Eternity's End
Derdriu Palace, the seat of power of the United Kingdom of Fodlan...
"Uhh…" A woman with verdant green hair awoke upon the sunlight shining on her face.
Knowing first hand and first shine what to do, the young adult sat up from the king-sized bed she solely occupied.
Rubbing off any crusts of rheum on the corners of her eyes, she climbed out of the bed and yawned off the remnants of drowsiness in her.
Going over to the adjacent bathroom in her room, she turned on the switch to activate the spigot, unleashing clean water over the basin below it, she scooped up water from the basin to wash her face before lathering it with soap and rinsing it off.
Drying her face with a towel, she went back into her bedroom to change her clothes to something more formal that befits her status. She scoffed at the dresses most females of the upper class wore, preferring to wear something more comfortable and practical.
Discarding the white nightgown, she adorned herself with purple silky top and white pants, she wore a silk robe of dark blue colors with gold laces adorning it. She ignored any form of jewelry that was on the vanity table, never one to wear such things except for one.
"Another day. Another morning." She deeply sighed as if feeling tired on her tedious schedule for the day despite it barely starting as she brushed her hair in front of the vanity table's mirror.
Two gentle knocks came from her door followed by a gentle voice asking her.
"Your Majesty? Forgive me for disturbing you but breakfast is ready."
"I'll be there soon, you can go now." The queen replied before turning back to her reflection in the mirror.
Taking the jeweled crown on her table, she placed it over the crown of her green head and took one last look upon her reflection with the symbol of her status on top of her head.
Nodding in satisfaction with her appearance, Queen Lyla Eden Eisner, current and sole ruler of the United Kingdom of Fodlan, went out of her chambers to start the first thing in her daily routine.
But not before she took the sheathed sword leaning on the other side of her nightstand, the Sword of Seiros and strapped it on the left side of her waist.
"And of course, I am the first one to arrive and the one to wait." Lyla sighed as she caught sight of the dining table in the palace gardens, the usual place where she and her family would eat their first meal of the day.
It has been many years since Lyla ascended from her status as the crown princess of Fodlan to become Fodlan's sole ruler, succeeding her parents who both abdicated for her ascension to the throne, deeming her ready.
Fodlan had experienced its golden age in her era with every region and its people enjoying relative peace and security. The scars of the war that has ravaged the land has healed and taking advantage of the foundation her parents built, Lyla capitalized on the momentum to bring about a prosperous rule for the land and her people.
Gifted with her mother's keen eye for politics, her father's steady but firm hand, the charisma and compassion of both… she was particularly well-loved by her subjects.
Lyla wasn't going to put her parents' efforts to waste after all they have been through in their entire lives, the least she could do is to ensure that they never have to work themselves to the bone and just enjoy the life they have built around themselves.
As for her other family's members-
"Are you certain?"
"Yes, I'm always certain, brother."
"This will turn for the worse if the distribution isn't addressed… I never thought we would see these drugs distributed not just to the general populace but within our soldiers as well."
"You know me, I wouldn't dare produced half assed results and report it to you or-"
"And first thing in the morning that I hear from both of you, it's about work." Lyla sighed, her slight irritation aimed at her newly arrived brothers in the garden.
One of the two men has blue eyes and slicked back brown hair, stubble around his jaw and chin. He wore a black long surcoat with decorative gold trims but what was more noticeable is the royal insignia of House Eisner emblazoned on the center of the chest area, the insignia being the Crest of Flames and the Sword of the Creator within the middle.
The other man looked slightly younger than the first mostly due to a lack of facial hair and had finer facial features. He had dark green hair that was styled into an upward ponytail, blue eyes like the previous man but protected with a set of glasses and lastly, he wore a fine white long coat over a set of fine clothes reflecting his highborn status.
"Just discussing Leraje's findings, sister. Apologies for that." Jeralt Elyth Eisner, middle child and first son of the previous king and queen of Fodlan, the prince and high general of Fodlan's armies responded with a formal nod.
Leraje Cato Eisner, youngest child and second son of the previous rulers of Fodlan, while he was a prince, he is first and foremost, the kingdom's lead expert in magic and science. An adviser to the queen on the matters of his expertise though preferring not to be involved in politics.
Leraje sneered with a mocking tone. "Why yes, apologize for discussing matters pertaining to the security of our dear sister-queen's land and people."
"Leraje…" Jeralt sighed at his brother. "You know she's only—"
"I know I know." Leraje shrugged callously. "I just mean it would help for you to loosen up the first thing when you see your dear brothers in the morning."
Lyla merely shook her head at her youngest brother's wit and rather unrestrained tongue.
"Mother's sacred table rules and all." Leraje sighed as he and Jeralt joined their elder sister at the table.
All of a sudden, all three siblings went silent at the mention of their mother and her table rules that she strictly upheld.
"Speaking of mother, will she-"
Lyla's eyes were all the answers Jeralt needed to know.
Leraje looked despondent, his eyes glued at the loaf of bread he held and in the process of breaking into two.
"I guess father wouldn't be joining us."
Silence reigned upon them once again, they have been so used to eating breakfast together as a whole that this situation and what happened recently has been entirely new to them after all the decades have passed.
As for the queen, Lyla in her silence, recalled her earlier visit.
Opening the door that led to her parents' bedroom, Lysithea entered just in time for one of the attendants of her mother to leave them alone, carrying with her a bucket of water and a damp towel.
"Lyla…" A voice croaked out, it was hoarse but she could still remember a faint memory of how her mother usually sounded.
The Fodlan Queen smiled at her predecessor, approaching her from the side of her bed and sat on it.
"Good morning, mother." Lyla greeted her now wizened mother, Lysithea.
The former queen was sitting on her bed, pillows cushioned her weary back. Lyla briefly observed her mother's appearance, she looked like she had been thoroughly cleaned for the morning, her signature white hair brushed but despite her cleanliness, nothing could ever clean away the evidence of the passage of time on her skin.
Though, to give credit, Lysithea aged rather gracefully compared to other old women of her age, not looking all too decrepit in her advanced age of 95, almost a century old.
"Father isn't here?" Lyla asked, looking around for her other predecessor and her beloved father only to find him strangely away from Lysithea's side.
"Your father went outside for a bit while I'm being cleaned and tended." Lysithea replied before chuckling lowly. "Why would he want to see my withered body anyway.."
"That's… mother-"
"Relax, I'm kidding." Lysithea chuckled in amusement before coughing rather loudly, covering her mouth as she did.
Lyla frowned at both her mother's jest and what it caused her, she sat by her mother's side and placed a comforting hand on her back, rubbing and patting her gently to soothe her.
"I-I'm fine. No need to fuss about me."
"No, you're not. You've been steadily getting worse!" Lyla retorted, her face filled with worry as she looked at Lysithea. The strong, capable and determined woman she once was still lives within her but the shell it inhabits is beginning to crumble.
And it hurts her to see Lysithea so frail.
Supporting her mother's back, Lyla gently laid her mother down to the bed to make it more comfortable for the elderly woman.
"Lyla. Please, Leraje's findings about my condition is something I had expected. Heh, I'm even surprised I lasted this long."
The queen shook her head. "There must be something we can do-"
"Lyla…"
"Maybe something that can restore-"
"Lyla!"
Coughing once again, Lysithea's pink eyes stared straight at her daughter's identical ones, her eyes asking her not to continue with what she's suggesting.
The Queen of Fodlan felt her heart sting but nonetheless acquiesced, she and her siblings made a promise towards their mother that they won't attempt to even prolong Lysithea's life with all the options that were laid out for her in the past.
She simply refused to extend her life, stating that her time will come someday, that all things whether good or bad must come to an end… even if it's her life.
Lysithea's request to her children was simple: to go on with their lives should it come instead of worrying about and then grieving her. A hard request to do so considering how close they all are to their mother.
"I've long accepted what will happen to me… so please, let's just talk about something else."
Lyla gave a sigh of defeat, nodding to her mother's request not to delve into the topic regarding her health, a rather touchy subject between Lysithea and members of her family, a family she had built with her beloved.
"Have you heard anything from Felicia lately?" Lysithea inquired about one of her grandchildren, perhaps the oldest one she has and someone she hasn't heard from for a while.
The queen formed a bittersweet smile. Even she doesn't have much big news to give about their topic.
"Oh you know Felicia, she's a workaholic like her dear grandmother."
"What grandmother are you talking about in particular? Me or Annette?"
"Can it be both?"
Lysithea chuckled lightly. "I can't deny that. Seriously, has she even sent anything for us to know she's fine?"
Her daughter nodded in affirmation, taking out an unsealed letter from within her robe to show it to her mother, Lysithea declined having to read it, not wanting to bother wearing her reading glasses again to properly read letters in her age.
"It just arrived while I was on my way here." Lyla explained. "She's still working on her study of Morfis, it's people and the culture though we both know she's more curious about the kind of magic they practice there."
"I heard it was hot there, even hotter than the Sreng region but it's people never actually seemed that open to the idea of building communications with us back when I was still queen." Lysithea recalled about the elusive country.
Lyla agreed. "Felicia took it upon herself to try and build up connections there, she'll be fine."
"I wasn't worrying about her." Lysithea said in a bit to remove any notion she was worried about Felicia. "That girl has Felix' blood running in her veins, she's a wary one."
"She was wary of me when we first met." Lyla mentioned, passing the letter to her mother. "That's all she had to say in her travels."
The old woman nodded in regards to her granddaughter's state in the foreign country.
"Eligor was here."
"Really?"
Lysithea nodded. "He woke me up from my sleep. Said he had something to share with me."
The queen sighed at her nephew's actions. "How many times have I told that boy not to bother you so early in the morning-"
"Oh hush now, it's fine." Lysithea dismissed one of her grandchildren's routine of being her alarm clock as minimal. "As I seem to recall, you used to do the same thing when you were around his age."
Lysithea smirked after seeing her daughter get flustered at the mention of her years as a child.
"Always eager to wake us up just like how Eligor does for me, it's hypocritical of you to admonish your nephew for something you once did back then."
"T-That's- I was just only a child-"
"Pretty much the same reason Eligor does the same thing." Lysithea countered with an amused smirk upon her wizened lips. "And, like you as a child… I don't mind being woken up by my grandson."
Another sigh escaped Lyla's lips. "If you say so, mother." Her cheeks were still flustered at having to remember how she acted so whimsically as a child though, part of her felt warm remembering such carefree days in her life.
"So, what did he show you?" Lyla inquired, going back to topic.
Lysithea took out a bracelet crudely made with wooden beads together from beside her pillow, showing it to Lyla who examined it.
"Eligor called it, my 'Get well' bracelet. Said he prayed to the Goddess last night to bless that bracelet in order for me to get better." Lysithea smiled warmly at the bracelet Lyla was examining.
'Prayed to the Goddess… huh?'
"Oh if only he knew…" A voice inside her mind spoke with a dry chuckle.
"I swear… that grandson of mine is the total opposite of his father growing up." Lysithea mused as she recalled memories of her second child and first son, Jeralt. "Such a sweet and emotional boy."
Lyla snapped out of her brief trance before agreeing with her mother's sentence.
"Eligor is Jeralt's complete opposite as a child. Jeralt was way too proper for his own good ever since he learned about his station as a prince and what it meant-"
"He started acting properly as one more than you did." Lysithea remarked.
Lyla let out a small laugh. "And I was supposed to be the older sister and example to follow!"
The elderly former queen looked back up at the ceiling of her room as if reminiscing more distant memories.
"But to be honest, even you grew up too fast." Lysithea muttered as Lyla gave her a puzzled look.
"Too fast?" Lyla repeated.
The elderly woman nodded in affirmation. "Your father and I wanted all of you, our children, to go on and enjoy your time just being kids… something that was denied from both me and Byleth during our own time."
"Mother…" Lyla murmured, remembering the rather questionable and dark childhood of her parents especially that of her mother's which left an everlasting reminder of her about such an event which is her snow white hair and the ghastly scar she has on her back.
"Unlike all of you, I forced myself to grow up because I had no choice. Your father was also the same, a life constantly on the road while your grandfather shielded him away from Rhea's eyes. Both of us never had a choice to the circumstances the world threw at us." Lysithea shook her head, distant memories of her tragedy didn't faze her anymore as she had come to appreciate and enjoy the many joyful years that overwrote such bitter memories.
"I guess maturing beyond one's age runs within our family." Lyla quipped which earned an amused chuckle from her mother.
"Hah! Probably." Lysithea agreed before she held her daughter's hands, her warm but wrinkled skin brushing over Lyla's smooth skin. "I am thankful for you visiting me today but-"
"I have a kingdom to run, I know I know…" Lyla interrupted, fully knowing her mother's sentences when she wanted to get rid of her. "You know, since I'm the sole ruler and Fodlan's queen… shouldn't it be queendom instead of kingdom?"
Lysithea shrugged. "I never thought about it."
"I probably shouldn't be technical about it, otherwise I'll turn out like Leraje, constantly questioning everything around him." Lyla mentioned her youngest sibling.
"Good, now stop bothering an old woman and go to your duties." Lysithea jokingly ordered but not before she and her daughter embraced one another into a deep warm hug.
For some reason, Lyla latched on longer than she usually does, Lysithea didn't seem to mind and simply closed her eyes to enjoy the physical and emotional contact she has with her daughter.
To think this young woman before her was so little many years ago… the elderly woman can't help but feel proud to see her journey from a little girl to this woman. Something she always thinks about everyday that gives her reason to smile.
If her time came, Lysithea knew she could pat herself on her back knowing she had done everything she could to enjoy the life she had to its fullest and what she had created and achieved.
Lyla on the other hand has her own reason why she latched on to her mother far longer than she used to when she embraces her before tending to her duties as queen.
Unbeknownst to her mother, Lyla was contemplating on doing something… something that involved going against her mother's wish, her left hand faintly glowed with white energy with hints of whitish embers around it, she was readying a spell she had been gathering the will to use.
After she and Jeralt had learned from Leraje about their mother's worsening condition, Lyla felt like she had the power to stop the course that would lead to their mother's end. For many days and nights, she felt conflicted in what she was conspiring to do.
The pain of losing someone she looked up to all her life… she didn't want to feel such pain once again ever since people she had loved passed away in past decades, an event that she felt like she could have averted…
Now, she has the opportunity to relieve her mother's condition, make her feel as new, she just needed to cast it to her unsuspecting mother-
"Don't."
A stern voice warned her from within her mind.
"Do not go against her wish just because you cannot accept the inevitable."
Lyla gritted her teeth, barely restraining her feelings as she stood in the precipice of a crossroad: Go against her mother's wishes and make her live longer or… comply and watch as time whittles her life away.
"You will be no better than Seiros if you did."
'So easy for someone who didn't have a mother to say.'
Usually, she would get incensed whenever Lyla replies to her in such a way, screeching inside her head, calling her conceited and a fool but surprisingly, she had her short fuse of a temper under control.
"I may have existed without one but that does not change the fact that what you are trying to do is wrong."
That was enough of a reply from Sothis within the queen's mind to silence her to submission.
Lyla bitterly closed her eyes and took a deep breath whilst gathering the courage she needed, she hesitantly let go of her mother, the magic in her hand dissipating as she forced herself to smile after their separation.
"I'll be going now, mother." Lyla bowed to her mother as a sign of respect.
Lysithea didn't say anything in response and gave her eldest daughter a nod, watching her take the steps to leave the room with a worried gaze. The forced smile etched on Lyla's face bothered her but then again, could she blame Lyla in what she may be feeling right now? She was too familiar with that expression, being guilty of it many times in her lifetime.
Lyla opened the door leading out of her mother's room only for it to open from the other side.
Slightly jerking up from surprise, Lyla was even more surprised to see the person behind the door.
"Oh hello, father."
Standing before her was the other half responsible for her existence and the other half she had aspired to become.
Byleth. The Former and the First King of the United Kingdom of Fodlan. If that title wasn't grand enough, he hated what the other people hailed him as: the God-King.
The former king had a light stubble growing around his mouth, his hair had gotten thicker and longer from before yet he retained the black robe he wore underneath all his clothes during his time as Fodlan's king.
"Lyla. Here as usual." Byleth noted.
"Father. Here-" She looked down to see her father carrying a tray of food for Lysithea's breakfast consisting of a bowl of oatmeal, a freshly baked loaf of bread and jam.
"-to be by mother's side as usual." Lyla continued before her eyes darted back to her father's disheveled appearance, it was clear that Byleth hadn't been properly grooming himself as he took care of Lysithea.
Even allowing a few facial hair to grow around his mouth when he himself didn't want one. A preference that developed after Lysithea expressed her own opinion of not wanting to see Byleth with a beard.
"Well… I have to get going now." Lyla excused herself, walking past her father who watched her leave, Byleth then turned to Lysithea who bore a worried look.
"Did something happen?" He asked, Lysithea shook her head.
"It's nothing, just Lyla being worried and all." Lysithea shrugged.
Byleth inwardly sighed, knowing something was up between his wife and his daughter. Living with them all these years has fully cemented an established fact about the two.
Both mother and daughter are terrible liars.
"Auntie?"
Lyla blinked, having returned to reality, she looked at her side to see her nephew, Eligor Eos Eisner, tugging at her sleeves with a concerned look upon his brown eyes.
"Is something wrong?" Lyla asked, softly patting Eligor's burgundy brown hair.
"I should be asking you that, Auntie Lyla." Eligor responded, his eyes filled with worry over the queen. "You have been staring at your food for a while now."
The Fodlan Queen blinked once again, looking at the piece of bread she was holding, the butter she spread had fully soaked the bread, making it soggy.
She wondered how long she had been lost in her own thoughts and memories. By now, all eyes around the table were on her.
"Your Majesty, are you not feeling well?" A woman with long and loose chocolate brown hair asked, her green eyes peering at her on the opposite side of the table.
"I told you many times not to call me that when it's just us as a family, Celia." Lyla sighed and corrected her sister-in-law and her brother's wife for seven years.
Celia Eisner, wife of Prince Jeralt Elyth Eisner, her marriage to Jeralt was rather controversial at least in the eyes of the nobility who saw the girl's humble origins to be inadequate for being married into royalty.
The daughter of Derdriu's stablemaster, she and Jeralt bonded over their love of riding horses and racing across the countryside in some of Jeralt's lesser known instances of sneaking out of the palace. Having first met when Celia and her family gifted the prince his second stallion after his first one passed away from the years.
It didn't take long for both of them to fall for one another although both worried over the nature of their relationship, Jeralt thought that a stablemaster's daughter would not be taken well by the people of Fodlan, in turn, Celia thought she wasn't fit to be the object of affection from the prince.
Lyla could still remember how she scolded Jeralt for such a thought which was followed by Lysithea's own barbed tongue. It didn't matter for the royal family if Jeralt's love wasn't of any regal origins, what only mattered for them (especially Byleth and Lysithea) is the genuine feelings involved. Marrying out of love and not for political purposes is what mattered most for Lysithea.
"I'm sorry." Celia apologized for her blunder. "But my question still stands, are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine-"
"Obviously not." Leraje interrupted as he watched his sister intently. "Don't bother lying to us, sister."
Jeralt sighed at his younger brother's rather crude words. It seems, he is the only one among them siblings who didn't have the heart to casually throw barbed words like their mother does on a bad day.
"You only blankly stare at something and in prolonged periods if something is bothering you, sister."
Lyla merely shook her head, refusing to divulge to them what has been bothering her. She didn't want her nephew to hear the harsh truth about Lysithea's condition. Second, she didn't want the additional stress and admonishments from her brothers about what she attempted to do earlier.
The voice inside her head had already done so and it was more than enough to bring her pause and feel guilty about it.
"I said it's nothing."
"But Auntie-"
"Can everyone just please leave me alone with my thoughts?" Lyla let out an exasperated sigh and with as much restraint as she could in order not to shout, she was beginning to get stressed out and she hadn't even done her royal duties as queen for the day.
This line of questioning over something she refuses to divulge is beginning to irritate her… and in turn, alienate her family from her. Eligor was the one most taken aback by Lyla's admonishments of their concerns.
Noticing Eligor in the brink of tears, the innocent young boy was clearly frightened by his beloved aunt's sudden outburst, filling Lyla with guilt for lashing out.
With a deep sigh, Lyla wordlessly left the garden where she and her family have always eaten their meals, proceeding to get to the audience chamber if only to distract herself away from the thoughts haunting her.
Eligor rushed to his father's side as they all watched the queen depart.
"I understand she's upset about mother's condition but aren't we all?" Leraje commented, wiping his hands clean off any crumbs of food.
"If you'll excuse me, I have work to do." Leraje excused himself as he left for his own working space in the palace.
"I've lost my appetite for the morning anyway."
The family of three were the only ones who remained within the garden with Jeralt and Celia looking at each other, bearing downcast looks.
"Will Auntie Lyla be alright?" Eligor asked, looking up at his father with eyes yearning for an answer to explain what happened.
Jeralt didn't have the heart to tell him the exact reason as he too knew what his sister felt.
"Your Majesty, the well has been befouled in our village!" A man around his 40s spoke as he is accompanied by two teenagers who seemed to be his sons, he was a farmer from a village in the former Riegan territory, now known as the Royal County of Fodlan, one of Lyla's many petitioners for the day within the Audience Chamber as more others were in line behind him.
Lyla stared down at them pensively from the throne her mother once sat on, the throne next to hers was empty, something her father once sat on. At one point in her life, Lyla had thought of someone sitting on the other throne but that part of her life has passed.
Now she sits alone for hours, listening to her people's plights and suggestions, some attempting to flatter or brown-nose her while her fingertips sometimes brush on the Sword of Seiros leaning one of the throne's armrest.
She wasn't actually thinking about the farmer's plight but more on her own thoughts.
"'Tis a curse, Your Majesty! Some malevolent spirit might have cursed our village as well for we suffer the same!" Another petitioner who was behind the one whose turn is up spoke.
"Same as us, Your Majesty!" Said another.
"Your Majesty!" and another spoke as more and more within the line spoke of such an issue.
"We have prayed to the Goddess for salvation and even to your father, the God-King-"
Lyla's pink eyes suddenly twitched wide open as if getting extremely bothered by the mention of a title her father has been called on by ignorance of many within Fodlan. A title even Byleth hated being called with extreme passion.
"DO NOT ADDRESS MY FATHER AS SUCH." Lyla's high and seething voice silenced the entire room, all of the people within the audience chamber shuddered at the way the queen spoke, even the royal guards and palace staff.
For Lyla was known for her benevolent rule, a woman of extreme patience and compassion… to see a paragon of such qualities be unreasonably angry felt like something that was a violation against the laws of nature itself.
"Huh, they still pray to me all these times… as if I can answer their plights!" Sothis grumbled as she manifested besides Lyla, floating in the air though no one besides the Fodlan Queen could see her.
"How many times must I and my father say never to regard him as such?" Lyla admonished her people, standing up from her throne and looking down at them in disdain over the offense they committed.
"F-Forgive us, Y-Your Majesty… w-we didn't mean to o-offend."
Everyone within the room felt intimidated by the aura she exuded as if forcing them down on their knees and prostrate themselves for forgiveness as her eyes looked down on them with anger.
"You're beginning to make them soil themselves."
Lyla took a deep breath to calm herself down, her flaring pink eyes blinking and softening it's glare as she sat back on her throne. A hand massaging her temples, slightly grumbling before turning her eyes back to her subjects.
"Anyone else who has the same issues concerning their wells, step forward." Lyla ordered, putting the offense behind her.
The farmers from various villages nervously looked at her and at each other before slowly stepping forward, their nerves still frazzled for invoking their queen's anger just recently.
For Lyla, her mind was on their problems regarding their contaminated wells and the curses some of them claimed that had gripped their village is the least probability in her mind right now.
"I'll ask all of you one thing: when the hygiene and sanitation system that my brother, the grand architect had created was implemented in your villages, did you follow the instruction to dig the dumping area far away from the well?"
The villagers from different origins all looked at each other before one of them spoke up.
"We thought it didn't matter, Your Majesty since-"
Lyla let out an exasperated sigh which made the villagers shudder at the show of irritation from their queen.
"Then that's the problem. You have unwittingly polluted the groundwater with the waste hence why your wells have been contaminated. There is no curse at play here, merely mishandling and neglect of following instructions." Lyla firmly said, having heard this problem in the past and with Leraje's counsel, knew the first signs of such.
Leraje's modernization of the daily lives of Fodlan's people has been extremely beneficial to them. Leraje has continued Hanneman's work after the latter has passed away with the goal of steadily introducing technology and advanced techniques to improve the lives of Fodlan's people, all of which were based on the technology Hanneman has reverse engineered from the Agarthans following their fall.
The implementation came with its own challenges, some backfiring due to mishandling and general lack of knowledge of the people regarding the matter. Leraje's own team had been teaching the people about it with such things even having specialized occupations to learn in Fodlan's ever improving educational system.
The goal of which is to have the entirety of Fodlan's living standards be improved by the end of the decade. Lyla can't be too harsh in reprimanding her people for being clueless on the specifics of what is currently being implemented, Leraje's own team are stretched thin as it is.
"I will send a sanitation specialist in your villages to teach and help all of you with your problem regarding contaminated wells and proper sanitation. I only ask that all of you be patient and find alternate sources of water to prevent any possible diseases from drinking contaminated water from your wells."
The farmers from various villages had their eyes lighting up with hope and all of them bowed deeply to the queen in thanks and appreciation for the course of action she took to aid them.
"It will be taxing to carry water from the river but we'll get by, Your Majesty! A thousand blessings for your help."
Sothis lightly snickered beside Lyla.
"If there is nothing else, you can all go now and instruct your respective villages about the urgent matter. Have your sick taken to medical specialist to be treated if need be." Lyla further instructed as the villagers bowed again in thanks to the Fodlan Queen before taking their leave.
While the majority of those seeking audience with the queen had left, there were still a number of Lyla's people to listen to, each having their own unique problems be it simple or complex.
"This is going to be a long day." Lyla groaned. She wanted to get this over with as soon as she could, not being in the greatest of mood to publicly appear to hear the appeals of her people.
Byleth stared at the view of the outside through the window, the city of Derdriu was in full view from the room he occupied with Lysithea ever since their ascension as the then king and queen of Fodlan, not long after the terrible war that gripped Fodlan for five years.
A terrible war his wife and friends had endured for five years while he only participated in its final years to bring about a decisive end to it.
Remembering it now, those events are so far from the time they live in now. Now, only a few in this once scarred land lived through and remembers those events.
The ones who mostly live in Fodlan now have been living in ignorant bliss from the aftermath of it all. Living with what he, his wife and their friends had paid off with their blood, sweat, tears and in some cases, lives.
Lives… Rhea was one of those who paid with it for this peace to come to Fodlan. The woman who was deeply entrenched in his family's life both for good and for ill.
If it weren't for the long dead Archbishop, he wouldn't have lived all these years. Rhea made the meeting of Sitri and Jeralt possible by creating the former and recruiting the latter, even saving him from death at some point.
When he finally met Rhea for the second time (unbeknownst to him during that moment), Rhea made decisions that steered his fate to something else beyond his life as a wandering mercenary with Jeralt.
Decisions that paved the way for him to be able to meet the people he would grow to love besides his father. It was also through such decisions that he met Lysithea, the love of his life.
He owed Rhea all of this yet even after all these years, he didn't know what to think of the woman. He should be thankful but after knowing what she originally planned for him, her withdrawal of so many truths not just from him but also to the people of Fodlan and his father. The idea of her original scheme to use his mother's dying wish to save his life to her advantage, to sacrifice his soul and individuality all to bring back Sothis…
The thought of a pig being raised for slaughter came to mind whenever he tried to make his mind out about Rhea. All these years and he still can't put it in his heart to either thank her or move on from whatever negativity he feels towards her.
Those are one of the lingering thoughts that Byleth hasn't been able to move forward with. The other being…
He turned around to see his wife sleeping in their bed, her raspy breaths as she slept an indication of her worsening health, something he had feared would happen sooner or later.
The former king sat on the chair on the side of his former queen's bedside, everyday this was his routine… to look after her and interact with her all day and all night, only detaching himself from her for short intervals or if Lysithea wanted him to go out and interact with the family they had built all these years.
The latter often has his wife scolding him for neglecting their family in favor of caring for her.
Even Jeralt had asked for his presence for more than one occasion because his grandson, Eligor, wanted to spend time with him. The little boy was especially fond of both his grandparents on his father's side, owing to the things he had heard about them. The thrill of being related to two great figures of Fodlan had him ecstatic and often comes to visit them ever since Lysithea became bedridden.
Byleth lightly scoffed at a memory that gives him cause to smile… and be sad about whenever he remembers Lysithea speaking at one point that one of their children took so much time to give them a grandchild.
Their eldest, Lyla, didn't bear any child she could call her own for she merely adopted Felicia from the previous marriage of her now deceased husband. Despite calls by many of Fodlan's upper echelon for her to remarry and create an heir to the throne, she fervently refuses to.
Jeralt took many years until he found someone who he genuinely loves and one who also felt the same way for him, not because of lust for power to be married into royalty but of love and love alone. Byleth and Lysithea greatly approve of Jeralt for making such a decision and as such, Jeralt is at the happiest years of his life… until recently that is.
Leraje… their youngest was married and committed to his work and the dream he had for the entirety of Fodlan. A work he inherited from one of Byleth's former colleagues in the academy, Hanneman. He was the only one who had no interest in politics or in the military as compared to his older sister and brother.
Their three children, born from his and Lysithea's loving union are a mixed bag of individuals just as their mixed blood of human and divine is. The dual nature of their children was revealed to him during the incident when Lysithea was regressed back to her fifteen year old self many years ago.
It was when Lyla used the power of Sothis or his power to stop and reverse the course of time even for a short time. All of which Lyla had confessed to using when Byleth asked her and perhaps what shocked him that time was the very fact that Sothis' soul inhabits Lyla as she did to him once.
While unable to converse directly like they used to, Sothis assured (via instructions to Lyla) Byleth that her co-occupation of Lyla's body was never her intention and it was merely an unforeseen consequences of her willing merging to Byleth, her consciousness and soul endured yet for some reason, her soul reincarnating to the growing child within Lysithea's womb.
Unlike before, she doesn't possess the grand powers she once had and merely 'siphons' out the power from Byleth if Lyla wills it so.
"Treat it like she is a parasite that takes your energy if she wants to. That's how it works."
Lyla was furious at Sothis for referring to her as such for that analogy after she realized what Sothis made her say.
"You're so mean! I'm not a parasite to dad! How could you?!"
Seeing Lyla argue with (virtually) herself did make Byleth chuckle much to Lyla's chagrin.
Afterwards, he confided with Lysithea and Seteth regarding the nature of their children. One of Seteth's theories was confirmed with the revelation and called the children born from Byleth and Lysithea's union as: second generation Nabateans.
Nabateans who are unlike their predecessors aren't immune to the passage of time due in part of their blood being diluted with that of a human's and as such lacks the potency Seteth and his race had.
"They will live long, centuries if I can make a calculated guess yet… they don't seem to possess a potent enough blood to generate unique Crests of their own much like we did."
The news did bring relief in Lysithea's case, considering she was nervous if her children will come to possess Crests in the future, something she preferred them not to have due to her own dark past regarding them as well as her goal in making them obsolete in Fodlan's culture.
Seteth did admit he cannot fully understand Lyla's own unique state, she was the only one to host Sothis' soul despite the lack of the Crest Stone that once contained her soul within, could it be that the merging of Sothis and Byleth led to Sothis' soul being unbinded from the Crest Stone and the stone was merely just acting as Byleth's heart and source of power?
It seemed Sothis' influence in Lyla's body also had something to do with the gradual changes in Lyla's hair as well as her once teal hair that Byleth possessed prior to merging with Sothis has gradually turned more and more green as she aged which now resembles Sothis' shade of green hair.
While Jeralt and Leraje had no change in their appearance, they along with their older sister's appearances had since stumped, forever making them appear as young adults as their appearance stopped reflecting that of their true age.
Regardless of their nature, those three gave Byleth and Lysithea causes to be proud of not just as the rulers of Fodlan who lead them to a better life but also as parents, having raised and taught them, guiding them to become better individuals was probably their biggest accomplishment besides ending the war.
Yet after all those grand accomplishments that are difficult to do in just a single lifetime.
Byleth can't help but feel powerless for being unable to stop life from slowly leaving his wife.
And it was all due to Lysithea's refusal to extend her life through artificial means. Even with the options she was offered with, she didn't want it.
Despite Byleth's desire to be with her as long as they can, Byleth understood Lysithea's decision to let her life run it's natural course.
She lived the earliest parts of her life being shortened through artificial means, she got that life back after she was rid of her Crests… it felt hypocritical of her to resort through artificial means to do the opposite.
Constance's magic spells, despite the Nuvelle countess' claim to perfect it, was found to merely be a temporary one as Constance observed that the effects would gradually wear off in months despite Constance's efforts to improve it, her spell was merely nothing more but a fleeting and cosmetic one.
With Constance's magic out of the picture, Seteth had once proposed a solution to the then Fodlan King regarding his dilemma, to have Lysithea drink the blood of a Nabatean's blood to acquire longevity, a process that Rhea used to save Jeralt's life in the past and in turn, gave him the Crest of Seiros and long life. It was the next best option for them to stem the tides of aging in Lysithea's body... a measure that Lysithea immediately opposed.
"I suffered in the first part of my life due to Crests and now I have been freed of them for decades, you want me to have one back?"
Such was her vehemence that it was never brought up again as a solution, one of the reasons of her refusal was the unknown variable of implanting Crest bearing blood in her veins when she was the former recipient of two types of blood. Leraje warned of the risks of doing so might cause a chain reaction in her blood that will possibly lead to her death as her circulatory system has been irreversibly compromised when she was experimented on.
"First thing I see waking up is your frown."
Byleth blinked to see Lysithea's half-opened eyes staring at him, having roused from her slumber.
"Did I wake you?"
Lysithea weakly shook her head.
"I just had the compulsion to wake up... I dreamt of something." Lysithea responded as a smile steadily formed across her lips.
Byleth slightly smiled. "It seemed like a happy one."
"It was."
"Care to share it?" He warmly asked her.
Lysithea closed her eyes for a bit. "I dreamt about meeting Claude and the others again… we were in Garreg Mach and surprisingly… we looked as if we were back during our days in the Academy."
Byleth's eyes softened at the mention of that moment in their lives.
"The first we met. I can remember how you told me not to forget your name after introducing yourself."
Lysithea chuckled. "I didn't know what I was thinking in telling you that. I felt like I had to make an impression on you so you won't treat me as a child… I had to look assertive to look mature."
"I never treated you like one."
"Really?" Lysithea asked with a questioning look, the look barely masking her mirth.
Byleth's confident look crumbled a bit. "Alright, I did see you as one when I gifted you that Armored Bear Stuffy for the first time."
The elderly woman merely shrugged knowingly.
"You were uncharacteristically acting like one back then." Her husband added.
Lysithea scoffed at him while maintaining a smug smirk upon her wizened lips. "Finally the truth came out after more than 70 years of marriage with you. You did see me as a child at one point."
There was a brief moment of silence between the couple until both of them started laughing at their banter.
"It's been two decades since Claude passed away, huh?" Byleth thought, thinking of the man who would become his best friend and the one who influenced him in some of his policies to an open minded Fodlan, unshackled by the dogma of faith and xenophobia of the outside world.
Lysithea scoffed at the mention of her former house leader in the Golden Deer.
"That idiot." Lysithea said as smiled at some memory she held about the former Almyran King.
"I remember what happened a few days before you arrived with Captain Jeralt in Garreg Mach along with Claude, Dimitri and Edelgard… we just had the student's orientation during that day, Seteth explained the rules and held a sermon with Rhea before we were ordered to introduce ourselves to each other in our respective houses."
Byleth kept quiet, he knew some bits of this story when Leonie offhandedly mentioned it once in the Academy.
"We were introducing ourselves to each other and right after Ignatz was done with his and it was my turn, Claude saw fit to ask if I was a missing child. Everyone stopped and looked at me as if I was indeed what Claude insinuated except for Lorenz, who already knew who I was."
"What happened next?" Byleth asked.
"Of course, I tried to correct him first. Father did tell me to be as patient as I can so I wouldn't be treated as an outcast with my short temper and all-"
'At least my father-in-law was aware of how thin Lysithea's patience was to give her instruction as such.'
"But then he started to push his luck further when he proposed I should go with him to the lost and found section."
'This is the part where she-'
"So, to shut him up… I formed a fireball in my palm, everything who dared to laugh ceased and Claude started sweating…. Until he ran."
Byleth had his hand on his mouth as he hid the grin caused by nearly laughing behind his hand.
"So that explains why some of Claude's hairs at the back of his head were… singed." Byleth recalled, he did warily observe all the three house leaders during that time as Dimitri explained to him about Garreg Mach and it's history while Edelgard remained in pensive silence and Claude inserted his own comments and views as Dimitri explained.
"Marianne extinguished the embers on his hair that day."
"I assume Seteth wasn't pleased to hear of that incident?"
Lysithea smirked rather sinisterly. "Fact is, everyone in the class thought Claude was responsible for what happened and instead told the knights who were patrolling that Claude accidentally set his hair on fire by leaning on one of the braziers. Remembering it now, I can remember Claude's panicked scream."
The elderly woman cackled in a fit of laughter over a memory long passed until she started coughing violently as her lungs began to react negatively from her laughter, prompting Byleth to rush to her side to make her sit up and rub her back all while having a glass of water ready for his wife to drink.
"Maybe don't tell any funny stories in the meantime?" Byleth asked with uncertainty as he watched Lysithea drink from the glass of water he offered, her hands were noticeably shaking as he held the bottom of the glass to support her otherwise it might fall.
Lysithea sighed in relief after finishing the entire glass of water, she was about to wipe the traces of water from the corner of her lips when Byleth wiped it with a white cloth, tenderly rubbing it off, all the while bearing a concerned look.
The sight invoked Lysithea to remember how much Byleth cared for her after she was cured off of her Crests, when she felt extremely weakened to the point of barely being able to move her arms and legs after the procedure, followed with the negatives of being pregnant with Lyla back then.
She also recalled the aftermath of Lyla's birth alongside Jeralt and Leraje's own respective births, Byleth almost never left his side until she recovered and even then, he would always ask her if she was feeling well from side effects of giving birth. Something she expressed annoyance at many times.
She suddenly felt more appreciative than she used to for her husband's care, finding his gestures more warmer than they already were. She didn't think it was possible in her old heart to skip a beat even after all these years.
"Remember when you promised you would come back after five years when we graduate? During the ball?"
Byleth's eyes slightly widened. "Also what happened after that? During the ball? And the Goddess Tower?" He asked with a slightly teasing smirk.
"We'll get there." Lysithea said with confidence, not finding those particular memories to be embarrassing anymore, instead finding them as one of the highlights of their relationship.
She cleared her throat. "But before that I remember Lorenz was reeling for days from Claude poisoning him with a medicine for constipation after he couldn't stop insisting he represents the Golden Deer during the White Heron Cup."
"I had to train Hilda in secret for that competition considering she had the most experience in such things. She was surprisingly enthusiastic in partaking in that activity."
Lysithea chuckled. "She did say it felt like you two were having a secret affair when you were training her."
"I can imagine you weren't glad to hear that." Byleth said, insinuating on Lysithea's possible jealousy.
"I wasn't." Lysithea confirmed. "Claude was quick to pick up on that as is Hilda."
Byleth inwardly chuckled, Lysithea wasn't a person who was prone to jealousy but if she does… she has a way of showing it.
The former king decided to go back on their supposed topic.
"The promise…"
Lysithea looked up at the ceiling of their room with nostalgia.
She remembered what she felt when Byleth fell during Edelgard's siege of Garreg Mach, she felt what she felt when she saw her younger siblings and cousins die, succumbing from cruel experiments inflicted upon them… she felt grief once again when she witnessed how Byleth was supposedly blasted away into the ravine by the very same mages in black who condemned her with a shortened life.
In that moment, Lysithea wanted to charge in and kill them all but Claude had to knock her out of her grief-stricken haze.
She grieved Byleth for a time, becoming an emotional wreck until she managed to fix herself up for the sake of her parents, reminding herself that she still has to work to give them a better future.
Lysithea later admitted to her husband that she often visited Garreg Mach during his birthday while accompanied by the other Golden Deer members who wished to offer their respects, some like Claude and Leonie refused to accept that Byleth had died and never went with them during those times.
"Then you came back to us." Lysithea reminisced. "I thought I was dreaming that day when I caught sight of you once again."
Byleth warmly smiled as he looked at the nostalgic smile that his wife was wearing.
"You grew up to be so beautiful when I saw you again." Byleth widely smiled, remembering the burning sensation in his chest when he saw how Lysithea had matured over the five years he was gone, remembering the look of shock upon her face when they locked eyes for the first time in five years.
After that reunion, the two often found themselves spending time together whether it was training, planning for the war or just for the rare moments of leisure they had. They didn't realize how obvious their attraction was for each other in the eyes of most of their friends.
It came to the point that Claude and Hilda lead the teasing effort to push the two to the point of confession which irritated Lysithea during that time as she held doubts of a romantic relationship with anyone due to her condition.
She recalled how she held back because she didn't want Byleth to get hurt by dying on him due to her short lifespan. Yet… Byleth made her fall for him even more after he built up the resolve to find a solution to her condition, that he will try his hardest to give her a future she deserves all for herself, not for the sake of others.
Something that moved her greatly despite her own reservations for such possibility.
Then, their affections for each other culminated in an intimate tryst.
"I feared that battle would be our last." Lysithea spoke as she envisioned her younger self walking along the halls of Garreg Mach late in the night, unable to fall asleep from the looming battle ahead.
"We were against an army we only heard of from myths and legends." She continued, recalling the grim morale the Alliance had after finding out they were to face Nemesis and his Elites, a mythical army as their final obstacle to reach peace for Fodlan. "When I saw you alone in the classroom that night, I realized that night was the only chance I could truly tell you what I have felt for you all those times."
Byleth smiled widely. "And I am grateful for it. I remember I was still trying to sort out what I truly felt for you that time, why did you seem so important more than anything to me? The overwhelming desire to protect you even if you didn't need it… the desire to have you experience what life has to offer for you that was cruelly taken away…"
Lysithea managed to giggle despite the pain in her throat.
"To think Lyla was made that night."
"It seems so long, back then we had a lot of uncertainties and problems to go through. You weren't cured, you were pregnant and it was unknown if the cure we developed would have any drastic side effects for you and the baby." Byleth admitted.
"That period of our life, it was one if not the scariest one in mine. I was afraid to die, to make you suffer but I was more afraid Lyla would die. I… was willing to die if it would save her and give her the chance to be born-"
"You were very much like my mother in that regard." Byleth smiled as he recalled the parallel between Sitri and Lysithea's willingness to sacrifice their lives in exchange for their children's lives.
"I think any true mother would do that." Lysithea corrected him. "The life of their child is more important than theirs… that was what I felt when you and Professor Hanneman told me of the stakes at hand."
Lysithea didn't seem sad when she told that story, in the past she could still feel the emotions she felt that day along with her traumatic childhood but now… it felt like such a distant memory that could never hurt her again.
Thought that's because Lysithea knew that despite all the bumps in the road that dotted her life, her life wasn't wasted. Despite it's very rough start and obstacles she had to face that was more than enough for a normal person's lifetime, she persevered and won against the challenges that were thrown at her.
It wouldn't all be possible if not for her friends and her loved ones, Byleth and Hanneman for giving her the hope she needed. Byleth for motivating her further, his love and faith towards her gave way to a family she never thought she'll have.
Her beloved children for being the very things that made her want to enjoy and experience life more, her source of pride and joy and the objects of her utmost love and dedication.
"Lyla, Jeralt and Leraje… how they have grown." Lysithea mused, the adult images of her children flashing in her mind, reminiscing how they grew up from being privileged children tempered with discipline and compassion to employ the same things to the good of Fodlan.
Lyla has succeeded them both as the land's ruler, Jeralt keeps Fodlan and its citizens safe while Leraje focuses his efforts in improving the quality of their lives. She knew that she and Byleth did what they could to raise them into what they are.
"I wonder… how our fates would be if you chose differently."
Byleth blinked not once but twice, perplexed at Lysithea's words.
"If I chose… differently? In what way?" Byleth asked, he saw Lysithea's dull pink eyes turn to him.
"What if you never chose to be the Golden Deer's professor? What if you chose Edelgard?" Lysithea questioned, having only thought of this question just recently for she never wanted to think of such a possibility wherein Byleth chose another class on that fateful day that changed their lives.
Lyla did say (according to Sothis speaking via her) that even the slightest change in time can affect the future tremendously. Something Byleth thoroughly agreed with due to the power of the Divine Pulse bestowed upon him by Sothis to save the lives of his friends and loved ones from a premature death. It was a moment where Lyla asked if they can travel back in time so that Lyla can see events of the past that were impossible to see such as her grandparents: Jeralt and Sitri's lives as well as Byleth and Lysithea's prior to being the rulers of Fodlan.
Byleth never did thought of such an idea but before he can entertain it, Sothis told them through Lyla's body that doing so will drastically alter the fates of everyone and the world around them, and that even Sothis and Lyla's existence will cease to exist if they did so.
Even with the tremendous power he had cultivated over these years as the main bearer of Sothis' power, Byleth must never misuse his control over time to such an extent.
"What if I chose another house like Edelgard's?" Byleth immediately entertained the thought of siding with one of his most formidable enemies, the long deceased Emperor of the defunct Adrestian Empire: Edelgard…
Despite not being from his house, Edelgard did become one of his students in classes he taught, as did Dimitri. She was one of the smartest and most skilled students he had, only to be surpassed at the former by his wife.
He never truly expected the promising young woman would walk such a path. He and others thought she merely did it out of pure selfishness and thirst for power only to be proven wrong after Byleth slew her.
Her motivations and her plans for Fodlan… he had wished she had shared such things with them, maybe they could have found another path to walk together.
But alas, Edelgard in these times was mostly reviled in the history books despite her own ideals and plans being one of the basis for Byleth and Lysithea's policies for Fodlan, though with a more steady and gentle hand.
"Will we ever find each other the same way we did when you chose us in the Golden Deer?" It was another difficult question that Lysithea layered over the other difficult one.
Byleth thought about it, Lysithea's question did prove a point and just like what Sothis spoke about the effect of even the slightest change making dramatically different results… would he and Lysithea be in the same spot as they are now? Would their children exist? Would the land they once ruled be thriving as it is now? Would they actually still be together?
The very thought of it made him shudder for he cannot imagine a life without Lysithea and his children.
"I like to think we will find a way." Byleth said, wanting to think that he and Lysithea were truly meant to find each other no matter the difference in time.
"I mean if I managed to recruit from other houses then the same can be said if I tried to recruit you." Byleth explained as Lysithea gave him a nod to continue.
"Though our future would be different if Edelgard did succeed with us, I doubt we would even become the king and queen of a unified Fodlan."
"We would lead more normal lives, is that what you're trying to say?" Lysithea rhetorically asked.
Byleth nodded. "It's certainly a huge possibility… we could become merchants, innkeepers and even-"
"Owners of a pastry shop." Lysithea interjected as she closed her eyes and envisioned an alternate life she would have with her husband and children.
"But the more important thing is, we will still be together." Byleth smiled which made Lysithea smile, her eyes closed and her face bearing a serene look. "Why a pastry shop though?"
Lysithea's smile never faded. "It was actually a childhood dream of mine before everything went wrong… I never really thought about my future as the Countess of House Ordelia. I've always thought I would be happy just making sweets and eating them endlessly during those carefree days. I was a clueless and silly child without a care in the world."
Byleth sadly smiled, imagining how such innocent childhood was shattered immediately soon after, dreams that his wife once had were impossible.
"I once thought that maybe after I had helped my parents dissolve House Ordelia and pass on rule to someone trustworthy, I would try to at least accomplish that silly dream of mine and establish that pastry shop that I would run with my parents, living normally until I die… satisfied I gave my parents the comfort they needed and to be away from the politics of the world. Until you came and ruined all of that."
Lysithea chuckled weakly, not wanting to risk another round of painful coughs at the last quip she made.
"So… I am the ruiner of your dream then?" Byleth asked with a sneer, riding along with Lysithea's humor.
The elderly woman rested her head once more at the pillow and nodded.
"You are… yet you also gave me another chance in life, something far more happier than the one I thought for myself and for that… I am grateful." Lysithea smiled until Byleth noticed how her mouth began to uncontrollably shudder as if...
Before Byleth could ask what was wrong, he felt Lysithea's hands weakly hold his and tried to entwine them with his to no avail.
"Lysithea…?"
"You have given me so much, my love. You have given so much happiness that can last many lifetimes. You gave me so much life and gave it a meaning anew." Lysithea said as she reopened her eyes, streams of tears flowing at the corner of her eyes. "But please… allow me to selfishly ask from you one last time."
Byleth felt something gripped his stone heart, it was a looming fear that had existed ever since Lysithea became unwell, exacerbated now with how Lysithea is acting, her breathing was weakening and-
"I want you to let go of me." Lysithea begged as her eyes brimmed with tears, even more so when she saw Byleth's own stream of tears as he looked back at her with eyes of shock and dread.
She was asking him permission if she could…
Byleth shook his head, he wasn't sure if he could do what Lysithea had asked of him just now. It hurt to think of it but it hurt more when she spoke the words.
He knew what Lysithea had decided on for herself and that sooner or later he and their children should learn to accept it just like how they also accepted the loss they all experienced with their loved ones.
"Byleth…" Lysithea weakly called out for him. Byleth felt a weak tug to make him look at his wife who warmly smiled towards him.
Despite her head keeping still and smile intact, it was the look in her eyes that communicated with Byleth that told him what she wanted him to do as her strength waned.
The former king knew that if he did what she asked of him just now, it may as well be their last interaction together…
But he couldn't deny her…
Without another word, Byleth motioned himself closer to Lysithea and leaned his face closer to hers, their hands never letting go as the youthful lips of Byleth tenderly pressed against Lysithea's withered ones.
In that kiss, they also shared their final words together albeit spoken through such an intimate action.
"I love you."
And he took her final breath with him.
And this marks the first chapter of this fic, the final sequel of my Bysithea fics set in the Verdant Wind route.
Apologies for the delay, this chapter was particularly hard to write as well as me getting into a writing slump the entirety of May due to the worsening situation here in my country as well as the stress of work. I would rather play games to relieve me of the accumulated stress.
Anyhow, I do plan on hopefully finishing this next chapter which will be filled with flashbacks of past events. But now, I need to focus on The Last Scion's next chapter.