fromshadowstostars

[fromshadowstostars]

WIP.

Working on another 'From Shadows to Stars' #Claudeleth scene. This one is from 'Midnight Machinations'😳🫣

This is also my first public 'timelapse'. It takes me forever to build up an image as I'm still not great at poses.

Still, "practice yields results" and all that🤭

[fromshadowstostars]

Side-by-side, she and Claude fight until the woods falls eerily silent. No enemies. Not another ally in sight. All was quiet but for the sound of their breaths. The world is still.

Claude asks her if she’s alright, his touch on her shoulder sending curls of comfort and fissions of lust through her body.

(He’s alive. Here with me.)

Even with a slight queasiness rising in her throat and dizziness making her feel unsteady on her feet, she looks to him and knows he is the cure. So, she takes his hand and pulls him further into the smoking woods.

Also posted also to Twitter and DeviantART.

[fromshadowstostars]

9: The Vessel of Knowledge, (From Shadows to Stars Series), FE3H [M] - IN PROGRESS

Byleth’s unbeating heart burned in her chest as though it were scorching a hole in her lungs. It made her feel light-headed again. She pressed her hands against her breasts as they ached in her corset. Then, looking down at her hands, she realised she was shaking. She hadn’t stopped all day, and she knew why. Nader. Claude had expressed concerns that Nader might know about them before he had walked in on them that morning, mid-embrace, and judging by the bitterness Byleth spied in the general’s eyes, he had, indeed, known; Nader’s cold stare also revealed how much he wished he had been wrong.

Byleth feels uneasy for several reasons. Her ongoing sickness and reluctance to find the cause of her malady are one, Nader finding out the truth about her and Claude's adulterous relationship, causing a strain in their dynamic, is another.

While unwilling to confront the former, Byleth quickly decides she must address the latter and she'll do it in the only way she knows how -- by inviting Nader to tea.

Chapter 1 is up. Read on AO3 or Scarlettpeony Writes.

[fromshadowstostars]

Fragment: Ivy and Oak, (From Shadows to Stars Series), FE3H [M]

“Not like you to preach caution.” “My only concern is for your safety, my stars-above.” Hearing those words scorched Byleth’s blood. Claude realised his mistake, too. His love-name for her. ‘My stars-above’ or ‘Eshtahre’uyla-mi,’ in Almyran. He called her that since their last night at Garreg Mach before leaving on this campaign, wrapped in damp bedding, twisted around each other like ivy and oak.

One month ago, Jakob, the Count of Bergeliz, was found dead – and everyone thought the rebellion was over. Yet Byleth couldn’t bring herself to be happy, not when the conflict’s end means Claude’s time in Fódlan will also end.

Read on AO3 or Scarlettpeony Writes.

[fromshadowstostars]

8: Before the Storm, (From Shadows to Stars Series), FE3H [Ex] - IN PROGRESS

The voices were silent, he noted. Consumed with other thoughts and senses. For the first time since, he couldn't remember when, his heart, so filled with darkness and despair just moments before, was singing. It sang!  "Has anyone filled my heart with such hope?"

While Archbishop Byleth continues her affair with the King of Almyra, her husband Dimitri, the King of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, carries on in ignorance.

However, Dimitri knows something is wrong with his wife and steadily begins to uncover numerous secrets even from the homefront.

Chapter 3 is up. Read on AO3 or Scarlettpeony Writes.

[fromshadowstostars]

"Often, Dimitri spied Byleth […] mind far away even for her, and eyes cast upward as if she were imploring the wind itself to carry her up and away…."

Originally posted to Twitter.

[fromshadowstostars]

7: Entanglement, (From Shadows to Stars Series), FE3H [Ex] - COMPLETE

For his part, Claude had come to a point where he was fully prepared to meet Dimitri face-to-face and tell him the truth. He was beyond the guilt and shame, he just wanted it to come out. The whole truth - or at least as much as Byleth would be willing to share - as long as how they felt was out in the open. He had had enough. "I'm not frightened of Dimitri,"  Claude had told Byleth frankly, and her eyes had been troubled as she replied.  "I'm glad one of us isn't." 

Claude resolves to bring the conflict against Edelgard's mysterious former allies to an end. However, its resolution also means parting ways with Byleth - and he decides that he cannot continue to live a lie any longer.

Read on AO3 or Scarlettpeony Writes.

[fromshadowstostars]

6: Mirror of Life, (From Shadows to Stars), FE3H [Teen] - COMPLETE

Byleth yearned for Claude. Ached for him. Longed for a world where she could speak with him, embrace him, kiss him, make love to him, and never have to fear what discovery might bring. [...] But that world didn't exist. Claude had left for Almyra and became its king. Byleth had become archbishop and Dimitri's queen. They were trapped in a prison of their own making. Of my making, she told herself with finality. She had lived long enough to become a villain. Worse still, she was too far gone to care. It was too late for her. But it's not for Ashe.

Ashe faces an arranged marriage with Lynette, the new Countess Rowe, who he befriended during Byleth's five-year sleep. Their discussion of the matter over tea has Byleth starting to worry that he might make the same mistakes she did with her own marriage.

Read on AO3 or Scarlettpeony Writes.

[fromshadowstostars]

5: Echoes From Forgotten Moons, (From Shadows to Stars), FE3H [M] - COMPLETE

"The thought of something happening to you is driving me crazy. If something does happen, I don't know what I'll do!" Byleth said nothing. Her mind's eye conjured up another vivid memory. Of one such time where the worst had happened. A forgotten timeline she had undone with her power. It had been one of the few times where she used her divine pulse to excess. Just as the old moon had died and the new one had begun. The ambush in Miach Forest. The time she had watched Claude die right before her eyes.

Byleth tries to get Claude onboard with her plan to feint the Dark Mages, drudging up some difficult and painful memories along the way.

Read on AO3 or Scarlettpeony Writes.

[fromshadowstostars]

Giggles were rare as unicorns for Byleth, but one bubbled from her chest as she began to move. They were shallow and indulgent, testing the waters for the sweet-spot deep inside her. She leaned down to trail her lips along his collarbone and chest. Over the lovebites that she had given him in the cave. He hoped she would suck and bite at his skin again, so he could keep reminding himself that this was real. They were together, truly mated at that moment—she closed her teeth around his nipple, a goddess answering his prayers. Claude had to chuckle at that. “What’s funny?” Byleth asked between the kisses she laid upon the fresh abuse of his flesh.“I was just thinking about how gods must be real.”

Originally posted to Twitter.

[fromshadowstostars]

4: Midnight Machinations, (From Shadows to Stars Series), FE3H [Ex] - COMPLETE

"…I'll have my crafty Almyran king to protect me, too, won't I?" She leaned in closer, breath warm against his temple. "Unless…" she continued, voice susurrate, "the mighty mind of the gatekeeper of Garreg Mach is too sharp even for you, so-called 'Master Tactician'?" Though Claude knew Byleth was being flippant, his chest swelled at the provocation. Very well, I'll play this game.

Despite concerns that Seteth and Nader know about their adulterous affair, Byleth invites Claude to visit her quarters after hours to discuss the details of their plans for the upcoming battle and make love.

Read on AO3 or Scarlettpeony Writes

[fromshadowstostars]

3: Afterglow, (From Shadows to Stars Series), FE3H [M] - COMPLETE

She was the empyreal Archbishop of the Reformed Church of Seiros, queen-consort to King Dimitri I of the Holy Kingdoms of Faerghus, Adrestia and Leicester… and unbeknownst to all, my mistress. My love…eshtâre'uyla-mi…mithunatar-mi… Mithunatar. His deep, passionate, unyielding and undying true love.

Following their tryst in the grotto, Byleth and Claude must return to the business of running an army – a task Claude finds is easier said than done with the plethora of thoughts going around his head, including those surrounding their adulterous relationship, not least because Nadir is asking questions.

Read on AO3 or Scarlettpeony Writes

[fromshadowstostars]

It felt excellent.  “Your fingertips are so rough.” “Hm, but don’t you love that about them?” “I do,” she professed, lifting her hips slightly at the thought of them. “You use them so well.” They were long, thick, calloused fingers, hardened from stringing many bows and countless arrows loosed. “They feel so good against my skin.” 

Originally posted to Twitter.

[fromshadowstostars]

2: Beneath the Showers and Shadows, (From Shadows to Stars Series), FE3H [Ex] - COMPLETE

Wetting her lips, she couldn't help but admire the view: Claude was incredibly handsome, toned and muscled, his moist skin looked almost golden from the sun's reflection. His back and arms were broad, strengthened from a slew of countless arrows. (Byleth watched his muscles ripple as he flexed his shoulders, shaking droplets from his hair). His waist and hips were slim yet firm, and his legs well-formed and supple. Every inch of him was beautiful to her- and all she wanted was to kiss, lick and suck it all. He broke Byleth's trance. "Enjoying the scenery?"

Byleth is furious when Claude flippantly postpones a critical meeting to bathe in the nearby lake. Sword in hand, she charges into the thicket to give him a dress down.

However, there is a method to his madness.

Read on AO3 or Scarlettpeony Writes

[fromshadowstostars]

He placed a kiss behind her ear. “Behave yourself! We’re supposed to be working.”[…] Despite Byleth’s words, she leaned back against him with a pleased hum. “I think we’re making excellent progress.”

Originally posted to Twitter.

[fromshadowstostars]

1: Prelude to the Darkness, (From Shadows to Stars Series), FE3H [M] - COMPLETE

Byleth knew this was wrong. She was married, an archbishop and the queen-consort. Dimitri's queen-consort. His wife! She should only be doing this with her husband. She ought to feel guilty for this, yet any regret she might have felt was repressed by how perfect being with Claude felt.

The Archbishop-Queen, Byleth leads, the armies against an insurrection in the south against dark mages who once served Edelgard, while King Dimitri, her husband, holds down the fort in Fhirdiad.

Thankfully, her army is bolstered through the aid of Fódlan's most dependable ally, the King of Almyra.

Her lover.

Read on AO3 or Scarlettpeony Writes

[fromshadowstostars]

Welcome to 'From Shadows to Stars'

I have decided to try returning to Tumblr in earnest and crosspost my fannish work here.

From Shadows to Stars, a Fire Emblem: Three Houses fic series, is by far my biggest project at the moment I have decided to create a dedicated Tumblr for it.

I post updates to AO3 and my own site, Scarlettpeony Writes. If you want to chat, feel free to also add me on Twitter.