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Chapter Text

Edelgard's eyes narrowed slightly as she stood in the doorway. At nearly twelve years old, she thought herself an adult. And considering all she had been through as of late: her parents divorce, going from one parent's home and back again, her new step-brother, who was fine, but a little reserved for her tastes, and now this. 

Her arms folded over her chest, ignoring the nagging voice of her Nanny in her head that quietly scolded her to be careful of her blouse to not wrinkle it. 

She observed the sea-foam haired woman who sat primly across the table from her father, Ionius. They both seemed in high spirits, laughing and acting way too familiar. 

How dare this woman! 

Edelgard didn't like that. Not one bit. She didn't need another step-parent so soon. Her nose wrinkled. She had enough problems to deal with as is, and she certainly did not want to have another revolving door of alleged family members pinching her cheeks and telling her how pretty of a young woman she's growing up to be.

She had learned rather early that the company one keeps was important. And further still the company of those your family was involved with. 

Turning away from the view within the sitting room, the young girl moved to make her way back upstairs to her room, where her easel sat abandoned, and the painting of a hawk perched on a tree forgotten. 

But before she even makes it to the stairs, there's the voice of her father.

“El, sweetheart, could you come in here a moment. There's someone I would like to introduce you to.” His voice beckoned.

Damn it.

Again her Nanny's voice, tone shrill, was scolding her in her head as she turned upon the heel of her flats and padded back towards the sitting room. She adjusts her blouse slightly and tilts her head upwards, shoulders squared like she had often seen her elder siblings do. 

As she stepped into the sitting room, her eyes remained trained on her father, his lips pulled up into that gentle smile that Edelgard often thought was reserved for her and her alone. And perhaps it was. 

“There she is. El, I'd like to meet a very dear friend of mine. This is Miss Rhea.” Her father would introduce the other within the room.

Edelgard finally turned her gaze towards this ‘Rhea’ and immediately, she knew she had it all wrong. No, this woman was not here to seduce her father and whisk him away. Not at all.

The way the woman sat, primly, placid smile not meeting fully those pale green eyes of hers. Green eyes that were almost serpentine in nature. No, not at all. Something else was going on. 

And Edelgard wasn't quite sure she wished to get to the bottom of it. But no matter, she remembered her manners and instead of curtseying, she'd stick out a hand towards Rhea.

“Hello, Miss Rhea, my name-”

“Its wonderful to meet you, El,” Rhea gently interrupts her, not in a rude manner, but almost as if predicting that the young girl was going to introduce herself. She doesn't even hesitate to take ahold of Edelgard's out-stretched hand. 

The handshake is not at all what Edelgard expects and this Rhea woman continued to puzzle the young Hresvelg. The handshake is gentle, yet somehow cold. Rhea's fingers are too long for Edelgard's liking and she tries hard to not retract her own hand immediately. 

“You've your mother’s eyes,” The woman notes as she withdraws her hand and looks to Ionius, smiling slightly, that stretched thin smile. “But your father's mannerisms, how amusing.”

Ionius would grin widely at that, laughing jovially as he plants a hand on Edelgard’s shoulder. “Yes, well, that's my El, for you.”

“How old are you now, Miss El, anyway?” Rhea would inquire, regarding father and daughter calmly. “No, no, let me guess… You cannot be… Hm. I will say, what, elven, twelve? You are younger than my niece that is for certain, but you carry yourself much like her. Older beyond your years.”

Its a compliment, Edelgard realizes. A backhanded compliment, though and she's further on edge. She didn't like being compared to people. Especially the relatives of people she doesn't know. 

“And how is your niece anyway, my friend?” Ionius would ask, smiling briefly to Edelgard before focusing back to Rhea. 

Rhea merely rolls her eyes slightly. “Taking after her father, far too much.” 

This, again, makes Ionius laugh.

“At least your child knows how to dress properly and wear her shoes.”

“Still on that, is she?” 

“Hmph. She tracks mud constantly into my kitchen.” 

Edelgard's ears perk at that. Perhaps it wasn't a bad thing then to be compared to this woman's niece. 

Deciding that she'd much rather not be in the house, Edelgard takes that opportunity, with both of the adult's attentions on each other, to slip off. 

She grabs her coat and her art bag. And slips out of the side door, out into the forest that surrounded her father's manor house. 

⸰⸰⸰

Edelgard is nose deep in sketching a deer she had seen when she first hears it. 

The snap of a branch and her head is whipping up and about.

She's not alone. 

Stood a good few feet from her in the shade of a tree is… another girl. 

Much taller than Edelgard by several inches with wavy blue hair cut into a bob and bright, wide blue eyes, the girl is dressed in a shirt with strings, black pants and boots. There's a hunting knife on her hip. And she's staring right at Edelgard. 

“...It isn't polite to stare, you know.” Edelgard breaks the silence with ease, her tone curt. 

The girl blinks and turns her head sharply one way and then the other. She looks back to Edelgard, eyes never ceasing in their wideness. “You're… Speaking to me?”

Edelgard's nose crinkles. “Obviously. Who else would I be speaking to?”

Again, the girl seems to hesitate and she stuffs her hands into her pockets. “Usually people don't.”

“Don't what?” An eyebrow is perked now.

“See me. Notice me.” She's picking her words carefully as she remains in the shades of the trees. 

“Well I have. So… You can come and sit if you'd like. Would be much better than your gawking.” Edelgard would turn her gaze away from the other girl, going back to drawing. Her nose scrunches as she erases the curve of the deer's ear. 

“That's really good.” The girl's voice is beside her now and it almost causes Edelgard's pencil to scrape over the paper.

She shoots a glare at the other, shoulders hunching forward. “For goddess' sake! Are you some sort of ninja or something?”

Again, those eyebrows of the girl's knit together and she looks puzzled. “Nin-ja?”

“Stealthy.” Edelgard corrects. 

“Oh.” A pause. “Yes, I'm rather light footed. My Pa taught me how to do that when we go hunting. So we don't disturb the other animals.” 

Edelgard's head turns and studies the girl closer now. And despite the clear quality to her clothes, they're just a bit dirty. Likely to do with the aforementioned hunting. Her eyes drift upwards and she notices that, again, this girl is staring at her. But she's squinting now.

“Do I have something on my face?” She'd inquire, tone incredulous.

The blue haired girl would blink and draw her head back as if she had been slapped. “No. No, you just have… very kind eyes.” She pauses. 

“I'm By.” She'd stick out a hand towards Edelgard. Her hands are calloused, nails short. 

Unlike Edelgard's own which are softer, albeit slightly calloused at the pads and her nails painted a light pink. She regards the hand before looking back to By. 

“Is… Is it not customary for your sort to greet one another like this?” By would ask, head tilting. 

“My sort?” Now Edelgard was further confused.

By would open her mouth and then close it. She's quiet for a second before her head turns sharply. Standing up abruptly, she speaks, “I'm sorry, I have to go. Maybe I'll see you again?” 

Somehow, the girl's tone is hopeful.

And Edelgard scoffs. She's about to respond to By when she suddenly realizes that she's alone again. 

What a strange day. 

⸰ °)✾(° ⸰

Edelgard sees her again the following weekend when she returns to her father's. 

By is sitting on the log, legs crossed and she's using a knife, a different one from that's still on her hip. This one is smaller, more precise as shes widdling away at what appears to be… a rabbit? Or perhaps a hare judging by the size of the ears that are taking shape. 

“...Not interested in sneaking up on me this time?” Edelgard would inquire, eyes narrowing at the blue haired girl.

By pauses in her woodworking and looks to Edelgard. Her eyes aren't as wide, this go around but they seem to assess Edelgard. And instead of giving an answer to her question, the girl says instead, “You're a Hresvelg.”

Edelgard's eyes narrow a little. “...Yes? That's my surname.”

By seems to nod a little before returning to her craft. “Your Papa and my Aunt are friends. Makes sense why you could see me.”

“See you? Of course, I can see you.” Edelgard, again, feels her frustration rising. This girl was infuriating, no matter how pretty she is. 

What? Where did that thought come from. Distracted by her own musings, she doesn't notice By placing the now finished hare on the log before producing another small block of wood.

“What kind of animals do you like, Hresvelg?” By inquires. 

“What?”

“Animals. You do have them in these parts. You have to considerin' the deer you were drawing last time.” 

Edelgard stares at By for a long moment, weighing the pros and cons of answering. “...I will answer if you answer a question of my own.”

By seems to perk up at that, her blue eyes brightening just a shade. “Deal.”

“I'm fond of cats, if I am entirely honest.” Edelgard would carefully offer forth and By seems to take to it easily. 

She gives a furious nod and sets to scraping and cutting into the block of wood.

Edelgard approaches and settles down beside By, watching her with interest. 

“Where are you from?”

“Nearby.”

“That's not very specific.”

“Elsewhere then?”

Edelgard just gives By a blank sort of stare and the young girl laughs lightly. 

The sound makes Edelgard's heart twist. 

What had gotten into her?

They fall silent, Edelgard watching By work and By moving the block of wood this way and that. 

Slowly, little by little, the wood takes shape into a cat stretching downwards. 

Its cute. 

By is cute.

What?

Edelgard silently curses herself for such thoughts. She doesn't know this girl for goddess’ sake!

“Here.” By would offer the now carved feline to Edelgard.

“...For me?” Okay, now her heart was really hammering in her chest. And oh goddess, she was blushing. 

By would just smile slightly. “Yeah, you said you liked cats. So… Would be silly for me not to offer it to you. Butttt…” She'd slightly shift the cat statue back. “You have to promise me something.”

Her lips pulled into a frown and Edelgard eyed By warily.

“Come see me here tomorrow?” 

“...You want to see me again?”

“Yeah. I like you.”

“You barely know me.”

Again, there's that wide grin from By. “Kinda the point no? I want to get to know you.”

“Why?”

“Dunno, just do.”

Edelgard looks from By to the little cat statue in the girl's palm. Her eyes drift back to the other and she exhales. “Very well, By. I accept.”

By doesn't say a word, just grins and passes the statue over to Edelgard. 

Something in the air seems to shift and Edelgard can feel her heart beating a little quicker. As if something had just… changed. Some sort of finality to the situation. 

Shaking her head, she closed her hand around the cat statue and looked to By who had brought out a third block of wood from the pouch on her hip. 

That's how Edelgard finds she spends her afternoons during the weekends with her father and the summers too. 

Chapter Text

Edelgard's arms flex slightly as she brings the hand axe back and then sends it flying. It hits just shy of the bullseye.

“You're getting better.” 

She doesn't turn to look at By as her friend appeared from the woodwork as per usual. Edelgard had grown used to her appearance and disappearances. It was just a weird little quirk. Probably. 

“Thank you, By. Having a good day?”

“Yeah.” A pause as By watches Edelgard with interest as she throws another axe. 

“Do you like fish?” 

“Fish?” Edelgard would ask as she's walking towards the target. Pulling the axes out, she turns to look at By now. 

The other girl is standing just within the clearing now and she's dressed as she always is: a shirt of dark blue, brown trousers today and hiking boots. 

“They're fine I suppose.”

“Would you like to go and see some?” 

“...I don't think there are any aquariums in town.”

“What? No. I'm talking about the lake.” By would grin slightly. 

Edelgard's stomach turned. The lake? No, she couldn't go there. She wasn't a very strong swimmer and while it was fine to wade in and all, she really didn't like the idea of it. 

But as she regarded By's grinning features and bright blue eyes. She couldn't help it. 

“...Fine. But you owe me.”

By grins even further at that, her teeth briefly showing. “Deal.”

Edelgard slides the two hand axes back into their worn, leather sheaths. Those are hooked into her belt loops as she moves to follow along after By who's already begun marching in the direction of the lake. 

She hurries along after her friend, smiling faintly as By slows her gate so Edelgard can catch up.

“You're here a lot more,” By notes as they walk. “Something change with your Ma?”

“Hm? Oh, no, its summer break. So, I spend it with my Father.”

“Summer… Oh! From your lessons and stuff.” By would nod. 

Edelgard still didn't know what to make of By. She knew the following facts about By: she had an Aunt, that Rhea woman of all people, a mother and father or rather a Ma and Pa, she was homeschooled apparently and she liked the outdoors. She widdled, she hunted. And she liked fish. 

“Does that mean we can spend more time together?” By's question cuts into her thoughts. 

Edelgard glanced towards By, chewing on her bottom lip. “I suppose.”

“Cool. I'd like that. I like you, El.”

Her heart nearly stumbles in her chest as she pauses and stares at By wide-eyed. “...You called me, El.”

By turned about and grinned a little. “Well, yeah, we're friends and you said that your friends call you that.”

Edelgard cannot help the way her heart warms at such a response and she moves to walk alongside By now. She refrains from grabbing the other young teen's hand. “...I suppose you're right.”

Friends. The singular word rolls around in Edelgard's head as the woods around them begin to thin out and she can smell the scent of algae and fish, hear the lapping of water against stone. 

It's beautiful, the lake that is, Edelgard refuses to look at Byleth as they step carefully over the stoney shore. 

“It's nice,” Edelgard remarks towards Byleth who has bent down, sifting through the rocks. 

“Can be, but gotta be careful.”

“Of?”

“Even the big fish fear somethin’, El.” By would smile over to her and wiggle her brows as she walked back over to her. Holding out her closed fist, she'd motion to the other. 

Raising an eyebrow, Edelgard held out her palm and glanced to it as By placed a smooth rock into it.

“You've got a good arm,” By compliments her as she moves to bend down again. “See how many skips you can get.” 

Edelgard's eyes drift from By's bent over form to the rock in her hand. She runs her thumb over it before glancing to the lake. Strolling closer to where the lake was lapping against the stones, she'd bring her arm back and let it fly.

The stone goes soaring, slapping against the water before skipping once, then twice and then a third before splashing into the water's depths. 

“Not bad.” By has stepped up beside her now, having found a rock of her own. “Ma can skip at least four times every throw she does. She got eight once. She won't tell me her secret.”

Her cheeks are puffed up as she lets this tidbit of her life fall from her lips.

And Edelgard can't help but find it almost endearing. It's then that she realizes, that she does  indeed realize that she likes By. Perhaps more than she probably should. But those thoughts were her own. 

⸰⸰⸰

That's how Edelgard spends many of her days throughout the summer, with By at the lake. Skipping stones, looking at the small fish that flick about in the shallower parts of the lake. Sometimes they just sit and talk, little by little they reveal stuff about each other. 

But never their full names which Edelgard is puzzled by. And yet, she cannot bring herself to care. 

Up until the day in the late Verdant Rain Moon, when Edelgard arrives to the lake before By does and she notices it. 

A feeling of being observed, watched, intently. Her eyes drift about, searching the rocky shoreline for any signs of life, something. At finding none, Edelgard turns her attention towards the lake proper. It's in the distance, some kind of… four legged shape, standing on the opposite end of the lake.

Squinting, Edelgard raises her hand to her forehead, shading her eyes. “What the…”

“El.” By's voice calls to her from behind her. 

The lap of the water against her ankles, too, breaks her from her revery. Briefly, Edelgard looks back towards where she had seen… whatever it had been over yonder. But there was nothing.

“Not a good day for the lake,” By says as Edelgard joins her at the treeline. The blue haired girl is eying the lake warily. “Come on, let's go.”

“By?” Edelgard's eyebrows go up a little. “What's going on?” 

But By doesn't give a response, rather she just grabs Edelgard's hand tight and leads her back into the forest. 

“My Aunt says that when the days start to get shorter, more mischief is about. So we have to be careful when we're by the lake.” By would murmur after a time. 

They're sitting in their little clearing, playing a game of chess. It seems By had set it up, along with bringing a pouch of cookies that they were sharing. 

“Mischief?” Edelgard would ask, brushing crumbs from her blouse as she looks to her friend across the chess board. 

“Mmhm. Mischief. Oh, here.” By would dust her hands off and shove a hand into the bag that sat nearby where she had pulled the pouch of cookies from. Retrieving a small satin pouch on a string, By would hold it out to Edelgard. “This is from my Ma. She said to keep it on you at all times, it'll help you, when I'm not around.”

Edelgard looked to the pouch and then back to By. She carefully feels the weight of it in her palms, it's not too heavy, but it's clear that there's something metallic in there. She's about to open it when By grabs her wrist.

“No, don't. Make sure to always keep it closed. Otherwise… Otherwise it'll lose its purpose.” By would gently touch the pouch. “Here, let me help you put it on.” 

And before Edelgard can stop her, By is sitting behind her, gently sliding the strap of leather around her neck and tying it off. She has to hold back a shiver as her friend's fingers brush over her hair.

“There you go. You can wear it under your clothes if it doesn't match your style.”

“My style?”

“Yeah, you know. All Princess-y and stuff.” By would grin as she shuffled back over to her side of the chess board. 

“You're ridiculous.” Edelgard would huff as she adjusted the pouch. 

“Sure, but I'm your friend.”

“Not willingly.”

“Bullshit.”

“By! Language!”

The pair of them are quiet, not breaking eye contact before they both burst out laughing. 

⸰ °)✾(° ⸰

It's a mistake being here. But something had drawn Edelgard to the stoney shores once more. She only has a week left here and though By's warning hummed in her mind, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to happen.

That she had to be here. 

Edelgard's eyes shift about, adjusting her shirt slightly as she observed the calm of the lake, the tranquility of it all. It was almost weird how calm it was. 

Usually there was something flying about, or splashing about in the water. 

Her eyes drift to the far left at the sudden sound of splashing. Coming towards her at a slow trot was a surprising and almost ethereal sight: a large, gray skinned and furred horse. The beast's eyes are a pale brown, but theres an almost glazed look to them, unfocused and yet, it still plods towards Edelgard.

“What in the name of the goddess? A horse?” She uttered to herself as observed the animal continuing to approach her. 

Its stride was slowing as it came to a stop, hooves and leg hair dripping with water. The creature continued to stare at her, those pale brown eyes unnerving to say the least. 

Edelgard felt herself rooted to the spot, her eyes focused on the flat nose of the horse. She knew better than to stare an animal in the eyes, especially one like this.

This thing was not of this world. And just as she saw it , this thing saw her .

She tries to will herself to move back, to draw away. But she cannot. Something, again, keeps her rooted there as this… This horse stares at her still. 

She should not be here. 

Edelgard could feel and hear her heart thrumming, hard yet somehow still steady in her chest. 

THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. 

Theres weeds sticking to this things flank, its mane and tail are soaked. But it hadn't rained. 

It had come from the lake. 

It had come for her. 

Look at me. It seemed to say. Look at me, and behold the horrors that I am. The depths they call. Can you not hear them?

Edelgard was not a good swimmer, the lake water was splashing at her ankles, at her shins… But before the water can reach her knees where the horse has settled down to beckon her on its back, the weight of the velvet pouch beneath her blouse grows heavy.

Like a ship, Edelgard remained anchored there, halfway into the lake. Her shoes were soaked, pant hems beginning to drip. 

Come . It demanded. You must. Approach. 

That thing was staring at her still, its eyes are completely white now. But it was diluted, a milky sort of white with that glassy texture. It's flank had grown further weeded, its mane mated and with a slimey sort of sheen to it. Like an oil-slick. 

And still, Edelgard refused. She did not look at the beast in it's eyes. Her mind properly hers once more as she stared at it in its general direction, thoughts racing alongside her heart. 

Think, Hresvelg, think. Not of this world, a horse from water. This was a lake, not an ocean or sea, no salt water and the horse was full horse and not part fish, so that struck hippocampus from the list. 

Splash. 

The being has risen back upwards now and it's moving towards her again at seeing Edelgard stall in her movements.

“Shit.” She'd whisper the word stumbling back into the water further. Her foot catches, slipping and sending her toppling into the water proper. 

Again, the pouch around her neck grows heavier, grounding her to that moment. The scent of salt, though, is what surprises her. 

Reaching up, Edelgard wrapped her hand around tight around the velvet pouch, eyes darting away from the beast finally. Air rushed back into her lungs, giving her the boost to scramble to her feet and narrowly miss being trampled by the now stampeding equine. 

“Shit!” Edelgard gasped out again as she stumbled through the water, splashing and kicking up dirt and rocks in her wake. Her mind still going through her index of various mythical horse beings as she waded through the somehow near knee deep water. How the hells did that happen?

“Wonderful, this thing can control water,” Edelgard hissed under her breath as she hiked up her pants somewhat, the legs now drenched with murky lake water. Great, great-

“EL!” 

Her head whipped upwards at the sound of footsteps and there was By, closer to the treeline and not far behind stood a much taller woman, with-

“What the Hell?” Edelgard couldn't stop herself from gaping, wide-eyed as the older woman stepped past By, large leathery and slightly feathered wings spread wide from her back. 

A set of curling horns framed her face and a tail with an almost lion-like tuft of feathers and fur at the end weaved behind her as she walked calmly forward.

“Come.” She beckoned towards Edelgard, a hand held out towards the young teen. 

Again, theres that feeling of weight upon her neck, from the pouch, but this time rather than ground her, it pushes her forward. Urging her to go towards this, weirdly winged woman. 

Her eyes darted towards By who gave her a firm, almost pleading nod. 

Despite her waterlogged shoes and pants, Edelgard was able to make it over towards the older woman who grasped tight to her hand and tugged her close. 

Her wings brush over Edelgard's form, warming her briefly before she's pushed in By's direction. 

“Take her back to Ionius, Byleth.” 

“Yes Ma.” 

By- No, Byleth's arms are strong as they wrap about Edelgard, supporting her and guiding her away from the shores of the lake. 

“Are you alright?” Byleth murmurs into Edelgard's hair as the other teen leans into her.

Edelgard is far from alright as she peers over Byleth's shoulder, watching as Byleth's mother dealt with whatever the hells that thing was. 

“By… What. What's going on?” Edelgard muttered against Byleth's shoulder now as shes guided away, back into the woods.

“I-... I can't tell you. Not yet at least. I don't have permission.”

Permission? Edelgard pulls from her friend's arms and stares at the other. 

Had Byleth's eyes always been like that? That dark blue, deep and almost like the ocean…?

“...Byleth.” Her friend's name falls from her lips in an almost hesitant manner.

Byleth's head turns sharply, eyes wide with surprise as she stares at Edelgard. “Please-”

“You're… You're like that… That horse, aren't you? You weren't kidding when you said you were from elsewhere.” Edelgard presses a hand to her forehead. “Oh goddess…”

“I'm sorry.” Byleth murmurs, stepping towards Edelgard, hands reaching out towards her, palms down. “El, really, I am. I'm physically unable to tell you.”

“What?” Her tone is incredulous now, confusion warping Edelgard's features. 

“It's… Come on, you're soaked, lets get you back to your Dad's.” 

Edelgard doesn't protest, too confused, too tired and too drenched in lake water to complain.  Nor does she comment when Byleth- Byleth!- grabs her hand again and doesn't let go as they make the trek back to the manor house. 

Her father and Rhea, Byleth's aunt, are waiting for them. Rhea doesn't say a word as Ionius all but ushers Edelgard inside and off to her room. 

There, she yanks off her drenched clothes and dries off with towels her father had laid out for her. 

But as she stands clad in just a fresh set of undergarments and the towel wrapped around her slightly shivering form, Edelgard cannot help but touch the velvet pouch around her neck. 

Don't. Make sure to always keep it closed. Otherwise it'll lose its purpose. Byleth's words from that day rung in her ears. 

Her hand wraps tighter around it as she eventually heads back downstairs. She can hear the raised voices: of Rhea, of her father. 

“-Should have told her!”

“She's not even sixteen, Serios.”

“Don't.” Rhea's voice is venomous. “She still should've been informed, especially considering she-” But her voice halts as Edelgard steps into the living room.

Rhea is standing across from her father who is stood by the fireplace. 

The woman from before, Byleth's mother, is seated beside Byleth who is looking, surprisingly anxious. 

And she, of course, is the first to do anything in response to Edelgard's apperance. 

Byleth is in front of her in an instant, wrapping her arms tight around Edelgard and hugging her tight. 

“I'm so sorry, I should've-” Byleth begins, but she stops at the sound of a clearing throat. 

Byleth's mother has risen and followed after her daughter. A hand settles onto the younger woman's shoulder as she smiles faintly. And unlike, Rhea, this smile reaches her eyes. 

“Byleth, you couldn't have known. You gave her the charm, and just now, you prevented tragedy.” She'd murmur towards her daughter before looking towards Edelgard.

“You are well, yes?”

“Yes, ma'am.” Edelgard would murmur, her hands flexing at her sides as she looked towards Byleth, then Byleth's mother and then finally her father and Rhea. 

“...I feel like I'm owed an explanation.” She would say slowly and such a statement earns a snort from Rhea. 

“Ah, there is that Arundel in you.” Rhea utters, and when she says her mother's maiden name, it almost sounds like a curse. 

But before Rhea can continue to disparage her mother, its Byleth's mother who speaks, “Sister, that's quite enough.” 

Rhea, for her credit, does seem genuinely chastised. She doesn't say anything further, merely sniffing. 

“Miss Hresvelg… I take it that you're familiar with fairies, yes?”

Edelgard's eyes narrowed a little as she regarded Byleth's mother, who smiled again at such an expression. “Father often told me those stories when I was younger, sure.”

“Very good. Then, you'll know that what you just encountered today at the lake was one of the more mischievous sort. A Kelpie.”

Kelpie, the word sounded familiar to Edelgard, but her mind was still running on adrenaline and she would soon crash. So instead of responding, she just nodded slightly, silently grateful for Byleth's arm around her still. 

A silent comfort.

“Then if you understand that what you saw is what you saw and that you have befriended my daughter… I believe you can keep a secret, no?”

“Sitri…” Her father begins to say, but again, he's stopped, just like Rhea. 

“Ionius, your daughter deserves answers. And if you will not tell her, I will.” Sitri replied coolly, her blueish green eyes flicking warningly towards the man before refocusing on Edelgard. 

“Myself, my daughter, my sister and husband, we are all fae, Miss Hresvelg. And your father is a friend to us. As well as a mediator of sorts. Your family, specifically your father's half, the Hresvelgs come from a long line of those who have been in touch with our sort.” She would carefully explain. 

Edelgard's fingers tightened around the pouch once more, her eyes searching Sitri's own for any signs of deceit. She came up empty, and she isn't sure if she should be relieved or not. Briefly, she looks towards her father who… looks admittedly ashamed, which puzzles her further. 

“And by your sort, you mean the fae?”

“The children of the goddess, the fae, dragons, all sorts of names, yes.” Sitri would nod. “And, well, admittedly, around here… The veil between our two worlds so to speak is quite thin. And thats why you and my darling Byleth are able to see each other so often. We've our ways of bending the veil to our whim, to come and go as we please.”

Edelgard's quick to catch on. “But not everyone should be able to do that. Its dangerous. Like… Like today.”

“Exactly.” It's Byleth who speaks, grinning almost proudly. 

Oh, that does something to Edelgard and she still isn't sure what to call it. 

“You weren't supposed to know until you were older, El. But…” Her father sighs as he steps over to her and settles a hand onto her shoulder. “With your mother and I's divorce, you don't really come around here as often, so I admittedly thought I could get away with not telling you.”

“Father…”

“I'm sorry, El. Truly.”

Again, that look of embarrassment mixed with anguish it confuses Edelgard. A lot of information had just been handed to her, and too, her heart was finally settling down into her chest. The realization that her friend since she was younger was a fae, that her friend's whole family were fae and her father had-

She shakes her head as she steps from Byleth's grasp and she just takes ahold of her father's hand. 

“...You were going to tell me?”

“Yes, eventually. I-... I am sorry, Edelgard, my darling.” Ionius murmurs as he hugs his daughter tight.

Edelgard is delayed in returning the hug. But she does, because this is her father. And surely secrets had been kept from her, the cards were all on the table now. Hopefully. 

Chapter Text

Edelgard and Byleth move in and out of each other lives. There are some school breaks where they spend every day together when Edelgard is at the manor. And other times, not at all, because Edelgard gets busy. She makes friends, mortal friends and she spends more and more time away from the manor.

But each summer, she comes back. And Byleth is waiting, happily so. They pick up pretty much where they left off. Its not like Byleth has a cellphone either, the technology confuses the fae. And it messes with her head or so Byleth claims. 

Edelgard does asks Rhea about it after the fact and while the elder fae still has yet to warm up to her as the other members of the Eisner family have, Byleth's Aunt does give her a response. 

“Old magics such as the ones that run through our blood, it does not mix well with the modern age. It is why you do not encounter many fae.” Rhea would reply calmly as shes sat across from the now freshly sixteen year old Edelgard.

Edelgard's eyes shift slightly, waching as the fae woman stirs a bit of honey into her tea. 

She had found out rather early on that the fae enjoyed sweets. And Rhea was no exception. 

“The air it is too much, too clouded. The atmosphere itself is tainted.” Rhea continued.

“Tainted?” Edelgard repeated, regarding the fae over the top of her tea-cup.

“Think of it like oil and water, Miss Hresvelg. Magic and technology, it cannot mix. And in some cases, such as my niece who walks easily between the worlds, too much can be harmful.” 

A frown crossed Edelgard's features at that, her hands tightening around her cup. “Do you mean that spending too much time here hurts Byleth?” 

Rhea, too, frowns and taps a finger against the side of her teacup. “Less that it harms her and more of the idea of excess.”

“Oh.” 

The rest of that afternoon is spent in contemplative silence, for Edelgard at least. And even when Byleth appears long after the sun has set, blue eyes bright and large leathery wings dwarfing her form, Edelgard is still quiet. 

Byleth's smile wavers. “El? Hey, what's up with that look of yours?”

They're laying in their clearing.

When did it become their clearing? Edelgard isn't sure and she frankly doesn't want to put a time to it. Not tonight. Not when time is so precious. 

“Byleth?”

The fae sits up sharply at that, wings flexing a little at the sound of her full name. “Yeah?”

“...Are you happy with our friendship?”

This earns a quizzical sort of noise from her friend. 

“I mean genuinely.”

“Happy?” Byleth repeated, again her tone confused. “Why are you asking me that, El? And you really gotta be careful with-”

“Your full name, I know, I'm sorry. I don't use it out of ignorance.” She's quick to apologize as she sits up. Edelgard's hands flex in her lap, restraining herself from reaching out, touching Byleth's wings, or any part of her really. “I'm… Not going to be around next summer.”

“What?” Byleth's head shoots up from where it had rested on her knuckles. She's staring wide eyed at Edelgard. “What do you mean, whats-”

“My mother has taken a job in Faerghus. And I have to go with her, she's my primary parent.”

“When will you be back?”

“...I'm not sure if I will be. I'm sorry, By. I just. I thought it best if I told you now, at the beginning of the season, so we could…”

“...Spend all of summer together.” Byleth would finish for her, her expression and tone solemn. 

They're quiet now, the sounds of crickets chirping around them as the stars hang high in the sky above their heads. 

“Hey, El?”

“Yes, By?”

“We'll still be friends, right?”

“...Of course, By.” But she doesn't sound so sure. Especially considering, how will they communicate?

⸰⸰⸰

“Letters.” 

“What?”

“We could write letters to each other. You could address them here to your dad's house. And I can come and get them, and vice versa!” Byleth's expression is bright. 

They're sitting in the hammock stretched between the two large oak trees that mark the end of the manor's grounds and the beginning of the forest.

Edelgard's head is against Byleth's shoulder and their legs intertwined. Were they really still friends now? Edelgard isn't so sure and she doesn't want to voice such thoughts. 

“I like that idea.”

“Cool! And you can tell me all about your days, and I can tell you about mine. And it'll be like we're still together!” Byleth grins down to Edelgard.

And Edelgard cannot help, but return such a smile. 

⸰⸰⸰

Edelgard is gone for two years. But they keep in touch. 

That's how the two years apart are spent: they write and write. And on the eve of Edelgard's eighteen birthday, she comes home, back to the manor house. Her father's voice telling her about this and that, all that she has missed. And as much as she loves her father, she's only half listening, because Byleth is waiting for her, because of course she does. But she's different. She's grown and so has Edelgard. They're different, physically, mentally. 

But Byleth still greets her with a tone that makes Edelgard's heart warm and bright. And even if she's got a scar running across her nose and down her cheek, even if Edelgard wants to kiss it, to ask what happened. She doesn't pry. 

Because if Byleth wanted Edelgard to know, she would've told her.

⸰ °)✾(° ⸰

It's her birthday, again. She is nineteen today. And while surely, Edelgard is happy to have her friends here in the manor she had spent many a summer with her father. She cannot help, but feel as if something is missing. 

Someone is missing.

Her eyes dart, watching as Dorothea laughs loud and high, her arm linked still with the tanned arm of Petra, the foreign exchange student. Petra had taken to the singer rather quickly.

And Edelgard isn't jealous, no, not at all. She shouldn't be, why should she be? Dorothea wasn't hers to covet. They were better as friends, after all.

Or thats what Edelgard tells herself late at night, when shes laying alone in her bed, the sounds of Enbarr around her. 

Thats one of the few things she does miss when shes out here: the sounds of the city. Not the smells, certainly not, but the sounds. Out here on the grounds of the Hresvelg ancestral home, there is only the distant sound of the lake and the wild life. 

“Lady Edelgard.” Hubert's voice cuts through her thoughts before they get too gloomy. And shes silently grateful for her other life long friend's interruption for once. Shes not fond of that nickname though. 

Old habits die hard. Ever the history buff that Hubert Vestra is. Even that stupid ascot he's wearing, maybe Ferdinand likes it. 

Edelgard will never understand how those two work. 

“Yeah, Hubert?” Edelgard forces a smile onto her features. 

“There is a ruffian out on the porch asking specifically for you. By name.” Hubert didn't seem terribly impressed. 

“Ruffian?” Edelgard's tone is incredulous as she follows Hubert towards the back door, setting her plastic cup down, the contents of the wine sloshing about within. Its good, its a nice vintage, but she's been nursing the cup this whole night. Waiting, hoping that a certain pink haired softball captain would show up. 

Hilda Goneril was Edelgard's ex-girlfriend. And yet Edelgard had still invited her to her birthday. 

They were trying to do this whole “going back to being friends thing,” but how do you do that when you walked in on your then girlfriend of nearly a year making out with some blue haired animal science major? 

Edelgard still isn't sure. And she isn't sure why she invited Hilda anyway. 

The ‘maybe’ on the RSVP hurt more than a ‘no’.

But such thoughts are whisked away when Edelgard steps out into the balmy night air. Her head turns about, searching for a slip of a scaled tail or leathery wings, and then she spots her.

Byleth is leaning against the railing of the porch, short-sleeved button-up tucked into a pair of jeans and those damned boots. Her hands are tucked into her pockets, theres that easy going smile on her features. “Hi El.”

Her mood is entirely improved just at that simple greeting as Edelgard all but throws her arms around her childhood best friend. “Byleth,” Her voice a hush as she holds tight to the fae. 

Byleth would laugh, wrapping Edelgard up in a tight hug. She'd grin down to her. “What, did you think I wasn't gonna show? I’d never miss your naming day for anything in the world!”

“Birthday, By.” She'd murmur, smirking slightly to the fae. 

“Birthday, naming day, whatever.” Byleth would draw back and glanced towards Hubert whose still looming nearby. “This is one of your school friends, right? Hubert, correct?”

Hubert's eyes narrowed slightly. “I am Lady Edelgard's right hand, yes.”

“Best friend.” Edelgard gently corrected. “Hubert, this is…” But she'd pause and look towards Byleth who just smiles. 

“Byleth Eisner, Edelgard's very good friend.” Byleth would release Edelgard for a moment and hold out a hand. “Thanks for taking good care of her for me, Hubert. I've heard a lot about you and the others.” 

Hubert would raise an eyebrow, eying the offered hand before accepting it and firmly shaking it right back. “You are… Ah. I see. You are Lady Edelgard's elusive pen-pal, I take it?” 

“Pen-pal?” Byleth would ask, feigning a wounded expression. “El, I thought you told him about us.”

Edelgard held back a laugh at the look of bewilderment on Hubert's face. “By, please, not with Hubert. Anybody else, sure, but not Hubert.”

The fae pouted just a little before sighing loudly. “Very well, only for you, birthday girl. Come on, I want to meet the rest of your court.” But Byleth didn't wait up for Edelgard nor Hubert, merely heading right inside.

“Your court?” Hubert asked incredulously, “And you complain when I call you Lady Edelgard.”

This earns him a stern look from Edelgard. “Hush, you.”

⸰⸰⸰

Byleth gets along easily with all of her friends. 

And it wasn't that Edelgard was worried, not at all. She just knew how Byleth could be when she was meeting new people: just a shade unpredictable. But with her friends, Byleth is a natural

The night is winding down and once more, Edelgard is out on the back porch. She's got a nice buzz going on, having been careful to not over indulge. Even if Dorothea and Caspar both kept insisting she do shots with them. She did a few. But had quickly followed them with water and lots of chips and salsa. And of course, birthday cake. 

Her head turns at the sound of boots followed by the familiar feeling of a scaled appendage wrapping about her waist. 

“Hi.” Byleth greets easily, carrying two bottles of water. One of which is handed right to Edelgard.

“Hey yourself. Finally got away from Ferdie, I take it?”

“Yeah, I probably shouldn't have mentioned I liked horses…”

“No, no, you probably became his favorite person. It made Hubert just a smidge jealous. It was funny.” Edelgard would smile, taking a sip of her water as she relaxed into Byleth's side.

It was so easy with the other. And sure Byleth was a fae and not at all a mortal, but… It didn't matter to Edelgard, did it?

Oh. 

Oh. 

And before Edelgard can act upon the realization, that truthfully had been building since she was a young teenager, Byleth is interrupting her thoughts.

“Oh, hey, here, before I forget.” Rummaging in the pocket of her pants, Byleth produces a box with a little purple bow wrapped around it. “Happy birthday, Edelgard.”

Edelgard doesn't know what causes her to shiver: whether its how Byleth says her name or the way the fae's fingers brush against her own as she hands her the box.

“Oh, By… You didn't-”

“Yes, I did. Consider this me making up for the ones I missed.” Byleth would smile, but such a smile doesn't meet her eyes. Its a sad little thing.

Again, Edelgard has to restrain herself from reaching up and kissing it away. Goddess, she really needed to stop thinking about kissing her best friend. This was ridiculous. 

Even if it was her birthday!

Turning her attention away from Byleth, she set the water bottle down and carefully removed the ribbon. Tucking that into a pocket on her dress, Edelgard eyed Byleth before opening the box. 

Nestled within velvet of the box, on a thin chain sat a light blue and pearlescent scale. 

Edelgard immediately recognized it as belonging to Byleth. She looked from the scale to Byleth, eyes wide in surprise. “By…”

“Edelgard,” Byleth begins slowly, her hands coming up to settle over Edelgard's own, “I… I realized during our time apart that your mortal saying of ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder,’ to be immensely truthful. I think… I think I've loved you for a very long time, but I couldn't ever bring myself to say something, because…”

“You're not always the best at expressing yourself?” Edelgard supplied, tears beginning to prick at the corner of her eyes. 

Byleth's face screws up into another pout, her hands tightening around Edelgard's own. “Yeah… But I realized that I uh. I love you and I don't want there to be any misunderstanding between us so. I am, that is a scale from right over my heart… And admittedly, for us fae, this is sort of my way asking to court you, by offering a part of me. Literally.”

Edelgard cannot help but let out a water laugh as she closes the box. Holding it to her heart, she'd reach a hand out and grab ahold of Byleth's shirt collar. Pulling her down, she kisses the fae. Deeply, passionately and maybe a little bit of tears are in the mix too.

Byleth makes a soft noise of surprise before wrapping her arms tight around Edelgard. 

They kiss for a minute, maybe longer maybe more. Or maybe even shorter, but neither seem to care as the moment they break apart, a shared breath is taken before they're kissing again and again. 

“Am I safe to assume thats a yes then?” Byleth murmurs after a moment, her arms still tight around Edelgard's waist. 

“You're ridiculous.” Edelgard is laughing again, and its just a bit watery.

“Maybe so, but you're the one who kissed me first.” Byleth is quick to jab right back, grinning widely. 

“But yes, Byleth Eisner… I gladly accept your courtship. Happily so.” Edelgard rested her head to Byleth's own, smiling to her. 

“Thank you…”

“For what?”

“For making my birthday this year so special, By… And for loving me.”

“Edelgard, I told you, I've loved you for a long time…”

“I… I think I have too, but I was just too young to realize it.”

“We're still yet young.”

“Sure, but there isn't anyone else I'd rather grow up with, By.” 

They spend of the evening as they always did: talking, but now with the addition of cuddling, of kissing. 

A very good birthday after all.  

Chapter Text

Edelgard Hresvelg, not the first of her name, but certainly the first of her name to love so deeply and so fiercely, her historical namesake would be proud of her. 

Long past are the days she spent in the sun in this manor, or tucked up in her room with her easel. She bets if she went looking in the attic, she could find it. And perhaps, one of these days, she will. 

Today, though, is not that day. No. 

Today, surrounded by her friends, her family, she marries the love of her life. 

And she isn't afraid.

⸰⸰⸰

She hadn't been afraid that day at the lake, when she had stared a kelpie in the face and lived to tell the tale. Nor was she afraid when she stood her ground against Rhea of all people. When Byleth's Aunt had come storming onto her property the previous winter, demanding to know that if it was true. That Edelgard was pregnant. 

And while surely, at nearly twenty-six, Edelgard had dealt with lots of things already, an angry in-law was nothing to sneeze at, especially an angry fae in-law. Not that Rhea knew they were married. 

It had been Byleth's idea. 

“Why don't we just go over to the courthouse?” She'd murmured into Edelgard's hair as they were wrapped up in each other in their bed. Byleth's tail curled tight around Edelgard's waist, cushioning and cradling the just smallest bit of a curve to Edelgard's belly. “Could be fun. Plus, in fae laws, we are already married.”

“What? When?” Edelgard lifted her heard from Byleth's chest and the fae just laughed at her beloved's confusion. 

“The summer solstice when you came around for dinner. Ma and Pop already love you like their own and they approve so… Yeah. We're not really big into the whole swearing souls to each other or what have you. But considering I spend most of my time here with you… Just makes sense. If you want to I mean.”

That was the question: did she want to get married? Then again, it would be nice. 

“Edelgard Eisner.” She'd try the name carefully. “Byleth Hresvelg.”

“Could hyphen it.”

“Hresvelg-Eisner?”

“Yeah, why not? Could be cool.” 

“Could be cool? Byleth, my light, you're taking all of this rather… mildly. A bit too mildly for my tastes.”

“I am a fae, El.”

“Yes, but you could still ask me properly.”

“Propose you mean?”

“Yes. I would like that very much.”

“Very well, my heart.” 

And of course, Byleth does. But it isn't a big spectacle. No, it's simple and sweet. And its in their clearing where it all began. Byleth proposes over fish tacos from their favorite place in town, because of course she does. She tells Edelgard that she loves her, that she can't think of anyone else she wants to be married to for the rest of her existence. Forever. 

The courthouse wedding isn't glamorous either. Dorothea and Hubert stand proudly as witnesses for the pair of them. Maybe Hubert cracks a smile, or maybe he doesn't. 

Ferdinand definitely cries when hes giving a toast and he has to be dragged back down into his seat by Hubert himself. 

Surrounded by friends, it is good enough for Edelgard. 

And thats what gives her the strength to tell Rhea off that wintery evening. 

When spring comes, though, it brings of course change: Rhea apologizes, in her own way and because she truly does wish to be in her grand-niece's life. 

Anselma ‘Ansie’ Patricia Hresvelg-Eisner is born in the middle of spring. It is a bright and beautiful day. 

She is perfect. Her mothers’ think just the same. Everybody who meets the wee little hatchling thinks so too.  

⸰ °)✾(° ⸰

Now, though, back in the present at nearly two years old, Ansie is a menace. But she's taking her duty as flower girl very, very seriously. 

She's presently sat on a stool as Dorothea does her hair up in a bun thats almost like Edelgard's own. And shes behaving, which is a nice change of pace. 

Edelgard, meanwhile, is trying hard not to laugh at the serious expression on her daughter's features as she watches her via her mirror. 

No she was not afraid. Not at all. Not when she meets her father at the door of her bedroom, even as hes already started to cry. She does laugh though a little, its better than crying happy tears. 

Even if her heart begins to pick up as she walks along through the well lit pathway towards the clearing- their clearing- Edelgard isn't afraid. She's walked this path how many times before?

And she knows who will be waiting for her at the end of it.

 Her eyes drift beneath her veil, looking to all the faces gathered on either side, to where Dorothea stands with Ansie, all smiles and giggles. 

Her heart twists, because this is what it was all leading up to, wasn't it? And then of course, there she is: her beloved wife. 

Byleth stands tall, proud, wings folded at her sides and tail, no matter how hard she tries, wagging happily behind her. She's grinning, that big wide smile as she steps forward and takes Edelgard's hand from Ionius.

And Ionius steps forward, murmuring something to Byleth who just nods firmly before moving to sit beside Anselma whose wiping her eyes already and trying hard not to cry further. 

Edelgard's hand is tight in Byleth's, and vice versa. 

“Hi El.”

“Hello By.”

The ceremony is simple, but intimate, just how the two love. And as their friends cheer as they kiss, Edelgard knows that forever had long since started a long time ago. But she doesn't mind if it starts over right here in this moment. 

“I love you, Byleth,” Edelgard murmured.

“And I love you, forever, Edelgard,” Byleth murmured in turn.

That was all that mattered in the end. There had been trials, tribulations, distance and everything in between. But they loved each other. 

Like real people do.