A/N: Whew, this chapter took a long time to get out for a couple of reasons. Usually, I just write the chapter and go from there. What I wanted to do was sit and write everything out because that's usually better form. Unfortunately, I just... never did? So this sat in the google docs for a long time just sort of gathering dust. Additionally, I guess I sort of just got stage fright. This got way more attention than I thought it would, and that's great! But also I didn't expect that and writing out the next chapter got a lot harder because I became super anxious. x'D! I don't wanna disappoint anyone with my mediocre writing! I thought it over a lot and then just decided: "I'm going to write the story I want to write. If people like it, they like it; if they don't they don't! You can't please everyone, lol". You would think that wouldn't be such a hard lesson to learn and we're all here for funsies, but I live in maximum clown hours constantly, so... Haha.

Thank you for your patience and support as always. I really appreciate it!

8/3/2020 Update: Some grammar fixes.

-29th of the Great Tree Moon

The investigation into who or what Sothis was continued in earnest any time Byleth had a moment to spare. However, the books in the library contained little information on Sothis and her abilities. They each reiterated the same tired old story that Byleth had heard a million times, and that was recited every single time she was forced to sit through a sermon for a holiday.

It wasn't what she needed, but really, did she even know what she was looking for at this point? After all, if Byleth believed that Sothis wasn't the Goddess and just some phantom- why did she have the power to turn back time? If Sothis was the Goddess, why was her soul intertwined with hers? None of it made a single bit of sense. In fact, why did the supposed Goddess - the mother of all life- the arbiter of every soul- look like a child?! One could argue that divine beings can just choose what they look like, but… Somehow, the Goddess wanting to look like a child didn't make any sense.

Byleth expected a quip back from Sothis, but her strange companion had remained rather silent since their meeting with Rhea. Her presence came and went, like a lingering phantom in a deserted mansion. It made trying to figure out what she was that much more frustrating. Byleth couldn't even ask her if what she was reading was correct or jogged any memories.

But figuring out who Sothis was had to be put on hold for now. Today was the first day of classes at Garreg Mach. She would be meeting the rest of the Golden Deer today and formally introduce herself to her father. Byleth was surprised she'd been able to keep calm up until now, but she owed much of that to her training- and her ability to prioritize what life-changing situation to stress over at the moment.

The young woman took a deep breath and gave herself one last look over in the mirror in her room, making sure to smooth out any wrinkles in her uniform. Not a hair could be out of place; after all, Byleth was supposed to making an impression, right? If she was indeed supposed to be the next Archbishop, Byleth was sure that she had to carry herself with as much grace and poise as Lady Rhea did- never letting a single emotion show on her face. She-

"You know- if you get any more stone-faced, you might be mistaken for golem," Sothis suddenly chimed in, and Byleth practically slammed into the mirror from jumping. Sothis only response was to giggle. Byleth frowned, trying to smooth out the out of place hairs, "Nervous for your first day, I take it?" Sothis hummed. Byleth could feel the young girl staring at her from behind. It was odd. She couldn't see Sothis most of the time, but Byleth always had a vague awareness of where she was, "Don't worry. I said I'd help you out, didn't I?"

Byleth couldn't help but frown, "Have you… ever even had friends, Sothis?" Byleth turned to face Sothis. She saw nothing, but felt her presence regardless, "And nice of you to show up now of all times instead of… I don't know… when I'm in the library reading tome after tome trying to help you figure out who you are."

"Look, it is not my fault those tomes are so outrageously boring that they put me right to sleep," Sothis huffed, "And I do not remember anything, so how can I remember having friends?"

"So how could you possibly help me?" Byleth groaned. Somehow, talking with Sothis just seemed to exasperate her. She didn't think she would ever get used to some strange voice popping in and out to make witty commentary.

"I mean, it was me that pushed you to talk to the three House Leaders and to make a choice on which House to decide. Oh! And my powers also helped in that situation with your father and Leonie! If anything, I have more than proven how useful I am!"

Byleth… couldn't argue that. Despite everything, Sothis had helped quite a deal in helping her come to a decision about things. Something was comforting about being forced to make a decision and not have to run over everything in her head a million times. Well, at the very least, even if she didn't make any friends, she still had someone to talk to- even if the circumstances were rather strange.

"I guess so," Byleth sighed, resigned that she had to admit that Sothis was right. However, she wasn't exactly pleased to have to admit that this odd phantom had better social skills than she did. It was… a rather rude awakening to just how sheltered she'd been up to this point. It left a bitter taste in her mouth.

"In any case, I'm not here to reiterate our agreement. I'm here to wish you good luck on your first day. You have been worrying about it incessantly. I am more than confident you will be fine!" Byleth could hear the excitement in Sothis' voice. It was… odd to hear such words of encouragement from Sothis given their bizarre situation, but it wasn't unwelcome. In fact, Byleth rather appreciated the well-wishes. It reminded her of the way Seteth had encouraged her when Byleth was younger or the way Flayn had been happy when Byleth had told her she was going to be a student.

In fact, there was… a lot of little ways Sothis reminded Byleth of her adoptive family, and not just the fact they all seemed to have such oddly colored hair and eyes.

Byleth paused. Maybe Sothis wasn't a ghost, but… a distant ancestor of Rhea, Seteth, and Flayn? The resemblance was there, and that would make more sense than her being the Goddess- it would have also explained her presence in the monastery. However, while the theory fit in some places- it left more holes in others. She didn't appear to be of childbearing age; thus, she couldn't have had descendants.

Byleth shelved the thought for now. It was something to ponder later when she didn't have her own family issues to deal with. Her father was going to be her teacher, and that… Well, Byleth was still unsure of how to approach Jeralt. However, she kept Sothis' encouragement close to her heart. It was much needed.

"Thanks, Sothis," Byleth smiled softly. However, when the phantom did not respond, Byleth reasoned she was alone once more. Sothis would speak if she had something to say, but it was impossible to prompt her if she didn't wish to talk. She gave herself one more look over in the mirror and headed out.

There was a stillness to Garreg Mach in the hours of the early morning. One could hear the birds chirping and the distant chanting of monks praying to the Goddess. It was always peaceful, and because of that, Byleth held a particular fondness for this time of day. Rhea would sit and have tea on the balcony outside her office, and Byleth would sit with her just… enjoying the stillness of the morning. Occasionally, Seteth or Flayn would join them, and it would be less quiet because they were much more talkative than Rhea or Byleth. Flayn especially always seemed to chatter on like she had so much to say and so little time to say it. It was odd but never unwelcome.

Byleth had decided to take a brief detour on her way to see Rhea. It was somewhat out of the way, but she had time. And she justified to herself that today was an important day to go out of her way to see her mother. She trudged down the stairs to the cemetery, fully intent on keeping the visit brief- she was not one to linger by her mother's grave and tell her grand stories of what she'd been up to. Byleth wasn't nearly so sentimental, especially over a woman she had never met. However, Rhea had always encouraged her to visit her mother. When she was little, the Archbishop practically dragged her here and retold stories of her mother and father to her with the most somber look on her face. Rhea would often lament about how sad it was to lose your mother at such a young age.

Byleth hadn't understood it then, and to some extent- she still didn't understand, but it was an experience that had made an impression on Byleth. So, if only to appease the Archbishop in some odd way, she visited Sitri's grave every so often. The young woman would often sit in silence- staring at the name etched onto the grave. Byleth imagined what her mother would have been like from the stories that Rhea had told her.

It was the only real link she had to her mother.

But as she trudged down the steps to the cemetery, Byleth found she wasn't alone. Jeralt was standing there wistfully staring down at the grave lost in thought. In his hands, a flower he'd plucked from the garden. Byleth… stopped and stared for a moment before clearing her throat. Her father seemed to jerk back from whatever memory he seemed to be reliving and turned to face Byleth.

Instantly, Byleth felt the atmosphere become tense and awkward.

"Um," Byleth was at a loss for what to say. She had clearly interrupted a private moment, but she hadn't expected Jeralt to be here, "That's a nice flower. Is it for mom?" Byleth asked as she quietly approached her father.

The silence between them stretches on for far longer than Byleth would have liked. She wished Sothis was here to help her find something to break the silence, but as usual, she was nowhere to be found when her input would have been most helpful. Jeralt seemed torn on what to say. He looked to Byleth and then to Sitri's grave and then back to Byleth before a sigh escaped him.

"It is. Lilacs were her favorite," Jeralt finally offered up. It wasn't much, but it was a lot more than their previous encounters had ever allowed for. Usually, he just stormed off without a word. Byleth couldn't help but be the tiniest bit pleased that she had managed to have the smallest exchange with her father. Despite the awkward atmosphere, it was… a development! She wasn't going to let this opportunity to talk with her father go, and so she grabbed at another subject to talk about with him.

"I heard you were teaching the Golden Deer this year."

"I am."

"I… decided to join your class."

"I know."

"..."

"..."

His curt and short answers only put Byleth on edge. She felt like she was doing something wrong, and any attempts at talking with him were just… annoying him. It… wasn't a good feeling. Was she really such a burden on her father? Maybe he hadn't run away from Garreg Mach out of grief- perhaps he just didn't want to be a father. However, as Byleth tries to suppress the twisting knife of emotion in her gut Jeralt finally says something unprompted, "Look, kid, I think I owe you an apology."

"Huh?"

Out of all the things she had expected, Jeralt to say it wasn't… that. What did he have to apologize for? He… hadn't done anything wrong? Well, not recently anyway. Abandoning your baby daughter to the care of the church wasn't a good move, but Byleth had thought her father would never apologize for that.

"I'm not exactly great at conversation as you can tell, and since I've been back at the monastery, I haven't exactly been… the most approachable person, and I…" He inhales, and there is another pause as if he's trying to find the right words to say, "Look, I don't know what the Archbishop told you about me, but-"

Byleth chimed in before he had a chance to finish, "She said you were the strongest out of the Knights of Seiros! And that you saved her life from assassins once! She told me that your bravery and skill in battle were beyond compare!"

Jeralt seemed… taken aback by her words, to say the least. It almost seemed like he was expecting Byleth to say something… different?

"I see," He finally said. Jeralt was back to curt, one or two-word answers it seemed. Still, it was more than what she'd gotten from her father thus far. They stood once more in awkward silence before Jeralt finally cast his gaze back to Sitri's grave before placing the flower on top of her grave, "You look a lot like her. Your mother, I mean," Jeralt frowned, "It took me off guard when I first arrived- it was… like I was looking at a ghost."

Byleth's gaze drifted down to her mother's grave. She didn't know how to feel about being told she looked a lot like her mother. It connected Byleth to her in a more concrete way than the stories Rhea had told her growing up. The way Jeralt spoke of her made her seem so much more like a real person than a concept. She wanted to be happy about being compared to her mother, but all she felt was confused. It highlighted how little she knew about both her parents outside of the stories the Archbishop told her.

They stood in silence once more. The conversation had all but died, and Byleth was okay with that. This little detour had taken up more time than she would have liked. She probably wouldn't have time to see Lady Rhea until after classes had ended, which was unfortunate, but it wasn't going to get her in trouble. If anything, Flayn probably would complain more than Rhea would. However, Byleth still felt like she had to say something- if she didn't then, she would lose this opportunity to get to know her father.

"Well, I… am very much alive!" Byleth offered a stiff smile.

"That you are…" Jeralt murmured before frowning. It seemed that something was bothering him, but he held back from saying anything.

"...Is something wrong? Did I do something wrong…? Byleth finally asked. She couldn't help but notice the way her father seemed to bristle uncomfortably when he looked at Byleth. Was all of this really because she looked so much like Sitri? Maybe approaching him had been a mistake- and if he was going to act this way, she should ask Rhea to switch her over to the Blue Lions and save them both the grief.

"You? No," Jeralt's answer was immediate and curt, "You've done nothing wrong."

He didn't elaborate, and she was left feeling more confused than reassured. However, that just seemed to be her constant state of being recently.

"Er… would you be more comfortable if I… switched houses…?" Byleth hadn't intended to speak the question aloud, but it just sort of… happened. She had been so ecstatic to be learning under her father, but she didn't want to cause trouble if she didn't have to, "You wouldn't have to teach me that way, and…"

"No," Jeralt's eyes finally drifted from her mother's grave and finally to Byleth. He was finally looking at her.

"No?" Byleth blinked. This wasn't the first time in the conversation her father's gruff answered had left her unsure of how to feel. Did her presence cause him grief or not?! Could she just get a straight answer out of this man? It was like talking to a brick wall.

"No, being at Garreg Mach is hard, but I'm glad I got to see you, and…" There's a long pause again, and his eyes narrowed, "I'm glad Rhea offered the opportunity for me to teach you," Jeralt gritted his teeth, almost like he was annoyed by something, and it had to do with Rhea. It was clear that Jeralt almost seemed to hold a personal disdain for Rhea, but knew better to speak ill of the Archbishop within the walls of Garreg Mach.

"...Erm… about Lady Rhea…"

"Listen, kid, this is my first lesson as your teacher," Jeralt huffed, and Byleth almost jumped at the sudden change in topic, "Don't say stuff you might regret. Especially when the walls have ears. "

He huffed and turned away, the conversation abruptly dropped. Byleth watched Jeralt's retreating form- his warning leaving an ominous feeling in the pit of her gut.