-1170 Ethereal Moon-

._._._._._._.

There were a lot of rumors circulating around the monastery. Seteth wasn't sure what to make of them as they were a bit… outlandish to begin with. Beles was certainly not a little monster that wreaked havoc everywhere he went. He was a very mild, quiet and small child - albeit difficult to keep track of. Seteth often noticed how he relied on that bell of Beles'.

He also noticed how often he caught himself waiting to hear that bell ringing in the distance.

He didn't really have a routine with the boy anymore - even more so recently.

Instead, Beles had developed a routine of his own. He was usually up by the time Seteth would knock on his door - drowsy, but always ready for the morning prayers. Then afterwards, the boy would disappear for a couple of hours, and reappear in time for his lessons.

As far as Seteth was aware, Beles didn't have friends. It was a sad thought, knowing that the boy's status as the Archbishop's son was the biggest factor, but recently Seteth had been hearing things through the grapevine.

Apparently, there was another boy that tended to seek out Beles. From what he learned, the boy was certainly a ball of energy, and Seteth wasn't all that sure Beles would be alright.

After all, Beles was a quiet child who preferred to nap immediately after his afternoon classes.

In all honesty, Seteth knew he shouldn't be upset. He should be proud that Beles seemed to have a friend, but the conversation he had a few days ago left him worried.

"What is a friend?"

Seteth felt his heart sink and flutter at the same time. His little Beles was finally growing up…!

"Well, the definition may not be the same for everyone, but a friend, Beles, is a person who cares for you, just as you care for them. You know each other well, and enjoy each other's company."

Beles tilted his head, "But I do not get it. Are they supposed to be nearby?"

"Not all the time, but you see or think of them often," Seteth trailed off, "why do you ask, Bel?"

The boy's hands were stiff yet annoyed at the same time, "I have a Carrol following me."

Seteth was stumped enough to do a double take, "A what? A song?"

Beles' face was so flat as his hands were so sure, "No. A Carrol."

Seteth had no idea what Beles meant by "carrol" at the time. But when he did, he was absolutely shocked.

The first sign was the loud sound of Beles' bell in the distance. Seteth stopped his little walk near the dining hall and waited to see the said boy chasing after a cat or something. He did not expect to see a dark haired child practically dragging little Beles across the courtyards.

He had no idea what the boy talked about, but the way Beles struggled to keep up with him made Seteth see a red for a second. Immediately, Seteth's face hardened and he quickly strode over. There was absolutely no warning when he grabbed the back of the boy's tunic and lifted him up. The wide, mismatched eyes had surprised him at first, but ignored it in favor of getting answers.

"H-h-hey! Put me dow—ooooh— Hi!"

Seteth leveled the boy with a look, "And just what are you doing, boy?"

He glanced over to Beles to see the sweet boy huffing a bit on his knees, yet he seemed generally fine, so Seteth turned back to the one in his grip.

"Huh? I was just headin' to the greenhouse with Bel here!" the boy cheerfully answered. It was almost hilarious to see the boy smile so brightly despite being held in the air by the Archbishop's second in command.

Seteth eyed the boy. The midnight hair was unkept, and grew past his shoulders. It was odd to stare at a pair of eyes with different colors - far too young for a case of heterochromia trauma (although, Seteth wouldn't be that surprised if it were. The world wasn't that kind, even within the monastery walls). The boy was dressed similar to a squire of a knight, but he seemed more of a servant or stable boy with his winter coat tattered at the ends. Clearly, this boy needed something better to wear.

"Oh, is that so?" Seteth said as he turned to Beles for confirmation. Beles looked at him, then to the boy, and back again. He gave a small nod.

Seteth almost did a double take.

Almost.

"Yup!" the boy said, waving a hand, "Bel and I are friends!"

The blank, unresponsive look on Beles' face said otherwise.

Seteth narrowed his eyes and spoke with a voice full of suspicion, "I see you claim to be Beles' 'friend', but how am I to know your intentions are pure? He is a sweet boy and I would not be pleased if you were to use him. The goddess frowns on such deceptions."

The boy in the air laughed and placed his hands on his hip, "I'd never do that! Bel is pretty amazing really - I don't get why none of the other kids don't want to be with him. They're missing out."

The blatant praise that spilled from the boy's lips did cause a small reaction from Beles. Seteth almost missed the slight drop of Beles' jaw.

Clearly, this boy viewed himself as a friend, but it probably wasn't the same for Beles.

At least, not yet.

With that thought in mind, Seteth placed the boy back to the ground, "Tell me, boy, what is your name?"

The boy grinned as he stepped right next to Beles, "I'm Carrol!"

Realization finally dawned on Seteth, "Ahh, that Carrol."

Beles only nodded firmly.

"Yes! That Carrol— whatever that means. Who are yo—" Carrol cut himself off in mid word, and his jaw dropped. "Oh."

"Yes. Hello to you, too," Seteth confirmed with his hands behind his back.

Carrol rubbed the back of his head with an apologetic smile, "Ahhhahahaha— Sorry about that, Seteth, sir! We just really wanted to check on our plant, and I guess I got a bit excited." He turned to Beles with a slight bow of his head, "You okay?"

There was a pause as Beles stared for a second or two before nodding his head.

Carrol grinned, "Great!"

Seteth regarded them both as the boy chatted with Beles for a moment. He could clearly see that this Carrol had no bad intentions. If anything, it seemed like the boy genuinely cared with the way he offered to give Beles some of his candy later.

A noble sacrifice of a child, if Seteth remembered correctly.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he felt a tug at his tunic. Seteth looked down to see Beles raising his hands for him to see.

"I am okay. I will see you later."

Seteth wasn't able to say anything when Beles dropped his hands and grabbed Carrol's elbow.

"Huh? Bel— uh, it was nice to meet you Seteth, sir!" Carrol scrambled to say as the other boy practically pulled him toward the greenhouse. Seteth stood in the middle of the courtyard with his jaw nearly hitting the floor.

They were almost out of sight when he managed to gather himself and wave after them. Slowly, a smile pulled his face and Seteth gave an amused huff, "Our little Bel is growing up."

._._._._._._.

If there was one thing that Beles knew he liked, it was doing little light shows. The magic at the tip of Beles' fingers exploded beautifully in the air. The way the little colored sparks shimmered in light and fizzed out of sight put a bright smile on Hanneman's face.

"Incredible! Simply marvelous, little Bel!" he applauded. Beles dropped his hands and gave a short nod in silent thanks. Hanneman took a hand out of his pocket and gave Beles a honey ginger candy, "That's an amazing little trick you showed me. How long have you known how to do that?"

Beles took the candy and popped it in his mouth the second he unwrapped it. The burst of soothing honey felt pleasant to his sore throat. It had been hurting for a couple days, even tea didn't feel like it helped much. At least the heavy concentration of honey in the candy was a bit of a saving grace. He savored the sweet taste as he spoke with his hands.

"Quite some time. I do not know how long."

Hanneman's eyebrows shot up, "Oh? A while? How curious."

Beles had always known ever since he learned his first spell. He did it a couple times with Byleth and Sothis, and he always made them a little happier with it. Byleth always looked better with shining eyes of— of admiration, if Beles were to guess.

The professor placed a hand on his chin as Beles rocked a bit on his feet.

"Well, Beles, I can certainly tell that you have an oddly large reserve of magic, and to have mastered it to tiny concentrated bursts is absolutely a sign of—"

The loud monastery bells rang, signifying that it was mid-day. It made the professor pause in his ramblings. The edge of Beles' lips twitched. It was tea time with Rhea soon.

Hanneman ruffled Beles' hair with a knowing smile on his face, "Ahh, looks like that's all for today, Bel. Off you go. Lady Rhea should be expecting you."

Beles took off without much fanfare. He knew that the Archbishop would be waiting in her usual place in the gazebo. The moment he left the training hall, he made his way past the gazebo and peeked his head into the Knight's Hall. He scanned the training area to find a familiar dark blue.

There were a couple of knights around the area. They all gave Beles a nod of acknowledgement. Silently, the boy was glad that Alois wasn't in sight. Maybe the knight was off on a mission again?

He found Carrol polishing a sword by the fireplace. The other boy seemed focused on his task - a stark comparison to his usual bright demeanor. Beles quickly trotted up to him. His bell caught Carrol's attention before he even made it past the doorway.

"Bel? What— what are you doing here?" Carrol sounded genuinely surprised. It was probably a given, considering how it was always the other way around with Carrol finding him first.

Not that Beles really noted. Carrol always appeared out of nowhere to him.

Beles came to a stop in front of Carrol, who blinked up at him.

"Beee-hhhm?"

Carrol trailed into an odd hum as watched Beles spell out a single word over, and over, and over.

"Tea."

"Tea…?" he echoed in confusion. Beles just nodded and gestured him to follow him. Carrol sheathed the sword in his hands and called over his shoulder to the closest knight, "Sir Yonne— May I be excused?"

The said knight looked up from her own spear with a hum. She looked like she was about to refuse, but her eyes caught Beles' blank ones. "Of course, Carrol. Just make sure you put that sword where it belongs."

"Gotcha! Thanks~" There was a sing song tone in Carrol's voice as he did as he was told with a skip in his step. Beles patiently waited at the doorway before taking off. He didn't bother to look back to know that Carrol followed him.

"Hey! Wait up!"

Beles didn't slow until he stopped short of the entrance to the gazebo. He almost felt Carrol crash into him as a result.

"Whooooa! I almost tripped over you for a second!" Carrol laughed. He placed a hand on his hip and tilted his head in confusion, "What's going on, Bel?"

Beles didn't bother with an answer. He just grabbed the other boy's hand and pulled him along.

"Oh, Beles, dear," came Rhea's voice, "I see you brought someone along."

Carrol spluttered and tried to come to a stop, "L-l-lady Archbishop!"

"Please, don't be afraid," Rhea smiled as she gestured to Seteth's chair, "Come and join us."

"Y-yes, Your Grace," Carrol stammered. Beles didn't give him a break as he practically pulled him over to the empty chair. Seteth wasn't likely to show today, but if he did, the older man could always bring another.

As Beles settled himself in his own chair across from Rhea, he found Carrol to be oddly stiff. Was it that strange to be face to face with the Archbishop?

Beles spared a glance at her. Her posture was as straight as always, and proper with the air of serenity that always accompanied her. Well, then again, Rhea could be a little intimidating when she gave Beles that one look of something he couldn't name here and there. It was like she was searching for something he knew he couldn't give.

Beles grabbed the closest cookie and munched on it.

Now wasn't the time to think about those looks.

"What is your name, child?" Rhea asked as she poured Carrol a cup. It smelled like Chamomile.

"It's Carrol, Your Grace."

Wow, Beles didn't know the other could gather his composure quickly - well, the way Carrol's hand trembled a bit on the table was the only hint that Beles got that he wasn't that composed.

Still, it was impressive.

"Carrol? What a lovely name," Rhea said warmly.

"Th-thank you, Lady Archbishop – Your name is lovely, too," Carrol stammered. Beles had half the mind to ignore the frantic looks the other sent him, but he decided to just glance at the nearest pastry. Anything sweet usually calmed his own nerves too.

Carrol seemed to take the hint, if not out of desperation not to say anything dumb, and crammed a scone in his mouth.

Rhea hummed in amusement, "My thanks, little one. Truth to be told, I am quite fond of my own name, too."

Beles grabbed another pastry as she took a sip of her tea.

"It pleases me to see Beles bringing a guest of his own age," Rhea began pleasantly, giving Beles a gentle pat on his head as she continued, "We often have company, but they are guests I invite."

Beles casually swung his legs under the table and leaned back in his chair. While Rhea's hand was warm, it didn't feel that great to have his hair ruffled. He was not a cat.

There was a soft clank as Rhea placed her cup back in its place, "Tell me, how did you come to know my son?"

There was an odd glint in her eyes - the one that always left Beles a bit confused. He could never understand why Rhea did that sometimes. He watched Carrol squirm at the corner of his eye, who silently begged him to do something.

Beles merely chewed on his pastry. The baked blueberry goodness tasted amazing.

"Beles, dear, mind your chewing."

Right. Manners.

"W-well, I – I met him at the greenhouse one day," Carrol fumbled over his words, but he eventually sat up straighter with a grin, "I saw him trying to plant something, but he was doing it all wrong. So, I went ahead and helped him out."

"Did you now?" Rhea gave Carrol a smile, but Beles could still see that odd glint in her eyes, "How kind of you."

Carrol shrugged, as if to say that it wasn't much, "Since then, I've been hanging out with him when I could. He's really fun to be with, Your Grace."

And there was the normal Carrol. The way he sat with a lighthearted grin and honesty were traits that Beles was familiar with.

Beles easily read the genuine surprise that crossed Rhea's face. He almost dropped his pastry.

Rhea was never one for surprise for as long as he remembered. She was always prepared for anything.

That surprise slowly eased into a gentle smile, one that Beles often received himself. Confused, he looked between her and Carrol.

"I see," Rhea's voice was full of relief as she picked up her cup yet again, "I am glad that you are able to get along with my child. You are on your way to being a courageous young man."

Carrol laughed a bit, "Thanks for your kind words, Lady Archbishop. I'll do my best to live up to that!"

"And I'm certain that you will."

As Rhea laughed with Carrol, Beles silently nodded to himself as he came to a simple conclusion.

He should bring Carrol to tea time again. Maybe with Seteth next time.

._._._._._._.

The late afternoon sunlight was warm against Rhea's skin. It was a sign that she should probably stop for dinner soon, but her mind wasn't quite focused on her responsibilities. In fact, she kept finding herself distracted.

Beles was a child that didn't initiate many things. He always let others start things for him: his lessons, his conversations, anything to deal with interacting with people. He could easily settle with doing things on his own. She knew it was mainly due to the fact that not enough of the staff knew how to properly communicate with him. Of course, the heads of her staff had learned sign language, or the most important signs anyway, but Beles never really seemed to care.

Rhea had never anticipated Beles to bring someone to tea time like that.

Not once did she imagine him actually holding another kid his age and leading the way.

"Carrol… is an interesting child, don't you think, Seteth?" Rhea said as she flipped through a document. She had it in her hands for a while, but she wasn't really paying it any mind.

From across the room, Seteth hummed distractedly, "Hm.. Oh, that boy certainly is something. I saw him dragging Beles around the other day - I'm surprised that Beles is able to handle someone like that."

She sat back and thought about the boy she had met this afternoon. He was a nervous bundle of energy that slowly took back his confidence. She could already tell that Carrol was a force to be reckoned with, especially with her quiet little Beles.

Rhea smiled, "Then again, I suppose it's proof that he's growing up."

Seteth stopped in his work to look at her, "He certainly has grown - though not much in height."

"Beles will grow in his own time." She said that too quickly. Rhea could feel the weighty stare that he gave her and she knew that he had a burning question.

She did nothing to give away her anxiety, "And with a friend like Carrol, I am certain that Beles will be alright."

Seteth regarded her for a little longer before he turned away, a clear sign that he wouldn't dare to push the question now.

"I suppose I'll have to teach that boy how to communicate properly with Bel," he concluded. He tapped a hand on his chin, "Besides, he seems to already understand him better than the both of us put together."

Rhea did not flinch at the implications of that statement. Instead, she decided to ignore it, "Yes, it seems so."

Seteth got up from his seat and turned to leave before he paused, "Rhea…"

The Archbishop hummed from her place, but didn't look at him.

There was a long silence that passed with only the sound of her clock ticking.

"As much as it bothers me, I… I won't ask now, Rhea," Seteth began quietly, "but I hope you know what you are doing."

He didn't bother to stay for answer, because Rhea certainly wasn't about to give one, so he left.

She sat in her chair and stared at the door with a slight frown, "I certainly hope I do."