Chapter Text
The morning was warm and sunny, as was typical for spring days at Garreg Mach. Byleth found herself sitting at the desk in her study, once again chipping away at a massive pile of paperwork. The beginning of planting season always brought a multitude of requests from farmers (as well as counseling requests from their spouses). Additionally, Hanneman and Manuela were drowning her in their own inquiries; the two were co-authoring a case-study about the dark magic Hubert had cast and the results on her overall health. While the task was a necessary one, something that would benefit generations to come, it still tweaked Byleth’s heartstrings in peculiar ways.
Following the incident at Faerghus’s founding celebration, Byleth had come clean go those closest to her about her dreams of the dagger and dark magic. Although Dimitri had appeared conflicted and unbelieving at first, the admission had brought them closer together in the end. For the first time in three years (but what felt like a decade) the two had mourned their son opening together; the process was painful, but healing, as was exhibited when Dimitri began to openly express emotions other than sorrow around her once again.
Additionally, the two royals had met with King Claude of Almayra to discuss the uprisings that had taken place in the eastern portion of the continent. It appeared as if the attempts were egged on by the remnants of the Hresvelg family, headed by none other than the cousin who had attempted to attack Dimitri outside of the solarium. With her passing, the drive of the group had fizzled out; no further problems were expected from those remaining. The rest of that meeting had been spent playing with Claude’s heir, who had been brought in on the hip of his mother Hilda.
Things had settled down since then, with Byleth herself spending several months in Fhirdiad before returning to her post at Garreg Mach. Thankfully, Dimitri tended to visit her far more now than in previous years, much to Seteth’s chagrin (Byleth was often... distracted by her husband and very little work tended to be finished on time). This week, in fact, happened to be one such time, or so Byleth was reminded from a knock from the threshold of her office.
“What do you think about Eleanor?” Dimitri called from the doorway, looking a bit flustered. “For a girl, I mean.”
Byleth let her left hand fall to her belly, cupping the small swell there. She was hardly three months along, far from the point when they would be able to determine the baby’s gender. In fact, she had only announced the news of her pregnancy to Dimitri the night before; her husband had sobbed, but she had not missed the joy in his eyes.
“Wasn’t that the name of-“
“My cousin, yes, the one who attempted to raise a rebellion,” Dimitri finished easily, coming to stand behind his wife. His hands, so calloused and warm, immediately went to massage the knots out of her shoulders.
Byleth hummed appreciatively, leaning back to rest her head against Dimitri’s abdomen. “Are you not afraid of what the people may think, of the connotations of naming your heir after such a person?”
“I have long abandoned such superstitious ideas,” the blond admitted after some time. “Eleanor was a strong, passionate woman, much like Edelgard. Having been raised in the same household and in similar circumstances, I’m unsurprised she attempted to carry out my El’s agenda, even if it resulted in her own death.”
“I see,” Byleth noted; she could tell Dimitri had more on his mind, and allowed him the time to organize his thoughts.
“If we were to have a daughter, I believe it would be a blessing for her to be as strong and driven as her aunties, to have the ability to carve a path to whatever future she deemed best,” he finally continued, leaning down to rest his chin upon his wife’s head.
“That’s a lovely thought,” Byleth commented, twisting in her chair to face Dimitri more fully. “You are always so introspective, I love that about you.”
The blond’s cheeks flushed ruby-red as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “You flatter me. It was you who taught me to be pensive in the first place.”
“Perhaps that’s why we make such an excellent team, you and I,” she replied, tilting her head up as she motioned him downwards. “Whatever comes next, we will face it together.”
“I could not agree more, my beloved,” Dimitri cooed back, leaning down to place a kiss on his wife’s lips.
—
Eleanor Alexis Blaiddyd was welcomed into the world as a healthy baby girl on the 22nd day of the Red Wolf Moon. Under the loving guidance of her parents, she became a strong ruler and ushered in a new era of peace and prosperity into both Faerghus and Fódlan as a whole.