Catch-all: Estelle

[ercnerd]

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Week 0: Monday

[ercnerd]

[At the dojo, Sieghart stands a little ways from the armory entrance with his hunched shoulders as he smooths out a piece of crinkled paper in his possession.]

Hmm . . . I should have just left it back there.

[mustbepurged]

[Estelle is looking over the training equipment, picking up wooden swords and blunt rapiers and feeling their weight, when she hears him and wanders over, still holding one of those rapiers in her hand.]

What is that?

[She's curious, and nosy. Hi.]

[ercnerd]

[Hi. Hello.

Sieghart holds the paper up. It's an illustration of a group of people inside a dormitory, and a good one at that. There are folds where he evidently pressed the paper in order to fit in a pocket.]

This? It's a souvenir.

[mustbepurged]

It's a drawing? Y-you should take better care of it! It'll get damaged if you bend it like that...!

[Estelle moves closer to examine it, concerned at first about the possible damage...

...

and then her eyes become firmly fixed on one of the subjects in the illustration. The rapier slips out of her hand and drops to the floor.]

[ercnerd]

[The rapier falls. The wise thing would be to pick it up, but Sieghart's attention is fixed on Estelle as his free hand comes up to hover over her shoulder, just in case.]

Hey, you okay?

[Everyone is smiling in the drawing, at least.]

[mustbepurged]

...Rita...

[She stumbles back a step, a hand covering her mouth.]

That's Rita, isn't it?

[ercnerd]

[Putting her concerns about its care aside, he folds the paper and pockets it as she confirms the obvious suspicion.]

Yeah, it is. We shared the same dorm at the school. She made it all the way to the end as an honors student.

[mustbepurged]

You were all there together... [She takes a few more moments to process this.]

Do you mean... she was okay? She didn't get hurt?

[ercnerd]

There wasn't anyone who didn't get hurt. But she didn't die, and she worked hard to make sure everyone got out.

Week 0, Saturday

[mustbepurged]

[Some time after the trial, and after she's had a chance to calm down a little, Estelle finds her way to the camp jail, whatever that looks like! She lingers in the doorway, like she's waiting for an invitation to enter properly.]

Sieghart... are you here?

[ercnerd]

[Estelle has fairly comfortable accommodations. Sieghart, meanwhile, is seated on the bunk bed and awaiting visitors. He straightens from a hunch when Estelle appears.]

Where would I be? Here, come inside.

[mustbepurged]

[She takes that invitation and enters properly, stopping where she can face him properly... though she can't help but look very sadly at him.]

I really didn't want to think it would be you...

... Are you willing to talk about it?

[ercnerd]

[His lips curl into a faint smile. Honest as usual.]

I meant what I said when I promised to explain. Where should I start?

[mustbepurged]

[She's hesitant, but...]

Why did you kill her?

[ercnerd]

Because she was there.

It didn't matter who it was. I would've killed anyone once we crossed paths—even you.

[mustbepurged]

[That doesn't get her to flinch. She still just looks really sad.]

So it wasn't about Flayn... but then, what was it? Why would you kill anyone like that?

[ercnerd]

I've always thought that life is too precious to be wasted. I still believe that.

But there's also a part of me that won't think twice about cutting someone down when I'm angry. That part of me rose to the surface that night . . . and today. All because I was approached by a shadow with a promise.

Week 7, Saturday

[mustbepurged]

[Estelle's in the courtyard, looking up at the twilit sky...

When she looks over to see Sieghart, she greets him with a soft, relieved smile.]

It feels like it's been such a long time... but we finally made it.

[She bows to him.]

... I also wanted to thank you for your most recent letter. It meant a lot to me.

[ercnerd]

[His smile turns just slightly wry at the bow. She's so formal.]

Oh, that? Souji dared me to write a letter, so it just happened . . .

[mustbepurged]

Hehe. Did he? I'll have to thank him, then.

[She's joking, probably.]

I'm glad we both made it to the end. For Rita and Mari's sakes, too.

[ercnerd]

[Don't thank him!]

. . . Yeah. This should all be behind us tomorrow.

[mustbepurged]

[She looks out at the flowers for a bit, thinking...]

Um, did Sylvain tell you about our excursion...?

[ercnerd]

[His gaze drifts from Estelle to the flowers.]

All he said was that you saw me there. Based on that, he must have thought that we had a more extensive history. It was his idea for me to talk to you, too.

[mustbepurged]

[She smiles a little.]

He was probably just worried about me... I'm sure I looked really distraught after everything that happened.

Um, you don't need to worry, though! The other you didn't do anything bad. I mean, even if he did, it wouldn't matter, because it was all just a bad dream in the first place...

[ercnerd]

I'm not worried. Didn't I tell you? If it eases your mind, you can talk about it.