Chapter Text
It was late in the day. Rhea, Archbishop of the Church of Seiros, had just finished her last meeting for the day. All that remained to do now was to eat a small dinner and retire to her chambers.
"Lady Rhea, before you go, I have some news to share with you." Standing before her was the slight figure of Sitri Eisner, one of many nuns at the monastery, looking both nervous and delighted. She was not just a nun, however...
"Very well, what is it?" Rhea asked, adopting a formal tone.
Sitri glanced around the room at the remaining priests, nuns, and knights, it seemed like she wanted them to be alone.
"Would you care to discuss this in my office?" Rhea said, picking up on Sitri's feelings.
Sitri nodded, Rhea ushered her into a nearby room and sealing the door with a spell to keep away any eavesdroppers.
Rhea turned to Sitri, and finally dropped her act. In this moment, they were not archbishop and nun. In truth, Sitri was Rhea's own daughter. Rhea pulled the girl into a tight embrace, finally able to throw off the shackles of her position. "What did you wish to tell me, little one?"
Sitri smiled. Even though she was now grown and married, her mother still thought of her as a child. Perhaps that was about to change. "Mother... I'm Pregnant."
Rhea froze. Rather than delight or even the shock she'd expected, all the color drained from Rhea's face. "Mother?" Sitri said once more.
"O-Oh, Sitri, that's... wonderful. I am... so very happy." Her smile did not reach her eyes.
"Mother, you're afraid, aren't you?"
Rhea sighed. Sitri had always been good at picking up on others' emotions, even if her own were sometimes difficult to notice. Rhea simply nodded, allowing the false smile to drop from her face. "I am."
"You're worried about my... condition."
"...Yes."
Sitri's eyes took on a sympathetic look. "Mother, I won't lie and say that I'm not also worried. But I know that even if something happens to me, that my child will still have you, Jeralt and all the others to help them along." Sitri took hold of Rhea's hands. "Promise me you'll take good care of them."
Rhea's eyes shimmered. "Sitri, I... I will. I promise to care for them as if they were my own."
Sitri smiled again. "They are your own, Mother."
"Ah, yes. Forgive me."
They both laughed before sharing a long embrace. Before they broke apart, Rhea thought of a small prayer. (Mother, please don't let her die.)
---
Was this some kind of twisted joke?
Rhea held Sitri's child in her arms. Sitri was still alive, but she was barely holding on. The baby on the other hand...
"Mother... why is she so... quiet?" Sitri struggled to get out.
The child was not just silent, she was cold... lifeless, even.
"Mother?"
"Sitri, I... I'm sorry, but..."
For the first time in the years she'd known her, Sitri looked angry, or perhaps 'determined' would better describe the look on her face.
"Save her. Whatever must be done, please save her."
Rhea nodded. She prepared herself for the procedure to come.
---
It took several painstaking minutes, but it was finally complete. She had successfully transferred the Crest Stone from Sitri's body into her daughter's. With the few remaining moments of life she had left, she gave the girl one last talk. "Hello, little Byleth. I can't stay long... I just want you to know... that I love you very... very much." and with those final words, her short life came to an end.
"Sitri..." Rhea was trying desperately to hold back her tears, she needed to be strong. "...I love you."
She allowed the duo a few more moments of peace alone before she finally took the girl from her mother's arms. Draping a sheet over the body of her beloved daughter.
Jeralt was still outside, waiting for their return. Rhea wished now that she'd let him in to spend his wife's last moments together. But she'd allowed her paranoia regarding her family's secrets to ruin that too.
Rhea hated herself.
---
Jeralt had waited for many hours by the time Rhea came to him. She had a small bundle in her arms, his first child.
Wordlessly, she handed the baby to him. As he looked at her for the first time, he noted that the girl looked so much like her mother. She didn't look much like him, but that didn't bother him one bit. What did bother him was the fact that the child didn't make a sound. She was breathing, for that he was thankful. But as happy as he was, he had so many questions, one in particular.
"Where's Sitri?" Rhea looked hurt by this. Jeralt started to get worried. "Lady Rhea, where's my wife?"
"I'm... sorry. I'm so sorry, Jeralt" Rhea walked away, not saying anything to anyone before locking herself in her office.
Jeralt's heart dropped, he immediately assumed the worst. He walked into the private room Sitri was kept in, still holding on to their daughter. The sight that greeted him was the worst he'd ever seen in his long life. His wife, completely still, covered up by a sheet. He'd been through enough battles to know that meant she was dead. In some ways, he should have expected this, but he hoped he'd at least get to talk to her one last time.
He had so many questions for Rhea, but he supposed those would have to wait until she calmed down. The biggest of all being why his daughter had no heartbeat.
---
A week had passed, and in that time Rhea had barely spoken a word to anyone. Most days she spent within the confines of her office, handing the sermons she'd prepared off to other officials.
She'd only been noted to leave in order to visit the child, Byleth. Jeralt attempted to ask Rhea a few questions, he'd even held back from the more intense ones for her sake. She did not answer him. All she seemed to care about was Byleth. The look in her eyes was what disturbed him the most. It was not a look of adoration, like one would expect for a baby, but rather a look of wanting. It felt to him like she was planning something, and given the state she was in, that unnerved him more than anything.
Jeralt knew he had to do something, and fast. There was only one thing that came to mind, it was risky, and it would mean they could never return. But he had to, for Byleth's sake.
---
The events of that night would forever change the course of Rhea's life. After finishing her work for the night, Rhea had been about to retire for the night when she saw it. A section of the monastery had caught fire, erupting into a blaze that consumed the entire building. It was the knights' barracks. The very place where Jeralt and Byleth currently slept.
(No)
Rhea moved as fast as she possibly could, arriving at the scene seconds later. She noted that the other knights, including Jeralt's former squire Alois, had already evacuated. Rhea turned to the latter and demanded answers. "Where are they!?"
Alois flinched, he had never seen Rhea so angry. "I... I don't know. Last I saw, they were still in there!" He looked desperate and horrified, possibly realizing the possibility that his mentor and the baby had perished.
Throwing caution to the wind, Rhea ignored the pleas around her and rushed into the fire. She desperately scanned the rooms for any sign of the two. It was to no avail, all signs pointed to them having perished. Rhea had to fight the tears that began to form in her eyes, making her way back out. She stopped for a moment to confirm with Alois what neither one of them wanted to accept. Then, she ran all the way back to her chambers.
Once there, she let out a piercing cry and began laying waste to the room around her. Every piece of furniture smashed. Every piece of fabric torn apart. Every mirror and window shattered. Rhea did not care about any of these.
Jeralt was dead, meaning she had lost one of her oldest remaining friends as well as a family member.
Byleth was also dead. Byleth held Mother's crest stone, meaning there was no chance of her coming back now. Byleth was dead, meaning Sitri's death was now pointless. Byleth was dead, and she'd never even been given a chance to live.
(Sitri, forgive me, I have failed you once again.)
For the first time in nearly a thousand years, Rhea cried. Everyone in the monastery heard her but all chose to give her space after her previous display, possibly fearing her wrath. For the first time in decades, Rhea was completely alone, and it was all her fault.
---
Rhea did not know how long she'd laid awake. The sun had risen and set several times, so it had to have been close to a week. In that time, she hadn't moved at all.
And in that time, nobody had come to see her. That made sense, she supposed, after her display they must all be afraid of her.
After spending what felt like an eternity staring off into space, Rhea's thoughts were interrupted by a sensation she hadn't felt in a very long time.
A rumbling from her abdomen.
Rhea stared down at herself. She'd almost forgotten what hunger felt like. One of the perks of being a Nabatean was the ability to go for days at a time without needing to eat or drink. If she was feeling this way now, it had definitely been more than a week.
Rhea slowly picked herself up off the floor, opened the door to her room, and dragged herself down the stairs. On her way to the dining hall, she passed by many people. And, to her continued sadness, they did indeed seem to fear her. Each averted their eyes, and when she tried to make eye contact, she could see that they were shaking. It made her heart sink.
She entered the dining hall. The cooks, too, were afraid. Rhea wanted nothing more than to order a simple meal and leave, but her body had other plans. At that very moment, another loud rumble eminated from her stomach, almost causing her to double over in pain. Rhea took a deep breath and made her decision.
"I'll have one of everything."
The cooks eyes widened in shock, but she thought better of questioning Rhea at the moment.
"O-Of course, Your Grace... shall we deliver it to your room?"
Rhea looked around the room. "That will not be necessary, I shall eat here."
The cook nodded, and began to prepare the enormous order that had just been placed. In the meantime, Rhea decided to find a place to sit down. She had never realized just how young most of her students were. Many were barely older than mere children. This thought, too, made her heart sink. How many of them had she sent to their deaths? Did their lives not matter to her? Perhaps she deserved the horrors she'd experienced if this was what she'd done to them.
The only table that had any room was one off in the corner, toward the side entrance. It had one other occupant, a young girl no older than Sitri had been. Rhea took a seat across from the girl, noting the worried expression on the girl's face. Notably, unlike the others, she hadn't seemed to notice Rhea's arrival. Something was clearly troubling this girl and it seemed to have nothing to do with Rhea herself.
Rhea thought for a moment, there was a part of her mind telling her that it was none of her business, that she should just return to the pile of rubble she'd created in her room and be silent. But there was another part pushing her to speak to the girl. Finally, clearing her throat, Rhea spoke.
"May I ask what troubles you?"
Rhea cringed at herself. Here she was, dressed in the dirty remains of her usual gown, all of her other finery discarded and probably broken by this point, talking to a troubled child with a cold, authoritative tone.
"O-Oh, Lady Rhea! My humblest apologies, I did not realize you were here, Your Grace-"
Rhea tried softening her tone and expression, hoping to put the girl at ease. "None of that... please, just call me 'Rhea'."
"O-Of course... Rhea"
Rhea gave her a smile. "Now what seems to be the problem, little one"
The girl blushed. "It's.... It's not worth your time, it's a really stupid problem..."
"Even so, it's troubling you and I want to know if I can help."
The girl took a deep breath. "To put it simply, I'm in love with someone. But he cannot return my feelings, for he holds a position of high authority... and he is married. Just the
thought of it makes my heart ache."
(Oh, you poor thing.) "I see." Rhea said as the first of her dishes arrived. "I won't lie to you and say that I have much experience with that sort of thing."
Rhea took a forkful of the meat from the bowl, chewing for a few moments before swallowing. She'd almost forgotten how good the cooking was around here.
"But what I can tell you..." She took another forkful. "Is that hiding your true feelings can tear you up inside. And at some point, you may lose the opportunity to tell that person." Rhea's voice started to crack. "And you'll regret holding onto it for the rest of your life."
"L- Rhea, are you alright?"
Rhea nodded her head before downing the rest of the meat bowl. Moving onto the grilled herring that had just arrived. "I'm fine, little one."
Rhea paused for a moment. "Have you eaten today?"
"No... I suppose I haven't." The girl said as a rumble came from her stomach.
Rhea smiled and pushed the sweet buns toward the girl. "Here, they're all yours."
The girl smiled and began attacking the plate like a woman possessed. Apparently, as Rhea found out later, she had quite the sweet tooth.
This continued for the rest of the hour until classes resumed. Both the girl and Rhea were reluctant to part ways. Before they did, however, Rhea chose to do something bold.
She wrapped the girl in a warm embrace. "Please, if you need to, do not hesitate to ask for me, my door will be open."
The girl smiled and Rhea, for a moment, felt the void in her heart being filled. She glanced around the now-empty dining hall and wondered to herself.
"How many of them have their own problems? Can I help them as well?"
Rhea returned to her office with a full belly, the front of her dress feeling tighter than she remembered.
"It can't hurt to try."