Fire Emblem Drabbles Chapter 5

A Fire Emblem Three Houses Fanfiction

By Hoenn Master

13. Remedy

A.N. Thank you to all who read this, truly. Doubly so for reviews.

Byleth's lips thinned in worry as he paced back and forth in front of the medical tent. While peace had been the watchword since the end of the war in the continent, as Archbishop of the Church of Seiros, he felt his duty was to be on the front lines of stopping the criminal element which had grown up in the absence of regular patrols. Unlike Rhea's often necessary but frequently heavy-handed approach, Byleth understood the desperation many bandits operated under. The loss of so many Knights of Seiros from the long war had left a significant dent in the numbers needed to resume regular patrols, and Byleth's approach was as simple as it was effective at swelling numbers. At each and every bandit group they hunted, it was made known that any criminals willing to lay down arms and submit to the Knights would be spared the hangman's noose, and instead spend their sentence in service to the Order and the goddess. Those who served honorably and without committing any other crimes would then be given a chance to become a proper member of the Order and have their charges dropped. Those who refused to surrender, or who refused to adhere to the rules of the Knights would be tried and meet their fates at the hands of the bailiff.

Effective, indeed, albeit difficult to manage without careful delegation on Byleth's behalf to ensure as little corruption as possible wormed its way into the idea. It was the perfect remedy to the problem of banditry, as all too often the bandits were farmers and peasantry who were driven to it by the mismanagement of the kingdom under the member of Those Who Slither in the Dark impersonating Cornelia. Many who were barely feeding their families were relieved by the unexpected mercy from the Church, while others, believing the Church weak to negotiate, were put down with little mercy. Byleth intended to display the hard but fair nature of his rule as much as possible. It was a hard line to toe, but he would never tire of seeing the relief of families reunited at Garreg Mach, of Mercedes' devotion to the care of others, even with her being heavily pregnant now. Her condition didn't slow her in the slightest as she directed the emotional healing of the continent as efficiently as Byleth directed the armed forces in mending the physical wounds betwixt borders and amongst mountains where outlaws dwelled.

Yet here Byleth was, pacing for the fifth hour going as he once again berated himself internally for allowing Mercedes to accompany him on the last large scale bandit raid of the year, and quite possibly the last one of this scale for quite some time; a small army of knights, new and old, ex-criminal and blameless alike. A fine thing to add to his list of mistakes indeed to allow a woman in Mercedes' condition to travel beyond the walls of the monastery while she was less than a month away from bearing a child. Now he stood, hearing the groaning and strain of childbirth on a campaign in the middle of the desolate Faerghus countryside. Instead of a warm and comfortable room in Garreg Mach, surrounded by midwives and healers, Mercedes had one midwife and a few battlefield healers for aid. Instead of a soft bed, she had a campaign cot in the wintry air of the northern autumn.

At length, Byleth froze when he heard a much more strained cry from Mercedes, and then virtual silence. For a single heartbeat, Byleth wondered if his wife had died, but then, the chatter of the midwife and the healers grew excited and the tiny cry of an infant. Byleth's relief was palpable as one of the medics stepped out into the air and all but dragged him in to see Mercedes, sweat soaking her brow, hair a complete mess, and bloodied rags around her as she held a bundle of blankets to her bosom to suckle. An exhausted smile was on her face, especially when she looked up, heavy bags under her eyes as she slumped in relief upon seeing Byleth, almost equally disheveled, kneeling at her bedside. The only things Byleth was capable of processing in that moment between the three of them was the whisper that his firstborn was a daughter, bearing the Crest of Lamine, that Mercedes was fine as far as anyone could tell, and that they would be left alone for the time being.

It didn't take long for Mercedes to hold out their daughter to him when she had finished with her meal, and promptly fell asleep. Byleth smiled genuinely as he covered his wife in a warm blanket as he found a small stool and sat in it, rocking his daughter gently as she looked around until she too fell asleep, stomach full and as tired as her mother no doubt was.

Byleth sighed in contentment. As stressed as he had been for the last month, he was glad things were going to simultaneously become more complex and simpler at the same time. A perfect time for his daughter to come into the world. She would see the end of this era of conflict and witness the birth of a new era of peace and order.

Byleth nodded to himself. He knew what he must do now. He had to administer the remedy for the pathogen on the continent one final time in the form of his new conscription process, and after that, return and give his family the safest, most comfortable home he could.

14. Parade

The sound of drums and horns blared through the air as the quadruple column of infantry marched in parade colors behind Byleth, who rode beside Dimitri. Both men were flanked by Mercedes and Marianne respectively, who both rode alongside in regal attire, as befitting the radiant, if overly decorative, armor of the two continent leaders. Four huge columns of soldiers in parade dress followed behind the quartet, arrayed to display the various emblems and crests of the duchies and fiefdoms from which they hailed. Most came from the Kingdom, but many came from the ex-Alliance, and a sizable number from the Empire itself, mostly provided by Ferdinand and the allies of his family.

Leading each of the companies of roughly two hundred veteran soldiers were the ex-Blue Lions under Byleth's care. Dedue, as head of Dimitri's personal bodyguard, rode almost directly behind his liege, the rich blue of the uniforms of the men contrasting smartly with Dedue's silver armor. The red and gold of Ferdinand's troops complimented his blued plates and ashen stallion, while the green and gold of the Alliance's representation in the front was led by the ever boisterous Raphael, the brass accents on his armor glistening as he waved to the massive crowd seated atop a mule, the only animal strong enough to endure the long march with him in his armor atop it. Finally, the last stripe in the four columns was the pristine white of the Knights of Seiros, led by Catherine; her battle-worn armor polished as best it could be as she laughed heartily and waved, much like Raphael.

Following behind were each of the members of the old Blue Lions, either leading their own troops or else riding beside the family member who was responsible for their presence. It took several hours for the parade to march all through the countryside around Fhirdiad, but the joy and relief to the people was palpable. It was as the procession crossed into the city itself, a scant few days after accepting Byleth's proposal, that it truly set in for Mercedes that these people were going to rely on her almost as much as they would rely on Byleth. She and Byleth would be responsible for restoring the faith of the people; to give them hope and a reason to live, when life grew to be as difficult as theirs had been these past five years. It both weighed on her and encouraged her that this was the correct course.

As the march came to its end, Mercedes was thoroughly ready to be off her horse, as was most everyone else not used to the strain of a long day's ride. The ball and feast after the parade would come later. With the people being kept in check by the guards, Mercedes and Byleth, alongside Dimitri and Marianne, took to the battlements of the keep of the capital, which led to the balcony traditionally used for weighty matters of state which could not be kept from the people, most prominently declarations of war, peace, and the proclamation of new heirs to the throne. Here, though, it was to show all gathered that Dimitri was alive and well, as well as to give him an opportunity to speak of the end of the war, and the unification of all of Fódlan, of togetherness and the importance of mutual understanding between the peoples of the old nations.

For all his insistence to the contrary, Dimitri was quite a good speaker, and demonstrated this thoroughly to the people of his nation while Byleth and Mercedes looked on proudly, and Marianne waited not far behind him, her own pride and happiness at Dimitri radiating off of her in palpable waves.

It was a good day, a day of reconciliation, brotherhood forged in the fires of combat, and a firm purpose towards the future.

15. City

Mercedes smiled as she walked down the busy city streets of Fhirdiad, chatting with Annette; the Blue Lions were in a stopover from a long-distance operation for the Church. Annette all but dragged her into the city, and, surprisingly, Professor Byleth was brought along as well. The enigmatic professor walked along, not far behind the chatting pair, roped into carrying a few parcels from the shopping trip. The sounds of peaceful mingling, shouts of vendors hocking wares, and carriages trundling down the streets filled the air with an organized chaos that was somewhat foreign to Byleth's country village sensibilities. Nevertheless, Byleth was grateful for his excellent sense of direction as the trio moved further into the city, twisting and turning almost randomly until they came out into a small square with a fairly large fountain gurgling merrily as various people rested, either eating or chatting with someone as time passed. Byleth stopped as Mercedes and Annette had a seat on a stone bench, and observed the peaceful scene all around. For all the movement, this square seemed to be an island of near-serenity. It made him think of the chaos of his own life in the last five months; the bandit attack which saw him recommended as a professor, said work as a professor being more complex than he'd thought possible around the semi-constant shadow games between Rhea, himself, and those who were hurting his students. It was excruciating, and yet, in this moment, he found a semblance of inner peace. Mercedes, bless her, noticed him preparing to go out alone to do some shopping, and she invited him to join them in a stroll around the city to take in the sights and enjoy not being in class or on the battlefield.

It made Byleth realize that he hadn't taken a proper day off in months, and it felt shockingly nice. The odd sense of peace and contentment in a simple scene as mothers shepherded their children along from shop to shop, elderly men chatting at a pub's outdoor table as they played board games, and blacksmiths' hammers ringing the rhyme of forge and fire.

"Professor?"

Byleth pulled himself from his reverie as Annette smiled and held out a paper bowl of ice cream to him, which he took, looking curiously at her. Annette smiled and gestured to a kind-looking old man performing party tricks for a group of children and a smiling Mercedes using ice magic. The old man seemed to be the owner of a hand cart with bells on it, advertising ice cream, presumably made by the self-same ice magic he was putting on display at the moment. Indeed, with a flourish, he deposited the ice sculpture he'd made into his cart. Byleth allowed the smallest of smiles cross his face as he watched Mercedes buy some decidedly shabby looking children some of the delicious treat, their faces lighting up as she and the shopkeeper urged the children to enjoy it.

This simple scene settled into Byleth's gut and sat there. Mercedes would be a wonderful mother one day. No question. A statement, along the same lines as the sky being blue or water being wet. Yet, Byleth couldn't shake the feeling that he wanted to be a part of that. To have a simple, straightforward existence, uncomplicated by state of his position in life and utterly free to court whomsoever he pleased, if they'd have him. That the person who so often filled that place in his mind was busy handing out ice cream to poor children didn't go addressed. Nor did the nearly imperceptible weight of his mother's ring, attached to a chain around his neck, suddenly make itself known to him.

It was nice, Byleth concluded as the ice cream vendor rolled his cart away, and the children thanked Mercedes and dispersed. While he deeply enjoyed the solitude and quiet of a sunset landscape, there was certainly an appeal to the simple lives of those untroubled by destiny and fate, and how he sometimes wished he could be freed of his duties and obligations to speak these strange feelings he'd begun to develop. But, alas, he was not free, was not eased of his burden. He was a simple professor of a prestigious academy, and he had a job to do.

"We should be off, I think. We will need to regroup before we all settle into the inn for the night. Thank you both for accompanying me, Mercedes, Annette. I hope we will be able to enjoy more peaceful memories, soon."

Annette smiled widely and nodded, while Mercedes turned very slightly pink as Byleth bowed his head lightly to them before turning to lead them back to the Blue Lions' meeting place in the city. As they set off, Byleth could almost swear he could hear Ingrid yelling at Sylvain in the distance…