Nikolai had had the best week of his life with the Archbishop and his father spending time with him almost constantly. If his father was busy with work; ruling the country doesn't stop just because the king is on vacation, then he was with the Archbishop and vis-versa for when she was busy. Despite all of that, there were times when their schedules overlapped and Nikolai would have been left to his own devices with only an uptight guard to keep him company. Their solution had been to introduce him to Flayn.

He found that he quite liked Flayn's company. She was a sweet girl that seemed eager to spend time with him and she had no end to the stories to tell him about the people in his life. She had shared how his father had been the only one willing and able to eat her cooking. She explained about how Dedue's infinite patience slowly thinned while he attempted to teach her how to cook properly. She told him about how his uncle Felix had cut both fruit and wood that she had thrown at him like the master swordsman he was. Nikolai had greatly enjoyed hearing stories about the people he looked up to; particularly his father.

He was still at the age where his father was very much his hero and hearing about how kind and upright his father was had only created a loftier image of the man in the young boy's mind which was easily strengthened as he asked more about what his father was like when he was younger and Flayn happily supplied; determined to instill a serious case of hero-worship in the boy. She was careful, though, to avoid any topic of Dimitri's insanity so she wouldn't shatter the image Nikolai had of his father.

One of the activities that the two of them would participate in while she spun her tails was fishing. It was simple and relaxing and gave them plenty of time to talk. The perks of having a fish to eat afterward couldn't be overlooked either.

Today Flayn could see the difference in the boy. Nikolai was staring at his line bobbing in the water with a depressed look on his face that Flayn picked up instantly. His expression wasn't exactly subtle.

"What is wrong?"

"We're leaving tomorrow." Nikolai sighed heavily, his grip tightening on his fishing pole. "We've had dinner almost every day but they don't seem to be any closer. I don't know what else I can do. I-I don't want them to continue hating each other."

"They do not hate each other."

"Do you think they love each other?" Nikolai asked. Flayn's silence letting him fill in the blank with a negative instead of the affirmative that Flayn knew it to be. "I wish I could get them back together but I don't have any more time. We leave tomorrow."

Flayn frowned as she thought about how she could help. Having food together certainly helped build relationships, that was true, but a week wouldn't have been enough time for anyone to get to the point that Nikolai had been hoping for. Especially not if they hated each other like The King and The Archbishop supposedly did.

"Perhaps if you had them do something reminiscent of when they first started dating it will remind them of why they liked each other to begin with?"

"Like what?" Nikolai asked, his expression hopeful as he looked to Flayn for a possible suggestion. She was taken aback by his question and it took her a moment to begin thinking of examples to give him. It was at that moment that she realized that she didn't really know what Byleth and Dimitri had done before actually getting together. They had been at war and Dimitri had been half-mad then the next thing anyone knew they were in a relationship. What could she possibly give him when she herself didn't even know how the two had gotten together. There was only one instance that she could recall where Dimitri had been hyper-focused on Byleth.

"Hide and seek?" Flayn suggested uncertainly.

"Hide and seek?"

"Oh, yes. They both went on a week-long impromptu hide and seek game. Your father was so determined to find Lady Byleth, he would chase her all over the monastery but he never could catch up with her. There had even been a few people who made bets on who would win: whether His Majesty would catch Her Grace or if she would wear him down first. Of course, she won. Your mother is a master at hiding, after all." Flayn giggled as she remembered how surprised everyone was by the spontaneous event and how widely talked about it had been during that week. IT had been all that the monastery had gossiped about and it had stopped before it had over-grown its welcome. The thought was so amusing that it took a long minute of Nikolai blankly staring at her for Flayn to realize her faux pas.

"My mother?"

"Oh! Oh, no! I mean-... I meant the Holy Mother! The Holy Mother, not your mother. You know, because She's the leader of the church now so she's a mother to us all." Flayn tried to explain lamely but it was obvious by the boy's expression that he didn't believe her. Flayn had proven to be a terribly honest girl and the slip of the tongue had given Nikolai a lot to contemplate.

The Archbishop was Nikolais's mother. It was a surreal feeling to know that the person that he had been wishing moments earlier to be his mother was indeed his mother. She was kind to him and always seemed happy to see him. She was what he thought of when he thought of a mother. Still, there was a heavy lump in the pit of his stomach at this revelation. Why had she left him? Had she not wanted him? Had she truly hated him as he had initially thought?

No, she was too nice to him to have hated him. Maybe there had been some misunderstanding. There must be a reason she couldn't be his mother right now. After all, this meant his father had lied about Nikolai's origins to everyone and his father disliked lying if he could help it.

"You cannot tell anyone I told you. I had promised to keep it secret." Flayn nearly begged the boy who gave her a small smile and a nod. He liked Flayn very much and he didn't want to get her into trouble.

"So, about hide and seek..."

They were surprised when they exited the meeting room to see Nikolai and Flayn standing in the hallway, Nikolai's impatience obvious as he danced in place. Nikolai's grin bloomed when he saw his parents and raced to them, leaping at them in an impulsive bought of childish courage. He laughed when they both moved to catch him, forcing them into an unexpected family hug until Byleth seemed to remember where they were a moment later and stepped back quickly, leaving Dimitri to lift the boy up to sit on his forearm.

"I will take my leave now." Flayn bowed slightly, turning to rush away before they could thank her. She wanted to be as far away as possible on the off-chance that Nikolai accidentally ended spilling what he had learned from her. She was sure that they wouldn't be too harsh on her but it was better to not push her luck.

"Father! Your Grace! I want to play hide and seek!" Nikolai exclaimed happily, looking between the two adults, seeing the obvious surprise on their faces. He had been growing more courageous throughout the week, stuttering less as his shyness faded. Having found out that both his parents were not only alive but here with him currently and seemed to like him, he couldn't keep his excitement under control even if he wanted to.

"Hide and seek? I believe that it might be a bit difficult in such a large monastery." Byleth tried to excuse. She was worried about having Nikolai hiding alone where neither she nor Dimitri would know where he had stashed himself.

"Please? We can have one person search and the other two hide in the same place so that it'll be quick."

Dimitri and Byleth glanced at each other, holding a silent conversation between them. Byleth was the first to give in with a sigh.

"Alright. We'll limit the hiding area to this central building." Byleth gave in with the added rule. Nikolai suggesting that he hide with one of the adults had been the only reason she had agreed to the game.

"I want to hide with you first!" Nikolai leaned back with his arms outspread in a silent plea towards the Archbishop, willingly throwing himself off-balance. Dimitri stepped forward to try and keep his arm under the boy to stop him from falling while Byleth stepped forward to catch the boy. After a bit of finagling, the two of them managed to transfer the boy so he was sitting on Byleth's hip where Nikolai was comfortable. All his uncles and aunts carried him like that too. He had long since realized that only his father was strong enough to carry him on his arm.

"Ok! You need to count to ten!" Nikolai ordered his father who smiled indulgently at his son who was the only person in the country that could tell him what to do. Dimitri moved to the nearest corner and made a show of counting out loud.

"One... Twooooo... Threeeeee..."

"We have to hide!" Nikolai whispered loudly, bouncing a bit. He stopped as soon as Byleth turned and began walking down the hall. She thought with every step on where they could hide, finally deciding in the knight captain's office that once belonged to her father. It had been long enough that it hadn't hurt when she had given the office to Alois when he was promoted to Jeralt's old position and she knew that the older man had taken the time off she had given him to spend with his family so the office would be empty.

She set Nikolai down once she stepped inside and he raced around the room quickly to look for the perfect spot, pointing at the space under the desk after he had taken a turn around the office.

"Hide here!" Byleth followed his demand, moving the chair just enough to give herself room to crawl under the desk. Nikolai was grinning while the Archbishop followed his direction but the smile quickly faded when he realized that there wasn't enough room for him to sit beside her. She must have seen his crestfallen expression and quickly put two and two together because a moment later Byleth shimmied her legs out from under the desk and pulled Nikolai to her until he was resting on her lap and then slipped back under the desk so she was cocooned around him.

Nikolai was stiff in surprise for a few moments before melting into the embrace with a happy sigh and nestled his head under her chin. He couldn't hear her heartbeat but the warmth that radiated from her spread through him to his very core. Was this what it was like to have a mother?

If only he had had this since he was a baby. If only she would hold him like this more often. If only he didn't have to leave. If only everyone had known that the Archbishop was his mother.

Nikolai struggled against the burn in his eyes but eventually, hot tears broke free and he clung to Byleth while he sobbed pathetically.

"Mommy..."

Byleth was surprised by the sudden turn in Nikolai's mood. She hummed softly as she stroke his hair to try and calm him down while whispering soothing words. She could only imagine that he was mourning his lack of a mother. She had realized that he had been trying to get her and Dimitri back together, he wasn't exactly subtle about it, and though she found it cute it also hurt to be oblivious to his desperate desire for her to fulfill the role of his mother.

Nikolai's tears slowly faded until he only had the occasional hiccup to interrupt the silence that followed.

"Are you feeling better?" Byleth asked and Nikolai nodded, wiping at his eyes.

"Found you." Dimitri grinned as he leaned down, his smile fading instantly when he saw Nikolai's red eyes. He quickly lifted the boy out of the cramped little place, allowing Byleth the crawl out, looking to the boy with concern. "What happened? Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah..." Nikolai nodded as he wiped at his face, unable to see the concerned look at the two adults shared.

"Maybe we should stop this game?"

"No!" Nikolai shrieked, startling the two adults. "No! You have to hide! It's my turn to seek!"

Nikolai was normally so calm and considerate that his parents sometimes forgot that he was only 5 years old. This was such an unusual outburst of a tantrum that, after a quick silent conversation, the two gave in.

"Alright. We'll play one more round." Dimitri gave in, setting the boy down. Nikolai ran to the corner of the room before they could change their mind and started counting out loud. After a moment they left the room.

They ended up sitting in silence in the room that was essentially Seteth's office off of the audience chamber rather than really hiding. After a long moment, the silence was broken by Dimitri.

"What was that? In the office?"

"I couldn't say for sure. We were hiding and he started crying. He called out for 'mommy' so I think he's missing that adult affection."

"I try to spend as much time with him as I can."

"I don't doubt you. I know you're a busy man." Byleth soothed gently and they fell back into silence as they entered their own thoughts. The Archbishop frowned and her voice was icy when she spoke again. "He's a bastard child."

"Byleth?!" Dimitri asked, startled by her words and tone. Instead, she met his gaze evenly.

"If a war were to break out between us, it would be his fault. He should have died with his mother." That last phrase was clued Dimitri into what she was talking about. His expression hardened into a stony frown.

"Who said those words?"

"I do not know. Nikolai told me that he has heard it from nobles and servants alike. You could ask Felix. He almost broke someone's arm when he heard them say that."

"Almost? He didn't?"

"No."

"He should have." Dimitri scowled. Byleth gave a laugh at the similarity to her own words. How was it that he hadn't known that people had been saying such things about his son? Worse, that they were saying those things where Nikolai could hear them. He would have to do some housekeeping when he returned to Faerghus. How dare they say such demeaning and harsh words about his son?

"Found you!" Nikolai shouted as he leaped into the room, his smile fading when he saw the dark expressions on the two adult's faces. He had thought they would have gotten a bit closer in the short time that they would be forced to hide together but it appeared that it had been the opposite. Did that mean that they really did hate each other?

"You did." Byleth answered quickly with a smile as she stood up, Dimitri following her to his feet while he erased the dark look that had been on his face moments before so he wouldn't scare the boy. Byleth held out her hand to her son in invitation. "Should we get something to eat?"

"Y-yeah." He nodded, taking the offered hand. Nikolai had a lot to think about at this new revelation that his parents got along well with him but not with each other.

They had returned to Fhirdiad and it had taken him nearly a month to catch up on all the work that hadn't been so important that it had been sent to the monastery. He had also taken that time to stalk the halls of his castle silently, listening to all the gossip that he had ignored before and taking note of everyone that said anything negative about the Crown Prince. He would act once he was sure that he knew he had everyone.

Dimitri was currently sitting in a meeting with his advisors and listening in to all the reports they had for him. It was common, everyday things; how the construction projects were coming, how the food levels were being maintained, how peaceful the borders were currently, and other such things. It was all very routine except for one thing.

"Say that again?"

"Almyran soldiers have been spotted in Fodlan. It was only a few at a time but enough have been spotted that we think there might be a battalion or two hidden in our borders."

"Are you sure they were soldiers? We've opened trade between Almyra. They could be merchants." Dimitri asked to ensure that they weren't going to accuse their neighboring country that they had worked hard to make an alliance with on a report that could easily be a mistake.

"There were multiple reports of Almyrans wearing armor and carrying weapons in the eastern wilderness. No wagons or merchandise in sight."

"Your Majesty." Dedue interrupted as he stepped into the meeting room, followed by a frowning Mercedes. "An urgent message for you."

Mercedes ignored the stares of the other nobles as she walked over to the King of Fodlan and handed him the sealed envelope she carried. She had been given strict orders not to give it to anyone other than Dimitri and she was determined to follow that.

Dimitri opened the letter and read the familiar writing quickly, leaping to his feet afterwards.

"Is this accurate?!" He asked Mercedes.

"As far as I am aware of."

"Dedue! Gather the soldiers, the ones that can be mustered immediately. We head out at once!"

"Of course, Your Majesty." Dedue bowed and left to fulfill the order he was given. Dimitri ignored the questions and confused gazes of the advisors as he rushed out of the room.

She had found them.