Chapter Text
“Shez. A word.”
Shez spun around, already halfway out of the classroom. Professor Jeritza was sitting at his desk and gesturing for her to approach him, although he didn’t look up from his paperwork. He seemed like he might be upset - but he never seemed particularly happy about anything, so that alone wasn’t much to go off of.
“Uh oh. Looks like you’re in trouble,” Raphael whispered to her.
“Shoot,” Shez groaned. She looked at Claude, who habitually sat next to her during lectures. “I didn’t make that much noise, did I?”
He shook his head. “If you did, I didn’t hear it. You’re a pretty quiet sleeper.”
“But what else could it be?” Ignatz looked worried. “Are you having any trouble with your studies?”
“The professor doesn’t care about that stuff,” Hilda said, waving it off. “If he did, he would’ve gotten mad at me forever ago.”
“Um… maybe it isn’t as bad as it seems,” Marianne suggested. “Perhaps he just wants to check in with you and see how you’re adjusting to Garreg Mach.”
Shez shrugged. “I guess I’ll find out in a second. I’ll catch up with you guys later.”
“Come back in one piece, alright?” Claude called out to her as she proceeded back into the classroom. She smiled to herself. She hadn’t been at the academy for long, but she already felt closer with all her fellow Deer than she ever had with Berling’s Mercenaries. As shady as Rhea’s generous offer had seemed, Shez would be lying if she said she wasn’t happy she’d accepted it.
When Shez reached Jeritza’s desk, she waved her hand. “Um. Hi, Professor.”
Jeritza lifted his head. “Are you aware of the upcoming mock battle?”
“Oh, you mean the Battle of the Eagle and Lion?” The annual three-way mock battle between the Black Eagles, Blue Lions, and Golden Deer. She’d been looking forward to it ever since she heard about it. “Yeah, I know about that. It’s, what, two weeks from now?”
“Correct. I received instructions from Seteth. You are not to participate.”
“What?” Shez stared at him. “But… why?”
“You are a highly skilled professional. Were you to join the battle, your house would hold an unfair advantage over the others. That is what I was told.”
“Huh.” She mulled it over. “I guess that’s true, but… I mean… still…”
“You seem dissatisfied.”
“Well, yeah. Isn’t the mock battle, like… one of the biggest events of the entire year?”
“Yes. You may attend future events such as the White Heron Cup.”
Upon leaving the classroom, Shez found the rest of the Deer clustered together just outside. Lysithea broke the silence. “Well? What did he want?”
She sighed. “I’m not allowed to fight in the mock battle. I technically have more experience than you guys do, so it wouldn’t be fair if I was there.”
“Darn.” Leonie snapped her fingers. “I was looking forward to fighting with a real merc.”
“You will have plenty of opportunities to do so during our monthly missions,” Lorenz told her. “I am by no means unbothered by the removal of our classmate from such a highly anticipated battle, but I admit it was a reasonable decision to make.”
“She does have a name, Lorenz,” Claude said with exasperation, before turning his attention to Shez. “That’s too bad, though. Are you just gonna be on cleaning duty or something?”
“I guess so,” she replied. “I think Seteth’s gonna tell me the details when we get closer to the day of the battle.”
“Ugh, how lame,” Hilda commented. “I wouldn’t mind skipping the battle, but I definitely wouldn’t wanna spend the whole day doing chores.”
Marianne wrung her hands. “I’m sorry that you’ll have to miss out.”
“But we’ll tell you all about it when we get back!” Raphael declared.
“If we win, we’ll let everyone know we couldn’t have done it without you,” Ignatz added.
Shez smiled. “Thanks, guys. I appreciate it.”
“Hey, it’s nothing. It’s the least we can do for a near and Deer friend.” Claude’s eyes glittered as he spoke. Like leaves in the rain, Shez thought. Or stardust in the night.