Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.

While The Heroes Are in Space

Edelgard sat on her bed, closing her eyes as she was deep in thought. She flashbacked to Victoria dying in front of her, and also her strange new powers. She opened her eyes and looked at her mirror. She would immediately activate her Maiden powers as aura shot out of the corners of her eyes.

Is this how the huntsmen and huntresses do when they activate their semblance or their auras… or how they unlocked it? She didn't understand it, and this new power intimidated her.

As far as she was concerned, only Hubert knows about this strange new power she had received. Deep down, she knew she had to tell someone… but who? She could easily tell Byleth, but chances are, she would tell Dorothea on their date, who would start to tell Ingrid, then next thing she knew, all of Fodlan would know about Edelgard's new powers.

There was no way in hell that she would tell Ferdinand, because she figured that even he would find a way to competitively get even with her and make his own maiden powers… for some reason. There was always Bernadetta, but she had witnessed Claude taking her away… or as Bernie had put it: "HELP! CLAUDE IS KIDNAPPING ME!"

She could tell Dimitri, but she's noticed he's been a bit on edge recently… Raphael and Caspar would be blabbermouths. Marianne probably would be interested in something else, Annette would also be a blabbermouth and blab to Mercedes and Ilia. Petra would only be confused and be all "Edelgard, what is this new power you speak of?"

Flayn would be curious and ask Seteth about it. Lindhart would probably fall asleep mid conversation, which would be a good choice but she didn't want to risk getting annoyed with him sleeping in the midde of a conversation. Sylvain's also a no go, he'd be all "Oooh, these new powers have definitely made you prettier!" followed by a knee to his crotch.

There was nobody to tell about her new powers in confidence…

All except one.

"Oh my word… these fairy tales that Remnant has is extraordinary." Sothis mused. "Man with Two Souls, The Wizard, The Girl Locked Up in the Tower… my my my!"

"Lady Sothis!" A priest came up to her.

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Edelgard wishes to see you."

"Bring her to me." She requested as Edelgard approached her. "Hey Edie. How's it hanging?"

"Oh, good… I guess."

Sothis frowned. "Something's troubling you. I can see it in your eyes."

"That obvious?"

"Yeah." Sothis nodded. "Tell me, what's troubling you?"

"Can we… go somewhere more private? I'd rather not have anyone eavesdropping."

Sothis smiled. "Of course! I know just the place." She said and then took her hand before teleporting them away.

"Mmph!" Edelgard grunted, getting her bearings straightened out. "With all due respect, Sothis… why Grondor Field?"

"Simple, really. No one would ever suspect anyone here." Sothis pointed out. "And if someone were to stumble upon this place…" She snapped her fingers as a dome surrounded the battlefield. "There we go, an invisible dome that will keep our privacy… and if they do walk in here, well they'll just be teleported to the otherside with none the wiser."

"Your powers are incredible…" Edelgard quietly said.

"Indeed!" Sothis smiled. "Now, tell me… what seems to be troubling you?"

"There's… something that needs to be kept between us. Only Hubert knows about this, because I'm afraid this will be known by our enemies if it's blurted out anywhere else."

"Okay. What is it?"

Edelgard closed her eyes and started to float up, magic circled around her as she opened her eyes as aura shot out of the corners of her eyes. Sothis's eyes widened in surprise as she witnessed this unfolding in front of her.

"Oh my…" She whispered as Edelgard softly landed on the ground. "You've become a Maiden."

"A what?"

"A Maiden. I've read this in a book that I borrowed from Remnant. It's a fairy tale where this wizard had given these four women the power of the seasons. Spring, summer, fall and winter. They were also called Maidens. At first, I thought it was a cute little fairy tale, but as we've all heard from Eggman's broadcast, apparently this Maiden tale is the real deal. I even visited Beacon and asked Ozpin if it was all real, and he confirmed to me that he was the Wizard who granted those four maidens magical powers."

"So I'm… a seasonal maiden?"

"Indeed." Sothis nodded. "He explained that they're based off of the four elements. Fire, Water, Wind and Earth. However, he also said they can choose their own element or do multiple elements if they so desire, so you don't have to be stuck with one element. There was one other thing he told me that had crossed my mind."

"Could it be possible that a non-native of Remnant could harness the power of the Maidens?"

"I haven't given it much thought, but I believe it would be possible that a maiden from say, Hyrule, would be able to become one of these Maidens IF they were in the Maiden's last thoughts."

Sothis smiled, staring at Edelgard. "It seems it is possible. You have the power, after all."

"So what am I?"

"Well, that's where it gets interesting. Ozpin mentioned that the Fall Maiden is currently underneath Beacon but is on life support thanks to her assailant. Her assailant in question is half Fall Maiden. He also mentioned that an acquaintance of his mentions a Spring Maiden camping out somewhere in Remnant, and happens to be a tribe member. Think he said her name was Raven. As for the Winter maiden, she is currently in Atlas, but due to her failing health, she doesn't have much long to live. As expected, Ironwood is considering Esdeath to be the Winter Maiden should the current one's health worsens. So, by process of elimination…"

"…I'm the Summer Maiden."

"Exactly." Sothis smiled. "So, the question is… how did you stumble upon the Summer Maiden? I'm actually curious to know." She said as Edelgard looked down, seeming to be tearing up. "Edelgard? What's wrong?"

"Promise… promise me you won't flip out?"

"Edie, I'm not like my daughter who flippantly demands a heathen's head on a silver platter the moment they reveal their true colors." Sothis reassured. "I'm much more level headed."

Edelgard smiled. "That's true." She took a deep breath. "Alright, here goes nothing."

One explanation later…

Sothis put her hands over her mouth. "Oh my gosh… you're the Flame Emperor?"

"Yes."

"And Those Who Slither went out of their way to conduct those horrid experiments on the people of Remnant…" Sothis whispered. "How low are they willing to sink… kidnapping those from the Outrealms? The last thing we need is a war with Remnant!" She clenched her fists before turning to Edelgard. "I know you are not at fault. Based on the tone of your voice and your facial expressions… they dragged you into this. They forced you into their schemes."

"Yes. Because of them, I… have a disdain for the Crests."

"I do not blame you. But know this, the crests that we have inside of us? They're natural… but you have an experimental one inside of you. You and Lysithea. I wouldn't put it past them if they convinced you to go against the church."

"They did… but I don't know if I have the strength to actually go through with it, but I'm running out of time."

Sothis put her hands on Edelgard. "Breathe… it's gonna be okay."

"How can it?!"

"Because you're telling me this. If Rhea were here, she would have slaughtered you instantly. Yes, it stinks that you're going against us but there has to be a reason for it! And from this story that you told me, I do not blame you." Sothis said. "There are two sides to every story, and unfortunately, my daughter tends to stick with one side of the coin… as you can tell, she's not exactly thrilled with Ozpin at the moment, no matter how often I try to explain that Ozpin might have had a reason, ESPECIALLY from Ruby's speech… she won't want to hear it. Heck, even Seteth and Flayn are concerned for Rhea's well being."

"Do you think she could still be upset at you for taking over and demoting her?"

"Honestly? I wouldn't be surprised." Sothis admitted and then closed her eyes. "So… those fools had captured a woman by the name of Victoria and you tried to bust her out of there, but it was far too late. She perished the moment you returned and she gave her Summer Maiden powers to you."

"Yes."

"Hmm… and Those Who Slither don't even realize that you hold a great power." Sothis said, and then opened her eyes. "We can't let them know about this, otherwise they'll just use you against us."

"Yes, I, too, had thought of it… even before I knew I had the power of the maiden."

"So here's what we're going to do. We're going to keep a lid on this. Just keep this Maiden power a secret between us, and then, if Those Who Slither decide to make their move on Garreg Mach and you have no choice but to side with them…" She smirked. "You unleash your powers on those assholes, they won't know what'll hurt them and bam, we got ourselves an upper edge that will have us win against Thales!"

"But… wouldn't everyone be upset that I-"

"I know there are some people who will be understanding. Take Byleth for example. She's completely understanding and will definitely believe you had a good reason to do this. A lot of your friends may be more understanding than you might think." Sothis smiled. "The one that worries me the most is Dimitri. He's been… on edge recently. He says he feels something big is about to go down here at Garreg Mach… personally, I think he's just concerned about Salem."

"When he finds out I'm the Flame Emperor…"

"If he tries anything, we'll stop him." Sothis said and then smiled. "Now then, let's practice these Maiden powers."

"Right. You got anything I might need? I need a target to practice."

"You're looking at her."

Edelgard's eyes widened. "What?!"

"I'll be fine, Edelgard." Sothis smiled and then floated up. "Now come on. Show me the strength of the Summer Maiden! You're the Emperor now, so you might as well show me your true strength!"

BGM: Blue Skies and a Battle (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)

Edelgard hesitated before floating up, aura shooting out of the corners of her eyes. "Very well. I won't go easy on you!"

Sothis smirked. "Bring it on!"

Edelgard's hands glowed as she flew over to Sothis and punched her in the face, but Sothis would swiftly dodge and threw a fireball at her but she crossed her arms as the earth below them rose up and became a shield for Edelgard.

Edelgard looked on in surprise, while on the other side, Sothis couldn't help but smile at this as Edelgard had an idea as she punched through the earth shield as rock spires shot out and tried to hit Sothis, but she teleported away as she charged up an attack and unleashed Thoron on her but Edelgard flew around the Thoron as she clapped her hands together as vines rose up from the ground and ensnared Sothis as she flew over and slugged Sothis in the cheek, sending her crashing into the ground.

Sothis smirked. "Oh, this got interesting real fast!" She said as Edelgard flew down and punched the ground as rock stalagmites burst out of the ground and shot toward Sothis, where she was able to fly up as Edelgard's hands burst into flames as she flew up and threw fireballs at Sothis, but she was able to deflect these easily as Sothis teleported behind Edelgard and cast Bolgannone on her, only for Edelgard to summon an earthly pillar and smacked Sothis away, then Edelgard flew up as fire conjured up in her heel as she flip kicked her to the ground.

Edelgard then brought out Amyr as she came flying down. "HRAAAAAAAAAAH!" She yelled, slamming into the ground where the earth split itself open and fire shot out, striking Sothis as Edelgard put Amyr away as she then raised her arm up as an earthly dome surrounded Sothis, and then had it bury her alive. "Oh shoot, did I go overboard?"

Sothis appeared behind Edelgard and blasted her away with a Bolgannone. "Like that would stop me!" She exclaimed as she launched over to Edelgard and got ready to electric punch her, but Edelgard turned her hand into stone and caught the thunder punch and then flipped Sothis over and pinned her to the ground, raising her fist up.

Sothis smirked. "Well, now I know what I'm working with here." She said.

"Huh?" Edelgard wondered as Sothis got her off of her.

End BGM

Sothis smiled. "Your earth and fire abilities are incredible, but with practice and with more control, you could easily become a force to be reckoned with."

Edelgard smiled back, the aura from her eyes disappearing. "Right." Her smile then disappeared. "I didn't hurt you too badly, did I?"

"Nah, not too bad. I will admit, you hit harder than Cackletta." Sothis chuckled and rolled her shoulder. "But enough about that, let's head back." She said, snapping her fingers and teleporting the two back to Garreg Mach.

"Thank you for helping me out."

"You're welcome. I look forward to more of our little private spars." Sothis smiled as Edelgard turned around and walked off, but something immediately caught Sothis's attention.

"What the..." Sothis wondered, leaning forward as she could see hints of brown in Edelgard's white hair. Her eyes widened before chuckling. "My my my, it seems the Maiden Powers are proving to be quite beneficial for her health~!"

Ibuki: Ooooh!

Y'all might be wondering why I did a Gaiden and not a Chibi right away. Well, for Chapter 199, my friends had offered to write the Chibi skits and so I decided to write a Gaiden instead to give some of them more time. And well, considering the MCU Chibi fried my brain pretty good, I appreciate that they went out of their way to make some skits of their own.