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Byleth shivered against the brutal winter. She wondered if she would ever get used to these temperatures that her husband seemed so at home in. She pulled up her fur lined hood and hopped back and forth on her feet to try and keep warm. She turned when the door behind her creaked open and the nanny emerged carrying her young son.
“Mama!” Mikhail called to her and reached his tiny arms out to her. She pulled him into her embrace and planted a few kisses on his rosy cheeks. He was bundled up in a similar outfit to her own. The wool, leather, and fur had been all sourced from Faerghus. The trim had been a gift from Dedue and Mercedes, woven in Duscur tradition from their home in his ancestral lands.
“He made quite a ruckus getting dressed. Isn’t that true, Your Highness?” the nanny, Frederika, teased. “I had to chase him all through the nursery just to get him ready for your trek!”
Mikhail laughed and buried his head against his mother’s chest as Frederika gave him teasing pinches. The older woman beamed with pride as she looked at the young prince. She had helped raise Dimitri, so she was the closest Mikhail had to a grandmother.
“Were you giving Frederika trouble?” Byleth teased.
“No!” Mikhail replied, but couldn’t stop laughing. He covered his mouth with gloved hands, trying to suppress his glee.
“I don’t think I believe you. You know what happens to naughty little boys who lie, don’t you?” she flashed a mischievous grin and flipped him upside down. He laughed uproariously. She pulled him upright again and smothered him in kisses.
To Byleth’s eye, Mikhail looked just like the portraits of Dimitri as a child. He had the same mop of blonde hair, the same bright blue eyes, the same sweet face. She sometimes wondered if any of her had made its way down to their son.
“I think he has your facial structure, Your Grace,” Frederika chimed in, as if she could read Byleth’s thoughts.
“You really think so?” Byleth asked, studying her son.
“Yes, His Majesty’s face was never quite so round. He might grow out of it, but for now he’s got his mother’s sweet round cheeks,” she said, pinching said cheeks. “All my boys favored their father too, Goddess rest his soul. I know how it is to see nothing of oneself in her babies.”
“Where are your sons now?” Byleth asked, almost afraid of the answer. There was much heartache in this castle.
“All serving the King and Queen,” she replied, almost bursting with pride. “Two of my boys are knights and my baby is a monk at Garreg Mach.”
“How lovely, we’ll have to invite your youngest for tea when Mikhail and I return to the monastery,” Byleth said with a smile.
“Oh, he would be just delighted. You’re quite the inspiration to him. When that awful woman seized power and we had to take refuge in Fraldarius territory, he was transfixed by stories of you.”
Byleth blushed.
“When His Majesty was a boy, you were precisely the sort of woman I always imagined him with. You’re sweet and sensible, but strong willed. You have a good head on your shoulders. You’re a loving wife and mother. Rufus was always trying to set him up with these boring, well bred girls,” she tutted. “I hope I’m not speaking out of turn.”
“Goddess, no,” Byleth said, trying to suppress a giggle. “Dimitri would certainly get bored with someone who couldn’t be his equal. I worry sometimes that I’m not worthy of being queen, but I don’t think Dimitri would want to be with someone who wouldn’t argue with him.”
“It’s true, Your Grace. You do bring out the best in him, both of you do,” she smiled lovingly at Mikhail curled up in Byleth’s arms. “I’ll leave you be. I’m not quite dressed for the weather. Eager to get back to the fire. Enjoy your trip, I ran into a stable boy on my way down and he said Dimitri was almost finished with the horses.”
“Thanks,” Byleth hummed contentedly, of course Dimitri would want to saddle their horses himself. Even if he was king, even if this was a trip for his birthday. “Enjoy your time away from the little monster.”
“I’ll miss him every day you’re gone,” she said with a smile. “I will be sure to put my feet up a time or two though.”
Frederika returned to the warmth of the castle and left Byleth alone with Mikhail. He giggled as he caught snowflakes in his tiny mittened hands.
“Mika,” she said softly. “I need you to listen to Mama very carefully.”
Her son looked at her, his small face suddenly very serious. He knitted his brows together as he tried to determine what she might say next.
“When Papa comes over with the horses, I want you to say ‘happy birthday’ in your loudest voice. I want you to say it big and loud like a lion roar, okay?” Byleth tried to keep her usual straight face, but she could feel the corners of her mouth curling up into a grin. Her son’s smile was contagious.
“I’m gonna be so loud, Mama!” Mikhail said, bouncing excitedly in her arms.
“Now’s your chance, here comes Papa,” she said as she saw Dimitri emerging from the stables. He led their two horses by the reins.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAPA!” Mikhail bellowed. Dimitri looked up in surprise and broke out into a bright smile. He led the horses over, tied them to a post, and embraced his family.
“I’m sorry I left you two out in the cold,” Dimitri said, pulling his wife and son under his cloak. “Your horse was being rather stubborn, Beloved. She refused to let me saddle her until I had given her a few sugar cubes and about half an apple.”
Byleth giggled. Her rather unassuming chestnut mare was known throughout the castle for being quite the diva to everyone but Byleth. Dimitri’s large black stallion looked imposing, but was the most easy going horse in the castle.
“We’re quite alright outside, but we should head out. We wouldn’t want to get to the cabin too late,” Byleth said. She gave her son a kiss and then passed the squirming toddler into her husband’s arms.
“Thank you for the birthday greeting, my little cub,” Dimitri murmured as he cradled the boy in his arms. Byleth loved watching the way Dimitri loved their son. Dimitri had fretted over how their child might react to him, worried that he would be scared by his eyepatch and his other scars. Even after everything, Dimitri did still worry that he wasn’t worthy of love or happiness. Mikhail did seem to be diminishing that worry in him.
Byleth went to mount her horse. She gave the mare a friendly pat along her shoulders and promised her more sugar cubes at the end of their journey. She hoisted herself in the saddle and Dimitri passed their son back to her.
Dimitri untied both horses and then mounted his own steed. They headed out into the woods, which shimmered in the hazy winter light crystalline with snow. Mikhail reached out to try and catch the snowflakes that flurried around them as he sat nestled in his mother’s lap. Before they had gotten out of sight of the castle, one of their hunting dogs came loping after them.
“Loog, go home,” Dimitri chided the dog, who paid him no mind. The dog with his long legs and long nose looked like he could have been a horse himself.
“Let him come, Dima,” Byleth said with a laugh. “He can keep our feet warm in bed tonight.”
“Hear that, Loog? You are good for something,” Dimitri teased. Loog’s ears perked up and he ran ahead, weaving in and out of the trees, before returning to them. His abnormally long tongue flopped out the side of his mouth as he fell in pace with the horses.
By the time the family made it to the cozy hunting cabin, Mikhail had fallen asleep in his mother’s arms. She carefully dismounted her horse, not wanting to wake the little boy from his slumber. She went inside to get a fire started while Dimitri stabled the horses.
Byleth had been here a few times since her marriage to Dimitri. The cabin was one open room with stairs up to a loft. It was simple and sparse, but sometimes felt more like home than the castle. She knew Dimitri had a lot of fond memories coming here with his father as well as Felix, Sylvain, Ingrid, and Glenn. It seemed like the perfect setting to bring up the idea that had been swirling in her thoughts for weeks: having another baby.
She had been hesitant at first. Byleth loved Mikhail so much that sometimes she thought she might burst, and Mikhail was on her hip more often than he was out of her sight. She had been content to just have one perfect little one who called her mama. The pressure of knowing how expected it was to have her get pregnant again ruffled her too. People she had never spoken to were always inquiring about her womb as if they had the right to know.
Dimitri had been quite patient with her (she never expected anything less of him). She knew he wanted a big family, both because he loved her with his entire being and because he desired the family neither of them had growing up. She knew he would be ecstatic to hear she had finally come around. She was almost giddy as she imagined the way his face would light up when she gave him the news.
Byleth laid her son on the couch and left him a kiss on his rosy cheek before she began tending the fire. She quickly got it roaring in the hearth and it wasn’t long before Dimitri joined her. His entrance brought a chill to the cabin, but he hastily closed the door. He wasn’t quite fast enough to keep the dog out. He grumbled as Loog rumbled through the house, sniffing and investigating every corner and nook. After a thorough check, he settled himself on the rug beside the fire.
“Beloved,” Dimitri said as he pulled his wife into his arms. “I couldn’t have asked for anything more for my birthday than to just spend time with my family.”
“Of course, my love. I’m happy to spend time with just the three of us,” she sighed contentedly as she rested her head against his strong chest. The steady beat of her husband’s heartbeat soothed her more than any other sound she knew.
Later that evening, a winter storm raged outside. It was typical for this time of year in Faerghus. Dimitri had told Byleth that many of his birthdays as a child had ended with his friends stuck in Fhirdiad with him. The cabin was sturdy and well built, as was the stable. Both the royal family and their horses would be safe.
“In the morning, we’ll go sledding. Does that sound fun, Mika?” Dimitri asked.
“Yes! Sledding!” Mikhail jumped up and down in excitement.
After his nap, Mikhail had been overwhelmed by energy. He had barely sat still the whole night, even while eating dinner. Dimitri loved teasing that he had inherited his mother’s appetite.
He was chasing Loog in circles around the house and laughing uproariously each time the dog caught up to him and bumped his long,wet nose against the little boy. Byleth was curled up on the couch, nestled in Dimitri’s arms.
“He’s quite a playful boy,” Byleth mused.
“That’s putting it mildly,” Dimitri said with a low laugh.
“Do you think he might need a playmate?” Byleth said, a devilish look in her eye went unnoticed by Dimitri.
“I’m sure Dedue and Mercedes would be happy to make more visits with their kids,” he said.
“I was thinking perhaps he might like a younger playmate instead,” she teased.
“Well, I’m sure Felix and Annette would also be happy to bring their daughter over more often as well. What are you trying to get at, Beloved?” Dimitri asked.
“Dima,” she let out a low laugh and whispered in his ear. “I want another baby. I want Mikhail to have a little sibling.”
Dimitri turned beet red, but quickly broke into a grin after getting over his embarrassment at not understanding his wife’s implication.
“I would love nothing more. As soon as we’re back home, we can start trying at once. If that’s what you want,” he said, peppering her with kisses. She could hear the tears he was holding back in his voice.
“Of course, more than anything,” she nuzzled against him and whispered low in his ear, “Maybe we should take Mikhail back to the castle as planned, but afterwards we go on another little trip. Just the two of us.”
“Anywhere in particular you had in mind?” Dimitri murmured.
“Somewhere secluded. Where we won’t be interrupted, or have to wear clothes, or be quiet,” she tried to keep her smile suppressed, but she couldn’t help herself when she saw Dimitri’s reaction: halfway between embarrassed and turned on.
“I’m sure we can find a place to satisfy all those desires, and more,” he kissed her with an underlying hunger that teased what was in store during their private retreat.