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Day 1 - Promise / Tea Time
"Oh, absolutely not," Dimitri says, and that is how Dedue knows that today is going to be a time.
Regardless of the tone that his liege is using right now, Dedue doesn't stop what he's doing. That would be setting up the tea for their morning ritual, after Dimitri and him have done their usual bout of training to wake up. It's habit that's been ingrained into the two of them for years now, even before he settled into Fhirdiad Castle. (Possibly, he never settled into Fhirdiad Castle, not truly, but that is besides the point.) Training, and then tea - these two things help wake them up properly even before breakfast.
Dedue had assumed that things would stay very much the same in that regard with the two of them going off to Garreg Mach, and so far, that had been proven correct in many other ways. Some habits are just too deeply ingrained to make them stop anytime soon, and their training routine had seemed to be one of them.
It's only now, with tea, that Dimitri is speaking up. Ah, actually - doing more than just speaking up. He moves up from where he had sprawled out against the grass - although perhaps that is not an entirely apt descriptor, but as close to unwinding as Dimitri is prone to getting in a semi-public area. Instead of just letting himself catch his breath, Dimitri starts to pick up the handbasket delicately filled with their tea necessities. "I want to help as well, Dedue."
Once upon a time, Dimitri had said something rather similar, although time has washed away all the fine details that would decide if it was word-for-word. Dedue had rather thought that they were done with the whole thing because of that, but apparently a refresher is needed now and then. "There is no need for that, Your Highness," he says, stubborn in his own quiet way.
"But you will be having tea with me, will you not?"
Dedue pauses, and that is unfortunately time enough for Dimitri to take the table from him with just one hand. Most would find this a troublesome task, even though it is a relatively small table. Dimitri doesn't hesitate in the slightest, setting it down as gingerly as he is capable of on some more solid stone; grass is unfortunately too soft with the dirt beneath it. Recovering from the surprise of Dimitri's suggestion, Dedue strides forward to at least steal back the picnic basket and all its blanket-cradled goods away from him. Dimitri's pout is adorable, and that was probably never his intention. "It had not occurred to me," Dedue admits.
This is not to say that Dedue does not enjoy tea, of course, although the varieties that he would find in Faerghus are not entirely like those he would have found in Duscur, for the most part. It was simply that his tea time and Dimitri's tea time were always somewhat different, in the end.
Not for lack of interest on Dimitri's part, he supposes he must admit. When they were younger, and he was still new to Fhirdiad, Dimitri had tried to insist on having tea with him together. He insisted on quite a lot of things back then, honestly, and Dedue would be a liar if he said he did not hunger for the very same things that his prince had. Having tea together, sprawling in the shade on the grass, sticking close and never going anywhere without the other...
...Granted, that last one has also never really changed at all, but that's besides the point.
What is the point is when he'd be approached by the adults in their lives who'd watched with disapproving eyes, who'd told him in private that it was not proper for the future king of Faerghus to be seen playing about so foolishly with someone so far below his station. A commoner, and from Duscur, at that.
He may have been a child at the time, but he had not been stupid, or blind. He'd understood well enough from the very start that many of the people in the noble court would have rather he never be by Dimitri's side at all. That his position would have been "better filled" by any one of their knights, or their sons, or their daughters, nephews, close friends. They had hated him but, most of all, they had been jealous.
You will have to be better than perfect if you are to survive in this castle and protect Dimitri. The Duke Fraldarius had told him these words once upon a time, when he had taken him under his wing in the brief times he visited Fhirdiad directly. This is unfair, but it is necessary in these times.
So Dedue had taken this to heart. He'd carefully removed himself from sitting down with Dimitri at the same time he did, never played with him in the grass as noble children could - although those noble children did not visit often in the wake of the Tragedy. (And those who did ended up chased out in quite short order by his Prince's barely reined in temper, or his guardian Duke's protectiveness.) If he were to stay around Dimitri, then he would become a perfect retainer... and some more besides, as he'd eked out whatever free time he could spend with him, no matter the excuse.
Tea time had become a part of that, in the end. A moment to just themselves where Dimitri could have his tea, and Dedue could have the reassurance of something steady.
He'd been ready for that same pattern here, too - Dimitri having his tea, Dedue getting to listen to him talk about the changes he wanted to make in himself or in Faerghus, and then perhaps a bit of tea on his own before classes started. Yet Dimitri only shakes his head a bit. "We could have tea together," Dimitri points out, eyeing the picnic basket in his hands contemplatively.
Both of them know that he won't dare move fast enough to snatch it from Dedue's hands. It isn't that Dimitri is lacking in speed, when he feels that it is necessary. It is simply that his grip might break through the basket's handle or main container, or, even worse, he might accidentally crack through to the delicate china beneath.
So he won't ever do it.
He is still very clearly considering it regardless.
Dedue, in turn, considers if just holding up the basket over his head would be enough to discourage Dimitri further, or at least give him some stumble of a pause. "It would start up no small amount of gossip if we were seen together," Dedue tries. That is something that has worked in the past, to some degree - or at least it worked when they were children. Dedue managed to convince him well enough that it would not make it easier for him to accomplish his goals in the court if people were too busy gossiping about his retainer.
"We are not in Fhirdiad's court anymore," Dimitri counters almost immediately.
Well. Kela.
While Dedue swears within the sweet quiet of his own skull, Dimitri keeps going. "While there may be people from Faerghus's noble families here -" May is something of an overexaggeration and Dedue's flat expression very likely shows that. Dimitri amends himself promptly. "There are indeed people from Faerghus's noble families here attending this school. However, how much of an effect do you truly think they are going to have on anything just from seeing us have tea together?"
Dedue is not one for catastrophizing. If he were, if he let himself be, then he knows that he would have fallen apart and never gotten back up a long time ago. He's fairly sure that Dimitri knows that, because he has to sigh. "They would write letters to their parents," he answers. Probably - probably - no one would actually confront him on the matter.
Most people learned rather quickly to stop making improper statements about Dedue rather quickly in Fhirdiad Castle after the first time that Dimitri challenged someone to a duel over the matter. And those who didn't learn the first time were soon treated to a second.
"Then that is hardly anything to fuss about," Dimitri says, trying to be reassuring. Perhaps he would be more successful if he were still not eyeing the picnic basket with all the tea supplies. "What parent would put too much stock in their child's school gossip?"
He is by no mean an expert on the many intricacies, needless or not, that the nobility operate on. However, what he does feel for certain is that nonsense gossip absolutely is not something so easily ignored. "I could imagine that a few might," he says, and leaves it at that. If he really tried, Dedue could likely come up with a few names as well, but he doesn't particularly want to waste precious energy on people like that.
He's using up enough energy as it is arguing with Dimitri.
"If they are not on the status of a duke, then I should hardly think they'll matter," he huffs quietly in return, determined not to be chased away by this goal so soon. Dedue wishes he could understand what triggers the stubborn switch in Dimitri's brain. He feels it would help him a great deal in learning how to be alongside him. Being a retainer isn't easy, even after years of experience. "Besides, I have the perfect argument should anyone wish to bicker with me about it."
Part of the problem is that Dedue is fairly certain that people won't bicker openly with Dimitri about it, but fine. He can tell that he's not going to make any progress just arguing. "And what would that argument be, Your Highness?" he asks patiently.
"Garreg Mach is meant to be a place where the three countries all come together in times of peace to help forge bonds that will keep relations good between all of us," Dimitri recites patiently, although he goes a little too quickly over some of the words in his eagerness to impart his idea to Dedue. "While most understand this to be between the nobility and royalty, thanks to the Leicester Alliance primarily, there are also the average person to consider! And I certainly always planned from the very start to insist I was treated the same as anyone else. That is how I will explain it to anyone who ventures far outside their own business to nose about in my own."
And he's so convinced this is an excellent idea as well. Dedue tilts his head to the side, because at least this line of conversation has had Dimitri stop looking so intently at the basket. "If you do so only with me, then there will be calls of favoritism."
"Well, I will certainly not be having tea only with you," Dimitri insists. "I have actually made plans to have tea with as many of my house members as I possibly can. Not many people attend Garreg Mach even on a good year, and that has fortunately left me with a small class size that I will be able to interact with in no time at all. Certainly before the year's end." Dimitri turns away from him, granting Dedue the chance to put down the basket. He does not venture very far, going over to the uniform jacket that he let hang from one of the bushes - not the recommended way to hang it, but a bad habit that Dimitri has had for some time now and which has vexed some of the royal tailors to no end.
From within one of its inner pockets, Dimitri pulls out a very small notebook with a hide of simple leather. He's already delicately turning through the pages before he turns to face Dedue. "See here - I have already inquired to some of our classmates' favorite teas! Of course, I must admit that in some cases that I knew the knowledge ahead of time, and... Well, perhaps some will not ever have a chance to be put to proper use..."
The name Felix Fraldarius is written there on one page before its turned through. Dedue kindly does not acknowledge it. Instead, he pays attention to the one that soon comes after it, in a couple of pages. "You have even spoken with Ashe Ubert?"
Dedue has not spoken with many people in Garreg Mach, quite frankly. Not many have bothered to approach him on the matter, which has certainly not helped matters, and he has returned the favor in the best idea of generosity he can possibly give considering his situation. The reception he has received even in a place such as Garreg Mach had been enough to prove to him that it would be better for everyone involved if he wasn't seen spending too much time with them.
Ashe has been... notably different, in that he has approached him first with a clear interest in his situation. In his person. Dedue has tried to warn him off, since he seems like a decent enough person, but, well.
All this time spent with Dimitri has been more than enough experience to recognize the stubborn glint in someone's eye.
He'd also been able to recognize a few other things. "I had thought that perhaps he would be too nervous to dine with someone so far above his station," Dedue comments, thinking back to the slight intimidating and occasional outright admiration that had shone in Ashe's eyes as he'd glanced over to many of their peers. Dimitri in particular had gotten the most wide eyed and sparkling stares of all.
Dimitri has all the exuberance and eagerness of a golden retriever who has never been taught how to properly heel, with the occasional flashes of brilliance from a dog that knows when to push the absolute boundaries. Dedue has a sneaking suspicion that poor Ashe Ubert will not stand a chance, but perhaps not in the way that Dimitri thinks.
True to form, Dimitri insists, "Oh, I am sure that once we grow more familiar with one another, it will not be a problem at all." This sounds a bit like a recipe for disaster, but Dedue decides that it's very much not his particular problem right now. Besides, Dimitri is already turning the page some more. "And look, this is Mercedes - have you had a chance to meet her yet? She is going to be focusing on Faith magic, it seems, and she is quite amicable! We have already made an arrangement for tomorrow afternoon."
No one can ever say that Dimitri is not industrious, at the very least. Dedue smiles, just a little bit, although he has found that most people miss the expression, slight as it is. "You have made the acquaintanceship of many people rather quickly already," he comments, although he is not necessarily surprised.
Many people have longed to appeal to his prince's tastes and sensibilities, but their efforts have all often been in the name of shallow causes. It had not escaped Dedue that Dimitri had rarely seemed fond of them. No one would say that he is a particularly cunning man, but Dimitri seems to understand more than well enough when someone approaches him with shallow interest. It's... nice to see him react positively to the idea of tea time with someone else.
Hm. Perhaps that is a point in Dimitri's favor, unfortunately, because then it really does mean that there is at least a significant difference between Fhirdiad Castle and Garreg Mach.
"I am sure that the two of you will get along greatly as well," Dimitri promises him, smiling in that little pleased way of his. "So, that means there is absolutely no reason for you to den yourself having tea with me this morning."
And they have circled right back around to this. Dedue takes in a slow breath through his nose. That was, quite frankly, his main line of defense... although he supposes, thinking on it, that then begets the question of just what he's defending himself from. If the risk of gossip is perhaps not as serious as Dimitri might claim... although Dimitri could very well be wrong...
Well, Dedue supposes there is only really one way of deciding on this, and it may very well to try something as a bit of a test. "It is very difficult to argue against you, Your Highness," he says, and perhaps relishes more than a little the way that Dimitri's eyes light up.
"It is rather easy to win arguments that you would like me to win," Dimitri says simply, and grins cheekly at him when Dedue just stares. "Now, let us set up the tea arrangements, shall we?"
In the end, it is still Dedue who handles the fine china, but Dimitri sets out the tablecloth, the napkins, pulls out the satchels of tea. While there is of course his favorite chamomile there in the basket - Dedue never lets himself be lacking in that department, when he knows how soothing it is for his prince - it is somehow no surprise to find that there are another couple of packets in there.
Their tea time together runs a little bit over the time that they normally allot themselves. Dedue finds it hard to be completely upset at that.
Regardless of the tone that his liege is using right now, Dedue doesn't stop what he's doing. That would be setting up the tea for their morning ritual, after Dimitri and him have done their usual bout of training to wake up. It's habit that's been ingrained into the two of them for years now, even before he settled into Fhirdiad Castle. (Possibly, he never settled into Fhirdiad Castle, not truly, but that is besides the point.) Training, and then tea - these two things help wake them up properly even before breakfast.
Dedue had assumed that things would stay very much the same in that regard with the two of them going off to Garreg Mach, and so far, that had been proven correct in many other ways. Some habits are just too deeply ingrained to make them stop anytime soon, and their training routine had seemed to be one of them.
It's only now, with tea, that Dimitri is speaking up. Ah, actually - doing more than just speaking up. He moves up from where he had sprawled out against the grass - although perhaps that is not an entirely apt descriptor, but as close to unwinding as Dimitri is prone to getting in a semi-public area. Instead of just letting himself catch his breath, Dimitri starts to pick up the handbasket delicately filled with their tea necessities. "I want to help as well, Dedue."
Once upon a time, Dimitri had said something rather similar, although time has washed away all the fine details that would decide if it was word-for-word. Dedue had rather thought that they were done with the whole thing because of that, but apparently a refresher is needed now and then. "There is no need for that, Your Highness," he says, stubborn in his own quiet way.
"But you will be having tea with me, will you not?"
Dedue pauses, and that is unfortunately time enough for Dimitri to take the table from him with just one hand. Most would find this a troublesome task, even though it is a relatively small table. Dimitri doesn't hesitate in the slightest, setting it down as gingerly as he is capable of on some more solid stone; grass is unfortunately too soft with the dirt beneath it. Recovering from the surprise of Dimitri's suggestion, Dedue strides forward to at least steal back the picnic basket and all its blanket-cradled goods away from him. Dimitri's pout is adorable, and that was probably never his intention. "It had not occurred to me," Dedue admits.
This is not to say that Dedue does not enjoy tea, of course, although the varieties that he would find in Faerghus are not entirely like those he would have found in Duscur, for the most part. It was simply that his tea time and Dimitri's tea time were always somewhat different, in the end.
Not for lack of interest on Dimitri's part, he supposes he must admit. When they were younger, and he was still new to Fhirdiad, Dimitri had tried to insist on having tea with him together. He insisted on quite a lot of things back then, honestly, and Dedue would be a liar if he said he did not hunger for the very same things that his prince had. Having tea together, sprawling in the shade on the grass, sticking close and never going anywhere without the other...
...Granted, that last one has also never really changed at all, but that's besides the point.
What is the point is when he'd be approached by the adults in their lives who'd watched with disapproving eyes, who'd told him in private that it was not proper for the future king of Faerghus to be seen playing about so foolishly with someone so far below his station. A commoner, and from Duscur, at that.
He may have been a child at the time, but he had not been stupid, or blind. He'd understood well enough from the very start that many of the people in the noble court would have rather he never be by Dimitri's side at all. That his position would have been "better filled" by any one of their knights, or their sons, or their daughters, nephews, close friends. They had hated him but, most of all, they had been jealous.
You will have to be better than perfect if you are to survive in this castle and protect Dimitri. The Duke Fraldarius had told him these words once upon a time, when he had taken him under his wing in the brief times he visited Fhirdiad directly. This is unfair, but it is necessary in these times.
So Dedue had taken this to heart. He'd carefully removed himself from sitting down with Dimitri at the same time he did, never played with him in the grass as noble children could - although those noble children did not visit often in the wake of the Tragedy. (And those who did ended up chased out in quite short order by his Prince's barely reined in temper, or his guardian Duke's protectiveness.) If he were to stay around Dimitri, then he would become a perfect retainer... and some more besides, as he'd eked out whatever free time he could spend with him, no matter the excuse.
Tea time had become a part of that, in the end. A moment to just themselves where Dimitri could have his tea, and Dedue could have the reassurance of something steady.
He'd been ready for that same pattern here, too - Dimitri having his tea, Dedue getting to listen to him talk about the changes he wanted to make in himself or in Faerghus, and then perhaps a bit of tea on his own before classes started. Yet Dimitri only shakes his head a bit. "We could have tea together," Dimitri points out, eyeing the picnic basket in his hands contemplatively.
Both of them know that he won't dare move fast enough to snatch it from Dedue's hands. It isn't that Dimitri is lacking in speed, when he feels that it is necessary. It is simply that his grip might break through the basket's handle or main container, or, even worse, he might accidentally crack through to the delicate china beneath.
So he won't ever do it.
He is still very clearly considering it regardless.
Dedue, in turn, considers if just holding up the basket over his head would be enough to discourage Dimitri further, or at least give him some stumble of a pause. "It would start up no small amount of gossip if we were seen together," Dedue tries. That is something that has worked in the past, to some degree - or at least it worked when they were children. Dedue managed to convince him well enough that it would not make it easier for him to accomplish his goals in the court if people were too busy gossiping about his retainer.
"We are not in Fhirdiad's court anymore," Dimitri counters almost immediately.
Well. Kela.
While Dedue swears within the sweet quiet of his own skull, Dimitri keeps going. "While there may be people from Faerghus's noble families here -" May is something of an overexaggeration and Dedue's flat expression very likely shows that. Dimitri amends himself promptly. "There are indeed people from Faerghus's noble families here attending this school. However, how much of an effect do you truly think they are going to have on anything just from seeing us have tea together?"
Dedue is not one for catastrophizing. If he were, if he let himself be, then he knows that he would have fallen apart and never gotten back up a long time ago. He's fairly sure that Dimitri knows that, because he has to sigh. "They would write letters to their parents," he answers. Probably - probably - no one would actually confront him on the matter.
Most people learned rather quickly to stop making improper statements about Dedue rather quickly in Fhirdiad Castle after the first time that Dimitri challenged someone to a duel over the matter. And those who didn't learn the first time were soon treated to a second.
"Then that is hardly anything to fuss about," Dimitri says, trying to be reassuring. Perhaps he would be more successful if he were still not eyeing the picnic basket with all the tea supplies. "What parent would put too much stock in their child's school gossip?"
He is by no mean an expert on the many intricacies, needless or not, that the nobility operate on. However, what he does feel for certain is that nonsense gossip absolutely is not something so easily ignored. "I could imagine that a few might," he says, and leaves it at that. If he really tried, Dedue could likely come up with a few names as well, but he doesn't particularly want to waste precious energy on people like that.
He's using up enough energy as it is arguing with Dimitri.
"If they are not on the status of a duke, then I should hardly think they'll matter," he huffs quietly in return, determined not to be chased away by this goal so soon. Dedue wishes he could understand what triggers the stubborn switch in Dimitri's brain. He feels it would help him a great deal in learning how to be alongside him. Being a retainer isn't easy, even after years of experience. "Besides, I have the perfect argument should anyone wish to bicker with me about it."
Part of the problem is that Dedue is fairly certain that people won't bicker openly with Dimitri about it, but fine. He can tell that he's not going to make any progress just arguing. "And what would that argument be, Your Highness?" he asks patiently.
"Garreg Mach is meant to be a place where the three countries all come together in times of peace to help forge bonds that will keep relations good between all of us," Dimitri recites patiently, although he goes a little too quickly over some of the words in his eagerness to impart his idea to Dedue. "While most understand this to be between the nobility and royalty, thanks to the Leicester Alliance primarily, there are also the average person to consider! And I certainly always planned from the very start to insist I was treated the same as anyone else. That is how I will explain it to anyone who ventures far outside their own business to nose about in my own."
And he's so convinced this is an excellent idea as well. Dedue tilts his head to the side, because at least this line of conversation has had Dimitri stop looking so intently at the basket. "If you do so only with me, then there will be calls of favoritism."
"Well, I will certainly not be having tea only with you," Dimitri insists. "I have actually made plans to have tea with as many of my house members as I possibly can. Not many people attend Garreg Mach even on a good year, and that has fortunately left me with a small class size that I will be able to interact with in no time at all. Certainly before the year's end." Dimitri turns away from him, granting Dedue the chance to put down the basket. He does not venture very far, going over to the uniform jacket that he let hang from one of the bushes - not the recommended way to hang it, but a bad habit that Dimitri has had for some time now and which has vexed some of the royal tailors to no end.
From within one of its inner pockets, Dimitri pulls out a very small notebook with a hide of simple leather. He's already delicately turning through the pages before he turns to face Dedue. "See here - I have already inquired to some of our classmates' favorite teas! Of course, I must admit that in some cases that I knew the knowledge ahead of time, and... Well, perhaps some will not ever have a chance to be put to proper use..."
The name Felix Fraldarius is written there on one page before its turned through. Dedue kindly does not acknowledge it. Instead, he pays attention to the one that soon comes after it, in a couple of pages. "You have even spoken with Ashe Ubert?"
Dedue has not spoken with many people in Garreg Mach, quite frankly. Not many have bothered to approach him on the matter, which has certainly not helped matters, and he has returned the favor in the best idea of generosity he can possibly give considering his situation. The reception he has received even in a place such as Garreg Mach had been enough to prove to him that it would be better for everyone involved if he wasn't seen spending too much time with them.
Ashe has been... notably different, in that he has approached him first with a clear interest in his situation. In his person. Dedue has tried to warn him off, since he seems like a decent enough person, but, well.
All this time spent with Dimitri has been more than enough experience to recognize the stubborn glint in someone's eye.
He'd also been able to recognize a few other things. "I had thought that perhaps he would be too nervous to dine with someone so far above his station," Dedue comments, thinking back to the slight intimidating and occasional outright admiration that had shone in Ashe's eyes as he'd glanced over to many of their peers. Dimitri in particular had gotten the most wide eyed and sparkling stares of all.
Dimitri has all the exuberance and eagerness of a golden retriever who has never been taught how to properly heel, with the occasional flashes of brilliance from a dog that knows when to push the absolute boundaries. Dedue has a sneaking suspicion that poor Ashe Ubert will not stand a chance, but perhaps not in the way that Dimitri thinks.
True to form, Dimitri insists, "Oh, I am sure that once we grow more familiar with one another, it will not be a problem at all." This sounds a bit like a recipe for disaster, but Dedue decides that it's very much not his particular problem right now. Besides, Dimitri is already turning the page some more. "And look, this is Mercedes - have you had a chance to meet her yet? She is going to be focusing on Faith magic, it seems, and she is quite amicable! We have already made an arrangement for tomorrow afternoon."
No one can ever say that Dimitri is not industrious, at the very least. Dedue smiles, just a little bit, although he has found that most people miss the expression, slight as it is. "You have made the acquaintanceship of many people rather quickly already," he comments, although he is not necessarily surprised.
Many people have longed to appeal to his prince's tastes and sensibilities, but their efforts have all often been in the name of shallow causes. It had not escaped Dedue that Dimitri had rarely seemed fond of them. No one would say that he is a particularly cunning man, but Dimitri seems to understand more than well enough when someone approaches him with shallow interest. It's... nice to see him react positively to the idea of tea time with someone else.
Hm. Perhaps that is a point in Dimitri's favor, unfortunately, because then it really does mean that there is at least a significant difference between Fhirdiad Castle and Garreg Mach.
"I am sure that the two of you will get along greatly as well," Dimitri promises him, smiling in that little pleased way of his. "So, that means there is absolutely no reason for you to den yourself having tea with me this morning."
And they have circled right back around to this. Dedue takes in a slow breath through his nose. That was, quite frankly, his main line of defense... although he supposes, thinking on it, that then begets the question of just what he's defending himself from. If the risk of gossip is perhaps not as serious as Dimitri might claim... although Dimitri could very well be wrong...
Well, Dedue supposes there is only really one way of deciding on this, and it may very well to try something as a bit of a test. "It is very difficult to argue against you, Your Highness," he says, and perhaps relishes more than a little the way that Dimitri's eyes light up.
"It is rather easy to win arguments that you would like me to win," Dimitri says simply, and grins cheekly at him when Dedue just stares. "Now, let us set up the tea arrangements, shall we?"
In the end, it is still Dedue who handles the fine china, but Dimitri sets out the tablecloth, the napkins, pulls out the satchels of tea. While there is of course his favorite chamomile there in the basket - Dedue never lets himself be lacking in that department, when he knows how soothing it is for his prince - it is somehow no surprise to find that there are another couple of packets in there.
Their tea time together runs a little bit over the time that they normally allot themselves. Dedue finds it hard to be completely upset at that.