Byleth and Catherine entered their room and quickly got out of their winter riding gear to gather around their lit fireplace. While the winter had been mild so far, traveling any distance in the cold will quickly have anyone wishing for a warm fire. Byleth sat down on a couch near the fireplace, took off his damp gloves, and stretched out his hands towards the fire. Catherine took a seat next to him and leaned over to wrap her arms around his shoulders.
Byleth looked down at Catherine lovingly, right now the only thing that could make this whole situation better is if they had something warm to drink. He took a quick glance around the room and saw a carafe of hot water near his tea supplies, no doubt a thoughtful servant had left it there before the pair had come in. He leaned over and grabbed a bag of Rose Petal Blend and started making tea. During his time at Garreg Mach Byleth had become quite adept at making tea and while he couldn't claim to be as good as someone like Lorenz or Ferdinand he could practically make tea blindfolded. He poured out a cup for Catherine and himself and handed one over to her.
Byleth poured out a cup of tea and handed it to Catherine, the soft aroma of rose petals filling the air. She took it with a playful smile, keeping one arm draped around his shoulders.
"Rose Petal?" she asked, arching a brow. "You really didn't have to."
"Why wouldn't I? It's your favorite," Byleth said, brushing a stray lock of hair from her face.
"You're not trying to win points with me, are you?"
"Maybe." Byleth leaned closer, his voice a soft murmur. "Is it working?"
Catherine chuckled, setting her cup down as she closed the distance between them. Her lips met his in a kiss that tasted of tea and warmth, her touch firm and familiar. She pressed him back onto the sofa, her body settling against his. Byleth's hand fumbled to set his cup aside without spilling it, but soon enough his arms were around her, holding her close.
For a moment, time seemed to stand still, the only sound the crackling fire beside them.
Then Byleth gently pulled back, just enough to look into her eyes. "Wait—just a moment."
Catherine blinked in surprise, her hands still lingering under the hem of her shirt. "Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing's wrong." He smiled, though his voice was softer now, more thoughtful. "I just... wanted to talk first."
"Oh, of course" she said before leaning back off Byleth "I haven't been too rough with you, have I?"
Byleth couldn't help but blush at that comment, "No you've been fantastic. The only time you've hurt me is when you knock me down during our sparring matches."
Catherine let out a sigh of relief "If it's not that then what is it?" she asked
"Since things have been pretty quiet around here," Byleth said leaning back on his elbows, " and reports say that the imperial remnants in faerghus seem to have gone to ground for the winter. I was wondering if you would want to make that trip to visit your family soon."
Catherine let out another sigh, and rested her head on his chest "I guess it was only a matter of time until we had this talk. I can't say I've been looking forward to this trip but I suppose I can stomach returning home so long as you stay by my side."
"We both know you wouldn't let me out of your sight," Byleth said, taking her gently playing the ring that adorned her hand. "Would you write a letter telling your family we're coming?"
"Writing a letter?" Catherine asked "I'd face down 100 demonic beasts for you but I'm sorry writing a letter is too far for me."
Byleth looked down and saw Catherine's bright blue eyes looking up at him, a smirk across her lips. Byleth couldn't help but smile back at her. They stayed like that with her resting on top of him.
"That can wait until tomorrow, for now you have my undivided attention" Byleth whispered into his lover's ear.
That was all Catherine needed to hear before she continued from where she left off, practically tearing her shirt off and revealing her toned form to the Byleth. Things naturally continued from there with the pair enjoying each other throughout the night.
On the 11th of Guardian Moon, the couple left for the County of Charon. On their journey north, they made a stop by Zanado to visit Rhea for her Birthday and to drop off additional supplies. Apparently a massive wave of snow was expected to come in soon and so the pair left for the city of Styx in hope of getting there before they were snowed in.
They left with only a small contingent of guards for their journey, a few dozen loyal men and women in case the pair were to run into trouble along the way. Byleth was certain that he and Catherine alone could have survived any ambush made by any opportunistic bandits but in some ways the war still wasn't over in the former kingdom. While imperial remnants throughout Faerghus had mostly been situated in the former Dukedom territory, information on their whereabouts had become sparse during the winter.
The precautions would end up being unnecessary however after a day of travel through the mountains they found themselves at the gates of Castle Styx. The castle and surrounding city were impressive and were built with the traditional Faerghus ideals of function over form. While it wasn't as impressive as Arianrhod, Fort Merceus, or Fodlan's Locket it seemingly remained untouched by the war. The only blemishes upon the castle was the thin layer of snow topping the castle's roofs and walls.
It was lightly snowing with a somewhat strong wind as they approached the city. As they entered into the city people exited from their homes into the snowy streets to see their new king and the returning heiress. House Charon soldiers stood in the streets at attention forming a path towards the keep at the center of the city. Catherine and Byleth quietly rode in on horseback side by side.
They rode into the courtyard of the castle from the front gate and were greeted by a number of knights flanking them on either side. Directly in front of them was they saw three people standing out among the knights, each wearing fur coats, mountain lion if Byleth had to guess. The first among them was Duke Castor Charon standing tall in the wind and snow even at his somewhat advanced age, his blonde hair was cut short and was complemented by a well trimmed beard. His face was marked by an old scar from his cheek to his jaw, likely an old wound from a battle.
The second in line was likely Catherine's mother. Her hair was platinum blonde and kept in a bun that kept it out of her face. Byleth immediately noticed similarities between his wife to be and her mother, besides a few wrinkles from age and a slight difference in tan; their facial structures were really similar.
The third and final figure wore their hood up and Byleth got only a brief glance before all in the courtyard kneeled before him and his wife. The bow lowered their head and obscured their face. Instantly Byleth felt put on edge, they were surrounded on all sides and this unidentified figure felt like an ill omen. He still remembered the Agarthan mages and their deceitful tactics that nearly brought ruin to his battle strategies during the war on earlier occasions. Even still when they got to the center of the courtyard he climbed down from his horse, Catherine following him a moment later. Both had always preferred to fight on foot and while he hoped that his tension was nothing more than a false alarm it soothed him still.
They both walked towards Catherine's family, it wasn't until they were within touching distance that Catherine's parents rose followed immediately by the various knights around the courtyard. A moment of silence passed before Count Charon spoke.
"Your Grace, welcome to Styx. This is my wife, Elysia" he said, gesturing towards the older woman at his side.
"It's an honor to meet you, Your Grace" she said with a curtsy.
"The pleasure is all mine" Byleth responded
"And this…" Castor started before Catherine suddenly interrupted as she took a look at the face under the hood.
"Helena?!" Catherine excitedly asked, "It's so good to see you!"
"Cass!" Helena cheered "Oh I never thought I'd see you again".
Helena was evidently Catherine's sister, she was a few years younger, likely 21 or 22. She had softer features than the rest of her family and had long wavy blonde hair. She was slightly paler and shorter than the rest of her family. While the rest of house Charon were pretty serious in demeanor Helena almost immediately broke protocol, stepped forward and hugged her sister.
"Whoa!"Catherine exclaimed, before reciprocating her sister's hug.
"I apologize for her, Your Grace, she's simply excited to be reunited with her sister," Elysia said with a bow.
"Honestly, I expected more of this type of thing," he said, gesturing towards the hugging sisters "if anything this is a welcome change of pace."
"Ah, well, in that case, we can continue catching up inside, out of the cold," Castor said, "gesturing toward the front door."
"Alright, lead the way," Byleth said.
The five of them walked and talked down the halls of castle Styx, Helena talked with Catherine for much of the journey both catching each other up on what happened in their lives. Catherine spoke extensively on her time at the monastery and in the knights of Seiros.
"I knew you would have been at Garreg Mach!" Helena exclaimed "I was practically begging Mom and Dad to let me go for a year."
"Right, you turned 17 in 1181" Catherine said rubbing her hand at the back of her head "things may have gotten pretty awkward if we ran into each other, especially seeing how 'Cassandra' was supposed to be dead".
"You were a professor at Garreg Mach before, right?" Helena asked, now looking toward Byleth "Maybe you would've taught me."
"I taught the Golden Deer and you likely would have been assigned to the Blue Lions so you would have had to transfer classes for that to happen" Byleth replied.
"I'm sure I would have found out about Cass and you by then" Helena said with a smile "and I would have had no choice but to join your class to figure out what was going on."
"We didn't really start dating until the end of the war but I'm sure you'd have ended up in the right cla… " Catherine cut herself off as her parents both abruptly stopped in their tracks.
"Sorry," she said almost timidly, "what I meant to say was-"
"No, you're right," Elysia said, failing at hiding the bitterness in her voice. "We all know how the war ended and how the Golden Deer were the only ones to fully survive."
Everyone stopped in the hall as the air was filled with an uncomfortable silence. Catherine had expected this to happen but not this early into the trip. It was a blessed reprieve when Castor spoke and broke the silence.
"That's all in the past now," he said putting a hand on Catherine's shoulder "we should be celebrating the end of the war and your return, not moping around a hallway."
Catherine gave a light chuckle "Thanks Dad, you always know what to say."
"That reminds me of one thing I would like to do before we bring you to your room," Castor said, moving down the hall and gesturing toward a doorway.
"I thought it was strange we weren't heading to the guest rooms" Catherine remarked walking to the door.
As she looked into the room she saw a familiar sight, an ornate room walls lined with tapestries with an ornate display case in its center, Thunderbrand's display room. It was practically unchanged since she had last been here all those years ago. The tapestries still showed the "Hero" Charon wielding Thunderbrand in various different battles of legend. The display case in the middle had a perfect indentation for Thunderbrand to rest.
Even if the room hadn't changed Catherine had, she looked around at the tapestries lining the walls and felt a tinge of disgust. The truth of Charon, Nemesis, and the rest of the "Heroes" of the Ten Elites brought everything into a new context. She had even crossed blades and bested her ancestor, or at least the shell that had been resurrected alongside Nemesis. Even her perception of Thunderbrand had changed, once the sword was her pride and soul, now knowing that it was the remains of Rhea's family she only kept the sword at her side for its power.
"When I gifted it to you I had always hoped that one day you would return to put it back in its rightful resting place," Castor said, breaking Catherine out of her thoughts. "If only for a few nights would you allow us to keep hold of our prized relic?"
She looked down at the sword at her side before looking back to Byleth. He gave a small nod and she placed a hand on Thunderbrand's pommel feeling the warmth of the crest stone. In a series of slow deliberate motion she undid the latches that kept Thunderbrand in its sheath and pulled the large blade out. She flipped the sword so that the flat of the blade rested on her hand before slowly lowering it into its case.
"Thank you, it means so much to us all that Thunderbrand is returned to us" Castor said.
"Sure," Catherine replied, feeling somewhat naked without a sword at her side. "I am going to want that back before we leave though."
Her father replied with a simple smile and a nod, "Of course".
The rest of the walk went by without incident until they reached their guest room. Byleth entered the room first, the stone architecture was livened up by deep blue carpets and curtains and an already lit fireplace. A king sized bed lay to one side its drapes the same blue as the carpets. Their luggage was already in the room and various items were already unpacked and placed around the room.
"Well, home sweet home" Catherine said as she walked into the room.
"Actually," Castor stepped forward, "before you make yourself comfortable I'm afraid there's one more thing we would ask of you."
"Of course," Byleth replied, "whatever you need."
"I'm afraid this is a family matter, Your Grace." Castor responded "I hope you can understand."
Byleth gave a simple nod.
"Wait, before I go, what is this about?" Catherine asked, somewhat weary of the notion of leaving the side of the man she swore to protect.
"It's about Damian and Antheia," Elysia said, solemnly.
"Oh, I see" she said before cutting herself off, "they're right I should go alone."
Byleth thought about what Catherine had told him about her family on the trip here. Damian and Antheia were the two middle siblings between Catherine and Helena, whatever involved them was no doubt a family matter. "Go, I'll be waiting for you," Byleth replied.
Catherine left her fiance behind and went with her family back down the halls of castle Styx. Eventually heading down beneath the castle, not to the dungeons but down further than that. As Catherine realized where they were heading in down her heart sank, they were heading down into the crypt. Various heirlooms from generations of their family practically lined the walls of the crypt, the air was cold with the only sources of light and heat coming from various candles lining the walls. They walked among the well maintained graves of centuries of deceased Charons until they reached the most recent additions to the crypt.
Side by side were two new sarcophagi, on top of each a figure of knight in armor was carved from stone. Without even looking at the names engraved into them Catherine immediately identified the two figures as her siblings. Biting back tears she took a moment to process the death of her brother and sister.
"I didn't …" Catherine started before cutting herself off.
"Take your time," Castor whispered, putting a hand on her shoulder "let it all out."
"No, I…" Catherine took a moment to collect herself, " How did they die?"
"Damian fell a year into the war, he was fighting in the west against the Dukedom" Elysia answered "we were told he went down fighting like a true knight."
"After Damian died Mom and Dad got more protective over Antheia and me." Helena said,"they hardly allowed us to leave Styx much less go out and fight but when the young prince returned…"
"Antheia was insistent on joining him and it was our duty to support him" Castor continued "so Antheia marched with him, leading many of our bannermen into battle."
Catherine suddenly felt a pit in her stomach, she knew what that meant.
"She died at the Battle of Gronder Field" Helena stated.
Catherine felt a pang of guilt, that would mean that her own sister had died in battle against her and she never even knew it. It was like Christophe all over again, had someone close to her died once more because of her duty? No, if she had known it would have been different, she could have sought Antheia out and convinced her to stop.
"She took an arrow and fell from her pegasus," Castor continued, "this sarcophagus is empty, we never even found her body."
"I'm sorry" Catherine said, still holding back tears, "I didn't know."
"None of this was your fault" Elysia said, putting a hand on her daughter's shoulder.
"I was there, if I had known, I could have saved her," Catherine replied.
"Yes but you can still avenge her," Castor said, also putting his hand on her shoulder.
This confused Catherine, Edelgard, the source of much of her grief, was already dead. The Agarthans, the ones who orchestrated the war, were almost entirely crushed when Shambhala was destroyed. The only one responsible who remained unpunished was Cornelia, the Faerghus Dukedoms leader who disappeared at the end of the war, but she was only tangentially related to Antheia's death.
"Don't worry, Byleth and I have been searching for Cornelia to bring her to justice, and we won't stop until we can drag her out of the darkness and into the light" Catherine replied.
"Yes, of course…" Castor quietly trailed off.
"We'll be here for you for as long as you need to grieve Cassandra" Elysia said.
A few minutes passed, Catherine spent some of it just reminiscing about her childhood with her siblings, some of it praying to the goddess, and some of it silently cursing the war that claimed the lives of her siblings. Eventually Catherine stood up, hugged her family and they all went back up to the surface. They walked Catherine back to her and her fiance's room.
"A servant will come and get you once dinner is ready, it should only take around an hour," Elysia said with a smile.
"Thanks Mom, I look forward to having a meal with you guys." Catherine said with a smile before closing the door to their room. She turned around to Byleth who was sitting in a chair reading from a book. She leaned back against the door before slowly sliding down until she was sitting on the floor.
Byleth put the book down and sat up before walking over to Catherine who was still dejectedly sitting on the floor.
"Bad news?" he asked.
"The worst," she answered.
Byleth leaned down and offered her his hand. She gladly took his hand and lifted herself to her feet and hugged him in a single motion. She leaned on and held onto him, holding onto him like her life depended on it.
"They're gone, they're both gone" she whispered, trying to keep the tears in.
They held each other for a minute, Byleth doing his best to comfort her.
"Eventually you and Helena will be the only people I have left. I can't, I won't lose you, promise me you'll always stay with me."
"'For now and forever, you can't escape me' that what you said after I proposed to you, I'll always stay with you."
"Thank you" Catherine said, wiping away a few stray tears before perking up into her normally cheerful mood. "Anyways I promised to show you around on the way here, right? There's no point moping around so let's go!"
The pair left and Catherine showed Byleth her favorite places around Styx from her childhood. After an hour as predicted a servant found them and asked them to prepare for dinner. They didn't have many preparations to make other than to switch out of their traveling clothes into something a bit more comfortable. When they arrived at the table they found the rest of Catherine's family already seated around the table, the seat at the head of the table was vacant for Byleth as well as a second seat next to it.
They talked as the various courses of dinner were brought out, primarily speaking of Catherine's childhood and occasionally discussing stories from Byleth's mercenary days. The couple tried to subtly keep the conversation away from the war lest any more bad memories be brought up. Eventually stories from their officer's academy days were brought up and Byleth was able to tell them all about the various hijinks the Golden Deer were able to get up to during their year together.
Only once did the conversation threaten to become hostile, when the conversation turned to the Battle of the Eagle and the Lion. Byleth was describing the party after the battle and Catherine saw that Elysia was gripping the armrest of her chair hard enough to dig her nails into the wood. Catherine prepared to change the topic when Castor put a hand on her shoulder, and whispered something in her ear that seemed to make her calm down. Catherine was relieved if not wondering what made her calm down like that.
The food was also excellent, with all sorts of dishes being served to accommodate them. They had even served Catherine's childhood favorite food, Sauteed Airmid Pike, Catherine and Byleth tore through it, leaving little left afterwards. Both of them were big eaters and for Catherine it was the first home cooking she'd had in a long time.
In the end everything went smoothly and they were able to avoid any topics that might bring the mood down even after the wine was broken out. When Byleth and Catherine excused themselves back to their rooms they were only slightly tipsy and were able to make their way back to their rooms without issue.
"That was good," Catherine said as she sat down on their bed and began taking off her shoes "it's nice to have a good meal with good company."
"Hmm?" Byleth said in an inquisitive tone "do you think we need to hire a new chef, or should I be working on my conversational skills?"
Catherine let out a yawn "You know what I meant, and plus you've come a long way since we first met. I remember you would hardly say two words in an entire conversation."
"I'd like to think that it's because of the time I spent around Garreg Mach with you and the rest" he said, letting out his own yawn.
"Hmm" Catherine mumbled, trying and failing to stop herself from yawning once again, "goddess, I'm feeling sleepy after a big meal like that."
"Me too" Byleth said, as he struggled to keep his eyelids open "there must be something about your chef's cooking that makes one tired."
Catherine didn't respond as even though she was still fully dressed she had slumped over on her side and had fallen asleep.
"Dear?" Byleth said, himself struggling to ward off sleep.
He sat next to her and shook her shoulder trying to wake her. Even as he was trying to wake her he felt his own desire to sleep quickly grow. Even in his addled state he realized something was wrong.
"Poison" he said with a slight slur to his speech. He tried to stand but found his legs unwilling to cooperate, he soon found that he couldn't keep his back straight as he suddenly fell to his side. As he was falling asleep he desperately tried to divine pulse but found he couldn't concentrate enough to send himself back, and with that he fell into a deep sleep.
A minute later a servant opened the door to see the King and his fiance fat asleep. She quickly rushed over to the other Charons who had been waiting in a nearby lounge.
"Milord" she said with a curtsy "they've both fallen asleep."
"Finally" Elysia groaned "we put enough poison in their food to knock out a family of bears, I thought they would have fallen asleep half an hour ago."
"They both survived the war on the front lines" Helena said "it only makes sense that they're a bit hardier than a normal person."
"Enough," Castor said "Now we move onto the next step, signal to the men to apprehend the usurper's guards and move him to cells beneath the keep."
"And what of Cassandra?" the servant asked.
Castor paused for a moment before answering her "have someone take her to her room but tell them that no harm is to come to her."
"It will be done milord" she said as she walked off to execute his orders.
"There's no going back now," Elysia said.
"We were never going to back out," Castor said. "we're going to get our daughter back and avenge the young prince, it's what any knight of Faerghus would do."