"Just come in already!" Arete's head snapped up when she heard the faint hiss from inside the room. She sighed and stood up before entering. Despite the hard labor two months early, the woman remained lucid, likely through sheer vitriol alone. Malice darkened her eyes as Arete folded her arms, looking at her. No more than seventeen and already a babe to her and Garon, and yet…

"Don't just stand there. I know you want him, so take him . With the way you've been shadowing me, I'm surprised you didn't just take him from my womb and leave me for dead." Arete just rolled her eyes. How in the Astral Dragon's name did somebody so young end up so angry and bitter? But she couldn't deny the young woman's words.

Her amber gaze fell on the young babe who struggled for even the shallowest breath as he lay in the midwife's arms. She hadn't even heard him scream or cry as was typical. Even the weakest of Vallite children had though most had been premature as he was. Most didn't survive, of course.

"He's just going to die anyway. One less thing I have to worry about. He's been nothing but cursed since his conception." She closed her eyes and passed out, much to Arete's relief. Even spite and malice had their limits apparently. Hopefully it boded well for the fight against Anankos that lay just a little over a decade away.

She turned to face the midwife who inclined her head forward and placed the boy in her arms. "Forgive me for speaking out of turn, Queen Arete but… I must agree with the young lady. I've never seen such a premature baby survive long… With how hard the pregnancy was, I'm surprised he didn't miscarry…" She looked down at him before turning away.

"I don't blame you since it's the same in my experiences, but I have something most don't." Arete's voice dropped to just above a whisper as she cradled him in her arms. His entire body radiated heat and she knew he wouldn't survive long if this kept up. Even the most advanced Nohrian medical magic would lose him due to his illness being beyond their understanding.

But not hers.

The midwife blinked before Arete curtsied slightly and headed off to her room. Xander's sweet music filled the air and Camilla looked up from her needlework, expression dead as Arete settled on the bed. The little girl sat her needlepoint to the side before crawling on the bed, looking at her younger brother. "Is he going to make it, Mother?" Her monotone didn't raised above a whisper as she fixed her gaze on Arete. She felt Aqua peer over her shoulder and light blue hair curtained the other side of her vision.

Arete was silent as she wasn't entirely sure if he would or not. He did in most timelines as she'd seen him wield Brynhildr to terrifying effect, yet the possibility remained the tome would pass to another. She'd seen timelines where just Xander, Camilla, and the little Silence Keeper survived by their lonesome. He needed to survive so the burden of Brynhildr wouldn't leave the Naess family, but would his death be so bad? She knew what she was about to sacrifice for the boy's good and the strain his sickly nature would put on Camilla after her own untimely execution. Plus… He wouldn't suffer the whip if she stepped back and allowed nature to take its course.

And only gods knew what that snake Iago would do with such a perfect target.

Fate is not something you should decide on.

A bitter smile adorned her face as the line picked at her mind.

She placed a kiss on the boy's forehead.

Even so…

He'd still bring so much light to the lives of those around him. No matter what happened, he remained a source of happiness and comfort for those around him. Their lives would be that much worse off without him.

"He will, Camilla, dear." She cradled him in her arms as her adopted daughter gave a faint nod.

"What's his name?"

Arete fell silent as she pondered. Even for as weak as he would be… Even for as frail as he'd end up…

"…Leo."

The boy would have perseverance, strength, and tenacity with a fierce love of his family. What better to embody that than the image of a lion?

She shifted her grip on him a little bit before she closed her eyes, starting to weave her song.

"Within the dusk

Families face strife

Threatening for them to be torn asunder

Leaving naught but devastation

In the wide wake.

Protectors shall come and go,

But in the end,

All they have is each other.

Regretting their mistakes,

Protectors wish they sacrificed

For hope."

First off… Let me apologise for the severe lack of quality in this particular oneshot. It's very bad compared to everything else I've written up until now. Arete was not particularly pleased with me trying to write this since it's an incident she'd rather leave forgotten. But it's important to the overall timeline of the Silence Keepers universe and it goes a long way in explaining a lot of things.

That said, if anybody picks out some of the important points here that were subtly implied, I'll be impressed. There are also a couple of smaller but still noticeable character things that you might pick up on in Reflections from this.

And, yes, that is the Nohr verse for my rewrite of Hitori Omou. (Excuse me for using the JP title since it's so much shorter than the ENG one.) I know some of the wording is very awkward but I was trying to map it note for note.