Book One The Black Lion Old Version

specter of the past part 5 The chalice of beginnings

At the same time that Naruto is talking with his parents.

Byleth and Sonia have been walking in relative silence for almost an hour. Aelfric said nothing as well until they went to a room that looked like a massive library. He couldn't help but look in amazement; books as far as the eye can see. There had to be thousands of books; who knows what kind of knowledge is stored here? If it were any other time, he would eagerly just sort through the books, just to pick up and read the first one that came to mind, but he had to restrain himself. He knew the time and place, and the man in front of him was the person that essentially raised his sister. He was still trying to wrap his mind around it: a twin sister he never knew was alive. He thought she was dead, and the turmoil with Marianne; he couldn't get that out of his mind either. But he had to temporarily shove that on the back of his mind and focus on the present.

Aelfric stopped near the table where a stack of books was and turned around to face both Byleth and Sonia.

"I can't help but look at the two of you and not be reminded of your parents' gods. It's been 20 years, and it still doesn't get any easier." Aelfric said with a tone of sadness he couldn't help but pick up his mother must have meant a lot to him.

"Do you know your mother?" asked Sonia, the first thing she had said for over an hour.

"Yes, your mother was a great friend of mine. The same goes for your father, though he was more of a mentor to me than anything else." Aelfric said with a warm smile, thinking of the times before Byleth and his sister were born.

"What was she like?" asked Sonia, eager to know about their mother.

"It's a long story, but let's just say your mother was beautiful like you, Sonia. You're almost a splitting image of your mother, but you have the heart of your father." Then he looked at Byleth and continued.

"You have the look of your father but the heart of your mother. You're both reflections of what your parents were. I never knew your father in his youth, but I imagine that's what he looked like when he was your age." Aelfric spoke with nostalgia in his tone.

"How did you and our mother meet?" asked Byleth, curious.

"I was lost in the monastery when I first arrived. I was 14 at the time. I was a nervous lad then, and I had no idea where to go. Excuse me for saying this, but this was the thought of a boy who was 14 when I first laid eyes on your mother. I thought she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. I didn't know how old she was at the time, and I didn't think she was any older than 17. Of course, I was foolish. She was at least in her twenties, but I didn't know that at the time." The man said, thinking about the past.

"I was told by my father that I'm a lot like my mother." Byleth said, thinking about the traits that he was told he inherited from his mother.

"Yes, both of you inherited her ability to understand animals, such a sweet soul she was. It was far too soon for her to leave this world the day she died was." He stopped. Byleth couldn't help but pick up something in his tone. This man, no, he wasn't imagining it, he was in love with his mother and still loved her even now.

"I'm sorry if I upset you, Aelfric. If you don't feel comfortable, I..." Sonia was cut off.

"It's nothing, dear. I haven't thought about that day in 20 years. It's the most painful day of my life. I would give anything to see her one more time, to hear her voice even once." He said with longing.

"What did my mother do in the monastery?" Asked Byleth, curious.

"Oh, your mother was a nun and also a professor. She was loved by many of the students and staff. I take it that's what you got it from your instinct to teach and to pick up on people's emotions. She had difficulty expressing them and understanding them, but she was a kind and gentle woman. I recall the only person that was ever able to make her smile truly was your father." Aelfric said not with jealousy but with sadness over what had happened.