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Chapter Text

Imperial Year 1188, 29th of the Great Tree Moon…

Fire crackled, under moonlit hues as deep within the Imperial capital of Enbarr, the ruler of unified Fodlan worked another late night. Even with the continent unified, Edelgard had little time to relax as the early years of a new era of stability required her constant attention.

With the central church no longer in power, a lot of responsibility now fell square on her shoulders. The former Flame Emperor now fought a different battlefield, against a far different opponent. 

“...Paperwork,” she muttered, silvery hair slowly returning to its former brown hues. “If I ever sympathized with Seiros, it would be because of this. She’s been dead and buried, and yet the consequences of her negligence still continue to haunt all of us.”

Tapping her pen against the paper, the woman let out a sigh. She hadn’t actually expected to live to see her new era. She’d fully expected to die in battle against the Immaculate One. And with her last gasp of air would have been the first breath of life of a new society. One where crests no longer dictated one’s worth.

And yet, here she was. Another thing her Professor had taught her, the will to see her future in person.

“Wolves at Innswood’s door,” she frowned, taking a sip of her tea. “I’ll dispatch some of the Imperial army to help fend them off. Even now, demonic beasts still walk the land, ghosts of the past which should have been laid to rest long ago.”

She nearly broke the pen in two, scowling. If Seiros had actually cared about her people, she would have seen fit to annihilate those unnatural creatures. But then again, she supposed from one magical abomination to the next…

She then looked at the paper again and sighed. No, she'd misread that. These weren’t the giant wolves that still lurked in shadowy corners of the world. These were just the regular kind. A far simpler matter, as long as the battalion didn’t overhunt the pack and meddle in a delicate state of affairs.

“And an earthquake hit Blueriver, and they need restitution and Imperial aid. Yes, there’s room in the budget for that. Enbarr’s coffers will not run dry anytime soon.”

Once again, she took a sip of her tea. She let out a relaxed sigh, the peace disrupted by the door flying open.

“My teache-” Edelgard started before Byleth grabbed her, and pulled her out of her seat. “My my, taking the lead tonight are we? It’s true, I’ve been working late and need to relax…”

“We need to have a baby.”

Edelgard let out a choking gasp, her former professor patting her on the back. Giving herself a moment to recompose herself, and catch her breath, Edelgard smoothed out her dress and made sure she’d heard that right.

“Could you repeat that, ‘Leth?” the Hegemon asked. “Now, say that again, without scaring me half to death.”

“I said we need to have a baby,” Byleth said, no hesitation at all.

Calmly, not at all freaking out internally, Edelgard squeezed her wife’s hand.

“This way. If we’re going to have a discussion about this, we need to do it in the bedroom and not in the study.”

Edelgard, as they made their way through the hallways, wondered what had even brought this on. Her wife, while not quite grinning ear to ear, was clearly antsy and invested in the idea. Her emotions would never qualify her as extroverted, but they were certainly far more present than when they’d first met seven years ago at the Officer’s Academy. Of course, that was then, and this was now, and they had a very different, far more equal dynamic as wives.

…well, in theory anyways. Byleth had apparently gotten this idea without any prompting from her. She’d gone from her supporter, to taking the initiative. Which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, mind, her wife becoming more of a person with her own dreams. And… apparent desires.

Which still needed to be discussed, because marriage was always a partnership. Still, she’d hear her wife out on the matter.

Locking the door behind her, Edelgard took a deep breath to calm herself.

“Byleth, love of my life, sweetheart, what in the Goddess’ name,” and yes, Edelgard was well aware of the irony in that statement. “Brought this on? Why do you want us to suddenly be trusted with a… a c-child?”

“Well, Dorothea lent me this book,” her wife started and Edelgard should have known her friend was involved in this. She loved the former songstress, but she schemed incessantly. 

“-and it was about a lesbian couple exploring their entire lives from first meeting as children to growing up together, the revelations of love between them, and getting married. Eventually they had a child together and… the joy they had together was…”

“Ah, I see,” Edelgard lied, because no she really didn’t. “You want to become a mother because you read it in a story. You are aware that this isn’t something you just, ah do on a whim? It’s life-changing.”

“So was meeting you,” Byleth said and Edelgard nearly swooned. Damn it, for a former mercenary, she could be irritatingly smooth. No, stop! Bad brain! You were supposed to be resistant to her right now, not being charmed by her!

“Romance novels don’t really go into detail about the difficulties of raising a child,” Edelgard said, because apparently it fell to her to be the intelligent one here. “Just so you’re aware.”

“Oh no, I am aware,” Byleth said. “The book was just only what got me thinking and… well, that’s when Sothis and I got to talking about it…”

“...you mean, you talked about it with our cat?”

Said cat, laying on the bed, let out a ‘murraow’ and licked her paw.

“Oh, not her. I meant…” Byleth’s eyes drifted to the window, or more accurately a third figure seen only by her.

“Oh.”

Admittedly, it’d taken some time for Edelgard to wrap her head around the idea of Byleth sharing a soul with the Goddess. The Goddess, who she’d wept and prayed to on those lonely, dark nights as her siblings suffered and fell silent.

The Goddess, who apparently hadn’t ignored her pleas. Not because she was unkind, but because what little of her remained lurked deep within her future wife. It had come as quite a shock to hear even Sothis herself had a certain amount of mortality. 

Though, in hindsight, it made far more about her wife’s mysterious abilities make sense. Edelgard, once she’d realized, had laughed in private over Seiros being slain by her own mother’s vessel.

Sothis -the cat- simply yawned and went back to sleep. Rather like her namesake, if her wife was to be believed. Still, it was impossible to deny the Goddess’ existence anymore given… recent events.

Edelgard outwardly, remained calm and poised, the Emperor of the Adrestian Empire. Internally, she ranted. “Damn that diminutive little imp! I know she means well, but she’s supposed to be the smarter of the two! Instead, she’s enabling this? …Well, I suppose I can’t be too angry at her, she does want Byleth to be happy and if having a child makes her happy… Of course Sothis would only encourage her.”

“Well really she just told me how she remembered when she gave birth to Seiros, and the rest of her children. Cichol, Cethleann… The hope she felt for their futures, the indescribable joy of holding them in her arms. The…”

Byleth was actually crying, or was it Sothis speaking through her? No, this was her wife speaking, and Edelgard instinctively brought her into her arms. Gently squeezing the former mercenary, she let out a shuddering sigh.

“I apologize, my teacher. It’s just… I’m not sure at all if I… if I even deserve to be a mother,” Edelgard said, in confession. One of her hands squeezing Byleth’s side, she raised her other looking at it with a haunted expression. “My hands are so stained with blood, I’m not sure if they can ever be used to nurture, to guide.”

She felt Byleth kiss her forehead, before her wife spoke. “My hands are far from clean. They’re likely even bloodier than yours. You, at least, had a noble cause. I didn’t even have that, before I met you. You gave my blade purpose, instead of leaving as another tool to cut down your enemies with.”

Edelgard, despite being used to her wife, still flushed red.

“If you don’t want to have a child, that’s alright and I’ll respect your wishes. We won’t, if you don’t want one, but… I think you’d make a great mother. You already took in Lysithea as a surrogate sister, so your heart has plenty of room for love in it.”

Edelgard fell silent, finally answering. “You’ve made your point, though… I still would like time to think on the matter.”

“I’ll give you all the time you need.”

“Hold me?”

Byleth didn’t even need to be asked, the two eventually falling into a gentle sleep.

-----

That next morning, Edelgard dismissed her guards and called for the one person she’d always trusted with her life. She’d bared her soul to this man before, her eternal shadow.

She’d trusted him with every secret, even if she knew it wasn’t mutual. For years, he’d been her only true ally in their war against their myriad enemies. Bringing them into the light, and letting the sunlight burn them.

“If you need to speak with me in private, Lady Edelgard, I can only assume this is of the utmost importance. Is this in relation to those who slither in the dark. The von Regan heir has been an unexpected, but valuable ally. We shall soon have the last of them routed, and exposed.”

Those who slither in the dark, she didn’t know their real name but it didn’t really matter. She had another name for them. Devils. She’d worked with once devils who’d ruined countless lives  including her own. Some of those lives hadn’t even been given a chance to live at all. Her siblings had been strangled in their cribs, their lives ripped from them by those leeches.

She’d bent the knee to Thales and his ilk, all the while biding her time as a serpent poised to strike. She hid her fangs, even while they burned in her throat. They’d let a snake into their garden, not even thinking of the possibility of it biting them.

“No, this has nothing to do with… them,” Edelgard shook her head, scowling before her expression changed and became something softer. “This is a more personal matter.”

Hubert sighed. “Lady Edelgard, while I’ll always be here for you, my aid can only go so far. I’m not the one you should be seeking advice from when it comes to matters of the heart. I closed mine, long ago.”

The man, despite looking pale and almost vampiric, had actually become a well groomed man with some admirers of his own. Edelgard, if she didn’t think of him as a brother, would have probably been one of them.

And she knew better than to take her oldest friend at his word, and say that his heart was cold as ice. She knew differently, after all.

“I am the least qualified member of your personal council when it comes to,” he chuckled. “Gift ideas, for your wife. I’m happy for you, truly, for finally settling down and finding a home for your heart. But my aid, I think, is not required for a married couple.”

“And yet here I am,” Edelgard replied. “Coming back to you, all the same.”

“Well, nobody ever said you were perfect.”

“My wife does.”

“Our former professor is somewhat biased in that regard.”

Edelgard chuckled. “That’s the root of the problem, actually.”

“Oh?” Hubert said. “Trouble in paradise, then.”

“Far from it,” Edelgard replied, the bearer of the Crest of Flames taking a pregnant pause to gather her thoughts. “Byleth, she wants to… Well, she got the idea in her head that we should have a child.”

If Hubert was surprised by the statement, he did little to show it.

“Yes, there is a certain logic to it,” he nodded. “While our goals have always been to dismantle the aristocracy and transition to a more democratic form of government we must face reality. The nobility will demand an heir to the throne, as that’s how it’s always been.”

“One family line, ruling the empire for over a thousand years,” Edelgard said, somewhat disgusted. “It’s a miracle that there’s never been a succession crisis in all of recorded history.”

“A miracle from the goddess, even?” Hubert snarked.

Edelgard swore she heard the laughter of a little imp somewhere in the background. 

“Please, don’t joke like that,” she replied. 

“Apologies, it will not happen again,” Hubert said, with a bow. “But, realistically, the changes we seek will not happen in our lifetimes. We can only lay the groundwork for the next generation. The commoners are afraid of change, alas, and if there isn’t an emperor after you, the Empire could fall into disarray. Riots, revolts, as the masses make sense of the chaos. You took the throne to stabilize the empire, not destroy it.”

“It’s a possibility, one of many,” Edelgard said. “And one I’d rather seek to avoid. But Byleth, she isn’t thinking of this logically. For her this is a matter of the heart.”

“And she’s very hard to argue against,” Hubert said, knowingly. “Naturally, I assume you all want this kept private? Lady Manuela, she’ll be the one to perform all the proper procedures? I shall pass on the message to her. That said, you should probably tell Hanneman as well, to avoid any potential heart attacks.”

Edelgard suppressed a very unladylike swear. She hadn’t even thought of the possibility that their child might inherit their Crest. How viciously ironic, she was the one who wanted the system dismantled, and any potential descendants she had could be very powerful indeed. 

Assuming of course, the Crest of Flames could be passed on through the blood. Especially, when it wasn’t the one she’d naturally been born with to begin with.

Edelgard settled on a sigh, instead. “Of course you’d break down to pure logic. It helps, but… not completely. All of what you’re saying, it’s true, but that’s not Byleth’s perspective.”

Nor Sothis, Edelgard reminded herself. The most infuriating thing was, the renegade goddess only wanted them to be happy. 

Her hands were shaking, and she lowered herself onto her throne to steady herself. Catching her breath, the Emperor finally said: “I’m, well I’m obviously not sure if I’m even motherly material. It seems like a joke, me, raising a child? I barely had a childhood of my own, I don’t really have a frame of reference for what one’s like after it was stolen from me.”

She bit back a sob. No, she was done crying about something that had happened years ago. She was better than that, the Empire deserved a ruler who wasn’t prone to rash acts of emotion and tearful fits.

“My blood is… is tainted,” Edelgard said. “Those monsters, they put drops of poison in my veins all in the name of their mad experiments. What if…”

Hubert, despite saying he didn’t have emotions, was soft to the touch as he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“Lady Edelgard, you’ve worried over what ifs before. You’re the strongest person I know. For most of my life, every challenge I’ve seen thrown at you… you’ve overcome them. You survived a procedure few others did, and overthrew the status quo. You changed your fate, and carved your own path. There’s nothing you can’t do, when you set your mind to it. That includes, obviously, motherhood.”

“Still…”

“I told you that we shouldn’t trust Byleth, and yet… without her, we wouldn’t have seen our dream realized. She made us better, guided us and guided Fodlan into a new dawn. Against my advice, you trusted her. I told you against it, and was proven wrong. My point is not that I can be wrong, but that you should follow your heart. It hasn’t led you astray yet.”

This time Edelgard didn’t even try to stop the tears from flowing, and hugged her retainer.

“T-Thank you,” she stammered out. “But… how do I even… You’re right, of course. As always. I… I do want this, but… I don’t even know how to be a mother.”

“I imagine nobody does, at first,” Hubert said with a shrug, still stone-faced. “Not even Sothis herself, as surprising as it is to acknowledge her existence.”

“Were I Lindhart, I’d retreat to the library, and devour every parenting book possible,” Edelgard said. “Obviously, I’m less prone to midday naps, but I suppose channeling him in this case wouldn’t hurt.”

“If you did sleep the whole day off, I might suddenly grow concerned for the nation’s future,” Hubert deadpanned. “If anything, my lady, might I say you have the exact opposite problem. You work far too hard, the Flame Emperor is ironically at a risk of burning herself out.”

Edelgard snorted. “I’m not fully committed to the idea as of yet, but you should inform Lady Manuela we may be needing her services.”

“She’ll be delighted, I’m sure,” Hubert said. “I would advise you though, to make her the godmother. Otherwise we’ll never hear the end of it.”

“Noted,” Edelgard smiled wryly. “I’ll take that under advisement.”

As she got up off the throne, she felt a presence at her back and almost imagined another giggle ringing through the air. Sometimes she wished for the times when she could actually deny the Goddess had only been a fairy tale.

It made things a lot easier, not knowing your wife was Sothis’ best friend and confidant. Not knowing the Goddess herself actually really wanted you to be happy, instead of ignoring her children.

The Goddess may not have been in heaven, but she seemed fit to make sure all was right in the world…

-----

Edelgard knew her way around her own castle by now, so finding her way to the library was probably something she could have done in her sleep. 

Lysithea, formerly of house Ordelia, as the young woman had been all too happy to give up her noble title. Seven years ago, the then fifteen year old had been… prickly to say the least. Impatient, always having something to prove.

Edelgard knew the feeling.

She’d recognized the signs of her old nightmares on sight. The bleached white hair, pale as bone. And then there were the spells that the former heiress specialized in. A rare few knew those spells, and the only one Edelgard could ever really call a friend was Hubert.

Those who slither practiced the darkest of magic, and anyone they came into contact was always corrupted by their influence.

Something she was well aware of, from a personal standpoint. Edelgard had no doubt if she’d cared enough to learn any real magic, she’d know some of those same spells.

But, allowing herself to sink to the level of those who slither… It would have been like admitting defeat, letting Thales get his claws into her.

“Lysithea?” she asked, the Gremory barely acknowledging her and looking up from her personal tome.

At 15, the girl had looked sickly, and at times, ready to fall over. At 22, while not the picture of perfect health, had improved. That said, the bags under her eyes and her still waifish figure betrayed the inevitable. Time was still running out for her.

“Lost in your books again?” Edelgard teased. “You’re starting to rememble Hanneman more every day. Next you’ll be wearing a monocle.”

“Kyyyyyaa!” the black mage screamed, shooting up in her seat with fire forming at her fingertips. “Don’t do that, what if you’d been a ghost?”

“I didn’t realize you were afraid of-”

“I-I’m not afraid, who told you such nonsense? Has Claude been putting those ideas in your head again?” Lysithea practically growled, resembling a cat. “I told him that if he ever does that again, I’ll-”

“Well, there’s no ghosts here.”

“Probably because they’re all too afraid of you, Lady Edelgard,” Lysithea replied. “You killed the Immaculate One, a goddess. They’re probably all afraid they’re next.”

“I’m sure you can’t kill someone already dead, and please, Lysithea, I've told you not to call me Lady Edelgard. Just Edelgard, please,” Edelgard said. “You’re my sister, there’s no need for such formalities.”

“Yes, Lady Edelgard,” Lysithea said, impishly. She quickly hid another book behind her back, though not quick enough to hide the title from Edelgard. She suppressed a chuckle, for as mature as the black mage liked to carry herself, she still loved sweets.

“So,” Lysithea said. “Any particular reason you wandered down here, or did you want to see if I’d died yet?”

Edelgard’s breath caught in her throat. “Please, don’t-”

“I won’t. I don’t have time for failure, literally. Anyways!”

“Oh, I just came to look at some books on a subject matter that will be imperative for me to be well versed in soon.” the emperor said, eying a book that Lysithea quickly buried under another. “By the way, who’s that behind you?”

“Huh…?” Lysithea asked. “GO AWAY YOU GHOST!”

Edelgard seized her chance, taking the book from out under the pile. She watched the mage’s pale skin go red, as she read off the title.

“Taming the Fell Dragon, by Thar-”

“Give that back!” Lysithea snapped, wrenching it out of the Emperor’s grip.

“I didn’t know you were… ah, interested in this sort of thing,” Edelgard said, as red as her usual armor. “This is a different book for you, it’s not one of your usual spellbooks, ah is it?”

“I-its not like that! I thought it was a spellbook! Lady Naya’s collected writings are usually on spellwork!” Lysithea stammered out. “I thought it was a book on taming dragons and a-after I started reading I was… I couldn’t put it down, it felt rude after how much work went into writing it and…”

Edelgard laughed. “Lysithea, it’s fine to read more… adult works. You’re a grown woman, after all.”

“...barely…” she muttered. “And against all odds…”

“But, I suppose we’re getting off track. Lysithea, I came down here to look for a book on…”

Lysithea nodded, not saying anything but silently encouraging her to go on.

“Byleth and I are… Well, she discussed the possibility of being… wanting to be with child. My child.”

Lysithea gasped.

“Oh wow uh, does this mean I'm going to be an aunt? I mean I’m not really really your sister you adopted me out of a sense of obligation but… am I going to be an aunt?”

Edelgard, instinctively, put a hand on her shoulder. “Breath.”

Lysithea nods, swallowing, and then exhaling.

“I didn’t adopt you out of obligation, Lysithea. You are like a sister to me, the first time I’ve had one since…” Edelgard swallowed. “Well, there’s no need to repeat details of what you already know.”

“So why… Byleth thinks you’re gonna be a great mom. What’s the hold up, the Professor’s always believed in you.”

Edelgard nodded. “That she has. But… what about…?”

“Our blood?” Lysithea swallowed, understanding instantly. “What those monsters did to us… It hasn’t been done before, and it shouldn’t have been done to anyone! None of their… test subjects ever survived long enough to… What I’m saying is, none of us know what’s going to happen. I’m actually jealous, you’re going to live long enough to see them grow up.”

“Lysithea, I…”

“Look, I don’t know if Hannaman’s research will ever find a way to remove these stupid crests. I’ve accepted that, I’ve known for years I’ll be lucky to see another year. Maybe he’ll burst into the room, saying he’s found a cure. Maybe he won’t.”

Lysithea smiled sadly.

“But you… you’re lucky, you’re more stable than… You know what I mean. You’ve got opportunities, ones I don’t have. Don’t be such a stupid coward! For once in your life, be selfish!”

Edelgard, stunned silent, let Lysithea’s words sink in. Blunt as they were, she had a point.

“...you’re right…” she admitted. “I am such a coward, I’ve… I’ve accomplished every single goal I’ve set my mind to. Seiros? Dead. Those who slither? Crippled. My teacher? All mine.”

“That’s the spirit!”

“And I promise you,” Edelgard said, sounding very much like the same woman who’d waged war on the Church without hesitation. “You’ll get every chance to be an aunt, and pass on all your knowledge. You’ll be able to read my child to sleep, with any book you like.”

She paused, and chuckled, eying a certain romance novel.

“...well, almost any book. Just not that one.”

“H-HEY!”

-----

Edelgard, on a routine patrol through the hallways, found herself smiling. A rare sight, to anyone not within her closed close circle of friends. The most common impression of the woman was ‘severe’, the classic image of the unshaken Adrestian emperor. It made good war propaganda, at any rate.

By this point, her usual expression was born out of habit, even a few years after the war’s end and Rhea’s demise. She’d appeared fearless to her allies, a steady rock in a turbulent wardriven sea.

The patrol, too, was born out of habit, the capital having seen its fair share of spies and assassins sneaking into it. All to try and cut the head off the serpent, all failing. Some former enemies became allies and sure, while the Adrestian empire was never short on resources, there was that expression about gifts and horses…

It was what her teacher did, making allies wherever she went. Edelgard liked to think some of her future wife’s charisma rubbed off on her, at any rate.

“Ah, I believe this is where Metodey tried to stick a knife in my back,” Edelgard said, speaking to nobody in particular. “He failed, of course. He was terribly incompetent as an assassin, I’m not sure why I ever thought of hiring him for the Holy Tomb raid…”

“I didn’t know you were the nostalgic sort, my love…” Byleth said, from behind, her voice warm and amused. “Though, I’m not sure a former assassination attempt is something anyone would think nostalgic.”

“Not really, maybe the memory sticks in me as a reminder that good help is so hard to find. If I’d ever wanted a competent soldier, I should have hired you outright.”

“Now there’s a thought,” Byleth said, bringing the shorter woman in closer. Edelgard had gotten used to her larger chest, so by this point her face remained as pale as ever. “In a different timeline, instead of being your professor, I would have been your underling.”

“I thought you enjoyed serving your emperor,” Edelgard said, her eyes barely flicking upwards to meet her wife’s own. “Unless there’s a different reason you gave up being Rhea’s loyal lapdog.”

“I thought it was because I was an… oh, how did Dorothea put it, an utterly hopeless lesbian?” Byleth chuckled. “Now, Rhea was inescapably beautiful-”

“Ewww, I’ll thank you not to compliment that… woman,” Edelgard said, sounding like she’d been thinking of saying something else. “Espically not as my wife.”

“Well the many love letters addressed to her must have been my imagination, then,” Byleth said. “I must be remembering wrong.”

“All serpents have silver tongues,” Edelgard said. “If I had any choice in the matter, I would have kept you as far away from her as possible.”

“Jealous, then?”

“Extremely,” Edelgard said. 

“Mhmm, I noticed,” Byleth said. “The power dynamic, if I’d been your loyal soldier, would probably have been… controversial. Saying you were taking advantage of me, as my Emperor.”

“People gossiped about my adoration for you as my teacher. Tongues will wag either way,” Edelgard said. “Most said it was a schoolgirl crush, and that I was… infatuated.”

“Well, were you?” Byleth asked.

“What do you think?” Edelgard asked, looking up at her. “Apparently, I was pretty obvious about it.”

“I must not have noticed.”

“You could have the excuse of being emotionally unavailable.”

“It’s not my fault I didn’t know what a crush was for over 20 years. It simply never occurred to me.”

“Oh, the eventual biographies of our life will make it sound to be so romantic,” Edelgard said, with a fond snort and a shake of her head. “My presence being your awakening, or something like that.”

“Well, they wouldn’t be half wrong,” Byleth said, tilting her head in amusement. “They would just be… missing some of the context.”

“Well, I doubt telling anyone the full story would be believed by anyone. The Emperor’s beloved wife, hiding the literal Goddess in her soul, and becoming her divine instrument? It sounds like something out of a fairy tale.”

“Shame, it sounds like a good one,” Byleth said, before snorting. “Sorry, Sothis just called me terribly cheesy.”

“I wish I could speak to her,” Edelgard said. “We have… well, a fair amount to talk about. But, that would require you to cede control over your body. I’m not Rhea, I’m never going to ask you to give up your free will.”

“Well,” Byleth said, kissing her on the forehead. “If it helps, Sothis would never keep my body for herself.”

“Lucky you’re host to such a benevolent goddess,” Edelgard said. “And I… I, well I apologize for how I reacted before, because if wanting a child truly makes you happy, then…”

“Never apologize for being a victim, love,” Byleth said. “I don’t want to rush you into anything you’re not ready for. We’re supposed to be equals, instead I got a little ahead of myself. I’m…”

“Emotionally oblivious, remember?” Edelgard said, gently punching them in the stomach. “Enbarr wasn’t built in a day, and I’m not expecting you to play catch up with 20 plus years of social awareness you were never tutored in.”

Edelgard snuggled into them, before kissing them on the lips. “I talked to Lysithea, and we… She said she’d be happy with another sister. Amongst other things, that I’d needed to hear.”

“Well, that’s good, but what’s more important is would you be happy with it?”

“Well, I wouldn’t be the one with child,” Edelgard said. “You’re the one who wants to carry them inside you for nine months.”

“All the same…”

“Well, we’d have to provide an heir eventually. Better we do it…” Edelgard purred. “On our own terms, hmmm?”

She pressed herself against her wife.

“Now come along, there’s something I want you to do for your Emperor, hmm?”

“Well, I’m not sure either of us has the right equipment to do this the old fashioned way…”

“Certainly not, but…” Edelgard laughed. “It’s the spirit of the thing, all in all.”

“Lead the way, then…”

Chapter Text

A few days later, the couple met with Manuela. They’d decided to meet inside a chapel, fittingly, given this was being done with the Goddess’ encouragement.

Manuela, for her part, was in a rare mood. Namely, actually sober.

“Well, I suppose it’d be pointless to tell you once we get started, that I can’t reverse the procedure,” Manuela said, the former opera star tapping her pointer stick against the pews. “I’d ask if you two thought long and hard about this, but I know you have. I also know there’s no changing your minds whenever you two crazy kids set your mind to anything.”

“Guilty,” Byleth said, sheepishly, with a little shrug.

“Oh, your father would be so proud of you…” Manuela said. “Look at how far you’ve come. When you arrived at Garreg Mach… well, we all know what you were like then. And now look at you, you’re becoming a mother!”

She drew a syringe, quickly drawing blood from Edelgard. The Emperor flinched slightly, but to her credit showed little reaction beyond that.

Then, she turned away, her thoughts racing. Sucking in a breath, she let it out, thinking: “I’ve spilled so much blood but the sight of my own just makes me sick. It's just as red as the blood of everyone else barring Seiros’ but… I can’t help it. I’m back in that dungeon, the monsters standing over me, eyes with less humanity than the most feral of beasts. Talking about me, as if I’m less than a thing.”

Edelgard felt her wife gently squeezing her hand, and relaxed. She wasn’t there anymore, she was safe, deep within the walls of Enbarr and those who slither were no longer a threat. Hubert and Claude had seen to that.

The past had been left far behind her. Now, she could focus on moving forwards into the future. Her future. No, their future.

“Now then, Edelgard, I’m going to request you leave us for a moment,” Manuela said. “Now if you two have anything to say to one another, say it now, because Byleth here is going to be busy for a few hours.”

Byleth suddenly nodded, at something her companion said.

“...you are?” the woman said, with a frown before nodding in response to something else. “...yeah, that’s fair.”

Byleth carried on this one-sided conversation, snorting at something only she could hear.

“...yeah, she’s going to love that. It’s about time you two… well, I don’t want to spoil the surprise! Can you actually do that, though?”

Byleth winced, having apparently been yelled at.

“...right, silly me. You’re you, of course you can. …well, there’s no need to be rude, I thought we were past the point of calling me names.”

Byleth nodded at something else, Edelgard only able to guess at the full conversation.

“...yeah…” she said, sadly. “Yeah, that’s… Don’t worry, it’ll be alright. They’re gone now. Dead and buried.”

Well, she didn’t have to guess at what her wife meant by that. There weren’t many people in Fodlan able to make her speak with so much venom in her voice.

“El?” Byleth said, beckoning her over. On command, Edelgard returned only to be greeted with a kiss. It wasn’t simply just her imagination, sparks flew at the action.

“Static electricity?” she asked.

Byleth smirked impishly. “Something like that.”

“Sleep well, love.”

“Oh, she does plenty of that! You’d be amazed at how often I have to drag her out of bed!”

Edelgard’s nerves were so frazzled, she didn’t register the new voice. Sucking in another breath, she let it out. Her wife had survived worse, and Manuela was one of the most skilled physicians in Fodlan.

If anyone could complete this ritual successfully, it was…

“My my, you are a bundle of nerves. Not that anyone would guess, with how little you let it show, Edsy!”

“Practi…” Edelgard responded, reflexively, before she realized she was no longer alone.

Floating next to her was a tiny little girl, wearing fancy ceremonial garb. Long green hair cascaded down her back, like twin waterfalls and two pointed ears twitched at every sound. Edelgard had never seen her before in her life, but immediately she knew who it was. 

“You’re-” her breath hitched, catching in her throat.

“Astounded? Amazed?” Sothis said, haughtily, with a cackle. “You wouldn’t be the first!”

“How…?”

“Ah, yes, well, I’ve no desire to spend time inside Byleth’s head when her emotions are going to be everywhere while she’s preggers. Being inside her head on a normal day is taxing enough! She’s going to be a hormonal mess, no thank you!”

“You two planned this.”

“Yes, well, I’ve been looking for an excuse to finally speak to you face to face. Not the having a child part, Byleth had wanted that. I didn’t put the idea in her head. But…” Sothis chuckled. “For now, you’ve got a roommate!”

“Just remember to pay the tenant fee, lest I kick you out!”

“Ha! Piffle! You couldn’t be rid of me even if you wanted!”

She sighed.

-----

Edelgard had always been used to being alone with her thoughts, but over the next week found that simply impossible. 

“Well, this is a change,” the Goddess said, in her ear. “Your head is much different compared to your wife’s. My… for such a stern woman, you’re also surprisingly… oooh, kinky.”

Edelgard gave the little goddess a venomous glare.

“Well, it must be exhausting being the emperor of a whole continent, no wonder you’re a fan of losing control. Funny, I would have guessed you were as just a commanding presence in the bedroom!”

“GET OUT!”

“Sorry, until Byleth gives birth, you’re stuck with me. I was with child once before,” Sothis said, before pausing. “...well, I don’t remember when but I’m sure it was an exhausting experience. I don’t want to have to experience it again.”

She’d only heard secondhand of how rude, and how sassy Sothis actually was. Hearing it first hand was a new experience, and not exactly altogether the pleasant kind. 

“I’m basically that idiot’s mother, which makes us family. It’s only natural for you to finally get to know your mother in law.”

…well, when the Goddess put it that way…

“El,” Byleth said, not really that far along but already starting to show signs of her pregnancy. “Are my boobs supposed to be this tender?”

“...well, it’s hardly like I’d know,” Edelgard admitted, as her wife rubbed her chest. “I’m new to this as well.”

“Well,” Sothis said, with an impish smile. “There’s only really one way to help your wife, isn’t there? Now, get to it, like a good wife.”

“Certainly not!” she hissed to the little goddess. “Not while you’re watching!”

“Oh don’t worry, it’s not like I’m interested in watching THAT. I’m not a voyeur! I always bury myself deep in Byleth’s head when you two fornicate! I may be a Goddess of creation, but I’m no pervert!”

“Your suggestions say otherwise!”

“I’m simply offering advice to ease your wife’s aches,” Sothis sniffed. “Ignore me if you please, but don’t just stand there while your wife suffers! It may end with your marriage in shambles!”

“If the Immaculate One couldn’t tear us apart, then what…”

Edelgard winced as she realized, well remembered who she was speaking to and what about exactly. Ah, this was awkward. Well, Sothis had always probably ‘heard’ her many rants to Byleth about Seiros’ sanity, or lack of, but it was another thing to grumble about it directly to her face.

“...sorry.”

“No, it’s alright, I suppose I can’t feel particularly angry about you killing someone I can’t even remember raising,” Sothis admitted. “Besides, what you did… my daughter was no longer in her right mind, she’d become a danger to the entire continent. You, in a way, were doing her a kindness. Finally bringing an end to her suffering.”

“...all the same…”

“You’ve never second guessed your decisions before, so why start now? Anyways, I’m not the one you should really be reassuring, I’m just a spectator. The world’s moved on without me.”

“Doesn’t that bother you?”

“Why should it? I barely remember it as is. Besides, it’s been 1000 years since I last walked this earth and Fodlan seems to have gotten along fine without my direct intervention on matters.”

Edelgard would probably disagree with her on that, but then again maybe Sothis’ definition of ‘fine’ differed. She supposed to a goddess, as long as the world wasn’t on fire…

“My new mother-in-law is…” Edelgard paused. “Well, she’s everything you said she was.”

“Mhmmm, is she really?” Byleth teased her. “Don’t worry, she means well. She just happens to not just look like a child but act like one as well.”

“I can hear you, you know!” Sothis said, pulling down on an eyelid and blowing a raspberry. “Pbbbbhttt! Insult me at your peril, fool, and be ready to reap the consequences!” 

“So what’s it like?”

“Hearing her for the first time?” Edelgard asked. “Not as humbling as I’d been expecting. Back then, when I was… trapped, I’d always hoped, literally prayed that she’d come rescue me. Then when she didn’t, I hated her, thought she was arrogant and uncaring. I thought she just looked down on us on high and…”

“Oh, my dear child… if that brute Nemesis hadn’t slaughtered me in my sleep…” Sothis sniffled. “Rest assured, what happened to you would have never occurred. It’s simply unacceptable, what the Agarthans had plotted. I’ll give them this, they know how to hold grudges… If I’d ever had the capability, I would have made sure that their little society would never see another moon.”

“Just… finally hearing her, for the first time, properly, I…” Edelgard swallowed. “You’re right, she does care, and… I’m still furious with her daughter, but I’m glad she ended up with you.”

She pressed her forehead gently to her wife’s own, enjoying her presence and wrapping her arms around the taller woman.

“She kept you alive long enough to meet me, didn’t she?”

“Something I’m not thanked enough for! This idiot has no common sense at all! She threw herself in front of an axe to save a girl she barely knew!” Sothis ranted in her ear, ruining the moment. “Phooey! If I didn’t turn back time, she would be dead! This child needs a mother’s guidance, because clearly only one of us has the brains in our little partnership!”

“I honestly found it quite romantic…”

“You would! Even if nearly getting cut down by Kostas was your own fault!”

“Admittidly, not one of my better plans.”

“You can say that again!”

Edelgard tried to shove her away, but the Goddess, cackling, floated off. This became her life for the next few months, trading barbs with the Mother of all Creation.

Late one night, she stirred in bed, hearing her wife mumble tiredly by her side. It wasn’t the first time that it’d happened, with Manuela having warned her that her wife would inevitably find herself having odd cravings.

“...could do with some pickled wolf’s feet, dipped in honey…’

Edelgard sighed, but knew better than to argue. Sothis’ namesake was sitting on her warm belly, and she gently shoved the feline off.

“I’m up, I’m up… I’ll send for the chef and…”

She quickly realized her wife was still sound asleep. That’s when she heard the laughter, seeing the annoying pest of a goddess laughing herself silly. Clutching her stomach, and wiping a tear of mirth from her eyes.

“Hehehehe, that was too easy! You’re such a sucker!”

Edelgard glared at her ‘roommate’. “I’ve been trying to find sleep for the past month, and you’re not making it any easier.”

“I have to keep you on your toes, I can’t let you get too lazy because who knows when Byleth will need something crazy for real.”

Edelgard threw a pillow at her, despite knowing it’d be useless. Sothis mimed being hit as the pillow flew right through her, and into a wall.

“Oh no, I’m dying… killed by a mere mortal! I have been slain! Tell my priests that the Goddess is no more, killed by a usurper!”

Edelgard muttered something unkind under her breath.

Suddenly Byleth stirred. “Oh, you’re up. Since you are, if you could head down to the kitchens and tell the chef that…”

“I will, don’t worry,” Edelgard said, stroking her hair, while still glaring at the Goddess. “Just try and get some sleep, you’re caring for two now.”

At least this explained how her wife had always been able to shovel so much food down when they’d worked for Garreg Mach. 

“I could jump out a window,” Edelgard said, to her headmate. “Take us both out.”

“Yes but you would be forced to spend all of eternity with me,” Sothis grinned. “And leave behind a widow and child, at that!”

True to form, when Edelgard returned, her wife was already back fast asleep. Setting the plate on the side table, the Adrestian Emperor smiled fondly, leaning in to kiss her head through her azure hair.

“Mraow!” Sothis, -the cat- said, grabbing one of the feet off the plate and chomping it down. Purring, the cat had the nerve to look entirely too pleased with herself.

-----

“Well, there’s no way to keep it quiet now,” Sothis snarked. “Everyone’s gonna know you knocked up your wife!”

Byleth moaned, dazily stumbling to a chair. Instinctively, Edelgard rushed over, guiding her into her seat and gently squeezing her hand.

“Easy,” she soothed. As per Manuela’s predictions, by now the baby bump was definitely showing. Gone was the mercenary’s muscled figure, replaced by one far more maternal.

“Hey…” Edelgard said, kneeling down to kiss her wife’s stomach. “It’s your mom.”

“Well, if we didn’t know the ritual worked before… We do now.”

“You doubted the finest white mage in the Empire?” Edelgard replied, amused. “Is your back feeling alright?”

“What, you mean because of my big boobs?”

“Dummy…” Edelgard said, shaking her head. “I meant because of the obvious.”

“Well, I suddenly look way less intimidating to the more power hungry nobles,” Byleth said. “I can’t just hang around your shoulder, and glare menacingly.”

“Don’t worry,” her wife replied. “Hubert can take up the slack. I think he was jealous, when you started replacing him in that regard.”

“Ha!”

The two kissed, and Edelgard ignored the sound of the Goddess faking a gag behind them.

“I swear, if I actually had teeth, I’d be worried about them falling out with how sugary sweet you two are.”

“Oh, are the adults being too disgusting for you, Sothis?”

“I’m older than the two of you combined! I’m older than your entire family line, von Hresvelg! Show some respect to your elders!”

“All I hear is a child throwing a tantrum.”

Sothis, naturally, rather maturely, just blew a loud, wet raspberry.

“Lysithea acts more like an adult than you,” Edelgard said. “So there. Look Byleth, the millennia-old Mother of Creation is blowing a raspberry.”

“Yes,” Byleth replied, blandly, sounding rather bored. “She does that.”

“So there? Is that really such a mature response?”

Edelgard ignored her.

“Listen to me when I’m talking! I am the Goddess!”

“Stripped of her powers, and reduced to snarking at her roommate,” Byleth said, despite not even hearing her companion. “Sticks and stones, and all.”

“Aren’t spells cast with words?”

“You’re taking this remarkably well,” Edelgard remarked, cuddling up next to her on the couch. “She’s been your closest companion, and this has been the longest you’ve gone without her since…”

“I know she’s there, even when I can’t hear here.”

“You’re already sounding like a faithful member of the church, should I be worried?”

“Should you be worried that I’ll become a religious extremist? …I think I’m already a terrorist given I helped assassinate the head of the Central Church.”

“Assassinate implies you sneaking into her bedroom, and stabbing her in her sleep,” Edelgard said. “You faced her on the field of battle, a knight against an evil dragon as if out of a fairy tale of old. Nothing so dirty as a political assassination. That’s Hubert’s area of expertise.”

“...true, and I’d look terrible as a Trickster.”

“Really? I think you’d look good in anything.”

“Now you’re just being biased.”

“Am I really? I thought I was just talking up my wife.”

Another pretend gag, from the Goddess in the back.

“See,” Byleth said, leaning in to boop her on the nose. “Totally biased.”

She chuckled.

“...that being said, I’m not entirely innocent myself, I admit I’ve had fantasies of you in a Gremory’s dress…”

“I’m not sure I have the figure to pull it off, not without… modifications.”

“But that fur collar!” Byleth said. “Nobody would argue with a woman in a dress that gorgeous.”

“I think you’re the biased one, love.”

“Am I really?”

Sothis facepalmed, behind them. Her loud smack rang out through the room, as the tiny gremlin tossed a glance upwards. If Edelgard didn’t know better, she would have sworn the Goddess was actually praying for lightning to strike her down through a window.

With a smug, superior sort of smirk, she leaned in to kiss her wife and that finally set her off.

“YOU TWO ARE DISGUSTING!”

-----

It was now officially eight months into Byleth’s pregnancy. Edelgard flipped through a book on parenting advice, her head falling back into the pillows. She’d been given so many congratulations and well-wishes that they’d all started to sound the same by this point.

“You know, I’m sure you’ll do fine. You don’t really need to worry your pretty little head so much. You’ve been able to do everything else you’ve set your mind to. What’s a tricky little thing like parenting next to the reformation of Fodlan?”

Edelgard tried not to glare at her, knowing the little goddess was sitting right next to her now. “I don’t need this right now…”

“Oh but I think you do, because for 8 months you’ve been doing nothing but angsting about being a mom. While everyone’s been giving you positive reinforcement, including your wife, your best friend, your adoptive sister, even… whatever Hubert is. And here you are, still doubting yourself.”

Edelgard wanted to retort but came up short. “Well, I-”

“You’re going to make mistakes, loads of them even. But here’s the thing, that’s just part of being a parent. It’s not some challenge for you to overcome, you’re approaching it all wrong,” Sothis said. “It’s an experience . Unique to everyone. There’s no one way to approach it, besides going with what feels right.”

Edelgard sputtered uselessly.

“Enough of that,” Sothis said, floating over her, and quickly flicking her forehead. “And no promises to be better about this either. Spoilers, you’re always going to be second guessing yourself. Byleth will as well. Did you honestly think she knew what she was doing all the time either? Phooey! Hardly! That’s what I was there for!”

Edelgard was silent for a moment, before the smile crept back up over her face.

“You’re right, of course and I’ve just been being terribly silly I suppose.”

“There we go,” Sothis said with a smug nod. “And this had better be the last I hear about it, otherwise you’ll have to deal with me again! And I’ll be extra annoying about it the next time!”

“You assume there will be a next time!”

“There will be, you can never say no to your wife’s puppy dog eyes!”

This she didn’t even try to argue with.

“I have to ask though, you don’t even remember being a parent so…”

“I don’t remember being a parent to Seiros, true. But your wife on the other hand… Well, Jerelt couldn’t take all the credit!”

-----

It’d been exactly 8 months, 3 weeks, one day 12 hours 7 minutes and 23 seconds since Byleth had been made pregnant. Edelgard wondered what it was exactly a sign of if she’d been keeping that precise track.

Still, those rare moments of peace, away from the political arena, with her wife were welcomed. When she wasn’t the Emperor of the united Adrestian Empire. With her beloved, she was just El.

“I feel like a third wheel,” Sothis mused, while the two had a dinner date atop a balcony. “Three’s a crowd, right?”

Mid-way through dinner, Byleth suddenly looked down at her swollen belly. Her eyes widened, and she smiled.

“What?”

“It’s time, El.”

“I wasn’t aware we were being precise about our flirtation.”

“No, I mean it’s time for the baby,” Byleth said, calmly getting up.

“Wait, it’s not supposed to be for another week!”

Sothis facepalmed, eying the growing pool on the floor. “I think your daughter disagrees, seeing as how HER WATER JUST BROKE!”

Edelgard’s reaction was instant, yelling for the guards. “Guards, go get Manuela and tell her to meet us in the infirmary! Tell her the baby’s coming early! Come on honey, right this way.”

She hadn’t actually grabbed her wife’s hand, but instead something a little smaller and furrier than that.

“Mrow!” 

Not that she’d really heard that. It was only after reaching the infirmary did it really hit her that she’d carried Sothis the cat with her. She let her hand slide down her face. Well if it'd been her who was having children, she’d be in the right place…

“Listen, I know you were in a blind panic, but you just mistook your cat for your wife. A common mistake, I know. Is there something you need to tell me, Edelgard?”

“I was panicking, alright?”

“I could go through an entire list of reasons you should have noticed you were carrying a SIGNIFICANTLY smaller lifeform.”

Byleth then arrived, escorted by the royal guard. Her eyes sparkled, seeing the cat in her wife’s arms. “Excellent, you brought Sothis. She is family, so she has a right to be here for the birth of our child.”

Sothis, the goddess, sighed to herself. “The sad thing is, I don’t think she’s joking about that. She probably legitimately believes it.”

“Hahah, yes, I knew the royal guards would escort you here but I was worried Sothis might get lost along the way.”

That was a great lie, Edelgard told herself as a nurse helped Byleth to a bed. 

“Alright, I’m here,” Manuela said. “Of course, no child of yours would ever settle for an undramatic birth, would it? This one’s going to be the impatient sort, I can tell already!”

Lysithea was right behind her, her health having taken a turn for the better in recent months as Hanneman’s research progressed. 

“Okay, I’m already bending the rules by letting your sister stay, and the cat,” Manuela said. “Anyone else, they’ll just have to wait their turn. There’s only so much room in here, a woman needs her space to work!”

And then the hours of pain began.

Poor Edelgard felt her hand get crushed by her wife’s own, and she let out a moan. “...so she gets all of the pain killers?”

“Quiet, you big baby. You’ve survived worse,” Manuela said, not even sparing a glance at her. “That's it, just keep pushing, Empress. We’re almost done now!”

Lysithea sat off to the side, petting Sothis.

“Seriously if you think your hand hurts imagine how SHE feels,” the young woman snarked. “It’s official, I am NEVER getting pregnant. You’re a braver woman than I am, Professor!”

Byleth screamed and Lysithea winced as she covered her ears.

“...good thing Linhardt isn’t here to see this, he probably would have fainted long ago,” she remarked. “So this is the ‘joy’ of childbirth, is it? The real joy is when it’s all over!”

-----

Byleth, by the end of it, was panting, exhausted. “...felt like I went several rounds with the Immaculate One. …with my fists.”

Edelgard gently kissed her wife's forehead. “You did great.”

Manuela handed the newborn back to her moms, having cleaned off all the blood with a soft cloth. The baby, still crying, was held close, looking like she was Byleth’s more precious treasure.

“Do you have a name for her?” 

“Oh, look at you… Just look at you,” Lysithea cooed. “You’re adorable. Wow Professor, you really made her?”

Byleth nodded. “Yes, El and I discussed it early on. Brendika. Brendika Eisner.”

“H-Hello…” Edelgard said, as Brendika looked up at her with big blue eyes.

Then Edelgard was the one crying. “...She’s really ours, isn’t she? We’re moms… We’re moms!”

And in the back of her mind, she could almost hear Sothis’ smug laughter, and her saying: “See, I told you that you had nothing to worry about. It’s almost like I’m the Goddess, and I know everything.”

“Oh hush. Hello Brendika, it’s me… Edelgard. Your mom. I don’t care what kind of crest you end up having, or if you have one at all. You’re already the greatest success of my life…”





fin