My Little Girl

Unfamiliar Emotions Once More

Verdant Rain Moon: Month of Lance of Ruin Retrieval Mission

"There you are Father."

Jeralt looked over to see his daughter coming over to him in her black dancer's dress that crisp, cool summer morning. The lush greenery of the flora around the graveyard damp with dew and last night's thunder storm. The air was clean as a gentle breeze danced through the leafy trees and shrubbery. His daughter also had her coat over her shoulders as she slowed to a stop to stand in front of him. "Seteth said you wanted to see me?"she asked as her gaze wandered to the grave her father had laid a bouquet of flowers on. "Hm?"

"Ah there you are. I wanted to ask you to join me but I couldn't find you. So here I am."greeted Jeralt with a sort of melancholy smile. This really got Byleth to look at him with worry.

"Father?"she asked softly in concern. 

His brown eyes turned towards the tombstone as he bent down to kneel in front of it. His hands running along the faded and weather worn letters as he spoke. "I thought you and I should visit your mother's grave. She's resting beneath this humble grave."

Byleth looked at him stunned as she came over and looked at the grave. He could see a sea of new emotions cross her face and now soulful eyes but the strongest right now was apparent. There was confusion and curiosity and longing in those sapphire eyes. "Mother's grave? But why is it here?"

"Hm? Oh."

Ah darn it.

Jeralt had forgotten he had barely ever talked about Sitri while she had been growing up! But Byleth had never pestered or asked about her mother not once until now. So he had never seen the need to relive memory that brought such joy and heartache. "Of course you'd ask that. I would not know where to even begin...I suppose I haven't talked about her much have I?"he sighed as he got to his feet to face his daughter.

"No. I-I um...I wanted to ask but every time you talked about her you looked so sad. It got really bad every time it would rain or on my birthday. So...um..."Jeralt was surprised to see his daughter look so flustered and bashful as she avoided his gaze like she had done something wrong. Was his daughter embarrassed!? Was she actually showing embarrassment for the first time!? Inside his heart was doing backflips and leaping in joy at all these emotions his child was discovering since coming here months ago since that fateful dawn. "C-Can you tell me about her now? What was...mother like?"Byleth asked letting out a startled squeak she had never made before when her father embraced her, ruffling her hair.

"How much do you want to know?"he asked with a fond smile.

"All of it."Byleth said with a determined gleam in her eyes as they left the graveyard behind them. Jerlat was more then happy to indulge in Byleth's new found desires to learn for this was something long overdue. And so he told her everything the day would allow. He told her how they met, what Sitri was like, how she looked and what her likes and dislikes were, and many other things. Byleth hanging onto his every word about her late mother. 

......................................................................

"Byleth!!"

The door to the infirmary slammed open revealing Jeralt out of breath and clearly one very, very fretful father. Manuela letting out a startled and upset yelp, "Hey! This is an infirmary Captain!" Jeralt had rushed here the instant he returned from his latest task Rhea had given him after Seteth told him what happened. Fearing the worst he had almost mowed through countless staff and students and visitors to the church to make it up here in his haste. Byleth had been sent to deal with a fallen Faerghus noble---Sylvain's older brother---that had stolen the Lance of Ruin; a Hero's Relic. But something had happened and Byleth had been badly injured.

Dimitri was sitting just across Byleth who was sitting propped up by some pillow in the cot. Pale and...she actually looked like she was in pain but also annoyed. "Father! Why must you always kick down doors like that?"she snapped before her hands flew to her bandaged shoulder. She had been stripped of her armor and clothes that needed mending in favor of a loose fitting pink night gown. The bandages moved from her shoulder to the middle of her back. 

"Professor Eisner, please you mustn't push yourself."Dimitri instantly fretted. The blonde boy had his own wounds from the ordeal with the demonic beast but it wasn't like with his teacher. Not to mention he couldn't shake the deja vu from that fight. It had been so weird but the young prince had almost lost it when he had seen his teacher and close friend take such a nasty swipe from the monster's paw that had been meant for him.

"Byleth Sitri Eisner!"Byleth instantly flinched at the angry scolding tone her father had as he marched over. However in the first time in her lie she soon showed disbelief at her father falling to his knees in tears. "Don't ever do something so reckless again! When Seteth told me I feared the worst..."he sobbed, hiding his tear filled eyes. Dimitri looking on as Byleth carefully got up with Dimitri's strong kind hands. Carefully she pulled her father close in a reassuring embrace.

"I'm sorry. I-I never dealt with anything like that I should have been more careful."she whispered.

Byleth had felt many new unfamiliar emotions this month and today: Anger, desperation, longing, pain, guilt, embarrassment, and disbelief. Slowly but surely it seemed that Dimitri out of all her lion cubs was having the strongest effect on her. Bringing out and revealing her humanity, showing her what it meant to be human though Jeralt doubted that the Blue Lions realized this at all nor his daughter. Today he had almost lost his child and even with the talents of the Seiros's healers including Rhea Byleth would surely bare the scars of those monster's claws. A monster not even he had faced before. Little did this father know though cindered wolves lurked and with their howls Sitri's past would come to the surface for Byleth....and possibly Byleth's own dark secret origins.

To Be Continued...