Work Text:
Rhea, the former Archbishop of the Church of Seiros, Saint Seiros herself, The Dragon of Adrestia, The Wings of the Emperor, The Scourge of the Agarthans, celebrated when she got a ten gold discount off of the produce at the local market. Much to her embarrassment a few moments later when she realized why she was celebrating and instantly felt like quite the fool.
She was once the War Saint of the Goddess and here she was excited about discounted vegetables. The farmer who sold her the produce only smiled warmly at her, to his eyes she was just another excited beautiful housewife as no one here knew who she was, and he had likely seen a dozen others like her that day alone.
Rhea sighed and began her walk back to the modest homestead that she and her wife called home.
it was a conflicting feeling inside her. On one hand she was grateful that she and her wife could live in peaceful retirement. Their days were spent as they chose to do, instead of being forced to solve the next crisis or catastrophe that came their way. One the other, Rhea was well just a little bored, just a little nostalgic for the days past when things were just a little more exciting.
These thoughts prevailed in her mind longer than she had intended or desired, but she couldn't quite shake them.
Now she didn't miss war. She didn't miss the violence, she didn't miss the fact that everytime she and her wife went into battle it might have been the last. Retirement was good to them both, but that didn't mean she didn't yearn just a tiny bit for the valor of yesteryears. The fact that they were once some-bodies, they were important, they held the world in their hands, it meant something. They meant something.
Now her wife painted all day and Rhea did little else except write stories about their adventures and garden. Which was good, she loved her wife, she loved the easy smile she wore every day and she loved that with each year she could count a new spot of silver strand of hair upon her now brunette hair and the fact that it was there naturally meant the world to her wife and thus her.
Still, part of her did miss the feel of steel on her chest and in hand. She missed the feeling of excitement when she was outnumbered, the feeling of triumph, the feeling of wonder and awe whenever she saw her wife in the throes of battle. A work of art she was, it was like admiring the greatest of treasures, her treasured.
That desire that soon filled her at those moments, to strip her wife then and there and take her like the possessive dragon that lurked inside her demanded her to do so.
The very thought of it, spurned excitement inside of her. She licked her lips at the temptation.
Maybe, just maybe, she could convince her wife to wear her old regalia tonight? Wouldn't be the same, but it would satisfy some of those urges. What would be better she thought; wrestling her wife to submission with her dressed in the Flame Emperor attire? Or perhaps her crimson armor and relive the glory days during the war? Or even that gaudy golden plate?
The inappropriate thoughts of her wife in her old sets of armor lit a flame within Rhea and caused her to hurry along the cobblestone path that the two of them put in together the first year after they moved.
A post box labeled "Edie and Rhea" with no last names stood off to the side. Its little signal hand was still up, a sign that the postman had come but no one grabbed it. Rhea frowned slightly at the implication. El was almost downright militant in her routine even in retirement, a trait that never quite went away, after all you can take the civilian out of the soldier, but you can't take the soldier out of the civilian. Rhea glanced up, her wife would have gotten the post over an hour ago judging by the position of the late winter sun of southern Adrestia.
Now just minorly concerned, Rhea hurried along with her bags in and pushed open the front door. The door was never locked these days, the town they were in never had problems and the two of them were well the two of them. She'd like to see the poor sinful bastards that tried to rob them of all people.
Inside the den was normal; a modest set of padded wicker furniture set around a fireplace, coffee table, a bookcase filled with portraits of them and their friends and family, and a second filled with handwritten and printed books of a wide array of topics though usually nonfiction. Prints were a steadily more common occurrence in households with the invention of the Printing Press.
Rhea called out, "El! I'm home!" But silence was her only answer, that wasn't necessarily a bad sign since her beloved could get lost and lose several hours just agonizing over a single brush stroke on a canvas and would be considered dead to the world until she made up her damn mind… Rhea had several opinions about it. Usually she shared them for nothing else than to make her wife annoyed. El was as the kids say "hotter" when angry.
Rhea whistled her way through the house until she made her way to the kitchen and its connected larder. Where an absolute disaster scene awaited her.
It looked like a hurricane had been through the kitchen. Rhea was almost convinced that it was just because Edelgard had foolishly attempted baking… again. But then she saw a few drops of blood and a note pinned to the counter.
With a shaking hand, she gripped the note tightly and read its contents.
"If you want to see the former Emperor alive, come alone.
80085 Pella. Ave.
I will reforge the world in flame.
Sincerely,
The Flame Emperor"
Rhea was about to dismiss the entire note as a joke done by her wife until she noticed two strands of hair next to where the note was. She brushed aside the pale green one as that was just hers, they were everywhere after all, but the other one was a sandy blonde that matched neither hers or El's…
Rhea closed her eyes for a moment… It was true. They were dealing with a copycat and somehow they had gotten the drop on her wife.
She opened them as they turned to reptilian slits. 'Oh it was on.' She snarled. No one touched her wife except for her.
Her inter Nabatean, her Dragon side, Seiros, The Immaculate One called out, roared, and demanded blood. If there was a single hair out of place on her, she would destroy them, they're entire bloodline, and salt the earth where they lay. No one touched her treasured.
Rhea marched to their bedroom, which thankfully was undisturbed and pulled out one of the two heavy locked chests from underneath the bed.
Where was the key? Key? El always kept better track of these things. She knew where the key was for the other chest, that was just kept in the nightstand for easy access since it was used almost daily, but they so rarely used this chest before her, even more so in retirement. Her lizard brain stopped and started several times as she thought where it would be before she got annoyed with it and just grabbed the lock and pulled. And pulled. The magically reinforced lock did not budge, sof Rhea put her fist through the wood near the lock's plate. 'Ward that.' Soon the chest was 'open' and Rhea was able to grab her old armor without issue.
She looked in the chest for one more thing but failed to find where it was. "Where's my sword?" She said to no one in particular. "Where's. my. sword." She said more fiercely. Though still alone in the house.
She searched high and low and could not find any weapons; no swords, axes, spears, glaives, whips, not even a dagger in sight.
She screamed in frustration when she checked the final place any would be, the den even though they had a strict 'no weapons in the den' policy after Byleth's and Mercedes' child had found the Sword of Seiros, her sword, while they were babysitting and tried to eat it, tip first. Truly that child had a black hole for a stomach just like one of her mothers.
Still no weapons. Wonderful. She did however find a note from El that said, "took the weapons to smith for repairs and maintenance." Well that explained it. El had asked for her to do it a month ago, but Rhea hated the smith. It was like he didn't understand that he was literally holding a thousand year old relic in his hands and the sword was hers and the oil he used always smelled funny and clinged to her hands for days.
But fine. Everything was fine. She could do without, she was Seiros after all. The Dragon of Fodlán. The Empress of Unification. The Slayer of Nemesis. She still had her fists and her magic and she could still wreck anyone that did so much as look at her treasured funny. That is if Edelgard hadn't already escaped and hadn't already beat the copycat to death with their own spine. Even in her later human years and without her crests, Rhea knew that her wife was still an absolute masterpiece to behold in a fight.
The thought of twentieth anniversary came to mind as Seiros put on her armor, which itself was a much more snug fit than she remembered. She recalled how the two of them had gone out to a lovely inn for a meal and wine to celebrate and an intoxicated man had approached them before and attempted to hit on them and grew only more aggressive. She still laughed and smiled at the memory of her wife standing up, grabbing the man by his collar and tossing him out the window all by herself despite only having just recovered from surgery on a bad knee. She looked just as radiant back then as the first time Rhea had tried to kill her.
Soon Rhea finished getting dressed and looked in the mirror. She did have to admit one thing, she could still pull off the armor. It was a little tight around the chest and hips, but she blamed that on the fact that Mercedes lived nearby and regularly came home with cookies, cake, and all sorts of confectionery sweets. She was tempted to run over and get their help, but her pride wouldn't allow her. She could save her wife by herself. She didn't need Byleth's help, who still taught sword fighting to the local kids and worked out and chopped logs in her front yard. Rhea was just as capable as her and her perfect muscles.
Soon Rhea was out the door dressed like the War Saint of Yore, with only a single extra addition; a well loved cloak with a red wool base and white fur that lined the inside, an black eagle embroidered on the back, numerous patches littered the cloak, a sign of its age. It was Rhea's favorite. The first gift she had ever received from her wife and she would cherish it until the end.
They were in Southern Adrestia, so it wasn't incredibly cold even though it was Guardian Moon season. They had moved to a outskirts town where neither politics or religion could really bother the two of them. A place where Rhea could still practice her faith quietly, but wasn't constantly faced with reminders of the lies she had kept for so long. The Church now stood on its own entity, an organization that preached love and acceptance and weighed very little on the political and social world, crests themselves were dying out as well and no longer mattered when it came to political power. They were proud of that, but the mythology she had built still stood. Neither her or El would have been able to cut that out of the world without the repercussions being far too great. So her kind remained safe, and the ghosts of her past were laid to rest, buried in the ruins of Shambhala.
Rhea continued her path through the town, following the street signs until she came across a large faux castle-like building. The address was correct and the building was underwhelming. She could still see a stashed sign off to the side that said, 'Anna's Rental Lairs.' So not only were they stupid copycats, they were also cheap copycats. Rhea rolled her eyes at the sign and walked up to the door. She could knock, but where was the fun in that?
Rhea pulled back her leg and pulled her toes back and launched her foot into the door. The door flew off its discount hinges and went across the room much to the surprise of its inhabitants. By the Goddess, she never got to do that anymore she thought with a grin across her face.
Rhea took her first step and looked around. There was a table? And food? The lights were very dim. A group of surprised shadowy figures all standing up. Their finer details looked fuzzy, like every time she tried to focus on them, the details only got fuzzier. Clearly a spell of some kind was going on. The first one pointed at her and said something in garbled speech and the rest of them all rushed her.
There was something to be said about the joy of combat. The rush that she had missed. These people were trained at least, they threw out well timed punches and kicks that took actual effort for Rhea to weave and dodge and they never went out on the first hit. It never occurred to her why they weren't using weapons themselves. She was far too engrossed in the feelings of yesteryears and of yore. Like she was Seiros again. The mighty. The War Saint, the Draconic Heroine there to save the fair princess. Whom would flip if she ever heard Rhea call her that... or she would blush and get embarrassed, either outcome was more than fine with Rhea.
Eventually all the shadowy figures lay on the ground in various states of pain. Rhea dusted off her hands and proceeded through another door, a dark hallway awaited her another shadowy figure clad in dark armor stood in her way. "Rhea!" She heard El's voice calling to her from behind the door the figure guarded. She walked forward just as the figure moved. The shadowy being moved with poise and confidence, a soldier, a well trained soldier that took a beautiful stance that Rhea could have taught them herself, and Rhea knew the exact weakness of said stance. Much like the door outside, she pulled back her foot and launched it straight into the groin of the target. Who said something in garbled speech before collapsing to the ground. Rhea stepped over their body and pulled on the door, only to find it locked.
Well, Anna shouldn't rent to shadowy men if she didn't expect some property damage. Rhea easily smashed the door open with a shoulder check and barged into the room.
Distorted maniacal laughter greeted her as she entered. "Muahahahaha! It is I, The Flame Emperor!" The room itself was decent size with a podium and a stage where her beloved was clad in chains and 'Flame Emperor' awaited. They wore the armor that's for sure. Apparently having stolen that old gaudy set along with her wife. She looked at Edelgard who was blushing and kept looking up and down at her for some reason? Oh. Oh. Rhea smiled and tried to flex just a bit, though not as successful as once a upon a time. Her inner prideful dragon preened at the idea of her mate finding her attractive. She still had it after all.
"Saint Seiros!" 'Oh right. This guy. Read the room asshole.' Rhea rolled her eyes and walked up to the stage and instantly just jumped up onto it much to his displeasure. "H-hey! Aun-i mean. Wait! Stop!" Rhea suddenly stopped as she got a very close look at this Flame Emperor. They were… shorter than she expected. And the cloak and armor pooled around them and green hair? That poked slightly out of a side of the helmet. Rhea looked at Edelgard with a raised eyebrow, who now refused to meet her eyes. She looked completely unharmed. Just covered in… some sort of white powder and dressed in a tan blouse and slacks. Her brown hair that was at its shortest point since just after her crest removal with flecked with both natural silver and white powder.
Rhea looked back at the Flame Emperor and walked forward and the figure took a step back. "I'm warning you!" He said in a distorted voice. "My prisoner's safety can not be guaranteed!" Rhea rolled her eyes and grabbed the helmet and pulled. "Ow! Ow! Ow! Auntie! Please!" The helmet came off along with a fair amount of green hair and Flayn's face stared back at her with shock. "Oh nooooo! What's another disguise! Who am i?!" She said in an attempt at the same distorted voice as before no longer modified by the enchanted helmet.
Rhea looked back at Edelgard who was now bright red with embarrassment and refusing to look her in the eyes. She knew her wife could feel the raised eyebrow and just let her crack.
"El… What's this about?"
"Uh? Surprise?" Edelgard said as she shrugged her shoulders. Rhea could now see the chains and cuffs were all fake and she wasn't even tied to the ground. Which was good to be honest, her wife hated chains.
"Don't be mad, aunty. It was a present." Flayn said as she fixed her hair. Mad? Rhea wasn't mad. A bit confused and she felt a little ridiculous, but she was hardly mad. Also present? Why was she given a present?
"So, all of this was just an elaborate joke or something?" However Edelgard was quick to shoot that down.
"No! No. It was… you just had seemed a bit down recently, melancholic and nostalgic and I wanted to recreate some of those old feelings for you." Her wife had said as she quickly got out of the fake manacles and rubbed her arms. Rhea knew that putting those on even while fake was not a pleasant feeling for her wife and that meant even more to her as Rhea's heart bloomed at the implications.
She did all of this for her? "You set this all up for me?" Edelgard nodded, a bright blush still sat upon her face.
"I had recruited Flayn to the idea and well things took off."
"So all of it. The note, the weapons being at the smith, the rental, the Flame Emperor, all of it was you?" Rhea asked and much to her joy her wife nodded, still red and embarrassed as heck. Rhea couldn't resist pulling Edelgard into a hug and kissing her deeply. She poured all of her affection into the kiss, into the woman she had vowed to cherish and to worship, much to the gasp and amusement of her niece.
"Who are the shadowy people then?" Rhea rushed to ask, still excited from everything almost like a child on a holiday. In response, Edelgard with a flourish of her hand dispelled the effects. Instantly the building lit up to normal lighting and Rhea looked back into the hall and saw Catherine laying there still unmoved, her hands around her crotch. Rhea winced at the thought that maybe she should have held back slightly. She had a feeling that other shadowy figures were in fact the other Black Eagles and the like. Edelgard and Flayn both looked at the knight as well and winced.
"I'm going to go and check on everyone." Flayn declared as she waddled in the heavy plate towards the wounded.
"So, you didn't want to wear the armor then?" Rhea asked her wife after Flayn had moved out of the room. She was certain that if her wife could, she would dress up and they would fight just like the old days and judging from the way her her wife froze in her arms at the question she was correcf in someway. Edelgard looked to the side and once again refused to meet her eyes and Rhea knew exactly what that meant. "You couldn't fit into it?"
"Oh shut it. It was just a little tight at the waistline. That's all." Sure. Rhea couldn't resist grabbing her wife's love handles at that and Edelgard squealed and writhed in her arms. As she thought many times before; retirement suited El.
"Liar." Rhea said with a smile, but she didn't tease her too much, she barely squeezed into her old armor herself and hers had a lot more open slits. She replaced her arms around her wife and rested her head on top.
Eventually her wife calmed down and said. "Happy Birthday Rhea." Oh. That's right. It was Guardian Moon. It was her birthday. She hadn't even noticed. The town they lived in wasn't as practicing as the Monastery was and after a thousand years of sharing it with a holiday named after an old alias. The luster faded long ago and she had forgotten what it even meant.
She felt tears roll down her cheeks and Edelgard looked up. "Hey wait, don't cry." Her wife said., but Rhea just shook her tears away and hugged her deeper. She loved this woman with all her heart.
Rhea broke the hug and calmed down, wiping the wetness away with her sleeve and looked at El, "come on. Let's go check on the others." El still looked a little worried, but her wife always did. In the end Edelgard extended her hand and Rhea took it as they walked out of the room.
"I do have one more question."
"And what's that, my fierce heroic Dragon?" Oh Rhea loved it when Edelgard called her that.
"Did you really have to destroy the kitchen to make the scene look convincing?"
Rhea paused as she got no answer from her wife who refused to meet her gaze. "Wait. Is this flour all over us? El, did you try to bake? El?"