BACKSTORY

12th Guardian Moon 1170

'What is the sister of the sun, though made for the night? The fire causes her tears to fall, and when she is near dying they cut off her head.'

'Candles,' Byleth said.

Lilia smiled. 'Very good!'

'Huh, I was gonna say the moon.' Arthur said.

Lilia frowned as she sorted through the pile of scrap bits of paper on her lap. 'That does not make sense.'

'Sure it does. Rain comes from the moon after all!'

'Shut up,' Lilia said, trying not to giggle but failing. Beside her, Byleth shook his head. Arthur grinned at him.

'Did I see you smile just there?'

Byleth shook his head.

'I think you did. It's a beautiful one. Girls are gonna be wowed by it one day.'

Byleth shook his head again.

'Ah don't be shy! Someday you'll fall in love with one!'

'No,' Byleth said.

Arthur grinned. 'Sure you will, everyone does!'

The boy shook his head again.

The three of them were sat on one of the many benches that circled the grand fountain in the city square of Enbarr, the Adrestian capital. Arthur looked around. The sun blazed and lit up the white pavement; people from all walks of life strolled in different directions along it. A group of impoverished teenagers circled the fountain, shouting and laughing. A pair of knights stood at one side glaring at them with their arms crossed. A group of red-faced, alcohol-stained men stumbled by, wheezing and clutching their stomachs, bellowing with laughter. A red-haired woman in a long white robe sat on a bench on the other side of the fountain, reading a tattered book. Dust blew across the ground in the gentle breeze.

He took a swig of water from his flask. 'I bet you will, and soon!' He had to raise his voice to be heard over the laughing children. 'You will see a girl; she will see your beautiful smile and you'll both fall madly in love! Just you wait.'

'No,' Byleth said.

'Yes!' Arthur replied.

'No.'

'Yes.'

'No.'

'Yes.'

'No.'

'Yes.'

'No.'

'Yes.'

'No.'

'No.'

'Ye'- Byleth clamped his mouth closed. The look of annoyance on his face warmed Arthur's heart. It'd only be a few years before that such a look would've been impossible for the boy. And that made everyone believe he was dead inside.

But he's not, Arthur thought. He just needed time to come out of his shell. Jeralt was right all along.

Arthur knew he was a bit of an asshole, but teasing people tickled him too much not to do it. He squawked his seagull-like laugh, patting Byleth on the shoulder.

'Even your father fell in love once! That's why you're here on your tiny legs. Trust me kid, it's inevitable.'

'I will not,' the boy replied.

'Stop bickering,' Lilia said.

Arthur raised an eyebrow and his smile faded. 'Hey kid, there's something on your face.'

Byleth looked at him. 'What?'

'Let me get it for you'- Arthur moved a hand forward. He pinched Byleth's nose and pulled.

'Ow!' Byleth smacked his hands to his face. Arthur raised his fist, and his thumb protruded from it.

'Got your nose!'

The boy gazed at him, keeping his hands pressed to his face. Arthur glanced at his arms. They'd once been bony and weak but now stood strong and defined, putting even his own arms to shame. They were blotched with bruises and laced in cuts from Alain's training. Arthur thought back to when Alain had started training the boy. At the time, he hadn't known what to make of the decision. How would such a cold-hearted and miserable man affect Byleth? Would he stunt his growth? Make him close up again?

The answer was currently written on the boy's face.

'I think there's a grin hiding under there,' Arthur said.

For a moment, Byleth's face remained still, and then the corners of his mouth rose on either side of his hands. Arthur chuckled. Byleth lowered his hands, revealing a small but undeniable grin of his own. He punched Arthur's arm and the man giggled, ruffling the boy's blue mop of hair.

'Knew it! An amazing kid with an amazing smile.'

'You are more childish than the boy,' Lilia said, smiling.

Arthur's heart tingled. And not just because he fancied the crap out of her, but because he knew that Byleth smiling and talking meant the world to her.

'Don't know what you mean,' he continued. 'You nearly done with those papers? We'll grab food once you're ready.'

'Nearly,' Lillia replied. 'They are from the bulletin board, potential assignments. I thought Jeralt might be interested so I am trying to see which ones are worthwhi'-

One of the girls near the fountain let out an echoing scream as another tapped her shoulder in their game of tag. Lillia jumped, scrambling for her papers before they fell from her lap.

'They are very loud and annoying,' she murmured. Then she grinned. 'They remind me of someone on this bench.'

'What?' Arthur said, grinning. 'Byleth ain't that loud! (He took another sip of water) Poor boy.'

The small grin reappeared on Byleth's face, and Arthur realised it looked identical to Jeralt's.

'That girl's scream was nearly as high-pitched as your voice,' the boy said. Arthur snorted, spraying water over the bench. Lilia jerked back. The paper on her lap scattered over the ground and away in the breeze.

'Arthur!' she shouted, jumping to her feet and snatching at the bits of paper. Arthur helped her, still clutching his stomach laughing as he did so. They grabbed most of the paper, but one slip tumbled out of reach in the direction of the fountain. Byleth rose and went after it.

Just as he did, however, one of the knights strode towards the fountain as well.

'Children! Move away from the fountain!' His voice boomed and the square fell silent. People stopped, including the red-haired woman who looked up from her book. The group of teenagers froze and their faces paled.

'Move and stay away!' the knight shouted. He raised his arm in a shooing gesture. The teenagers flinched and scurried away in different directions. One of them, a girl, perhaps the same age as Byleth, stumbled over one ripped shoe and smacked her face on the pavement. Crimson seeped from her nose. She rose to a seated position and her face scrunched up as she began to sob.

'Oh dear,' Lilia breathed, snatching up the final few pieces of paper from the pavement. 'We need to help her.' Before she could move, Arthur put a hand on her shoulder.

'Let's see what happens first.'

Lilia blinked at him and then turned. Her eyes widened.

The remaining slip of paper tumbled directly towards the girl. Byleth approached and crouched down beside her. He said something and the girl's eyes widened.

'Y'know, I've never seen the kid talk to someone his age before,' Arthur muttered, sitting back down on the bench.

'I don't believe he ever has,' Lilia said, joining him. She clutched the pendent around her neck. 'I just hope she does not misunderstand him.'

'Nah, you worry too much.'

And Arthur was right, she needn't worry (not yet). The girl nodded at Byleth and handed something to him. Byleth then reached into his pocket and brought out a tissue. He offered it to the girl. She nodded and took it, holding it up to her nose.

'A chip off the old block,' Arthur said, smiling. 'Going out of his way to help people just like Jeralt does. Hard to believe that's the same pale-faced kid that used to sit lifeless all day!'

'He used to scare me,' she muttered. 'I used to think he was somehow cursed. (She shook her head.) I wished to be away from him… I was horrible.'

Arthur chuckled. He put an arm around her and kissed the side of her head. 'You wished to run away but you didn't! You didn't give up on him, and just look at how much he's grown thanks to you. He's like a normal boy now!'

Lilia wiped her eyes and nestled her head onto his shoulder. People in the square started moving again. The knight, satisfied with his work, marched back to the other knight with his chest puffed out. Life resumed as normal.

Except one thing was different. Another person now watched Byleth as well.

The red-haired woman in the white robes.

'He is not a normal boy,' Lilia said.

'No?'

'No, and the last thing I want is for everyone to forget that.'

'Ah c'mon, he basically is at this point!'

'Have you ever seen him cry?'

Arthur paused. 'Point taken.'

Lilia nodded. 'It is a good thing that he is treated normally, but we cannot forget that he is still different from everyone else. (She pointed at the girl near Byleth.) If she were to reject him right now for being different, if she were to slap him, for example, would he understand? Would he be able to… deal with it in his mind?'

Arthur shrugged. 'Sure, what you getting at?'

'I mean that if it were to affect him badly, but he could not cry or express his feelings, then would it damage him on the inside? That is what worried me when he started training with Alain. The man puts him through intense training that would break others, and if Byleth cannot release his pain, then trauma could be layering up inside him. And it is hard to read him. Sure, we can see a small smile on his face from time to time, but that is all. Have you ever seen him look angry? Or look upset?'

'No,' Arthur said. 'I get where you're coming from. But I think you'd know if something were bothering him. You'd see it in his actions and the way he carries himself. Look at him now, you really think he's struggling?'

'No,' Lilia said, watching the boy continue to console the girl. 'But until I see him cry and talk freely about his feelings, I will not drop my guard. We need to'-

She frowned. The red-haired woman approached Byleth and crouched down beside him.

At one moment Lara had never been happier. The next, she'd never felt so low.

How life had mocked her. For once she'd been able to scrounge enough food to fill her up. For once she'd felt good enough to run around and play with the other children. For once, for just a short while, she'd been able to forget about when she'd eat again, she'd been able to just smile and laugh and be a child.

And then the knight had shouted at her.

She'd frozen, her heart had thundered in her chest, and then she'd fallen. She was alone, and the only warmth she felt was blood trickling from her stinging nostrils. She mashed her eyes closed and tears streamed down her face.

It was a few moments later she felt something brush up against her leg. She looked down, wiping her eyes, and saw a scrap of paper cling to her leg. She reached with her free hand and picked it up.

'Excuse me.'

Lara jerked her head upward. She expected to see the knight again, but it wasn't him.

It was a boy.

He looked a similar age to her, slightly younger, perhaps. He had blue hair and peculiar purple eyes. His face was expressionless and yet it made her feel calm. He crouched down beside her.

'I need that paper,' he said, pointing at the scrap in her hand. 'May I have it?'

A shiver rushed down the girl's back. She'd never heard a voice like his. It was monotone and sounded like it belonged to someone far older than he, and yet, it eased her whimpering and made her shoulders sink. She raised the paper to him with one trembling arm. He nodded his thanks and took it, putting it into his pocket. He looked at her again. His eyes met hers and a warmth sparked in her chest. The boy reached back into his pocket and pulled out a tissue.

'I have not used it,' he said. 'Put it against your nose and hold it there until the bleeding stops.'

She stared at the tissue. Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. She nodded and took it, putting it up to her nose. 'Thank you,' she squeaked, not realising then that she was about to see something she'd never forget.

The boy nodded and a small smile appeared on his face. It was feint, yet…-

It's the sweetest smile I've ever seen, she thought.

She blinked. The pavement, houses, people and sky all blurred and spun, whirling around her like a hurricane. It should have scared her... and yet she only felt that same warmth radiating in her chest, stronger now. No longer did she feel like crying, she just wanted to smile. She looked up. The boy's face, his smile, was the only thing she could see clearly.

And it made her feel calm.

'My children.'

Lara jolted and nearly fell back. She blinked. The blurriness was gone. She looked up and saw a red-haired woman in white robes approach them. She crouched down beside them and put a hand on her shoulder.

'Are you okay my child?' she asked.

Lara removed the tissue from her nose, the bleeding had stopped. She nodded and rubbed her eyes again.

'I'm glad,' the woman said. 'Allow me to take you to the church to clean the dried blood away.'

Lara blinked. The woman squeezed her shoulder.

'Do not worry if you are unaware of her glory my child, I shall teach you all about her once I have cleaned your wounds and fed you.'

The thought of food and care made Lara forget her questions. She nodded. The woman smiled and turned to the boy.

'I watched your actions. You have been very kind to this poor girl in her time of need. What is your name?'

'Byleth,' the boy replied in that same peculiar voice. The woman's smile widened.

'Dear Byleth, you showed compassion and kindness to a fellow soul in need. On behalf of the goddess herself, I thank you. Please, continue to help those in need when you see them, and you shall be rewarded in this life and in the next.'

Lara watched the boy called Byleth. His face was expressionless and yet-

He doesn't know what the woman is talking about either, the girl thought.

The woman sensed his confusion as well. She put a hand on his shoulder.

'My child, have you not heard of the power above? The goddess herself?'

Byleth blinked. 'No.'

The woman's gentle smile didn't fade. 'The goddess is someone who watches over us. Please, join me and Lara at the church and allow me to'-

'Okay buckeroo, time to go!' a voice called out. Lara jumped. She watched as a skinny man with a shaggy beard approached and pulled the boy to his feet. He turned to the woman and gave a ridiculous bow. 'Thank you for your kind words and I will make sure that our kid continues to follow her awesomeness. Praise the goddess!'

Arthur led Byleth back to the bench, and that was the last time Lara ever saw him.

'How did we not notice her?' Lilia hissed.

'I did,' Arthur muttered, shaking his head. Byleth walked ahead of them and he kept his voice low. 'But usually priests wear those weird hats as well. I thought it must have just been a fancy-dress day for her.'

Lilia shook her head. 'Jeralt will be furious.'

'She didn't say much to him,' Arthur said. 'You heard him, just some nonsense about the goddess he'll forget by nightfall. I wouldn't worry. And besides, it's not as if Jeralt can shield him from Seiros forever. Byleth's gonna learn about it all at some point.'

Lilia looked ahead at Byleth. She sighed and nodded.

END OF BACKSTORY