>>5858225With some difficulty, you turn your head towards the right to discover the source of the snoring you hear. Ashe is slumped over in a chair, legs outstretched, dozing off. Trying to get a better grasp of your surroundings, you more closely examine the room you’re in. Your bed is comfortable and plush, far nicer than anything you’d slept in for a while. Small tapestries and decorations line the room, giving you the impression that you’re currently residing in a noble’s dwelling. You try to sit up, but the effort exhausts you, and you feel a burning sensation in your chest, causing you to cough violently. All your wheezing awakens Ashe with a sudden jolt.
“B-Blair?” Ashe asks groggily, rubbing the tiredness out of his eyes. “You’re awake! Thank the Goddess!” Ashe rushes over to your bedside to embrace you, but stops himself, seemingly worried that he’d hurt you even further if he squeezed you as tight as he wanted. “W-wait here. I’ll get you some water. And a healer too.”
True to his word, your betrothed returns with both water and Corrine in tow. Your lieutenant’s face is the strangest mixture of relief, worry, and anger you’d ever seen. After you finish hacking up your lungs, you gingerly accept the water from Ashe, while Corrine takes a seat by your bed, healing stave in hand. She pulls back the covers you were lying under and begins to undo your shirt. As she does, you notice that your chest now sports a freshly made, nasty-looking scar.
>“Ugh…how’d that get there…”“How do you think?!” Corrine seethes, applying her Mend spell to the closed wound. “Imagine my surprise when Ingrid told me you ran off alone to deal with Kate. Now imagine what it was like to find you lying on the floor in a pool of your own blood, with that damn woman hovering over you trying to keep your intestines inside your body.”
>That’s right. You’d lost the duel. Gungnir and Gae Bolg were spears intertwined, fated to clash against each other for all of time. In this instance, it seemed that Gae Bolg had emerged victorious. “Kate…what happened to her? She didn’t kill me?”“She was gone by the time we showed up.” Corrine says. “It was just you and Winona. I have no idea why she didn’t kill you, though I’m obviously relieved that she chose not to.” She lowers her voice, choosing not to meet your eyes but rather to focus on the work she was doing. “Thank you, Blair. I know you were just trying to do what I asked you to. You’ve done enough. Worry about her no longer.”
>“I see. The battle…?”“It’s been three days since it ended.” Ashe says, pulling up another chair by your bed and holding your hand in his own. “The Knights of Seiros were victorious. Edelgard and Hubert both perished in the fighting. Archbishop Rhea was also found alive, though her condition is poor. Enbarr is now temporarily being run by Ferdinand and the Professor.”
