Fire Emblem Three Houses: Five Years War
I don't own Fire Emblem Three Houses, or any of its characters. This will be a series of one-shots concerning the five years timeskip that occurs right as the war starts. It will contain spoilers for the Azure Moon storyline, and the supports of some characters.
I will treat everyone from the Black Eagles as being recruited by either the Golden Deer or the Blue Lion house, except Hubert who's impossible to recruit. I will attempt to put the shipping to the side as much as possible, but here's what you can expect: Dimitri/F!Byleth, Claude/Hilda, Ferdinand/Dorothea, Petra/Linhardt, Caspar/Bernadetta, Felix/Annette, Dedue/Flayn, Lorenz/Leonie, Sylvain/Ingrid, Lysithea/Cyril, Catherine/Seteth. It will also contain the Ashen Wolves, who will get a dedicated chapter.
I might operate some minor design changes for some of the characters who don't have any post timeskip designs (Catherine, Shamir, Seteth and Flayn for example).
That said, I hope you enjoy your read.
Chapter 7: Rhea "The Lone Lady" Around the Ethereal Moon (December) of year 1182
She could remember her face. She had held tight to that memory, as hard as she could. She would never let it go. She remembered her first years walking Fodlàn- well flying for that matter. She remembered the thrill it had brought her and the pride she felt when her mother congratulated her. She wasn't meant to become a ruler like some of her siblings, but meant to preach the good will of Sothis. That was why she spent her time teaching her about science, counting the stars and constellations together, or studying the different soils they were cultivating.
Yet, nothing could prepare her for the burning of Aillel. She could have prevented it, if the word of Sothis' good will had been clearer, then they wouldn't have to wage a war with these Agarthans. Technology had proven itself too dangerous for humans to use, yet, she couldn't feel anything but guilty for what the Nabateans needed to do with the Agarthans.
She could have prevented it, yet she hadn't.
The guilt left entirely as she walked through Zanado, now red with blood, though empty of any body. This 'red canyon' of sorts left her only with rage. These beings dared to call themselves 'humans' after killing entire families, not just Nabateans. She had preached cohabitation with the other humans, and yet, this had been another mistake? Every last one of them was going to pay. She realized too late that she had turned into her draconic form and had smashed the remaining intact building into pieces in her anger.
The survivors she met, who grew to become like family, tempered her rage, since Cethleann was half-human herself. Now, her rage was focused on a single person. Nemesis. He would pay for every one of the people who were in Zanado. She would avenge her mother and her people.
She had got just that, but felt nothing as she plunged her dagger into the ribcage of the old man, who was well past his prime. Now, Macuil and Indech disappeared out of spite for humans, seeing to what length they went to kill each other, and Cichol disappeared with the broken body of Cethleann, promising to return as soon as she was in shape.
The hate she had felt was gone, and she was willing to forgive humans for what they had done, but everyone asked her to lead, a role she did not fit in. The system she built was nothing but a temporary bandage against the growing tumour that Fodlàn was becoming. If only her mother was there, then everything would change…
Rhea was woken up by her daily beating. The guards were to make sure she couldn't move her body too much from the pain and her broken bones, that, to her dismay, kept regenerating over night, though not completely, and caused this daily cycle of pain to remain.
But Rhea hissed through her teeth and held on. Her broken body was left there, shackled to the wall of the cell. She got used to this pathetic existence. All hopes were lost with the fall of the young woman. She already had trouble to comprehend what had happened in the Holy Tomb, but this had been enough to break her.
Some hooded people came into her cell, though she could not tell the time of the day. Maybe midday? It didn't matter either way, as these people came with little bottles, and proceeded to pull out of her body the little blood Rhea had grown back from the last day. These 'biologists' were being careful as to not completely empty her, although she wished nothing more than the sweet release of death.
They left Rhea, but not before kicking her in her broken ribs for good measure, which caused her to roll on her back and scream in pain, while the other two were laughing. "Serves you well" they added before going up the stairs. She was seeing stars on the dirty stone ceiling, and thought she was about to lose conscience once again, and wake up for the other day.
But the sunlight shined through the small barred window of her cell. She difficultly crawled there to feel the heat of the sun among the frozen cell. If Rhea counted well, this was the Ethereal Moon, year 1182. At the very least, she was not going insane. Pulling her body with her broken arms was painful, but she managed to only grunt, rather than scream in pain like her entire nervous system was telling her to do.
She was going to die here, she knew it, yet, she had no means to accelerate it, her broken body refusing to obey even the simplest of commands. She heard someone come and put a chair in front of her cell. She didn't have the force to check who it might be, before the person came into her cell, put down something, and left.
Rhea looked at the floor of her cell, and was that a peeled apple? Perfectly cut in four pieces, on a fine plate that seemed to be pulled straight off the dining hall of the imperial palace. The apple itself was not a thin one, and she recognized it as one that the palace's gardens were growing.
Rhea gathered her forces, and crawled closer to the plate. Her body ached from the effort, but she reached for the apple before she could lose conscience. With her left hand, she grabbed a quarter that she weakly took to her mouth.
The pleasure that the taste of the apple brought couldn't be lowered by the pain she was feeling in her throat. Rhea had a hard time to not choke on the small chunk of apple she was swallowing. By the time she slowly finished eating the apple, the moon was up in the sky, and the cold wind assaulted Rhea's bruised skin.
...
Rhea and Seteth were setting up a cloth on the grass of Garreg Mach, near the students' dorms. Meanwhile, Flayn and Sitri brought some cold fruits and vegetables to eat. Rhea could smell a fine aroma coming from the dining hall, Indech was surely preparing a nice meal. Macuil was relaxing himself by lying down on the grass. Seteth scoffed "You could always help us, Macuil."
The thin figure on the grass yawned and rose up. Without any comment, he took Rhea's place to extend the cloth. Rhea flattened the cloth, making enough place for all of them. Sitri put down a basket of grapes and Flayn lay down some bread and lettuce. Jeralt was bringing the meat Indech had been cooking, and brought some cutlery with it. Sothis and Byleth were coming from the cathedral, surely after having sorted the daily matters.
Sothis was a little taller than Byleth, but still shorter than Rhea "Oh, perfect, you prepared everything!" Macuil smiled "Of course, mother." His green hair didn't cover the pointy ears characteristic of their race, just like Sothis'. Dimitri, Claude and Edelgard passed in front of the small family gathering, politely waving at them. Sothis waved back "Do you want to sit with us?"
Claude smirked "No, we wouldn't want to ruin your lunch with two very uninteresting guests." Dimitri smiled "You are always one to come up with the worst jokes, Claude, but indeed, we wouldn't want to disturb your reunion." Sothis laughed "No please, be our guest." Edelgard chuckled and smiled "As you wish."
The three house leaders sat down with them. Meanwhile, Rhea spotted a blonde teenager staring at them from behind a corner. "Catherine, why don't you join us?" The blonde teenager stepped out of the shadows to join them, along with a younger Cyril. The humans and Nabateans were peacefully discussing between each other.
Edelgard was discussing with Sothis, while Claude was chatting with that little schemer of Indech. Dimitri was talking with Byleth, all the while Flayn, Seteth and Catherine were discussing with each other. Macuil was lying on the grass, contemplating the clouds with Cyril, too young to understand the adult chatter. Sitri and Jeralt were comfortably sitting beside each other.
Before Rhea could see more, her daily beating woke her up. But the beating stopped earlier than it should have, though still leaving her body aching. One guard held the plate up, and snorted. "How did you get this, you wrench?" Rhea didn't have the strength to talk, after the beating she just had taken.
"Answer!" The guard was about to crush the plate on Rhea's head but a raspy voice came from the stairs "I did. Is there a problem?" This stopped the guard in his motion, to turn towards the voice "No, of course not, counsellor."
The counsellor stepped in the cell, took the plate off the guard's hands "You are dismissed." After the guards left, the counsellor closed the door of the cell, and sat on the chair he used last time. He pulled out an apple from his long coat and started peeling it. Rhea recognized the black hair and the yellow eyes of this counsellor. "You… are Hubert… von Vestra… aren't you?" Rhea had trouble speaking from the sheer pain and exhaustion she felt.
"I am honoured you recognize me out of every students you must have taught in your long life." Rhea paid no heed to Hubert's obvious sarcasm. "I try… to remember… every face... I see. Why… are you… doing this?"
Hubert raised an eyebrow. "I suppose saying because you looked miserable wouldn't work, not with me at least. No, I came here to talk." After finishing peeling the last quarter of the apple, he put the plate in the cell. "What… is it... you wish... to know… young child?" Hubert scoffed "I will never get used to such a nickname, but whatever. There is something that I always found strange with Garreg Mach."
"Go on… tell me..." Rhea crawled towards the plate. "When we emptied the holy tomb and the holy mausoleum, all we found in the graves were tens of crest stones-" He stopped when he saw Rhea's glare "You… did what?" Hubert glared back "So you really are power hungry to that point, are you? As soon as your strongest assets are in danger, you become violent-" But he stopped as soon as Rhea rolled on her back and quietly laughed, while a small tear came down her eye.
She started coughing blood, and Hubert jumped from his chair, to make sure she wasn't dying, but as he was about to check her pulse, Rhea held Hubert's wrist tightly "Do… not touch… me… you… filth." From Hubert's perspective, the Archbishop was growling, like some sort of beast. Her pupils turned into slits, just like when they captured her back at Garreg Mach. Rhea wanted to see him dead, crush his skull and turn the whole imperial capital into ashes, though the simple act of restraining him was just enough to send stars flying in front of her eyes.
He easily got out of Rhea's grasp "As you wish." He then returned to his chair "Then tell me why I am such a 'filth' to you." Rhea chuckled, spitting out blood from her mouth, her rage still on the verge of exploding "You… really… do not… understand… do you?" She could hear Hubert gritting his teeth on the other side of the barred door. "What is it?" he seethed at Rhea. "What… a grave… is made for..." Rhea answered softly. She crawled towards the wall, and painfully sat against it, letting time for Hubert to think.
"You clearly don't either, you set weapons in tombs." Rhea smiled weakly "Do you… know… what your… 'allies'… do with… my… blood?" Hubert thought for a second "Yes, they are making artificial crest stones-" Hubert's eyes widened in realisation. "No… it can't be..." He raised up from his chair, and Rhea could hear him ordering the two 'biologists' they could do their deed.
It left Rhea completely exhausted, and she finished her apple before losing conscience.
…
When she woke up, it wasn't because of the cold wind of the Ethereal Moon, or the beating of the guards. Actually, Rhea could feel a blanket over her broken form, and a cushion under her head. She felt completely dizzy though. Her right wrist felt weird, and when she pulled it up, she could see that there was some kind of liquid directly injected in her arm. It left a purple line that traced along her veins.
No wonder she felt dizzy, it must be some kind of drug. She could not pull out the wire, as it was attached to her right cuff. Other than that, Rhea could see an apple tart, on a plate next to her. It seemed to be coming straight out of the oven, and she could feel the warmth emanating from it. She took a bite off it, then another, then another until it was gone.
She waited for her daily beating, but it never came, so she waited for the two 'biologists' to come, yet, they didn't come either. Her broken bones would take a lot of time to mend, given that she didn't possess her mother's powers. Yet, even if she recovered, Rhea couldn't go anywhere as long as she was drugged.
She heard steps coming down from the stairs. Hubert sat down on the chair in front of Rhea's cell "I thought you were done asking questions, young child." Rhea said softly. She had recovered enough force to talk properly, even though she could feel the small wire pulling out blood. Hubert had brought some paper, a feather and a bottle of ink.
"Well, my knowledge was obviously a little skewed, so I would like to know a little more about the children of Goddess from your perspective." Rhea sighed "I could always be lying." Hubert chuckled "I'll make up my mind after hearing both versions."
"Very well, then… Firstly, the children of the Goddess have a name as a whole. The Nabateans..."
If you thought Rhea's treatment was too much, think about this: you don't want a dragon destroying the imperial capital in its rampage, because it will if it has the chance. As for Rhea's blood being extracted, I base the idea from the fact that Crimson Flower is the only path where there isn't any demonic beasts on the empire's side, while it is the only path where Rhea isn't locked up in Enbarr. I also used Flayn's disappearance, on which Solon specifically said they needed her blood. I hope I translated Rhea's sudden… let's say fits of rage well, as well as giving a bit of insight in her character.
Hubert is comically evil in the base game, even though he has some hidden depths, his critical quotes are just hilarious to listen at. The point I am trying to make here is that Hubert is not a complete asshole, otherwise he would tell Claude and/or Byleth to go fuck themselves on the letter he sent them rather than revealing the position of Shambhala and Rhea's cell in Verdant Wind/Silver Snow.
Fun fact, did you know Silver Snow was the first route made by the developers? This makes all the statements about Silver Snow being a discount Verdant Wind rather funny in retrospective. (Source: /2020/03/24/three-houses-nintendo-dream-interview-reveals-first-route-claudes-real-name/ it's also where I got Claude's almyran name)
Golden Zero16: I intend to do Edelgard at some point, since she's a rather tragic figure for me. I don't think she fits a heroic role, but neither does Rhea (We are once again in a 'Griffith did nothing wrong' situation). They are both anti-heroes/anti-villains to me.
Next chapter: Iron Will, Dying Heart