Episode Two: The Wounds We Bear, Together.
Imperial Year 1191
Day 28 of the Horsebow Moon
Somewhere Deep in the Former Ordelia Territory.
News of their official marriage preparations had finally reached Lysithea's parents, who were overjoyed that their marriage would finally come to pass. They had no objections. Both Hera and Vinmeyer knew how much Lysithea talked about Byleth and how she wished she could see him instead of going to the various roundtable meetings every few weeks. There wasn't a vein in the two of her parents that could possibly object to the marriage after all, their little girl had smiled many times since Byleth and Claude had ended the war, not to mention he saved her life by extracting her twin crests. Hera and Vinmeyer had finally found peace in knowing their daughter would be well taken care of by the man who saved her life, and most importantly, by herself. For Lysithea, easing her parents' worries about her and the land finally granted her peace, but no matter how much she wished for total freedom from the unsavoury memories of her childhood, she feared she would never be free from them. Regardless, Lysithea and Byleth both trudged on through the vast fields of the Ordelia territory with an elite company of royal guards around them, knowing that they were now very close to the Ordelia manor.
"Lysithea, are you feeling well?" Byleth asked in a concerned tone. Lysithea, absorbed in her thoughts, looked a bit pale and definitely not like her normal self. Byleth had seen her like this enough times to guess she was thinking about the painful memories of the blood experiments and being confined to her house by Those Who Slither.
"We can all stop for a moment if you need some water or time to cool off. I've seen you like this many times before, and I want you to know that we all care deeply for you."
"Um... Sure. Thank you Byleth. I could use a break for a few minutes. I'm feeling a bit disoriented and I need to eat a bit of the sandwich you made me." Byleth may have been both King and Archbishop of Fodlan, but he never let his sacred duties change who he was before taking on the role. He still decided to keep fighting if he needed to survive, fish to find food, and make his own meals if he needed to. Like most parents that cooked for their kids, Jeralt's boar sandwich was the absolute best meal that Byleth had ever eaten. He must have inherited his father's talents in preparing meals despite not having children of his own... yet. Lysithea, who normally didn't care for tough foods, like boar meat, actually loved Byleth's sandwiches. Byleth knew he wasn't perfect at everything, after all, nobody really is, but seeing Lysithea devour the boar meat sandwich without a drop water in between made him doubt his imperfections a bit.
"I wonder if I ever looked like that when Jeralt finished made me food." Byleth thought to himself as he made his way over to Lysithea, who was now folding up the sachel that once contained her food and burying it deep in the basket her horse was carrying.
"Well someone was hungry." Byleth teased as he strode over to her with a glowing smile stretched across his face. "Are you feeling better now?"
"Yeah, thanks for taking care of me. I really am the luckiest girl in Fodlan to have someone care for me to this extent." Lysithea replied with a smile matching Byleths that could melt even the most bitter person's heart. "I've never been one for boar meat, but somehow you created a masterpiece that didn't contain a sugary incentive."
"Is that so?" Byleth chuckled thinking back on his father. "I'm sure Jeralt would be proud."
"He should be." Lysithea added encouragingly. "His son avenged him, put an end to the war, ensured the people of Remire village were safe with regular check-ups, found himself a soon-to-be wife, and even knows how to cook and survive on his own if need be. You should be proud of yourself too."
Byleth's face lit up a flush red from Lysithea's praise, but when she was talking, he noticed something on her face. "Lysithea, you've still got a couple crumbs on your face." Lysithea patted around her cheeks and lips but couldn't feel anything.
"Is it gone?" Lysithea asked.
"No. Here, let me get it for you." Byleth tilted Lysithea's head to the right and planted a kiss right on her left cheek.
"Byleth! Ahaha. I should have known you'd-" Lysithea was interrupted when Byleth tilted her head back to the left to check again.
"I think it jumped over here!" Byleth exclaimed as he kissed Lysithea's right cheek this time, which resulted in another series of giggles from Lyisthea.
"Ahahaha, Byleth. Oh my goddess Sothis! Byleth!"
Byleth then examined her forehead closely, his eyes narrowing for a second before he shouted "There's another one! Don't worry, I'll get it for you!" Byleth, for the third time kissed Lysithea, whose cheeks were starting to become flush with laughter, excitement and embarrassment all at once.
"Byleth, wait... Please..." Lysithea tried to finish her sentence but the laughter kept her from catching her breath. Then Byleth looked down at her lips, and shouted once more. "They're making a run for it! I'm going to have to get them all here darling!" Byleth laid kiss upon kiss on Lysithea's lips until both of them fell backwards off the log Lysithea was sitting on and onto the grass where they lay there, laughing with satisfied smiles on their faces.
A few seconds passed with them staring into each other's eyes, but two soldiers ran towards them, worry written on their faces after hearing a thud sound.
"Are you okay Your Grace and Your Highness?!" One exclaimed.
"Yes, we're perfectly fine. Thank you for coming to check up on us so diligently. I'm glad to have you as one of my guards." Byleth replied, rolling over top of Lysithea and standing up to meet them. "I was just cheering up Lysithea. We should be ready to move out now that everything is put away."
"Oh, okay sir! Thank you for the compliments. We'll notify the other knights to pack up at once." The worried knight responded with both proud and dutiful tones in his voice. The two of them jogged back to give Byleth's information to the other knights standing guard, and Byleth looked back at Lysithea, who was just starting to sit up, finally stifling the last few laughs that were plauging her. Byleth reached out his hand, and Lysithea took it, boosting her up to face Byleth. Both their hands locked in between each other's , left and right, and the two of them embraced each other with a hug. Lysithea's heart was still beating a bit faster than normal, which eased some of his worries. They then made their way back on to their horses and joined up with the guards, and for the next thirty minutes the marched on in silence, with Byleth occasionally turning his head over at Lysithea to make sure she was still in high spirits.
Just as Byleth went to check on Lysithea for the twenty-something odd time, he noticed a concrete wall surrounding a three story house he recognized as the Ordelia manor from the four other times he had been invited there by Lysithea and her parents.
"We're finally here Lys." Byleth pointed out.
Lysithea acknowledged Byleths remark and turned around to the soldiers to signal that in a few minutes they would be granted a break and were allowed to eat again.
A couple moments later, they arrived at the castle entrance-way, and Byleth asked the soldiers to wait until both he and Lysithea talked to Hera and Vinmeyer Ordelia before stowing away their horses in their shelter. When Byleth turned back towards the entrance-way, he saw the Ordelia parents walking up to the two them with open arms.
"Good afternoon Your Grace! Hera exclaimed while shaking Byleth's hand. "Thank you for taking care of our darling girl, and congratulations on the finalization for the marriage!" There was a particularly more excited sounding tone in Hera's voice when she uttered that last sentence.
"Welcome back home Lysithea." Vinmeyer said as him and Lysithea hugged each other, followed by Hera.
"Thank you for greeting us so kindly Mr. and Mrs. Ordelia. Will you allow my men to walk their horses back to the stables to rest? They've been so diligently escorting us to make sure nothing terrible happened."
"Of course!" Vinmeyer replied, waving his hands over to Byleth's royal guard to signal them to follow him. "Right this way gentlemen, I'll show you where you can rest." The knights of the royal guard filed in line, with two knights taking one of Byleth and Lysithea's horses with them and followed Vinmeyer to the stables and soon, their voices and murmuring trailed off and out of earshot. Meanwhile Hera finally noticed some of the grass that was stuck in Lysithea's hair from when Byleth was trying to cheer her up less than an hour ago.
"Lysithea, are you hurt?" Hera pointed to the grass nestled in Lysithea's hair, and Lysithea felt around, pulling a couple of grass pieces from her hair.
"Oh." Lysithea answered, aware of what her mother could have thought happened. "We weren't ever attacked, Mom. I was feeling a bit down earlier and Byleth tried to cheer me up. We ended up laughing so hard that we fell into the dirt, but I'm okay. We were just playing around." Lysithea chuckled a bit thinking back on them staring into each other's eyes, still laughing after they fell.
"Well I have a few questions, and a lot to catch up on, but I don't want you two to get sick in this early autumn weather, it can get cold if you aren't moving. Please come inside. You two can also use the washing room to clean yourselves off, but there's only space enough for one at a time, so please keep that in mind." Lysithea and Byleth followed Hera inside, and the difference in temperature changed instantly. The two of them were warming up a lot faster than they had initially thought they would..
"We're in the middle of preparing and making food right now. It should be another hour until we can all eat. You won't need to worry about your royal guard starving however, their food was prepared by the three cooks we have working for us right now. Oh, and Lysithea darling, we've prepared a different room now for you to sleep in that has enough room for Byleth to accompany you if he wishes to.
That last sentence sent a shiver down Lysithea's spine. It was a relief of sorts for her, but hearing her mom address her now old room as if it still was a cursed place confirmed what Lysithea had felt earlier before her and Byleth arrived.
Once Byleth and Lysithea had been given a rundown on what was being made, Vinmeyer returned mentioning the guards accompanying them on their way here were staying in another lot a little ways away from the manor, and the two parents briefly talked about how excited and proud they were to see their daughter married to the one who saved her life, Byleth asked if he could wash off in the washing room before the dinner was served, and went to clean himself off. Lysithea and her parents had time to catch up a bit, and Vinmeyer asked Lysithea to share her story of how they came to decide to become married. Lysithea agreed to tell them her side of the story and what it was like to relive those emotions along the way, with her parents listening eagerly and periodically adding a bit of input and how they felt on the matter with remarks such as "The view sounds gorgeous!" and "I can really feel the passion and love Byleth feels for you." Before the three of them knew it, Byleth had come back from washing off, who had only caught the last few of Lysithea's sentences of her recount of her proposal story.
"Thank you for allowing me to clean myself off Mr. and Mrs. Ordelia." Byleth spoke with gratitude.
"You're most welcome! Anything for you, whose taken Lysithea under your love and care almost as much as we have." Vinmeyer answered. "Lysithea just finished telling us her side of your proposal story, and we'd love to hear your version as well. It was so heart-warming I have to hear both perspectives. But first, Lysithea, you should also clean off before the food finishes. We're already eating pretty late into the night, so after we eat and clean up, we'll all most likely have to go to bed, which sucks considering we've caught wind that you'll only be staying the night and will be staying a week next month instead."
"I was just about to ask to clean off myself." Lysithea responded. "And I'm terribly sorry that we won't be staying too long. But you are correct that we'll be back next month for over a week in the area. Thanks for the concern father." Lysithea got up from the chair she was sitting in and made her way down the hallway Byleth just came back from towards the washing room she had used so many times before.
"Well I'll get started on my side of the story then, but first, if you don't mind, I'd like a drink of water?" Byleth asked.
"Certainly." Hera answered while reaching for the tap water and grabbing a cup. Hera handed the water-filled cup to Byleth and sat down, now waiting for Byleth to tell his side of the story, and tell he did.
Twenty more minutes passed by before Byleth finished the story and the boiling food had come to a stop.
"That was just as great as how Lysithea described it." Vinmeyer said while Hera shifted the pots containing ham, vegetables and potatoes towards the sink drain.
"I'm glad to have told it to you then." Byleth responded. "The food smells great Hera! Thank you once again for providing for us before our arrival."
"You're welcome dear," Hera answered back, "but could you please let Lysithea know that the food is ready? It would be a great help."
"Sure thing!" Byleth replied. He got up once again and made his way down the hallway that led to the washing room, knocking on the door to let Lysithea know the food was finished.
"Food's ready my love!" Byleth called out from behind the door. There was no response. "My love? Lysithea?!" Byleth called out once more, slightly concerned. He couldn't hear any water, or anything at all but the door was closed, and he was sure Lysithea was inside. He let a few seconds pass by, but there was still no reply. Byleth was about to enter when he heard Lysithea faintly respond.
"Sorry, you can enter. I-I was just spacing out a bit. Thinking again." Lysithea sounded a bit hesitant, which made Byleth worry a bit more, but this time he was almost certain it had to do with this place and what happened to her here.
"Okay, I'm coming inside now. Are you okay?" Byleth replied softly. He turned the handle and pushed in the door where he was greeted by a thick, warm steam, likely from the warm water and soap. Once the mist dissipated he saw Lysithea hunched over the sink on the right side of the wall, still a bit lost in thought with a slightly saddened expression on her face.
"Lysithea, you've been thinking about your old room again, haven't you?" Byleth asked, still keeping a soft tone laced with concern and worry. "I want you to know that I'm not just here to cheer you up, I'm also here to lift you up." Silence hung heavily in the already thick, steamy air for a few seconds until Lysithea wiped a tear from her left eye, turned to face Byleth and fell into his chest.
"I'm just so scared, Byleth." Lysithea cried out, trying fruitlessly to stop the tears from now flooding down her exhausted face. "I know we eliminated Those Who Slither, but I'm still so very scared. I worry that one day I'll wake up ill because the crest removal didn't completely succeed, or that I won't wake up at all. Before you showed up, I had resolved to do all that I could to comfort my parents, who also share the same burden I do, knowing full well I would die without having lived a day for myself, but now that I have this hope, that I have you, and everything seems to be going well, I truly fear that I still may die young. I don't want to lose you Byleth. I don't. I just don't and I've never even told anyone else about how I feel until now! I know that you can't bring me back to life if it turns out my worries are right, so I didn't want to impose that burden on anyone else that I loved." At this point, Lysithea couldn't even stand, so Byleth sat down and held her head close to his chest, stroking her hair, trying to ease her discomfort as much as he could. Lysithea gave up on wiping her tears, she had already decided to let her emotions out in full force. She was now fighting against her super shaky breathing and running nose.
"Lys," Byleth spoke, breaking the stagnant tension. "If you feel like you're a burden to me, you're not, and you never will be. I truly hate what Those Who Slither have done to you, and I'll never regret doing all I could to save you from your twin implanted crests, because if it gives you even one more minute of life that you don't have to worry, fearing you could drop dead any moment, it will have been time worth spent. Don't you see? I'd trade my life for yours in a heartbeat. I'd give up a thousand years just to walk with you again if you had passed, and if, in the end I wasn't able to save you, for your sake, I'd never stay stuck in mourning. I know you'd want me to live for your sake, regardless of how much I missed you. You were ready to do the same for your parents, so I at least know what it feels like to love someone so much, all you want to do is make sure they're happy for the rest of their days. To me, that someone is you, Lysithea. So please, always tell me what has you down, worried or terrified. For me, it's my duty to always lift you back up along the way. As long as I'm here, you won't ever be stuck on your path in life, because you won't know where it ends when you walk it along the way."
Lysithea looked up at Byleth, still drawing shaky breaths, but the tears racing down her face were tears of relief instead of sorrow, and her eyes glowed once more.
"Byleth, I-I'm so sorry to have worried you, I... I should have told you sooner." Lysithea gripped tightly to Byleth's back and the two sat there in shocked silence for a while.
Byleth sighed in relief at being able to calm Lysithea's rampant nerves. Being honest with himself, most of what he said just came pouring out from him. He probably couldn't give that exact response again if he tried. If there was one thing the lack of words between the two meant, it was their being in agreeance that they were glad they had now lifted the burden off of Lysithea's chest and in turn, atop of both of theirs.
"Lysithea, your burdens are my burdens. Come to me anytime for help. Don't worry about bringing the mood down, or if it's a bad time, because it will all level out in the end. Just like this." Byleth spoke, gripping hold of Lysithea in return. "Let me know when you want to return to the kitchen, and we'll eat, okay?"
"Okay." Lysithea responded, finally stabilizing all of her emotions and wiping the last tears from her face. She got up and ran her hands under some warm water to wipe away the tears from her face and fixed most of her hair back into place, turned around to Byleth, and said "I'm ready now."
The couple walked back into the kitchen, where Hera and Vinmeyer waited for them patiently. They must have heard quite a bit because they didn't ask what had taken them so long. They greeted us with warm, but faint smiles and turned to each other, nodding about something that took place while Byleth and Lysithea were talking in the washing room before cutting apart the food and splitting it across four plates. The four of them ate in relative silence besides a few questions such as "How is the food?" or "Are you feeling tired yet?" and once the food on everyone's plates had finished, Lysithea asked to go to the new room early since she was feeling very drained. Byleth helped both Hera and Vinmeyer clean up some of the dishes, and Byleth then joined Lysithea in the new room, where he was greeted by Lysithea, already lying down, barely awake, but waiting for him nonetheless. Byleth slipped in with her underneath the covers and the two fell asleep rather quickly. That night, both Byleth and Lysithea got the best, well rested sleep, free of burdens. Greater than the rest they had gotten the day Byleth proposed to her, and then when they woke up the next morning, they were told by Hera that it was already time to leave and that Byleth's royal knights had been waiting for ten minutes.
Shocked by how long they slept in for, Byleth ran down the stairs and asked forgiveness of the knights who were waiting inside, cluttering the first few hallways closest to the entranceway.
"I'm so sorry my knights, it was a very exhausting day for us yesterday so I beg forgiveness from you and ask that you wait here a few moments longer while me and Lysithea say our thanks and goodbyes to both Hera and Vinmeyer." After the knights accepted his apology, Byleth then ran back up the stairs where he found Lysithea also ready and packed to leave.
"Hey Byleth!" She called out. "I didn't get a chance to truly thank you for all that you helped me with yesterday. I just wanted to say thank you so much. I'm very glad to have someone as accepting as you here for me, and I'll always stand by you as a result of it. Forever." Lysithea kissed Byleth on the cheek, and whispered in his ear "I love you sweetie."
"I love you too, Lysithea, and I always will." Byleth responded.
Lysithea ran down the stairs to go say goodbye to her parents, and Byleth followed suit. Both of them promised to come back the next month for a week and a half, but before Byleth left, Vinmeyer asked to talk with him briefly. He pulled Byleth aside and made it clear that what he was about to say to Byleth was, at present, for his ears alone, but to only be shared with Lysithea.
"Byleth, I really want to thank you for taking care of my little girl yesterday. Hera and I heard the whole conversation back there in the washing room, and from the way you spoke out of your heart like that to her, it's clear to me that you're the only one that I trust to keep her safe for us in my stead. Any shred of doubt, no matter how small it may have been previously about you being the one my daughter marries has vanished without a trace after hearing what you said and how you dealt with my daughter yesterday. I'm truly grateful to you, and you can rely on me to help you any time, okay? Now, get back out there and make it home with Lysithea safe so you can hold the wedding ceremony as soon as you can. Be sure to visit again in a month, and once again, thank you."
"Mr. Ordelia, I-I'm at a loss for words." Byleth stammered.
"You don't have to say anything or thank me. If you want to repay me for my blessing, just promise me you'll stick true to your words from yesterday, which I'm sure you will."
"Alright, sir. We'll be off then." Byleth proudly walked back to his horse, saddled on top, and nodded towards Vinmeyer Ordelia, who nodded back and saluted him before Byleth, Lysithea and the royal guards set off back to Garegg Mach Monastery. The ride back was full of bright and cheery conversations, unlike the ride there, but before they arrived back in Garegg Mach, Lysithea and Byleth had one final thing to say to each other.
"Byleth?" Lysithea asked.
"Yes, Lysithea?" Byleth replied.
"Last night I had the best sleep I've had in over a decade, and I know that as long as we keep lifting each other back up along the way, we'll be able to survive any obstacle. You know that, right?" Lysithea said proudly.
"Of course I do Lysithea. From now on, any wounds you may be forced to bear, we will endure together. Forever, and always."