After writing more letters than either Byleth or Sothis would care to admit, neither were necessarily happy when the sun climbed into the sky and began to rouse the other occupants of the monastery. Byleth had been half hoping that she'd manage to fall back asleep before the sun finished its ascent, but she'd have no such luck. Which meant she'd be puttering through the day on... how many hours of sleep was it?
"We went to bed a little past eleven and woke up a little before three-ish so I'm guessing four hours give or take," Sothis replied without missing a beat. She who held dominion over time was blessed with many wonderful abilities. She could move time forward or backward, altering the tides of chance and fate as to ring true different and better results. Or she could tell you exactly what time it was at any given location based on the typical measurements in that area. It was a little uncanny...
Sothis apparently didn't have the energy to return some kind of quip. Instead, she silently pressed her face into Byleth's side and let out a long suffering groan.
"If you want to stay and here and sleep, I wouldn't fault you for it," Byleth said. She ran her hand down the length of Sothis' hair, trying her best to multitask and seal up the final letter. She almost spilled the wax, but she was able to pool it in the proper spot and imprint it with her typical seal. The mark itself was a long standing joke based off one of the first monikers she'd ever gotten which had slowly evolved into a family crest within the confines of other regions. A dragon curling around a full moon.
She hoped none of her students would ever learn about it. She didn't think she'd have the right to make fun of "The Flame Emperor" if the little ones found out people seriously called her "The Twilight Dragon" in some places. In particular, Valla stood beside the nickname very firmly. They who worshiped the First Dragons had to find some way to explain why she could use Dragon Vein, an ability exclusive to those who had descended from such dragons. So that was their answer. In other places like Plegia, she just had found family who adored to tease her.
Byleth nearly jumped out of her skin when a knock on her door prevented her from spiraling any further down memory road. "Professor, if you have a moment?" The muffled voice of Seteth reached her. She relaxed slightly since it was only Seteth.
"Allow me to make myself decent," she said to the door. "Are you sure you don't want to stay here and sleep?" She asked Sothis at a much quieter volume. Sothis groggily shook her head as Byleth moved to change out of her nightclothes and into her 'proper' attire. Though there wasn't anything proper about what she typically wore. Aside from literally cheating death and resetting time, the closest thing to a miracle in her life was the fact that none of the other staff ever questioned it. She was grateful for that. It wasn't like she could reasonably explain how she started wearing the outfit out of spite when a dear friend managed to burn off over two feet of her hair no more than a year ago. He hated the outfit. Admittedly so did Byleth.
"Carry," Sothis said, holding out her arms when Byleth was done dressing. Byleth sighed heavily, mostly for show, but complied nonetheless. She turned around and lowered herself so Sothis could climb up onto her back. She did her best to keep her posture straight without causing Sothis to fall off.
It wasn't like this was something she wasn't used to by now. Sothis liked to stay in her visible, materialized form whenever she could help it. She could float around however she pleased, but in the words of the Goddess herself, it was very taxing to do it for too long. Not to mention annoying since it made her feel more like a ghost than a God. The only other alternative for Sothis was walking. Unfortunately, Sothis was tiny and slow. So Byleth had perfected the art of carrying Sothis. It was easier when she went dashing through the monastery like a madwoman since it didn't look weird for her to lean forward to keep Sothis on her back. It was a bit harder when she was supposed to be walking, but she'd managed to find a way of making it look like she was just crossing her arms behind her back while in reality, Sothis could sit on her arms and not fall.
The most comfortable position for both Byleth and Sothis was when Sothis sat on Byleth's shoulders, but that was something that wasn't necessarily easy to do inside of buildings since Sothis could still ram her face into doorways. It involved a lot of ducking and Byleth walking very slowly if they were to pull that off, and Byleth didn't think Sothis was awake enough for that.
After getting dressed and helping Sothis get herself situated she opened the door and did her best to look normal by her own standards. Considering she perpetually looked abnormal, it was fairly easy not to look any weirder than her actual existence already made her seem.
Seteth took it in stride. Which was another way of saying he completely ignored anything strange about the woman his boss suddenly made a new teacher without speaking to him about it first. Something he was not pleased about.
Byleth could understand the irritation, but did it have to be directed at her? And it wasn't like she was completely without references or reason for being a teacher. Byleth, shockingly enough, actually had plenty of credentials. She'd dare to wager more than Seteth! He'd just never thought to actually ask. Then again, her father couldn't really vouch for half of the important things she'd done in her life so really she'd be relying on letters that may or may not arrive before graduation. Speaking of which, she'd need to take the time to get those mailed sooner or later. Sooner preferably, knowing how isolationist Fodlan was and how difficult it would be getting the letters themselves to certain company branches.
Maybe she could pay The Anna. Yes, that would work nicely.
"What is it, Seteth?" She asked trying to keep the edge of fatigue off her voice. It wasn't the first time he'd seen her desperately trying to not fall asleep where she was standing, but it wasn't like he'd remember that.
The prior night's revelation once again came back to haunt her. She could remember at one time playing the role of Archbishop, but she'd never become the Archbishop outside of siding with Dimitri. Which to the best of her memories she'd only done once. And then she reset immediately after killing Edelgard. Which opened up an entirely new rabbit hole of why she couldn't remember if she'd survived the war. Others could remember resets where they died as long as they survived the war. So why not Byleth?
"Our rules might be different, and we wouldn't even know for sure," Sothis muttered pathetically, curling father into the crook of Byleth's neck.
Seteth nodded, straightening up some papers in his hands. "Lady Rhea has requested your presence as there's something she'd like to discuss with you. Afterward, I would also like to take some of your time regarding the nature of the classes you're going to be instructing," Seteth said. That was all it took for Sothis' head to shoot upwards, very nearly throwing Byleth off balance.
"Thank you for the message Seteth. I'll make my way immediately and come to visit you in your office once the meeting has concluded." Byleth dismissed him with as little emotion as possible, draining all sense of fear and anxiety from her voice in a practiced kind of manner.
Seteth nodded and took his leave. Byleth took a step outside the door and could already feel the dread and fatigue starting to overcome her natural mask. It was too early to be dealing with Rhea, especially when she was fumbling around on minuscule amounts of sleep by her typical standards.
Quite honestly Byleth preferred 10 hours of sleep a night if she could at all afford it, but she hadn't had that luxury since she left home.
Sothis wiggled and Byleth held still while the girl adjusted her position on Byleth's back so as to better sit on their shoulders. It was amazing how easily Sothis could climb up Byleth like a tree. Sithing on Byleth's shoulders would require a little dodging on Sothis' part while they were going upstairs, but most of the rooms and doors in the upper level of the monastery were accommodating enough. "You sure you don't want to stay here and sleep?" Byleth offered one last time once Seteth was out of earshot.
"Absolutely not! From the sounds of things, this meeting is going to just be you and Rhea. Alone. I refuse to let you go through that by your lonesome. Now. Let us not linger too long, lest she becomes impatient," Sothis said, leaving no room for argument as she pointed forward.
Byleth just laughed lightly and started walking. It was still early enough in the morning that the light was only hitting the tops of buildings and trees. There were no students around and the only sound to break the silence was the chirping of birds. At first glance anyway. Byleth could see the start of movement. The very earliest indicators of life. Knights and guards starting patrols, and the very quiet sound of people training when she passed by the training grounds on her way.
The staff tended to regularly wake up about this time, getting together and speaking on lesson plans or the various happenings within Fodlan over cups of coffee while they waited for breakfast and the students. Byleth was particularly fond of sitting with Manuela and Hanneman and just watching the two, intrigued by their dynamic until it grew too loud for the early hours and she found some way to cease their arguing. Usually by finding some common ground to complain about, like a particularly naughty student or a stupid move done by one of the various nobles that Manuela was fond of gossiping about. Earlier on in the resets, it was how Byleth acquainted herself with the world of Fodlan.
She wouldn't have such a good start to the morning today though. Meetings with Rhea were always rare. And usually later in the day rather than earlier. It made whatever this was feel unfamiliar which by extension made Byleth feel nervous. This was new, and technically new was good but new was still new. It was something she hadn't experienced, and thusly something she couldn't prepare for.
When she arrived at the grand reception hall there was one notable difference in that there was no Rhea. Byleth turned her attention to the left, making her way towards the small side room where Rhea's office sat. So it was going to be one of those meetings. She hated that room simply for the fact when it was just her and Rhea it felt like Rhea's domain. It made Byleth feel... uncomfortable. She always hated a lack of power. A lack of control. She was a tactician and a mercenary, control and knowledge were her two sharpest blades when it came to keeping herself and her comrades alive on any given battlefield.
Right now she didn't control the situation and she didn't even know what the situation was supposed to be about. Making her about as fangless as a newborn wyrm. Still dangerous, but nowhere near as effective at protecting herself against unforeseen attacks.
She wanted her father.
Rhea perked up as Byleth entered the room. She wasn't at her usual spot. Instead, she was perched on a chair at a table towards the back of the room. Across from Rhea was an empty chair and sitting on the table itself was a pot of tea and two empty cups, waiting to be filled.
"Ah, professor. There you are. I apologize for calling on you so early in the morning but there was a matter of some importance that I needed to discuss with you. I also thought it might be nice to get to know each other better since you are the child of Jeralt." Rhea smiled warmly, motioning to the seat across from her.
"As well as your granddaughter," Sothis said under her breath as she slid off of Byleth's shoulders and gracefully landed on the ground. Rhea tilted her head slightly as though trying to listen for something, but she shook her head and seemingly gave up. Byleth shot Sothis a glare.
The two were still unsure of just how aware Rhea was of Sothis' presence. Or Flayn and Seteth for that matter. So it was better to be cautious rather than cause a mess they wouldn't know how to properly fix.
Byleth took the offered seat across from Rhea, curious as to where exactly this was going. "Care for some tea? I was uncertain what to pick not knowing your favorite so instead, I chose a blend I thought you might enjoy nonetheless. I apologize if it isn't to your tastes." Rhea poured out the two cups of tea and added a little bit of cream to each.
Byleth picked up the cup and took a small hesitant sip. She was a bit shocked by the flavor. "This is... well, actually it's my favorite. Your perception is quite astute." The tea itself was completely accurate to Byleth's palet right down to the addition of the cream, which was slightly sweetened and had the addition of vanilla. The tea itself was a very heavily spiced chai that had seen her through many early mornings and late nights.
Rhea smiled in a way that was too gentle, her expression soft and fond. "You know, this was my mother's favorite blend as well," she said. Byleth swallowed a little too hard. Danger, danger, danger. She could feel Sothis prickling from the corner of the room she'd decided to occupy, very discreetly ruffling through papers. Ready to divine pulse if she was noticed or noticed Byleth in peril. Unfortunately, this wasn't enough peril to be worthy of a reset.
"Anyway, on to what I summoned you for."
Knowing Rhea she'd start with business and then let the situation evolve (or devolve) into whatever else she was planning. "As I'm sure you might have heard from some of the students, at the end of the month there's planned to be a mock battle between all three of the classes. Usually, the teachers participate alongside their chosen house. I have yet to figure out what should be done with you considering you are not a main teacher for any one of the three houses. And yet I feel that it would be ill-fitting for some reason not to have you participate..."
Rhea took a sip of her tea, allowing the silence to hang heavy for a moment longer. She wasn't waiting for Byleth to reply, her presence was domineering in that 'I talk, you listen' kind of fashion Byleth had grown used to. After letting the silence turn heavy she began to speak again. "I was wondering if perhaps you have any insight into this issue. I would have no problems allowing you to participate alongside your father or even as a proxy to your father. However, I'd have just as little issue if you wanted to sit on the sidelines with me."
Rhea's gaze burned. Sothis, who'd been keeping her distance for a reason, inched a little closer so as to grab the hand Byleth was keeping under the table. She took a quick sip of her tea and squeezed Sothis' hand back, relying on that anchor to gather her thoughts.
It would be outright cheating if she worked alongside her father with one of the houses. But acting as proxy didn't seem like the best of ideas either. It would just put her back into the same position as always if she showed allegiance to any single house. At the same time, watching alongside Rhea didn't sound all that appealing. Perhaps Rhea from the end of Silver Snow would make for an interesting if not appealing companion. The Rhea who accepted her position as Byleth's grandmother and offered familial warmth to replace the family she'd already taken from Byleth, intentionally or not.
But Rhea at the start of a route tended to border on dangerously unstable, and she was something best tiptoed around until she learned to mellow out. Feeding Rhea's obsession too much too early on could result in her becoming outright neurotic.
It was like trying to pick the lesser of two evils.
Except Byleth was a tactician and in her experience, she'd found that there was often more than two evils to pick from. Yes, Byleth found an idea that she rather fancied. Now it was just down to the risky process of trying to convince Rhea to go along with it.
"While it would be an honor to view the battle with you, I feel as though there might be a better way to go about it. Tensions have been a bit high between the three countries as of late. Why would you want the students of the three houses battling one another? Surely Garreg Mach should be a place for strengthening the bonds between countries. And the bonds between students. While a healthy rivalry is good I feel a better approach would be teaching the leaders of all three houses to better work together and compromise. Instead of pitting the houses against one another, why don't we turn it into students versus staff kind of battle? That way I have the honor of participating without it really being 'cheating'," Byleth was very careful in measuring the amount of emotion she allowed to seep into her expression and words.
This was the least dangerous option she could think of on the fly. Of course building tension between staff and students wasn't preferable either, but that was something that Byleth could fix later down the road. This wouldn't necessarily do any damage to that relationship either since Rhea was still liable to skip and Rhea's existence was Edelgard's biggest grievance. On the other hand, forcing all three houses to work together could lay some important groundwork for getting Edelgard and Dimitri on better terms, which was Byleth's biggest worry early on.
Edelgard could be convinced to offer mercy to the church and its associates if they surrendered and agreed to help forge a less toxic system. Dimitri was the one who tore out his own eye because of emotional instability and psychotic symptoms such as seeing hallucinations of dead people. Even if Byleth couldn't immediately turn Edelgard away from Those who Slither, building up some degree of camaraderie and sympathy within Dimitri might do some good.
Then there was Claude. Claude who had the least amount of reasons to stay in Fodlan considering he was also the crown prince of Almyra. Claude who could leave at any time, but Claude who would also fight viciously for his allies and friends. Once upon a time, Claude had tried to use Byleth as a weapon. A living sword to strike down his foes. She was a bit angry when she found out. Yet, she couldn't fault him. She would have done the same in his position after seeing the Sword of the Creator in action. But maybe it would be just a little fair to get even and make Claude a cog in her scheme for once.
She needed to get those three on better terms, and fast. As well as the houses themselves. So far there were hints of people remembering but she couldn't rely on fragmented dreams to build inter-house relationships. Building bridges between the members of the houses would inherently go towards building bridges between the house leaders.
Rhea was silent, seeming a bit taken off guard by Byleth's idea. She wasn't pleased, but she didn't seem disappointed with the idea either. Her response was neutral, which was better that bad.
"I'll speak with the other members of staff and see what their opinions are on the matter. Considering this is only the mock battle and not the official battle, I don't see much reason for complaint though. And it would be good practice," Rhea paused. Another long sip and silence. "Very well. Moving on, I'd like to ask you a couple of questions. Just to better get ourselves acquainted. You are an assistant teacher, so I'm sure you'll end up doing far more than just teaching. If I ever must call on you for help then it would be better we know one another."
Rhea smiled gently. Again, that expression was too gentle. It practically gave Byleth chills. Byleth nodded, not entirely trusting her voice not to quiver.
"Are you familiar with the scripture of Serios? From what your father has told me you haven't spent much time on Fodlan proper, a good deal of your time was dedicated to traveling. As you now represent the church it would only be proper for you to be at least familiar with the old texts. If you aren't then I'm sure there's some free time in my schedule to go over it with you." Rhea's eyes practically glinted and Byleth felt literal chills racing up and down her spine.
She took another sip of her tea, swallowing hard while she fumbled for an answer. "It's true that a good amount of my life was spent offshore. However, the scriptures aren't hard to find and in a bout of curiosity I did familiarize myself with them. I enjoy studying religion and theology. My godmother you see is a priestess of Naga. After I learned about Naga I made it a duty to acquaint myself with the gods of ever region I visit. Including Fodlan. While I wouldn't say I'm expertly versed, I certainly do know the texts."
The acquaintanceship was personal in terms of some regions, in particular, Fodlan. The second part of her claim was actually a lie. She wasn't well versed. She'd memorized the damn scripture in a panic after realizing that Serios' words were her only weapon against Rhea. Ironically. It wasn't the first holy book she'd ever memorized. Naga's scriptures though she memorized just because she enjoyed the stories and, again, because of who her godmother was.
Serios' testament she memorized in a blind frenzy after she realized just how many time Rhea broke the rules in the book she wrote!
Perhaps that would actually be a good way to deal with Rhea this reset. Backing her into verbal corners until she was tamed enough for Byleth to safely reveal who and what she actually was. Her dad would probably have an aneurism if she started perfectly spitting up a couple hundred pages of thousand year old scripture. Especially if she accidentally slipped into the ancient tongue. Okay, yeah, maybe this was a bad idea. She'd have to wait and see before she committed to reciting scripture at Rhea to convince her of one idea or the other being terrible.
Rhea nodded enthusiastically, seemingly pleased by that answer. "In that case, perhaps instead of going over the scriptures you and I will have more free time just to chat." Byleth saw what Rhea was trying to do here. She just didn't know why Rhea was being so aggressive in her attempts to monopolize on Byleth's time.
"It's because I slipped out, remember?" Sothis whispered, now leaning on Byleth's shoulder, pressing herself as flush against Byleth as possible. "Either she's aware that my presence is awake somewhere within you, or my little outburst has effective convinced her that you are me with amnesia." Byleth supposed that wasn't all that far from the truth. Byleth could be Sothis as much as Sothis could be Byleth. They liked themselves though and didn't want to be each other because they liked each other too much to lose the relationship they shared.
"Perhaps. Unfortunately, it's starting to get late into the morning and Seteth will surely throw a fit if I don't go speak with him regarding class matters. If I may take my leave, Your Grace?" Byleth said with about as much emotion as a brick, her eyes glassy.
Rhea for the first time in the conversation frowned, almost flinching. "I... yes, of course. I mustn't keep you, professor. I wish you and your father the best of luck with your new students. If you visit him today, please send my regards."
Of course she'd be visiting him. She didn't want to lose touch with him any more than he wanted to lose touch with her. Every night they had dinner together. It was a rule that had only ever been broken when they got separated for one reason or another. Byleth intended to keep that unspoken rule going, school or not.
The next stop was Seteth. She walked slowly since Sothis was no longer on her shoulders. The pitter of Sothis' bare feet rushing to keep up with Byleth's walk almost brought a smile to her face. Seteth's office was luckily close to her father's so she could swing by and visit him after.
The two arrived without much hassle as it was still early in the morning. Life had finally started to come into swing but since there were no classes the telltale signs of students were muted. There was no dull hum of chatter. Most were probably still in bed. Byleth would be too if she could help it. "Sir," Byleth said just a little way outside the door, doing her best to announce her presence upon arrival.
"Ah, professor, please come in," Seteth said. He only glanced up from the documents on his desk for about half a moment. Being in the office area of the monastery reminded Byleth that Hanneman hadn't grilled her about a crest yet. Maybe he wouldn't, or he'd try and Byleth could avoid it. It might be smart to try and avoid it. She wasn't certain what kind of bodily differences were present within her thanks to the lack of the Crest Stone. While she'd noticed the surface level things like her ears and the thumping in her chest, there was often more to a mystery than what could meet the eyes.
Byleth entered the office, standing before Seteth who could somehow make her feel so at ease and so nervous at the same time. Seteth and Flayn didn't feel dangerous the same way that Rhea did, which made the dull recognition of family all that much stronger. It was a subconscious kind of recognition. Blood. Family. Child. Safe. Seteth was a generation or two down from Sothis and Rhea, but Sothis had known each and every Nabatean prior to the massacre. Even those who didn't live in Zanado. Including Seteth. Seteth who'd asked Sothis to bless Flayn by picking a name for her.
Byleth felt a very strong protective urge in regards to Flayn. And she felt a certain camaraderie with Seteth as well. She'd developed similar feelings towards Rhea but only after Rhea's sudden renewal of seemingly lost sanity. The Rhea at the start of each reset borderline reminded Byleth of a dragon in the very earliest stages of degeneration.
On the other hand, Seteth was always cold at the start of a reset. Nowhere near as intimidating as Rhea, but still an imposing figure. He looked smaller hunched over his desk, a quill between his fingers and the mutter of something or other on his lips as he finished up scratching a couple final words into the parchment before setting it down and turning his full attention towards Byleth.
"Please, sit down. It would be cruel to make you stand the whole time," he said. Byleth didn't really like the idea of sitting as the first person who offered her a chair this morning tried to trap her in a probing conversation to see if she was really the reincarnation of her dead mother, but Byleth still took the chair because she severely lacked the ability to refuse authority figures.
Another reason she preferred to be the authority figure.
Without any hesitation, Seteth immediately shot into his monologue. "Obviously the majority of what you'll be doing with the classes are lessons and plans organized by the teachers you'll be assisting. You can expect a lot of it to be busy work, however, Jeralt has assured me of your combative skill set so you'll also be helping Jeritza with the instruction of sword skills. I don't know what else you can offer, but if you have anything useful to provide please bring it up to the teachers you are serving under," Seteth pulled out a piece of paper which looked to be a schedule.
"This is a rough outline of when the main teachers handle instruction vs. when the various secondary teachers handle instruction. You aren't a secondary teacher. You are an assistant. Meaning your schedule will be flexible depending on which of the mian teachers require your aid the most at any given moment. However. As you might see there's a small two hour time block on Friday where none of the classes have a teacher. Jeralt has assured me of your worldliness and I've come to the realization that the students, as well as Fodlan, are very isolated. I was wondering if you'd be willing to take this two-hour time block and instruct all three houses at once on the world outside of what is directly adjacent to Fodlan. In essence, you'd become something of the secondary teacher for geography and world history which would give you at least something consistent to do outside of assisting." Seteth handed her the schedule which she scrutinized for a minute.
All three houses? Teaching them world history?
"I'll do it," she said, the barest hint of a smile gracing her features. Seteth just handed her a golden key on a silver platter! She tried to keep her reverie internal.
"Thank you very much, Dame Eisner, that is all. You're free to go now," Seteth said, immediately returning to Seteth things which she had no interest in. That went over more painlessly than Byleth was expecting so she made for the door before Seteth changed his mind and began to lecture her. Her final stop for the day would be her father.
Luckily it seemed that he was in the captain's office just across the hall. She slipped into his room without taking the time to announce her presence or knock. Jeralt just looked up when he heard the sound of footsteps. He glanced her over, smiling warmly at her after checking for anything wrong with her. That smile quickly fell away to a frown when he saw her expression. She closed the door behind her and cast a quick hex on the door. Something simple her own magic teacher had taught her, a useful trick 'in political situations' he'd said. It was just a simple spell to keep noise from escaping a room and ensure that the door remained locked. She'd often use it on her own room when she and Sothis got into particularly long conversations.
"Rough morning?" He asked, leaning back in his chair as Byleth took the adjacent seat with a soft thump, any trace of decorum completely voided. She sighed heavily and allowed her head to flop against his shoulder. "That bad, huh?"
"I had an incident of sorts which resulted in not having slept since 3 in the morning. You know, the usual," while she didn't go to her father often for comfort he most certainly knew about her nightmares, "well guess what happened the moment the sun started rising? Seteth came in telling me I have a meeting scheduled with Rhea and then a meeting with him afterward. Neither were my definition of pleasant."
Jeralt flinched, sucking the air in through his teeth. "You were careful around Rhea, right?"
"I didn't tell her anything you wouldn't. I did tell her about being partially raised by a priestess of Naga, but I quickly jumped into how that led me to reading Serios' Scriptures. Other than that it was just avoiding poignant questions and invitations to take tea with her," Byleth suppressed a shiver as she curled farther into her father's side. Jeralt simply wrapped an arm around her waist. "Seteth was a little better. He wants me to teach a class on the other continents we've been too, which shouldn't be difficult."
"Did you actually read the syllabus? He's probably hand making it to put Fodlan and the Goddess in the best light as possible."
Byleth snorted. "If he does that I'm going to throw it in the center of the room and set it on fire while reciting The Testament Of Naga."
Jeralt burst into a full on belly laugh while Byleth let a few giggles escape. She'd never been entirely without emotions. While rare, she did show them. Specifically around her father. She felt them. Emotions were just... weaker was the best explanation she could come up with before Sothis woke up. They were very much present, but often it felt like looking through foggy stained glass. It was hard to make them out unless they pushed themselves up against the glass or managed to come through.
Her dad had a habit of making the glass feel more clear.
"You take care of yourself though, okay? I don't want any of these church brats getting a funny idea and trying to kill you for being a heretic," Jeralt's warning did not fall on deaf ears. Byleth couldn't help but wonder if that had happened before considering the strong reaction the words evoked. Just how many resets had she forgotten to death? "I know you might not understand, but I don't trust them."
She did understand, she understood fully. And she wanted to tell him that much. She wanted to tell him so badly. But she couldn't.
"Why don't you?" Sothis asked from where she was positioned in a corner, looking on with definitely not envy. She wasn't envious. Gods don't get jealous. "It seems as though we're stuck resetting if what we've gathered so far is any indication. And it feels as though there's something significantly dangerous on the horizon. Byleth. If there was any time to take a risk and play on your better judgment, now is the time. It's time to stop following the others of Rhea and the lordlings and start acting like... well, Byleth."
Sothis had a point. Each of the 4 endings she could remember had been miserable. The one consistent factor between all of them was that she listened to Rhea or one of the 3 lords. Without question. Unless they dipped into the truly unethical she followed their rule and law without hesitation.
But that wasn't the circumstances in which Byleth operated best. It wasn't who Byleth was and it wasn't who the lords and kings of other regions expected her to behave.
She was a tactician, trained by the most well-known tactician in the greater world outside of Fodlan. The name of her teacher had grown legendary, and so too had hers. She was used to being listened to, used to barking strategy and people listening. One of her jobs was to tell people when their ideas were shit, and they listened and respected that becasue it was part of her job. Perhaps it was time to take a bit of control back and start demanding her orders be listened to.
But she wasn't good at working alone either. To pull off her plans she needed allies. Her allies. Sylvain maybe remembering was all well and good, but she needed the friends and found family who were without question loyal. And right now, the only member of that group she had... was Jeralt. Her father, who she needed to figure out how to keep alive. Her father, who knew only half the situation. Yeah. Sothis might just be right. Maybe it was time to take a risk and act on her better judgment as a warrior and a tactician.
"I do know why you don't trust her. Because it's her fault I don't have a heartbeat... and I know why," Byleth said hesitantly, pressed one of her hands to her chest.
"What do you mean you know? You didn't even know who Rhea was until we got here. Did she tell you something?" Jeralt was fumbling for answers, apparently taken off guard by not just the revelation but the tone Byleth's voice had automatically gone to. It was somber and intense.
"Papa," the rarely used word dragged Jeralt's full attention back to her. She always called him Jeralt in public because reputations were a thing. In private she often called him dad. For something important, it was always daddy or papa because to Byleth using those words felt like admitting emotion and weakness. And that was something Jeralt recognized. "I'm going to tell you a story. And there's a good chance you're not going to believe me because it's probably the more outlandish than that time I got in a fistfight with Nowi in her dragon form and actually managed to win. But... it's important that you at least hear me out."
"The reason I don't have a heartbeat... didn't have a heartbeat is because Rhea put something into my chest known as a Crest Stone. In particular, the Crest Stone of the Goddess. Crest Stones were originally the hearts and souls of the people who lived in the Red Canyon. The children of the Goddess. The one Rhea put into my chest was the one that belonged to the Goddess herself. Her goal was to revive the Goddess, using me as her vessel. Rhea is Serios, and all she's ever wanted was her mother back. That being said, it was mom's request that the Crest Stone be put in me..."
"I was stillborn on the day of my birth and mother was bleeding out. Neither of us would have survived. So mom turned to Rhea, her mother, my grandmother, and asked her to take the Crest Stone out of mom's chest and give it to me so that I would have a chance to live. And it worked! But Rhea's attempt to wake up the Goddess also worked."
"When we first came here those dreams I kept having about the little girl and the war? That was the battle against Nemesis, and that little girl was the Goddess. Sothis. Who awoke within me. Now, here's where the story gets complicated. For lack of a better explanation, Sothis and I have done all of this once before."
"We went through all of this and a war began. When it finally ended, everything was miserable. So Sothis gathered up what shared powers we have and used her magic to send us back in time. And we tried again. I don't know how many times we've tried again but the war always happens, and you always die. I don't want to lose you again, and I'm kind of alone right now. I don't know who to turn to and how to stop this. I love the children at this school so much. All of them! But I don't know what to do anymore outside of giving up," Byleth hadn't realized but over the course of her explanation tears had slowly started making their way to her eyes. She did her best to blink them away, refusing to shed them.
Jeralt was quiet for a long time. "You're right. That's absolutely insane. Almost as insane as Naga bringing a bunch of children from the future to fight a fell god. Kiddo, we've seen weirder things and I have no reason to doubt you. Of all people, you're the only one left who I have no reason to distrust. This is certainly a lot to take in, but I believe you. And as soon as I'm done processing everything we'll get to work on a way to fix this. After I fistfight Rhea."
"Please don't fistfight Rhea. She'll win."
Jeralt laughed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Only to perk up slightly. He grabbed her ear, eliciting a yelp from Byleth. "Is this another side effect of Goddess magic?"
Byleth yanked her head away, glaring at the old man. She truly didn't deserve her father. "I don't know. This reset has been weird. For some reason, my heart is beating again and we just kind of realized that my ears look, well, wrong to put it simply."
"We, huh. Does that mean the Goddess is here? Or are you two...?"
Byleth sighed. Explaining Sothis was without question the biggest pain. "Her name is Sothis, and I'm sure she'd prefer if you referred to her as such. She and I share both a body and a soul, however, we're still separate people... kind of? I can use her powers and she can use my body if either of us sees fit, but usually, she refrains from using my body and just floats around in the background like creepy child ghost only I can see." Sothis pouted and knocked a book off a shelf, causing Jeralt to jump. "Oh, yeah, she hates being called a child and can interact with the world around her to a lesser degree. Unfortunately, she can't interact with people. Only objects and animals. At least as far as we've tested. I don't know if Rhea, Seteth, and Flayn can touch her but they do seem to sense her."
Byleth was also hesitant to do testing in regard to Edelgard who shared a crest with Byleth and Sothis.
"And you two get along?" Jeralt asked. Given his expression that seemed to be his biggest worry. Byleth didn't know if she should groan or laugh. Either way, it made her feel happy.
"She's like the sister I never got," Byleth admitted, a slight flush covering her cheeks.
"Aww," Sothis cooed, leaning on the table. Could she stop idly wandering around for five minutes? It was getting distracting. "I didn't know you loved me so much. How wonderfully adorable!" Sothis' teasing only exacerbated the flush.
Jeralt nodded slowly. "Well, it's a bit odd. But welcome to the family Goddess. Sothis? That's going to take some getting used to. But it seems you've been very kind to my daughter. And you've also taken care of her. So... thank you, and welcome again," Jeralt spoke with a certain degree of hesitance, looking around the room like he'd see Sothis. But his words were genuine.
Sothis sunk down slightly as she flushed all the way to the tips of her ears. Now it was Byleth's turn to smirk as Sothis turned bashful. The goddess snatched Jeralt's quill off his desk to Jeralt's absolutely astonishment and fear as well as a piece of scratch paper. She scribbled down a quick 'thank you' before scuttering to the other half of the room, causing Byleth to break out into actual boisterous laughter.
"Nothing can ever be normal with you, can it," Jeralt muttered with a shake of his head as he looked at the note. "Okay. Alright. Give me a little time to decompress and adjust to this new information and then we can get to work," he said. One of the great things about her father was how remarkably chill he was about things that in no way seemed to make logical sense. It's probably why their company was the only one that was willing to work with Ylisse during the whole 'fell dragon' mess back when Byleth was barely four.
Children from the future? Okay, sure, just fall into rank you little brats.
Genderbent evil version of my employer? Just do your job stabbing Risen and let the boss handle that mess.
Your boss somehow figures out how to possess the evil dragon god instead of getting possessed by it? Guess they're a god now, they better be paying me extra.
Looking back, maybe Byleth really should have expected her father to be exceptionally chill about all of this. She lowered her spell and made to leave while her father figured things out. "One last thing, By." Byleth glanced over her shoulder to catch her father's eyes. "I love you."
She couldn't help the faintest hint of a smile crossing her features. "Love you too, dad. See you for dinner."
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This chapter was supposed to go up yesterday, but for the second week in a row a random lightning storm had the audacity to roll in and take out the power while I was in the middle of editing.