This is a short story inspired by a beautiful drawing by the user AngelhhtA on twitter which was also posted the same day on r/fireemblem, 31 december 2022. It is called "Mercenary's New Year." Look it up!
Night had fallen over Fódlan, covering it in darkness as the last day of the year approached its end. The citizens of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus were putting the final touches to their annual bonfire event which is held at the end of the year, to celebrate and welcome in a new year. Since the former territories of the Empire and the Alliance have their own traditions in celebrating the new year it is something done mostly in the original territories of Faerghus, despite the fact that the Kingdom now rules all of Fódlan.
These events are mostly organized by the respective village or local community that come together to build a large bonfire that people could gather around and enjoy with those around them. Food and drinks are often given away for free, everyone bringing something with them and sharing what they have with others. Thanks to its simplicity it's a fairly easy and open event which has also made it popular for many.
Several people had gathered material for the fire that was about to be lit. As the people gathered around the large pile of wood, sticks and other burnable materials doused with oil, the elder of the village came forward with a torch as he started the fire to the joy of the people watching.
As the fire grew, people in different groups all stood around watching and talking amongst each other. Some were gathered with their respective families, others in groups of friends or neighbors. The environment was lighthearted and some went around offering snacks and beverages for those that wanted it.
At the outskirts of the fire's light stood a young man with dark clothes covered by his winter outerwear. His teal hair was starting to get covered by snow as he stood there, his hand resting in a relaxed manner on the sword at this side. His eyes were fixed on the fire and his mind in another place as he watched the flames in quiet solitude.
"Some mead, my lord?" The man was brought back from his thoughts as he noticed a brown haired woman in front of him, offering one of several mugs of mead she was carrying with her.
She seemed young, probably not more than twenty and her long hair was fixed as a bun on the back of her head. Her smile was striking and face gentle.
"Thank you." The man reached out and his gloved hand took two mugs and with his other he put a coin on the tray. He mentioned that he was waiting for someone to join him, just so it didn't seem that he was taking advantage of their hospitality.
The woman looked surprised at the coin he had placed on the tray and shook her head before explaining that the drinks were free of charge.
"Think of it as my contribution to the village, since we were late arrivals and couldn't bring anything with us to share." He said as he smiled at the woman and took a sip of the mead.
The woman accepted the explanation as she curtsied before leaving him alone again.
The man in question, Byleth Eisner, watched the woman go over to the next group as she offered them drinks as well. The familiarity as he watched the people talk to each other, gather around with their friends, neighbors and loved ones to share laughs and stories around the bonfire this chilly night with the snow falling down, was something he couldn't help but smile at. Just seeing everyone happy and content made him equally as such. He knew how important it was to treasure those moments of happiness.
He was currently in a village along the road between Garreg Mach and the Kingdom capital, Fhirdiad. On his way back to Garreg Mach they had been stopped by bad weather the day before, which had forced them and their escort to halt their journey. Before they left the capital Dimitri had offered to have them stay at the castle but they had wanted to get back to Garreg Mach in time for the new year.
Even though the weather had cleared enough earlier today they had decided to stay another night at the local inn, preferring that over spending the rest of the day in their carriage.
He took out a heavy locket from his inner pocket and opened it. In it was a small painting of him, Lysithea and their then 3 month old daughter Rose. Both him and Lysithea were smiling in the picture and you could see Rose sleeping in her mother's arms with Byleth holding them both close to him. That had been almost four months ago, how time had flown by since then.
Byleth had commissioned Ignatz to do the painting and the young man had been quick to accept but declined Byleth's offer to receive monetary compensation for his work. Ignatz said that it was his way of thanking him for giving him the courage to do what he wanted in life; paint beautiful things all around the world.
Smiling at the picture he felt someone come up behind him and as he turned around he felt an arm sneak around his waist, feeling a small but familiar body pressed against him.
He closed the pendant and put it safely away in his pocket as he saw his wife and partner in life, Lysithea Von Eisner, smile up at him. He couldn't help but do the same as he leaned in and kissed her, his free hand snuck itself around her waist and pressed her body even closer against him.
They stood there for a few seconds, their lips locked in a soft kiss before Byleth leaned back and put his forehead against hers, enjoying the feeling of her body against his.
"Just who I was thinking about." He said with a small portion of humor as he reluctantly created some space between them and offered her one of the mugs of mead he had taken.
"Sorry for the wait, Rose woke up and took a bit more time than expected to get back to sleep." Lysithea took the mug of mead from him and as she did she could smell the content. She turned towards Byleth with a look that said "Really?".
Byleth couldn't help but chuckle as he saw Lysithea's face. He knew she wasn't really one for mead but there wasn't much else offered..
"It's alright Lysithea, I suspected it was Rose that kept you." Byleth said understandingly before he put their mugs of mead together. "As for the mead, there wasn't much else to choose from but I can go and check if they have something else if you want." Byleth offered her.
"No, definitely not. I will drink this thank you very much." He could see a familiar look of determination in her eyes. The look that she got whenever she didn't want others to fuss over her or she just decided that she had to do something, to hell with anyone trying to stop her.
"To the new year" Byleth lifted his mug before Lysithea mirrored him. He took a sip of the mead which wasn't that bad actually. He wasn't much of a mead person either, the beverage mostly reminded him of his days back as a mercenary with his father, but this actually tasted decent. Byleth sent a silent thought to his father, wherever he was, hoping he had joined up with his mother so that they could once again be happy together.
As he heard Lysithea cough and saw the grimace on her face after she had taken a sip of the mead, Byleth was once again impressed at how much she put herself through despite her obvious distaste for the beverage. And while Byleth appreciated the gesture that she tried it anyway he felt a bit guilty and didn't want to see her suffer more than she had so he took out a small bottle from his pocket and gave it to her as he took back the mug from her hand.
"What's this?" she looked at the bottle curiously, examining it.
"Just a small souvenir I planned to give to you when we came back home but I figured this is probably the right time to do it instead. It's a juice made from oranges that a merchant sold in the capital. I bought a few just before we left."
Lysithea was quite fond of the juice had he realized one time when he had brought some with him after a trip to the capital. He saw her face lit up as he explained what it was and quickly opened it and took a small sip.
The satisfied and relaxed face that replaced her earlier grimace showed that this taste was clearly more suited for her.
"Thank you for joining me on the trip, and sorry for the last minute heads up." Byleth offered an apology to his wife as she settled in next to him, one of her arms around his waist.
"It's alright love. I scolded Dimitri for taking advantage of your good-heartedness." Lysithea's head leaned against his shoulder as she found a comfortable position, slowly enjoying her gift and its sweet taste.
Byleth looked down at her with amusement, his mind picturing how she, the relatively small lady that she was, stands and scolds the king of Fodlan who is just the "tiniest" bit bigger than her physically. He couldn't help but chuckle at the image.
"I hope you at least did it in private."
She looked up at him after hearing his chuckle, rolled her eyes as she answered. "Of course, do you think I'm cruel? Only Dedue was with him."
Byleth coughed as air came down the wrong throat. Well if nothing else Dedue must have thought it was an interesting sight to behold, Byleth thought to himself as his coughing settled down, feeling one of Lysithea's hands gently stroking his back in a soothing manner.
She looked at him and caught his eyes. "But you really need to be careful so Dimitri doesn't lean on you too much. I know you really want to help as much as you can, your good-hearted nature is one of the things I love about you. But people need to see him stand on his own as well. He is the King and you can't always be there behind him. We have enough rumors going around already."
Byleth took a sip of his drink. He knew where Lysithea was coming from with this. It wasn't the first time she had mentioned her worry. Byleth had been helping out Dimitri with a lot of reforms, especially one recently that he had planned that would help people get more involved with the governing of the land they lived in.
It had been many busy days and long evenings spent working on this with the King's many advisors and of course his friends and allies, particularly Duke Fraldarius and Margrave Gautier.
The reform would be a signal of a big change for many, and while the outcome of the reform was unknown, seen as too little by some, it would still mark a necessary change for the nobility to adapt to. And they were not very happy about it, they had let Dimitri know that very clearly.
With the opposition coming against Dimitri, Byleth had wanted to help however he could. But Lysithea was right, the King needed to stand on his own two feet, to be seen as the one in charge even when the wind was blowing against him. Byleth couldn't always be standing behind him holding him steady.
They didn't need more ammunition to the rumors that it was in fact Byleth ruling the lands, with the King as his puppet. It was a ridiculous rumor but they couldn't ignore the implication since it affected Dimitri's authority as monarch.
Byleth gave away one of his empty mugs to the woman who had passed by again, offering more to drink if they wanted. As they declined this time she continued on while Byleth gripped his remaining mug and sighed.
"I know, you are right Lysithea. It's just hard not to, I want his reforms to go well, to help however I can, but you are right that I need to be careful not to undermine his rule." Byleth felt Lysithea embrace his free hand that was now settled around her waist, squeezing it as she comforted him.
"Believe me my love, I can see how difficult the mere thought of it is but I think it can also be a good thing for Dimitri. Besides, it's not that you will abandon him or anything like that. Maybe you could start with just… limiting your travels a bit?." Lysithea offered helpfully with a hint of playfulness in her voice.
"So no more last minute travels right before the new year?" Byleth said with good humor in his voice.
Lysithea giggled, "No more of that." They stood there, holding each other for a minute until she added, "Though this is very nice, just being here with you. So thank you for this."
Byleth turned his head and looked at Lysithea, smiling as his gaze mirrored the love he saw in her eyes. He leaned down and caught her lips once more as he pulled her against his chest. Despite them both wearing heavy winter clothes they could still feel each other's warmth from their bodies as they took comfort together from the cold that surrounded them this eve they were both enjoying.
They stayed like that for a while, just enjoying spending some quiet time together when they suddenly heard music. As both Byleth and Lysithea turned towards it they saw that two men had begun playing a slow but upbeat music and that people were either listening to or swaying along with it, caught up in the rhythm.
As the two musicians continued playing, Byleth and Lysithea saw some people begin dancing around the fire while the flames bathed the area around it with light and the flames crackled in the air. Soon enough even Byleth and Lysithea couldn't resist as they slowly danced to the music, joining those that had begun earlier.
They both enjoyed the slow dancing, as they held onto each other and moved about as much as they could in the snow without making themselves trip.
And as the night progressed Byleth and Lysithea moved closer to the fire, the cold reminding them that they couldn't stand too far away from it as the both of them continued to enjoy the celebration around them. Byleth had one of his arms around Lysithea as they leaned against the wall of the small building next to them. They were both watching the bonfire burn with great intensity.
Byleth was just about to ask Lysithea if she wanted to dance with him again when he felt her start to lean more against him, her head against his shoulder. As he looked at her he could see that she was clearly fighting a losing battle to stay awake. Byleth smiled before he kissed the top of her head as he whispered to her.
"Let's head back sleepyhead."
As she was yawning Lysithea answered him and shook her head "No no, it's alright I want to stay here a little while longer."
Byleth chuckled to himself as he moved her in front of him, embracing her with both hands from behind. He felt Lysithea snuggle closer to his chest as she got comfortable leaning against him, quickly losing the battle to keep her eyes open. Byleth continued to hold her, supporting her as she relaxed in his arms.
His eyes returned to the bonfire and the people surrounding it, continuing their celebrations. He watched the dancing people move around the flames as they enjoyed the festivities, some with drinks in their hands, others with snacks or other things. He also saw couples that were holding hands or hugging each other as they whispered to each other.
He felt at peace as he enjoyed the moment and wondered what next year would bring them. He looked back down at Lysithea and knew that whatever happened he wanted them to have more moments like these with her.
Soon enough he felt Lysithea's body relax as she fell asleep standing in his arms, Byleth had anticipated this so he quickly caught her in his arms and held her gently as he watched his beautiful wife's sleeping face. She was so happy and relaxed, just as she should be, she deserved that for all she had gone through in her life.
Byleth knew there was still trouble out there, plotting against them and biding their time. Byleth was determined to find it and root it out once and for all, so that Lysithea, Rose and everyone else would be safe from their wicked plans. But that was for another day.
He gave his sleeping wife a kiss on her nose. Byleth smiled and once again counted himself lucky to have fallen in love with such a wonderful woman.
He turned from the fire and started to return to the inn where they were staying, as the music and the people's voices started to fade behind him he focused on bringing Lysithea back without waking her up. With some help he was able to bring her back to their room and, with some trouble, he eventually managed to get off her outerwear and put her down in their bed and tucked her in.
Byleth moved a stray piece of hair away from her face before he kissed her on the cheek and left her in bed as he turned to the adjacent room where Rose was currently resting. She was being watched over by one of their servants who had helped them as they went out to enjoy the bonfire.
"Thank you so much for the help, you can go to bed or go down and celebrate if you'd like."
"Thank you archbishop." The woman bowed before him before she left and closed the door behind her.
Byleth went over to where Rose was sleeping, she was still relatively small but growing steadily. She had her mother's eyes but Byleth's hair color. He smiled as he gently took his daughter into his arms and held her close to his chest. Slowly he walked back to their bedroom and sat down on their bed, looking at their daughter in his arms as she rested.
For a while he just sat there with Rose, enjoying the moment as he heard the sound of her quiet breathing while she slept. When Rose was awake she was so curious about everything and one of Byleth's favorite things to do was to go around and show her different things as he watched Rose's eyes take it all in, her small arms and hands wanting to touch everything. It was so adorable that Byleth kept doing it as much as he could whenever he had the free time to do it.
Suddenly he felt a hand on his thigh and as he turned his head he saw Lysithea who was awake again, though only barely. Her tired eyes told him that her body wanted to sleep but her mind was fighting it.
"Hey love" Byleth said in a low voice so he wouldn't wake up Rose.
"Hey, sorry I fell asleep..." Lysithea whispered, crawling closer to him on the bed as she sat herself up next to him, leaning her head against his.
"It's alright Lysithea, it's been a long day." Byleth said gently, putting his arm around her and holding her close as he held Rose with his other arm.
"I really enjoyed the celebration this year." Lysithea mumbled.
"Me too, it was simple but such an inviting way of celebrating with others. I've never actually been to one of these before. Maybe we can go to one next year as well."
"Yeah..." Lysithea said as she was falling asleep again. Byleth knew she was trying to fight it off so they could spend more time together. Sadly it wasn't often they had these moments as a family and so she was clearly trying to cherish it.
Byleth felt a bit guilty for this. He had promised himself to make more time for them, especially now that they had Rose as well. Despite his promise he had been kept more busy than he thought by duties as Archbishop. He really needed to step up and make some changes for not only himself but most of all for Lysithea and Rose. Vowing to himself to speak with Seteth as soon as they got back he would make sure that some of his duties could be filled in by Seteth. He was more than capable at handling many himself with only minor input from Byleth.
"Go to sleep Lysithea, you need to rest."
"Mhm..." Byleth didn't get more out of her and after a few minutes passed he felt Lysithea's breathing had once again become deeper, knowing she had fallen asleep once more. Byleth knew it was time to put both of them to bed. He kissed Lysithea's forehead as he laid her down on the bed again.
"Good night Lysithea" He got up from the bed and went back and placed Rose gently down in her crib.
"Good night Rose" He kissed his daughter gently on her forehead before returning to their room as he started to undress and then slipped under the covers and snuggled up next to the sleeping Lysithea, holding her in his arms.
"Happy new year to both of you" Byleth whispered before he fell asleep, joining his wife and daughter in quiet slumber as the celebrations continued until dawn.