Chapter Text
Birth of the Stars
It was a quiet night for Lambert and his wife as they were readying themselves for the night. They were turning in early since she was in her 8th month of pregnancy. The doctor advised that she sleep at least 8 hours every night and make sure she eats health and all that
'Sometimes I think Nicole is more anxious than the both of us combine' Lambert thought, thinking of the beautiful auburn haired woman.
Oh he thought her beautiful, remembering the title given to her by their fellow students.
'Thorny Rose… truly a fitting name for the Cold and Fiery Miss of the Flore Family' Lambert thought. The Flore Family was new to the noble background as their family had only joined the nobility a few decades ago.
The family, although new, had become indispensable for the high class. The family had produced some of the best in the sciences and the arts. Nicole had pursued being an Obstetrician and Gynecologist while her younger brother pursued the Arts.
Being a friend, she had allowed herself to be the doctor to help his wife in her pregnancy. She had cautioned his wife from overworking as anything can affect the baby in the early stages since it was this time where miscarriage can happen frequently.
She continued to advise them of everything and gave them her number to contact when they had a question.
Her guidance was a big help to the both of them since this pregnancy was a dangerous one. They had tried for many years to make a child and all of those ended in failure or an early miscarriage. He still remembers his wife falling to the floor in grief of losing a child and her weeping form as she tried to hide herself from him, thinking herself a bad wife for not providing him a child for all the years they have been married.
They had once again tried for a child and this time they had been more careful than ever and it bore fruit. They had passed through the early stages and got to the final weeks, in joy for the both of them.
Lambert helped his wife in laying herself down on their bed before slipping in beside her, putting his large hand on top of her bump, caressing it with care and love.
She combed his blond hair as she allowed herself to fall into a quiet peace before suddenly sitting up, clutching the comforters.
"My Love?" Lambert asked, sitting up facing her.
"I think…my water just broke" she said.
His eyes widened before quickly dashing out of the bed and grabbing his phone, tapping in the numbers he know by heart by now.
* cring* *cring*
"*yawn* Hello, who- oh Lambert *yawn* what can I help you with?" Nicole's tired voice resounding from the phone.
"Water just broke! What do I do?!" Lambert panickingly said, glancing to his wife.
"Oh *bang* Fuck! You piece of - *grumbles* sorry, hit my toe on the desk." He heard as she grumbled. "Okay let me check my notes. Give me a few minutes, for now calm her down." Nicole said before he heard some ruffling of sheets and a thud, most likely her notes.
"Sabrina is one of the 10-15 percent of women who have their membranes rupture before labour and a large gush of fluid is only experienced by the minority of pregnant women. Now, I need you to tell me the approximate time of it happened"
"It was about 5-8 minutes ago. I hurried as fast as I can to call you." Lambert replied, now sitting close to Sabrina.
"Okay. Can you check if the fluid is odorless and has no color?"
"Sabrina, I need to check the fluid. May I?" Lambert asked softly.
Sabrina nodded and let Lambert pull back the sheets and look. He told Nicole that the fluid was without color and odor. He hears some scratches of a pen which he imagines Nicole taking notes.
"Okay. So right now Sabrina should be feeling contractions which usually follows within 12 to 24 hours. I suggest you take her to the hospital since Sabrina is only at her 35th week which is too early. They might have to be born prematurely Lambert which heightens the dangers for Sabrina."
Lambert gripped the phone tightly in his hand, glancing at his wife who looked at him in worry, hand placed on top of her bulge.
"Please do whatever you can to make the birth smooth Nicole… please"
"I'll do the best I can Lambert… sometimes we just have to pray that nothing bad happens that can complicate matters." Nicole said before advising him to prepare all the essentials before agreeing to meet them in the hospital.
Lambert ended the call and quickly prepared a bag full of everything they would need before carrying Sabrina down a flight of stairs and reminding Gustave to take care of everything while he was away.
After at least 20 minutes, they arrived in the hospital where they see Nicole standing, pushing a wheelchair for Sabrina.
They quickly wheeled her towards the Maternity Ward where he transferred her from wheelchair to bed.
Nicole talked to them about the procedure of the childbirth process while answering their questions. She then checked her vitals and how dilated she was and placed the information on her data.
For a few more hours, they stayed in the hospital waiting for when Sabrina was ready before she is wheeled into the delivery room where Lambert was barred from entering.
Lambert paced back and forth in front of the delivery room as he heard Sabrina's screams of pain and commands to push. He tiredly sits down in the seats and prays that nothing goes wrong.
More hours pass as he waited, his friend Rodrigue, came and sat by him, offering silent support to the would-be father.
After 8 hours of intense delivery, Nicole came out of the birthing room and gestured Lambert to come in. He enters the room and sees it looked homey and warm… seeming to be like a nurturing room, made for comfort.
"My love, our son" Sabrina said, tired but glowing in the afterbirth of her son
Lambert looked at his wife, glowing with what people associated with childbirth, holding his newly born son.
He crept closer to the two of them. He peered down to the tightly wrapped boy. He sees that the child inherited his blond locks with what few of them already clinging on the child's head. The child's skin was still flushed in color and the eyes… he still couldn't see them since the child seemed asleep.
"Dimitri" Lambert softly said, tenderly caressing the supple cheeks of the child and smiled in mirth seeing the child yawn.
"Dimitri… My baby." She said, stroking the cheek, giggling when the child took her finger. "Welcome to the world, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd. Know that we will love you very much"
"Yes…" he whispered, seeing his wife yawn and fall asleep.
"We'll take care of you Dimitri"
And so, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd was born on 8:47am. He was born through many hours of birth filled with complications and the near death of Sabrina. He filled the air with his mighty cry an hour after he was given to his mother, wailing to be fed.
In another hospital, a woman's cry pierced the room as she gave birth to a child.
"Push!" Rhea said, looking at the woman panting in exhaustion.
"I… I can't" she cried out, gripping the bedsheet tightly.
"You can do it dear. Just one more" Rhea said. "The head is out!"
"AHHHHH!"
"It's a Girl!" Rhea exclaimed worryingly, frantically looking at the silent child. "Manuela, help her while I help the baby!"
"Right!" Manuela said, hurrying to help the bow silent and pale mother.
"Come on" Rhea said, pumping the baby's chest with her thumbs as she had another helping the child to breathe. She tried for 2 minutes before checking again and finding the child still not breathing and so continued the procedure.
"Rhea, we're losing her!" Manuela shouted, trying to get her colleague's attention as she tried to save the now even paler mother.
Rhea's head snapped to look at them. She told the nurse to continue with the child as she hurried back to the heavily bleeding mother and Manuela.
"Rhea… tell… Jeralt…take care… of… baby… love…them-" she said, her words becoming fainter for each word uttered.
"She's losing blood too quickly." Manuela said, her surgical gloves covered in blood.
*Beep*
A long beep echoed from the monitor which made everyone look to see her flatlining.
"Hurry, start the CPR. Mary, ready the epinephrine and inject the needed dose to her." Rhea ordered, quickly taking back control. "Get the defibrillator ready!"
"Yes doc"
The nurse quickly rolled the machine closer to the bed, getting it ready.
"Doc, the defibrillator" the nurse said, handing both of it to her.
She quickly took and placed both pads on her body; one on the top of her left chest and the other on the bottom of her right breast. Once she had placed it on her, Rhea turned to Mary and ordered her to give it the shock.
They tried reviving the mother but to no avail.
Rhea closed her eyes in grief as she uttered,
"Time of Death, 8:50m"
The nurse holding the documents wrote the time of death on the woman's records as Rhea turned her attention to the now motherless child.
The nurse she left was still trying to resuscitate the newborn child.
"Tracy?" Rhea questioned, looking at the still not breathing child.
"She's still not breathing Doc." She answered. "It's been 10 minutes now, should we continue?"
"We can't give up now. I am not allowing both mother and child to die in my watch" Rhea said, gritting her teeth.
She took over Tracy and did the resuscitation procedure, making sure to be gentle.
Minutes pass by as she tried to get the child to breathe. 35 minutes after the birth and when they were about to give up, the child coughed up and wailed, making the people inside the room cry in relief and celebration of the successful resuscitation of the child.
Jeralt, who was standing outside quickly turned and saw Rhea holding the wrapped child in her arms. His eyes searched her face for news.
He sees Rhea's downtrodden eyes and her bottom lip being bitten and he fears the worst.
"I...I'm sorry Jeralt. I-I was only able to save one of them." Rhea uttered, closing her eyes in regret, giving the infant to the father's arms.
Jeralt's eyes widened and quickly filled with tears as he drops unto the chair, covering his face as he grieves for his wife and the silent child who in her birth losses her mother in exchange.
"Jeralt, she...she told me before she died that she loves you and please take care of her." Rhea said "What would you like to name your daughter?"
Jeralt was silent for a few moments before uttering one word.
"Byleth"
And so, Byleth was born and gave her first cry thirty-five minutes after her birth, being given to the sorrowful Jeralt who cradled his motherless daughter, kissing her forehead, while also grieving for his lost wife.
A friendship blooming
Dimitri was an active child, excelling in physical activities and music which Lambert was surprised about. Lambert laughed as he watched his son running around, trying to catch Loog, their 8 months old Fluffy Orange Furred Norweigan Forest Cat, and Kyphon, a mix of a Turkish Van and a Munchkin, who was 5 months old.
His wife giggled watching their son as she sipped her Chamomile tea. He took the wine glass on top the garden table filled with red wine and drank.
A knock behind them had Lambert looking and seeing Rodrigue, his best friend with his younger son Felix.
"Rodrigue!" Lambert exclaimed, quickly rising from the lounge chair and walked towards the standing man.
"Lambert" Rodrigue greeted being engulfed in a tight hug. "Sabrina, how have been?"
"I've been doing okay, Rodrigue." Sabrina said, smiling at the man.
"May I borrow Lambert for a few minutes Sabrina?" Rodrigue asked. "I have to speak with him"
Sabrina agreed and beckoned the young Felix to her side while the men walked inside the mansion to talk.
"Do you want to join Dimitri?" She asked, looking down at Felix.
"Can I?" Felix asked, still looking at the fluffy cats.
"Of course! Go, run along and have fun!" Sabrina said, gently pushing Felix towards her child.
She laughed as the two boys run along the yard, splitting up to play with the cats.
A meeting of a lifetime
The family of Blaiddyd walked towards the Fhirdiad Nursery, with a very reluctant Dimitri who was dragging his feet in a tow. He’d been the one to tell Dimitri what would be happening of course, quite a few times this past year alone. Just to get him used to the idea and to let him know what was going to happen once he reaches the age where he could be enrolled in the nursery. Both Lambert and Sabrina thought it would help in the long run, but right now, the both of them was beginning to think otherwise. Considering they’d only walked from the school gates, to the nursery which was only about fifteen steps, it said a lot.
'No, this is for Dimitri’s own benefit and I'm not about to let Dimitri get his own way on this' Lambert thought, shaking his head.
“Momma, I don’t want to go,” Dimitri said, his voice sounding downright terrified. Tugging wildly, trying to get his hand out of his parents, and desperately wanting to go home. When his daddy had spoken of him going to nursery, he hadn’t really thought about it.
Sabrina turned and crouched down beside Dimitri, trying to calm him down. “It’s only for one hour, then momma and daddy will be back for you, okay?” Sabrina said as she softly ran her hand through Dimitri's blond hair.
“No momma! I wanna go home,” said Dimitri, his head shaking in denial and tears now dropping from his eyes.. “Please momma, daddy! I want to go home.”
“And you will, in one hour.” Lambert said firmly. With that, they led Dimitri into the building, it was colourful, cheerful and happy, but Dimitri didn’t see any of this. He just grabbed onto his father’s leg, refusing to let go not even when the nice ladies spoke to him.
"Dima, you have to let go of daddy's leg. Come on darling, it's going to be fun!" Sabrina said, coaxing her son to let go.
Staring down at the terror filled eyes, Lambert almost came undone and decided to take Dimitri back home. Yet he didn’t, instead he stiffened his spine and didn't let his son get to him.
“Okay Dimitri, one hour, see your watch? When this hand gets back round to the top, momma and daddy will come and pick you up and you can spend some time with Loog and Kyphon, okay?.” Lambert said, kissing Dimitri's forehead before letting go of their son as the nursery teacher gently pushed the child to the room. He’d given Dimitri a watch, knowing he couldn’t tell the time but he was smart enough to understand what he meant about the hands reaching a certain point. Hopefully it would offer him comfort at the very least if nothing else.
Lambert didn't think it would be this hard to let their beloved son go to people they barely knew. He forced his feet to move towards the car, not letting himself and his wife linger or else they would take Dimitri back.
Dimitri was not happy .
He was left behind by daddy and momma in this place. It was noisy and too many people he didn't know.
He wants to go home… wants to go home to momma and daddy and Loog and Kyphon…
Dimitri silently sniffled, wiping his nose with his hand.
"Do you want to play with me?" A girl's voice said.
Dimitri looked up and saw a pretty girl with wavy blue hair pushed behind a pink headband and pretty violet eyes.
Dimitri thinks he is in love.
Dimitri, with a faint blush in his cheeks, agreed and took the extended hands.
Lambert true to his words arrived back in the Nursery to pick up Dimitri. He hoped that his son had calmed down from his tantrum and made friends.
He walked in hallways filled with parents waiting to pick-up their children.
He stopped in front of Dimitri's room and waited not too long as the door was opened by the teacher. One at a time, she led the child back to their parents, filling the hallways with kids screaming in excitement and talks of what happened today.
He spotted his son in the room and was surprised to see him playing with another girl.
'It seems Dima has made friends after all' Lambert thought.
"Byleth, come now. Your daddy's here" the teacher called out.
He sees the girl playing with his son stopped and looked back at the teacher. The girl then focused back to Dimitri and seemed to be bidding him goodbye. She slowly began to stand up with her two feet and ran towards the door, her backpack in hand.
Lambert sees the girl's father step closer to the door, eyes focusing on the running child.
'Maybe we can set up a playdate with him? The children seemed to have enjoyed playing with each other' Lambert thought before snapping out when his son's name was called out.
"Did you enjoy your day?" Lambert asked.
"Uh-huh! I got to play with Byleth! We played so many stuff and got to paint. She pretty daddy" Dimitri said, blushing heavily.
Lambert raised his brow seeing the blush in Dimitri's cheeks. "Hoho, you like her eh?"
"DAD!"
Competition
Garreg Mach Academy will be celebrating its foundation week in a half a month's time and the school council had created a singing competition to be joined by every section in the High School department.
The class nominated *cough* forced *cough* Byleth and Dimitri now 15 years old to join the said competition which will happen in a few weeks.
It was after school hours and they could be found walking towards the music room where a grand piano is situated, while talking about music selection.
"Maybe we could try the piano version for Moonlight Densetsu or maybe even Koi Monogatari " Dimitri suggested to Byleth.
Byleth looked down in thought. "Both are great choices Dima, I actually thought White Destiny first. I'm leaning more on Moonlight Densetsu though. We can just fix the piano arrangement and which lyrics we'll sing."
Dimitri nodded as they now closed the door of the music room, beginning the painstaking practices for the festival.
A few weeks passed and the Singing Competition is upon them. Dimitri was able to ask to be able to use the Grand Piano on the competition which is now just about ready to be rolled out on stage when it was their turn.
"Our next contestants come from the Blue Lions section. They will be singing Moonlight Densetsu for us today. Please welcome Dimitri and Byleth!" The announcer said, before slipping back into the backstage.
The grand piano was sitting at the center of the stage, Dimitri sitting behind the piano with a microphone placed in front of him by the microphone stand. He wore a black tuxedo suit with a rose pinned close to his chest.
Byleth stood just in front of the piano, a microphone stand in front of her. She wore a floor length white dress draping down. She also wore a headband to push back her hair.
She closed her eyes and breathed deeply as she heard Dimitri begin the opening notes.
Why can't I tell you all of these feelings?
It's so much easier when I'm dreaming
I think my brain's about to short circuit
I really wish I could find the words
And now I'm crying under the moonlight
I wanna call you up, but it's midnight
What should I do with all of these feelings
Like a Kaleidoscopic heart
The light that shines down from the moon will guide the way
And once again, it leads me to you
Dimitri looked at Byleth who he finds was already gazing back at him. Without looking at the keys, Dimitri leaned forward, bringing his lips close to the mic, singing the next lines.
The constellations sparkle in my dreams
And so I wonder if it's a blessing
As if by fate we're born on the same planet
Just like a miracle romance
So let us have another great weekend
And I will pray it has a happy end
I'll still be here past, present, and future
Head over heels in love with you
Byleth pulled the mic free from the stand before circling around the piano, sitting beside Dimitri who scooted to give her some space to sit.
I can't forget the way you looked at me that day
When I met you the very first time
Within the sea of stars under the night sky
I could still find you if I closed my eyes
I love the way the world gives us moments
That we make our own destiny
As they sang together, their faces leaned towards one another, lost in their own world.
This miracle will always remain a mystery
Cause once again, it leads me to you
The constellations sparkle in my dreams
And so I wonder if it's a blessing
As if by fate we're born on the same planet
Just like a miracle romance
Dimitri closed the song, ending it with beautifully placed soft notes.
They startle from the sudden loud cheers from the crowd as they applauded and whistled at the two. The MC came out of the backstage clapping his hand before gesturing them to bow.
Dimiri helped Byleth to stand up from the sit before they bowed, a smile on both faces.
Once backstage, Dimitri pulled Byleth away.
He was nervous. Byleth could see his hand gripping hers tightly, as she was led away. She wonders what could be so important.
Dimitri stops when they could only hear murmurs from the crowd, the sun now going down in the horizon.
"Byleth…." Dimitei said before stopping, his face filled with uncertainty and hesitation.
"Yes?"
"You've been such… a great friend for this past few years we've known each other. I have always greatly appreciated that friendship you know?" Dimitri said, scratching his neck. "Um… I remember back then thinking that this girl was so pretty and kind and all the positive things I could say."
Byleth started blushing as Dimitri continued to shower her with praise, a shy smile pushing lips up.
"You are my best friend for all these years however…"
"However?" Byleth asked, smile dropping as she looked at Dimitri in concern.
"Not in a bad way Byleth!" Dimitri said panicking. "I… I uh… IloveyousomuchBylethIreallywishIcouldbethepersonwhoyourheartbeatsforandlovesopleasegooutwithme!"
"Can you repeat that slowly Dima?" Byleth said, not being able to follow what Dimitri said.
Dimitri furiously blushed before asking again "I love you so much Byleth, I really wish I could be the person who your heart beats for and love so… Please go out with me?" Dimitri said, pulling the rose from the pocket and offering it to her.
Byleth looked at Dimitri's hopeful eyes, astonished.
Her lips trembled as drops of tears fell from her eyes.
"Ah!" Dimitri exclaimed, panicking inside, trying to find out if he had said something bad.
Byleth shook her head before taking the rose and pulling Dimitri close, pulling him into a hug. She pulled away before gently putting her hands on his face.
She tilted her head up and leaned towards Dimitri who quickly caught on, leaning down and capturing her into a chaste kiss.
Their lips separated, looking at each other with newly found love from a once deep friendship.
"Yes, I'll go out with you" Byleth said softly, smiling at Dimitri.
PART 1 FIN