Interlude: Seteth

Seteth had always been incredibly aware of Rhea's behavior.

On a regular day, she was cordial. Her image as the Archbishop of the Church of Seiros was one meant to uphold peace and fairness. Her title afforded her no opportunity for weakness, and she has shown none since her inauguration. Usually, he would be able to pick up when something was wrong.

But for the past few days, even he has struggled to make sense of her strange behavior. He noted that she was being overly cheerful, a glow about her to which he hadn't seen in centuries.

Seteth knew Rhea better than anyone.

She wasn't cruel, but apathetic. She cared not for the likes of man's 'dreams', but was driven by one thing and one thing only; and it was not the Order. Those who followed the teaching of Seiros were looked upon as the 'accepted' while those who did not were ruthlessly crushed. It was her way of keeping order in the world, even if she ultimately did not care for humans.

No, her true goals lay within the depths of the monestary—a goal that has failed for centuries. That seemed to be her driving force—a force he prayed succeeded for her own peace of mind, if not for his.

Then, a few weeks ago, he had seen Rhea smile, truly smile, for the first time in what felt like forever.

At first, Seteth found it endearing, but after some time, he began to feel a bit worried. What was the cause of her sudden change in attitude? Could it be that she'd found a breakthrough in her research?

The thought of her finding something after all these years brought Seteth joy, but his curiosity and concern for her kept him asking questions. He had asked her about her sudden happiness and what had caused it, but she was tight-lipped. He tried pushing, but she kept evading them with that smile that now seemed radiant.

That was most unlike her.

Despite her constant dodging, Seteth saught to find the truth behind her smile. It had been days since, and he had not found any success despite his diligence. He had even gone as far as asking his daughter for advice.

Her reply?

'Its a girl thing, Brother.'

Safe to say, the advice did not sit well with him. He was just at his wits end when he noticed something a few days back.

Around Rhea's neck was a necklace. Unlike her robes, Rhea did not adorn any jewelry on her body; most were sown onto the fabric of her outfit. It was a simple thing—what looked to be some kind of red spiral symbol connected by a string. It looked out of place with the gold and splendor of her robes, yet she did not look at all worried about it. In fact, it seemed to make her glow brighter, if possible.

Of course, being one to conform to propriety, he inquired about it. To his astonishment, her face lit up, yet she revealed nothing other than 'it was a gift'.

If that didn't scream that something had happened, then Seteth was a dense fool. Of all the things he'd expected it to be, love was nowhere near the top of the list.

Where had she met this man? Better yet, when had she had the opportunity to meet one? To the best of his knowledge, she had not left the monastery without him being far behind. The chances of her intermingling with the knights of Seiros were even less likely. They rarely, if ever, spoke with the Archbishop if not for reporting important matters, and when they did, it was either Alois or he who were the ones reporting. A noble family was ever more unlikely. To his knowledge, there were none foolish enough to court the Archbishop, and even if they were, Rhea had no love for humanity. So, if it weren't any of those options, then who could it possibly be?

Deciding that pondering the possibilities would get him nowhere, he decided to be more straight-forward.

Standing before her door at the reasonable hour of 2000 hours, Seteth thought of how he was going to bring the matter up. If Rhea had truly found love in another, then it was no business of his to intervene. It may not look favorable to the public if she were truly infatuated with someone, but he was sure Rhea cared not what the masses thought. He could bring up how this could potentially bring scrutiny to the Church of Seiros if she were found to be in relations with a noble, but once again, would she truly care? The smile he'd seen her wear in the last few weeks came back to him, giving him all the answers he needed.

Not finding a proper reason to bring up the topic, Seteth opted to retreat and draw up another plan of action.

That is, until he heard voices behind the closed door.

Immediately, he was before the structure once more. Rhea's voice was easy to identify enough, yet going by the multiple laughs he could hear, there was more than one behind this door.

Seteth gulped. Propriety told him that eavesdropping was not only uncouth, but highly criminal. Not only that, but he was listening in on not only his friend, his family, but the Archbishop of the Church of Seiros. There would be no excuse for what he was doing if he were caught.

And yet, hearing Rhea laugh, genuinely laugh, was enough to forgo all ramifications and put his ear to the door.

A voice he'd never heard before was speaking, their voice slightly high in pitch, yet very boastful. It spoke of something about a 'blockhead' but he couldn't make out the rest of the sentence. Rhea spoke up after this, her tone higher in pitch than he'd heard, which hinted that she was either happy or on the brink of laughter. Sure enough, the three voices were enough to send her giggling once again, it sounding not nearly as enthusiastic as the other two. Another voice piped in, and it sounded...familiar...wait.

Was that...Flayn?

Since when had they had such late nights together? And without informing him?

Seteth felt a bit of frustration build within him despite who it was aimed at, but squashed it ruthlessly. There had to be a reason for Flayn not informing him of this development, so he would hold out judgment until she told him personally. For now, he needed to listen further. Rhea may not reveal anything to him on the matter of love, but he was sure Flayn had the charm to bring up the topic. He'd just have to wait for said topic to surface.

It was as he was thinking that when, all at once, the voices stopped. Blinking, Seteth looked to the door as if it had suddenly become see-through.

Was he caught? Did they somehow catch on to him? But how? He had made no sudden movements; no noise. How could they-

"Seteth, I would appreciate it if you'd come inside instead of eavesdropping on my quarters." The voice of Rhea answered his question easily enough.

Despite his heart nearly leaving his chest, Seteth stood to his usual confident gait and opened the door. He was immediately greeted by the sight of the four voices sitting at a table in the middle of the room. Tea cups sat in front of them all, yet he only recognized two of the four occupants.

Rhea and Flayn were easy enough, both of them giving him smiles he thought could pass as smugness despite their serenity. Next to them sat two shorter figures, one more so than the other. The girl bore the same hair color as his own, but the fact she was lying on her side in midair was more eye-catching than the resemblance.

The boy, however, was definitely the most out of place. He was blonde, yet his bangs were the color of Rhea's own. Whisker marks adorned his face, and the deepest seafoam eyes he'd seen stared back at him emotionlessly.

Seteth was momentarily stunned. Rhea's hair may have been dyed to a slightly darker shade for her role as 'Rhea', but he knew her true color as Seiros. He did not know the boy, but the patch of hair in his front was enough to make him speculate in the short time he had been observing him.

To think, of all the things it could have been, Rhea, the immaculate one, had a child.

But, but how? When had she been with child? Who was the father? How did they have time to elope? Where is the man now? How was she able to hide her pregnancy? Why did she not trust him with such a secret but was willing to confide in his daughter? And who was the one next to the child? Was she a distant cousin? A Nabatean he did not know of? Maybe a new crest bearer Rhea wished to introduce to the masses?

Letting out a sigh, Seteth prayed to the Goddess. The scandal this would bring would be bigger than he'd originally thought...

Fortunately for him, it wasn't long before he'd found his fears weren't warranted. Instead, they were completely and utterly stomped out and replaced with a reality he never thought he would live to see.

A/N: So, for those who did not see the announcement a few hours ago, a temporarily put this story on here this because the site randomly deleted six of my chapters... Thankfully, they are all back and running, but I truly don't know if that was a temporary thing or permanent. Raise the rating for the story to see if that was the problem, but don't know if I'll change it back or not.