The Bright Star [Fire Emblem: Three Houses AU]

A Blade of Honor (Jeralt)

A/N: It's nearing the end of the school year, as May is the final full month of school for me. I've got some final exams to take within this month so I've been putting more energy towards a class I've been struggling in recently. Chapters will still be coming every day or two like my current schedule, but due to exam studying it may take a little longer. There will still be a couple new chapters every week, but they might take a little while to be added on. For anyone with final exams coming up, good luck!

Sitri was gone, and Byleth was the last he had left of her.

He had met Sitri after returning from a long mission in 1157 when she was 18 years old. She had been sent to the Cathedral to organize the questions in the advice box left from students and to answer a few that were directly related to the Church. She saw Jeralt when he entered and noticed the captain.

"Hello, Captain," Sitri greeted him, carrying a large stack of papers from the advice box in her hands. It was her first time officially speaking to him. "How was the mission?"

Jeralt gave a slight nod to the lovely lady. "It was alright. Went to the Brionac Plateau to solve a dispute among the people."

"Was it because of the Western Church?"

"Yeah."

"I don't get it. Why can't all the Churches in Fódlan get along with each other?"

"If your religion is large, it's doomed to have to split at some point," Jeralt explained. "It's exactly what happened with the Central and the Western Church. Some members of the Central Church didn't follow with the rules that the Central Church wanted to comply with, starting arguments between each side. Eventually the Central Church and the Western Church were two completely different churches, with the Western Church seeing Rhea as an apostate, though in the end they still worshiped the Goddess."

"They're still worshiping the Goddess in the end though, so I don't see how they should be separate."

"The traditions that they celebrate are celebrated differently, and no way in hell will they agree on a way to finally come to an agreement anytime soon. I've lived quite long and have not seen that day, and by the time the day comes I don't think I'll be alive." He looked at her. "Most likely not you either."

"I would think so. I can't leave the monastery, so I'll have to rely on other people to get my information for me. Maybe I'll live long enough to see the day but won't know it."

"It'll be the biggest news in history since Seiros defeated Nemesis at the Tailtean Plains. You won't miss it if you're alive to hear the news."

Sitri nodded. Captain Jeralt did have a point. "I've just always wanted to see Fódlan," she said to him. "You travel around Fódlan for a living. Can you tell me more of your stories? What's it like out there?"

Jeralt nodded, but was confused. "What's preventing you from leaving the monastery walls?"

Sitri signaled for him to come closer, and Jeralt listened to the signal and leaned down closer to her. "Lady Rhea," she whispered.

Jeralt looked at her, wondering why such a woman wouldn't let a nun see the outside world. "How come?"

"I've been too frail, so she told me to never look beyond the borders of Garreg Mach in fear I may lose my life out there. It's to keep me safe, and I've always obeyed her. Lady Rhea's terrifying when you don't obey her commands."

Jeralt couldn't disagree with her. Lady Rhea really was terrifying. "Well, I'm available tomorrow until later in the afternoon. Grab a cup of tea with me in the morning and I can tell you all about what I've seen before. Think of anything specific you'd like me to discuss, alright?"

Sitri nodded as Jeralt slowly left her side. She would not see him until the next day when she sat in the courtyard near the gazebo, on a table big enough for two with a teapot in the middle. Sitri sat down and poured chamomile tea into her cup as Jeralt sat down. "Thanks for showing up," Sitri said to him as he sat down.

"Hey, it's not a problem," Jeralt replied. "Now, what would you like me to talk about first?"

Sitri thought for a moment. "What about Faerghus?"

"Faerghus is perhaps the coldest place in Fódlan. You'll need to be prepared to even set one foot within its borders, for you will be met with endless brumal nights. Children there are taught to wield a blade before they are able to read and write, so the children there may be something of—" He paused. "—well, maybe fear isn't the right word, but terrifying indeed."

Sitri laughed at the idea of blade-wielding children being something to fear of in Faerghus.

The types of conversations they would have daily continued throughout the rest of the year, even continuing long after they married. It was like a daily thing for them, though it wasn't always daily. But it was definitely a common thing for them to talk about, as their love arose from Sitri's hidden desire to see the world.

Perhaps Jeralt could've taken her beyond Garreg Mach one day, protecting her as she got to see what she never would be able to if she weren't associated with him. Surely Lady Rhea would allow it with him being in the strongest knight in the world Sitri could roam in, wouldn't she?

Rhea was quick to say no to the idea without even saying no to him directly. "Well, she's probably busy caring for her child, right?" she would say ever time, or at least something among those lines. She had been using that excuse ever since she found out Sitri was pregnant near the end of the Ethereal Moon of 1158. Before the life-changing news, she would just say that "Sitri wouldn't exactly be ready for it".

Eventually Sitri became close with the child's life in relation to her own, and devoted her entire life to her and Jeralt's son Byleth. Within her raising her child, she forgot about exploring the world beyond Garreg Mach. All that she needed was within the borders of the Church.

She passed away when Byleth was eleven years old after living her entire life completely confined within Rhea's sight. No Church member took her death lightly. Jeralt himself, Byleth, Rhea, and even Aelfric were all deeply affected by her death.

Jeralt and his son went into a deep period of mourning from her death that lasted what felt a lifetime to him. At Sitri's funeral he noticed something strange.

Sitri's body was openly displayed in her casket for anyone who wished to see. Jeralt was one of the many who looked at her face one last time before she was buried, noticing something odd.

Sitri's hair was a green color when she was alive, but she gave birth to a baby with blue hair, and now that she was dead she possessed the same blue hair that her son had. He looked close, comparing his mourning son's hair color to the hair that remained on his wife's corpse. They were noticeably different.

It confused him and was on his mind for a long time. It didn't take long enough for him to come to the possible conclusion either his son was part of the walking dead or something happened that he didn't know about.

But even if his son was part of the walking dead, he didn't act like one necessarily. And if he was one, Jeralt wouldn't care. Byleth was his son regardless, and nothing would ever change that. Jeralt would be the one to train his son to be a Knight of Seiros, and knowing his skills in battle, Byleth would be the next Blade Breaker.

Byleth met Jeralt that evening in the training area. No students were around, just the two of them. The best knight in the world and his son, a knight-in-training. Byleth had just came from his meeting with Rhea, coming to his father straight away.

"You're finally here," Jeralt said to him, grabbing a lance. "Are you ready to train to become a knight?"

Byleth nodded. "Why else would I come here?" He drew his blade and pointed it towards his father.

"For the Knights!" Jeralt said as he initiated the battle between him and the knight-in-training.