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lananiscorner · 1 year

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Pumpkin carving with the Church of Seiros

Last year, I posted some pumpkin carving with the Blue Lions head canons for Halloween, so let’s do the church characters this time. Note that I already included Gilbert with the Lions, so he’s not in this one.

Alois: Goes about this with great enthusiasm. His carvings are a bit crooked and not all that scary, but somehow still a hit with the kids.

Catherine: Knows of similar traditions from Charon territory and starts out very enthusiastic, but quickly grows agitated when it turns out using a knife for carving pumpkins requires more finesse than using one for fighting. On the bright side, lugging heavy gourds around was a good strength workout.

Cyril: Initially refuses to partake because he is too busy, until Rhea tells him to abandon his tasks for the rest of the day and just enjoy the carving. He is INSANELY good at it, having spent much of his time at House Goneril chopping and peeling vegetables. He makes a bunch of scary wyvern face pumpkins.

Flayn: Easily the most excited person in the room about this entire project, but can’t finish a single pumpkin without Seteth trying to “assist” and “prevent her from cutting herself”… which eventually leads to Flayn cutting herself. After that, she focuses on preparing other decorations and encouraging the rest of the group.

Hanneman: Absolutely not one for the carving, but has an opinion on everybody else’s work (and most of the time, he’s at least technically right). Wants to commission Shamir to put at least one crest symbol on a pumpkin, but by the time he decides which one he wants, all the pumpkins have been carved.

Manuela: Is also not one for the carving, until Catherine jokingly suggests she should just think of the gourd as a suitor that spurned her. The ensuing rage leads to some genuinely scary looking creations.

Seteth: Doesn’t want to carve one himself, but insists on mentoring Flayn until she ends up cutting herself. When she demands that he finish her pumpkin for her then, Seteth accepts and actually gets the task done somewhat competently. He is the one who insisted that the carving be done at the very last minute, so the next morning the pumpkins can still be turned into soup, rather than being thrown onto the compost pile.

Shamir: Efficiency made flesh. She carves more pumpkins than anybody else, mostly depicting spiders and their webs, and pulls off tricks with a knife that make Gilbert and Cyril look on in awe. She considers it good dexterity training.

Bonus: Rhea: Even though this event was her idea, it takes the combined encouragement of the Flayn, Manuela and Byleth to make her partake. She turns out to be quite good with a knife and somewhat unpredictable with her carvings—half of them err on the site of cuteness, the other half are downright terrifying. The kids love them all equally and that’s good enough for her. Though she won’t admit it to anyone but Byleth and Flayn, joining in on such a mundane, quaint little tradition was one of the most fun things she did all year.

#Fire Emblem: Three Houses #FE3H #Church of Seiros #Halloween #pumpkin carving #pumpkin carving with the church of Seiros #Alois Rangelt #Catherine FE #Cassandra Rubens Charon #Cyril #Flayn #Hanneman von Essar #Manuela Casagranda #Seteth #Shamir Nevrand #Rhea FE #Seiros FE #Archbishop Rhea #Rhea

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lananiscorner · 1 year

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Summary:

After her rescue from Enbarr by Dimitri, Rhea has withdrawn to the Red Canyon to live a life of peace and seclusion, interrupted by a monthly visit from Flayn to deliver some books, and have tea and a chat. However, as Catherine's feelings for her and Flayn's frustrations with Seteth's prudish behavior become more obvious, Rhea devices a plan...

Notes:

To celebrate Rhea's birthday, here's a cute little first chapter to a fic that I had been meaning to write for a while. This story will be almost exclusively Rhea & Flayn as well as Rhea/Catherine. And before anyone asks: I DO actually like Seteth, in part because he is flawed (the flaw in this case being an overbearing father).

The song Rhea sings is a translation of part if "Mein Anblick", by German medieval folk rock band Schandmaul.

Disclaimer: This work was written for publication on Archive of Our Own and my personal Tumblr and is not for profit. Any re-publication on for-profit/monetized sites/apps is not authorized or supported by me. If you come across such a re-publication, please leave a comment here or in my tumblr ask box. Podfics and translations may be authorized upon request.

Full text below the cut for those who prefer to read on tumblr

It began, as so many things did, with a careless, casual remark, flung out into the open to be forgotten within seconds.

"Dimitri has invited me to visit him and Dedue in the capital and I am sorely tempted to accept," Flayn had said as she had put the finishing touches on the white flower pattern she had been stitching onto her new skirt, "but father has been terribly busy for the last two months and likely will be for several more. I believe pigs will start ascending to the sky before he lets me make such a journey all on my own."

"I see..."

Rhea sipped from the Crescent Moon Tea that Flayn had prepared for the two of them. Or... well... technically, the three of them, but Catherine had refused to partake, as she had had for the last ten moons, no matter how often Flayn had reassured her that her presence was not disturbing their conversations at all. Instead, she was patrolling the ruins again, the low, vibrating sound of her distant off-key humming similar to the rustling of leaves in a forest.

"I understand his desire to be cautious in these times," Rhea finally conceded as she put her cup down once more. Why did tea have to be hot? "The war may be over, but I hear some of the dark mages Edelgard employed are still in hiding." Her hands clung closer to the cup, the chill from the dungeons of Enbarr creeping back into her bones even now, almost a year after her rescue. "It would be dangerous for... one of us... of all people, to travel Fodlan alone, but surely he could spare a knight or two to accompany you? And once you are in Fhirdiad, surely His Majesty would ensure your safety?"

Flayn sighed. "I don't think it is ambushes from dark mages that father is concerned about." She finished another two stitches, then paused in the middle of the third. "Unless every man in Fhirdiad leaves the city while I am visiting, I doubt father's fears could be allayed."

"I see."

Rhea wanted to sigh. She could probably get away with it too, now that she was no longer the archbishop, forced to perform serenity, wisdom and grace, even when she was truly upset, lost and raw with grief on the inside. Still, this was Flayn. Her niece. One of the last five Nabateans in existence, or possibly six if one counted the new archbishop. For her sake, she could endure that torture again for a few hours each month.

"I assume you have talked to Seteth about this?"

"More times than I wish to count." Flayn rolled her eyes and took a petulant stab at her skirt. "He insists that I know far too little about the dangers inherent in such attachments and that we shall 'discuss it another time'."

Finally, frustration won out. Rhea watched silently as Flayn secured the needle close to where she had finished stitching and threw the whole garment onto the pile of books she was going to take back to the monastery with her. A History of Brigid and Dagda. The Tales of Kyphon. Songs of the North.

Songs of the North...

Rhea's lips curved into the slightest smile. She had an ide—

"What do you think he means by that, Rhea? Considering how long we..." Flayn took up her cup and downed it whole, without the slightest pause. If her throat glowed as hot as her cheeks, she was bravely ignoring it. Or perhaps, even using the fire as fuel for her frustrated words. "What is 'another time' for him? In a hundred years? A thousand? They will all be dead by then, Rhea!"

"Who will be dead?"

True to her name, Catherine burst into the room at the speed of lightning, sword drawn, body poised for battle. Flayn's cup tumbled out of her hands and shattered on the marble table just as her startled yelp came to a close.

"Just point me at them! I will cut them down to size!"

"There's no-one to cut, Catherine." To Rhea's surprise, the sound that came out of her own throat was a surprised giggle.

A giggle.

When was the last time she had been carefree enough to giggle?

"I... um... I was speaking of... um..." Flayn's hands reached for the shards almost too quickly. Rhea could already foresee her injuring her fingers. "...the fish! Ow!" She pulled her hands back from the mess on the table and pouted at the cut in childlike indignation for just a moment, before turning to Catherine with a sheepish smile. "His majesty invited me to visit the capital, but I am just so worried the fish in the pond will all be dead if I'm gone for so many weeks."

Catherine raised an eyebrow, then put away her sword. She looked almost disappointed. And positively bored.

"Why would you worry about the fish? Last I checked, Garreg Mach has an actual Fishkeeper whose entire job it is to ensure the fish are well." Catherine shrugged. "Well, until they are caught and taken to the kitchens anyway."

"Oh, of course." Rhea smiled, took off one of her gloves, and wrapped it around Flayn's injured finger, pressing gently. "How easily one forgets the simplest of facts, when worried about something one holds dear."

"Now that," Catherine sighed, "that feeling I know all too well. I shall take my leave then. My apologies for interrupting."

"It is quite alright." Rhea shook her head. Her gaze wondered once more to the books. To the Songs of the North.

Perhaps Catherine's interruption had been more than alright.

Perhaps it was time to beat Seteth at his own game.

"Wait, Catherine!"

"Yes, Lady Rhea?" She had been almost out of the room already, yet Catherine froze and turned around in an instant.

"I have a question before you go. That melody you were humming before... it sounds distantly familiar, but I cannot recall its title, no matter how hard I try."

The blush that rose to Catherine's cheeks almost instantly confirmed what she had already guessed. It had truly only been half a lie. She had not been certain about the title, but she had had her suspicions. And if her suspicions were correct...

"I believe it's called 'Your Sight', Lady Rhea." Catherine's voice could not have sounded more nervous if she had been on her knees, wielding a ring instead of a sword. "But I honestly don't remember the words. Just the melody."

Now that was a lie, but one Rhea was happy to overlook. She granted Catherine leave once more, then finally withdrew her glove to look at Flayn's finger.

The bleeding had stopped. The subtle glazing over of her eyes as bitter tears made their way to the surface had not.

"Please accept my apologies, Rhea. It's just..." Flayn wiped her eyes with her sleeve and sat up as straight and unbending as she could. "It's just not fair. How am I supposed to learn, if he won't let me within ten feet of a man without supervision?"

"Well," Rhea smiled and wrangled the copy of Songs of the North out of the pile as gently as she could. "We could start here."

"The books from the library?" Flayn raised an eyebrow and continued her work of gathering the shards of her poor cup, this time with more care. "I already asked the librarians, the monks and even some of the students for recommendations, but whatever novels of romance the library may have, they are not accessible to me. And if I were to buy one at the market, surely father would find out."

"That is why you look for the romance in books that are not about romance." Rhea's smile turned positively sly. "You just have to know where to look."

The cover was heavy and worn, but inside the pages looked almost untouched by the sands of time. Little wonder, Rhea thought to herself, as she let her finger run down the index, when there is nothing in this book that would be relevant to any study of battle.

But love... oh yes. There were things in here that were relevant to the study of love.

"Ah!" Her heart made a little jump when she finally found it. Is this how students felt when they bent the rules instead of breaking them? It had been too long since she had felt this... juvenile and mischievous. "There it is."

The page was one-hundred and sixty-five. Though some of the words were partially blotted out by prints of a paw here or an unfortunate drop of wax there, the song was legible enough. Rhea cleared her throat and straightened her back.

"If I had a brush for painting your visage, the gleam of your fair eyes, your full rosy lip, I'd paint your fine brow, your sweet smile and faint freckles as they caught me in their most enchanting grip."

The distant humming stopped almost exactly at the same time as Flayn's shocked gasp. Had it been unkind of her to Catherine, to sing so loudly a song of such obvious intent? Perhaps, but the damage was done. Rhea cleared her throat once more and continued.

"If I had a flute for playing the sweet notes that tell of your limitless beauty and grace, I'd play the full roundel of heavenly dances as they haunt my thoughts since those most fateful days.

But neither pictures, nor sweet notes nor kind words, could ever describe what occurred in that place. When I saw you there, how it shook all my soul... Yes, upon that night, you kindled my flame.

The sun and the stars, they tell stories of you, every gust speaks of you, through and through, every single breath, every stride, carries your name with it, so far and wide."

She closed the book softly, careful not to disturb the faint echo of her voice that travelled across the ruins of Zanado. She could all but see it reverberate in Flayn's body. It was rare to see both a smile and tears on her niece's face, yet here they were.

Rhea shook her head and laughed softly. "I apologize if my rendition of it did not do it justice."

"Oh, that," Flayn blinked furiously, as if awakening from a dream, "that's not the case at all! It is truly a beautiful song! And you performed it very well! I just..." The shards were neatly arranged now. Flayn looked almost disappointed at them for no longer providing a welcome distraction and retrieved her stitching project instead. Still, the needle remained idle between her fingers. "I just..."

"You did not expect to find an ode of love in the middle of a book about chivalry and the harsh wilderness of Faerghus in winter, did you?"

"No." At last, Flayn resumed her stitches, but even so her attention was only half there. "No, I did not."

"And neither would Seteth."

Rhea returned the book to the pile and got up to search for the list of next month's haul that she had prepared the day before. Granted, she had not expected to help her niece fill an educational gap that was becoming increasingly important to remedy, but then again, it was hardly too late to add one more book to the list.

By the time she came back, Flayn had abandoned the floral patterns of her skirt once more. Her gaze was fixated on the books, yet it seemed a million miles away. There was curiosity there, and longing, and hope, yes... but also trepidation, brushed with a hint of guilt.

Yes, Rhea had been alive long enough to be able to read Flayn's face easily enough, but sometimes the quiet parts had to be said out loud.

"What troubles you, Flayn? Please, speak honestly."

"I'm worried." It wasn't what Rhea had expected her to start with, but as she sat down again, the slight shaking of Flayn's hands confirmed that she was not exaggerating. "I hate having to go behind father's back about such things. I know he will be furious if he finds out... and disappointed. Disappointed and hurt that I chose to shut him out."

"But was it really you who did the choosing?" She kept her voice as soft and gentle as she could. Going by the confused look on Flayn's face, perhaps even too gentle.

"I'm afraid I do not follow..."

"You tried to learn naturally, by interacting with the students. Seteth refused to let you." Rhea picked up the owl feather she kept near the books and dipped it in thick, black ink. "You tried to learn from the books at Garreg Mach. Seteth refused to let you." Oh but where to start... There were so many things that would need explaining, so many opportunities... "You talked to Seteth himself about this issue... and he refused to help."

"You mean he left me no choice."

"Precisely."

Although to be perfectly fair to Seteth, it was not just his own behavior that complicated things. Rhea forced her face into the display of graceful serenity she had been so happy to give up upon her retirement to Zanado. Long-lived as their kind may be, even Nabateans went through an age of natural curiosity and yearning and Flayn... well, Flayn was exactly at that point.

And perhaps that was the best point to start. She jotted the name of the book down quickly, before returning quill and ink where they belonged. When she turned back around, the paper was already in Flayn's hand.

A very confused Flayn's hands.

"Best Practices for Codes of Conduct in Training Facilities throughout Fodlan." Flayn's eyebrows knitted into a heavy frown. "I fail to see how that would contain any... relevant information."

"And so will Seteth," Rhea shrugged. "To him, it will just be another book on my monthly reading list. Have the librarians give them to you early, and when your brother asks why, say you wish to broaden your horizons and be able to talk about my reading choices with me."

Flayn looked at her in mild concern, then at the list, then back at Rhea. "You want me to lie to my own father?"

"Of course not. But how is any of what I just said a lie? You will broaden your horizons. And we will discuss what you read. We are merely emitting to mention which part of it."

She wasn't fully convinced, Rhea could see that much. Still, Flayn folded the note carefully and tucked it into the book at the top of the stack, before returning to her sewing.

"Thank you, Rhea. Although I suppose it will still be a long time before I get to undertake that visit to the capital."

"Unfortunately, yes." Rhea picked up her cup of tea once more and couldn't help but smile. It was finally a drinkable temperature. "But as the Fifth Book of Seiros says, the Goddess will never deny the splendors of patience."

#my fic #Saint Cethleann's Garland #Rhea #Rhea FE #Rhea (Fire Emblem)#FE Rhea #Flayn #Catherine FE #Catherine (Fire Emblem)#FE Catherine #mostly Rhea & Flayn #a bit of Rhea/Catherine #TLDR: Rhea opens a thirsty book club in Zanado to educate her niece #and get Catherine to finally say the quiet part out loud

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