Rays of a creeping sunrise peeked into the room and began to rest upon Byleth's face, it's gentle warmth slowly rousing her from a deep sleep. Instinctively she reached her arm over to where her love would be to softly stir her awake as well, the day having begun.
But there was no Edelgard, and no warmth where she would have been.
Byleth opened her eyes to truly confirm she was alone in bed yet again, having been like this almost every day for the past month. They would retreat to bed together, cuddle, kiss each other good night, and lovingly explore Byleth's growing baby bump, but when she awoke the Emperor was long gone to work on her tasks, inevitably going to bed exhausted and haggard, pushing herself more and more each day.
"I want to get as much done now, so that later, when our child is born, it can just be us, we can just be parents, not Emperor and Empress."
Edelgard had a good point, but it still hurt Byleth to see so little of her love, and even when she did to see her always so tired and with none of her usual energy. Byleth surmised that Edelgard was skipping meals to be at work more but was too nervous to confront her about it, not wanting to have an argument about work and priorities. So she let her do as she wanted, limiting her involvement to going through correspondances and organizing meetings with officials as needed, never directly engaging with the Emperor unless requested.
Officially, Byleth's titles within the Empire were that of Empress Consort and Aide de Camp to the Emperor, which usually just meant, "helping Edelgard with whatever she needed help with." Lately that was essentially being her secretary, at least when she felt well enough to work at her station, right now however Byleth just wanted to stay in bed, too emotionally drained to deal with anybody.
Fighting back tears, Byleth pulled one of their crimson sheeted pillows over to try and recreate the missing warmth and presence of her wife, she then let out a defeated sigh and let herself fall back to sleep.
For about five minutes.
"Gooooood morning Professor! I hope you slept well!" A proud voice boomed through the door before it burst open.
Somewhat annoyed at the intrusion, Byleth raised her sleepy head to see who had come to ruin her sleep.
"Oh… hi Freya…" She mumbled, crumpling back to bed. "Why are you here…?"
Duke Freya von Aegir stepped over to the bed and began opening the curtains, letting sunlight invade the room. "Well I just figured it's been so long since we've hung out together I figured we could spend the day out! Just us girls!"
Byleth wasn't having any of this yet, futilely trying to block the light with her hand. "Edelgard asked you to keep me company." She accused.
"No, that's ridiculous!" Freya asserted, shaking her head before admitting "It was actually Hubie, he asked me to look after you today."
Allowing her hand to fall to the side, Byleth let out a weary sigh, she couldn't even be bothered to have someone check on me?
"There's no time like the present dear, let's get at it!" Freya asserted, grabbing the sides of the bed covers and hauling them off Byleth.
"Ahh! Professor! You're not wearing anything!" Freya shrieked, immediately turning about and throwing her arms up to block any further sight. "What's wrong? You have a problem with the naked female form?" Byleth joked back.
Freya was still frozen in place, not risking any movement, "I'd just really like to not be skinned and boiled alive by Edelgard, ok?" She cautioned. Byleth let out a hearty laugh, amused by her friend's antics. She decided that maybe spending some time together would be nice, and willed herself to get out of bed.
"Come on Freya, help me find something nice to wear." Byleth instructed, dragging Freya over to the closets and cabinets containing her wears.
For Byleth, being with Freya as they explored the royal palace and Enbarr, it almost felt like one of her days back at Garreg Mach. Freya had picked out a long, pale-blue, flowing ankle deep sundress for the Empress to wear, which allowed her growing womb to give off a subtle contour. They shared a nice syrupy pancake breakfast together, shared gossip, discussed work, and eventually found themselves as a busy little street market filled with various artisan stalls.
"What did you get there, Professor?" Freya asked, noticed that Byleth had just purchased a jar of some form of preserves.
She had already opened the jar and taken a bite of what was inside, "Pickled radishes." Byleth claimed.
Freya looked puzzled, but before she could ask anything Byleth just told her, "I don't know why ok I just really wanted them!"
They visited dozens of shops along the street, some citizens recognizing the two and offering support and congratulations, but mostly the former professor and student were focused on having a good time. Freya found someone selling a game called "Settlers of Fódlan," and bought a copy for Hubert, stashing it away in her satchel. Meanwhile, Byleth saw and immediately bought a beautiful gold locket necklace, intending to give it to gift it to her wife so at least a visage of her could always be close.
Eventually Byleth started to grieve for her aching feet, and Freya found them a quiet outdoor tea stall to have a break at, ordering some for the two of them to enjoy like old times. "Sorry Freya I guess I'm just not used to being on my feet this much anymore." Byleth confessed, having removed her left foot from the sandal she was wearing and giving the tired sole a rub.
"It's ok, you deserve to kick your feet up and relax after everything you've been through, and not to mention you're carrying extra for the baby." Freya acknowledged.
Byleth raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean, 'carrying extra?'" Causing Freya to scratch her chin in thought.
"Well I mean… uhh… you've probably been eating a lot more, and…" She struggled, opting to instead mime an expanding motion with her hands.
Byleth shot beet red in shock, and used the hands at her sides to grip her hips, definite softness was detected where there usually wasn't.
"Ohhh! I'll give your feet something to complain about Freya!" Byleth griped, overwhelmed with embarrassment. "You look fine Professor, really! If anything you look even more motherly!" Freya comforted, trying desperately to salvage the conversation.
Byleth pouted in retort, folding her arms together, "Very well, then as your Empress I order you to carry me back to my palace yourself!" She commanded.
"Happily your Majesty!" Freya rebounded, before pleading, "But can we finish our tea first?" And they both laughed.
Freya von Aegir kept true to her word, picking up the Empress bridal style and carrying her the entire way back to the royal palace, about an hour's walk away.
Or at least about half of the way before her back completely gave out and the two stopped at a bench for Freya to catch her breath.
"It's ok Freya you don't need to carry me anymore, I can walk the rest." Byleth relented, internally impressed that she had made it this far.
"No way… it's not… very noble… to give up like this… just let me… catch my breath" Freya panted out, with Byleth giving her a gentle rub on her back.
"Hey Freya? I just wanted to say… thanks for taking time to spend with me… I really appreciate it…" Byleth confessed, wrapping arms around her in a hug and pressing her cheek into Freya's shoulder.
Freya in return ruffled Byleth's hair playfully, "I really enjoy our time together too, I just wish we had… Professor are you crying?"
Byleth was indeed weeping into Freya's shoulder, so the Duke returned her embrace, letting Byleth wallow into her chest. "Is something wrong, Professor?" Freya inquisited, worry in her voice.
"Yes… I mean no… I mean… my emotions are all out of order." Byleth claimed, calming down somewhat and wiping the tears from her eyes.
"It's just… not that I don't enjoy your company, I just really wish I were with Edelgard right now, she's been so distant lately." She revealed.
Freya got up and extended her hand to Byleth, intending her to follow, "Well then I guess we'll just have to see her together." She claimed.
Byleth smiled and began to get up, leading Freya to smirk, scooping up the unexpecting women and breaking off in a run toward the palace, Byleth offering weak protests all the way. Things were odd when they arrived in the main hall, however, nobody greeted the two of them, and there was hardly any open conversation, only hushed whispers between the various officials and attendants roaming the halls.
Any time Byleth tried to ask somebody what was happening they simply replied, "Nothing to report, your Majesty," and scurried off, only adding to the mystery hanging in the air. "Come on, I bet Edelgard will tell us what's up." Freya suggested, the two making their way to her office where Byleth knew she'd be. When they arrived however the Emperor was nowhere to be seen, a paper was left half finished on her desk, and one of the two's attendants, Maurice, was sweeping the remains of what looked like a porcelain plate and meal off the ground.
"Maurice, what in Sothis' name happened here?" Byleth asked.
Maurice looked conflicted, as if unsure whether to say anything or remain silent, eventually beckoning Byleth close and whispering into her ear, "I was told not to say anything, but…"
EARLIER
Edelgard had been buried in mounds of paperwork in her Imperial office ever since getting up, going over, revising, signing document after document after order after order after decree, essentially micromanaging nearly all of the internal affairs of state. All the while Hubert or another attendant would come by when her stack of papers began to look almost manageable and wordlessly drop another novel's worth of more right on top.
And the Emperor was a mess, both physically and mentally, her hair was frazzled, eyes bagged, head pounding, and stomach protesting, having eaten or drank nothing yet aside from an espresso prepared for her by Hubert.
Still, Edelgard silently scribbled her quill on, blinds drawn and workly solely by candlelight so as not to aggravate her migraine. She had no way of knowing what time it was exactly, but she guessed it was around midday judging by the size of her out stack; this was also around the time someone came to try and fail to plead with her, and as if on queue her door began knocking.
"Enter." The Emperor solemnly allowed.
She looked up to see Hubert carrying a covered platter, flanked by who she assumed to be chef, internally she prepared herself for Hubert's first attempt to interrupt her work.
"I really don't have time for this, Lord Vestra." Edelgard stated, returning her gaze and pen to her papers.
Hubert walked over and placed the tray atop her desk, partially obscuring the documents, "Your Majesty you must at least eat something."
Edelgard let out a weak chuckle followed by a cough, "I am your Emperor, you do not presume to command me!"
"I will not sit idly by and watch you tear yourself apart Lady Edelgard!" Hubert suddenly shouted, adding his fists to the argument by slamming them on the desk.
Edelgard wasn't phased, simply looking up at Hubert and commanding him to leave, hand slowly pushing the food tray off her desk in defiance. In this Hubert noticed that Edelgard hadn't even bothered to put on gloves, letting everyone see the various scars, calluses and blemishes on her skin, a legacy of torture and warfare she would hardly reveal even to her wife.
This worried Hubert even more, picking up the tray and making a bit of space, he cautioned, "You are going to work yourself to an early death if you keep this up, I will not allow that to happen to you or Lady Byleth!"
Edelgard slammed her quill on the desk and stood up, suddenly proclaiming, "DO YOU NOT REALIZE I WORRY ABOUT THIS ALL THE TIME? THAT MY CRESTS WILL DRIVE ME TO THE GRAVE LONG BEFORE I SECURE A FUTURE FOR MY FAMILY? THAT I WILL NOT LIVE LONG ENOUGH TO SEE MY CHILD GROW UP?"
Hubert stood aghast, but before he could speak back the Emperor was shouting at them to leave, "GET OUT! ALL OF YOU! AND DO NOT… Disturb… my…"
In the time since standing up and feeling her adrenaline kick in, the blood had nearly completely drained from Edelgard's face, and she was left gasping for air before going dark and collapsing over. Letting the tray he was holding crash to the floor, Hubert ran to Lady Edelgard's side but was not quite fast enough to catch her before she hit the ground.
"Call a doctor, quickly!" Hubert commanded to the attendant that had entered with him before cradling Edelgard's limp body in his arms, her breathing hoarse, and eyes left half open and glazed.
"You're going to be alright, Lady Edelgard, I will make sure of it." Hubert comforted, his Emperor lying motionless before him.
Before passing out completely, Edelgard summoned enough strength to mutter a final order to her Minister.
"Don't… tell… her…"
And then silence.