and the Adestrian Empire respectively.
“Hey! So, judging by the fancy capes you are wearing, I assume you are my fellow house leaders?” Claude greeted, positioning himself in front of them.
The boy with the blue cape immediately rose from his seat and executed a respectful bow when answering. “Ah, yes, you are correct. My name is Dimitri Alexandre Blayddid and I am to be the leader of the Blue Lions this year. It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person, von Riegan.”
Bingo! Claude thought. That was indeed the prince of Faerghus in the flesh. And that introduction… That… was probably the most sincere delivery Claude had ever heard directed towards him. “Wow, your princeliness, no need to be so formal, we are all students here you know. Just Claude is fine” he said while sending Dimitri a wink.
“Ah, but then I must insist you call me Dimitri as well”, the prince said with a flustered expression.
“We will see what I can do about that,” Claude sent Dimitri a smile and turned to the third person, who had yet to utter a single word, simply opting to observe him with a watchful eye. “And you, princess, must be Edelgard then?” he asked with a smile.
“That I am”, she answered curtly. “It is indeed nice to finally be able to connect a face with your name. You were announced as heir to the Riegan House only about a year ago if I’m not mistaken”, Edelgard inquired with a piercing look.
This analyzing look Claude was more familiar with than the politeness of the prince, and he replied easily “That’s right! So, sorry for not being able to meet either of you until now, but it has been a busy year, trying to catch up to all the Alliance politics no one ever told me I would ever need beforehand.”
“Oh that is understandable and we bear no ill will against you Claude” Dimitri started, before being followed up by Edelgard.
“Yes, likewise on my side, but If you don’t mind me asking, how come we never heard about you until now? Usually if a noble household produces a child, we would have been notified about it.” the princess stated scrutinizing Claude.
“Oh my, princess! We just met and you are already expecting me to spill all the juicy details?” He knew he should try to be on better foot with the next emperor, but he couldn’t really resist giving her his evasive an by Fódland standards possibly rude reply, mentally kicking himself for letting it slip.
Before Edelgard could retort, however, the Archbishop’s right hand man’s voice boomed at all students to sit down and give him their attention. Edelgard swallowed whatever she was was about to say, while Dimitri and Claude proceeded to sit down and turn their heads forward.
Once silence settled in the chamber, the man presented himself as Seteth and proceeded with the whole “Welcome to school, we expect great deeds from you, here is all the rules we need to tell you even if you are going to forget them all by the end of the day.” Of course, Seteth didn’t say it quite like that, but both him and Claude knows the reality of first days. Then the archbishop herself made her appearance and informed them about the schedule of the introduction weeks.
Claude didn’t pay too much attention to what she was saying. Glancing to his left he saw both Edelgard and Dimitri sitting straight backed like textbook students. He guessed the nobles of the Empire and Kingdom were at least as stuck up and 'proper' like some certain Alliance nobles he knew of.
Claude let his mind wander as to why he came here in the first place. His grandfather had often mentioned the vast amount of knowledge that could be found in ancient structures, even more so when they contain the whole history of Fódlan within its library walls. Feelings of excitement and curiosity fluttered through him at the thoughts of the library. Of course, another reason to come here was to get to know the two rulers to be beside him as they were important characters for his dream, and maybe, just maybe, this time, he could be accepted as someone’s friend...
The feeling of Dimitri rising beside him startled Claude out of his thoughts and he noticed Edelgard were standing as well. Spotting the expectant gaze from the archbishop led him to put two and two together to join his fellow House leaders to introduce themselves to their soon to be classmates or even housemates. When he turned around to face his crowd, as expected, many of the eyes are on him, regarding him with curiosity and trying to size him up. The defense mechanism activated on its own as Claude’s lips morphed into a smile and his eyes went blank as they scanned over the students.
This probably was the first time for many students to be in the presence of any of the future heirs of the lands of Fódlan, but Claude was well aware his presence was the most enigmatic out of the three of them. His whole upbringing had been shrouded in rumors since he was announced to inherit house Riegan. Let them be mystified by him. That’s probably for the better anyways.
The house leaders introduced themself briefly. Edelgard greeted everyone with confidence and inspiration. Dimitri charmed the audience with his proper and polite tone and finally Claude could put in his share of words. Which wasn’t spectacular by any means, a simple introduction and a wish for everyone to get along. With that, the archbishop spoke up and asked the students to go to their respective classrooms in one hour. Until then, they were free to unload their belongings in the dormitory and explore parts of the monastery.
The chapel was filled with the sound of people rising to their feets and excited voices as the students left the halls to settle in at the dormitory. Edelgard gave Dimitri and Claude a small nod.
“I would love to talk more with the two of you, however, Hubert is waiting for me right now. I hope you can settle in nicely at the monastery in the meantime.” And with that, Edelgard sent them a last look before joining the masses of students exiting the chapel.
“Hmmm,” Claude mused. “She is kinda intense, buuuut I’d say it could be fun to ruffle the princess’ feathers, don’t you think?” He put his hands behind his head and tilted slightly in Dimitri’s direction.
“Please Claude, try to be respectful,” Dimitri voiced with his brows knitted together.
“Easy, Lion! I would never harm a single hair of any of my dear school mates,” Claude responded while throwing his hands out and shaking his head dramatically. Giving the prince a sly look, thinking he was way to kind-hearted to understand his sarcastic and teasing undertones. “No, seriously, I just like to rile people up from time to time. Makes life more interesting. But I could tone it down a little around you if it makes you uncomfortable?” Claude offered, genuinely not wanting to offend Dimitri.
“I appreciate your offer, however, I would not like for you to conciously have to restrain your behaviour around me.” Of all responses, Claude had not expected that. “I’d much prefer you to treat me as you would any of your friends”.
Did… did he just say friend? Claude was still taken aback at how open Dimitri was to him. Not a single hint of malice to be detected. Of course it wasn’t on a personal level, but hearing even one person unconditionally saying they would accept him was a first. None of the “Are you really the grandson of the duke?”, “What’s wrong with your eyes?” or even more hurtful comments. Still Claude couldn’t stop the thought of it being a facade of the prince from creeping its way into his mind. He quickly shoved those thoughts to the back of his mind as it first had given him a small chunk of hope. In the end he let out a small laugh.
“Hehe, as you wish then, your royalness!”
“Your highness,” a deep voice belonging to a tall student called out from the entrance to the chapel.
“Dudue,” Dimitri perked up. “Do not feel obliged to wait for me. Once Claude and I are done talking for now, I promise I will meet you up at the dormitory.”
“My mind will not be at ease until I see you have reached your destination safely your highness,” Dudue asked filled with more concern than Claude had ever heard anyone speak with in all his years.
A relented sigh left Dimitri’s lips. “It seems my friend insists on me not to be late for the class gathering.” Which wasn’t quite how Claude had interpreted Dudue’s words, but he believed Dimitri. “Do you have any errands somewhere, or would you like to accompany us on the walk there?” He invited with hopeful eyes. Seemed like getting his large buddy to go ahead was a lost cause then.
“Nah, I’d like to get unpacked as well, so I guess I’ll tag along.” There was no way Claude would say no to those eyes and he wasn’t quite done conversing with Dimitri anyways. Besides, a stop by his room was already on his todo-list. When the two boys strode over to Dudue, Claude decided to try strike up a conversation.
“So, your name was Dudue right? I’m Claude! I assume you and his princeliness go way back?” He swayed slightly towards Dimitri.
“You are correct,” the large man said slowly.
“Dudue and I met four years ago,” Dimitri supplied. “We have stayed together since then”. Dimitri glanced downwards for a moment as he spoke.
The utterance of four years and the motion of the prince’s eyes got the gears in Claude’s mind turning. He had an inkling feeling he had read something about that time frame and Faerghus in one of the many literatures he came across since arriving in Fódlan about three years ago. Asking his company about it wasn’t an option, as it would give away he that the past events and politics in the continent wasn’t completely ingrained in him. Luckily, his mind managed to dig up the connection on its own.
The Tragedy of Duscur.
Shit! He tried to recall the conversation he had with Dimitri until know, hoping he hadn’t said anything insensitive. Then again, the prince seemed to have hard time keeping his feelings reeled in completely and Claude took pride in his ability to read people, so he was fairly certain he hadn’t brought up any too unpleasant memories for the prince.
“Huh, that is quite some time,” Claude mused, deciding not to inquire further. Regicide was not on top of his ‘good topics and icebreakers for your first day in school’. “Hey, why don’t you tell me a little about Faerghus? I have barely been given the chance to go there and I’d love to hear about Kingdom specialities if you’d tell me.” Claude thought he’d direct the conversation to a lighter topic.
The walk to the dormitory area was not particularly long, yet the trio managed to discuss everything between the food of their respective territory and their weapons of choice. Dimitri’s eyes had lit up at the prospect of lance practice and had expressed great interest in sparring with Claude, as none of his closer friends preferred archery. Dedue did not participate much in the conversation himself, but put on fondest smile that had ever graced the world at the notion of the prince’s excited demeanor. He seemed content to merely listen in so neither Dimitri or Claude tried to force a more active roll upon him.
Before they knew it, they had arrived at the first floor where they had to split from Dudue, but not before Dimitri agreed to meet up with him again before dinner. .
“It was nice meeting you! See you around later.” Claude waved.
Dedue gave him a small nod and left the remaining two on their own.
“Well then, shall we?” Dimitri suggested, while gesturing towards the stairs to the second floor.
“After you,” Claude snickered while performing a mock bow. Dimitri shaked his head at the clearly teasing movement, but began climbing the stairs nonetheless.
For a few moments, only the creaking of the stairs could be heard, but Claude had one more thing he wanted to say before they would go their separate ways.
“Hey, what I said earlier still stands,” Claude began, waiting for Dimitri to turn his head slightly before continuing. “I won’t hold my punches with you unless you change your mind. Also I’m looking forward to see the princely lance skills in action soon,” Claude ended with a wink.
“Thank you Claude,” Dimitri smiled back. “It means a lot to me and for the record, I am very much anticipating to go against your archery. If you have a free day this week, maybe we could arrange a friendly duel?”
“No matter what my schedule looks like, I can always find some time, only for you!” Claude grinned at the blush forming on the prince’s cheeks.
“Ah, well, um… Thank you,” he stuttered awkwardly before smiling and musing. “You are quite the character. I’ll hope to see you soon, Claude.” With that, Dimitri dipped his head in a bow and let his steps echo down the hallway.
“Quite a character, huh?” Claude whispered to himself while watching Dimitri take off further along the walls and grasped the handle of the door to his new home.