Title: Resolve
Characters/Pairing: Edelgard von Hresvelg, Ashe Ubert. Background Ashe/Yuri.
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not mine, anything mentioned here by name isn't mine
Warnings: Mentioning sibling death, mentioning past child torture
Notes: Spoilers for Scarlet Blaze.

--

While their time at the Academy had been brief, Edelgard had always liked Ashe. He was altruistic but not to the point naivete. He was quick on his feet the few times he worked with the Black Eagles. She had fond memories of the nights he was on kitchen duty—even the finest chefs in the Empire had yet to emulate that simple charm of his dinners and especially his desserts. It was more than just the cordiality one might extend to a classmate, however. On those chances she did speak to Ashe, he was friendly and polite—but never revealed anything about himself. Oh, he would rhapsodize about his adopted father, Lonato Gaspard. His stories about his siblings made her ache for her own. But aside from a brief mention that he was an orphaned pauper before meeting Lonato, she knew little about Ashe himself.

She could relate. There were part of herself that not even Hubert was privy to. He knew what had happened to her siblings, but she had never told him how she had to close her eldest brother’s eyes. Or about Thales kicking her sister’s corpse to see if she was really dead. She understood that there were moments that were too painful to share with others even if they were also what defined you. Indeed, Edelgard knew what Thales was capable of—and that he would never be satisfied with ‘only’ murdering the majority of the past Emperor’s progeny. She was also aware that Fódlan’s power structures, spiritual and secular, were either too busy filling their coffers or working with Thales to secure power for themselves to do anything to stop this from happening again.

Perhaps it was better that her time at the Academy was brief. She knew Ashe well enough that he wanted to be a knight for the Kingdom. King Dimitri had granted his wish after ascending to the throne. They were destined to face each other as enemies. Perhaps this way it would not hurt too bad when one of them felled the other.

At least, that was what she told herself until Lonato staged an admirable but doomed rebellion against the Central Church after Rhea and Seteth correctly assumed that the Kingdom would be obligated to aid them—and that Lonato’s adopted son, Ashe Ubert, was assigned to stop Lonato at all costs. Edelgard had to wonder who thought that would be a wise idea—certainly not King Dimitri, but as a fellow ruler, she knew that delegating was a necessary evil. Yet what had gone through that bureaucrat’s mind when they signed the order? Perhaps Ashe had crossed them, and they thought this was a suiting revenge. Or maybe they hadn’t even made the connection. There was a third possibility—that Ashe had volunteered in the hopes of persuading his father to lay down his arms. However, the arrows he shot at Lonato and Ferdinand barely missed, so she was wary about that.

It didn’t matter. None of it mattered. In that moment, she had tossed her infamous pragmatism aside and only cared that it was wrong for family to fight family—even if she suspected that Ashe was as stubborn as she was, they had at least try to convince him to stop.

Thankfully, her suspicions were wrong for once. Shez and Lonato convinced Ashe to lay down his arms.

Then he surprised all of them when he defected to the Empire.

--

Ashe had never shirked his duties in those early days as an Empire general. However, anyone with common sense could tell that fighting his old friends was making him sick with grief. Edelgard understood that feeling better than she could ever admit. She loathed the Agarthans with every fiber of her being. She wanted them for pay for torturing and murdering so many children—it hadn’t ‘only’ been her siblings as Hapi and Lysithea had confirmed. Yet she had to play along to stop the Church, until that lucky night that Shez had literally stumbled into her life. However, Ashe was under no obligations. Of course, he could not return to the Kingdom. While Edelgard had no doubt that their soft-hearted king would have gladly welcomed him back, his more politically ambitious nobles had voiced objections against a common-born knight to begin with. Now that Ashe was also the son of a traitorous lord, they would never let him step foot into Faerghus territory again. Yet he didn’t have to fight. He had the skill set to find civilian employment in the Empire or even the neighboring countries. The Southern Church had scouted him more than once due to his understanding of children and culinary skills. Yet each time Ashe let them down gently, then prepared for another battle. Why?

It was clear that simple observation would not answer her question. Thus, she would confront the issue herself.

--

She found Ashe working in what would eventually be a garden for a village that had been caught in Ludwig’s attempted insurrection. That was a relief. Everyone had seen the melancholy he had sunken into since he had to choose his family over his kingdom. Shez and even Caspar could bring him out of it sometimes, but it was difficult to heal these wounds even with a close friend, much less someone you did not know well. However, when those haggard-looking children smiled at Ashe when he offered them his rations the other day—and laughed when he played with them and their scrawny dogs—lifted a weight off Edelgard. Ashe would be all right.

Edelgard knelt next to Ashe. “May I assist you?”

Ashe boggled in surprise. “I—well, yes, of course, your Majesty.” He took a breath to collect himself. “Do you want me to explain what goes where?”

“I know a little about the local flora. Not as much as you, of course.”

He shook his head. “I’m just a hobbyist.”

“A hobbyist would not have found the herbs to break Linhardt’s fever in twenty minutes while the rest of us couldn’t tell the poisonous and non-poisonous berries apart. Show some confidence in the skills you’ve worked hard to attain.”

Ashe blushed and ducked his head. “Yes, ma’am. I mean, your Majesty.”

… It seemed that she would need to work around the problem before confronting it. Very well. She picked up some seeds. “These are carrots, correct?”

“Yeah. The soil isn’t the best for them, but I think with the milder weather, they’ll thrive nonetheless. They’re a cross with some Dagdan variants, so they’re hardier than what usually grows in the Empire.”

“Interesting.” She had read about how farmers and herbalists could work such magic, but had never seen it with her own eyes until now. She would have loved to discuss this further with Ashe—she adored nature in all its forms—but she had something to do. “You know, many nobles would gladly employ you to make their crops more bountiful. You don’t have to work as a soldier.”

Ashe gave her a wary look. “Are you dismissing me?”

“No! No, of course not.” Now Edelgard took a breath to collect herself. “However, you only needed to lay down your arms to spare Lonato’s life. You don’t need to fight your former King.”

“Isn’t the whole point of recruiting enemy soldiers, however?”

“Yes. However, I do not wish to command an army of soldiers whose hearts are breaking because their friends are now enemies. Not only is that cruel, it’s bad for morale.”

Ashe laughed at that. Edelgard, in a rare unguarded moment, asked him what was so funny about what she had said.

“I just—sorry. You remind me a lot of King Dimitri sometimes. You both do your best to lead your countries, but you’re both very human.”

Edelgard smiled at that. “I think that’s one of the nicest things anyone has said to me.”

Ashe frowned. “Wow. If being reminded of your humanity is a high compliment then I guess nobles really do have it tough, even if they’re usually richer than the commoners.”

“Nobility is a social construct that has long outlived its usefulness. It puts the foolish in power, strangles change, and children…”

“Yeah,” Ashe admitted. “I don’t know much about what happened to Lysithea, but from what I can piece together, she’s had it rough. I imagine you have as well. Why else would you wage war on the Central Church, the branch of the Church infamous for having more power and money than anyone else?”

“I have had my share of difficulties,” Edelgard was willing to admit. “Perhaps you have as well, if you’re willing to fight a king you still admire.”

Ashe ignored the carrot seeds and shifted his attention to the starter violets he had brought with him, holding one close. Edelgard surmised he would plant them near what remained of the houses later. “I will always admire King Dimitri. And my friends. However, my time away from the Central Church’s influence has allowed me to re-evaluate some things. I really did love my time as a knight… but asking someone to kill their father to prove their loyalty is just too much. King Dimitri protested the order, but he was overruled. Such a system—such people—cannot remain in power any longer. But my one ally couldn’t help me, so I had to resort to more extreme measures.” He smiled a little. “And who better to partner up with than apparently the most extremist ruler in Fódlan?”

“Are you sure? I’ve made it clear that I plan to conquer Fódlan, after all.”

“Yeah, that’s propaganda and we both know it.” Edelgard blinked, but remained silent. Apparently, once Ashe felt more comfortable around you, he was more open—and a little snarky. She appreciated that they had come together this far, at least. “I’m sure you’ll say something like how you conquered them through non-military means to appease your more hawkish nobles, but you’re not doing this for glory or power. That was clear to me when you were willing to spare my life when we first met in battle. You signed a treaty with Claude. I’ve overheard you discussing the same with Hubert.”

“How—”

“I have good hearing and a natural curiosity about my new employer.” He smiled guiltily. “Sorry, but I needed to make sure I was serving a better cause this time.”

“Very well, but I’m telling Hubert to check for eavesdroppers from now on.”

“Oh, I’m sure that will be very helpful in stopping others.”

… Edelgard wondered if Ashe would accept a job as a spy in the future. “Well, I am relieved that you have found purpose in our army. That said, I have another reason to speak to you.”

“What is that?”

“I know despite your resolve, you don’t wish to fight your friends. However, I doubt many of them will throw away the values they were raised with.”

Ashe nodded, his eyes dark. “I nearly died for them myself.”

“Thus, I thought you should know that one of your friends—the one that shares your more pragmatic streak—will be in the battle next time.”

“Yuri,” Ashe breathed.

“Yes, Yuri. Along with the Ashen Demon, but Shez and I hope to persuade them and their family to join the Empire. So, I will leave it to you to recruit Yuri Leclerc.”

“Of course! I’ll talk to Balthus and the other Wolves right now.” Ashe must have been excited. After all, he handed a violet starter to the Adrestian Emperor—dirt smudging their hands they brushed for a moment—without batting an eyelash. “I know Yuri will make a fuss about doing anything for coin, but I know him and what he thinks about the status quo for nobles. He’s probably more sympathetic to your cause than I am. Not to mention all his friends are here.” He beamed at Edelgard. “We can definitely get him on our side.”

“I’m thankful.” As he dashed off to find the former Wolves, Edelgard was also thankful that the former knight Ashe Ubert had his own reasons to fight.

--

Final Notes: I’ve played this game off and on since it first came out, but I’m sure I misspelled so many names and places, even after checking. :( Sorry. Also, I guess I can’t write a fic without at least a little bit of AsheYuri lol.