The Lady and the Thief
by Cyberchao X

Chapter 1: New Beginnings

"Ah, Ingrid. You're looking as lovely as ever."

"Can it, Sylvain." Ingrid Brandl Galatea had no patience for her childhood friend's flirtations. "I'm sure there are plenty of girls here who don't know you well enough not to fall for your flattery, and besides, you know all too well why we couldn't be together even if we wanted to." Sylvain sighed in agreement. It was true, part of the reason he'd befriended Ingrid long before they'd arrived here at Garreg Mach was that she was a kindred soul—born with a Crest, and thus, hailed as the savior of House Galatea. Her father wanted to marry her off to a noble that would increase House Galatea's prestige…but as a Crest-bearer himself, Sylvain had his own house to eventually run. Were he to marry Ingrid, her house would likely be absorbed into Gautier. He set off in search of an easier mark.

Ingrid sized up her new classmates. In addition to Sylvain, she had another childhood friend in Felix Hugo Fraldarius. There was, of course, Crown Prince Dimitri, whom she hoped to make a good impression on as despite her duties as a Crest-bearer, what she really wanted was to be a knight, along with his retainer, Dedue. Curious, that the Prince would take on a Duscuri as a retainer, given what they did to the royal family. Unless he believed they were unfairly blamed? That was possible. It was none of her business.

The heir to the Barony of Dominic was here, too, excitedly talking with a…commoner? They appeared to have known each other already, just as she had with Felix and Sylvain. Maybe the taller girl was a noble after all. She certainly looked like a noble. When everyone had been introduced, she used the surname "Martriz", which Ingrid vaguely knew to be a fallen house. Perhaps that was it, this "Mercedes" girl was born into nobility but held no title now. Typical noble squabbles. This whole system was broken. In that respect, she was somewhat glad that the heirs of the Emperor of Adrestia and the Duchy of Riegan were here at the same time, leading the other two houses. Both of them seemed to have some disdain for the system as well, and perhaps the three house leaders could be the ones to unite Fódlan. She wasn't quite sure what to make of Claude, but Edelgard seemed to be of similar mind to Prince Dimitri. She'd heard they were actually stepsiblings. That sounded like it could be a good thing. Which left only one member of her house unaccounted for…

Dimitri was confused. No less than the Archbishop's right hand, Seteth, had told him to keep a close eye on a member of his class. Ashe Ubert. Seteth had said that Ashe came from a house that might hold a grudge against the church, but Dimitri had never heard of any "House Ubert" and besides the boy didn't appear to be of the nobility, though he did seem to have a strong sense of justice befitting a knight. He resolved to find out what the issue was.

Ashe sprung to attention and bowed as soon as he saw Dimitri approach. "At ease. Right now, I want you to think of me merely as your house leader, not as the Crown Prince."

"O-okay. What can I do for you, sir?"

"As a leader, it's important for me to get to know everyone that I am leading. Er, in the general sense, I suppose. It'd be hard for me to get to know every one of my subjects personally once I am king. But at any rate, what brings you to the Officer's Academy? No offense, but you don't appear to be, er…from a family that would be able to afford such a thing."

"I'm not, originally. My parents ran a restaurant out in the country. But then they died of illness, and as the oldest child, it was up to me to provide for myself and my younger siblings. I couldn't even manage that legitimately, so I…became a thief." The boy looked downcast. "And for a little while, I was able to get away with it, and was able to allow my younger siblings to live comfortably. But then I got caught…and it was the best thing to ever happen to me. When Lord Lonato heard my plight, he took the three of us in and raised us as his own. I'd be nowhere without his kindness. I'm here at the Officer's Academy to learn how to be a proper noble; I have to, since…I'm once again the oldest son." Again, a bit of nervousness. And now Dimitri understood. Lonato was the head of House Gaspard, a rather minor noble house with a small territory on the border with the Empire. His only son had been executed by the Church. Dimitri had thought him to be without any further heirs, and that upon his death, Gaspard would either pass into the control of House Rowe or possibly even get absorbed back into the Adrestian Empire. And frankly, it wasn't an important enough territory to go to war over if it came to that. But it seemed that Lonato had in fact adopted a trio of orphans, the oldest of which was now standing before Dimitri. This was definitely a good thing. Dimitri had seen over the years how corrupt nobles could be; Ashe's humble origins and hardscrabble life, combined with his strong sense of justice and exposure to what nobles should be—kind and nurturing leaders—made him ideal to lead a noble house. Perhaps Gaspard was worth sending aid to if they ever needed it, after all.

The Black Eagles had even fewer commoners among them than the Blue Lions, and yet, it was among those sparse ranks that Ingrid had found a new friend. Dorothea was a protégé of one of the teachers at the monastery, a former opera singer, and she was…well, in some ways, she reminded her of Sylvain. On the one hand, Sylvain would no doubt see her as one of those women only after him for his Crest, and on the other, she'd see him as one of those stuck-up nobles who only care about prospective mates' background. They'd be perfect for each other. Marrying a commoner would fit right into Sylvain's grand joke.

The rest of the Black Eagles, on the other hand, she could do without. Lady Edelgard was certainly a strong and admirable leader, but there was something intimidating about her despite her short stature, which was no doubt aided by the downright sinister appearance of her chosen retainer, Hubert von Vestra. Then there was Ferdinand von Aegir, who didn't even make an attempt to hide the fact that he hoped to usurp the Hresvelg Dynasty; Caspar von Bergliez, a bloodthirsty glory seeker; Linhardt von Hevring, an absolute sloth of a man whose scholarly curiosity would be admirable in a commoner but would likely get in the way of his duties as a noble. She hadn't even gotten to see Count Varley's daughter, who was apparently extremely skittish and preferred to shut herself away in her room, and then there was the princess of Brigid, who seemed amicable but there was a bit of a language barrier. Not exactly the best start to the Academy's goal of fostering unity between the nations; but then again Ingrid was only a minor noble. Crown Prince Dimitri was already on very good terms with the future Emperor. Besides, given Galatea's location, it would be more important for her to find common ground with the members of the Golden Deer.

Ashe had expected to have more trouble making friends at the academy. He'd quickly bonded with a member of his own house, one whose story mirrored his own—born a noble, her house had fallen shortly after she was born, and she'd eventually wound up raised in a church, a commoner. They bonded over their faith and their shared love of cooking. And there were a pair of merchant's children from the Leicester Alliance, one meek and one boisterous, but both clearly good men. He enjoyed hearing about other parts of the world.

But it was upstairs from the cathedral where he'd bonded with Mercedes that Ashe found true happiness. What a beautiful library the monastery had! He looked around for some of his favorite books. Yes, there it is, the book that had caught his eye as a child, before he even learned how to read. "Loog and the Maiden of the Wind". There was someone else in the library. She appeared very young, even though her hair seemed to be going white. Ashe paid her no mind as he sat down to start rereading his favorite book.

CCX: So yeah, this chapter is taking place when the students first arrive at Garreg Mach Monastery, before Byleth even enters the picture. I have to admit, I haven't even gotten around to a playthrough of the Blue Lions' route; I started with the Golden Deer, and am currently on my first playthrough of the Black Eagles' route. So if I do decide to go with the Blue Lions' route for this story, which seems smartest because both of the characters involved are in that house, it may be a little while before I can get it finished.

But I just had to start it now! Even taking out the genre requirement, a search for both Ingrid and Ashe yielded precisely jack squat. Which is criminal because as soon as I got their C-Support I was like "must advance this support all the way". They're so cute together!