Hey, everyone. Welcome to another Fire Emblem story of mine. This one's holiday-themed and will be the next entry in my Byleth/Rhea series. After doing a story featuring their family life last time, the ball keeps on rolling with this one. I'm sure you all should know what to expect by now, so read on and enjoy!

I do not own anything.


Beneath Immaculate Wings


"A…child?"

Byleth slowly nodded. This was playing out exactly how he knew it would. The awkward feeling he was currently experiencing was one of the many reasons why he never told anyone about Sothis before. The Goddess of Fόdlan inhabiting his body was one thing, but the goddess physically appearing as a little girl? Imagination could only stretch so far. Even with his unfamiliarity with the Church of Seiros and the growing acceptance of it he obtained, he knew that such a claim would likely get him numerous strange looks. Including a potential request to have his head examined. Sometimes Byleth wondered if such a thing was exactly what he needed.

When it came to Rhea though, Byleth had practically welded his mouth shut for all information regarding Sothis. Now, the welding had came undone.

For what seemed like an eternity, Rhea said nothing. She only looked at him with slightly widened eyes. When those eyes slowly slid shut, Byleth felt himself tense up.

"I…I see." She finally said. "An amnesic child…that…actually sounds somewhat understandable."

"I beg your pardon?" The former mercenary immediately said with a raised eyebrow. Her initial response he'd been expecting, this one he wasn't. As the shock faded, a look of quiet understanding and acceptance fell over the Archbishop.

Rhea inhaled, something she usually did when she was preparing to give what would likely be a long speech. In rare cases, explanation. Her hands came together and Byleth responded by placing his hand over hers. "Byleth, I long since suspected that Sothis' spirit inhabited your body. For her to appear in such a fractured state is…also what I predicted. However, to such an extent, even I never dreamed such a thing would come about. Some amnesia, yes, but to appear as a child…that means the damage done to her was far graver than I originally thought." A shudder raced through her as she relived the horrific memory.

Byleth tightened his hold on her hands. He didn't mean to make her relive the worst moments of her life, even if a part of him wanted the truth. In his life, he often found more often than not that wherever there was truth, there was a possibility of pain. When truth was buried for so long a time, that possibility was overwhelmingly high. "Nemesis…dismembered her body beyond just ripping her heart out." He quietly deduced.

A dark look over her face, the Nabatean woman nodded. "Ripping her heart out, making off with not just her spine but her other bones as well…physically destroying her. Such damage likely did have an impact on her soul, especially since Nemesis forcefully synchronized with it to use her divine power. Even mother's mind could…only take so much, so it's possible it fractured. When a proper physical vessel was finally found, the pieces were…were…jumbled up most likely. At first, I merely believed it to just be her memories, which could be roused. To learn that her form was that of a child though…"

From the looks of it, Rhea was less upset about Sothis' physical appearance than she was regarding her memories. That was understandable.

"Byleth," she called looking into his green eyes. Her hands moved, clasping around his. "What did you think of her when you first met her?"

He blinked. "Do you want the honest answer?"

Giving him a small smile, she nodded.

"Alright then…a mouthy little gremlin that I had somehow been bound to and whose presence I found akin to gnat that wouldn't stop buzzing in my head." To his surprise, she laughed. Rhea, daughter of the Goddess of Fόdlan, last child of the goddess, Seiros, Warrior Saint of the Goddess, was laughing at the none too positive description of her mother and patron goddess. The entity that she'd dedicated almost her entire life to. Byleth did a double take, looking between her and the tea on the table in front of them then back to her. Almost immediately, he raised his left hand and pressed it against her forehead.

Rhea laughed even harder, gently removing his hand from her forehead, yet she her right hand wrapped around his left. "You're surprised, I know. To be honest with you…I'm not. Aside the comparison to a gremlin and a gnat, that sounds somewhat like mother."

"Ah, so she was always that bossy." Byleth confessed.

"Yes, that's…one way to put it. She was always quite an opinionative person." The Nabatean said, further surprising the swordsman in front of her. "Somewhat understandably, it did rub some people the wrong way, including her own children. Some even outright dreaded audiences with her because they did not want to listen to her."

"…How would you feel if I told you I can understand how they felt?" Byleth said with a slight joking humor.

Yet again, the demigod laughed. "I would feel…somewhat peeved, but I can understand you. Truth be told, there were even times when I wasn't quite in the mood to listen to her."

"That I can believe." He immediately responded. As she laughed, Byleth found himself smiling; it wasn't long before he was laughing with her. The two of them filled the room with their joyful voices. Eventually though, the laughter died down. Byleth looked down at their interlocked hands and slowly pulled his away. He'd given Rhea the comfort that she needed so there was no need for it to continue; or at least that's what he told himself. "Anyways, I had no idea how she got inside of me, or what she even was. Honestly, I thought she was some lingering spirit that who I just happened to be hosting. Guess I wasn't quite too far off, was I?"

"No…not…quite." He could see that she didn't like the classification of lingering spirit, but Rhea seemingly recognized that's what her mother was. A disembodied spirit bound within her Crest Stone, which lay inside of Byleth. Finally, after centuries, she'd awakened, yet it wasn't quite the awakening that Rhea had hoped for. "It was my hope that only her memories would have been disjointed. Apparently they were…along with her body. You said that she tended to fall asleep easily?"

With a nod, Byleth thought to the numerous times conversations between him and the goddess had ended with her falling asleep on him. Sometimes he was grateful for the silence, other times he'd wished Sothis stayed awake so he could keep talking to her. "I think it was because of how…disjointed her spirit was. No memories, the body of a child, it wasn't exactly what a goddess should have been. Especially one fervently worshipped by three-quarters of the content." It was his turn to give out a heavy sigh, one that he might have been carrying in him for almost six years. "More so when so many people were looking to her. Sothis herself sometimes said that she wished there was a way for her to regain her former form, body and memories in all just for that."

Rhea went quiet, a deeply thoughtful and even sorrowful look on her face. As far as Byleth knew, she would have accepted her divine mother, regardless of the form that she took. Now, the rest of the populace would be a different story…especially the less than devote.

When people thought of gods, a number of images could spring to mind. In his travels, Byleth had learned that gods could take numerous forms. One commonality was that the most awe-inspiring forms were…awe-inspiring. Young children certainly didn't make that list, especially when the deity was said to be all-powerful. Being a sleepy head also might not have helped.

"If my…plan had…succeeded, she might have had that wish granted. She might have been restored to either her original or more proper form." Deep sorrow laced Rhea's face as she moved onto another painful memory. It was one that she'd had five years to dwell on, amongst other more recent ones. "By the time you and the Black Eagles went into the Sealed Forest had…some of her memories returned?"

"She said a majority of them had, but…everything happened so suddenly that I wasn't able to get many details." Whenever he looked back on his excursion into the Sealed Forest, there was always an undeniable layer of bitterness to it. His vengeance seeking had came at a high cost, one that he would always debate, likely into his twilight years. He especially regretted it sitting by side by with Rhea, revealing the truth to her. "Rhea, I'm so sorry."

"Byleth, you have nothing to apologize for." She was the one to take his hand and give it a soft squeeze. The tables of comforting had turned. "In the end, you and the students came back, that's what I'm ultimately thankful for."

Both of them were silent, no doubt as they thought of the incident from their respective points of view. For Rhea, it'd been an hour of constant prayer. She prayed for Byleth and for his students, she prayed that the Monastery wouldn't be having to bury another round of occupants, especially the son of two of her closest friends. To lose Byleth so soon after Jeralt would have been devastating; she didn't think she would have been able to handle it. She'd put up a defense as to why that would be, a defense that had shattered with time.

For Byleth, he couldn't help but look back at that time as something of a continuing prelude. His father's death had heralded the end of the tenuous peace that Garreg Mach had been enjoying. While things hadn't been ideal, it had certainly been better than what ensued in the winter, infinitely better. After his father's death and his month of heartbreak, he found the ability to focus and compose himself. No surprise, the thought of revenge had been his guide, and in pursuing it he'd gotten himself into such a mess that Sothis had to sacrifice her consciousness to get him out of it. No longer was he just a normal human (or as normal as a person like him could be), but a true god in human form. From that moment onward, everything seemed to accelerate to the faithful showdown in the Holy Tomb.

Looking back on those eventful two months sometimes left him breathless. So much had happened; his entire life had been uprooted so intensely that Byleth was still struggling to come to grips with it when the next life-changing event happened.

He had a choice between the woman beside him and his imperial pupil, Edelgard. She was without a doubt the best student he'd taught. Byleth fully believed she had a bright future ahead of her, and to a degree he was right. Her future was bright, illuminated by the fires of chaos that she'd spread, fires that had grown to consume all of Fόdlan in a five-year war. As he sat beside Rhea, that war had entered arguably concluded, the former Adrestian ruler dead and her nation having surrendered to the Church of Seiros.

"I wanted to walk with you…my teacher."

"The path that you wanted me to walk down…I could never follow, Edelgard. Never in a thousand years."

Edelgard's death was still less than a month old, yet it'd already occupied such an odd place in his mind. Byleth was still sad that things had ended the way that they had, yet he found himself either unwilling or unable to dwell on her demise for long. Maybe it was the realization that he had bigger things to handle, or maybe it was the true extent of his acceptance and resolve to cut down his former pupil. He'd cut her down and continued down the path that he had chosen, a path that included standing beside the green-haired woman in front of him.

It was her that he'd chosen to stand with, and in her moments of crisis, comfort. Byleth didn't regret his choice, not for one second. He had a lot of regrets but choosing Rhea over Edelgard wasn't one of them.

"Byleth," the millennia old woman called. Immediately turning to face her, he saw the indecision and the fear that was clawing at her from the inside. He rapidly tried to decipher the cause of it so he could defuse it. "Before…before she fused with you, did she…did mother-did Sothis-say…anything about me? Or…anyone?" She trembled as she asked the question.

He responded by reaching forward and gently taking hold of her hand. Rhea gripped his as his right hand was her lifeline. "She…told me to use her power how I saw fit. Knowing her, she probably felt like I didn't need to be told that. Sothis most likely already knew what I was going to use it for-to protect everyone at the Monastery, my…my family. Including you." Byleth knew it wasn't the answer that she was hoping for, but Rhea smiled at it none the less. She knew Sothis better than him, so she probably agreed with him. "Rhea, I'm-"

"It's fine, Byleth. Just hearing that…that's enough. Her heart hadn't changed, the woman that I loved as my mother…hadn't changed at her core." She said in a quiet voice that tugged at the swordsman's heart.

That tugging compelled him to speak again. "When I was about to wake up, Sothis mentioned you. She knew you were one of the people I had to get back to."

Her eyes widened as she looked to him. "M-Me?"

"Is that really such a surprise?" Byleth asked with a smile. Her cheeks flushed pink causing him to laugh. His laughter made Rhea's blush burn even brighter. Her red cheeks went along well with the smile that grew along her face. "I'll admit, it's embarrassing that I needed a kick in the ass like that."

"Well, mother was more often than not the one who'd give such a thing when she felt it was needed. How harsh she could be with it varied." Rhea explained. Given what she'd learned of her creator's relationship with Byleth, she can imagine she didn't mince words with him. From the look on his face though, she'd told him what he needed to hear. Ultimately, he awakened and returned to Fódlan to save them all. To save her. "She mentioned me…um, Byleth did she…mention anything else beyond simply saving me?"

Even though she was trying to hide it, Byleth could still sense the quiet need in her voice. It pained him to again shake his head. Rhea sighed.

She knew she was being selfish, a habit she was trying to break. When Sothis had reached out to finally awaken Byleth, time was of the essence. Every second they wasted the Adrestian Empire grew closer to dominating all of Fόdlan, not to mention her race drew steps closer to going extinct. Asking about only one of her children in the midst of that probably wouldn't have been appropriate.

Looking down, she saw that her hand and Byleth's were still interconnected. She could see the old scars that still dotted his skin. Rhea could recall the first time that she'd seen them, going on almost six years ago. Given his background, she wasn't surprised; she was more happy that his hands were a patchwork of scars and knots like some other warriors. It was one of the little things that had made her realize she was looking at Byleth and not her mother. Lost in those old memories, she gave his hands a gentle squeeze which he returned. Rhea looked back up and saw him staring at her with that quiet yet passionate stare of his.

"I'm sorry about making you wait for so long." His voice was tinged with sorrow, just as it had been the first time that he'd apologized to her.

Just like last time, she shook her head. "Byleth, you don't need to apologize to me. In the end, you came back and rescued me. That's all that matters." She could still see doubt in his eyes. Feeling bold, she reached up and took him by the back of his head. Their foreheads connected with their souls following suit. Rhea couldn't see his eyes, but she could sense the doubt fading from him. He was a savior, not the one that she'd originally asked for, but the one that she'd received, and Rhea was happy that it'd ultimately been him. In her heart, she was truly beginning to accept that.

For five and a half years, she'd lamented how she'd lost him. Not just as a vessel for her mother, but as something more-a friend and a confidant. Her foolishness had cost so many lives, but the perception of losing him had tormented her the most.

"Huh?" When she opened her eyes, she found that she was wrapped in the former mercenary's arms. Her gasp of realization made him slowly move away. Rhea reacted immediately, clawing at his shoulders as she brought him back into another tender hug. "I-I-I apologize."

"N-No, I'm the one who should apologize. I just…I felt like you were slipping back into despair again." He offered.

It might have been her imagination, but she could have sworn he was blushing. Rhea could feel heat building within her own cheeks. This peculiar heat and warmth that went with it was only ever present with Byleth. Deep in the depths of her heart she was beginning to realize what that meant. "Byleth, you're always there to pull me out of it, even at my absolutely worst." She murmured. She would have added that his doing so reminded her of her mother, but Rhea felt that wasn't quite right. While yes, as her parent she would have done so, with Byleth it was entirely different.

"I can't ever leave you to drown in that despair. It's just…something I decided on a long time ago." His whisper penetrated her to her soul. At first, he feared he'd overstepped his boundary, but when she pulled him back in, Byleth felt happy. Taking that as the go ahead, he held her in his embrace. Rhea seemingly melted into his embrace, just as she had done before. "I wish you could see her again."

"It's all I've wanted for the longest time, Byleth. For the longest time, I…I thought that's the only way I would ever know peace again. Peace…I don't deserve such a thing." Rhea's voice was sounding dangerously close to a whimper. It caused the normally black-clad warrior to tighten his embrace of her.

"Yes, you do, Rhea. You probably deserve it more so than anyone I know. You've trudged on for a thousand years…you deserve a respite. No one should have to go on that long." He quietly but passionately fired back.

Neither of them said a word for several minutes afterward. It was just a quiet moment where they took comfort in each other's presence. One would have assumed that they were back where they were almost two weeks ago, in the immediate aftermath of Edelgard's death and the capture of Enbarr. It had marked the end of the Adrestian Empire as their formal surrender had followed not long afterward. One would have assumed that's where the war would have ended, but it hadn't. As Byleth had learned that day along with countless others, the war had merely moved on to its final stage, and its true instigator and benefactor now the last enemy standing. The Agarthans.

Byleth knew the time would come to face them; when it did, he didn't plan on leaving any of them left standing. He wasn't going to let them unleash anymore terror upon the continent and the people in it. Especially toward the woman in his arms.

Perhaps the first woman that he'd ever fallen in love with.

She was all he focused on at the moment. From the moment he came up to her room, comforting Rhea had been the one and only thing on his mind. She needed him more so than some future battle.

"So many times, I've wondered what she would have to say to me. No doubt a tongue lashing would ensue." Her statement was finished with a humorous laugh.

Byleth mirrored it. "You sound like you were actually looking forward to those."

"If you could see her again, would you find a bit of joy in one?" She humorously jabbed.

Laughing, he sighed in defeat. "Yes, probably. Really says a lot about how much she grew on me." Byleth admitted. "Really, there are times I wish she was there to give me one of them. Sometimes I think I could use them. Without her though I've had to make do myself."

"Something that I've…struggled with since her death. I've failed, Byleth."

"No, you haven't, not as much as you may think you have." Again, his voice was quiet, yet held a firmness that shook her. "Rhea, this war was started by Edelgard, who was spurned to it by the Agarthans. She could have reformed the empire and seen how far that influence could spread, but she chose to enforce her changes on the rest of the continent. You don't bear any blame for that." Byleth pulled away and looked into her green eyes, letting the fire within swirl within them. "This wasn't your war, but you're doing your part to help end it. At the end of the day, that's all that's going to matter. If Sothis herself has something to say about then…well, it wouldn't be the first time that I had something to say to her."

Normally, this is where one would have expected a violent backlash from the Last Child of the Goddess.

First there was silence, then came laughter. Heartfelt, jubilant laughter that echoed throughout the Archbishop's room. It made Byleth's serious face falter. He seemed at a cross between amused and embarrassed.

Both of her hands reached up and gently held his cheeks. "Byleth, you once told me that you never thought you'd make for a worthy knight. I told you I disagreed as you had the right qualities: honor, respect, and loyalty. Nothing as changed my opinion of you, my dear black knight." His cheeks flushed red at the old nickname that she'd heard and decided to use. "Thank you for always being there to support me." Their foreheads connected, and this time instead of silence there was laughter. Sweet mutual laughter.

On the outside, the rain had ceased allowing sunlight to grace the land again. The residual water and mixed with the sunlight to create sporadic rainbows, a full two months before the Verdant Rain Moon when such phenomenon was common.


"You still look as beautiful as the day I saw met you."

Wide-eyed, Rhea spun about to face her husband. Byleth's cheeks were doing their best to rival a cherry. A second later and she burst into laughter, making his cheeks turn redder.

After just barely getting her giggles under control, she walked over and kissed him. Her fingers drummed against his chest while his wrapped around her waist. Though she wanted it to be short and sweet, once the Queen of Fόdlan and Archbishop of the Church of Seiros started kissing her husband she couldn't bring herself to stop. This wasn't the first time, far from it. She'd felt this way long before she became pregnant with his child. Still, maybe there was a tiny bit of hormones involved. Just a little bit.

As the kiss continued on, Byleth moved his hands from his wife's waist to her bottom. It was a guilty pleasure that they were both aware of. Rhea openly enjoyed it while Byleth tried to keep his groping to a minimal, in public anyway. When they were alone such as in the privacy of their own home he sometimes let his inner desires out in full force. His beloved wife often did the same, just as she was doing now. She pressed the kiss while he groped her sizable butt cheeks. His groping was obviously feeding into the sky dragon's lust.

Like a wildfire, it spread to Byleth. Briefly breaking from his wife's lips, he moved his hands down, wrapping them underneath Rhea's legs. Lifting her up was like lifting up a vase, and he handled her just as gently. Rhea wrapped her arms around him and continued the kiss as he carried her over to the bed. Once they got there, she laid atop of him, still sprinkling his face with kisses. He ran his hands slid beneath her nightgown, caressing her bare skin underneath it. As she his wife shuddered in ecstasy, he gently turned her over so that he lay on her side.

Rhea giggled. Ever since he'd learned that she was pregnant, Byleth had practically treated her like an ice sculpture, albeit the finest one he'd ever laid eyes on in his own words. While Byleth had made great strides in the realm of politics and social conversation, he still faltered when it came to more intimate conversations from time to time. Such as trying to reassure his wife that he wasn't smothering her as she carried their first child. At the end of the day though, she found it quite endearing and well-meaning.

Their kisses ended with him gently patting the baby bump that had steadily grown over the last few months. It'd became quite noticeable as she entered the third month of her pregnancy. According to Nabateans such as herself, their pregnancies weren't all that different from those of normal humans. At least when they were in their humanoid form. Amongst their people, it was ill advised to change forms too often while pregnant. Once Byleth had heard that, he'd practically endeavored to ensure there was absolutely no reason for his wife to assume her dragon form, not that they had many threats that warranted such a thing. Or any threats at all.

"Were you…thinking about them?" He quietly asked looking up into her eyes.

Not only was he protective of her he was quite perspective. Rhea nodded, "Indeed I was. Not the first time, as I'm sure you've noticed."

It hadn't been. Almost five months had passed since their child was conceived and he'd diligently watched Rhea as her pregnancy progressed. They had hundreds of others watching over her and their child, but being the father and her husband, Byleth took the role especially seriously. His hand reached out and lightly rubbed her tummy. Rhea's fell over his, softly grasping it.

"You're going to be a wonderful mother." He whispered.

"Do you ever grow tired of having to repeat that to me?" She asked with an apologetic smile.

The King of Fόdlan shook his head with a smile. "Nope, I'll repeat it as many times as I have to. Besides, there's no danger in speaking the truth, is there?"

Feeling tears gathering in her eyes, Rhea moved to wrap her arms around her husband. He, of course, returned her embrace. Byleth was always careful to mind her growing bump, yet he never let the love and affection for her dim.

She buried her face in the crux of his neck. It seemed this was how they were going to go to sleep for the night. Neither of them had a problem with that. They'd gone to sleep in a…number of mundane and not so mundane positions. Chief amongst the latter were a lack of clothing, and torn bed sheets that left no question of what they'd spent the night (and parts of the morning) doing. Some of those times had continued as Rhea's pregnancy had gone forth. It had been a pregnancy that had came with literal the focus of an entire continent, and some attention from another. When the current king of Alymra had heard she was expecting, he'd sent nothing but his best wishes along with a few future baby toys.

Amongst them was a toy boy. Byleth couldn't help but laugh at the item, it was rather in-character for Claude, and actually something he wouldn't mind his future child playing with.

"Since many of us were born from mother's blood, I…rarely saw her with a round stomach. It was from many others including my own aunts did I learn how children grew within them and came into the world." Rhea suddenly spoke. Byleth nodded even though he was likely a little surprised. He never pestered her for information about Sothis and the Nabatean civilization; his vast pool of patience had been one of the things to win the masses over. Human, and especially surviving Nabateans. "As I told you before, to be experiencing myself…sometimes I have to catch myself be reminded this isn't a dream."

"I know the feeling." The former teacher laughed. Even as he kept his focus on her, he was still vastly aware of the room around them. Several years ago, the room had once belong to her and her alone. Not even during her five years of captivity did he take up residency himself. Only when he and Rhea had formally began their relationship did he take up permanent residency in her room, now their room. Byleth gave her a chaste kiss on the forehead. "Sothis would be proud of you, and she will be."

Even now, years later, there was a part of her that still felt like she was trying to stand tall in her mother's shadow. As her husband, Byleth had told her she didn't have to, that she could walk out of it. He maintained that stance even in the face of criticism from others, from full-blooded Nabateans who were slow to accept him, and Rhea. That was as a ruler, when the news spread that she would be a mother, well, many were more respectfully quiet. Motherhood was a different manner than ruler.

Still, Rhea had found many pools of confidence, the biggest no doubt coming from the man beside her.

Several tears slipped from her eyes as she smiled at him. "Sometimes I wonder if being with you, is the dream. Byleth, you're…you're-"

"Incredible." He jokingly answered. Rhea laughed at his light-hearted boasting. Murmuring a yes, she further snuggled up to him, her baby bump brushing up against his stomach. "I know it's probably ridiculous to ask, but will you teach her how to sing like you? Manuela told me that it'd be a crime if you didn't."

Laughing at the statement made by her sister-in-law, Rhea gave some mock thought to the idea. "Well, so many have praised me for my singing voice. Mother herself was quite a talented singer, passing her abilities onto several including me. I worked hard to keep it, soooo…maybe I should continue the family line. That is if they choose to take up singing. Do you think they will?"

"Just call it a hunch. I know women have their intuition, but men can have theirs too." Byleth remarked.

"Hmm. I will teach them singing…and perhaps you can teach them to play instruments." She gripped his right hand and gently raised it up, feeling his fingers with his own. Rhea could remember the first afternoon she'd came across her now-husband playing an instrument. It was the last thing that anyone had expected him to do. While Byleth's attempts to play the lyre weren't what one would call theater-worthy, Rhea could sense some potential was there. Manuela had sensed it as well and encouraged him to harness it. Byleth had and thought he didn't perform often, when he did the practice he'd undertaken showed. "Making music, passing down that skill instead of our fighting skills,"

"I never thought I'd be capable of such a thing, but I am now thanks to you. Even more, it's something that I truly want to do. Something that I feel like I'm capable of doing, Rhea." He interlocked their hands together. The metallic coolness of her wedding ring felt warm against his skin. "For so long, I thought if I ever had a child, all I'd be able to teach them was how to fight."

"Did that possibility ever…frighten you?" She asked.

"I can't say that it ever did, but…like I told you, I always wondered if I could ever be more. Heheh, teacher, leader, and king weren't exactly things that I ever expected to be."

"In life, we become things that we don't often expect, and sometimes we don't want. Just like you, there are a few things I never expected to be…including being a mother. I'd given up hope on ever being that. Because of you though, I can be." Her right arm slid beneath him bringing him in for a kiss. This was shorter than the less, but no less lacking in the love it conveyed.

Byleth wrapped her up in both his arms. His embrace was Rhea's favorite place to be. As she began to drift off to sleep, she thought of needling her husband about the words he'd spoken to snap her out of her anxiety-laced contemplation. Spying his slumbering face one last time, she decided against it. His words of comfort and reassurance had more than earned him a reprieve.

Another time then, likely when she could get a little bit of a rise out of him.


Rhea wasn't quite sure when they snuck into the bed, not that it mattered. She'd fully been expecting it, as had Byleth. They moved about so that their children sat comfortably between the two of them. Both of the young Nabateans immediately made themselves comfortable as they always did. Rhea's eyes fluttered open for a brief moment. She saw green, two small tuffs of green hair between her and the broad form of her husband. His own green eyes opened and flickered at her. Even through the darkness she could see him smile. She smiled back before closing her eyes for good.

The next time she opened them sunlight was streaming into the room. It was quickly illuminating every facet of the room. Including the bed.

Roused by the sunlight in her eyes, Rhea opened them. Surprise consumed her face as she saw that she was alone.

"Byleth? Theia? Asteroth?" Feeling the mattress she felt the residual warmth of their bones. Their scent still lingered in the air, and only their scents. She tracked them out the door, and through her sharpened sense and smell and hear heard them returning. Rhea laughed and pretended to lie back down. Excitement was bubbling within her making it hard for her to play along.

That grew significantly harder as she heard her children's excited giggling. If they wanted to be stealthy then they both undoubtedly had a long way to go.

"Mama!"

Playing along, she rose up, pretending to shake off her drowsiness. Her husband clearly wasn't fooled, but he went along with it none the less. A beaming smile was on his face, and the faces of their children.

"Happy Mother's Day!" Theia and Asteroth shouted, hurling themselves into her embrace. Rhea was ready, having spread her arms out and catching them Both of their arms immediately wrapped around her. While Rhea was more than happy to return their embrace, she spied her husband move to the side of the bed carrying a silver tray. The sweet aroma of freshly cooked food made her stomach rubble.

Chuckling, he held up the tray in a mock sign of defeat. She had a feeling that originally, their children were supposed to be the ones carrying it, but somewhere along the way he'd taken it up for them. Such a thing wasn't at all surprising.

Sliding onto the other side of the bed, he sat the tray down. "Happy Mother's Day, honey." Leaning over, he kissed her on the cheek. "Our little stars deserve all the credit for whipping this open for you." He pointed to the contents of the silver tray, the food that had gotten her stomach growling at first whiff.

Some would have said that the queen of the United Kingdom of Fόdlan deserved more than just a few cooked pancakes, but Rhea had taken a liking to the supposedly "basest" food. They could taste great, and they definitely tasted great when made by her two beloved children, whose efforts were no doubt overseen by their father. Them and the yogurt, whose fresh fruity bits also caught her gluttonous attention. The familiar whiff of sweet berries called to her, yet she let her eyes fall upon a folded-up sheet of paper. Her heart continuously thundered in joy as she reached for it. On her left side lay her children, giddy with anticipation for her to read it. To her right sat her husband, patiently awaiting the response when she did.

"To the strongest, best mama in the world! You are the sky that shields us and watches over us, wherever we may be! You are the wind at our backs, constantly inspiring us!"

-Theia & Asteroth

And Papa too!

The handwriting was enough to move her to tears. She'd taught both of her children how to write when they came of age. Rhea had watched with pride as their handwriting had gone from expectedly childish to being much neater. Between her and their parental grandfather, perhaps an inherited talent was starting to bloom. Speaking of bloom, she saw that the flowers that they'd picked and pressed into the card had been harvested at just the right time. Tears building in her eyes, she reached forward and ran her hands over the pressed hydrangeas. She could practically feel the love emitting from them as she glided her fingers over them.

Four sky-blue blooms pressed down, two larger ones and two smaller ones. Both of the latter and one of the former were all seemingly encircling the last big one, their vines seemingly reaching out to embrace it.

It took a great deal of self-control to place the card down. Once she did, Rhea reached out to both sides of herself and brought her family in close for a hug.

"You like it, mama?" Asteroth asked as he immediately hugged his mother back along with his sister and father.

"I love it, my darlings, I absolutely love it!" She answered as joyful tears streamed down her cheeks. A familiar warm presence slid across her cheeks, wiping them away. She looked to her right into the leafy green eyes of her husband.

"They deserve most of the credit, it was their idea after all. Just like it was their idea to go with banana flavored pancakes." The Enlightened King chuckled. His children proudly giggled at the confession.

"Ah, then we've raised our children extremely well. Perhaps they will be the culinary master that their father is." Rhea jested. She went back to kissing the both of them atop the head. Both squealed in affectionate delight.

Once the excitement died down enough, she turned her full attention to the breakfast tray in front of her. Byleth had done his part in making sure that nothing slid off, and no doubt in ensuring that the meal would be to her likings. He and their children intensely watched as she took up the polished silver knife and fork to cut off her first piece of pancake. To her left, she saw Theia and Asteroth held their breath as they awaited the verdict.

"Yes, we do indeed have two future master chefs here, Byleth." The queen of the land declared shooting the pair of children a wink.

"Yeah! We did it, we did!" Asteroth shouted in jubilation as he hugged his sister.

"Like there was ever any doubt!" The six-year-old Nabatean responded in joy. As she hugged her little brother, she turned around and beamed at their father. The silent thank you was received and rewarded with a rustling of her hair, and his.

"Now that today's special lady has taken her bite, we can get breakfast started!" Byleth shouted. He caught his wife's eye and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek just before he left.

Rhea was a little saddened it couldn't be more, but she was happy to receive it. She was also happy that she could dig into her morning breakfast and share it with her children. "I'm so proud of both of you." Both of them had taken up familiar space on the side of the bed.

"We did our best for you, mama, because you're always doing your best for us." Her eldest declared with a passionate nod. "Today you don't have to work, and neither does papa so you can spend time with us! Isn't that great!"

"It is! I've been looking forward to today." Only in scattered parts of Fόdlan had there been official days honoring mothers, and fathers. As queen, Rhea had descended to simply make such an occasion a national holiday, a move that had gone over quite well with the masses. Especially the mothers of Fόdlan.

One could say that it was a much more suitable replacement to another holiday that had been…discontinued with the end of the war. At least by a majority of Fόdlan.

"We, um practiced a lot. Including making some messes." Asteroth confessed beneath his mother's gaze. Already some were saying he would grow up to be something of a mama's boy. There was little that he intentionally tried to keep from her, and little Rhea couldn't figure out when it came to her son. "Miss Shiela let us use as many ingredients as we needed." Both women laughed at the pink tint the youngest Nabateans cheeks took on as he mentioned the royal cook.

"I see, and did you thank her afterward?" Rhea asked her two children.

"Yes!" They responded together. Laughing, she brought them into another hug, then offered the two of them bites of the pancakes that they'd made. Based on the warmth, Rhea was sure that they'd slipped away perhaps almost half an hour earlier to cook her breakfast feast. Now she knew what they'd privately been whispering to their father the not before, not that she needed to think too hard on it. When it came to affection, Rhea considered it a blessing that her children didn't hold back. Rather it was to them or others, the latter had made the two royal children universally beloved. Especially by the residents of the Monastery.

Rhea had a feeling it was going to be a quiet but festive day, one that may had been looking forward to like her.

Her husband certainly had been. He returned carrying another silver tray, this time for him and their children.

With a smile that might have been unthinkable several years ago, he joined them, continuing the family breakfast that would mark the start to a happy day for the four of them.


Byleth never kept count of how many times he came to see his mother's grave, and his father's by extension. The two headstones were kept in pristine condition by the Monastery staff.

Laying the flower bouquet down, he took a deep breath. Fortunately, it was a beautiful day, a warm breeze blowing across the land that might increase as the day wore on. He wouldn't mind that, he'd always preferred the hot to the cold. Over the last several years though, he'd found an appreciation for the cold, especially snow and ice.

"Hello, mother. Rhea says that Theia and Asteroth are on their way to becoming master chefs like…me. Personally, I think they might be better than me. I'm also sure that Asteroth will probably grow into a better musician; it's just something I can feel for him. I'm sure you'd be proud of him, and Theia. She's made some beautiful bouquets." He reached forward and touched the cold stone with his hand. So many times he wondered what it would be like to touch her hands, to feel the warmth that pulsed through her. It was always painful to accept that he never would but he knew that she was still watching over him from the next world. Her and his father. "I want you to know that I'm doing alright. As a…as a ruler, as husband, and as a father." His eyes flickered to the grave to his left. Next month he'd be stopping by to tell its occupant how he'd been. Byleth hoped little will have changed.

Putting both hands together, he said a silent prayer for his mother, something he'd done countless times before. It was never easy knowing she'd been gone before he got to know her, especially since she'd sacrificed her life to save his, but he knew that's what mothers did for their children. He'd done his best to make the most of the life she'd given him. Byleth always felt like that had only happened when he came to Garreg Mach Monastery and met the people in it. Including the mother of his children.

She was waiting for him along with their little stars when he returned. Byleth took a minute to admire the beautiful sight that lay before him.

Rhea was dressed in a gorgeous white dress with blue floral designs. He was happy that she'd donned a straw sun hat; she always looked good in them. Their daughter had donned one as well, along with a somewhat similarly designed dress. Instead of blue flowers though Theia had opted for green. Her brother had opted for the same, albeit with some white mixed in, just like Byleth.

He'd long accepted that black was his color, just as white was Rhea's. Still, that didn't mean he wore it all the time. This was one of those days where he'd chosen to wear white; it went with the rest of his family. They all beamed at him, waiting for him to join them. With a smile on his face, he did exactly that.

The Oghma Mountains were one of the main constants of Fόdlan, some mountains practically natural landmarks. Few of the mountains had secrets and unique traits that drew visitors from all across the continent and beyond.

Mount Téthur was known for its beauty in the late spring and the summer. Its slopes would be adorned with hundreds of flowers that could be seen from a distance away. That said, more often than not that was only in the mid to late spring, not the start of it.

Rhea Eisner stared at the beautiful flower bed beneath her wondering if time had somehow leaped forward. Wide-eyed, she spun to her husband.

"B-Byleth," she whispered.

He had such a nonchalant smile on his face like he had no idea what was going on. The barely repressed snickering of his kids gave him away. Rhea looked between the three of them, the pieces slowly coming together for her. About a week ago, she recalled the three of them going on a short expedition to check on some of the wildlife. Grinning, she leaned down and hugged both of her children.

"You're both growing so smart so fast!" Upon sitting up, her husband was still doing his best to look as nonchalant as possible. She found it quite attractive. "As for you, my sweet husband," Framing his face with both hands, she brought him in close for a kiss. Beneath them their children snickered; such open intimacy was something that they'd both gotten used to. "You never stop spoiling me."

"Well, I've had some competition on who to spoil nowadays. They put in a good effort for what it's worth." The swordsman casually remarked. Theia and Asteroth burst into laughter as he rubbed their heads. His hands were grabbed by both of them with Rhea's following suit. The message was clear, "Alright, come on, we've got a picnic to get started on!"

Theia and Asteroth pulled the two along already knowing where their picnic spot would be. They had scouted it out a week earlier after all.

The blanket they sat on was stark white with the Crest of Seiros swoon into the middle in golden yarn. It contrasted yet went so perfectly well with the vibrant green of the grass around them. Several feet away a sea of flowers spread out before the family, offering them quite a view as they had lunch. Several petals would fly off thanks to a midday breeze. Hands reached out to catch a few petals, then release them back into the wind.

Rhea watched them scatter until they vanished from her eyes. She'd fondness for flowers, going as far back as to when she was a little girl. Had her life been different, becoming a professional garden or botanist would have been her path. She'd often lamented the loss of that future, especially when she found herself flower gazing and arranging. More often than not she'd been alone in that. The sweet bubbly laughter of her children and her husband reminded her that all that was in the past. And that she wouldn't trade the present that she now had for anything, even an idealized future that she once fervently prayed and worked for.

Asteroth had a look of deep joy on his face a she helped his father prepare his favored meal, roast beef sandwiches, not just for him but for the others as well. Theia caught her mother's eye and smiled at her. Rhea smiled back as she felt herself reminded of the day that her oldest child had entered the world. First had came joy, then uncertainty that was quelled by her beloved husband. Then had came joy the likes of which she'd never known when Theia was born. She held her in her arms, listening to her fierce cries turn into gentle coos as she fell asleep. Such a process would be repeated when Asteroth was born only three years later.

Looking at the two of them now, six and three respectively, Rhea found it amazing how fast time had flown. Once, she cursed the passage of time, yet now she found peace and even joy in its steady march. No longer was she looking back.

With the first bite of her lunch, she looked forward. She looked forward to the next Mother's Day that she would share with her children. Before that though, she looked forward to Father's Day, when she would do for her husband what he had done for her with their kids. She had a feeling that he knew that; Rhea could see the twinkle in his eyes when they looked to each other.

Thank you for all of this, Byleth. Thank you for…thank you for everything, my love.

You're welcome, and thank you, Rhea. Thank you for being the mother to my children, for helping me raise them. For giving me a family to love and cherish.

Before the queen's lunch was finished, she was further blissed with a musical performance put on by her children and husband. She always wondered how it was possible for her heart to pulsate in such joy without exploding. An answer would never come, and she was fine with that. She'd forgotten how limitless happiness could feel, happiness that wasn't weighed down by the fear of it being taken away.

Thanks to her family, Rhea knew no fear, only bliss, and that was the sentiment she returned when, after their picnic was finished, she took to the skies with her children and husband atop her back. The jubilant roar of the Immaculate One would echo across the Oghma Mountains, a joy-laced symphony that would go down in history.

Fin


Personally, I think Rhea would be extremely happy becoming a mother, and it'd be a very happy experience for her. A few weeks ago, I decided to go ahead and do a story where that happens, and build a little off of her relationship with Sothis and the anxiety she'd feel in becoming a mother herself. There was simply too much potential for me to ignore given the vital relationship Rhea and Sothis. Speaking of which, the way game had had a lack of focus on it was something I chose to tackle in the first portion of the chapter. On the Silver Snow route, I imagine Byleth and Rhea had a few more personal talks after the latter was rescued. A lot had certainly changed between them by then and I took the chance to explore that.

In-game, Rhea expresses some confusion if Byleth reveals the version of Sothis he's been seeing is a small child. Given the high expectations she had at the moment, that probably wasn't what she wanted to hear. After her five years of prison time though, I think she'd be a little more accepting to what Byleth had to say. For his part, he didn't enjoy essentially telling her that her own mother had forgotten her up until her last moments on earth. At the very least Sothis calls him out on how his pursuit of Kronya has forced her into a tight spot and she has to take a drastic step to liberate Byleth from the darkness. It always felt like one of those things that would weigh on him, especially if he grew closer to Rhea.

Hopefully you all enjoyed this family fluff piece. It was a pleasure to write! By sheer coincidence, as I put the finishing touches on this story, Fallen Rhea was revealed for Heroes. Pretty sure someone at IS knew Mothers' Day and planned this (stares at Fallen Heroes!Gustav). I might see some story potential there, but my most likely next Byleth/Rhea endeavor will be that long awaited Silver Snow rewrite. Whatever comes next, I wish you all well and a happy Mother's Day! Stay safe and healthy!