Well, Here's Chapter three. I made a promise to myself that I would get it out tonight, and now I'm going to bed. I hope you like it.

Three years passed since Jeralt and Sitri came to them for help, and they had done a good job keeping Byleth hidden from Seiros. Although, they did have to keep him with the Nabateans when the Knights of Seiros or others with the Church came over to check on them. Though Jeralt did have to start working again. He decided that he would rather be a mercenary instead of rejoining the Knights. The further he could keep his family from Seiros, the better.

So that left him in the position where he had to leave his wife and son for a bit.

"Byleth, I'm going to be gone for two weeks again. I want you to be good for your mother and uncles, ok?" Byleth peeked out from his dark teal bangs into his father's eyes. He still hadn't really shown much emotion, but he understood what was going on, even at his young age.

"I will, Father." he replied stoically. With a sigh, Jeralt ruffled his son's hair, then kissed his wife goodbye. As he left, Byleth just watched him as he disappeared down the road. Sitri took his hand and led him away, down to the temple where Indech lived and Macuil often visited when they were over. He had claimed it was to keep an eye on the one who held Sothis' heart, but Indech just smiled knowingly at him whenever he said that.

"Good morning, Sitri. I take it Jeralt already left?" Indech asked. Sitri nodded sadly.

"Judging by their pattern, the church is probably going to send someone to check on me sometime this week. I hope it's sooner rather than later." She bent down and hugged Byleth. "I want to spend time with you without worrying about you being discovered."

"Don't worry, Sitri." he placed his hand on their shoulders. "We will take care of him while you're busy with them. You don't need to worry."

"I know, Indech." She smiled weakly up at him, then she kissed her son's head. "I'll be back soon." Then she left, Byleth watching again as she left his view.

Indech looked down at the boy. Byleth was a quiet child, but the consequences of what Seiros did to him became very evident as he grew. He was far more stoic than any three-year-old had any right to be. Three-year-old boys should be getting into things, following their parents around, and playing, not just staring at people. There was some hint of emotion behind his eyes, but he never let it out. Whether that was because he didn't know how or because he refused was up in the air.

"Well, Byleth, why don't we go inside. I think I have some toys for the children in town that need painted. If you help me, I'll let you have the first pick." Byleth looked up at him with a flash of an excited gleam in his eyes, even though his face was still apathetic. Still, it was a little emotion. He would take what he could get.

"Aelfric? Is that you?" Sitri asked, seeing a man that was very familiar to her. The man in question smiled.

"Yes, Sitri. It's me." he said, reaching out to embrace her. "It's been a long time."

"Yes, it has." Sitri sighed, returning the smile and moving aside to let him in. Thankfully, Byleth's things were put away, so he wouldn't see it and ask questions.

"I've heard about how you and Jeralt have been doing, but I wanted to see it for myself." Aelfric prompted, hoping for something good.

"Well, as you can see, I'm fine. Jeralt is away right now, but I've made some good friends around here." she tried to reassure the cardinal. He still looked at her with concern.

"He- He left you alone?" he asked, incredulous, to which Sitri shook her head.

"He trusts me to go to our friends if I need help. And my health has improved a bit since leaving." She wasn't sure how that happened, but she was glad for it. "I've been feeling better. I think the time away from the monastery has been doing me good."

Aelfric continued to ask questions for a while. Sitri knew he cared about her, but she was a little uncomfortable with him there. She wanted to be with her son and the longer he took to leave, the longer she had to spend away from Byleth. And when he asked if he could stay the night and leave in the morning, she inwardly cringed, although she kept a pleasant smile on her face.

"Uncle Dec?" Byleth asked quietly, painting a toy with his uncle. Indech looked at the boy, seeing a flicker of confusion.

"Yes, Byleth? Is there something that you want to ask?" he prompted. Byleth just looked down.

"Why doesn't Uncle Marc like me?" Indech put the toy he was holding down. Of course, Byleth noticed Macuil's attitude. Children were perceptive, and Macuil hadn't exactly been subtle about keeping his distance, though he thought that was more a show.

"He does, Byleth." he tried to explain. "He's just been through a lot."

"Like what?" Indech sighed at that question. They had agreed to tell him the story when he was old enough to understand, but perhaps he was ready for a smaller-scale version of the story.

"Macuil and I lost a lot of people close to us and we reacted differently. I withdrew from others to work through my grief, and he turned his grief into rage at those who took our loved ones. He is working through it, though." He dipped his paintbrush in the next color. "He doesn't want to be hurt again."

"I understand, Uncle Dec." Byleth nodded, going back to painting the toy. Indech hummed in thought for a minute before adding a nice bright red to the toy cart. Only Macuil would be able to change the boy's perception of him.

He was planning on training him in magic when the boy was old enough. Perhaps time spent together would help a bit.