Ages:

Byleth: 11

Dimitri: 7 going on 8

Wyvern Moon 1171:

To Byleth the Wyvern Moon came pleasantly quickly, to Dimitri it was excruciatingly slow. Despite all the guards and servants trying to dissuade him, Dimitri was determined to wait for Byleth outside of the castle. He was going to be the first to see her and so he waited for her outside the gates (the farthest he was allowed to leave), along with two guards.

It wasn't until late into the first day of the month that the Jeralt Mercenaries arrived. The guards sighed in relief that they wouldn't have to spend another day waiting. Their relief was short lived as Dimitri took off running. They cried out for the prince as they struggled to get up and give chase, but he didn't care.

"By!" he screamed at the top of his lungs and was waving as he made his way over.

Hearing and seeing her friend, caused Byleth to run towards him. She was only mildly aware of her father's warning to be careful. "Blaidid!" she yelled back.

"It is Blaiddyd!" She huffed under her breath. She had spent all week practicing pronouncing his name and yet that skill still alluded her.

When they finally reached each other, she had been expecting to share some greetings and talk, not to be tackled to the ground in a death grip. Her head throbbed as she stared up at the sky trying to make sense of things. Dimitri's faced popped into her view of vision, his large, warm smile and clear blue eyes caused the corners of her lips to twitch into a very small smile.

"I missed you! Did you miss me?" She nodded yes and he crawled off her with a cheer.

Her father rushed over to them and she looked up at him from the ground. His eyes widen before settling softly and a large smile spread across his face. "Kid-" was all he was able to get out before stopping at the sight of his daughter being pulled up and onto her feet and then for her hand to be wrapped around by a smaller one.

"Mr. Jeralt Eisner sir, we are going to go play now, okay?" Dimitri said all that very quickly as started to pull her away before he finished.

"Hey! Wait!" Jeralt yell but he remained rooted in place.

"Your Highness please slow down," the guards whined as they went back to chasing their liege.

The mercenary watched the children run away with a frown on his face. He didn't turn to face his second-in-command, who had walked up next to him laughing. "How much trouble do you think I'll get into for killing the prince?"

"A lot," laughed his companion. "Now calm down, the prince is only seven. He's probably not even aware of what his actions could be mean." Jeralt said nothing but continued to glare at the young prince. "At least wait until he's a little older before threatening him." The father grunted out his displeasure.

Red Wolf Moon 1171:

Falling back into her routine from last year was comforting. Lessons in the morning, playing with Dimitri in the afternoon, and all the disapproving scorns. Actually, the scorns were harsher than last year's. Byleth was curious as to why, but she never acted on her curiosity as she had much more preferred playing with Dimitri, who was clinging to her more so than last year as to not waste their precious little time they had together. He finally understood just how little time four months was.

During her travels she had taken it upon herself to play with all the local children that she could, whenever she was in town so that she could learn a bunch of games and teach them to Dimitri. He was excited to learn all the games and so they would quickly jump from one game to the next as a sampler. It was hard for her to keep up, but she enjoyed it, none-the-less. Though, she didn't believe they got a good grasp on any of the games.

The games she noticed that Dimitri liked the most, usually involved a lot of moving around in some shape or form and she enjoyed those too. She used them as an excuse to train as well as to tire out her friend so he wouldn't make as big of a fuss when she left for the day. King Lambert had thanked her at one point for tiring out his son as it made it easier for him to go to bed; it became her mission from that point on to make sure Dimitri had no energy left before she headed for the inn but that also meant that she was usually tired too.

On one fateful day during the Red Wolf Moon, she had started a game of tag just before dusk, her cut off time. Because she was faster, she could easily avoid him, making it the best game to wear him out. She had dashed through the hedges ignoring his complaints. Gasping for air as she dashed into one of the small clearings in the garden and froze upon laying her eyes on a knight in silver armor, who was looking around.

The knight didn't have any blue on him, a clear sign to her that he wasn't a kingdom knight, but that wouldn't have meant much to her; no it was the symbol on the knight's shield, the Crest of Seiros, that made her blood run cold. If it wasn't for Dimitri's too hard shove, she would have been lost in a trance. Without uttering a sound, she took off running in the opposite direction of the knight and she was completely ignorant to Dimitri's complaints.

With her mind racing she struggled on what to do next, when she made it to the garden's end and was greeted with the large walls that surrounded the castle. Without her father by her side she became acutely aware of how vulnerable she was, and she found herself struggling to breath, let alone focus on one thought, besides "getting away". Breathing was becoming all but impossible the longer she took to do anything. She dropped to her knees, and a hand clung to her chest, as she silently pleaded to the heavens for her dad to come and get her.

A hand was placed on her shoulders and she whipped her head so fast that it hurt but she wouldn't be aware of the pain until sometime later. Wide dark blue eyes stared into concern, clear blue eyes. Dimitri wouldn't have been able to do anything, deep down inside she knew that, but it didn't matter at that moment as a wave of comfort washed over her and she found herself breathing with a bit more ease.

"By, what is wrong?" Dimitri asked. "Are you okay? Does your stomach hurt?"

She shook her head no. "I need to hide," her voice was barely a whisper when she spoke.

No other words were exchanged as he quickly took charge of the situation. Grabbing her hand, he led her to a small secluded area of the garden, where they could hide behind the unkept hedges. He didn't say anything as he kept an eye out for, whatever they were hiding from. After a while of nothing appearing before his sights, he sat down next to her and mirrored her by pulling his knees up to his chest and rested his head on his knees.

"How are you feeling?" he asked somewhat hesitantly.

"Better," she answered quietly. The fear that had gripped her so fiercely was slowly vanishing. She turned her head to look at him but kept her knees against herself. "Thank you."

He gave her a small smile. "Is it alright, if I ask what happened?"

She nodded and took a deep breath. "I saw a knight with the Crest of Seiros on his shield."

"Must have been a Knight of Seiros," he commented absentmindedly.

Sucking in a deep breath she pulled her knees closer to her and rested her head on them. There were knights that belonged to bad symbol? She had thought the only thing she had to worry about were priest. Knights were another thing. Her lips pressed into a thin line as she tried to figure out why a foreign knight would be at the castle. Was the kingdom working with them? She quickly chased that thought away as she didn't want to entertain it anymore. Dimitri and King Lambert were good people, they wouldn't be working with bad people.

She buried her face into her knees. She didn't know what to do next. Her father always told her to run away but where was she supposed to go too? She didn't know where her father was, so what would be a safe place to run too? She gripped her knees tighter as she tried to make herself as small as possible.

"By?" His voice broke her out of her thoughts, but she didn't move. "What is wrong?"

It took a few seconds before she answered into her knees. "Are the Knights of Seiros bad people?"

He repeated her question as he wasn't sure if he understood her through her mumbling and she gave an awkward nod. "No?" She stiffened. "I was told that they are good people." She didn't say anything and so he started to rub her back, imitating a gesture his father would do when he was upset.

A few more seconds passed before she was comfortable enough to rest her head on knees, but she still didn't look at him. "My father told me that they are bad people," she dug her nails into her legs, "that they will take me away if they found me."

"I will not allow that!" She flinched at his sudden outburst, which caused her to look at him. Standing on his feet, his hands were balled into tiny fists and there was a fire in his eyes. "I will protect you!" She was stronger, faster, and bigger than him and yet she found herself believing in him.

"Thank you, Aster." He gave her his biggest smile yet.

The knight might have spoiled the rest the day, but she returned to her hotel room happy and eager for tomorrow to come. She arrived earlier than she normally did, causing her father to raise an eyebrow at her as he watched her sit herself down on her bed started working on Dimitri's next birthday gift. Patiently he waited for her to say something but when she didn't, he sat on her bed with her. Stopping, what she was doing she looked up at him with her normal static expression.

"Hey Kid," he said, and she nodded. "Did you and the little prince get into a fight?" She simply shook her head no, but still didn't say anything. "Okay, did you at least eat dinner?" Again, she simply shook her head. Narrowing his eyes, he sat closer to her. "Kid, what's wrong?" His tone was soft. "You love the castles food, it's one of the things you have been most looking forward to all year long." It was true, she loved the castle's food very much. It had been the third thing she was most excited for; Dimitri was number one and King Lambert was number two. She would have been more excited for the food than King Lambert but because she was sure that would hurt his feelings, she had decided to choose him instead, not that she ever told him any of that. "Did something happen?" Her father's voice brought her out of her little thoughts. "Did someone hurt you?" His tone took a dark turn at his final question.

She shook her head no. After her little run in with the knight she wanted to be by her father's side, and she was surprised at how understanding Dimitri had been. "I wanted to eat dinner with you." She always wished she could eat dinner at the castle with her father so he could try out the great food, but he always returned after dinner had been served. A large smile spread across his face and he patted his daughter's head.

"What would you like to eat?"

She took a minute to think. "Cheesy Verona Stew."

He gave her a small, apologetic smile. "I don't think this inn has something so…fancy." The corners of her lips dropped into a tiny pout, that almost anyone could have missed but he smiled at that. He still had his apprehensions about working with the Kingdom but to see his expressionless daughter slowly changing, then maybe it was for the best after all.

"I'll tell you what, I'll go pick out our meal and you get ready, okay?" She nodded and hopped off the bed.

The meal the ate was nowhere near as good as what she would have had at the castle, but she still enjoyed it; it was better than what they usually ate. Having her father by her side was a great comfort, and her father was in a good mood which just made her feel all the better. After dinner, her father would usually drink with his mercenary company but that night, he just wanted to spend more time with his daughter, which she was grateful for as she wasn't ready to separate from him yet.

In their room, Jeralt helped her with her gift. It was peaceful and she had to wonder if Dimitri did similar things with his father. A thought always did nag her whenever she looked up at her father and saw his crest. Her mind would always drift back to that knight and what Dimitri said.

"Father?" she called and he hummed as he stretched out a piece of leather. "What would happen if I saw someone with the bad mark?"

Instantly he stopped what he was doing to face her. She had seen her father afraid before, like when she had jumped out a tree and broke her arm, but the look he had on his face then was something else and she became afraid because of it. His eyes looked over her and she felt herself shrinking under his gaze.

"Did you see them in the castle?" His tone was intense. It was something she had never heard from him before. She didn't answer as she was too afraid of what the outcome would be. "Byleth answer me!" She flinched. He rarely said her name and it was only ever in a soft, gentle tone.

"…No," she said weakly. She didn't know why she lied to her father.

"Did you pass one on the way here?!"

"…No." His eyes narrowed on her.

"Are you lying to me?"

She shook her head. She had never lied to her father before and she didn't like lying to him then, but she couldn't bring herself to say the truth. She wished she hadn't said anything.

"Then why did you ask such a thing?"

"In class I learned that the mark is called the Crest of Seiros and it's a good mark." It wasn't a complete line as she had indeed learned that in one of her lessons, last year. "I was just wondering why it's bad."

Sighing, he ran a hand down his face. The tension left his body after another sigh. He beckoned for her to come and she did, albeit hesitantly. He sat her on his lap and patted her head until her tension left her.

"I'm sorry for scarring you," he said, and his tone was much softer, she liked that. "I told you before that they will take you away from me. That's why they are bad." She nodded and he gave her a small smile.

"What would you do if I do see one of them at the castle?" His eyes narrowed again.

"If you see one at the castle or anywhere for that matter, we have to run far away from them." Her eyes widen slightly at that. She didn't want that. She didn't want to run away from Dimitri. "Now are you sure you didn't see anyone with that mark?" She nodded yes.

Ethereal Moon 1171:

After that day Byleth didn't run into any other Knights of Seiros or priest, to which she was eternally grateful for as her father had kept asking her about it for two weeks straight. Dimitri didn't understand what was going on, but he tried his hardest, and every morning he would give her status updates of the castle and if there were any church people he saw. He didn't give much information, but it was enough for her.

Everything had returned to normal and it was great until the first week of the Ethereal Moon, when Dimitri fell ill. It wasn't something serious or at least that's what King Lambert had personal shared with her, but she had a feeling that he was saying that more for himself. She assured him that she would wait patiently for him to get better and he smiled at her.

Without Dimitri, she had no idea why she still had to attend lessons and yet she did, under the king's order no less. Etiquette classes were unbearable without her friend, because the teacher was able to show off her disdain with no fear of repercussions. The teacher wasn't the only one to make their dislikes known as she no longer had Dimitri to hide behind, so many of the servants and even some of the guards would openly mock her. Staying in the castle had almost become unbearable. She wanted to see Dimitri as she was sure just seeing him would give her the strength to carry on, but she wasn't allowed too. She had been told by the king that she couldn't see her precious friend because he didn't want her getting sick too, and she hated that.

She was only able to last three days before she had enough and snuck away to see Dimitri. After becoming friends, she had been allowed in some areas of the castle but because they mostly played outside, she didn't have as much of a familiarity with the interior as she would have liked. It made her little stealth mission difficult as she kept second guessing herself at every turn but eventually, she was able to find the right room.

To say Dimitri's room was large, was an understatement. She didn't know if she even knew a word to properly describe just how big it was; and his bed would need its own ridiculous word too. Sleeping in the middle of the bed and tucked all properly in was the prince. She wanted to crawl over to him to get a better look at him (and to see how soft his bed was) but she feared that she would wake him, so she decided against it. She decided to sit on a chair that had pulled up against the bed and watch him.

She was happy to see that his hair hadn't lost any of the brilliance of its color, not that she thought it was possible for hair to lose its color from being sick. Fhirdiad always seemed to be blanked in clouds but she never missed the sun as Dimitri's warm smile and shiny hair was enough for her. And as for the sky she only needed to look into his eyes to be reminded of its beauty. She remembered hearing some mercenaries talk about people being appeasing on the eyes and she wondered if Dimitri fit that description.

"By?" A soft voice broke her out of her dreamless sleep. Lazily she lifted her head to see Dimitri awake and was in the process of crawling towards her but stopped. "You cannot be here." Her lips twitched into a tiny pout. "You will get sick."

"It's okay," she mumbled as she yawned; only afterwards did she remember it was improper to yawn the ways she did, but he didn't seem to mind. "I wanted to see you."

His lips were twitching, threatening to break out into a smile at any moment. "I wanted to see you too. But I do not want you to get sick too, so you have to leave."

"It's okay, I'm strong."

"I am strong too," he mumbled and that smile that was fighting to break free lost and became a pout.

"Well, I'm stronger."

Standing on his bed, he pointed a finger at her and proclaimed, "I will get stronger than you!" She was going to tease him about how pointing was highly improper, but she didn't get the chance as he started coughing.

She hovered at the bed's side unsure of what to do. Desperately she tried to recall what her father did when she was sick. "Water!" she shouted and through his coughing fit he cracked open one eye to look at her. Her eyes swiftly scanned his room for water but here was none to be found. "I'll get you some water!" She raced to the door, completely forgetting that she had snuck in.

Just when she reached the door, it opened, and a lady walked in. She had long, peach hair, and soft, blue eyes and wore simple white, healer robes; if Byleth had been in a better state of mind she might have thought that the woman was pretty. The lady smiled as she bent down to look at Byleth.

"You must be the infamous Byleth that I've heard so much about," she said in such a sweet tone that the girl could only nod.

"Cornelia, is something wrong?" King Lambert asked as he appeared behind her. When he spied Byleth his eyes narrowed. "By, you know you are not allowed in here." The young girl fidgeted under his gaze.

"Oh, come now, Your Majesty," Cornelia said as she arose, "it's cruel to keep friends apart."

"If she gets sick, her father will kill me." She laughed softly at that. "I am serious her father is a terrifying man when he gets angry."

"Well then, we just have to make sure you don't get sick then, right Blyeth?" Cornelia gave the young girl a playful wink and she nodded in return. "Now come, let's go treat the prince, shall we?" Byleth watched as the lady, practically glided over to the bed. She was going to follow when King Lambert stopped her.

"By, you cannot get sick." She nodded. "Promises you will not get sick." She nodded again. "You absolutely cannot get sick." Again, she nodded. "Byleth, please do not get sick."

"I won't get sick," she finally said, and he sighed before pushing her forward so that she could run over to his son.