It's not until she's finished dancing with Dorothea that anyone notices Monica is missing. Edelgard tries to stamp down her worry, but to no avail; she asks Dorothea to pass the message to Hubert that she's gone outside for some air (he disappeared around the same time the Professor did), and she leaves as quietly as she can before anyone can sense her panic.
By some miracle, they'd manage to save Monica before Kronya could put her plans into action; shortly before the fiasco with Flayn, Hubert had tipped off Jeritza about a special prisoner locked in a nearby stronghold, and shortly after they'd saved Flayn, Monica was discovered in the infirmary alongside the injured Manuela.
She'd healed physically, but emotionally Edelgard could tell her experience had shaken her. Coupled with the recent nasty business in Remire and the feeling of things escalating more and more every day, it was hard not to worry when someone who'd just been rescued suddenly disappeared again.
Luckily, this time she doesn't have to go far or don her Flame Emperor disguise. She spots the Professor and Hubert, and the latter gives her a quick nod as he gestures towards a certain location. She's safe. With a sigh of relief, Edelgard thanks him, and makes a beeline towards the Goddess Tower. Monica stands a few feet away from the edge, staring up at the sky, as if searching for something.
"I can understand needing a break from the festivities, but I wish you'd told me where you were going," Edelgard says. Monica leaps backwards, her cheeks turning as red as her hair, and she does a quick bow.
"Lady Edelgard! I'm so sorry, I didn't want to interrupt your dance with Lady Dorothea. I thought I'd be back before anyone noticed!" Edelgard shakes her head, going to Monica's side and placing a hand on her shoulder. She's not usually so generous with physical touches, but lately Monica has become the exception.
"Perhaps not anyone else, but I certainly did."
"Oh."
"You seem surprised."
"I guess I am." Monica looks away, fidgeting with the sleeve of her dress. "I was missing for nearly a year and no one bothered to find me. I figured people were just used to me disappearing." Guilt clenches in Edelgard's chest. She and Hubert had tried to find Monica, but even Hubert's people could find no trail and eventually they gave up.
Back then, Edelgard hadn't thought anything of it. If she's going to change things in Fodlan, she must not let emotions cloud her judgment. She would be the kind of ruler who wasn't afraid to sacrifice people, she'd told the Professor after the battle at Magdred.
Then Monica had shown up alive after all that time, and something changed. Just looking at her fills Edelgard with guilt, knowing she'd been perfectly willing to give one of her closest friends up for dead if it meant pushing through with her plans.
I wasn't. I was used to you always being by my side. Even after you left for the Officers Academy you'd send letters, I knew the moment one didn't arrive on the second week of the moon that something was wrong.
"Look up at the sky," Monica says, tugging her elbow and jerking her out of her thoughts. Edelgard swallows back her guilt, glad for the distraction.
"The Blue Sea Star is fading rather slowly this year," she observes. "Come to think of it, Mother told me it was the same the year she and Father met in this very tower." Monica nods.
"I remember. I asked your mother how she met the Emperor, and Hubert chided me for asking such personal questions. But Lady Anselma was so kind, she told me anyway. How she met and fell in love with your father, and he confessed to her under the fading Blue Sea Star." She sighs. "So romantic."
Monica has never been an overtly romantic person. But her cheeks are still flushed, and Edelgard feels her heart beat a little faster. She moves closer, letting her arm lean against Monica's, their hands just inches from one another.
"My mother was a mistress, but I believe she and Father loved each other just the same."
"He loved his wife, too, and his other children's mothers. I remember that from all the times I had the privilege to visit the Imperial Palace," Monica says, then coughs nervously. "I'm sorry, I know you don't like pointless nostalgia." She doesn't, nostalgia only makes you miss a past you can never get back. But again, it's different with Monica.
You were almost a part of that lost past.
"It's all right."
They slip into silence, half comfortable, half uncertain. The lingering Blue Sea Star flickers above them; Edelgard has never been one for stargazing lore or legends or things like that, but she can't help noting the similarity. The night her parents met all those years ago, and now finding Monica here.
Monica's return has not shaken her resolve one bit. She's still prepared to make an enemy of all of Fodlan to end the Church's corruption. But she's no longer prepared, nor comfortable with the thought of sacrificing lives for the sake of her goals.
Before the last of the Blue Sea Star can fade, she turns to Monica.
"I want us to make a promise." Monica blinks.
"A promise, Lady Edelgard?"
"Yes." Edelgard swallows, taking Monica's hands in her own. "No matter what the future holds, we will not be separated again." Even if the Professor and the rest of the Black Eagles save Hubert turn on her after she claims her destiny and reveals the truth, even if the Empire changes their minds and turns against her after her declaration.
Monica smiles, squeezing her hands and bowing her head as if offering knightly vows.
"You have my promise. Lady Edelgard, I will follow you anywhere, even if it means my life."
"Let's not go that far," Edelgard says. "When I say we will not be separated, I mean even by death." I came too close to losing you once, I will not take that chance again.
"Then I promise to keep my life so that I may continue to stay by your side." She sighs. "We should probably go back to the ball."
"Maybe in a bit." Edelgard smiles. "I'd like just a little more time alone with you." Monica's smile grows warmer, and her eyes shine.
"Then let's stay like this."
They lace their fingers together just as the last lingering glow of the Blue Sea Star fades into the clear night sky.
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