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It was late. Seteth set down his quill and shuffled the pages on his desk in front of him. He quickly sorted them into piles for the morning before grabbing the lantern that burned quietly at his side. With one last look at the clock, he sighed and made his way to the door.
It was night three in a row of returning to bed at nearly midnight.
He had promised Byleth the late nights would be less, but promises were hard to keep in this last moon. There was too much to do, and too little time to do it all. With Byleth otherwise occupied, it left him with what seemed like a mountains worth of tasks that needed to be done in the next few weeks. He closed and locked his office door behind him, finding the stairs to make his way up to the room he shared with his wife. As he crested the top of the steps he was greeted by an unwanted sight. Exasperation left him with the sound of his sigh when the guard at the archbishop's door saluted him. The constant knights showing up while he left Byleth unattended irritated Seteth to no end, and he tried to hide it away from his tone of voice. "I am back. No need to keep guarding. And really, I am just down the stairs."
"I apologize! Just following the captain's orders, sir!"
Seteth rubbed a spot on the side of his temple. "Let Captain Rangeld know I would like to speak with him tomorrow," Seteth said with little heat, a yawn following. "You are dismissed."
"Thank you, sir!" Seteth winced when the armored man clanked down the hall and hoped Byleth wasn't awake to hear it.
When he turned the doorknob and let himself in, he was surprised to see his wife wide awake, up, dressed in a knee length dress, and struggling to put on her slippers. She had one already on her foot and was almost hopping in place to get the other on. She stopped when she saw him in the doorway. Seteth glanced at the time and raised an eyebrow. She gave him a bemused lift of her shoulder. "Really? It's midnight."
"Tell that to whoever this is," she whined, motioning to her extended belly. "I would rather be asleep." She leaned against the wall once again on one foot, trying and failing to hook her slipper onto her heel. It was her left leg giving her trouble as it always seemed to do whenever she needed anything accomplished. "Remind me to find better shoes."
Seteth couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him. He closed the door, and swiftly made his way to his very pregnant wife. Byleth frowned when he took the shoe from her, but it melted into a relieved sigh when he bent over onto his knees to slip it on instead. With her hands steadying herself on his shoulders, he reached over to the end of the bed where the cloth she wrapped around her left knee sat, and carefully tied that around her as well. He laid a hand to the back of her thigh after to steady himself as he affectionately nuzzled her belly with the tip of his nose. That earned a gentle laugh from his wife above him. "Thank you," she said as he stood back up. "That would have taken me ages. Come along now."
"And just where are we off to?"
"The kitchen. I need a snack." Byleth made her way past him towards the door, setting a slow and wobbling pace. Seteth knew she couldn't see her feet and she was often unbalanced walking anywhere, so he quickly caught up to her, grabbing the lantern he had discarded walking in. She smiled at him when he opened the door, allowing him to lead her with a hand at her elbow.
Being with child had made Byleth happy, but just as easily frustrated her with how her body responded to most anything. Seteth knew not to hover, as much as he wanted to be around her every moment of every day since they had found out the news. He was always relieved when she didn't protest a guided hand.
It took them a few minutes, but finally they were on the steps that led them to the first floor. "And what is the little one craving tonight?" he asked aloud.
"Something salty." Byleth held onto the railing, carefully putting one foot in front of the other as they descended the staircase. Seteth kept an eye on her swaying gait. "Or cheese. I can't tell yet."
"Well, luckily both of those things should be very easy to find," Seteth mused, matching her step for step. "Did we not have something with cheese for dinner?"
"I could eat three more helpings of that cheese stew." Byleth walked off the last step and sighed. She pulled one hand to her hip, wincing. "And by the feel of it, baby is ready for some as well."
"Active tonight?"
"Very," she replied with another huff of breath. He watched as she rubbed a soothing circle to the side of her belly, no doubt where the child was moving the most. "Second night of doing somersaults. I grow tired of my ribs being kicked. How much longer?"
"It's a bit of a mystery." Seteth chuckled at the sourness of Byleth's expression over his words. A little over fifteen years after the war's end and his wife was very much in tune with her emotions now. She could not hide them any more than an excitable child with candy could. It gave him great joy to be able to see her feelings grow and grow over the years, and he loved her personality more for it. He put one hand to his chin and said, "well, going by human standards you would be slightly overdue. With your…circumstances, I do not quite know how much longer you have."
"Why is everything longer?" she cried. The irritation in her tone was palpable, her groan afterwards agonized.
Everything is longer with the Children of the Goddess, Seteth filled in his head with another short laugh.
Byleth glared at him with little heat. "I swear if you tell me it'll be moons from now, I'll spar with you this very minute."
"I do not think you would win," he teased, rubbing a small circle on her back with his open hand. Byleth sighed into it, but still managed to glare back at him.
"Be the only time I would not," she muttered loudly enough for him to hear.
They walked into the outdoors, the light from the moon setting the glades aglow. Seteth yawned into his hand and was almost surprised when he opened his eyes and saw Byleth staring at him. "Hmm?"
"You didn't answer." She rested her hands on her stomach, eyes still on him. "If you could guess, how much longer going by…divine terms?"
Seteth glanced around them. He always felt a bristle of anxiety talking openly about their identities, but there was no one out this late into the night. He looked back down at Byleth as they made their slow turn towards the dining hall. "Well, from what I remember, the gestational period for Nabateans was between nine and twelve moons. I do believe Flayn had our first granddaughter in eleven."
"Seteth." There was a warning hint to her tone. He smiled.
"Well, each of her children were different. Do you not remember?" Byleth groaned again and Seteth figured she must have forgot the odd detail or did not ask about the length of Flayn's pregnancies at all, rather just focusing on the birth announcements instead. He held a finger to his chin in thought. "Maybe more closely to nine or ten than twelve?"
"That does not help. I don't understand how it could be between nine and twelve moons? A full year! It's never consistent?" She groaned when Seteth lifted and dropped his shoulders at her question.
"Ah, well. Take it up with Sothis. She is the one who created us."
"You know what? You've grown too comfortable with your teasing." Byleth bumped into him with her shoulder, causing Seteth to reach out and right her when the swing of her side made her lose balance. She paused before she could truly fall over, practically growling into the night sky. "I can't do this for another possible two or three moons!"
"Well, maybe you won't have to." Seteth held her elbow again as they slowly walked up the steps towards the kitchens. He matched her pace, pausing halfway when she sucked in a short breath of pain. His heartbeat quickened, hoping what he said wasn't actually coming to fruition just yet, but she was waving him off her back in another moment and heaving her legs up another step. "My love, are you alright?" he asked. He failed to keep the worry from his voice, and he could see the way Byleth's eyebrow twitched at it.
"Hungry," she replied.
Seteth lips upturned at that, and they continued.
As they reached the doors, they were surprised to see a low light on through the crack. Seteth opened the door slowly to reveal a woman at the counters. She turned when Byleth closed the door behind them. "Oh, my!"
"Mercedes," Byleth said affectionately. "What are you doing up so late?"
"Ah, is it late?" The fair-haired woman smiled at them warmly, motioning them over to her with floured hands. "Oh, I suppose you're not the only one who has a craving. Sweet?"
"Salty. Or cheesy. Maybe both," Byleth said with a frown. They watched as Mercedes went back to slowly kneading the dough in front of her.
"Please do not tell me your husband is making you send this to him from so very far away?" Seteth wondered aloud.
Mercedes' laugh always reminded him of the softest embrace. He couldn't help the smile that grew on his face when he heard it. "No, no," she said, forming the dough into a loaf to fit the pan beside her. "It is Juliet's birthday this moon and she's been practically begging for sweet bread."
At the mention of her youngest daughter, Seteth envisioned the small girl with fiery red hair grabbing onto her mother's skirts, maybe even pulling gently. The girl could pout when she was feeling a certain way, but Seteth didn't know a calmer six-year-old than Juliet. She rivaled even Flayn when she was that age, and Seteth knew he had it easy all those centuries ago so Mercedes' little girl must be the same.
She had traveled quite the distance with a young one in tow, but he assumed her little girl didn't complain not once during the long ride. It was comforting to know that Mercedes would be the midwife to the impending birth. "I must thank you again for coming all this way for us. It is…quite the delicate situation that we are in."
"Of course, Seteth. You have entrusted us all with the truth of you and our dear professor," Mercedes said quietly. She dusted one hand onto her apron and set it on his arm, patting it twice. "It makes sense that I should come and assist in the birth."
Byleth and Seteth had sat each of her students down whenever they had visited the Monastery in the last few years and told them the secret of their nature. Just enough of the truth not to confuse them, but to answer the obvious question about why they were growing wrinkles while the archbishop and her advisor were not. Seteth knew Byleth felt the guilt of keeping her dear allies in the dark about her extended life all these years after learning of it herself, and held in quite some anxiety at telling them about it as well. She finally got Seteth to agree to disclose their secret, and almost backed out at every meeting, but she soon found her feelings to be unfounded as every single friend they revealed it to seemed to take it in stride.
Mercedes herself confided in Byleth that she had a hunch her professor was otherworldly. "You were like an actual goddess back in the war," she had said. Byleth had then told Seteth about her comment later that night with a small bit of amusement.
How very close she was to the truth, Seteth had pondered at the time.
With the curious outlook of the birth of a new Nabatean, there were certain aspects the couple would truly like to keep quiet. No doubt the child would be born with the green hair and green eyes every one of their kind was born with, but also the possibility of having pointed ears. Hair and eye color can be explained away—just look at the parentage of the newborn—but ears were another story. While Byleth didn't have them, Seteth was always constantly making sure his were covered by the length of his hair, and he was also positive the little one would be born with the extended cartilage. Mercedes was not one to gossip and knew just how serious it was to keep the truth from the public, so, on the day of the birth, it would be just the three of them in the room, and none would be the wiser.
As Byleth and Mercedes settled into a conversation, Seteth glanced down the counter looking for anything leftover, spotting a few covered baskets on the other end. He wandered away, lifting the cover of the first. Nothing in there he knew Byleth would want. He kept up his search as he listened to the women chatting. "Seteth thinks this baby could be coming any time between now and three moons."
"He did mention that babies may take a little longer to grow with your…condition," Mercedes gently said back. They had this conversation when Mercedes had arrived weeks before, questions just flowing out of the healer. Seteth had been amused at her inquisitiveness.
He heard Byleth sigh. Seteth peeked over to see her lean against the counter, hand rubbing over the top of her belly. "I just want it to be over with."
"Do you have everything you need in order?" Mercedes lifted the dough into the pan, covering it with a cloth to let it rise, and Seteth found a basket of cheeses and bread. "You know the news has come to a shock to everyone in Fodlan."
"I know, but it is time." Byleth sighed again, the sound of it so very forlorn that Seteth felt the overwhelming urge to wrap her up in an embrace. "I will miss this place."
Mercedes hummed in agreement. He carried the basket towards them, grabbing cloth napkins as he went. He handed the basket over for Byleth to inspect, and his wife beamed at what she found inside. "Ready?" he asked, placing a quick kiss to her temple.
"The slow walk back," she groaned.
"The sooner you can rest!" Mercedes glanced down, and Byleth tried to look down too, but grew frustrated that she couldn't see around the pop of her stomach. Mercedes wore a slight grimace. "Seteth, if you could, please make sure she elevates her feet. And if you wouldn't mind, it would do her circulation some good to massage her ankles."
"I will do everything in my power to reduce the swelling," Seteth said, with a frown to Byleth's poor swollen lower limbs. Mercedes giggled, Byleth cracking a smile on her face. He blinked. "What is it? Is that not what you were asking of me?"
"So serious," their friend said with another quiet laugh. "I know Byleth will have nothing to worry about with you around to take care of her."
Seteth blushed at the praise, bringing a fisted hand up to his mouth to clear his throat. "W-well shall we go?" He pulled his arm up, offering it to his beaming companion.
"I suppose it's time." Byleth wrapped a hand around Seteth's open elbow, and she carried the basket in the other. "Don't stay up too late, Mercedes. And remind that daughter of yours that you need rest as well."
"Oh, don't worry. Sylvain has already made Juliet aware of it in the letter we received this morning. I'm sure she'll try her best not to beg for anything else during the rest of our stay here."
Mercedes waved them goodnight. Seteth guided Byleth down the stairs, her hand still wrapped around his arm, his other hand holding the lantern again, and they made their way around Garreg Mach in relative, but comfortable, silence.
When he heard Byleth sigh, he turned to her. "We are doing the right thing, aren't we?" she asked.
So, what Mercedes' had mentioned did bother her. There was a sorrow in her tone that Seteth knew all too well. Thinking about what they were to do kept him awake some nights.
Seteth lifted her hand and pressed his lips on it. "While the last few moons have been hard and stressful, I do think this is the best decision for us. It was…convenient to have discovered your condition when we did."
Seteth thought over the discussion they had almost seven months before. It started with an offhand comment about Seteth's age from a staff member of the newly reinstated Officer's Academy. The young man didn't mean any harm from it, Seteth certainly didn't take it that way, but he knew it troubled Byleth by how suddenly she grew quiet. Despite being able to express herself in many ways so long after her bond with Sothis became synonymous, Seteth was always aware when something bothered her as she brushed all expression away from her face and spoke in clipped phrases and tones.
Luckily, the professor didn't take notice, and at the end of the day as they dressed down for bed, he was able to ask her what was on her mind.
"It's been almost fifteen years since we defeated the empire," she had said, pulling the covers back. She settled into the side of him, letting him pull her head underneath his chin. "I think people will start to talk soon."
"Talk about what?"
"You've been here for, what, forty something years? Twenty years before I came, I slept for five years, and now fifteen after the war." She hesitated and Seteth looked down at her, lifting his brow. Byleth continued. "Seteth, you don't look like a man almost in his seventies."
"I suppose you're right," he said with a sigh. "Though, most who lived here thought Rhea and I were…blessed with youth by the Goddess back then, but with Rhea gone, and you've not aged a day, things could get complicated."
Byleth grew silent, head rising and falling to match Seteth's breaths. Her concerns were valid. Byleth herself looked to be in her twenties and had been for two decades. People could say that she too was blessed by the Goddess when she became Archbishop, but that could not be the standard set, or all the clergy will think they can be anointed with youth upon their coronation. It was obviously more complicated than that, and the world was not ready to know about the continued existence of Nabateans yet. They lay in quiet for a little while. Finally, she lifted her head. Seteth's eyes traced her frown as he brushed her hair out of her eyes. "Maybe it's time for us to leave," she whispered.
Seteth moved to his side to better place a hand on her cheek. She tilted her head for him to kiss her nose and each eye. By the time he placed a chaste kiss on her lips, she was smiling softly again. "That's a discussion we can start to have," he murmured against her skin. He felt her lips pull down into a frown once more.
"Where would we go?" Byleth asked, voice unsure. She swallowed thickly, then laid her head nearer to his chest. She curled one hand into the cloth above his heart. Seteth knew she loved the rhythmic way his heart beat in his body.
He couldn't quite think of an answer to that. To leave the church would be daunting for sure. He hadn't traveled far away from it since the war. It became his home after Rhea invited him here towards the end of Flayn's long sleep. Maybe they could find a secluded place in the mountains, or nearer to a coast. Perhaps Byleth knew of different places in her own travels as a mercenary that she had never spoken of. It was overwhelming to think about, sure, but they had time. They had as much time as they needed.
"We don't have to make that decision now. Let's take a few moons to think about it," Seteth replied, running fingers through the ends of her hair. Byleth nodded, and soon enough her eyes drifted closed to sleep.
And then a week later his wife retched over lunch and all their late-night discussions were suddenly put into fast action. A baby didn't leave them with much time to find a successor to the church, an Archbishop to Fodlan.
Seteth shook his head out of his thoughts and sighed into the night air. Just trying to find the next leader was a nightmare. They have had to pull King Dimitri away from his duties in Fhirdiad as well to help interview, and to also make sure the match would be successful between the Kingdom and new Church of Seiros leader. He was happy to say that the worst of it was over, the King getting along well with Byleth's soon to be successor, but then there was the training, the ceremonies and any last-minute paperwork.
It's what was keeping him up at night, but he and Byleth agreed long ago, even before they were married, that raising a family while still being heavily involved with the church was not in their or their family's best interests. "We will leave this place in capable hands. The anointment of the new Archbishop will be in just two weeks, and as soon as the little one arrives and the two of you are deemed healthy enough to travel, we'll be off as well."
They arrived at the cathedral and the steps that led to their offices and rooms. Byleth held onto the railing as they moved slowly up the stairs. They took as many breaks as was needed to make it to the third floor, Seteth noting her tiredness at climbing so many stairs at a time. Perhaps they could choose a smaller room on a lower level than the archbishops chamber on the third floor. He was a little incensed at himself he didn't make plans for that sooner than now, but knew they were so very busy between the upcoming birth and the soon to be newly coronated leader of the church to even think about details like that. Why Byleth was not one to complain of such things, being stubborn enough to prove to everyone she could do things on her own despite being over nine months into her pregnancy, he was sure she would brighten at the suggestion.
His wife didn't say anything else as Seteth opened their door. She set the basket she carried on the edge of the bed, then together they lit the wall candles as the fire in the lantern dimmed. He helped her out of her shoes and brace. They began to undress, Seteth starting with the leather of his belt as Byleth stripped off her loose dress. He paused and took a moment to watch in awe.
Byleth kept up with her physical training until she could not bear to lift her sword any longer. While in obvious places she grew softer, she still retained the muscle in her arms and shoulders, and in conjunction with the child growing within her, Seteth had to admit that she was breathtaking. The thought that he helped create the life she carried never failed to take his breath away, and he has told her numerous times of it. Byleth always sighed in exasperation at his claims, but always smiled afterwards. He found her changing body to be so alluring that he often was in mid step to touching any inch of her at any moment they spent together. Seteth was finding himself doing this so much that he sometimes had to tamp down that amorous feeling. Byleth was not at all interested in any of that kind of touching and especially hadn't been in the last few weeks.
With the new life they were about to share in, Seteth was very much not complaining about her slight rejection towards him.
Byleth cleared her throat, and when he glanced at her face, she lifted a brow at him. He realized he had been staring and had stopped undressing completely. Embarrassment caught in his throat. With an apology, he quickly looked away, feeling a flush of scarlet rise to his cheeks. With a small groan, he pulled off his jacket and started unbuttoning the shirt underneath. He could hear Byleth's quiet laughter move away from him as she excused herself to relieve her bladder in their washroom. Seteth tried to control the ever-blooming blush from overtaking his neck before she made her way back out.
After he pulled on his own nightclothes, he assisted Byleth in changing into a comfortable pair of sleeping shorts and a loose night shirt, then instructed her to sit down on their bed. After carefully unwinding her knee brace, he gently pulled off her stockings, reaching over to the nightstand and pulling out a small bottle of lavender scented oil. Byleth leaned against the head of their bed, Seteth settling in beside her and pulling her legs into his lap. He warmed the oil between his fingers.
Byleth winced when he began his slow message at her ankles. He said in a soft murmur, "my apologies."
"No, it's not you who makes me ache. Though, I guess you did have a hand in creating it." Byleth laughed at the roll of his eyes as she reached over to the basket next to her on the bed. She pulled out a slice of cheese and tore off a small piece of bread. She carefully broke the cheese and bread into two and popped one part in her mouth. She lifted the other to her masseur and giggled when he nipped at her finger in the process. "Behave."
"I have no idea what you are talking about, my love. I am the perfect example of good character," Seteth said with as much innocence as he could muster poured into each word. Byleth snorted at that, and bit into another slice of cheese from the basket. As she munched away, he finished and set one leg down, pouring a little more oil onto his hands. He rubbed them together before lifting the other leg. Byleth sighed into the touch, closing her eyes briefly. "Mercedes was right about the swelling. Perhaps we can skip our daily briefing with Alois in the morning so that you may elevate your legs longer."
Seteth chuckled at Byleth's responding bark of laughter. She countered with, "he'll just come find us in here."
"That may be true, but at least you won't be on your feet." Seteth laughed again when Byleth's leg jerked reflexively when he playfully kneaded up her calf. He carefully massaged her left knee, Byleth hissing in pain for a moment before relaxing once again.
When at last he was done, he cast a minor healing spell to help soothe her aches and pains, recorked the small lavender bottle, lifted her legs off his lap and helped her scoot down the bed. Byleth set the now empty basket onto the floor as he replaced his lap with a few stiff pillows, adding more under her head and shoulders so she could breathe properly while on her back, and making sure she was comfortable before leaning over to press his lips against her. Byleth pulled him in closer to deepen it, Seteth breaking the kiss off with a laugh when her tugging had him nearly toppling on top of her.
He straightened up with one last caress to her belly, then started the process of blowing out the candles, snuffing the room into darkness. He found his place on his side of the bed, kissing Byleth's cheek as he settled in next to her pillow nest. "We need to talk to Alois about his obsessive need to set guards at our door anyway," he said with a sigh, continuing their earlier discussion on the Knights of Seiros captain. "He is almost due to retire, and I have half the mind to force him into it early before we depart for good."
Byleth hummed, not disagreeing. "I believe he's just worried and anxious for us, dearest."
"Yes, well so is every other person at Garreg Mach and even around the whole of Fodlan and I don't see them constantly at our door."
Byleth's gentle laugh turned into a yawn. She shifted herself to be as near to him as she could with elevated feet. Seteth moved to his side to close the distance, head resting on her pillows. He breathed in the scent of the hint of perfume on her skin mixing with the lingering aroma of oil, smoothing one hand over her stomach. He carefully pressed his fingers to the side of her, waiting to see if the baby would respond. Seteth smiled widely when he felt the small flurry of movement in return. Byleth, with a sleepy groan, placed her hand on his to still his probing. "Remind me again how much longer we have until we meet this child?" she mumbled between another long inhale of breath.
With a brief touch of his lips to her shoulder, Seteth softly replied, "hopefully no more than you can handle," and listened a while as Byleth's breath evened out in sleep.