Flayn appeared to be in something of a panic as she knocked urgently on Byleth's door.

'Hey, Flayn, whatever's the problem?' Byleth was half undressed, as she had been caught getting ready for bed. 'Does Seteth know you are out at this time?' She added, sure that he would have a fit if he realised Flayn was traipsing around alone in the darkness.

'Of course, he doesn't. I pretended to turn in an hour ago.' Flayn replied impatiently. She pushed her way into Byleth's room and slammed the door.

'Come in, please!' Byleth muttered at the girl's belligerent behavior.

'Seteth and Jeralt are going to fight!' Flayn announced dramatically. I heard them talking when I went to say goodnight to my brother.'

'Okay.' Byleth looked confused.

'Well, we have to stop them!' Flayn wailed. 'I was largely teasing when I suggested to Jeralt that my brother was wooing you. I didn't expect them to come to blows over it!'

Byleth chuckled. 'I doubt very much that is the reason.' She guided Flayn to a chair and sat her down. 'Unless Seteth was literally threatening me, my da would do nothing more than issue a warning. Maybe growl a bit or scowl menacingly. There is no way that he would come to blows when he knows full well that I could take out anyone I needed to myself.'

'Are you sure?' Flayn demanded.

'Pretty sure.' Byleth nodded. 'There isn't actually a precedent. Jeralt hasn't had any reason to deal with a potential romantic encounter before. Or even a friendly one actually. I'm positive that he isn't stupid enough to believe that your brother would have an interest in someone like me, and anyone could see that Seteth is not the kind of person who would engage in disrespectful behavior.'

'Maybe, but I wouldn't be so quick to discount an interest.' Flayn muttered. 'Have you really never had a romantic interest before?' She couldn't help herself asking.

'No. There was hardly the time on the road, and I guess I lacked the inclination to make the time.' Byleth shrugged.

'Is there anyone here that has caught your eye?' Flayn pressed, her eyes lighting up at the prospect of gossip.

'I'm sorry, Flayn. If there was anything to share, I would happily share it with you.' Byleth promised. 'But since I have literally only just learned that I like hugs... I don't think I'm in any way a romancing kind of girl. Yet, at least.'

'I see.' Flayn thought for a moment. 'So who is it that you have hugged then?'

'Well, let me see.' Byleth smiled. 'There was you. You were the one that gave me the first ever hug that I remember.'

'Oh!' Flayn beamed. 'I like hugging you too! Was there anyone else?'

'Mercedes and Annette have accosted me a few times. Bernadetta, Caspar, and Linhardt. Then there was Hubert, of course.'

'Hubert? Really? Surely you didn't like that one?' Flayn wrinkled up her nose. 'Hang on... are you saying that Hubert managed a fairly normal human interaction of his own volition? That's... unexpected.'

'I hugged him actually.' Byleth admitted. 'I was drunk, but yes, it was nice. So nice I did it twice!'

'How did he react? You appear to still be breathing... so it wasn't lethally at least.'

'Hah! He hugged me back.' Byleth looked smug. 'Probably because Edelgard has ordered him to be friendly to me though...' She added honestly.

'Byleth!' Flayn suddenly flew up out of her seat, her face panicked. 'I can't believe I let you distract me! The fight! Remember?

'I admit, I am failing to see what the issue is, Flayn.' Byleth put a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder and pushed her back down into her seat. 'I'm sure that they are just sparing.'

'Seteth doesn't spar… sure he trains, mainly on his wyvern, and he teaches the aerial teams – but I cannot ever remember him actually sparing with someone.' Flayn was distraught. 'There must be something more to it, Byleth… please believe me!'

'I do.' Byleth replied reassuringly. 'Look… my dad has this 'thing.' He is reasonably astute about people and personalities, which I guess is what makes him such a good leader both in the field and off it. Regardless, he swears that until he has crossed blades with someone, his read on them isn't complete. I get the impression that he really likes your brother, but he isn't going to be sure until they have fought.'

'Is that really a thing?' Flayn asked skeptically.

'There is an honesty in the way you fight.' Byleth mused. 'Your style, what you will do, how you respond, it's all a good indication of the person that you are.'

Flayn slumped back in her seat. 'Do you think they will let us watch?' She asked.

Byleth chuckled. 'I very much doubt it. If it's a bonding experience, the last thing they'll want is us two troublemakers hanging around.'

'Aren't you even just a little bit concerned?' Flayn grouched.

'Not really.' Byleth was still smiling at the girl. 'I do think it's cute that you are so worried about your brother, though. He would be delighted if he were to learn how anxious you are over his wellbeing.'

'Don't you dare tell him!' Flayn insisted.

'We can discuss terms…' Byleth offered with a shark-like smile.

~0~

'Took your time.' Jeralt commented when Seteth let himself quietly into the arena and locked the door securely behind him.

'I had some paperwork I had to finish.' Seteth apologised. 'I have been so distracted lately I have fallen woefully behind.'

'You should commandeer Flayn, that's what I do.' Jeralt grinned. 'She is a whizz with rota's, and she enjoys doing them. I'm paying her in sweets.'

'Flayn is less inclined to spend her time with me.' Seteth noted as he began his warm-up routine. 'I am too overbearing and intrusive.'

'Can't say I have that problem with Byleth, but then it isn't like she has every shown much feeling one way or the other in the first place.' Jeralt replied.

'So what are the rules for this then?' Seteth asked, staring around at the array of weapons that Jeralt had laid out before his arrival.

'I thought we'd just freestyle and make it up as we go along.' Jeralt shrugged. 'I don't spar often, I'm not fussed on the weapon or the method.'

'We could range through them.' Seteth suggested. I have a passing knowledge of most arms. Prefer not to be taking potshots at each other with bows, though.'

'Me either.' Jeralt nodded. 'How are you going to manage without an enormous bird between your thighs?' He challenged with a leer.

Seteth chuckled. 'It's been a while, but I believe it will come back to me.' He conceded. 'Are you sure you will cope without a group of Mercenaries or Knights at your back?' He smirked.

'Touche.' Jeralt went to the weapons pile and picked up an axe which he threw in Seteth's direction. The man caught it by the handle, not even stumbling under its sudden weight. 'I like the axe.' Jeralt commented. 'It's an honest weapon. No faffing about with it… smack or be smacked.'

'Im sure that a dedicated axeman would beg to differ.' Seteth remarked quietly, testing the balance as he waited for Jeralt to finish his preparations.

Jeralt's opening attack was brutal, a wide arcing swing as he shot forward with vicious momentum, forcing Seteth to quickly counter and shuffle back a few steps. As Jeralt recovered his position Seteth rapidly aimed a much less excessive attack to Jeralt's open side, which the Knight dodged with clean efficiency.

'Nice.' Jeralt grunted as he moved away to size up his opponent once more.

'You signaled your intention a mile off.' Seteth noted. 'Your speed was a surprise, though.'

'I'm not over the hill just yet.' Jeralt grinned, moving forward again, this time slicing his weapon from side to side in quick staccato slashes, interested to see how Seteth would counter.

'I'm not even going there…' Seteth leaped to the right rather than defend, then twisted into a dive to try and catch Jeralt's back.

'Interesting choice.' Jeralt kept to his feet but ducked low and cast out a testing shot towards Seteth's legs, which was weak enough that it was turned aside with a simple flick that pushed Jeralt slightly off balance. When he righted himself, Jeralt grinned broadly. 'Less talk now, I'm confident you have enough skill for some all-out action without the risk of doing you too much damage.'

'Is that so?' Seteth nodded and planted his feet firmly. 'Let's go then!'

Jeralt was impulsive and robust in his attack, handling the axe without finesse, but with an impressive precision that belied his lack of grace. Seteth, on the other hand, was focused and economical, lighter on his feet, and seemed to have an otherworldly awareness of the intention of his combatant. Jeralt was sure than the man was only using a limited amount of his physical strength, and was impressed with his restraint despite the battering that Jeralt was handing out.

'Are you actually going to start taking this seriously?' Jeralt grunted through clenched teeth as he volleyed a series of hits directly at Seteth's torso.

'I thought the idea was to get an insight into each other's skills.' Seteth growled back, knocking the axe clean from Jeralt's hands with a single ferocious blow and toppling the larger man to the ground with his shoulder.

'Me and my big mouth!' Jeralt grinned at Seteth and accepted his hand to rise. They both went over to the side of the arena to clean up.

'You are impatient,' Seteth noted as he toweled off his neck. 'Your form is unfamiliar too. Did you learn outside of Fodlan?'

'No.' Jeralt looked amused. 'Since you have the win, I'll answer your questions, but its swords next and when I win, you have to answer mine.'

'Dangerous.' Seteth's eyebrow raised. 'Do we have a pass?'

'Sure.' Jeralt went and picked up two swords. 'It'll be a balance, though.'

Seteth took hold of the sword that Jeralt handed to him thoughtfully, and followed the Knight back into the arena.

'Are you and your wife biologically Byleth and Myles's parents?' He asked.

'What?' Jeralt choked back a laugh. 'In so far as any man is sure, I believe I am their father. Myles certainly has my look, and Byleth is remarkably like her mother. What in the world made you ask that of all things?'

Seteth flushed. 'I did have a lingering thought that perhaps they were Rhea's children.' He muttered.

'Oh bloody hells bells!' Jeralt guffawed, slowly moving in towards Seteth with his sword raised. 'No.' He promised. 'A whole world of no.'

Their blades clashed. Jeralt's superior skill was instantly obvious as he whipped gracefully back and forth, putting Seteth immediately on the defensive.

'So, where did you come from?' Seteth asked next as he gained a few ineffective hits against the onslaught from Jeralt.

'Faerghus originally.' Jeralt was pushing his advantage relentlessly. 'No great story there. I was a nobody, orphaned young, did a bit of thieving and general roguery before ending up with a mercenary group. Learned my trade the hard way.'

Seteth's skill with the sword was obviously less practiced than with the axe, but Jeralt couldn't help but be impressed with his continual speed and how he appeared to be improving as the fight went on, as if he was remembering moves long forgotten.

'Are you out of questions already?' Jeralt asked after a while had passed accompanied only by the sound of their clashing weapons.

'I wasn't expecting this opportunity.' Seteth admitted. 'I'm trying to order my thoughts.'

'How about I take a turn?' Jeralt smirked, throwing himself bodily at Seteth and crashing him backward. His sword moved like an extension of his own arm.

'Crap.' Seteth's balance failed him as he took a sharp shallow cut to his upper arm.

'You did pretty well, all in all, I was honestly expecting to trounce you completely with my preferred weapon.' Jeralt admitted appraisingly.

'It's been a while since I used a sword.' Seteth's brow creased. 'It was far more noticeable that your method is unusual with it, though. It's oddly familiar, as well.'

'I trained a long time ago.' Jeralt motioned that they go and take a break. 'Which brings me to my first question. What is your relationship with Rhea?'

'Family, of a kind.' Seteth shrugged.

'Huh.' Jeralt winked at him cheekily. 'If that's true, then the same could be said about us then.'

'What?' Seteth looked up sharply. 'What do you mean?'

'My wife was related to Rhea too.' Jeralts eyes turned a little harder. 'I strongly suspect that if I were to push back the hair that your shiny circlet holds in place, I'd find the family ear abnormality just like they both had.'

Seteth had tensed rigid. His brow puckered, and his fists clenched reflectively.

'Thought so.' Jeralt nodded at his reaction.

'Wait.' Seteth suddenly looked puzzled. 'I thought your wife was one of Rhea's handmaidens.'

'Yeah.' Jeralt agreed. 'All of her ladies are related to her, that's what I was told anyway.'

Seteth swore loudly and very inventively.

'How could you have not known that?' Jeralt had started to grin again, relaxing almost completely.

'I am obviously both blind and bloody stupid.' Seteth groaned.

'So Rhea's done one over on you too then.' Jeralt shrugged. 'Happens to us all.'

'What did she do to you, Jeralt?' Seteth asked quietly.

'Hey, I thought it was my turn to ask the questions!'

'Right. Apologies.' Seteth went to fetch the lances awaiting their next round.'

'Nah, I'm just shitting with you.' Jeralt chuckled. 'I knew I'd likely have more to tell before I could ask any proper questions, you ain't used to people messing with you, are you?'

'Used to be.' Seteth admitted. 'I had two brothers who loved to make me the butt of their jokes. Not to mention a wife who was quite capable of pointing out my shortcomings loudly and often.' He rolled his eyes.

'Flayn's mother?' Jeralt asked pointedly.

'You seem rather confident that Flayn is my daughter.' Seteth said mildly.

'Is she?'

'Yes.'

'I knew it!' Jeralt fist-pumped as he took the lance offered to him and stood. 'It's a dad thing, Seteth. You really think you could fool a fellow father?'

'I guess not.' Seteth sighed. 'I trust I can count on your discretion?'

'I'm not going to do anything that would be detrimental to your daughter. In the same way, I'd hope you would do nothing that could compromise mine.'

Seteth nodded his agreement as they squared off to one another again.

'So I met Rhea when she hired the mercenary company I was with for security on a journey.' Jeralt looked the most uncomfortable with the lance in his hand than he had with any of the other weapons.

'She hired mercenaries rather than take the Knights?' Seteth questioned.

'Shush now, let me get this tale out of the way.' Jeralt admonished as he awkwardly pushed Seteth's quick and targeted jab away from his chest.

'Sorry.' Seteth used the length of his lance like a scythe making Jeralt hop away awkwardly.

'Long story short, on the trip, I happened to save Rhea's life.' Jeralt tried another attack, pushing forward inexpertly and putting as much strength behind it as he could. Seteth countered it with ease. 'Problem was...' Jeralt continued, '... In saving Rhea, I left myself open to being skewered pretty convincingly through the chest, with a lance just like this one.' He frowned down at the weapon in his hand.

'Not a weapon you are fond of then?' Seteth inquired.

'Not really.' Jeralt agreed. 'The blow should have killed me. Would have done in Rhea hadn't stepped in and healed me with some weird hoodoo blood magic crap.'

Seteth's lance fell clattering to the floor, dropped in his shock at Jeralts announcement. He was forced to jump sharply out of the way to avoid the attack that Jeralt had already committed to then sank to the floor.

'She used her own blood to heal you?' Seteth repeated, staring at Jeralt blankly.

'I see that you have an idea of what that actually did to me then.' Jeralt replied, his voice heavy with irony.

Seteth nodded mutely.

Jeralt threw down his own weapon and jogged across to his belongings to grab a bottle of spirits. He went back to sit opposite Seteth on the floor of the arena, taking a long swig before handing the bottle to his companion.

'How long ago did this happen?' Seteth asked after swallowing a large mouthful.

'Over a hundred years, give or take.' Jeralt raised the bottle to his lips again. 'I have aged, just bloody slowly, I gained strength and speed that I'd never had before as well as a nice shiny major crest of Serios.'

'Right.' Seteth held out his hand for the spirit again. 'I guess you really are family then. Byleth and Myles too.' He rubbed at the sudden ache that had awoken in his forehead.

'I have to assume that you and Flayn are rather older than you appear to be as well.' Jeralt continued. 'For all that Flayn can be naieve, she is completely adept at weaponising her cuteness to devastating effect. I have also come to believe that your protectiveness of Flayn arises from the very real danger of people finding out just what your family's blood is capable of doing. Or is it just a skill that is inherent in Rhea?'

Seteth was silent for a long time.

'You aren't wrong.' He said finally. 'Our 'abnormalities' can be used in a variety of ways, none of them pleasant for the donor. Our secrets have been used against us in the past. It's what killed my wife and many of our family. It's what caused Flayn's lingering illness. We kept ourselves away from people for a very long time, and I am honestly beginning to think that we should absent ourselves again.'

'What does it mean for Byleth and Myles?' Jeralt asked.

Seteth's eyes widened. 'I honestly don't know.' He admitted. 'You carrying Rhea's blood and her mother being one of us too? They don't appear to have stalled aging... I'm not entirely sure what they would inherit aside from a crest.'

'Is there anyone who would know?' Jeralt asked.

'I think we could only speculate at best.' Seteth frowned. 'What happened, Jeralt? Why did you leave the Monastery? Maybe there is a clue to be found in the events of your children's birth?'

Jeralt shrugged. 'I had honest respect, fondness even for Rhea. We clashed millions of times over the way she had her Knight's handle certain situations, but it was never a serious breach in our relationship. It was when my wife became pregnant that the troubles started happening.'

'I guess she would have been as unsure as I am as to what such a coupling could mean in terms of your offspring.' Seteth said thoughtfully.

'Rhea became completely unreasonable.' Jeralt barked. 'Territorial even. She tried to squirrel my wife away, tried to stop me seeing her – all the time saying that it was in the best interests of her health. I'm positive I was lied to about the dates too. I would never have accepted a mission if I had known the birth was imminent. It was only blind luck that I returned to the Monastery to witness any of the events. My wife was already dead by the time I returned.'

'What happened?' Seteth asked gently.

'The midwife later told me that Byleth was born dead. Her heart had never beaten. I was never told about Myles. When I first saw Byleth, she was obviously unwell, she was silent and listless, completely white like a stone. She had a small scar over her heart, where I assumed Rhea had worked whatever magic she had done to revive the child.'

'We definitely don't have the power to raise the dead.' Seteth frowned. 'You must have been misled.'

Jeralt shrugged, noticing the bottle they were sharing was empty. He went back to his things and dug out a second. 'I came prepared.' He murmured. There was silence as the new bottle passed back and forth for a few minutes.

'Byleth has never cried.' Jeralt said, finally. 'Not as a baby, nor a child. Not through physical pain or injury or fear. She never smiled, never expressed much of anything at all growing up. I stuck around for maybe six weeks here, but Rhea was becoming more and more obsessed with the baby, and Byleth wasn't improving any. I'd completely lost my trust. I knew that Rhea had done something to her, and I figured my only chance of helping her was to get away and seek medical help elsewhere. I set the fire, including a load of records that contained information about my family and me and left reasonable doubt that we had perished in the inferno.'

'Did you find any help once you'd left?' Seteth asked.

'None. We traveled all over using up the money that I had saved, but Byleth never changed, and no-one could offer any kind of explanation. Eventually, I returned to mercanery work to support us.'

'Why did you come back?'

'She'd gotten worse.' Jeralt's pain was deeply evident. 'There were the odd moments when she seemed almost human, particularly around smaller children or animals, and I had reached a point where I could see some expression in her simply through knowing her so well.'

'Was it the life you were leading traumatising her?' Seteth asked delicately.

'I don't believe so.' Jeralt shook his head. 'Byleth took a huge amount of pride in gaining a place in the band. She always wanted to be busy, hated inactivity. Her powers of observation and were frankly, almost preternatural. In my entire career, I have never known anybody as able to win a battle with such a minimum of bloodshed.'

'So, what was it that forced your hand to come back?' Seteth looked confused.

'She started having dreams and hearing voices.' Jeralt said uncomfortably. 'Like an imaginary friend in her head. She talked about it quite openly to me for a while, as if there was nothing odd in it. Then she just stopped talking. I had the insane idea that we could come here and hide out somewhere close by, and I would contact Rhea, ask if she could help or if it was something I should be expecting. I don't know. But then we got dragged to the Monastery as you know, and... well, she is so very different now.'

'Rhea's behavior since you appeared has been odd.' Seteth laid on his back, the effects of the spirits suddenly hitting him like a ton of bricks. 'I need to think about all of this.' He added.

'I had hoped that you would immediately have answers.' Jeralt said sadly.

'More like a whole load of extra questions.' Seteth sighed. 'How much does Byleth know?'

'Not a great deal. Her own lack of interest is the main reason for that, and right now, she has a load on her plate.'

'I never met the Byleth that you lived with for all those years.' Seteth closed his eyes. 'The one that I have come to know is a very remarkable woman. I think you should talk to her.'

'Do you not think we should have some actual answers for her first?'

Seteth chuckled humourlessly. 'Point taken.' He agreed sourly.

'I kept a diary.' Jeralt mumbled. 'If anything happens to me, I have everything written down in that for her.' He paused. 'Seteth, would you look out for her if I am gone?'

'We are family.' Seteth said stoically. 'You can count on it. Would you do the same for Flayn?'

'Well, of course!'

'Then, my friend, I think we have made our first agreement in working together to keep our children safe.'

'I'll drink to that!' Jeralt raised the bottle.

'If I drink any more, I'm likely to vomit.' Seteth groaned.