The last two years have been a ride. She remembers every detail, of course, but it feels like everything happened so fast. Her rescue, the rout of Duke Aegir and that man posing as Lord Arundel, Lady Edelgard's coronation, the war, the pact with the Alliance, Duke Aegir's last stand, Lady Rhea and Thales's deaths, meeting King Dimitri on the battlefield only to sign a pact after a week's worth of conferences and debates.

The first morning after they return to Adrestia, Monica awakens early not out of habit, but just to sit and watch the sun rise. It's been two years since her rescue and she's appreciated seeing the outside world overall, but she can't remember the last time she saw dawn slowly breaking over the horizon.

Ochs isn't much to brag about, but the balcony outside her room offered a good view of the sky, and so did the hill just a walk away from the manor. She remembers the last sunrise she watched before she was kidnapped, the day before she was set to return to Garreg Mach for the graduation ceremony.

It was beautiful. But nowhere near as beautiful as it looks from the Emperor's balcony.

Lady Edelgard is still sleeping, and Monica intends to let her. Still in her nightclothes and her robe, she leans her chin against her hand as she gazes out towards the horizon. The sky is a soft shade of pinkish-lavender, the sun's rays just peeking over the edge of the hills. The floor of the balcony is warm under her bare feet. Monica can't remember the last time she went barefoot, it's one of those things she never thought much about but today it just feels so right.

Two years ago, she never would have imagined standing on Lady Edelgard's balcony in her nightclothes while Lady Edelgard still slept peacefully in her bed. No, she thinks, our bed. They've been lovers since the late stretches of the war, and while they haven't made it official yet Edelgard told her the day after the war ended that she has a ring waiting for her. Once things are more settled, it's yours, and then we'll make the announcement.

Two years ago, she expected to die without ever seeing Edelgard again.

"Monica?" Soft footsteps accompany Edelgard's still-sleepy voice.

"Sorry if I woke you," Monica murmurs, but Edelgard shakes her head, wrapping an arm around her waist and leaning her head against Monica's.

"You didn't. I'm so used to waking up early by now," she says. "Did you sleep well?"

"Better than ever." Monica rests her cheek against Edelgard's shoulder. "You look like you did, too." Monica remembers all too well Edelgard waking up in a cold sweat after a nightmare, walking around camp in the middle of the night to calm her nerves. Monica's own sleep wasn't that much better, either.

But they're gone now. They can't darken Fodlan with their cruelty and pettiness any longer.

"We did it," she murmurs, "your dream came true, Your Majesty."

"Because of you." Edelgard draws her closer, smiling, brushing her lips against her hairline, and Monica practically melts against her. "I mean it. If I hadn't been able to save you, I may have had to take a much darker path. A path I wouldn't have regretted, but one I'm happy I didn't have to take nonetheless."

"I would have followed you no matter how dark your path," Monica says.

The sun is just peeking over the hills now, the sky slowly turning from pink to blue. Neither of them speaks another word, there's no need to think about darker paths that never were. Instead, they watch as dawn rises over the new world they created.