Chapter Text
The night of the ball had finally arrived. You were never one to engage in social activities, despite your status of nobility. You had always thought that this was due to not having a crest, your entire bloodline having been born without one for at least two generations now, and your parents were embarrassed about it. You also really saw balls and other noble like frivolities to be a waste of time.
But maybe it would’ve been good for your parents to have at least tried to let you attend one. Not because only your older siblings had the potential of finding someone to marry that had a crest and continuing the bloodline so you wouldn’t need to worry about it.
But because you were the only one left.
The Tragedy of Duscur haunted you four years later, leaving you with awful memories that plagued your mind every day. You wished you had perished alongside the rest of your family, but Sothis seemed to have other plans. Even despite their passing, you were still given a chance to live on with the nobility. The chance to at least revive your house.
You had been adopted by Margrave Gautier, becoming close friends with Sylvain as a result. You had also become friends with Dimitri, Felix, Dedue, and Ingrid by default once you integrated into living with Sylvain. Despite being friends with all five of them, you found it much harder to get close to the others throughout the years leading up to you coming to the academy, only getting close to Ashe and Mercedes once you came to the academy instead.
Four years really changes nothing when it comes to lack of social skills. Although Sylvain did his best to get you to go out, being successful a few times, you didn’t want to go anywhere. Speaking of Sylvain, you heard a few knocks on your door, followed by him calling your name.
Sighing, you rolled yourself out of your bed and went to go and open the door to your dorm room. “Do you need something, Sylvain?” you ask, regretting even asking the question. “You haven’t gotten ready yet? The ball is starting soon. You can’t dodge me on this one, you promised you would come.” Sylvain said, frowning when he had seen you were still in your academy uniform. “I promised?” you asked, quite obviously playing dumb. Letting out a groan of slight frustration, Sylvain gently moved you so he could enter your dorm. “Yes, you did promise me actually. Like, the beginning of the month when Lady Rhea announced it to our class?” he said quizzically as he kept his eyes on you.
“It seems to have slipped my mind then, I really don’t remember.” you say, closing your dorm room and moving back to sit on the edge of your bed. Sylvain crossed his arms and leaned against the door, “I reminded you every single day.”
You shrugged and looked down at your hands, fiddling with your fingers. Sylvain approached your bed and sat down next to you, leaning his head against yours.
“I know you’re still thinking about what happened four years ago…it’s okay to at least try and move on. What happened was awful, but you’re safe here. With me.” He assured you. “I will keep my eyes on you the entirety of the ball, and I’ll seat you next to me so you don’t have to be afraid of being alone.”
Hearing how much he promised to make you comfortable even when the event hadn’t started made your entire body begin to tremble.
Sylvain had always been able to read you so well, comforting you whenever you became too anxious to do anything like leave your room. He genuinely cared for you and helped you get back into the swing of things for the past for years, poking small holes in your bubble to hopefully break you out of it.
So why were you so afraid of letting go just once? Why couldn’t you just feel like nothing bad would happen at something so innocent like a ball?
You grabbed one of Sylvain’s hands, gripping it tightly. He allowed you to do so, putting his other hand on top and holding your hand like that. “I feel like I shouldn’t even be able to celebrate this Sylvain…I know how important it is, but I just can’t bring myself to try…I can’t celebrate knowing they’re gone…” you admit, shaking harder.
Tears began to prick at your eyes, and you furiously blinked to stop the waterworks that threatened to flow. Sylvain didn’t say a word, and he waited patiently for you to continue before he could give an answer.
“I feel like the goddess has it out for me…that maybe if I go to the ball to try and enjoy myself for once, something will happen to me…I know how badly you want to help me move on, and I’ve been so grateful for all that you do…I’m just so afraid that I’ll suffer the way my family did!” you finish, finally breaking down and sobbing loudly.
Sylvain gently moved the two of you onto your bed properly, holding you up against his chest to give you a sense of comfort and security. He stroked your back gently, rocking the two of you back and forth.
You continued to sob, clinging to Sylvain desperately. You felt bad that you were ruining his suit with your tears, but you couldn’t help but feel so vulnerable, defenseless, and afraid.
“I can promise you that nothing will happen to you, okay? I will always be here to protect you, everything that wants to get to you has to go through me.” he said, holding you a little closer.
Sylvain held you a little tighter, bringing his head down to be closer to yours after having been sitting straight the entire time.
“I care so much about you, you’re practically my family and have been for four years now. You’ve treated me like I was an actual human, not like any other person I’ve known.” he continued on, beginning to cry himself. “Felix and Ingrid always reprimand me for being a flirtatious jerk, and you've never done anything like that to me. I’ll do everything I can for you to be safe with me.”
“I’ll do just the same for you Sylvain...you’re all I have left in this world…” you mutter, turning your head just a bit to plant a kiss to his cheek. He reciprocated the motion, nuzzling himself into your neck after. You had never really seen Sylvain this vulnerable, you didn’t think he would even break down in front of you. You would always just pass by his room after he had just finished crying and talked to him about what it could have been.
And for once, you suddenly felt like you could let go. As if Sothis herself was giving you a night where you could be safe doing something you never did before.
You and Sylvain both gently pulled away from your tight embrace and sat up. You smiled softly, grabbing some tissues for the both of you.
Sylvain wiped your eyes first, looking at you with such adoration and endearment. You knew it was all platonic, so you didn’t mind the way he looked at you. You decided to give Sylvain that same expression of once he was done, and you helped him wipe his eyes once he was finished. “Hey…” he muttered, poking your cheek gently, “you’re smiling…I’ve always wanted to see the way you smiled…”
You let out a small laugh, continuing to wipe his eyes, “Well, I guess now you could consider yourself lucky to see it…this is a once in a lifetime thing…”
Sylvain laughed, bringing a hand to gently caress your cheek, “I’m glad I got to experience such a beautiful sight…this is a phenomenon I’ll tell all my kids and grandkids about.”
You couldn’t help but fluster, rolling your eyes jokingly. “I’m glad you decided to show me vulnerability as well Sylvain…I’m glad you trust me so much…”
He moved his hand away from your cheek, grabbing the hand you were using to wipe his tears and bringing it up to your lips to kiss it. “Anything for you, you feeling better?” he asked, moving your hand down to your lap and letting it go.
You nod and sigh, “I’m really sorry you had to see me like that…I think that was the hardest I had ever cried in front of you. I’m feeling dizzy even thinking about it.”
Sylvain let out a heartfelt laugh, but you knew it wasn’t directed towards you. “Don’t be embarrassed, it’s totally okay to cry like that. Plus,” he gave you a sly look to reassure you that it really was okay, “I’ve seen Felix cry way harder than that when we were kids. Man you really should’ve seen him.”
You couldn’t help but give a small laugh yourself, lightly slapping his hand. “Oh trust me, I’ve snuck around the monastery enough to know enough about him. I might have never interacted with him, but I’ve got a nice little bird that chirps for me.”
Sylvain made a face of fake shock, putting a hand up to his chest, “Even on me? For shame, have you no sense of other people’s privacy!” he exclaimed. You made a small face that was filled with mischief, letting out a small evil laugh. “No privacy when you say it out loud, dear Sylvain.”
He gasped, leaning back and pretending to pass out on your bed. You lightly poked his face, continuing your fake evil laugh. Sylvain began to laugh as well, opening his eyes back up. From that angle, Sylvain noticed the attire he had taken you to go buy, reminding him of what he came to do.
“I see you still have the stuff you bought…how do you feel about going to the ball now? Do you…still want to go..?” Sylvain asked, looking back over at you.
You hesitated a little, looking over at your wardrobe. You chewed your bottom lip nervously, then turned your gaze back to Sylvain. “I think…I think I will go…”
Sylvain practically shot up, grasping both your hands in his. “You will? Do you want me to have somebody to come and help you get ready? Do you want me to help you get ready?” he asked, practically beaming.
You felt warm seeing Sylvain getting so happy at hearing your decision to go to the ball, starting to feel an emotion you had never really felt before. “I think it would be best if you helped me get ready, but I think a quick shower will be a good thing to do.”
Sylvain nodded, letting your hands go, “Of course, what good is getting ready if you haven’t had the chance to clean up. I think all the showers are free now, pretty much everyone is finished getting ready but you.”
You nodded, smiling once again. You could see how much Sylvain’s expression softened whenever you smiled, and it made you feel even happier that you knew someone like him. “Can you walk me over there and wait for me..? You know…like how Mercedes does?” you ask.
Sylvain got off your bed and stood up, reaching his hand out to you, “Of course, now come on. And if you want, maybe Mercedes can come along and help us get you ready?” he offered, raising a brow. Nodding again, you took his hand and stood up, making sure to bring clean clothes with you to wear once you had to walk back to the dorms.
The two of you began to make your way to find Mercedes, and you stuck close to Sylvain as you walked. You were surprised to see nobody in the courtyard or the halls as you walked through the monastery, but glad nonetheless.
Luckily, unlike everyone else, Mercedes was still around the monastery, just sitting under the gazebo. “Hey Mercedes! What are you still doing here?” Sylvain asked as the two of you approached her.
“Oh! Hello you two,” Mercedes said softly, turning to the both of you and smiling, “I’m still waiting on Annette. She accidentally overslept from her nap and is in the showers.”
Sylvain chuckled and shook his head, “Poor Annette, she can be so clumsy even when she’s not trying to be. Are you excited for the ball?”
Mercedes nodded, smiling more. “I’ve been waiting all month for today. Are you two going together?” she asked, tilting her head to the side a little.
“Yep. We’re gonna be sitting together, I don’t want _____ to be alone tonight. Wanna join us at our table?” Sylvain asked, turning his head to look over at you. “I would love to, so long as you feel comfortable having Annette and Ashe join as well.” Mercedes said, looking to you for approval.
“I-I’m completely fine with it! The more the merrier, as they say…” you said softly, becoming flustered, “right..?”
Sylvain couldn’t help but laugh, gently caressing your hand with his thumb to assure you he wasn’t laughing at you. “Definitely right.”
“Mercie! I’m sorry to have kept you waiting! We can head over to the dorms now that I’m done!” A familiar voice yelled from afar. The three of you turned to see Annette running towards you, hair still dripping with water. “Oh Annie, your hair is still wet. Did you forget to dry it off?” Mercedes said.
“Did I really?! Oh man this won’t do…” Annette said once she was finally with you all. She gave you a small wave, and you waved back and gave kind of an awkward smile. Mercedes laughed, “It’s no worries. We can go to your room and dry it off while you get ready.”
Annette nodded, face flushing from what you would assume is embarrassment. “Oh hey, are you two going to the ball together? Are you guys…” Annette gasped, looking over at Mercedes, “going as each other’s date?!”
Your eyes widened and you started shaking your head ‘no’ and Sylvain let your hand go and put them up in front of him, “Woah woah woah, we’re only going as friends! I convinced _____ to go because I promised I would protect them while we were there! This is the first big event they’re ever going to in their life, so I’m keeping them company.” he defended quickly.
Annette pouted, “Aw I’m sorry I assumed then! Oh I feel so bad, but it’s good to see you going out _____! Do you have something to wear?” she asked, smiling at you.
You nodded, shuffling nervously. “Sylvain had taken me out to go buy something earlier this month…” Annette smiled even more at you, jumping up and down. “I bet you’re going to look amazing!” she exclaimed.
You gave a sheepish smile, shrugging. “Thank you Annette…I appreciate that…”
She gave you a thumbs up, “Well, I think Mercedes and I should get going now. If you guys need any help with getting _____ all ready, you come to my dorm okay?”
Sylvain nodded, grabbing your hand again, “We most definitely will. I was actually going to ask you guys that but you already offered so there’s no real reason for me to ask now.”
“We’ll be seeing you two then. I hope we can all have a great time together.” Mercedes said, smiling.
And with that, the two went off to the dorms to get ready. Sylvain walked you to the showers, sighing softly. “Did that drain you in any way? Do you feel tired?” he asked.
You shook your head, letting go of his hand once the two of you were in front of the doorway to enter the showers. “Okay…I promise I won’t take too long.” You say, rushing inside so you can get yourself cleaned up.
You turn the handle to turn on the warm water, seeing as it was a significantly cold night. Ethereal Moon winters were always the harshest in certain areas of Fódlan, Fhirdiad being one of those.
As you wait for the water to heat up, you begin to undress yourself. Shivering as the cold air hits you, you hang your dirty clothes in a place where they won’t get wet. You watch the water as it starts to heat up, and once you saw the slightest bit of steam coming from how hot it was, you immediately stepped under the running water.
You sighed happily, grateful that the water heated up nicely and quickly. You wasted no time in cleaning yourself up, doing your best to scrub off all the dirt and grime that made its way onto you.
It took you only about forty minutes to get yourself completely clean. Upon stepping out, you cursed as the cool air hit you.
You moved even faster to dry yourself off as much as you possibly could, warming up before dressing in the clean clothes you brought with you to the showers.
Rushing out to Sylvain, you nodded at him and went to go see Annette and Mercedes for some extra help before you changed once more into your new ball attire.
Knocking on the door to Annette’s room, Mercedes opened the door and allowed you two to come in. “I’m nearly done helping Annette get herself ready, and I’ll help you once I’m done okay _____?” Mercedes said.
“I’m okay with it, as long as I can get some further help…” you say softly, looking up at Sylvain. “Hey if you want to cut your time shorter, you can bring the outfit you’re gonna wear and change in here! I promise we won’t take much longer.” Annette said as Mercedes went back to assisting her.
“I’ll be right back, I promise.” Sylvain said, letting your hand go and immediately going to get your new clothes. Your heartbeat picked up a bit due to him leaving, but you remained calm once you saw Mercedes smile at you from the mirror.
“I bet you’re going to look absolutely fantastic _____! Do you think you’ll dance with anyone tonight?” Annette asked, looking at you from the mirror she was sitting in front of.
“Oh…I don’t know how to dance, so probably not…” you admit sheepishly, looking down at your hands. “Really? I would’ve never expected to hear of a noble that didn’t know how to dance,” Annette replied, but quickly noticed she made a mistake when she saw your figure tense a bit.
“B-But I don’t mean anything bad about it! I think it’s perfectly normal for some people to not know how to dance!” she exclaimed. “It’s okay…the only reason why I don’t know how is because my parents never really bothered to allow me to learn, let alone leave my room for too long…”
Your body soon relaxed and you sighed, rubbing your arm awkwardly. This caused a few of those thoughts you were having earlier to resurface, but you decided to keep your mouth shut.
“Well if you would like to, maybe you and I can dance together? I would be delighted to show you how some of the footwork goes.” Mercedes said, patting Annette to let her know she was finished with her. Annette moved from the chair, and ushered you to sit in it in her stead.
“Thank you for the offer Mercedes, but I think it would be best if I just didn’t learn. I don’t think I’ll stay at the ball long. I’ve been awake all day too so I’ll have a better excuse to leave early.” you say. Mercedes gently rubs your shoulder, smiling softly. “That’s completely alright, I understand your decision. I hope you can have some fun with us either way.”
Now it was your turn to give her a smile, but quickly stopping once you heard Annette gasp at the sight. “Sorry!” She said, looking away as if she had just walked in on you nude. “It’s okay, a lot of people tend to be shocked when I smile at them…” you respond, shrugging.
Soon enough, Sylvain came back into the room with the outfit you were going to wear. “Here it is, I’ll step out and wait until you’re all done. Like a little surprise for myself you know?” he said, winking at you. You roll your eyes and laugh, “Sure Sylvain, it’ll be a nice surprise for you.”
Annette can’t help but giggle, and she soon ushered him out to allow you to get dressed. “Are you comfortable with us being in the room as well? Or do you want us to get out so we don’t, you know, make you uncomfortable?” she asked, turning back to you once she closed the door.
“I don’t mind, all I would ask is if you guys could turn around and probably give some adjustments. I don’t want to make you guys super late to the ball.” You say. “Oh don’t worry if we end up being late, helping you prepare for your very first ball is all that matters.” Mercedes said, her and Annette turning away from you.
You began to undress from your spare clothes, and put on your new ball regalia. You couldn’t lie, but you were very excited to finally be able to go to a big event. It nearly cancelled out your nervousness, making your heart beat excitedly.
You decided to look at yourself in the mirror, smiling softly to yourself. “Okay, now I need your help with some extra adjustments. Should we add anything?” You asked.
Annette and Mercedes turned, gasping at how differently you looked. You flustered, nervously shuffling at the way they looked at you. “A few rings on your fingers will look nice! The ones I have don’t have anything that will cause an allergic reaction!” Annette exclaimed, making an excited jump. “I also think a necklace of mine will look nicely on you! You can keep it afterwards too.” Mercedes added.
“Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to take anything you want back…” You say softly, looking a bit worried Mercedes would take back what she said. “I don’t mind it, really. I want you to feel amazing tonight, and every other day.” Mercedes reassured, going to grab the necklace she had brought with her.
Annette had grabbed two of her rings while you and Mercedes spoke, putting them onto your hands gently. “There! You can keep those too! Little memories of tonight’s ball.” she exclaimed, gently caressing your hands. “Thank you guys so much…this is so new to me and I feel so happy I could cry.” you say softly, choking up a bit.
“Aw no don’t cry!” Annette said, going to embrace you. For once, you didn’t flinch or stiffen when someone you were nearly unfamiliar with embraced you. And with that, you couldn’t help but begin to cry once more.
Mercedes made quick work to get something to wipe your eyes as dry as she could, gently rubbing your cheek as she did so.
Hearing the commotion, Sylvain decided to step back into the room. “Hey, what’s going on?” He asked, putting aside his surprise when he saw how elegant you looked. “Ah well, it seems that _____ got so worked up over their excitement, that they’ve begun to cry!” Annette said, trying to calm you down.
Sylvain’s expression softened and he walked closer to the three of you, gently turning your head to face him. “I’m so glad you’re excited, but we need to stop these tears before we head over to the hall, okay?” he said softly. You nodded and allowed Mercedes to get back to wiping your eyes, slowly bringing yourself to a stop.
After about two minutes, you had finally calmed down enough to stop crying. There was a gentle knock at the door, and Sylvain moved away to open the door. Standing outside was Ashe, who was patiently waiting for the door to open.
“Ah, Sylvain! Are Mercedes and Annette there? I was wondering where the two of them were. The ball is starting very soon, and we need to make our way there.” Ashe said, backing up a little bit. “Yeah, they’re both here. We were just helping _____ get ready as well.” Sylvain responded, turning back to the three of you.
“I suppose it’s time for us to head out. Would you like for me to hold your hand?” Mercedes asked, turning to face you. You inhaled deeply, relaxed your shoulders, and sighed softly. “Yes, please. I’m ready to go.” You say, smiling.
Ashe and Sylvain moved out of the way, allowing the three of you to step out of the dorm. “You look wonderful! Oh I’m so glad to see you’ve decided to come along.” Ashe said, smiling sweetly at you.
You felt yourself beginning to fluster, laughing softly, “I’m glad I decided to come along…if it wasn’t for Sylvain coming to console me, I probably would have stayed in my room…” you say softly.
“Just doing what I could to help,” Sylvain said, smiling and winking at you, “so let’s get going! The night is young, and so are we!” All four of you laughed in tandem, and made your way to the hall where the ball was being held.
Tonight was going to be a night you would remember for the rest of your life. One where you finally discovered the love of your life, and changed your fate forever.