I - Garreg Mach

Garreg Mach University - 6 Horsebow Moon, 732 AU

"Seteth, you know I'm only doing this because you asked me in a moment of weakness, right?" Byleth said as she strode alongside her professor.

He gave a short laugh. "Yes, of course. And also because you'd be out a supervisor if you didn't."

Byleth frowned but she kept pace. "Why couldn't you get one of your undergraduate students to do it?"

"Because, Miss Eisner, if I recall correctly, your area of study is a combined study between history and archaeology of the Unification Era of Fódlan, is it not?"

"Yes," Byleth admitted. "But, my own studies are busy enough, why do you assume I can teach as well?"

Seteth finally stopped and turned to look at her. "Byleth, you are one of the brightest students I have ever taught. I brought you on as a TA for this class because it will be an excellent experience for you, especially if you one day hope to be a professor in our department."

Byleth sighed and brushed some of her hair behind her ear. He made a good point. There was barely any archaeology funding anywhere so it was really in her best interest to commit to the faculty at Garreg Mach so they'd be more inclined to consider her for a permanent position in the future. It wasn't that she didn't want to be a TA, but that she was more concerned with juggling her own workload along with the TA work.

Seteth seemed satisfied that he had made his point as he pivoted and continued walking down the hallway. He stepped into one of the smaller lecture halls and Byleth followed him in. The classroom could seat about 50 people in a typical lecture seating style–a small classroom by university standings, but appropriate for a third-year archaeology course. Seteth immediately headed for the podium at the front of the theatre, pulling out his laptop to pull up the syllabus and his lecture slides for the first class. Byleth paused at the front briefly before she decided to head to the back, taking a seat in the back row where she was still present, but incognito enough.

After a couple of minutes, students began to pour in, chattering amongst each other. Byleth observed them quietly from her position at the back. There was a girl with long, smooth black hair who took a seat directly in the front row and immediately pulled out a laptop. A pair of boys, one with dark green hair and the other with silver, took seats near the back of the classroom and the green-haired boy almost immediately rested his head against the fold-out desk and looked like he was falling asleep.

Byleth recognized a few of the faces briefly, having glimpsed them in her own electives or around the archaeology offices. It certainly seemed like a colourful group of students. As seats filled up, as they always did on the first day of classes, Byleth became acutely aware of the fact that a student would likely be sitting next to her.

She pulled up the course outline on her laptop and focused on that, determined to look as unassuming as possible. She scrolled through it blindly as she had reviewed it weeks ago when Seteth had asked her for her contact information. Louder chatter around her caused her to look up as a group of five students had filed into the seats around her. Byleth scanned them briefly: a blonde girl, a redheaded boy, a dark-haired boy, a tanned boy with silver-white hair, and a blonde boy.

Her gaze caught briefly on the blonde boy, the one seated closest to her. He seemed oddly familiar, but she tore her gaze away quickly before anyone noticed she had been staring. Thankfully, at this time, Seteth cleared his throat at the front of the room. The cough echoed through the room thanks to the microphone and the chatter settled down.

"Welcome students," Seteth began. "This course, as I hope you're all aware, is Archaeology 356, Unification Era Archaeology. Our syllabus is available to download online as I'm sure many of you have already looked it over. My name is Seteth Cichol and I am the head of the Archaeology department here at Garreg Mach. I am also a professor for the History department. My contact information and office hours are available in the syllabus."

There was a brief pause as Seteth scrolled down the page to show his office hours. All through the classroom, there was the clicking of keyboards and the scratching of pens as students recorded the days and times. After a moment, Seteth was satisfied with the time he had given and he moved on.

"I'm also honoured to introduce our TA for this class, Miss Byleth Eisner."

Byleth tensed at the sound of her name as Seteth pointed up at her. A sea of faces turned to look at her and there was a ripple of whispers across the room. Byleth smiled politely and waved. Seteth barely paused, continuing on to explain her own contact information and office hours before launching into the depth of the course outline. Almost all of the students turned their attention back to the front, but Byleth noticed that one student who was sitting three rows in front of her kept glancing back her way.

She made eye contact with him once, but there was a curious intensity in his deep green eyes that made her uncomfortable, so she looked away, trying to refocus on Seteth at the front of the room. There was something familiar about him too, and it unnerved her a bit. She couldn't place exactly why she knew him, but his face was definitely familiar. She didn't look back at him for the rest of the 50-minute lecture, but she could feel his gaze on her at times.

When Seteth dismissed class, Byleth closed her laptop and slid it back into her bag. The group of students in her row had filed out and were hovering awkwardly in the aisle as she stood to leave. Byleth gave them a polite smile and headed down the stairs to the front of the room. She paused at the podium where Seteth was speaking with the dark-haired girl that had been the first one into the classroom.

Seteth paused his conversation to give her a farewell nod and Byleth took that as permission to leave and she headed for the door. She had almost left the room when someone touched her arm to catch her attention. Byleth turned to her left sharply and saw the young man that had stared at her during the lecture.

"Hi," he greeted with a casual grin. Up close, Byleth immediately noted the trickster-edge to his smile and the glint in his eyes. He was certainly attractive with mussed dark hair and the faintest line of scruff along his jaw, but he looked like trouble. "It's Byleth, right?" he asked.

Byleth nodded and shifted her weight. She stepped to the side so she wasn't blocking the doorway to the classroom to let other students out. The student stepped with her so they were still side-by-side. "Yes, that's me," she assented.

He held out a hand for her to shake. "I'm Claude Rahan." She shook his hand and he continued. "Are you Dr. Cichol's new grad student? In all my classes with the man, I don't think I've ever seen you around."

"Yes," Byleth admitted. "I'm starting my Masters this year." Her mind caught on something he had mentioned. "You've taken Seteth's classes before?"

Claude's smile slipped into a smirk. "Yeah, I've taken a couple of archaeology courses to fill elective space. I'm a history major though, which is how I ended up taking those archaeology courses in the first place since I liked Dr. Cichol's lecture style."

Byleth nodded. As an undergrad, Seteth had been her favourite professor as well. His lectures were clear, well-organized and interesting. He had never been late, had marked fairly, and had been extremely helpful and knowledgeable both in class and in his office hours. It wasn't hard to see why he was the head of the Archaeology department and a well-known prof in the history department as well.

"Claude!" a new voice called and both Byleth and Claude turned to see a young woman approaching them, her eyebrows knit suspiciously. "Are you bothering our TA?"

Claude sized up the young woman who had approached and laughed. "Come on Edel, I'm just making conversation. Getting a position as a grad student with Dr. Cichol can't be easy, so I was just curious."

The woman sighed and rolled her eyes. She turned to face Byleth and held out a slender hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Eisner. I am Edelgard von Hosch."

Byleth shook her hand. Edelgard had interesting eyes as well. Where Claude's were curious and playful, Edelgard's violet eyes were sharp and assessing. She had ashy brown hair that was pulled back from her face and the sharp angles of her features were very familiar to Byleth. It took her a moment to connect the familiarity of Edelgard's name as well as her face.

"You're the Prime Minister's daughter," she replied dumbly.

Edelgard winced and Claude laughed. "She's got you there, Edel," Claude teased.

Edelgard shrugged. "Yes, though here at the university I'm just another political science major."

Byleth's brow furrowed. Claude was a history major who had some previous experience with archaeology, but she didn't know why a political science major would be taking a third-year archaeology course. Edelgard seemed to recognize the confusion on Byleth's face and she laughed lightly.

"As for why I'm venturing into other disciplines, that can be blamed on Dimitri's sentimentality and Claude's lack of flexibility with his schedule," Edelgard explained.

"You see," Claude continued, "when three people who have been running in the same social circles since we were children all end up at the same university, it's natural for us to want to take a course together, but when I'm the one with very little flexibility in the courses I can take with my major and potential minor, I end up dragging a political science student as well as," Claude paused and gestured to the student that Seteth was currently speaking with, the blonde that had sat near Byleth during the lecture, "a business major into an archaeology class."

Byleth was still staring at the blonde boy when he finished his conversation with Seteth and turned towards her. They made eye contact and he gave her a warm smile. Byleth immediately broke eye contact and dropped her gaze back to Claude and Edelgard.

"That's Dimitri," Edelgard explained. "Dimitri Blethen. And while what Claude says is true, it's not worth being late to my next class over." She nodded politely to Byleth. "It was nice to meet you, Miss Eisner."

Edelgard left, sweeping past them and out of the classroom. Claude didn't move as he rocked back onto his heels, assessing her. Byleth raised an eyebrow at him.

"Don't you have more classes to get to?"

"Nah, I'm done for the day."

"Oh," Byleth replied awkwardly. Claude's smirk twitched at her reply and she fought off the urge to roll her eyes. "Well," she glanced at her watch, "I have some papers that won't read themselves so I should get going. I guess I'll see you in Tutorial, Claude."

He nodded. "You will." Byleth turned to leave, but he called out one last comment to her. "You look like her, you know."

Byleth froze and turned back to look at him. His chin was tipped to the side and he was giving her a lazy smile. Despite his nonchalance, Byleth easily caught the intelligent glint in his green eyes. She frowned at him.

"I look like who?"

"The Guardian of Order. Surely you've seen the tapestries, right? I mean, your Masters studies are on the mystery of her disappearance, so surely you've done your background research."

Byleth's frown deepened. He knew her area of interest which only could have meant that he had looked her up on the archaeology department's list of ongoing projects during class. She was indeed studying the disappearance of the Guardian of Order in the years after the Unification Act and she had indeed seen the Almyran tapestries depicting the Guardian's image. They had mostly faded after time, but thanks to the 101 AU Scorch of Garreg Mach, they were the only remaining physical depictions of the Guardian.

"It's been mentioned before," she said coolly and Claude's grin widened.

Seteth was the one originally who had pointed out Byleth's likeness in the portraits of the woman. Byleth tried to tell herself that it was just in the hair and eye colour–mint green–as well as the stature of confidence. Realistically, she saw many more comparisons between herself and the depictions, but it was more than likely that the tapestries showed more artistic freedom and liberty than the true appearance of the Guardian. It was for that reason that the Parliament of Fódlan had not requested their retrieval from Almyra to be added to the Royal Collection.

"It's uncanny, if I do say so myself," Claude added. With one last smile, he brushed past her and out of the classroom, leaving Byleth feeling unsettled and a little perplexed.

He was certainly a character.

Four hours later, when Byleth was working through a case on artifacts recovered near the old Fhirdiad capital, she was having trouble focusing. She was still stuck on Claude and the way he had so easily challenged her, having looked up her area of expertise. His familiarity was also still bothering her.

Byleth sighed and minimized the window containing the paper she was reading. She opened a new tab and stared blankly at the search bar. Fair is fair, she reasoned to herself and typed Claude's name into the search bar. Almost immediately she returned almost 60 million search results and she blinked, shocked, as her eyes focused on the top profile.

It was a news article about Almyra-Fódlan relations that had a subheader that had caught the attention of her query. Most of the article was the typical description of Almyra and Fódlan's contentious relationship, but part of it mentioned that the grandson of one of Almyra's ambassadors was attending Garreg Mach University. There was a picture attached to the article as well and Byleth zeroed in on the three familiar figures in the shot.

It was a photo of Claude, Edelgard, and Dimitri. They looked a few years younger than they had in lecture earlier, and Byleth studied it curiously. The three of them were standing inside what looked like one of the Parliament buildings in Fhirdiad. Claude was grinning, Edelgard was frowning, and Dimitri looked exasperated. Byleth's eyes drifted to the caption of the photo and she read it aloud.

"Claude Rahan, grandson to Almyran ambassador Oswald Rigaud, pictured with Edelgard von Hosch, daughter of Prime Minister Ionius von Hosch, and Dimitri Blethen, son of late Prime Minister Lambert Blethen."

Byleth blinked at the screen. So while Edelgard was the daughter of the current Prime Minister of Fódlan, Claude was the grandson of an Almyran ambassador and Dimitri also had familial connections to Fódlan's parliament. Byleth remembered the Disaster well enough. Four years ago, while on a diplomatic visit to the Duscur region, a vehicle crash had killed the Prime Minister at the time, Lambert Blethen, his wife, and the son of a cabinet minister while severely injuring the Prime Minister's son.

If Dimitri, Edelgard, and Claude were all connected to the government of Fódlan, it would explain why she had found all of their faces so familiar. Still, doubt prickled in her mind because it felt like she knew them from somewhere else and not just because they had famous parents. Their voices, their faces, and their mannerisms were eerily familiar and even thinking about it was going to give her a headache.

She closed the article and pulled up the paper she had been skimming through again. The artifact she had been reading about was a ceramic piece that was thought to be from a collection in the royal palace in Fhirdiad that was recovered after the violence in 102 AU that had destroyed most of the belongings of the late Saviour King and the Guardian of Order. Apparently the piece was definitely not Fódlani in creation and it was speculated that it had been a gift from Almyra due to the remaining paint decals on it.

Byleth enlarged a photo of the piece and squinted at it. The designs were definitely not any that she recognized from her previous studies of formerly royal artifacts. It was difficult to tell based on the photo whether the speculation about their Almyran origins had any weight to it, but the argument read coherently enough that it could have been true.

She was about to save the image to her drive when the caption on it caught her attention again. She highlighted it and stared at it for a moment. She scrolled up to stare at the image again and exhaled sharply. Before she could do anything else, the lab door swung open and Byleth snapped her head up.

Seteth raised an eyebrow at her as he walked in, draping his jacket over the back of one of the chairs by the door. "Anything interesting today?"

Byleth shifted, rotating her monitor, and beckoned her supervisor over. "This piece, here, supposedly was a part of a royal collection in Fhirdiad, but it was recovered below Garreg Mach five years ago."

Seteth leaned over her shoulder and studied the photo. "Five years ago would have been around the same time the last excavation to the underbelly of the old monastery was."

Byleth looked up at the professor. "This wouldn't, by chance, be related to that expedition you've been petitioning for this year, would it?"

Seteth hummed. "Certainly, if its recovery location is accurate, I believe we would have a reason to add you to my excavation team."

Byleth smiled. "Really?"

"Really," Seteth affirmed. "Since this connects so directly to your area of study, having your expertise on the expedition would be valuable. I'm sure that I can throw this to the board to get the funding to have you paid for it and everything."

Byleth hugged Seteth. "Thank you!"

Seteth had been planning a new trip to the crypts below Garreg Mach for several years and Byleth had desperately wanted to be on the team that would do the fieldwork. As a new Masters student, she had originally not been included on the list as priority was given to the PhDs and Fellows above her. Byleth had been digging deep in her studies on the Guardian of Order to find something that would give Seteth a reason to invite her onto the expedition team, beyond the fact that he had been friends with her father and that she was one of his favourite students.

Seteth reached for her mouse and scrolled up, briefly skimming the rest of the article. "This is about the old royal collection?" he asked.

Byleth nodded. "Mostly about the pieces that were able to be recovered that are mostly intact. This one caught my eye mostly because it doesn't look Fódlani."

Seteth studied the image. "Well, hopefully, this is enough to get you that spot we've been hoping for." He smiled at her and Byleth felt warm down to her core. "Well done, Byleth."

Garreg Mach Monastery - 14 Horsebow Moon, Unification Year

After Enbarr, it had taken several days before everyone was fit for travel back to Garreg Mach. Gilbert and a few others had pushed for Dimitri to return immediately to Fhirdiad, but he ignored them and instead chose to see the Knights of Seiros and his companions back to Garreg Mach. Byleth had been glad for his company, especially because she still worried over the wound he received from Edelgard at the end of their confrontation.

Still, in the few days that they'd been back at the monastery, she had seen him in the goddess tower for a brief period of time before their chaotic duties had summoned them into a whirlwind of work again. As Byleth sat through a meeting with Seteth and some other church officials, she touched the ring Dimitri had given her distractedly.

The silver of it was cool against her skin and still felt foreign. She kept her hands below the table as a few of the higher up monks and knights relayed their reports for the day. Rhea was still resting to recover from her imprisonment in Enbarr, but it seemed like everyone already knew that Byleth was set to become the next archbishop. Additionally, it didn't appear that there was going to be any delay in the shift of loyalty over to Byleth, a fact which made her slightly uncomfortable.

Seteth asked her something and Byleth blinked, realizing that her attention had drifted and she had lost the frame of the conversation entirely. She spun Dimitri's ring on her finger and asked Seteth to repeat himself.

"Nevermind, Your Grace," he said instead. "We're all tired so we should resume this discussion tomorrow when we've all had some rest."

Byleth tried not to slump in her seat in relief. There was some brief chatter as most of the monks and knights made their way out of the room, casting the occasional glance back in Byleth's direction. Seteth and Flayn lingered and Byleth remained seated. She knew Seteth wanted to speak with her so there was no real use in avoiding him, especially considering she had just spent three days doing that.

"I'll leave you two to talk, then," Flayn said finally, once the rest of the room had emptied. She squeezed Seteth's shoulder on her way out and swept out of the room.

Byleth watched her go. Flayn's youth was startlingly preserved despite the five long years they'd been at war. It made her wonder about more than a few things.

"Byleth," Seteth said, drawing her attention. "I know you were avoiding me and then today you were so distracted you might as well have been absent from these meetings. I know you've never been the most faithful, but the Church of Seiros will be instrumental in assisting His Majesty in the rebuilding and reunification of Fódlan."

Byleth raised her hands and rubbed at her temples. "I know," she admitted. "I'm sorry, Seteth, I know how much work you and Flayn have been doing for me. I appreciate it, I hope you know that."

Seteth chuckled. "Your appreciation is noted, Byleth." He sounded like he had more to say, but no words came forth so Byleth dropped her hands and looked at him. Seteth was staring at her with an expression on his face that was a mix of surprise and disbelief.

"Seteth?" Byleth ventured. She narrowed her eyes at him. "What?" she prompted after a moment when he didn't reply.

Seteth blinked hard and let his brows draw his expression into a frown. "When did you start wearing that ring?"

The ring in question burned against her finger as she looked at it, surprised. Her response caught in her throat and she looked from the silver ring to Seteth's still surprised and worried expression. When her tongue finally loosened, she was able to reply.

"Three days," she admitted. It was exactly as long as she had been avoiding Seteth. Despite the fact that she and Dimitri had been wearing the rings out and about, they had yet to come right out and tell anyone though she knew that, at the very least, Mercedes, Dedue, Sylvain, Felix, and Ingrid had all noticed that either Byleth or Dimitri was wearing a new piece of jewelry.

Seteth sat back down. He stroked his beard idly and let out a sigh. "Should I even have to ask?"

Byleth studied Seteth. Like Flayn, he looked like he hadn't aged a day in the five years he spent rallying the knights in search of Rhea. Still, sitting next to her in the Cardinals' Room at Garreg Mach he looked as tired as Byleth felt.

"Dimitri," Byleth said finally.

Seteth nodded like he had guessed as much and ran a hand through his hair. "Congratulations," he said gently.

Byleth smiled warily. She spun the ring again and studied it. "Seteth, if I asked you, would you be entirely honest with me?"

"I suppose," he replied after a moment.

Byleth looked up and saw that he had knit his hands on the table. He looked more uncomfortable now than she had seen him in a long time.

"What did Rhea do to me?"

Her question caught him off guard and he visibly recoiled, his chair squeaking against the stone as it pushed back. He worked his jaw for a moment, trying to come up with a satisfactory reply to her question.

"You're sure this question needs answering, are you?"

Byleth pursed her lips. "I am stepping up to lead Rhea's former church. I am a unifying force on this continent that is still teetering on the knife's edge. And," she paused, looking pointedly at her hand, "I am no longer on my own."

Seteth sighed heavily. "I understand," he replied. "You deserve to know, but first I should tell you the truth of our origins–Rhea's and mine and Flayn's."

Seteth told her of the Nabateans and the children of Sothis and the truth of Nemesis. He described the truth of Zanado and how Rhea–Seiros–had grieved the loss of her mother, the progenitor god. He explained Rhea's efforts to revive her mother, including the attempt that resulted in Sitri, Byleth's mother.

Byleth tensed at the name. It was unfamiliar to her as Jeralt never spoke of her mother, but it tugged on something deep in her chest regardless. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. She felt a sudden and unwanted swell of emotions at the thought of the mother she never got to know.

Thankfully, Seteth ignored Byleth's emotional response and continued his explanation, describing Jeralt's relationship with Sitri and how it had resulted in a child. Byleth's breath caught audibly as he then described, as he knew it, what Rhea had done in implanting Byleth with the Crest Stone of the Sword of the Creator to save her life.

Byleth's palm flattened against her chest and she exhaled deeply. "Rhea didn't want me. She didn't want me to be alive. She just wanted Sothis back."

Seteth pressed his lips together because he couldn't truly argue with her statement. Byleth stood from her chair and paced towards the window. She wrapped her arms around her stomach and shook her head.

"Where is Rhea?" she asked, looking back at Seteth for a moment.

Before Seteth could reply, there was a knock at the door that drew their attention. Both soon-to-be-Archbishop and advisor turned to the door and took in the hulking frame of the now-King of Fódlan, Dimitri. His broad shoulders took up the entire doorway, even though he was without his heavy mantle. Byleth's chest tugged in his direction as she took him in.

Dimitri seemed to note the tension in the room and looked between Byleth and Seteth uncomfortably. "I don't mean to interrupt, but I was hoping for a word with the Archbishop."

Byleth almost sent him away so that she could get the rest of the story out of Seteth, but Seteth stood before she could say anything. She bit her tongue as her advisor made his way to the doorway. Next to Dimitri's tall frame, Seteth looked small.

"Congratulations on your engagement, Your Majesty," Seteth said before he slid past Dimitri and disappeared into the hallway.

Dimitri watched him go before turning to Byleth and raising the eyebrow over his good eye. "Beloved, I didn't know you had told him."

Byleth laughed lightly and crossed the room to stand in front of her fiancé. She looked up at him, pressing her palms against his chest. Dimitri's hair was pulled back out of his face, leaving a few strands to fall over his forehead. It was a stylish, polished look that she had not seen him wear before. It suited him.

"Seteth is observant, my love," she replied, tapping a fingertip against the ring on her left hand. Dimitri's expression morphed into recognition. She reached up to brush at some of his hair. "This is new," she commented.

Dimitri chuckled. "Yes, Felix said he was either going to fix it or cut it, so we settled on this."

Byleth hummed appreciatively. One of her hands slid along Dimitri's jaw and down over his neck until it rested on his shoulder and the other stayed on his chest over his heart. He lifted a hand and picked up the one over his heart, bringing it to his mouth and kissing her palm.

Byleth laughed and gently pulled her hand down, twisting it so they held hands instead. "Has Gilbert been after you today about returning to Fhirdiad?"

Dimitri huffed. "Unfortunately. Thankfully, Ingrid has come up with a new reason for me to stay for a while longer."

"She has?"

Dimitri stepped back into the hallway, tugging her along with him by the hand. She followed, keeping pace, as they let their joined hands dangle between them.

"Apparently, it used to be a tradition that the rulers of Faerghus were crowned here at the monastery instead of in the capital. My great-grandfather changed that when he was crowned in Fhirdiad, but Ingrid pointed out that it may come across as a gesture of both tradition and unity if I was to be crowned, officially, here."

Byleth was surprised. Truth be told, she did not know much about Faerghus customs, but she agreed with Ingrid's logic: crowning the king at the monastery would be seen as a unifying gesture due to the importance of the church to the unification effort and the war. Plus, it gave her an excuse to spend more time with Dimitri before they were both pulled so completely into their work that it would consume them.

"So how long have you bought us?"

"Another month," Dimitri said. "Possibly more if we choose to announce our engagement sometime in that time period since we will have the excuse of wedding planning."

Byleth nodded. "I suppose we'll be expected to have a big wedding, won't we?"

Dimitri paused in his stride and looked down at her. "What would you prefer, Beloved?"

Byleth looked away a bit shyly. "I am not one for crowds as you know. I would be happy to have our Blue Lions and a few of our other close friends in a small ceremony. I know, however," she added, "that that dream is unlikely considering both of our stations." She shook her head ruefully. "I have not even ascended officially as Archbishop and already I feel as if everything has changed here."

Dimitri dropped her hand to place his hands on either side of her waist. His hands were warm and comforting as he rubbed them up and down. Byleth leaned forward until her head rested against his chest. He shifted against her and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"I hope nothing between us has changed, at least," he murmured gently.

"No," Byleth assured. "Nothing will change between us as long as I have anything to say about it."

Her left hand reached for his and she covered his with her own where it rested at the base of her ribcage. The rings they exchanged were touching and Byleth tried to convey everything she felt for Dimitri–love, adoration, pride, and trust–through the simple touch. With him here, solid and warm and alive, she had never felt more grateful for anything since she learned that each of her students had survived the final confrontation in Enbarr.

After a moment, Dimitri leaned away and lifted a hand to guide her chin up so she was looking into his eye. "What were you and Seteth speaking about when I interrupted?"

Byleth frowned unintentionally. "Rhea," she admitted. "And," she found his hand as she spoke, guiding it over her still chest, "this."

Dimitri waited for a moment with his palm pressed against her shirt before his eye widened and his lips parted. "Beloved, why do you not have a heartbeat?"

Byleth exhaled slowly and closed her eyes. "Rhea," she replied simply. Dimitri didn't reply, but she knew he wasn't satisfied with her explanation. She opened her eyes to acknowledge his questioning look. "I do not understand everything myself," she admitted. "If I knew, you would know," she assured him.

Dimitri relaxed a little and dropped his hand back to his side, hesitating before reaching for hers. Byleth tangled their fingers again and pulled him towards the dining hall. "Come now, love, we should find our way to the dining hall. It was Dedue's turn to cook today so I'm sure whatever he made won't last long."

Dimitri chuckled, but let her pull him down the hallway in the monastery. The late afternoon sun warmed Byleth and with Dimitri's hand in hers, she felt content and prepared to face the chaos that was sure to follow a five-year war.

Author's Note: Alright, so Fire Emblem is ruling all of my motivation (and Critical Role) so I've somehow ended up starting another massive Fire Emblem fic. No promises on the next update, but I figured by posting this I'd be forcing myself to continue writing it and to finish it eventually.

I'm on Tumblr as nicolewrites and AO3 as nicole_writes