Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Furina yawned, stretching her arms upwards and enjoying the warm sun as she strolled lazily along the path towards the Opera Epiclese. Two Gardes followed slightly behind in a stiff and disciplined march. A Melusine administrator also hopped alongside her in mild agitation.

“Marie, whatever is the matter?” Furina said haughtily. “Your fretting is disturbing my tranquility.”

“Sorry, Lady Furina,” Marie said, looking nervous. “It’s just that we are close to starting time and Monsieur Neuvillette entrusted me with accompanying you to the Opera Epiclese...”

Furina huffed. “Well it’s his fault for scheduling this trial far too early! The coffee stop on the way here was a necessity.”

“Of course, Lady Furina,” Marie said hastily, not wishing to argue. They were almost at the opera house anyway. The Fountain of Lucine plaza seemed busier than normal, but the people parted easily as Furina approached, thrumming with excited murmurs at seeing their Archon. Furina smiled brightly, waving a hand regally at the crowds that responded with cheers.

“Make way, make way!” Marie called loudly when it looked like some people were considering approaching, not wanting to be delayed any longer.

In their hurry and in the midst of the bustle, they both neglected to notice two children playing with a ball near the Fountain. Until one of those children cried out suddenly. “Look out!”

Furina spun her head around in time to see the ball flying at her at high velocity before someone quickly deflected it at an even higher speed with the butt of her pistol.

Furina blinked, eyes drinking in the woman in front of her. She was tall and cut a rather dashing figure with her half-cape dancing in the breeze. Her dark blue hair was tied in a low ponytail, though several long strands were left floating loosely. The rest of her black and navy uniform-like attire was neatly pressed and without anything out of place, from her tricorne hat to her heels, despite having intercepted the projectile so swiftly. The woman stowed her firearm smoothly before turning to look at Furina, surveying her with deep piercing violet eyes.

“Are you alright?” she asked simply. Embarrassingly, Furina realised her mouth had been very slightly agape.

“Why, certainly!” Furina said with a boisterous laugh. “I must applaud you for your swift intervention, my honourable citizen. Your speed is certainly commendable.”

The woman raised a hand over her heart and bowed slightly. “Thank you.”

“Might I inquire as to your name and position? Perchance are you also going to the Opera Epiclese?”

“That is correct. I am Clorinde, and I’m the Champion Duelist rostered for today’s trial,” the woman before her spoke in a neutral tone. Furina was intrigued by that. No wonder the woman was so agile and seemed quite strong too.

“W-We’re sorry Lady Furina!”

The children who had been playing with the ball ran up to her quickly hanging their heads sheepishly, along with what she assumed was their parents trailing behind. Marie came up to them to alleviate their distress seeing that there was no harm done, yet insisting that they be more careful.

“I’ll see you inside, I trust.” Clorinde said with a final nod at Furina before striding towards the Opera Epiclese. Furina watched her retreating figure for a few moments thoughtfully.

“Marie.” she said suddenly, interrupting her attendant who was currently having an exasperated conversation with her embarrassed-looking Gardes.

“Huh? Yes, Lady Furina?”

“Do you know that woman? Clorinde... she said her name was.”

“Oh! Yes of course!” Marie said, nodding enthusiastically. “That Clorinde – she’s growing quite the reputation in the Trial Court. She’s still very new as a Champion Duelist, however, the rumours say that she’s yet undefeated with a blade.”

“Is that so?” Furina said absently.

“Ah, we really are late! Let’s hurry inside!” 

* * *

The trial itself seemed promisingly dramatic, rather than the last string of squabbles about whether or not Marcotte ought to be in coffee and the like. Furina had wanted to tear her hair out from the sheer boredom of it. But today, allegedly they had found the culprit behind a recent series of robberies that had occurred near the Quartier Lyonnais. Well, one of the culprits, but apparently, he was also the ring-leader.

The defendant was a mountain of a man, but apart from the fact that he looked like he could throw ordinary-sized humans out of a window, he was well-dressed and presentable. Just as Furina was settling into her seat for the trial, he calmly and immediately requested for a duel. Muted murmurs filled the room. Neuvillette looked down at him impassively.

“Request granted,” he said simply.

Immediately Furina leaned forward with interest as the woman from earlier walked out onto the stage, wielding a plain but very well-maintained blade. She was curious about the rumours of this new duelist. She must be good, but the man she was facing was almost twice her size and he didn’t waver at all when he saw her.

A court attendant offered the man a blade and the duel commenced. Clorinde kept her sword arm out, blade pointed at the man. Her left arm was folded behind her back and her posture was straight as an arrow. It didn’t take long for him to charge at her, slowly at first but then building momentum as he let out a yell, bringing his sword down over her in a heavy arc–

Suddenly his sword was sent clattering across the stage. Furina blinked, her brain barely comprehending what had just happened. The man’s eyes widened and he whipped around to see Clorinde had somehow manoeuvred herself five paces behind him, her back turned to him. Neatly she flicked her wrist to readjust her sword grip. Without bothering to retrieve his weapon, the man turned and lunged at the duelist, in what looked like a grapple attempt. With the grace and speed of a panther, Clorinde sidestepped the man, landing a quick blow between his shoulder blades with the pommel of her sword as he flew past, causing him to fall with a resounding thud onto his hands and knees on the floor. Scattered cheers rose from the crowd.

Starting to become increasingly irritated, the man pushed himself up forcefully and turned to swing at her again, but stopped short as the tip of Clorinde’s blade came within a hair’s breadth of his throat. Red-faced and breathing heavily, the man stared at Clorinde for several tense seconds before he finally raised his hands in surrender.

Applause erupted throughout the venue. Furina felt her hands relax, not realising she had been gripping the smooth cypress armrests of her seat the whole time. Leaning back in her seat, she watched enraptured as Clorinde cut the air with a smooth flourish of her blade before withdrawing it, tipping her head respectfully towards her opponent. Furina was impressed with the efficiency. The entire exchange couldn’t have taken more than two minutes.

Clorinde turned to leave the stage, but before she could walk very far, the man had swiftly reached into his boot and hurled a knife at her exposed back. A sharp cry sounded from the audience as the blade sung through the air. Without looking, Clorinde elegantly stepped to the left and - Furina's jaw dropped as she snatched the knife mid-air. Slowly she turned back around towards her opponent, whose face suddenly went pale as he locked eyes with her. Boos and jeering came from the outraged audience.

“Did I misunderstand your surrender?” Clorinde said evenly. The man stepped back, an unmistakeable tremor in his movements.

“I – y-yes, but – no, I surrender,” the man said, his rough voice sounding much more distressed. “Please.”

Clorinde merely nodded, before walking off the stage completely this time. The sound of Neuvillette’s cane striking the Chief Justice’s platform quietened the crowd.

“Order, please!” he said loudly. He fixed his gaze disapprovingly onto the defendant, who had not moved from his spot, his head hanging down.

“Mister Rocher, as you have declared your surrender, you are now required to stand trial,” Neuvillette stated coldly. “I will remind you also that it is a severe breach of law to bring a hidden weapon to a duel, for which you will also be tried.”

The man remained silent, even as he walked up to the defendant stand, seemingly resigned to his fate. The rest of the trial proceeded with little drama, and so Furina found her thoughts drifting elsewhere. She vaguely registered Neuvillette glancing over several times in her direction, perhaps wondering why she had been unusually quiet during the entire trial.

“Clorinde, hmm...” she murmured to herself, breaking into a wide smile and applauding along with the audience when the Oratrice returned a guilty verdict. The new duelist would be perfect.

And it just so happened that there was a recently vacated position in her entourage that needed filling.

It was a remarkably easy process to hire Clorinde. The woman made herself readily accessible and if she had any reservations about having the responsibility for the protection of her nation’s Archon, she didn’t show it.

Having Clorinde around was... to be perfectly truthful, a bit boring at times. In all the six months that Furina had employed her for, the woman was not very talkative and her conduct was perpetually... stiff. She really was a professional in every sense of the word, never saying more than she needed to and seemingly unfazed by Furina’s antics. Still, Furina felt like she couldn’t complain. She didn’t hire her as an entertainer but as a personal bodyguard, and in that respect Clorinde excelled. Furina had watched many more of Clorinde’s duels by now and regularly witnessed the frightening precision with which she wielded her blade, to her opponent’s surrender or demise.

And so she felt near invincible whenever the Champion Duelist was standing nearby, even without any other Gardes with her. Which greatly enabled her confidence to play the proud Hydro Archon who, as far as the people were concerned, should be invincible.

She took a moment to look over at said duelist as they walked along the paved streets of the Court of Fontaine.

“Do you ever get bored of coming along to these social meetings Clorinde?” she said with a pointed drawl. “You know, I wouldn’t mind sneaking you a slice of cake, if only so you weren’t just standing there the whole time.” The taller woman glanced over at her, dark eyes locking almost unnervingly with hers as she appeared to evaluate the comment.

“I’m content in all aspects of my duty to protect you, Lady Furina,” she said finally, her face betraying nothing. “There’s no need to worry on my behalf.”

Furina sighed dramatically. “A rigid, yet very proper answer, as expected of you! I wonder what it will take to wear down that aloof persona of yours.” Clorinde paused for just a moment before answering.

“I generally am most impassioned during a duel, Lady Furina, if you wish to try that avenue personally.”

Furina stopped in her tracks suddenly, staring at her bodyguard incredulously. “You are jesting.”

“I am jesting,” Clorinde affirmed, her facial features remaining as placid as ever. Furina almost gaped at her but stopped herself. That would be unbecoming.

“Your humour is baffling,” Furina said snarkily. “Yet that in itself is entertaining, so I will permit more of it from you.”

Maybe she imagined it, but for the briefest split second, Furina could’ve sworn she saw Clorinde’s lips quirk upward just a fraction. She felt herself preen at the tiny victory.

When they arrived at Hotel Debord, they were received by two staff members, who escorted them to the second floor where a young noblewoman was already seated. Furina inwardly squealed with glee as she caught sight of the spread of delicious treats on the table.

The woman stood as they approached, giving a polite curtsy.

“Lady Furina! I’m honoured to have your presence this fine afternoon,” she said earnestly. Furina tore her eyes from the spread to cast a bright smile in her direction.

“It is no trouble at all, Miss Florence. In fact, I do hope that our slight tardiness hasn’t inconvenienced you overmuch. An Archon’s duties are never ending.” Furina said airily.

“Of course. I understand, Lady Furina,” the woman said with grateful nod. They both sat down at the table, while Clorinde took up her usual position behind Furina, alert to any possible threats.

The conversation was all flowery pleasantries for some time before Florence started speaking of some proposal to make the waterway lines run more efficiently. Furina nodded along, savouring the second fluffy vanilla cake slice she had on her saucer, as the woman chattered on. It all sounded well and good, but what was on her mind right now was that this cake would be even more excellent with some more black tea...

Her brow furrowed as she scanned the table. Where was the tea?

“...so I think with your approval to start now, Lady Furina, the project would realistically be finished by the end of this quarter next year. What do you think?”

Furina blinked up at her, her brain rapidly catching her up on the conversation. “Oh, erm. Yes, of course! I’ll put in a word for you to Neuvillette to pass on to the Maison Cardinalice.”

“Thank you, Lady Furina – I knew you’d understand,” the woman said, looking both relieved and pleased.

Furina smiled back winningly. “Now that that’s settled, I do wonder why our server has not promptly returned to refill our tea!”

Florence looked surprised. “Oh yes, now that you mention it, it is quite unlike them to forget such a necessary item.” Just as Furina was about to send Clorinde to find one of the waitstaff, a nervous-looking man hastily came out with a teapot balanced on a tray.

“Apologies for the wait, my ladies,” the server said, casting furtive glances at Furina. “Our house blend rose black tea. Don’t hesitate to call if you need anything else.”

With a look of forced concentration, he filled both of their teacups and left the pot with them as he walked off with his tray. Furina watched him go, perplexed.

“Seems like he’s new,” Florence commented huffily. “He must be even more mortified to realise he’s kept his Archon waiting!”

“He needn’t be, but that’s perfectly understandable,” Furina said, laughing lightly. She set down the saucer with her cake slice and reached for her teacup, before Clorinde’s hand landed gently on her forearm.

“–Please wait, Lady Furina,” Clorinde said suddenly. Furina looked up at her bodyguard curiously.

“Is something the matter, Clorinde?” she said, her eyebrow furrowing slightly. Clorinde returned her look with a grim one of her own.

“I hope not... but please allow me to check for any unsavoury substances in your beverage.”

Florence gasped. “That is absurd! At this establishment?”

Furina also felt incredulous at the insinuation but allowed Clorinde to gingerly take the teacup and hold it up to her nose. Her frown deepened.

“It’s masked very heavily by the strong floral notes. Rainbow rose, I presume.”

She set the teacup down and reached into a small belt pouch by her waist, procuring what looked like a dried leaf. Furina watched in fascination as Clorinde dropped the leaf into her teacup. After just a few seconds the leaf cracked and began disintegrating.

“What is the meaning of this?” Furina whispered harshly.

“I would hazard a guess that this is at the very least, a slow-acting sedative,” Clorinde said, her eyes fixed on the still dissolving leaf fragments in the teacup. “So, one of you is being targeted.”

Both Florence and Furina froze, staring at Clorinde who paused before continuing.

“I also imagine,” she said calmly. “That this would not work on an Archon, and so I recommend you have someone accompany you home, Lady Florence.”

Florence’s face by now was already pale. She nodded quickly, getting up shakily from her seat.

“I – thank you, Miss Clorinde and thank you again, Lady Furina, for your time. I will inform the staff – this is truly unacceptable,” she muttered, before walking off stiffly. Furina barely noticed her departure, her attention returned to the dark liquid in the teacup. Her heart thudded in her chest thinking about what might have transpired if Clorinde didn’t stop them.

“Are you alright? Lady Furina?”

Furina startled, looking over to her bodyguard who was looking slightly concerned. She coughed lightly into her fist.

“Yes, perfectly! Thank you, Clorinde. You have fulfilled your duty excellently.”

Clorinde shook her head. “As I said, it’s not likely that the drink would have affected you.”

“Certainly not!” Furina agreed quickly, her voice higher than usual. “But for Miss Florence’s sake, it was a stroke of excellent fortune!”

“Indeed...” Clorinde murmured. “Shall I escort you back to the Palais?”

They walked downstairs and reported to the owner who looked both nervous and outraged that this incident had occurred at his establishment. Reluctantly he allowed them to take a vial with a sample of the tea before they left to return to the Palais Mermonia. On the way back, Furina indulged her nagging curiosity.

“Now that I think about it, what was that leaf you kept on your person? You seem unusually knowledgeable about poisons and mystical herbs.”

Clorinde shook her head. “There’s nothing ‘mystical’ about it. I just... happened to learn a few things about botany when I was younger.”

“Oh?” Furina said curiously. “Well aren’t you full of surprises.”

“It was an interest of mine that has proved useful over the years,” Clorinde said offhandedly. She paused as they made their way through the doors and into the foyer. “If you’d like, Lady Furina, I’ll file the report and submit the evidence for us before I take my leave. This might be a useful lead for the recently re-opened disappearances case.” Furina's eyes widened.

“Oh – yes. You’re going afterwards?” she asked nervously.

“Unless you have other work for me, it is getting late.”

 “...Yes. Yes, of course.”

She must have hesitated a moment too long, because Clorinde continued to regard her carefully before supplying, “The Palais should be perfectly safe, Lady Furina.”

Furina blinked up at her before scoffing. “I’m concerned about my people, of course. What can someone do to an Archon?”

Clorinde seemed to accept that answer. She tipped her hat towards her. “Well said. In that case, I’ll bid you good evening, Lady Furina.”

“Good evening, Clorinde.” Furina replied, pushing down her unease as she watched Clorinde’s retreating form. Swallowing, she took a moment to steel her resolve as she always did before retiring to her quarters.

Furina was in a rotten mood. She had spent yesterday poring over books, research papers, and old tomes written by old academics who she was sure had no idea what they were talking about. She had let her hopes get up. The infamous Traveler had arrived in Fontaine and with him came the dizzying thought that maybe the prophecy was one step closer to being thwarted.

Yet her personal research was fruitless. The reports from the Fontaine Institute of Research were much the same. She groaned, hunching over in her chair in frustration, when several knocks on her door came in quick succession.

Breathe, Furina, she thought to herself, taking a couple moments more than usual to regain the mask on her face. She cleared her throat.

“You may enter!” she called out. Her door opened and in strode none other than her bodyguard, her features as neutral as ever. She felt some of the tension drain from her shoulders. It was, admittedly, becoming too easy to let her mask slip a little around Clorinde, who after six years of working under her, had seen her in all manner of circumstances by now and yet felt no need to pry or press into her.

It was a curious thing. Furina was the one who had to hide her identity the whole time and yet... Clorinde was also someone who seemed indiscernible in her own way. Frankly, in all the time that Furina had employed her, she had never quite figured out what lay beneath the cool glacial mask of Clorinde’s expressions.

Not for the first time, there was a sudden urge for her to break through that mask. Furina squashed that urge again sharply. As she understood it, learning the inner parts of someone’s soul usually required the divulging of your own, and Furina wasn’t willing to risk that outcome.

It wouldn’t stop her having her fun, of course.

“Clorinde! To what do I owe the pleasure?” Furina said, a smug smile breaking across her face. “Could it be that you’re fin-ally willing to admit that you miss being in my presence?”

Clorinde blinked slowly. “Given that I accompany you multiple times a week, Lady Furina, I don’t think there’s reason to miss you.”

Furina laughed gleefully. “A commendably ambiguous answer from my Champion Duelist. Go on then and state your business.”

Clorinde gave a curt nod. “I’m merely here to report in and let you know that I’m ready to depart whenever you are.”

Furina faltered at this. After immersing herself in her research from yesterday, could it be that she missed something in her schedule for today...?

“Ahem,” she said with a polite cough. “Do remind me, who is it that I’m meeting today?”

“Meeting?” Clorinde said, her brow furrowing in confusion. “Am I not accompanying you for some errands this afternoon?”

“Oh! Of course!” Furina said, her face dawning in realisation. “Forgive me, Clorinde – your Archon has been terribly busy of late.”

“There’s no trouble,” Clorinde said with a slight shake of her head. “Shall I give you a moment to get ready?”

“Yes, yes... meet me outside the Palais in fifteen minutes!”

* * *

It took her closer to half an hour to get herself ready, but if Clorinde ever minded that Furina usually operated on her own time, she never breathed a word of it. Furina strolled happily along the shopping district, pausing occasionally to eye up little trinkets that were on offer that fascinated her. Most of the shopkeepers were naturally nervous yet extremely pleased that she stopped by to visit.

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as Clorinde followed along behind her. She didn’t seem on edge, but at the same time her rigid posture never really relaxed.

What if she’s bored? Why did I even call her out here? Furina thought to herself. In reality, she didn’t really need the Champion Duelist with her if she was just shopping. The people loved her, and there were more than enough Gardes and Gardemeks on patrol within the court of Fontaine.

She turned over a tiny clockwork crab in her hands, a dull realisation billowing into her thoughts. Perhaps, the reason why she brought Clorinde along today was because it was getting harder to ignore the aching hole in her chest after all these years. Because even if she could never confide in her bodyguard, Clorinde’s stable and unchanging presence while Furina did things as mundane as shopping allowed her to almost fool herself into thinking she had one friend.

At least, until she eventually retired and... Suddenly her breath caught and her eyes started to sting. No, she couldn’t think about such things now.

“Lady Furina.”

Startled, Furina turned quickly to face her bodyguard, who was looking slightly more tense than usual. She cleared her throat, trying to regain her composure.

“Ah... yes, Clorinde?” she said, struggling a little to put the usual arrogant air in her voice.

“Please don’t be alarmed,” Clorinde said slowly, her voice low. “But we’re being followed.”

Furina felt a cold dread at her words. She wondered if it was that Traveler, trying to find out her weaknesses. Maybe he was angry at her earlier accusations after all.

“By whom...?” she whispered back.

Clorinde took another surreptitious glance around them, before gesturing towards Chioriya Boutique just ahead of them. “Let’s talk in there.”

Furina allowed herself to be ushered into the shop, the two of them lucky enough to have entered during a quiet hour. There was no one in the store except the very fashionably-dressed owner herself, who simply raised an eyebrow as she saw the two come in.

“Interesting. My popularity must be growing faster than I thought for such esteemed guests to enter my store personally,” the woman intoned, finishing her arrangement of the textiles in front of her before turning her attention to them. “Are you two looking for a commission?”

Furina felt a little caught off-guard at the forward address that seemed to convey the woman’s lack of concern for her Archon status.

“Not today, Chiori,” Clorinde said. “Though I suppose I can’t speak for Lady Furina. If you don’t mind, we’ll just take a look around first.”

Chiori shrugged. “Well do tell if you’re finally interested in wearing something other than your uniform.”

That earned a minute smile from Clorinde. “I will.”

Chiori dismissed herself to the back of the store so she could work on some orders, after telling them to call if they needed her. Furina admired the bold yet tasteful designs on the mannequins, hand running over the soft fabrics before walking over to Clorinde who had paused in front of some of the more Inazuman-inspired attire.

“So aren't you going to tell me who’s following us?” Furina asked in a hushed voice. Clorinde cast her a serious look.

“I believe... journalists from The Fontaine Herald.”

“Oh...” Furina said, blinking in surprise. Clorinde, she observed, seemed more tense than usual. Perhaps more than if an actual threat had appeared. She held a hand to her mouth to cover the laugh that burst out at the thought.

“Forgive me, I must admit I am surprised,” Furina said after calming down. “At first I considered that perhaps that blonde Traveler was stalking me and trying to make trouble.”

Clorinde quirked a brow at that. “I wouldn’t be concerned about him.”

Furina resisted the urge to laugh again. “I suppose I also didn’t realise your relationship with the press was still so hostile. Didn’t Neuvillette approve an official court statement to stop their harassment?”

Clorinde crossed her arms. “They are persistent. Besides, I simply wish to protect your reputation as well as mine.”

Furina shook her head with a smile, though she felt a little for Clorinde. It’s not like Furina never got any unwanted press, but she had years of experience in handling journalists and not many people dared to speak against their Archon either for fear of backlash. For some reason, perhaps because Clorinde was staunchly unwilling to grant any interview requests, she received negative spotlight with alarming frequency. Not that it did anything to diminish her popularity, or the awe-inspiring rumours that followed her and resurged with every duel.

“A touching sentiment. But we cannot hide in here forever, my dear champion,” Furina said with a smirk. “So how do you propose we escape our eager tabloid journalists?”

“Does anything in here take your fancy?” Clorinde said suddenly.

“I– what?” Furina said, looking confused at the seemingly sudden change of tack. Clorinde levelled her with a secretive little smile, which made Furina wonder if she should be concerned. The woman leaned in near her ear. Furina’s eyes widened disbelievingly as she disclosed her plan. There was no way they were going to do that.

* * *

They were really doing it. Furina felt the nerves whirl within her and she wondered how on Teyvat her bodyguard was maintaining such a straight face.

“This... truly is unexpected of you, Clorinde–”

“–Claire, you mean.”

“...Claire.”

“Thank you, Veronique.”

Chiori looked them both up and down with a critical eye, silent for a long moment, before nodding. “Yes, I truly believe you are both unrecognisable now. See for yourself.”

With some apprehension, Furina walked over to the mirror next to the changing room and gasped at the sight. She was dressed in a dark black blouse paired with a an ecru high-waisted full-length skirt that looked almost like a hakama, adorned with flowing patterns that were both intricate and subtle. Over the top she wore a silky sage green Inazuman-inspired coat with wide sleeves. Her wig was also a deep brown colour that lightened near the ends of the layers, tied up in a sophisticated looking bun with a golden hairpin stuck through it, tiny crystalline blossoms dangling off the end. The only thing that really stood out as distinguishable was her mismatched blue irises.

“If you’d rather not wear contacts, then you’d better take these,” Chiori said behind her, causing her to jolt in surprise. Gingerly she accepted the tinted glasses from her, putting them on and agreeing that they did well hiding her distinct heterochromatic eyes. That and they helped resolve the glaring mismatch in her colour palette.

“You did a good job,” Clorinde said, hand on her hip as she looked over at Furina, catching her eye in the mirror. Furina almost had to double take when she first laid eyes on her. Clorinde looked... well, stunning. Chiori had decided on a full three-piece off-white suit with a long-coat adorned with gold trimming and a sage green cravat and pocket square. She was also wearing an ash blonde wig which was styled into a sidebraid. Furina was almost convinced she could be a member of the aristocracy.

“You know I would’ve liked to see you in a dress,” Furina said slightly reproachfully. Chiori clicked her tongue while Clorinde shrugged.

“I did try, Lady Furina, but she insisted on something more practical to manoeuvre in as your guard.” Chiori said dryly. “Are you satisfied with your own outfit? I know it’s not quite what you’re used to.”

Furina looked back at herself, performing a light twirl. “It’s certainly not what I’d choose on a regular basis... but I find it acceptable.”

Chiori smiled knowingly, her eyes roving up and down her work appreciatively. “As you should. You still look quite...handsome.” Clorinde hummed thoughtfully, joining Chiori's inspection. Furina couldn’t suppress the flush creeping up her neck. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

“In any case,” Clorinde said quickly. “We are meant to look unlike ourselves. I think we had better head off then, so allow me to pay.”

Furina protested this stubbornly until they both agreed in the end to pay for their own clothes. Chiori handed them a shopping bag with their original articles of clothing and with a deep breath, Furina exited the store with Clorinde following close behind.

They had barely walked ten steps, when suddenly they were approached by a moustached man in a beige overcoat, discreetly holding a kamera at his side. Furina felt herself tense up, already thinking about how she might explain herself.

“Excuse me!” he said to them. As they turned to him, he continued in a more hushed tone. “Excuse me ladies, did you happen to see Lady Furina and Champion Duelist Clorinde in Chioriya Boutique before you left?”

Furina and Clorinde exchanged glances. Then Clorinde spoke up in a nasally voice with a slight staccato.

“We did indeed, good sir! What a great surprise and fortune wasn’t it, Veronique?” she said, turning to her partner. Inwardly, Furina wasn’t sure if she should cringe or laugh. Or both. She returned Clorinde’s excited look with a bored stare.

“I for one, thought they would be more impressive in person,” Furina said, lowering the pitch of her voice slightly and crossing her arms. “Should an Archon really be doing something as mundane as comparing textiles?”

Clorinde gasped. “Aren’t you being a bit rude, Veronique? Have some respect!”

The reporter looked between them, tapping his foot impatiently. “Yes, yes,” he cut in hastily. “Were they still inside the store?”

They both turned their attention back to him. Clorinde stroked her chin thoughtfully. “They weren’t when we left... they seemed to be in a hurry, didn’t they?” she said, catching Furina’s eye. Furina nodded.

“You missed them when you were talking to Chiori,” she said, inspecting her nails. “They left out the back door.” To the reporter she added, “You might still be able to catch them if you hurry.”

The man looked pleased with that info, so he thanked them, and hurried off.

Clorinde and Furina watched him dash off, stopping only to speak to another woman, presumably his colleague, before they both hurried away.

“Are you opposed to continuing your perusal in our current attire,” Clorinde said seriously, pulling her attention back to her.

Furina stared at her in disbelief. “As long as you cease with that ridiculous accent! Now come, accompany me to the crepe stall.”

* * *

Furina was still in high spirits as they took the Aquabus back to the Palais. They were seated at the back, across from each other, fortunate enough to find one empty and immediately ready to depart.

“I can’t believe you – we – did that! Who knew that the bodyguard I hired was actually a madwoman,” Furina said, keeping her voice just low enough to keep the attendant from overhearing their conversation.

“You played your part very well, Lady Furina. Though I knew you would.” Clorinde replied smoothly.

“Ahem. Of course I would! I am the star of Fontaine. You, however, I had no idea that you had such a penchant for acting yourself!”

Clorinde shook her head. “Actually, I’ve been part of a group called the Tabletop Troupe for a while now. Have you heard of it?”

“Oh yes,” Furina said, recognition dawning in her eyes. “I think I remember you mentioning it in the past.”

Clorinde nodded. “In-game, I often have to act out different roles.”

“Is that so?” Furina asked, looking intrigued.

“I used to go every other day with... with a friend of mine,” Clorinde explained, trailing off a bit at the end, a distant expression clouding her features.

“A friend,” Furina whispered to herself.

They were still wearing the outfits that Chiori picked out for them. In the fading twilight, Furina wondered what it would be like if she really were just ‘Veronique’ who was able to live her life freely without the burden of responsibility, without needing to hide her identity. A life where she could play tabletop games and go shopping and travel to other lands and share dreams with others. She looked over at the woman across from her, who seemed content to watch the buildings passing by. She wondered what it would be like if this wasn’t her bodyguard, ‘Clorinde’, but just her friend ‘Claire.’

‘Claire’ turned to her then, raising a curious eyebrow. Furina didn’t realise until the handkerchief was proffered in front of her that inadvertently a tear had already escaped and rolled halfway down her cheek. Furina turned away quickly, forcing a laugh out of her dry throat.

“Oh yes! I do wonder what they’re offering for dinner tonight at the Palais–”

“Lady Furina.”

Furina froze. Clorinde regarded her with perhaps the most sincere look Furina had ever seen on her. She didn’t trust herself to speak.

Don’t look at me.

“I’m not sure what is troubling you,” Clorinde continued in wake of Furina’s silence. “But even I can see that something... weighs heavy on your shoulders.”

Furina remained still, unable to tear her gaze away from her bodyguard. Suddenly the Aquabus felt far too small.

Don’t look at me.

“I wouldn’t say I’m very good at comforting people,” Clorinde said lowly. “But if you need someone to hear you out, then... I’m willing to offer you at least that.”

There was a brewing storm in Furina’s heart. Looking into her bodyguard’s eyes, she could see that Clorinde meant every word.

The offer tempted her like a siren. Yet the storm grew until it was a roar in her ears.

Suddenly, images flashed behind her eyes. Fontaine covered in floodwaters. People screaming as they drowned. Fear gripped her heart like a vice.

And then, a laugh bubbled out of Furina’s mouth, quiet at first, but growing louder like the storm, sharp and ugly and off-key. Clorinde’s brow furrowed as she waited for her to settle down.

“And I suppose you consider yourself wise enough to counsel an Archon,” Furina said snidely, her lip curling into a sneer. Her own voice sounded foreign to her.

“I didn’t say that–”

“I knew you were looking down on me. You’re the same as everyone else,” Furina said, her words dripping with acidity. “But your human mind couldn’t possibly comprehend what the gods deal with on a daily basis.”

Clorinde’s jaw ticked. “You misconstrue my words.”

“And you forget your place,” Furina snapped back coldly. “Or have you forgotten that I hired you merely as my guard.”

A flash of an unreadable emotion flickered across Clorinde’s face before her features resumed their usual indifference. For a long drawn out minute, there was no sound between them except the water lapping at the Aquabus as it carried on its path. The Melusine at the front of the bus looked uncomfortable, trying hard to ignore the squabble happening at the back of her transport.

“Forgive me for overstepping,” Clorinde finally said quietly. “It won’t happen again.”

The rest of the trip to the Palais barely registered to Furina. Clorinde walked a step behind her, meticulously maintaining their distance. Neither of them spoke the entire time, even when Clorinde dismissed herself with a slight bow, leaving Furina at the doors of the Palais.

Furina moved through the halls on autopilot towards her quarters, listlessly answering anyone who failed to recognise her at first. She didn’t stop until she reached her room, and as the door clicked shut behind her, Furina was once again, alone.

Leaning back against the doorframe, she slowly slumped against it until she was seated on the polished wooden floor. The clock ticking echoed in the room loudly. The silence was even louder.

This was bad. She needed to breathe. She needed to breathe. She needed to–

A sob heaved violently out of her throat.

It would all be worth it in the end. It had to be. Furina wrapped her arms around herself tightly in a vain attempt to stop the tremors wracking through her body as her tears flowed freely.

It didn’t make it hurt any less.

Chapter Text

Every good opera must have a captivating story, and a captivating story must be filled with drama. Moments that rouse laughter from deep within, and moments that force tears to overflow from one’s soul. Without drama, there was no excitement, no heart, and simply no point.

It had only been one week, but the days crept by agonisingly slowly for Furina, as she remained stuck in a lacklustre cycle of research that was going nowhere except into her dreams to haunt her. And when the morning came, the futility of this meaningless exposition only continued.

This day started no differently. Furina woke with a groan as light rays finally pushed their way through the curtains into her room. Blearily she cracked open her eyes, blinking as she allowed them to adjust to the morning glow. She lay there wearily for a long moment before sluggishly pulling the covers off and padding over to her ensuite. She allowed her body to take over, mechanically washing her face, fluffing her hair, getting dressed, and making herself impeccable.

She ate her breakfast. She read some research papers. She ate her lunch. She took a nap. She read another paper. She ate her dinner. She went to bed.

And so it went. Another day over. And over. And over.

It had been a while since she had stayed this long at the Palais, though she knew it couldn’t last. Part of her craved a change, but another part of her at least wanted to find just one more lead. As soon as the thoughts flitted through her mind, a soft knock on her office door came and on granting permission, her Melusine attendant hopped in, with a little more spring in her step than normal.

“Lady Furina,” Marie said with a bow. “Have you been well?”

“Never better!” Furina replied melodically, allowing the mask to slide smoothly back onto her face. “What do you have for me today, Marie?”

“Well actually. There’s an important trial going to be held in three days – we think we’ve found the culprit of the serial disappearances case.”

Furina’s eyes widened in surprise. “Is that so! That is certainly striking news... if true, of course.”

Marie nodded enthusiastically. “I echo the sentiment, Lady Furina. I have added it to your schedule and I’ll be there to accompany you to the Opera Epiclese in three days’ time, 11:00AM on the dot!”

Furina hummed. Three more days. She supposed she could wait that long. After all, if there was anything she was good at, it was waiting.

Going outside, admittedly, wasn’t the only thing Furina had avoided. She had tried to convince herself otherwise, but as soon as she caught a glimpse of that distinctive tricorne hat and navy blue half-cape at the opera house on the day of the trial, she felt her heart thudding uncomfortably in her chest and wished she could do something to cut the tension, like run or... well, mostly just run.

Furina hurried up the stairs towards her designated seat in the Opera Epiclese, not bothering to look behind her as she heard the unmistakeable click of heels follow her up onto the platform. She closed her eyes briefly, trying hard to stamp out the worry thrumming under her skin. She didn’t need to be childish. Why was she so worried about this? It’s not like she never got annoyed at or argued with, say, Neuvillette before. But the little outing with Clorinde from two and a half weeks ago was the first and only time that Furina had snapped at her guard.

She cringed a little at the memory. Clorinde was only trying to be kind too... Furina worried her lip. No, she couldn’t bring it up. She would just have to pretend it never happened. Yes, that plan would suffice.

Finally, she turned around, feigning surprise as she laid her eyes upon Clorinde.

“Clorinde!” Furina said smugly. “How good of you to join me today.”

The woman tipped her head in her usual show of deference. “It’s an honour to serve.”

Furina internally deflated in relief. As subtly as possible, she observed as the Champion Duelist took up her usual position on standby, three steps to her left, half a step behind, rigid, and tall. Clorinde seemed the same as ever, so much so, that Furina felt a little foolish for worrying. Except... she blinked, wondering if her eyes were deceiving her, because it looked like Clorinde was sporting a very conspicuous bruise on her jaw. It wasn’t... large, per se, but it was disconcerting how obvious and out of place it looked on her.

“Do you need something from me, Lady Furina,” Clorinde said evenly. Furina pulled her eyes away in embarrassment.

“No! No, I... sorry,” Furina said quickly. Clorinde cast her a sideward glance through her bangs. Before Furina could wonder more about whether it was appropriate or not to ask about it, the familiar sound of Neuvillette’s cane striking the platform echoed through the room.

“Mr. Tartaglia,” the Iudex started. “I will ask once more, are you willing to stand trial against the charge that you are the culprit behind the serial disappearances case?”

The brown-haired man on the defendant’s stand that Furina recognised as the Fatui Harbinger Childe crossed his arms with a frown.

“I have no idea about this case or how I’ve broken any of your nation’s laws,” he said, returning Neuvillette’s iridescent stare with an arrogant one of his own. “Although...”

His gaze slowly roamed over to Furina’s Archon platform. She suppressed a shiver as his mouth curved upwards into a crooked smile. “I did hear that people who have been charged can choose to participate in a duel to clear their name, right? Meaning as long as I accept the charge, I can have an all-out fight with that Champion Duelist Clorinde.”

Furina let out the breath she had been holding. Childe’s face grew almost hungry as he locked eyes with the Champion Duelist next to her.

“When I privately sparred with her last time, she was obviously holding back...” Childe continued with a sneer. “Real disappointing.”

Furina’s eyes darted over to Clorinde, who stood with her arms crossed but as usual, her features gave nothing away. She seemed content not to respond to the taunt, perhaps because she didn’t care to rise to the bait or perhaps because she didn’t want to interrupt the court proceedings any further. But as Furina again caught sight of the discolouration along her jawline, it didn’t quite sit right with her.

“Hey! You’re currently the prime suspect for a major case!” she called out angrily before she could have time to regret it. “This isn’t the place for you to be looking for fights.”

She could feel Clorinde’s eyes shift in her direction, as Childe simultaneously turned his attention to her with a surprised look that quickly gave way to a smirk.

“Well, I wouldn’t say no to a duel from the Hydro Archon too, if she wants to teach me a lesson on the ways of this Opera House,” he said with a wide smile.

A thrill of fear spiked in Furina’s chest, but before their exchange could continue further, Neuvillette interjected in a bid to return to the court agenda, much to her relief.

In less than a minute, he was interrupted as the double doors to the auditorium burst open and in rushed the Spina di Rosula girl accompanied by her left and right hand men.

“Your Honour, you have the wrong man!” Navia cried, breathing heavily as she strode into the aisle. Neuvillette narrowed his eyes at the trio disapprovingly, warning them that they were close to being charged with contempt of court.

Navia, as bright and as defiant as she had been during Lyney’s trial, pushed ahead, asserting the claim that the real culprit of the serial disappearances case was Marcel of the Confrerie of Cabriere, to the audience’s astonishment.

There was an uncomfortable wait as Marcel was retrieved and brought into the Opera Epiclese. The man looked dreadfully confused and worried, but he agreed to take the defendant’s stand to try and clear up the misunderstanding between himself and Navia.

Neuvillette, for the sake of the audience made to recount the details of the case of Callas the unfaithful. Navia listened with rapt attention, absorbing all that was said before putting forward her reinterpretation of the events, given the new discovery of the Primordial Seawater. Shockingly she explained how her father insisted on a duel and intentionally refused to protest his innocence for the sake of his daughter.

Furina folded her arms thoughtfully. “So you’re saying that your father... that Callas was intending to die in the Duelist’s ring?” she said slowly. “Do you have any proof?”

At that Navia jutted her chin towards the woman next to her, a fiery challenge in her eyes.

“The only proof you need is to ask Champion Duelist Clorinde!”

Surprised, Furina looked over at Clorinde, whose expression was uncharacteristically pained. Ah, that’s right. Furina remembered it now – Clorinde was the one who faced off against Callas in a duel. It didn’t seem like anything was noticeably off at the time, but looking back on it now... she remembered that Clorinde’s movements had been just a little less refined, a little less sure than usual.

“Clorinde...?” Furina said tentatively. Clorinde blinked as if she too was pulled back from remembering that day. She turned to Furina and gave a short nod before beginning her testimony.

“In my time as Champion Duelist, I’ve faced many opponents and taken a countless number of dishonoured lives,” Clorinde said solemnly. “With just one look, I am able to tell whether a person is looking to live or has given up and is ready to die.”

Clorinde paused there and turned to look Navia directly in the eye.

“I hereby swear on my name and honour as a Champion Duelist, that Mr. Callas never intended to leave the ring alive.”

Navia choked out a sob, one of her attendants placing a steady hand on her shoulder. Furina looked carefully between her and Clorinde, who still looked deeply disturbed.

“I see. If that’s your testimony, then I have no reason to doubt it,” Furina said calmly.

Neuvillette nodded and the trial continued. Eventually, even the Traveler came with more evidence and as the odds stacked against Marcel, Neuvillette drew the trial to a close. Turning to the Oratrice, everyone watched with bated breath as the machine lit up, whirring to process the evidence, before returning a guilty verdict.

Furina nodded approvingly as cheers and applause resounded throughout the room. “Well that certainly was a spectacle! But as always, justice prevails in the nation of the Hydro Archon!” Navia herself looked exhausted and emotional, but relieved. 

“That really was entertaining,” Childe spoke up with a grin. “So I guess I can let the false accusation slide for now.”

“Wait, Mr. Tartaglia,” Neuvillette said sharply as Childe stood to leave. “Even though Mr. Marcel was charged with a guilty verdict, we still need to await your own verdict before concluding the trial.” The Harbinger scowled.

“Is that really necessary?” he said, looking unamused. “Whatever, let’s just get this over with.”

Neuvillette nodded and waited for the Oratrice to process the verdict. He reached out and took the judgment card as soon as it was dispensed.

“According to the judgement of the Oratrice Mecanique D’Analyse Cardinal, Tartaglia is...” Neuvillette paused abruptly, his eyes widening. “...Guilty.”

There was silence for a moment before confused whispers filled through the room.

“What’s with that!” Childe burst out, looking shocked. “Didn’t you say I was innocent?”

“I’m... not sure either,” Neuvillette said, rubbing at his chin pensively. “But the Oratrice’s judgement is final... so we have no choice to detain you until further notice. Gardes, seize him.”

“This is a joke, right?” Childe said, laughing disbelievingly. He watched as Gardemeks started filing towards him on the stage. Anger flitted across his face for a split-second before changing just as quickly into the crazed and hungry look that Furina saw earlier. “Heh. I suppose I was looking for a fight. Let’s see how your justice fares against mine!”

Furina watched in amazement and horror as the Harbinger began slicing through the Gardemeks like they were tin cans, their parts flying off explosively with every charged strike. Even though more came, Childe only seemed to get more excited, to the point where he eventually began glowing an eerie bright purple. The Traveler and his floating companion looked especially agitated as they pointed this out to each other. He looked ready to step in, but before he could do anything, Neuvillette leapt off the Chief Justice’s platform and shot down like a bullet, landing a blow right on top of the Harbinger that would fell a behemoth with a deafening crash. As the dust settled, no one in the Opera Epiclese dared to speak. Childe lay limp and lifeless on the ground. Neuvillette stood slowly, dusting himself off, and looking only faintly concerned.

He walked off the stage allowing the Gardemeks to pick the Harbinger up and drag him away. As soon as Neuvillette had left, people started murmuring amongst themselves again.

“Why did the Oratrice show a guilty verdict?”

“Can we really trust this system to be fair?”

More and more people started to look at Furina, perplexed, worried, and skeptical. She felt herself tense up, her own shock and churning thoughts grinding to a halt as fear flooded into her heart.

“Wh-Why are you looking at me?” she snapped, her voice rising sharply. “I had nothing to do with it... stop staring at me!”

Even more hushed murmurs sounded through the room at her outburst. She shook her head, forcefully shaking off her anxiety. With a breath, she started over, wrestling control over her voice.

“Ahem... my dearest citizens, did you really think we’d allow an incorrect verdict to be handed out in this court?” Furina said, exuding as much confidence as she could muster. “Don’t tell me you actually thought that I had been blindsided by the Oratrice’s result?”

Brimming with bravado and allowing her wit to take over, she explained away her shock as an intentionally elaborate performance for the thrill of the audience. Many people still seemed perplexed and doubtful, so she continued to adlib her script, until more of the crowd hesitantly accepted the possibility that the Harbinger simply must have done something wrong. Furina felt relief flow through her. Surely that was a satisfactory performance.

“All shall be revealed in time!” she said with a boisterous laugh. “One day, you will come to understand my noble intentions, as well as the absolute correctness of the Oratrice’s verdict.”

With that, she performed a dramatic bow and excused herself from the stand, leaving the scrutinising eyes of the audience far behind her.

On the way back to the Palais, Furina’s mind raced as she turned over the events of the trial. It was surely impossible for the Oratrice to give a wrong judgement. Was it true that Neuvillette made a mistake? That Childe really was guilty for reasons beyond the evidence supplied in the courtroom? With a huff of frustration, she leaned over the railing of her personal cruiser, allowing the ocean breeze to ruffle her blue locks.

Sitting in a seat across the deck from her, Clorinde remained silent, lost in her own thoughts. Furina looked over her shoulder to peer at her guard. Again, she was thankful that Clorinde had made good on her word and returned to her usual distant self, keeping her keen, piercing eyes turned away from her. The twinge in Furina’s heart was less convinced, but... she didn’t have a right to be disappointed.

There was something different, though, about Clorinde’s silence today. Furina couldn’t be sure, but the distant look in her eyes was almost... sad. She sighed into the wind.

Even if they couldn’t confide in each other, perhaps a distraction would be good for the both of them. She cleared her throat, preparing herself mentally before turning to face her, leaning back against the ship railing.

“So, did you really spar against that Harbinger?” Furina said, trying for a lighter tone.

Clorinde blinked up at her, looking somewhat dubious as to how to respond for a moment. “Yes... I did.”

“I’m impressed,” Furina chirped. “He seems like a formidable foe.”

Clorinde shook her head. “Like he said, we were just sparring. Eventually he got bored of my refusal to take the offensive... so he called a draw and asked to fight again when I’m willing to ‘take him seriously.’”

Furina’s eyes fell yet again on the bruise on the right side of her jaw. “Then...”

Clorinde sighed, leaning back in her seat and watching Angler gulls circle lazily overhead. “I let my guard down. That’s all.”

“I see...”

The silence fell again and Furina started regretting her choice of topic. Just as she was scrambling to find something else to talk about, the Duelist spoke up again.

“...I appreciate your concern.” Clorinde said quietly. It was almost drowned out by the noise of the waves against the side of the boat as they crossed the harbour, but Furina was sure she caught the words.

She swallowed. “O-Of course! It’s only right that an Archon look out for her Champion.”

“Mm.” Clorinde hummed and closed her eyes. “He is a dangerous man. If the time ever did come that I truly had to fight him, or others like him... well, until that time comes, I’ll make sure I’m strong enough to win.”

Furina allowed herself the opportunity to look properly at her bodyguard. The sun sinking in the horizon warmly outlined the smooth planes of her face, the handsome slope of her nose, the sharp jut of her chin. And also, the tightness around her eyes and mouth that never seemed to disappear.

“Clorinde...” she said softly, hearing the faint warning bells in her head, yet finding herself unable to resist asking her next question. “Why do you fight?”

For a minute Clorinde didn’t answer and Furina thought maybe she didn’t hear, or just didn’t want to respond. But eventually Clorinde opened her eyes again, looking over at her carefully, before casting her gaze up towards the orange hues of the late afternoon sky.

“For as long as it is necessary, I will wield my blade for the sake of justice.”

She said nothing more, and neither did Furina feel like she wanted to press into her answer. It became another question that plagued Furina for the rest of the day, all the way until she crawled into her bed, exhausted.

An echo of a distant memory flickered through her mind, a conversation from hundreds of years ago, that she had replayed over and over until it was burned into her brain.

What was the “justice” that belonged to her?

She wanted to fight for it too. She lifted a shaking hand upwards grasping at the air. The her inside the mirror had so much faith in her... but would she even have the strength to see things through to the end...?

She turned the thought in her head over and over again until the darkness of sleep claimed her.

“Lady Furina!” came the chipper voice of her attendant from behind the door. Furina put down the papers she was reading with a sigh.

“Enter!” she called, quickly making her desk look more organised. She put her hands on her hips as Marie hopped in. “This had better be important, Marie! Your Archon is hard at work.”

Marie looked a little sheepish, startled at the sharpness of her tone. “Erm. Well, it’s not an urgent matter... but...”

Furina watched with bemusement as the Melusine fidgeted on the spot, seeming to second-guess her entry. “I’ll need to hear some words, Marie,” she huffed, feeling her patience run shorter than usual. It had been just over a week since the Harbinger’s trial, she was still making close to no progress on a plan to stop the prophecy, and now she had to trawl painstakingly through the history of the Oratrice.

“Y-Yes! Sorry.” Marie said, taking a deep breath. “Actually, I saw that your schedule was quite clear tomorrow which is very rare. We were wondering if... if you would be interested in going to the beach?”

Furina blinked. “...The beach?”

Marie nodded vigorously. “Yes. To be specific, there is a little bay in Erinnyes, just northwest of Marcotte station.”

“I see...” Furina said slowly. “Is there any particular occasion?”

“Not especially... But I hear you can get a lovely view of the Palais in the sunset...”

“As part of an event?”

“More of a social gathering.”

“Like a tea party? Are there diplomats I’m meant to be meeting?”

“No, no,” Marie said, looking less certain by the minute with Furina’s repeated questioning. “There’s no official business. It’s erm. Well it’s just me, Kiara, and Miss Clorinde.”

Furina blinked again.

“Clorinde.” She repeated flatly.

Now Marie was looking slightly confused. “Ah. Yes? Actually, it was her idea to ask you...”

“I’m afraid I must decline.”

Marie tried to hide her disappointment. “I see... shall I tell her that you are busy, Lady Furina?”

“Yes... something like that,” Furina said, turning away slightly to pinch the bridge of her nose. “There’s a veritable ocean of work to be done. Archon business. It wouldn’t normally go in the schedule.”

Marie nodded. “You sure work hard, Lady Furina. It’s a blessing to have an Archon like you.”

“I am one of the greater Archons, as you know.”

Marie hummed happily in agreement before bidding Furina farewell. As soon as the door swung shut, Furina sighed deeply. It had... been a while since she had been invited to any kind of casual gathering unrelated to political matters. She had certainly turned down more than her fair share of them in the past... so she wondered what her bodyguard was thinking.

And sending the invite through her attendant – how unfair.

Furina huffed to herself, crossing her arms and feeling oddly rattled. Fortunately, she had an opera to attend this afternoon to distract herself and forget about the whole thing.

Unfortunately, she did end up running into her bodyguard the next morning at the Palais Mermonia foyer. In an embarrassingly literal sense.

There went Furina’s plan to avoid her.

Clorinde, of course, reflexively caught her arm as she stumbled backward from the impact, setting her upright before taking a step back. “My apologies, Lady Furina,” she said quickly.

“No apologies required, my excellent guard!” Furina said laughing it off, yet internally berating herself for not looking where she was going. She averted her eyes, as Clorinde regarded her silently for a moment.

“I heard you were busy this afternoon,” she said, before Furina could come up with a hasty excuse to get away. She let out another short laugh.

“Oh, yes! I do hope Marie conveyed my sincere apologies.”

Clorinde shook her head. “It’s no trouble. Kiara has asked me about you recently so I thought it could be a good opportunity... but if you’re busy it’s understandable. It turns out that Navia is free tomorrow as well, so there’s no need to feel obliged.”

“Oh... the head of Spina di Rosula? That Navia?” Furina said in surprise, watching as Clorinde’s features softened, her lips quirking into an almost-smile. Now that was new.

“That’s right,” she murmured in affirmation, the almost-smile not leaving her face.

“That sounds lovely,” Furina said through her own smile so wide that it started to hurt.

Clorinde nodded. “Thank you. You are welcome to join us in the future.”

“I would hate to disappoint you, but I’m afraid to say that you may be waiting an awful long time.” Furina said with a show of slight remorse. “I’m sure that you all will have a most wonderful time in my absence!”

She congratulated herself on maintaining her charming persona this time. Clorinde only nodded distantly in response. With nothing left to say, Furina excused herself awkwardly.

The whole day she felt like she couldn’t concentrate on anything. The opera she watched felt completely uninspired. Something about a bard whose pet dragon had been corrupted so that he attacked his hometown. But the bard really could have done something about it earlier!

Unsatisfied and unwilling to go back to the Palais, Furina decided to indulge herself. As the sun was setting she knew the perfect company she could have. Yes, even if she couldn’t spend time with friends like a normal person, she could still rely on her ‘alternative company’ to be around. After she was ferried back to the Court of Fontaine, she made her way down to the bay and very quickly found the round, squishy beings that she was looking for. Delightedly she hopped over to the largest Blubberbeast of the pack, and gave it a long rub on its upturned stomach. It made a low, soft noise which made Furina giggle.

“I knew you would be here, Monsieur Bubbles! You and your family,” she said happily. She moved on the smaller Blubberbeast next to him and gently flipped him over. And so she contented herself with playing with them until night fell, allowing her fears and stress to melt away for as long as she could.

“Ahem! I thank you all for accompanying me,” Furina stated grandly. “And I hope that you all have enjoyed the rare delight of my presence also. Since you have pleased me, I will be sure to come back next time!”

In a much better mood, Furina made her way back inside the walls of the Court of Fontaine. With a little skip in her step, she wandered through the quiet streets back to the Palais. It had gotten later than she thought, seeing as there was barely any people around anymore. And then, she saw it.

The most gorgeous looking cat with fluffy black and white fur was wandering across the street. It padded along, before stopping suddenly as if sensing it was being watched. As it turned, its large eyes locked eyes with Furina for just a moment, before Furina gave chase, dashing over towards it. Startled, the cat darted away, much to Furina’s chagrin.

“Stop running this instant!” she shouted, huffing. The cat slowed down though it still maintained a wary distance. Furina paused to catch her breath before she crouched down and reached out her hand.

She never saw the shadow coming.

Without knowing what happened, she heard the faintest noise behind her and whipped around to see a dark and imposing cloaked figure in a mask prepared to strike her with sharpened nails extending towards her.

Furina screamed, but immediately clamped a hand over her mouth, her heart pounding in her ears.

Who are you and how dare you attempt to strike the Hydro Archon! she didn’t say.

“Wh-Who are you? Please don’t kill me, I’m begging you, please...” Furina gasped, tears filling her eyes.

The cloaked figure straightened up, looking like she was deciding on what to do next. Furina was shaking so hard that it was hard to get a grip on what was happening. Almost as quickly as she came, the figure stepped backwards before suddenly vanishing before Furina’s eyes.

Furina stayed on the ground for what felt like an hour. Slowly, as the trembling faded and her legs no longer felt like jelly, she got up and fled to the Palais, her heart jolting violently with every passing shadow.

Somehow she made it back to the Palais in one piece, her breathing laboured as she moved through the halls, her steps echoing noisily on the smooth marble. It was so late that most people had gone home. A patrolling night-shift garde greeted her as she passed through, but she didn’t stop until she made it all the way up the stairs to her quarters.

After she closed the door behind her and the adrenaline faded, Furina stayed glued to the threshold, unmoving, tears rolling down her face as the realisation of how close she had just come to death struck her heart. Her careless and selfish indulgence had almost led to the loss of her life and the failure of her mission.

There was a piece of cake she had been saving for that evening on her desk, but now her appetite was completely gone. She startled as she noticed something else on the table. Wiping away at her tears, Furina slowly and hesitantly moved towards it, eyeing up the item doubtfully. Next to her cake slice was a crystal-clear glass vase containing a single soft blue flower, glowing with a gentle, ethereal light. She stared at it for a long moment before feeling brave enough to gingerly pick it up to take a closer look.

It was possibly the most beautiful Lakelight Lily she had ever seen, Furina thought to herself, her mouth slightly open as she turned the stem between her fingers. They were a favourite of hers, but they were exceptionally hard to come by, as most florists in the Court of Fontaine didn’t bother with the hassle of collecting them from Erinnyes. This particular specimen was... impeccable. She looked back on her desk. There was no note or anything to suggest who had left the flower there.

A part of her didn’t want to think about it. The distress from earlier gave way to a deeper ache. An unbidden and frightening thought came to her then, a consideration that though the thought of death terrified her, perhaps a small part of her would not have been so devastated if it meant being free from this crushing responsibility. She ached to be free from waiting and wondering after a deliverance that she could never be sure was really coming.

She cried herself to sleep that night. No longer from fear but also from pain. She had to hold on, had to wait alone no matter how long it took. There was no point in making anyone else wait too.

“What do you mean, you cannot accompany me to the meet with the Knave?” Furina hissed. Neuvillette furrowed an eyebrow.

“Lady Furina, I have told you already that there has been a matter raised at the Fortress of Meropide that requires immediate attention,” Neuvillette said, his imposing form towering over her.

“What could possibly be more important right now than smoothing over diplomatic relations with Snezhnaya?” Furina cried out. Neuvillette frowned.

“Surely you know, Lady Furina,” he said curtly. “There has been an urgent report dispatched to me about the concentration of Primordial Seawater rising below the Fortress. I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you what that means.”

Furina’s jaw clicked shut. She couldn’t argue with that...

“...Fine,” she muttered. She stormed away from her Chief Justice, exiting his office and almost knocking over a surprised Gestionnaire as she made her way out the front doors of the Palais Mermonia. She still had her reservations, but she had no choice anymore. The only trial of the day had already concluded, so surely she was available.

Fortunately, the Champion Duelists’ office was located very close to the Palais Mermonia. Furina must have made for quite the sight hurrying down there, but she did her best to ignore the curious looks and excited gasps. Entering the office, she made a beeline for the front desk, the woman at the front looking up in shock as she was suddenly face to face with her Archon.

“Oh – erm, Lady Furina! A pleasant surprise,” she said, quickly straightening her posture. “How can I help?”

“I’m looking for Clorinde,” Furina said, trying hard to look like she hadn’t just run all the way here from the Palais. “Is she here?”

“Oh, Miss Clorinde?” the woman said, furrowing her brow. “I believe she is actually occupied at present...”

“Occupied?” Furina echoed disbelievingly. “With what? By who?”

The woman hesitated a moment, as if wondering if she owed an answer. Furina exhaled.

“Ahem. You wouldn’t withhold such information from your Archon, would you?” she said loftily. The woman flinched at that.

“No, no... well I suppose it’s not confidential. Quite recently she has been hired fairly often for some jobs at the Fortress of Meropide.”

“The Fortress of Meropide?” Furina parroted again, dumbfounded. “Why would she... ugh.”

“That’s correct, Lady Furina...” the clerk said uncertainly. “Champion Duelists are directly affiliated with the Trial Court, but many are also contracted for various commissions. As her manager, we noticed that she was also receiving less requests from... well, you.”

Her words hit her like a slap to the face. But she wasn’t wrong... she resisted the urge to groan in frustration, settling on a look of displeasure.

“If you like, we can offer you another one of our Duelists...?”

Furina shook her head impatiently. “And do you have any other Duelists who have been working for at least a year and have never lost a duel?”

The woman’s silence was enough answer for her. Hiding her distress, Furina turned to exit the Champion Duelist office, setting her face in determination. She would just have to meet the Knave herself.

The meeting turned out to be awful as she expected. Furina dragged herself back to her room at the end of the day, collapsing onto her bed without even bothering to change.

Though she was fortunate to come out physically unscathed and she didn’t have to face the Harbinger alone in the end. The Traveler, to her surprise and great relief had ended up joining her, apparently on Neuvillette’s request. While he didn’t need to physically intervene in any way, he certainly seemed more on her side than the Knave’s. He also managed to divert some of the attention off of her and onto himself. At least until the tremors started. Then the Knave became relentless.

“From the very beginning, you, the god Focalors... You have utterly failed to take action.”

She was playing her part. She was trying as hard as she could. Tears of frustration filled her eyes.

“O great Hydro Archon, how are you going to save them? Save us? How are the people you’ve sworn to protect supposed to survive in a land that will soon disappear beneath the waves?”

Though the answer was eluding her, she knew it was there. The Furina on the other side of the mirror... She had no other hope. She had to trust her. Furina gripped her sheets beneath her. She should read another report, she thought before her eyes drifted shut. She should... but she was just too tired...

“You are the Hydro Archon Focalors, are you not?”

Furina looked away from the penetrating gaze of her Iudex. The Knave questioning her identity and her competency was one thing, but her own Chief Justice... He looked really upset and more annoyed with her than ever. And she... she was severely running out of the mental or emotional capacity to deal with this. Unhappy at her aversion, Neuvillette pushed on.

“Look at this.” He said through gritted teeth. “A list of the victims from the recent Poisson incident.”

With some trepidation, Furina took the piece of paper that he had stretched out towards her. Her stomach dropped. She knew it was bad... but to see all the names like this...

“I will not allow this to happen again, Lady Furina,” he said in a tone that brooked no argument. “Please... You must tell me everything you know.”

Furina was struggling to breathe again, her stomach feeling nauseous. Her ongoing silence only made Neuvillette more agitated.

“Lady Furina.”

Her eyes snapped up to his. “I understand your concerns,” she said sharply. “But I’m sorry to say that I just don’t have anything to tell you.”

His eyes flashed dangerously at her. “Truly? You learned nothing from Egeria. And your... secret investigations on the prophecy have turned out nothing?”

Furina’s eyes narrowed up at him, appalled at the revelation that he had been keeping tabs on her. “My ‘secret’ investigations have nothing to do with you.”

“Your secrecy will threaten the future of Fontaine,” Neuvillette ground out. Furina was stunned into silence once again, eyes downcast.

Threaten the future of Fontaine, huh...

That was the exact opposite outcome she was trying to achieve. Furina’s mind was in a turmoil. She wished more than ever that she could have another conversation with mirror-Furina. Did she really fall for a 500 year deception? Was all she was doing just putting the people of Fontaine in danger?

Furina clenched her fists, knuckles going white. No... Neuvillette didn’t have all the knowledge. As difficult as it was to keep going, the reality was that if anyone found out the truth about her, it wouldn’t just be Poisson but all of Fontaine that was doomed.

And so Furina laughed loudly, deflecting the rest of Neuvillette’s questioning with a proud ferocity, until she could make her escape.

As frustrated as she had been by Neuvillette’s confrontation, she too, was deeply stricken by the tragedy at Poisson. The list of names haunted her so much that she could barely get any sleep for the rest of the week.

The days seemed to pass by with her in a zombie-like state. The opera she was currently observing through glassy eyes barely registered to her, even as the curtain dropped for the intermission.

“She’s not a god...”

“She let the people of Poisson die!”

It took several seconds before her brain processed the fact that the shouts were not voices in her head but from the audience below her.

“Let’s get her now! Force her to tell us how she plans to stop the Prophecy.”

“She deserves to pay for her crimes!”

Furina trembled. She knows. She knows Sheknowssheknows–

She needed to escape.

Forcing herself to her feet, she ran. She ran until her lungs burned, boarding a ship straight to the place where she craved desperately to find her absolution.

Furina felt her heart clench as she stared at the Traveler. He looked so sincere... so warm and full of concern...

Could she really trust him? She had wanted to share this burden with someone for so long... and he was not from this world... so would it really...

Furina ground her teeth, fists clenched painfully at her side. She couldn’t give up– she had to stay strong– but oh, she wanted to–

There was a deafening thud, the lights flickered eerily and suddenly– suddenly, the walls –everything– fell apart.

The bright lights of the Opera Epiclese glared down upon her in the middle of the stage. It was a position that Furina should have been familiar with. The theatre was her life, the centre position was her home, and the stage lights were her greatest allies, making her shine in all the ways that she was meant to. But not today.

Furina felt more exposed than ever as hundreds of eyes stared at her with none of the respect and adoration that she was used to. Some were shocked, some were angry. And many were just... curious. She felt herself being picked apart by those eyes, observing her like she was a monkey on the stage.

The voice of Lyney the Magician cut through her thoughts like one of his throwing cards.

“Ladies and Gentlemen!” he exclaimed, raising his arms dramatically. “Without further ado, we may proceed... to the trial of our god!”

Furina’s eyes snapped towards the magician and then back to the Traveler, who currently sported a grim look on his face. She felt the bitterness rise like bile in her throat. So the empathy really was all an act. She allowed the feeling to fill her, allowed her mind to channel and weave the indignation into words.

“Hm. So this is what it is,” Furina said, narrowing her eyes at Lyney, who had turned to her with a self-satisfied look. “A praiseworthy performance, however... does it not strike you as even the least bit absurd to bring me, Focalors, the very concept of justice, to trial?”

Neuvillette’s voice resounded through the room with the words that she had heard thousands of times directed coldly at her. “May I interpret these words as your refusal to stand trial? In that case, you will have the opportunity to defend your honour through a duel.”

Before she could retort, the click of familiar heels struck the stage and her heart sank as none other than Fontaine’s Great Champion Duelist herself stepped forward until she was mere metres away.

No... please don’t do this.

Face to face with her own bodyguard, she felt herself falter, the bravado draining from her voice. “You... You would draw your blade against a god?”

Time seemed to move in slow motion. There was an eternity in a second where Clorinde was motionless and Furina felt a spark of hope that maybe, just maybe, her guard would understand, would change her mind, and come stand at her side again like she’d always done for the last six years–

Furina watched as Clorinde lifted her sword and pointed it directly at Furina’s heart.

Inwardly she recoiled, feeling the breath knocked out of her lungs as though the sword really did pierce through her. Blood roared painfully in her ears. Furina’s gaze travelled from the point of her sword along the rigid line of her arm and into her eyes. Desperately she searched for something in those dark violet irises, any sympathy, any understanding – any way to convince Clorinde to change her mind.

Clorinde remained silent and still, like the surface of a frozen lake. Furina felt the hope crumbling through her fingers as she found nothing. Nothing but a piercing gaze, unflinching and unyielding, as cold and impartial as the sword of Justice itself–

Furina inhaled sharply as a memory suddenly flashed behind her eyes.

“Why do you fight, Clorinde?”

Her heart thudded as it dawned on her that this sight must be what everyone who faced off with Clorinde in a duel saw. Clorinde, Furina realised belatedly... was searching her too.

“For as long as it is necessary, I will wield my blade for the sake of justice.”

Clorinde was searching for – was testing – her “justice.”

Furina allowed her breathing to calm. Once more, she steeled her resolve, meeting the dark pools of her ex-bodyguard’s stare head on.

This challenge set before her... she would not back down.

“I see.” she said, reclaiming the defiance in her tone. “It seems like you have made up your mind.”

Clorinde’s brow furrowed as Furina raised her hands. Slowly she lowered her weapon with a contemplative hum, while gasps and cries of disbelief rang out from the audience. Furina scoffed at the crowd.

“Settle down, dear citizens,” she said, her voice projecting clear and strong. “I merely wish to convey that there is no duel necessary, for I, Furina de Fontaine, will accept this trial.”

She lowered her head slightly, allowing a demure candor to lace into her words. “I admit that I’ve been running away for a long time. For that, I apologise. I was unable to protect the people of Poisson...”

Setting her jaw, she raised her head again and declared boldly, “It is time for the Hydro Archon to show you her courage and resolve! I, Furina, will use this trial to show the world the true meaning of Justice!”

With a renewed surge of bravery that surprised even herself, Furina announced the commencement of the trial of the Hydro Archon Focalors, the grandest drama ever to be witnessed upon the stage of Fontaine.

The crowd cheered and applauded uproariously.

It was all going well at first. After all, the Traveler’s lofty charge that Furina wasn’t the Archon was beyond what the crowd was expecting. The Oratrice tipped its scales in her favour. Yes, Furina thought, stiffening her resolve. She could do this.

Yet as the trial progressed, tiny cracks began to form in her arguments. Cracks that the Traveler was all too eager to take advantage of, with information that he had carefully and cleverly collected. Furina felt the intense pressure to buckle with every accusation aimed against her deity, her understanding of the Oratrice and the Indemnitium, and her power.

Now, as she stared at the vessel prepared on the stage containing the Primordial Seawater, time seemed to slow around her with every step that her feet carried her forward. As she saw her distorted reflection in the water, it took every last ounce of her willpower not to crumble, not to run. The sounds of the crowd seemed to muffle as she sucked her breaths in and out heavily like a fish out of water.

“Why do I have to be the one to suffer?”

Her resolve had already been completely shredded to pieces.

“If there were scales, with all the people of Fontaine on one side, and my pain on the other... Is it not obvious where the scales should tilt?”

Yet as torn up as it was, bleeding on the stage under the spotlights, it had not disappeared.

She would protect Fontaine or die trying.

Furina thrust her hand into the water, sending a round of gasps and cries rippling through the room. Her own shock gave way to a delirious elation as she waited a moment before pulling her hand triumphantly out of the water.

The joy was shot dead as Neuvillette called up a Melusine called Sigewinne to inspect her status. The Melusine nurse quickly declared her to be suffering the adverse effects of a low concentration of Primordial Seawater to the same degree as a human.

As Furina returned to the defendant’s stand in a daze, Navia explained how the sample they prepared was initially going to be the undiluted Primordial Seawater, but they had swapped it out for a much less concentrated version.

Trembling in agitation, Furina turned her gaze to the audience.

“You don’t understand! If I was a human, why would I risk putting my hand in the water in the first place!” Furina shouted. She was met only with disdainful looks.

It was over. No matter how many excuses Furina came up with, all she could see was the crowd’s growing disillusionment and derision; all she could hear was the disappointed murmurs, the disbelieving scoffs.

“I swear, I really am your Archon!” Furina cried, though her voice was breaking and her vision was watering. “You... you have to believe me!”

It was useless. The barbed comments continued rising from the noise of the crowd, cutting into her like tiny knives.

“To think that our Archon was a fake this whole time.”

“What a joke.”

“Is she serious? No one’s going to fall for those lies anymore.”

She wrenched her gaze towards the Traveler and Neuvillette. Both of them turned their faces away. Breathing so hard that she thought she might suffocate from her throat constricting, she desperately looked over the crowd. There was no one. No one who believed her. Even Clorinde, though she remained staring at Furina, still searching Furina, the grim look on her face made it seem like even she was ready to give up on her.

Furina’s head whipped back to Neuvillette as his authoritative voice boomed throughout the courtroom.

“In my capacity as Chief Justice, I shall now render judgment on Furina’s misrepresentation of herself as the Archon of Fontaine.”

Wait–

“As a human who knowingly deceived her fellow citizens, Furina is...”

Stop – Please, stop...

“...Guilty.”

Furina felt the words shatter the thin glass that had remained encasing her reality. Her legs gave way under her, and she crumpled lifelessly onto the defendant’s seat.

It was over. She had failed.

All the work... the tears... the pain over the last five hundred years...

Her heart screamed in anguish, but Furina didn’t have enough energy to even move. Silently, endlessly, the tears tracked down her face as she sat there, unfeeling and uncaring towards the rest of the court proceedings and the distant sounds of shouts around her.

She had failed.                                                                                                        

The waters rose higher and higher. She couldn’t bring herself to care. She deserved to drown, deserved to have her stain on Fontaine be washed away.

She had failed. She was alone.

After everything happened, Neuvillette came to her and relayed everything that Focalors had done and told him. Meticulously and with great care he recounted every event after the trial, assuring her that though the prophecy had been fulfilled, the people were safe. Furina said nothing the whole time, her brain digesting the information with a dull disinterest. Vaguely she thought she should be sad for her divine counterpart. Happy that Fontaine was safe. Angry about being left in the dark for centuries. Maybe she was, underneath all the numbness. She didn’t feel much of anything these past few days.

Less than a week later, Furina had one suitcase filled and ready to go with another one open on the ground. She barely registered the knock on her door and Neuvillette’s subsequent entry into the room. She continued slowly stuffing more clothes into a bag.

“Lady Furina...” Neuvillette started, clearing his throat. “May I ask what you are doing?”

What does it look like I’m doing? 

If she had more energy then maybe she would have vocalised the sarcastic thought. But right now... she was just tired.

“I’m leaving.” She said flatly, not bothering to look up at him. Neuvillette was quiet for a moment, probably trying hard to figure out what she was thinking. Well, good. She felt a bitter triumph at that. After a few more moments of silence, as Furina was just about to tell him to leave with whatever remnant of politeness she could muster, Neuvillette spoke up again.

“And... where are you going?” he said, his voice as uncertain as she’s ever heard it. Furina tensed, before releasing a heavy sigh. She didn’t need to put up the façade anymore.

“I don’t know. Away from here,” Furina muttered. Neuvillette didn’t respond to that, and for that she was thankful. But part of her also wanted him to dare to speak back to her. Surely he was angry at her for all that she’d done. Surely he was going to tell her to stop being so selfish and to stay at the Palais. She wanted desperately to snap at him, to give in to her pettiness. She was about to, when–

“You are free to take up residence wherever you see fit, Lady Furina. I will let Sedene know to assign anyone available to help you move your things from the Palais Mermonia.”

The lump in her throat was becoming unbearable.

“...Thank you, Neuvillette,” she said, her voice cracking, as she fought back the tears.

Slowly but surely, she finished her packing. Sedene helped her select a place to live, and sent several Gardes who helped carry her things over to an apartment in the Vasari Passage.

At the end of the day, with her possessions still in boxes piled up in the living room, Furina lay on her tiny new bed, trying to summon some hopefulness at the new start she had been given.

She closed her eyes, letting her breathing even out.

Fontaine had been saved. Her opera, in all its drama, had ended. It was... worth it. Logically, she knew it was. But right now, it felt like the wear on her aged heart had caught up to her, leaving her frighteningly desensitized to anything.

She was so, so tired.

Chapter Text

Time was a strange construct for Furina. In all her five hundred years on Teyvat, she had always been looking forward in some way to the passage of time, always wishing that the gears would turn faster, aching for the end of her duty.

Now, as she lay on her bed, she neither felt the passage of time, nor did she care for it. She used to diligently count the days as a way to keep herself sane... and now, she wasn’t sure how many days had passed since she moved into her new apartment. It was ironic, really. If she really was an ordinary human now, then her days were more numbered than ever.

Now it felt like she was suddenly at the bottom of the ocean, in the dark, and she had no desire to leave the darkness. It meant she was hidden. Unseen. It felt safe.

She thought then and there that she would be perfectly content never being under the spotlights ever again. Furina exhaled, the unwelcome memory barging its way back to the forefront of her mind. At this point it was more a nuisance than it was painful. And she had certainly shed enough tears. She stared blankly at the chipping paint on the ceiling. Her new apartment was nothing like the Palais at all.

It was perfect.

* * *

Furina knew that eventually she had to leave her apartment. Her supplies were running alarmingly low and besides, the grocers were very near to her residence. She would know. The convenience of location was why she chose this rental property in the first place. She sighed for what felt like the thousandth time that day. As annoying as it was, she had better just get it over and done with.

It was easier said than done. As much as Furina willed her body to move faster, it took her over an hour to fight the lethargy in her limbs, enter the bathroom and make herself somewhat presentable. She frowned at her reflection in the dirty, scratched up mirror. And her mind abruptly launched a new campaign to get her back into bed.

It was safe there. She didn’t need to be seen. She could stay at the bottom of the ocean and never break the surface again.

Furina slapped at her cheeks.

Come on, Furina. There’s no need to be so dramatic anymore. How hard is it to get some damned macaroni.

Gritting her teeth, she grabbed some clothes from the nearest cardboard box. She pulled on a pair of black shorts and a charcoal coat over a white long-sleeve, grimacing as she spotted an obvious coffee stain on the front. She supposed she wouldn’t be out for long anyway.

Eventually she reached the door. She breathed in. Out. In. Out.

She flung the door open and did an awkward half-run to the grocers. She found the macaroni, panicking only a little when she was stuck for a minute finding it. Kept her head down. Paid at the counter. Grabbed her bag with the macaroni. Ran out.

She paused outside her door to catch her breath, feeling foolish and irritated over her unruly nerves. Before she entered her house, she caught sight of the bookstall next door and the newsstand in the corner. Before she could think too much about it, she shelled out a few more coins to buy a newspaper before heading back inside her apartment.

Furina dumped her macaroni on the table, staunchly ignoring the dishes near the sink. Exhaling deeply, she draped herself over the old couch before opening the paper. The headline read in bold letters, “IUDEX NEUVILLETTE OFFICIALLY BECOMES NEW REGENT OF FONTAINE” and underneath, was a presumably discreet, candid shot of Neuvillette’s face with his usual serious features. She skimmed the article listlessly, pointedly skipping over the parts written about her. It seemed to be… generally positive. Hopeful about the future of Fontaine.

She flipped the page. There was another article on the rebuilding of Poisson, which seemed to be progressing at great speed. A photo of Navia, smiling brightly at the kamera. And they even managed to catch Clorinde hefting a box in the distant background. Furina smiled wryly at that. As expected, there was a line somewhere on how the Champion Duelist had neglected to comment on any of the recent events.

On the next page was an advertisement for a new clothing store that opened in the Quartier Narbonnais. Cleaning services for residents in the Fleuve Cendre. A speculative scoop on Lyney and Lynette’s next new performance.

She threw the paper onto the floor with a sigh, covering her eyes with a forearm. She wasn’t sure what she was even hoping to find. Suddenly she felt exhausted again, even though she had barely done anything today.

* * *

When Furina next opened her eyes, a realisation had drifted onto the shores of her mind, carried along by a lazy tide.

She was free from her duties.

But didn’t that just mean that no one needed her?

She wasn’t... upset by this. She thought, perhaps, that she should be, but she was oddly at peace with the reality. She wasn’t needed. Fair enough. Her role as the fake Hydro Archon was over. Fontaine didn’t need her. Fontaine didn’t care about her. And why would they? Why would anyone care about the fraud Archon who deceived everyone, disappeared, and was too much of a coward to look behind her. Besides, Fontaine was doing fine. Everyone was already rebuilding and was getting on with their role in the new order. Neuvillette was probably doing a much better job than she ever did or ever could.

Very calmly and without fanfare, the thought occurred to her that it would probably be better off if she just... ceased to exist. Furina blinked slowly. Yes... that seemed like a good way for her to really have her peace.

How would she do it? It seemed overall unappealing for her to just lie here and starve. She may have been told that she was a normal human now, but who knows if that was actually true or if that was just another deception?

She should drown. Oh, that would be fitting. An ironic and tragic, yet quiet end. Then she really would end up at the bottom of the ocean, her body never sighted by anyone ever again. Perhaps quite difficult to accomplish in Fontaine, but she was sure that somehow she could figure out a way to–

The sound of knocking on her door wrenched her out of her thoughts.

A dozen emotions flitted through her heart in quick succession. Fear. Anxiousness. Annoyance. And then she remembered she didn’t need to care so much. What would it matter if she wasn’t going to be around for much longer anyway?

The knock came again. Furina sighed. She supposed she should just get up and tell whoever it was that she was occupied and wasn’t taking visitors right now, otherwise they might come back.

“I’m coming!” she called out, her voice hoarse from disuse. She rolled off the sofa, half-heartedly smoothing down her wrinkled clothes as she walked stiffly over to the door. She wrenched it open and blinked stupidly as she took in the sight of her guest.

It was none other than her ex-bodyguard in the flesh, in her full, immaculate, uniform from her hat to her heels.

“Lady Furina,” Clorinde murmured, tipping her head forward in greeting. “It has been a while.” Furina stared at the woman.

“Clorinde,” she said lamely.

A minute passed where neither of them did anything. And then–

“May I come in?” Clorinde said finally. Furina blinked, only just realising that she was blocking the entrance.

“Ah yes. Please forgive my manners,” Furina said, forcing a smile and stepping aside. Just like that, she felt herself shift gears into what she knew best and what she had done best for five hundred years.

Furina motioned for her ex-guard to sit at the wobbly table next to the kitchen. “I have to apologise! If I had known that this fortuitous day would bring the top Champion Duelist to my door, I would have made more careful preparations!”

Clorinde sat down, shaking her head. “There’s no need to trouble yourself for my sake.”

“So gracious as always!” Furina tittered, moving haphazardly around the kitchen and opening the cupboards. “But I’m sure that I can at least find some tea–” she pulled open another drawer, “–for such an esteemed guest–” she pulled open a box in the corner of the kitchen with more force than intended. “–as yourself who has been so loyal to our nation –!” Where was the damned tea–

“Lady Furina,” Clorinde said quietly.

“Yes?” came Furina’s sharp reply. Clorinde eyed her up carefully. And oh, Furina hated how uncomfortable it made her, how much it looked like Clorinde could see right through her. She pulled feebly at her shirt, wishing that she could cover up that stupid stain–

“If finances are an issue, I would be happy to help you find better accommodation.”

Furina’s brow furrowed. What–

“It’s not as though I have any shortage of Mora,” Clorinde added. “There are a few openings near the Quartier Lyonnais–”

“Thank you! For your concern,” Furina cut in swiftly. “But I’m not interested.”

Clorinde looked doubtful. “Your roof is leaking.”

“A charming water feature!”

“Lady Furina–”

“May I remind you,” Furina said, the shrill edge in her voice becoming razor-sharp. “That I am not the Hydro Archon and you need not play at pretences with the formalities.”

Clorinde was silent, looking at her for a moment before shifting her gaze around the room. Her eyes landed briefly on the newspaper on the floor, a frown tugging on her features.

“And you think yourself not worthy of standard living conditions? Because you’re not the Hydro Archon?” Clorinde pressed.

Furina pursed her lips, crossing her arms reflexively. “I happen to find my living conditions quite adequate. Now I’m afraid I cannot find the tea, so if you have finished flaunting your superiority, I think that I’ll ask you to return at a more convenient date.”

Another pause.

“You think that you don’t deserve to ask for help because you deceived everyone,” Clorinde stated quietly. Furina’s eyes widened and she stiffly turned away. Unfortunately, Clorinde seemed to take her silence as a cue to continue. Furina heard the chair scrape along the wooden floor.

“You think that Monsieur Neuvillette would have done a better job running Fontaine,” Clorinde continued flatly.

Furina instinctively took a step back, hearing her ex-bodyguard approach. How dare she speak to her like this. Like she knew her. Oh, but that wasn’t the worst part. The part that she hated the most was that as blunt as Clorinde was being, her words carried more truth than she could bear.

It terrified her.

She was trembling uncontrollably now but she wasn’t sure if it was from fear, or fury, or–

“You’re afraid that Fontaine has no place for you.”

The slap resounded loudly across the quiet living room. Both of them froze, staring at each other for a long moment, Furina’s hand still midair. And then she backpedalled. Hard.

“Ah-ahaha! I’m sorry. Sorry, yes. I–I didn’t mean, erm– you,” Furina blurted, words tumbling in a careless stream out of her mouth. “You know where to find the exit!”

“Lady Furina, wait–”

She didn’t wait. Clumsily she made her way past Clorinde and tried to beeline for her room. She tensed as Clorinde’s hand reached out to grip her forearm and oh, curse her ex-guard for being so strong–

Furina looked back at her, pain filling her eyes.

“Why... why are you doing this?” Furina choked out. “Is this my punishment? Are you all angry at me? Are you here to taunt me because I’m a fraud? Because I fooled everyone–”

“–Furina.” Clorinde said sharply. Furina froze. Seeing that she wasn’t going to put up a struggle anymore, Clorinde tentatively released her arm.

“I’m... not angry,” the Champion Duelist said. “No one is.”

“You’re not?”

Clorinde exhaled. “Of course not.”

“Oh.”

“Mm.”

Furina winced. “Even though I slapped you?”

“I deserved it.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to–” Clorinde cut herself off, shaking her head. “In any case... Do you feel better?”

Furina stared at her. “I beg your pardon?”

Clorinde cleared her throat. “I’ve ah... heard that it’s quite cathartic to release your emotions in a more tangible form. And I’ve been told that my manner of speech is quite blunt. So...”

“You provoked me on purpose.” Furina deadpanned, fixing her with a disbelieving stare. Clorinde seemed to shift awkwardly.

“I take it that it didn’t work as intended.”

“...No.”

 “Ah. I see.”

Furina squinted at her, still trying to figure out what the point of this bizarre conversation was.

“I told you that I’m not very good at comforting people,” Clorinde muttered, adjusting her hat with a sigh.

The space was filled yet again with nothing but their breathing. Then suddenly, against her wishes and sensibilities–

Furina snorted. The abruptness of the sound surprised them both. She hadn’t really felt like laughing, tried to hold it back, but Clorinde’s absurd attempt at “comfort” was so ridiculous that she felt it unlock a bubble of amusement from somewhere deep within her, which tumbled out of her mouth.

“Pffft... haha... hahahaha!”

“Isn’t that a bit much,” Clorinde said helplessly as she eyed the woman doubling over in front of her. “I’m really trying, you know.”

It took some time but Furina’s giggles eventually died down. She wiped a stray tear from the corner of her eye and looked over at her ex-bodyguard with a resigned sigh.

“You are trying, but you’re also right – it really was awful,” Furina said dryly, with a slight shake of her head. She felt a little bad, seeing Clorinde squirm, but she was also a little bit... moved. Despite the fact that Clorinde had the tactfulness of a hammer on a sheet of glass, it really was effective in breaking down the façade that she had scrambled to erect between them just now.

“Yet for some reason... I didn’t hate it.” Furina murmured finally. Clorinde’s eyes flickered up to meet hers, relieved.

“At least let me help you unpack.” Clorinde offered. Furina groaned. “Do we have to...”

Clorinde didn’t answer, opting to heft a box off the stack in the living room and open it to lay out the contents. Furina grumbled excessively but eventually came over to help sort through the items. It was so fast that she might have imagined it, but she could’ve sworn she saw the corners of Clorinde’s mouth lift for just a second.

* * *

It took no small amount of time or effort, but eventually the boxes got cleared away. Her clothes were folded and stored. The cupboards were filled with the kitchen essentials that the staff were kind enough to donate to her from the Palais.

Maybe it was just because she wanted to fill the silence, maybe it was just because she could, but Furina gradually ended up explaining to Clorinde... a great deal of things. Her identity. What happened to Focalors. What became of the throne of the Hydro Archon. It probably came out as an incoherent ramble lacking any order or sequence and maybe missing some details, but Clorinde seemed content to mostly listen as she folded up the empty boxes and set things in place.

Eventually Furina mentioned the trial and Clorinde stiffened, her sweeping of the floor becoming still.

“I should apologise,” Clorinde said abruptly, after a lull came between her stories. Furina opened her mouth, then closed it. Then opened it again.

“For...?” she said carefully. There was a strained look on Clorinde’s face.

“The trial. It was... unfair of us to do that to you,” she said. “I should have trusted you.”

Furina exhaled, remembering painfully how she had pushed her guard and everyone else away. “You couldn’t have known.”

“Even so.”

“And I mean... your accusation was right.”

“It was also wrong.”

“It was meant to happen,” Furina said softly, but firmly. As if to convince herself as well. “If it didn’t... then even more people would have suffered.”

“And you, most of all.” Clorinde said, looking her dead in the eye with a quiet indignation. Furina swallowed.

“It was worth it.”

Clorinde fell silent and Furina let out a hollow laugh. “Listen, I... don’t blame you for doing what you did. I’m... glad that you all care about Fontaine as much as I do.”

Furina put the last dish away, throwing the dishcloth onto the counter and brushing past her ex-guard on her way to the sofa.

“I think... I just want to move on.”

Furina sensed that Clorinde was still unsatisfied, but she also seemed okay to respect her unspoken wish to let it slide for now.

“Anyway, seriously,” Furina said, shutting her eyes as she leaned back against the couch which creaked beneath her. “Why did you really come here? Surely cleaning up my apartment was not part of your agenda for the afternoon.”

She was already starting to feel a little guilty. Didn’t Clorinde have work today? Or was today a day off? Wasted on cleaning up the apartment that Furina should have sorted out herself a long time ago.

“Actually, I’m here to invite you to a gathering with me,” Clorinde said seriously. Furina’s eyes flew open and she looked at her ex-guard incredulously. She could read no deception or humour on the duelist’s face.

“You’re really asking me?”

“I’m not sure why I would joke about this.”

Furina sighed. “In case you hadn’t realised, I never really went out with people for fun...”

She had only ever socialised within the context of business and diplomacy after all.

“Is that not even more reason to go? There won’t be any pressure involved... just a few old friends catching up.” Clorinde explained. “Besides, I believe you are acquainted.”

“Oh, er. Is that so?” Furina said, caught off-guard. Clorinde nodded.

“I understand why you had to keep your distance before,” Clorinde said patiently. “But...”

Furina’s breath caught a little, seeing Clorinde’s face break into a soft, unguarded smile as she spoke her next words. “I don’t suppose you have any reason to refuse now, do you?”

An ache that she thought she had long buried resurfaced along with a fragment of a memory.

“I’m sorry for turning you down before,” Furina said, her throat suddenly feeling tight.

“Is my ‘awfully long time of waiting’ over then?” Clorinde said lightly.

“I– I don’t know...” Furina said uncertainly. Deep down, she knew that this was something that she had craved for years... something that she had denied herself for years... yet the desire to end her loneliness was covered with a sudden rush of anxiety. “I’m not very good at this sort of thing...”

Clorinde simply shrugged. “Do you think I am?”

“Uh...” Furina mumbled. The corner of Clorinde’s lips quirked upwards in amusement. “If you hate it then we can leave.”

“...Do you promise?”

“You have my word as a Champion Duelist.”

Furina sucked in a breath. “Fine.”

Once Furina had showered and spent an extra hour getting dressed and fussing over her appearance, they headed out, walking along the streets downtown in the cool of the evening. There were less people around, but Furina was still on edge. Clorinde seemed to notice, making some attempt to divert her attention by speaking idly of her latest coffee shop recommendations. Furina welcomed the distraction.

“You know, I never imagined that I could ever have such a long conversation with you,” Furina remarked after a while.

“I hope not the last,” Clorinde said placidly. Furina’s steps slowed to a stop in the middle of the street, a pensive look suddenly clouding her features. Clorinde looked back at her curiously. Numerous thoughts and questions raced through her head but they all accumulated into one thing.

“Why?” Furina blurted out. Clorinde raised a brow. She paused for a moment, raising a hand to her chin thoughtfully.

“I want to learn the real you,” Clorinde decided on simply.

“The real me…?” Furina whispered. Who was the real Furina...? She had spent so long playing a role that she wasn’t sure...

But she wanted to learn too.

Clorinde inclined her head towards her with another slight smile. That made three and a half. She was certainly being generous with them today.

“I don’t suppose you have reason to refuse now, do you?”

Furina rolled her eyes, walking forward to catch up to the woman. “Ahem. You are pushing your luck with that line.”

“Mm,” Clorinde hummed, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “Is it working?”

Furina turned away, hiding her chuckle behind a scoff, so as not to give Clorinde the satisfaction. “I’ve decided to refrain from answering such frivolous questions!”

Sensing the warm mirth exuding quietly from her ex-guard, Furina felt a spark of hope that perhaps tonight really wouldn’t be so bad.

* * *

The first thing that hit Furina when she woke up the next morning was the awful pounding in her skull. She groaned, clutching at her head, woozily recalling the events from last night. She remembered, with some embarrassment, Clorinde having to hold her back from leaping onto the table. In front of the Jailer of Meropide of all people! Oh, she was not living that one down... but at least she would hopefully never have to see him again.

Now that she thought of it, even getting back home was fuzzy too... She remembered barely being able to walk and needing to lean heavily on Clorinde... or did Clorinde carry her in the end...?

She scrunched her eyes shut as another wave of pain throbbed behind her forehead. Her throat felt like sandpaper. Water, she thought groggily. I need water.

She cracked an eye open and was shocked to find a pitcher and glass on her bedside table, as if her very thoughts materialised her wishes. She reached over and poured herself a glass of water, gulping it down greedily. As clarity slowly returned to her, she glanced over to the other side of her bed and caught sight of her blazer, vest, and personal affects folded into a neat stack on her chair, complete with her hat on top. Suddenly she was aware of the fact that she was only in her undershirt and shorts. She flushed, realising that Clorinde must have done all that too. She would have to thank her ex-champion somehow, but for now...

Furina sank back into her bed, curling up under the sheets. She still wasn’t sure what to do with her newfound freedom. She still wasn’t sure if she wanted to leave the bottom of the ocean, even if she could.

But... it also didn’t feel as cold as it used to. A stray tear slipped out, rolling down the side of her face and onto her pillow.

After centuries of shutting everyone out, she finally didn’t have to anymore. She could finally be free to learn and to be her real self.

Finally, she didn’t have to be alone.

Slowly but surely, as the weeks passed by, Furina became more and more used to her new life. The man running the grocers with her favourite brand of macaroni had stopped being weird around her. Her apartment, though not the tidiest at times, never quite returned to the bombsite of cardboard boxes that it had been when she first moved in. The bookstore next door provided her with a pleasant way to pass the time and a plethora of new literary worlds to explore. Slowly she was adjusting to the fact that she didn’t need to bear the weight of every Fontainian’s hopes and dreams. And she was okay with that.

Yes, she really couldn’t complain.

Still, she would be lying if she said that she didn’t have her more... difficult moments.

Furina woke in a cold sweat for the fourth time this particular evening, her heart galloping and her breathing laboured. She rubbed at her stinging eyes with shaky hands, sure that they must be bloodshot.

It was almost always the same dream. The rain which started small but which never stopped. The sea levels rising. Shouting and screaming as bushes, trees, fruit stands, and whole buildings were submerged. Children crying for their missing parents.

And hot-blooded, furious voices, blaming her for everything.

She was always seated on the defendant’s seat, and she was always tied down by thick, weighted ropes. She would dream that angry Fontainians came to carry her off while she was still tied down into her seat and as much as she thrashed and flailed she couldn’t escape. They would bring her down to the pier and launch her off into the ocean–

Furina sobbed, frustrated at herself every time she was subjected to this. It had been two weeks since the last one so she hoped that she had gotten over it. What wishful thinking.

She forced her breathing to slow, clenching and unclenching her fists as she did so.

No... it wasn’t hopeless. She knew the nightmares were getting less frequent. She just needed to get through the night.

In her weary desperation an idea came to her.

That one time she went out with Clorinde weeks ago, she had slept so well. Drinking would surely be able to help her pass out so thoroughly that the nightmares wouldn’t be able to plague her. It was late, but surely there was something open.

Feeling wired and shaky, she changed out of her sleepwear. She pulled on a cloak over her usual attire that she bought recently for good measure. Taking a deep breath, she headed out onto the street.

* * *

Fleuve Cendre was a stark contrast to the rest of the Court of Fontaine, especially in the night time. Where there was a peaceful stillness on the streets amid strolling couples and roaming Gardes under the moonlight above, below ground was a completely new world of orange lights, haphazard copper piping, and lively jazz playing from various corners littered with market stalls and boisterous ragtag groups.

Furina was already second-guessing her decision to come here. But she only needed one thing, then she could go back home. Sucking in a breath, she pressed on, treading carefully along another metal bridge.  

Eventually she ended up at an establishment that looked markedly less rowdy than the rest, with a rusty sign that read “The Midnight Muse.” Hesitantly she entered and approached the counter, valiantly ignoring the sensation that every pair of eyes in the room was looking at her. She pulled the hood of her cloak on tighter.

A man with jet black hair and a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up barely glanced up at her from behind the bar as she stood awkwardly next to a stool.

“What are you after?” he drawled, setting down a glass before he picked up another one to wipe down. Furina wet her lips.

“Ah... what’s the strongest you have?” she muttered. She felt her cheeks flush at her lack of knowledge – she hadn’t really thought this far. The man behind the counter raised an eyebrow. “Hard night?”

Furina winced. “Something like that.”

“How does a glass of Vulcan Hawk Whiskey sound? Recently imported stock from Natlan.”

Quite frankly, Furina had no idea how that sounded. Though the name certainly made it seem strong. She must have hesitated a second too long, because the man swiftly offered an alternative.

“We also have Dandelion Wine available.”

“Er, yes.” Furina said. “May I... sample both of them?”

The man put away another glass and peered over at her. Furina averted her frustratingly distinctive eyes. “We don’t normally give free samples, but I’ll make an exception for you.”

Furina watched as the man smoothly pulled out two bottles from the shelf behind him, pouring a meagre amount into two small tumblers before sliding them over to her.

Gingerly, she picked up the glass with the lighter coloured liquid, eyeing it with some trepidation before taking a sip.

It was... not as bad as she thought. What she presumed was the Dandelion Wine had a light, refreshing quality, tinged with sweetness. She tipped the rest back, feeling a pleasant buzz under her skin as it went down.

Feeling emboldened, she reached over to the other glass with the darker reddish-brown liquid. It certainly looked a lot more ominous and as she lifted the glass to drink, the strong smell of alcohol immediately wafted into her nostrils. Suppressing a shudder, she decided to quickly drink the whole thing at once, to the man’s shock.

The burning sensation in her throat was instantaneous. Furina gagged, hitting at her chest with a fist as she sputtered and coughed violently. Quickly the man poured her some water, which she accepted gracefully, trying to ignore her embarrassing display just now.

“Packs quite a punch, doesn’t it?” the bartender said wryly. “Shall I get you the Dandelion Wine?”

“I think the whiskey is perfect.”

The bartender looked at her, doubt lingering in his eyes. “Are you sure?”

“I’d like a bottle, in fact.”

“...It’s not cheap.”

Furina took a breath and pulled out her Mora pouch. “Name your price.”

* * *

Having retrieved her intended goods from the bar, Furina sluggishly made to head home. She was feeling a bit unstable, unsure if it was from the alcohol, the sleep-deprivation, or both. She had to stop for a moment, leaning a hand against the wall of some shop as she caught her breath and tried to reorient her bearings.

Before she could register what was happening, an arm wrapped around her shoulder and pulled her unceremoniously into the alley around the corner.

“Should a pretty lady like yourself be wandering alone at this time of night?”

Furina felt her whole body tense and her heart stop as she stared right into the face of a brown-haired man with a large nose and patchy stubble. In the darkness of the alley, she could see only a dim gleam reflected in his dark eyes. She recoiled at the stench of alcohol that hit her when he gasped in surprise, eyes widening in shock.

“There’s no way...” he breathed. He pushed her against the wall and eagerly pulled off her hood.

“Oi, look! Isn’t this her? It’s the Hydro Archon,” the man crowed. Furina’s eyes darted over his shoulder, watching as a taller, black-haired man approached. He squinted at her too. Her mind was screaming at her to run, to try and break free but she was frozen in place, hardly daring to move or to speak.

“You mean the fake? But shit, you’re right,” the taller man muttered, his face looking slightly awed. The first man who was holding her by the shoulders against the wall grinned.

“We lucked out,” he said with a chuckle. “In the Fleuve Cendre of all places.”

He reached up grasping her forcefully by the jaw and tilting her face upwards so he could get a better look at her. She shivered, seeing more of the whites of his teeth with every second he stared.

“My friends drowned in Poisson,” he said, a bitter laugh escaping his throat as a shadow of anger contorted his face. The crooked smile returned just as quickly. “And then the rumour was that you disappeared from the scene. I should have known you were hiding here like a rat in a sewer...”

His fingers trailed down the side of her face in gentle, mocking reverence, brushing lower until he reached the pulse point at the base of her neck. His smile widened.

“No need to be so scared,” he cooed. “Or are you excited? You should be–”

Suddenly there was a loud crack as something collided with thunderous force and lightning speed across the side of the man’s face knocking him hard onto the ground. Furina’s eyes widened, her vision refocusing in time to see Clorinde straightening up as she retracted her gloved fist. She watched in horror as within the next second Clorinde pressed her boot into the man’s shoulder, drew her pistol in one fluid motion and aimed it at his head.

“W-Wait! Wait– wait, please–!” the darker-haired friend yelled, his voice breaking in fright. Clorinde didn’t bother looking up, her livid gaze fixed on the unconscious brown-haired man under her heel. The gun clicked–

“C-Clorinde, stop–!” Furina cried out, finally pushing off from the wall and throwing herself at her arm to try to pull it away. It was like trying to move a concrete pillar. Clorinde’s eyes flashed.

“Get back, Lady Furina,” Clorinde said, her voice deadly quiet. Furina didn’t give up, wrenching at her arm with all her adrenaline-driven might.

“No, you can’t–! Please!”

Clorinde finally tore her eyes away and looked at Furina, who suppressed a shiver at the dark fury rolling within her irises. “Lady Furina,” she said, still in the same quiet and calm tone, like she was explaining history or mathematics. “Men who behave like monsters ought to be treated like monsters.”

“Then, please, just– just leave it to the court!”

There was a twisted irony in the situation. Furina never thought she’d be the one having to convince Clorinde of all people to see justice done through the rigid structure of Fontaine’s legal system. Painstakingly slowly, Clorinde lowered her weapon, stepping off the man’s shoulder. Furina breathed out a shaky sigh.

Clorinde shifted her gaze over to the other man who had his back to the wall of the alleyway, looking like a frightened rabbit but twice as pale, the sheen of sweat on his face glistening in the amber glow of a distant streetlamp. In short and sharp tones, she grilled him on his and his friend’s details, to which his responses tumbled in a hasty stutter out of his mouth.

“You and your friend are lucky,” Clorinde said quietly, once she had collected all the necessary information. “Now get going before I change my mind.”

The dark-haired man flinched and nodded rapidly, before hefting his friend’s arm around his shoulder and dragging him off as fast as he could.

Furina watched as the tension visibly dissipated from the duelist’s shoulders. Clorinde turned to face her, her face once dark with fury, now creasing in concern.

“Lady Furina, are you alright? He didn’t hurt you, did he?” Clorinde said softly, her hands coming up to gently grip the sides of her arms. “You’re shaking.”

Furina blinked. She hadn’t even realised. Once the adrenaline had worn off, she felt the roiling emotions from before return in full force, making her feel nauseous.

“I’m... fine.” Furina said, offering a weak smile. Clorinde looked unconvinced.

“Please let me escort you home,” she stated. Furina only nodded mutely, her refusals and excuses dying on her lips on seeing the firm resolution on her ex-bodyguard’s face.

They walked together in silence up towards the surface, and then along the streets of the Court of Fontaine. There was barely anyone else around since it was so late at night, but Furina felt her anxiety spiking with every murmured conversation and pair of eyes they passed by. They were watching her. Surely they were watching her. Surely they hated her too, wanted her dead or worse–

She jolted as she felt Clorinde’s gloved hand find and grasp hers, gently but firmly tugging her closer. Furina stared down at the connection, and then up at her ex-guard’s face.

"It wasn't your fault."

The quiet words were the only ones Clorinde spoke on the way home. Furina... still wasn't sure if she agreed with them, but they still lodged themselves into her heart like an arrow. The rest of the time, the duelist only looked straight ahead, her expression giving nothing away as they continued walking. Furina fixated on that connection, letting all else around them fade away until they reached the door to her apartment.

Clorinde let go of her hand. Furina felt the nausea pool in her stomach again.

The duelist turned to face her, quiet for a moment as flickers of micro-expressions crossed her face. As if she was carefully deciding on what to say.

“It’s late,” she settled on finally. “You should get some rest.”

Furina nodded stiffly.

“Are... are you sure that you’re alright?”

Another nod.

“I see,” Clorinde said, looking uncertain. “I suppose I’ll bid you good night then.”

Another nod.

Clorinde turned to leave before stopping abruptly, looking down at her arm. “Lady Furina...?”

Furina blinked, realising then that she had inadvertently reached up to grip Clorinde’s sleeve. Immediately she let go as though burned, a short high-pitched chuckle leaving her mouth.

“O-Oh! My mistake, I’m not sure why I did that,” Furina said nervously. “I’m fine Clorinde. Really. Thank you. Good night.”

Neither of them made any motion to move. Furina stared at the ground as the seconds ticked by. She felt Clorinde’s dark eyes searching her carefully, patiently, as an unspoken question lingered between them. Furina released a shaky exhale and allowed herself to crack just a little.

“...I don’t want you to leave,” she said in a voice as small as she felt. Clorinde didn’t hesitate.

“Then I’ll stay.”

Furina’s shoulders sagged in relief. Her answer was so swift and so sure... that she wondered why she ever thought she would have said otherwise.

“In return,” Clorinde started. Furina froze just as she inserted the key to her door.

“You’re going to tell me why you ended up at a bar in the Fleuve Cendre alone.”

Furina deflated, wondering if it was too late to back out now.

“It doesn’t have to be tonight,” Clorinde added. “But I don’t want this to ever happen again. If something happened to you, I...”

She trailed off and Furina nodded again. This time she meant it. She owed Clorinde that much.

* * *

Wrapped in a blanket on the couch, Furina stared blankly ahead of her while Clorinde swiftly got the kettle going, pulling out tea and cups for the both of them. Distantly she wondered how the woman was so familiar with her kitchenette, even though she had only been here once. Then again, her ex-guard had always been exceptionally perceptive.

“I would ask you what kind of tea you wanted, but I see you only have one set,” Clorinde muttered. Furina only gave a non-committal hum in response.

Clorinde came over to her, while the water boiled, looking concerned. “Are you sure you want to stay up? It really is late...”

It was true. It was probably well past midnight at this point.

Furina gave a shaky laugh. “I don’t want to sleep. But you... don’t have to stay up with me.”

She couldn’t ignore the dark circles under Clorinde’s eyes, after all. It was eating her inside. She should have just stayed quiet and dealt with this alone. Clorinde’s mouth thinned into a line.

“I’d prefer not to sleep either, then.”

Furina hated how relieved she was at the answer.

Clorinde walked back to the kitchen to make the tea, returning after a minute to hand her one of the steaming cups. She sat down on the opposite end of the sofa, blowing on her tea gently before taking a sip. Moments passed in silence. Furina sighed, feeling an odd sense of nostalgia.

Her guard had always been like this. Flawlessly respectful. Never prying or forcing her to speak. Before, it was a relief because she was not supposed to open up to anyone.

She had to remind herself that things were not the same as before.

She didn’t need to be alone.

“I have nightmares,” she said finally. Clorinde stilled.

“Every night?”

“Every now and then.”

Clorinde paused to take another sip. “How do you normally deal with them?”

Furina gave a hollow laugh. “Mm, poorly. Usually I just lose sleep. But tonight, I...” she hesitated, before forcing herself to admit things honestly. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I just... thought it might help if I drank. So I bought a bottle.”

She gestured aimlessly at the small bag containing the whisky she had left on the floor next to the sofa. Surprisingly she had held onto it the whole night, despite everything that happened.

“Anyway,” Furina said, suddenly not wanting to talk about herself. “How did you find me?”

 Clorinde finished the rest of her tea, setting the cup on the coffee table.

“I was actually filling in on a night-patrol shift as a favour for a sick Garde. I overheard a strange rumour that someone had sighted ‘a woman that looked oddly like our old Archon’ heading below ground.” Clorinde said quietly. “It... wasn’t difficult for me to track you down from there.”

“...Thank you,” Furina whispered.

“Don’t mention it,” Clorinde said firmly. Another beat of silence passed.

“You should at least try to get some rest,” Clorinde murmured. Furina nodded. She wanted to. Of course she wanted to. Again, she felt a faint voice in the back of her head scolding her for bothering her ex-champion, but it was growing fainter and fainter and tonight she felt so weak–

Furina reached her hand out from underneath the blanket.

Clorinde didn’t hesitate.

Slipping her gloved hand over Furina’s upturned palm, Clorinde gave it a gentle squeeze. Furina returned the grip tightly, her mind fixating on the warm connection as her eyes drifted shut, sinking back into the couch and allowing her breathing to even out. These past few weeks, the nights had been cruel to her. But tonight, for some reason, the fears and troubles didn’t seem as large as they used to, their grip on her far less tight than they been for a long time.

* * *

Furina woke up the next morning laying across her sofa alone, rays of sunlight streaming through the sliver of gap between her curtains. She was surprised that she felt remarkably refreshed, after having such a late night. She stretched, feeling her joints click in satisfaction, before she caught sight of a scrap of paper on the coffee table. She picked it up, reading the short note in neat cursive:

Gone to work. Come by if you need me. – C

Furina smiled wistfully, making a note of yet another thing she needed to thank her ex-guard for. There was a sense of quiet peace that she felt, a renewed determination to fight the lies in her mind.

Not everyone hated her.

She didn't need to carry the weight of the past. 

She took a deep breath, allowing the new morning to fill her with courage. Even opening the cupboard to find she had run out of macaroni didn’t discourage her.

She stepped out into the warm sunlight, feeling like she had taken a small step forward. She headed to the grocers, bought macaroni ingredients, and returned home with more vigour than ever.

She blinked as she spotted two familiar faces outside her door. And was quickly annoyed to hear their light-hearted jabs at her new abode. She cleared her throat, causing the blonde Traveler and his floating companion to spin around in surprise.

She rolled her eyes at many of their poorly worded comments, but there seemed to be an undercurrent of sincerity in their subsequent apologies, so she decided to humour them and hear out their request.

Which she immediately turned down as soon as she heard it.

She sighed once the door was shut behind her. She had decided not to act again. She knew that she couldn’t. Her curiosity was... irreversibly piqued now, however.

Furina squared her shoulders before decisively stepping back out into the sunlight. She had been shown some magnanimity recently. It wouldn’t hurt for her to show some too.

She could at least give this story a chance; could give herself a chance to try something new.

Slowly she felt herself leaving the bottom of the ocean as the light from the surface called.

Furina would never forget the wondrous and ethereal moment when she received her Vision. Her voice rang clear and strong and as she sang the last note of Clio’s aria, and then – the shining emblem appeared, floating down from the heavens as the curtain fell. As the performance ended, Furina bent down to grasp it, feeling a sense of warmth and familiarity as it resonated with something inside her spirit.

She wasn’t sure how... but she knew how to use it. Perhaps not with any expertise, but it was as though the Vision itself had unlocked something in her body that enabled the power of Hydro to flow through and be channelled by her.

After politely excusing herself from the theatre troupe, she marched off with growing excitement to fight a particular creature she had angered in the past.

And then later that night returned home soaking wet and bruised all over.

How embarrassing.

And yet, so dizzyingly exhilarating.

After being a pretend-Archon for so long, she finally had a power that she could call her own.

Over and over she experimented, forming bubbles, aqua jets, and elaborate water trails as she danced a solo performance inside her bedroom. Eventually inspiration struck her as she recalled a book she had read in the past that she was most fond of.

Two weeks (and only one apartment flooding!) later, she felt confident enough to go out again.

She didn’t go back to that local legend, opting to start smaller this time – in this case, a group of anemo slimes. In awe, she watched as her Hydro familiars picked them off with ease.

Oh, she was about to become a menace.

And then maybe eventually... she wouldn’t need to be a bother to those around her. Furina sighed as she returned to her room that evening.

“What are you looking at me like that for?” Furina said, eyeing her familiars with apprehension. Madame Crabaletta looked back unimpressed. Gentilhomme Usher and Surintendante Chevalmarin exchanged glances before the seahorse nudged her gently with her head and the Ball Octopus gestured with a limb to her teacup on the bedside table.

“Oh, er. A tea party? That’s not a bad idea...” she mumbled. “But when...”

Life was going well. She had a new power. She’d found a new purpose and career direction. She hadn’t had a nightmare in a long time.

Everything was great.

There should be no reason for this dull twinge in her heart that told her something was missing.

* * *

Some time after she returned from her vacation in Liyue, Furina found herself out again in a forest north of the Court of Fontaine. Partly she had wanted to go out for a walk and clear her mind for a bit. Partly she had started to wonder yet again if she was really strong enough. Furina sighed as she paced through the woods in the early afternoon, her salon members floating and scuttling alongside her.

Navia and Clorinde... they were both so strong and so kind. She couldn’t have imagined travelling the dark roads back to Fontaine without them.

Surely she could be useful to them one day too.

She tensed and stopped abruptly as she heard the telltale sound of hilichurls chattering in the distance. She crept forward, hiding behind a large tree and boulder with her solitaire members when she spotted them in a clearing ahead.

There were only three of them. And one was napping on the ground. Good.

She glanced down at her familiars. Crabaletta looked very much like she wanted to take out the threats. “Soon,” she mouthed.

Calmly she stepped out from behind the tree trunk and entered their line of sight.

Their reaction was immediate. In shock and agitation the one holding a fiery club charged at her first, but Crabaletta was faster, viciously rolling into it. Several water projectiles from the others later, the fight was over. Furina crossed her arms with a smirk. Victory was sweet.

What she didn’t account for was the fact that there was a Hilichurl camp around the corner.

She gulped as she suddenly heard more angry-sounding voices. And then a green Hilichurl Rogue appeared from behind the trees and spotted her with a cry.

She started running.

She could hear her salon members launching themselves at the enemies, trying to buy her some time, but she couldn’t look back. She heard them sounding more and more enraged, closing in, despite how hard she pumped her legs and how much it felt like her lungs were on fire.

Suddenly the hairs on her exposed skin were set on end as the atmosphere in the vicinity grew charged. The scent of ozone slowly filled her nostrils and a slight tremor shook the trees.

In the next split-second came a sudden loud crack of thunder and a blinding violet flash. And then, silence.

Panting, Furina looked behind her, her knees giving way as she collapsed onto the dirt, still feeling her heart pounding in her ears.

Clorinde, as disciplined as ever, executed a smooth zigzag salute as she sheathed her sword before turning to look at her, ignoring the smoking carnage she had left behind.

“Ha... ahem. Good timing,” Furina joked as she caught her breath. Clorinde raised an eyebrow at her.

“Do you enjoy angering Hilichurl camps on your afternoon strolls?” the duelist remarked, crossing her arms.

“I assure you, it was not the intention.” Furina said haughtily, brushing the dirt off her shorts as she stood and tried to maintain some dignity. She was not in the mood for an interrogation, so it was a good thing that Clorinde also didn’t feel like pressing into her reasons for being out here.

“Your... familiars. They seem quite capable,” Clorinde said, nodding towards the Vision that was clasped by her waist.

Ah, right. Clorinde hadn’t actually seen the salon members in action before. Furina felt a quiet pride welling up within her at the acknowledgement.

“Yet you yourself are unarmed.” Clorinde stated flatly. Furina averted her eyes, scuffing the ground with her heel.

It’s not like it had never crossed her mind. But truthfully she hadn’t the first clue about what to look for when purchasing a weapon. What should she choose? How would she start training? Not to mention, there were still many Fontainians that believed a strange rumour that she had maintained incredible battle prowess, even after abdicating the Archon position.

“Your point?” Furina said pettily. Clorinde sighed.

“Generally, a weapon is meant to work in tandem with your Vision,” she stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Initially I didn’t think it’d be a good idea,” she continued, looking thoughtful. “But why don’t I train you to use a sword?”

Furina blinked.

It... wasn’t an awful idea.

“Ah. Yes. I see,” Furina muttered. “What are your... uh, rates?”

Clorinde blinked owlishly at her. “Pardon?”

Furina suddenly felt awkward, feeling like she was asking the wrong question but unsure why. “You know... the amount of Mora you charge for your lessons?”

Clorinde stared at her like had just turned into a Hat Jellyfish.

“Why don’t we talk about it on the way back,” Clorinde said with a shake of her head. “We can get dinner too.”

* * *

“I can’t believe you asked for my rates,” Clorinde deadpanned after swallowing another piece of steak. Furina felt a flush creep up her neck. They were seated in a cosy booth in a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant that Furina had never heard of, but the lasagne she was currently chewing her way through was incredible. She was almost affronted how close in quality it came to the fine cuisine that she had in the past.

“I think it’s a perfectly reasonable thing to ask,” she said defensively, poking at a tomato wedge in her side salad with a fork.

Clorinde quirked an eyebrow at her. “Between strangers, maybe. But friends?”

Furina scrunched her face at the word. Not that she found the concept unpleasant... In fact, when Clorinde stated it so openly before they departed Qiaoying Village several weeks ago, Furina’s heart felt very warm indeed.

“Alright, alright,” Furina groused. “In case you don’t remember, I didn’t exactly have any of those for the last few centuries. Can you blame me for not really knowing the... correct etiquette?”

“Not at all.” A swift and blunt response.

Furina glanced over at the woman across from her. She didn’t seem to be joking. Furina cleared her throat.

“Ahem. Then if you’re so well-versed, why don’t you explain it to me,” Furina said raising an eyebrow in challenge. “What is it that friends do?”

Clorinde set her cutlery down, finishing her bite of food and looking thoughtful.

“Friendship... looks different for different people,” Clorinde started slowly. Furina groaned. “What a convenient start.”

Clorinde looked amused. “But there are some general principles. For one, friends will sometimes spend time together with no purpose other than enjoying one another’s company.”

“Oh.”

That explained a lot, actually.

“It sounds kind of...” Furina said slowly. “Boring?”

Clorinde coughed as she had just taken a drink of her water. Furina failed to suppress a snicker.

“Next principle?”

Clorinde looked at her dryly. “You don’t have to just sit and do nothing. Friends sometimes have common interests. Friends will also do favours for one another without expecting anything in return.”

“Checks out. No need to pay them for sword training.”

“And friends are the people who really know you and who look out for you.”

Furina stilled then, her fork suspended midair. She thought back to the time when Clorinde first showed up at her apartment... when Clorinde said she wanted to learn the real her.

“Er... so you mean... even back when you first visited me... you wanted...” Furina said slowly connecting the dots in her head. Clorinde’s quiet amusement was becoming far too apparent.

“You thought that I was helping you out of some noble yet begrudging obligation as your former subordinate?”

“Okay - Well, if we’re really going to be friends then you also need to drop the formalities,” Furina huffed, crossing her arms. Clorinde scratched the back of her neck in a rare show of sheepishness.

“I suppose you’re right,” the woman said with a smile. “...Furina.”

Furina suppressed a shiver hearing her name without any honorifics. It really did sound strange coming from her ex-guard. So strange that she almost retracted her request.

But she wanted to give this friendship thing a real try.

“Good attempt. Award-worthy, even.”

“I’m sorry for not making myself clear before.” Clorinde said, ignoring the jab. She coughed lightly into her fist, and Furina felt a slight trepidation on seeing Clorinde fix her with a sober look.

“Furina de Fontaine,” she said in her usual too-serious tone. “Would you allow me to be your friend?”

Furina fidgeted, looking back down at her lasagne, unsure why she suddenly felt so embarrassed about such a trivial thing.

“Only if I can be yours, Clorinde.” Furina murmured shyly. Clorinde nodded in quiet satisfaction.

“Excellent. In that case, your training will start in three days time.”

Furina sputtered. “Wait, you’re not serious are you– Clorinde!”

* * *

Clorinde was unfortunately very serious about training Furina. She was also unfortunately a very thorough and strict teacher. Just what was her old mentor like in the past?

At the end of their fifth week of lessons, she collapsed onto the grass for the fourth time that day, breathing hard and not caring about the dirt stains that were sure to be forming a stubborn layer on the back of her coat.

“Am I... even... getting any better...?” Furina croaked between lungfuls of air.

Clorinde crouched down, holding out her flask, a sympathetic look on her face. “I believe you are,” she said. Furina reached up to accept the flask before her hand fell like lead back to the ground.

“Liar,” Furina said, closing her eyes.

“Believe it or not, I’m speaking the truth,” Clorinde said. “Your left forearm doesn’t look like it would snap like a twig anymore.”

“R-Really?” Furina said suddenly, reaching over to pinch at the aching muscle. She was shocked to realise there was some truth to Clorinde’s words. “Wow...”

“Your form has also improved significantly.”

Furina laughed, remembering that the first time that she tried to swing Clorinde’s sword she was so unaccustomed to the weight of it that she fell over.

“It was a low bar to start off with,” she said, her mirth sparkling through the exhaustion.

As tiring as these outings were, it felt... nice to be spending time with Clorinde.

“Take a break. You earned it.”

Furina could only nod, still catching her breath. Eventually she sat up and watched as Clorinde performed her own sword drills. It was nothing short of a work of art, the way the woman carried herself. There was a smooth efficiency in every slice, a disciplined calculation in every step. To the last inch, every strike appeared to be executed with flawless perfection. And she wasn’t even breaking a sweat.

It wasn’t always easy to tell, since the woman was always dressed to perfection in her uniform, but for Clorinde to swing her sword so effortlessly, she must have a very well-toned musculature indeed.

Furina took a long swig from the flask, the water sliding refreshingly down her throat.

“I always respected you, but I think now I do moreso than ever.” Furina said, trying to mentally catalogue her friend’s movements.

“It takes time. I’ve had many years of practice,” Clorinde said offhandedly. “My master was also... well, ruthless is an understatement.”

Furina shivered. “Not that you go easy on me, but I’m glad you’re not like that.”

Clorinde smiled. “I’m relieved to hear.”

On another excursion outside the city, Furina, on a whim, eyed up the pistolet that was hanging by Clorinde’s waist.

“You know, why don’t you teach me how to use a firearm instead?” Furina said. “It seems safer than a sword.”

Clorinde looked over at her in mild surprise. “You want to give it a try? It might not be as easy as you think.”

Clorinde led them to a spot on a cliff where there was a strange plant with three large turquoise balloon-like flowers on it.

“It’s convenient that we were nearby. These are quite rare in Fontaine.”

Furina watched in fascination as Clorinde prodded the flowers until they detached from the plant and floated into the air.

“I’ll demonstrate first,” she said, pulling out her gun with her left hand. “The first thing to remember is to always point any firearm in a safe direction. Even if there are no bullets, you never want to assume. And never place your finger on the trigger until you’re ready to shoot.”

Furina watched as she gestured to two small protruding parts on the top of the gun near the front and back. “I’ll explain the other parts another time, but for now, all you want to focus on when you’re shooting a target is lining up the front and rear sights.”

Clorinde then raised her arm, aiming at the fastest moving flower in the sky.

“Once you’ve lined up the target, all you have to do is pull the trigger,” she said. After a beat, she fired the shot dead centre into the flower which burst into the wind. Furina applauded, impressed.

“Sounds simple enough!” she exclaimed. Clorinde nodded. “I suppose it is. Try it for yourself.”

Furina reached out to take the pistol that Clorinde offered to her. Immediately her hand dropped from the weight.

“Y-You fire this thing with one hand?” Furina said in shock.

Clorinde smiled lightly. “You can use two, nothing wrong with that.”

Furina tried it out. Even with two hands holding the gun, her arms trembled from the unfamiliar weight.

“Hmm. Actually, let’s work on your stance first,” Clorinde said contemplatively. “I think you’ll want to slide your left foot back...front leg forward a bit more... yes, that’s good. Ah, wait... I think it might be easier if I adjust you myself. Would you mind?”

“Go ahead.”

Furina jolted when she felt Clorinde’s hands land gently on her hips to rotate them slightly. The touch only lasted for a second and Clorinde stepped back to look at her curiously.

“Are you alright?”

“Aa, yes! Yes, perfectly!” Furina said quickly. “Continue?”

Clorinde nodded. “Excellent. This stance will probably be most helpful for the recoil.”

“I’m not sure what that is, so I’ll have to take your word for it,” Furina said. “So can I shoot now?”

“Try it out.”

Furina aimed at the balloon flower nearest to them (which still seemed very far away). She did her best to line up the sights, like Clorinde said... then she fired.

“Wha–!” she staggered backwards a little, shocked by the force of the shot pushing her back on her left foot. She lowered the gun, eyes darting up. The flower was still there.

She had probably missed terribly.

“Don’t say anything,” Furina warned, her face reddening.

“I’m not,” Clorinde said gently. “Here, let me help you.”

Clorinde approached her again and helped move her stance. Then her hand came up under Furina’s which were still holding onto the gun, pushing upwards to help lift her arms. Furina suppressed a shiver as Clorinde drew close to her, not daring to turn as her face came so near that she could feel the heat emanating from her.

“Do you see the target lined up?” Clorinde whispered, her breath fanning across the skin near her ear. Furina nodded minutely, not trusting words to come out of her mouth. Her other hand came around to her shoulder blade, presumably to help brace her for the recoil.

“Fire on one. Three... Two...”

Furina was using every last ounce of effort to concentrate on her words.

“...One.”

Clorinde tightened her grip slightly as Furina pulled the trigger. The floating flower burst, releasing a satisfying gust of wind. Furina gasped in awe.

Then Clorinde pulled away, taking her warmth with her.

“Good work,” Clorinde said with a nod. She gestured at the final balloon flower. “Try the last one.”

“Right, yes.” Furina said, her heart still racing for reasons she didn’t quite comprehend. Then under her breath, “I can do this.”

Furina hefted up the gun once more, taking aim at the flower which was floating lazily up and down. Her stance was steady. Her sights were lined up. She took a breath and pulled the trigger.

And missed by a long shot. Furina groaned to herself.

It wasn’t the worst part.

As mortifying as it was to admit, she was fairly sure that she did it on purpose.

Clorinde, to her credit, did not laugh at any of her awful attempts.

Predictably, she came closer to adjust her again as Furina lifted the gun shakily. Once again, Clorinde leaned near her to double check her sights. “Are you alright?” she murmured against her skin. Furina fought back a very strange urge to lean back into her. “It’ll be easier if you relax a little.”

She fired the shot earlier than intended, but thankfully the bullet still grazed the flower and it too burst in a rush of wind. Furina exhaled deeply as Clorinde stepped away.

“Well done. It’s more difficult than it looks.” Clorinde remarked.

Furina laughed, high-pitched and nervous, as she handed back Clorinde’s pistolet. “You know what, maybe let’s stick with sword training... haha.”

Clorinde released a soft puff of laughter. “One thing at a time is usually best. There’s no rush, in any case.”

No rush. Confusingly, Furina wasn’t sure if she was relieved or opposed to the thought.

* * *

At the end of the day, Furina found herself back in her bedroom at her tiny apartment, alone.

Leaning back against the doorframe, she slowly slumped against it until she was seated on old wooden floor. The clock ticking echoed in the room loudly. The silence was even louder.

Briefly she shut her eyes. Her traitorous mind immediately offered her a glimpse of dark amethyst eyes and a gentle smile; a phantom sensation of a low whisper against her ear.

“Are you alright, Furina?”

Her eyes flew open, as she suddenly felt a little breathless. She groaned, smacking a hand on her face, which was burning.

Just like that, the gears of time had started to increase their momentum again, and from between the dusty cogs, an erratic fluttering butterfly was let loose in her heart.

Oh, this was bad.

Chapter Text

After performing for the longest time in an opera marked by tragedy, Furina had to wonder how on Teyvat her life had flipped so quickly into more of a comedy.

To think that after all the grand heroism of bearing her great, centuries-long burden to save Fontaine, she was now reduced to the average teenage Fontainian with a... crush.

Furina shuddered at the thought.

Now, despite allegedly being completely clueless about friendship, Furina de Fontaine was in fact not totally naïve about the concept of romance.

She had after all, starred in several performances as the lead actress with a love interest in the past (including Clio, if coming in for the final scene of the Little Oceanid counted), all to critical acclaim. So really, it wasn’t like she knew nothing.

Still, it was something else completely to experience such feelings firsthand.

Furina slapped down her copy of Pretty Please Kitsune Guuji onto her desk with some agitation, feeling her face aflame. It was one of the most ridiculous things she’d ever read, and she had no idea how it became a supposed bestseller.

As to why it made her insides feel so... fluttery... she couldn’t make sense of it at all.

She sighed, eyeing up the rest of her stack of romance novels and wondering if she really was out of her depth after all.

Researching a solution to her feelings was harder than finding a way to stop the prophecy.

...

Okay, that might have been a bit melodramatic.

It wasn’t nearly as far off as she’d like it to be, though.

The other aspect of Furina’s research strategy required collecting more data points. Obviously, she would need to determine whether or not her feelings had any... substance behind them. If Furina felt the same buzz around any attractive human (and yes, in her unbiased opinion, Clorinde fit that category objectively), surely that would make her current feelings meaningless.

Also, maybe after some time, these little fluttery feelings would fade anyway, and she would have panicked for nothing.

Hence, she needed more interactions with the object of her present predicament.

Clorinde, by now, was satisfied that Furina knew how to handle a sword adequately to the point where she had even developed her own flair, so their lessons had ceased. Furina had felt a little disappointed to be spending less time with her, but Furina was also partly thankful, because Clorinde really did not cut her any slack, despite being the former Archon’s subordinate.

The very thought of doing advanced training sent shudders down her spine. What good would it be, if all their interactions consisted of Clorinde barking orders at her and correcting her forms while she was too out of breath to say anything back? She couldn’t complain though, after hearing some of the horror stories about Clorinde’s training with Petronilla.

There was also the option of joining Clorinde and Navia more often at the Tabletop Troupe, but Furina quickly realised when she was there that Clorinde was very much focused on the game most of the time. More often than not, she also found herself being immersed in the campaign, being pleasantly surprised by the quality of some of the scripts.

No, she needed a different avenue for interactions with the duelist. Something simple and well within her comfort zone.

“Another tea party?” Clorinde asked, glancing at Furina over her cup of tea at the Café Lutece. Furina had just completed her work on another theatre project and Clorinde had offered to take her out for cake after her last trial as a mini celebration. She couldn’t refuse cake, obviously. Furina bobbed her head up and down quickly.

“Unless you’re busy, of course!” she said hastily, nervously rubbing the handle of her own teacup with her thumb and forefinger. Clorinde shook her head.

“I can make time,” Clorinde said with a small smile, to Furina’s relief. “Forgive me, I’m not opposed – but isn’t it quite a lot of effort for you to host these so often?”

It’s worth it if I get to spend more time with you.

Furina cleared her throat. “The salon members and I work quite effectively at organising these events due to our breadth of experience and refined tastes.”

“I don’t doubt it.” Clorinde said, tipping her head towards her.

“A-and also,” Furina said, a little quieter. “I’ve been meaning to say this for a while... but ever since that Tabletop Troupe session we had with Mr. Florian... I realised that I don’t really know you all that well, even though we’ve known each other for years.”

The realisation had crashed over her like a large wave breaking dramatically on a rocky shore, when Clorinde was explaining to them about her childhood. And with it washed up a pang of guilt as Furina remembered all the times where she ended up just talking about herself with Clorinde, who was always so patient; always so attentive.

Clorinde hummed in understanding. “I apologise. I wasn’t intentionally being secretive about myself.”

Furina shook her head quickly, setting her teacup down to spear another piece of cake with her dessert fork. “No, you don’t need to apologise. If anything, I’m the one who’s been a bit selfish...”

Clorinde opened her mouth to protest, but Furina raised a hand to silence her.

“In any case, all I’m saying is...” she said, serious yet soft. “I want to learn the real you as well, Clorinde.”

She watched as Clorinde’s eyes widened, slight surprise adorning her features before her face broke into another warm smile, the sight causing yet another annoying skip of Furina’s heart.

“I’m honoured,” the duelist murmured.

Furina gazed at her friend discreetly over the rim of her teacup. Clorinde’s eyes were so mesmerising and beautiful, though perhaps not in a conventional sense. They weren’t bright and sparkly, but she was sure she had never met anyone with quite that shade in their irises that looked like the far reaches of a distant galaxy waiting to be explored...

Ooh, she had lost her train of thought.

“It’s settled then,” Furina exclaimed before she could get distracted again. “I will arrange a tea party for next week!”

When booking a room at the Palais for the tea party, Furina noted something strange in her conversation with the Chief Justice and Regent of Fontaine.

Neuvillette had looked pleased to see her. Well, as pleased as someone with his perpetually stony features could. It had been a great relief for Furina to learn that he hadn’t been angry at her for leaving and that he wasn’t intending to investigate her grand deception. She didn’t see him nearly as much as she used to... but she was glad that things between them were a little warmer and less awkward than before.

“Will others be joining you and Clorinde?” Neuvillette said, as he flicked through the booking options for rooms in the Palais.

Furina furrowed a brow.

“Did I... say that Clorinde was coming?” Furina said slowly.

Neuvillette blinked at her. “Is she not?”

“No – I mean, yes, she is– but...”

Neuvillette’s eyes slid back down to the sheet of paper on his desk, filling in the relevant fields and signing his name neatly on the bottom. He coughed politely.

“She is a good woman, Lady Furina.” He said in even tones. Furina was perplexed.

“Er... yes, she is?” Furina said uncertainly. Neuvillette said nothing more on the subject, handing her the signed papers to take to Sedene to complete the request.

Furina brushed off the slightly odd interaction. What mattered was that she had successfully managed to set up another tea party with Clorinde.

What she didn’t expect was that four extra guests would be seated at her table when the time came around.

The Traveler and Paimon had actually run into her when she left Neuvillette’s office to submit her forms to Sedene.

While she had thought it was fine to invite them, she didn’t realise that the magician siblings would tag along with them.

“You’ll have to pass my regards to the Knave,” Furina mumbled, eyeing the unexpected yet familiar fluffy green cake on the table in front of her. This wasn’t even... the first time. Just the other week a cake was delivered by the Hearth children to her theatre troupe during their tea break... but she still had her misgivings. Nevertheless, she was hopeful that it was just another peace offering after everything that happened. Lyney smiled broadly.

“We certainly will, Miss Furina,” the magician said with a tip of his hat. “And, again, we are honoured to be seated at your table today.”

Lynette said nothing but nodded quietly as she sipped her tea.

Clorinde herself looked a bit suspicious of the cake, offering to try it first to which Furina cracked a smile.

“You’re not just trying to get the first slice, are you?” she joked. The near eyeroll that Clorinde sent her way was worth it.

“There is no need for suspicion, Miss Clorinde,” Lyney said lightly, reaching out to slice himself some cake to back up his words. “Father is most pleased with the resolution of the prophecy, and simply wishes to pay due respect to Miss Furina. As a matter of fact, Father thinks most highly of Miss Furina nowadays.”

Furina thought that would help ease Clorinde’s nerves, but for some reason, her frown only deepened, her shoulders remaining tense. She sighed internally, already feeling like today was not quite going how she’d hoped.

They continued their chatter for some time, trading stories and sipping tea, which Surintendante Chevalmarin diligently refilled for everyone. Eventually the topic reached the reconstruction of Poisson which was just about finished.

“Oh, yes,” Furina said thoughtfully. “I did hear that you and the Knave made significant contributions to that as well.”

“You know, the Knave isn’t as awful as we first thought,” Paimon piped up cheerfully around a mouthful of food. Lyney laughed.

“As intimidating as she may be to most, I don’t believe any of you have reason to fear her, at least at present.”

Furina glanced surreptitiously over at her ex-guard. Clorinde had become... unusually quiet again. Even more so than usual, which was a difficult feat.

“I believe I’m scheduled for a trial soon,” the duelist said eventually. She stood from her seat, offering a short bow. “Thank you for inviting me today, Miss Furina. I look forward to seeing you all again in the future.”

Furina frowned. “Miss” Furina?

Before she could say anything, Clorinde had already excused herself and exited the room.

There was a short pause in which no one said anything, then–

“My, it was a little chilly before, but it seems like the temperature of the room has returned to normal,” Lyney said with a cryptic smile. Lynette cast her brother a withering side-eye, but otherwise continued to sip her tea quietly.

“Huh? What do you mean? Paimon wasn’t cold,” the Traveler’s floating companion said blithely.

“You should have said something earlier,” Furina said apprehensively. “If I had known, I would have sent someone to fetch a heating unit.”

Lyney’s strange smile broadened to Furina’s bemusement. “I believe things are quite comfortable now, Miss Furina.”

Perplexed but seeing that she was going to get nowhere, Furina decided to ask the Traveler about his latest adventures. He seemed happy to oblige, and began to recount some recent commissions he had undertaken as well as some strange fishing stories. Furina nodded along politely but her heart was already elsewhere. She didn’t realise Clorinde had to leave so soon... she found herself missing the woman already.

But that didn’t mean anything. People miss their friends and family members.

Furina sighed, unsure if she was any closer to figuring out her feelings.

The next angle to try for her research was to find more clues on Clorinde’s preferences or how she might feel about the prospect of a relationship, the key lead being the one person who knew Clorinde better than anyone.

And so, Furina found herself out for ice cream with Navia one afternoon, sitting somewhere on the outer edge of the Court of Fontaine, overlooking the harbour towards the Salacia Plain. Furina just needed to know how to find the information she needed discreetly, without raising any suspicion. So she tried slipping in a question nonchalantly during their conversation.

“You want to know Clorinde’s type?” Navia said, raising a curious eyebrow.

Okay, when she put it like that, it sounded very obvious. Furina wanted to sink into a hole, but it was too late to take back her words. Thankfully Navia didn’t ask why. But the knowing gleam in her eye made Furina think she didn’t need to.

Maybe she should just never leave her apartment again.

“She doesn’t really talk about it much...” Navia said slowly. “But I imagine Clorinde would really like someone who is very brave... and she probably wouldn’t want to get caught up in any drama.”

Furina felt her heart sink. Brave and not dramatic. So basically, not her. Navia’s light tinkle of a laugh brought her attention back.

“What’s that face for?” she said teasingly. “You’re probably overthinking it, you know.”

Furina groaned. “I’m not... overthinking anything...”

“Furina...” Navia said gently. “Just ask her out. Properly, you know. You can’t just invite her to tea parties forever.”

Furina didn’t think her face could get any redder.

“And why not?” she said defensively.

“Because she’s a blockhead,” Navia said cheerfully. “She won’t understand unless you tell her plainly.”

Furina sighed, gazing out onto the ocean while she sullenly took another bite of her waffle cone. Denying it in front of Navia looked like it was going to be a losing battle. “Was I really that obvious?”

Navia offered a cheeky grin. “It’s not all that surprising – Clorinde has quite a lot of admirers.”

Furina scrunched her face, earning a laugh from the Spina boss. “That doesn’t make me feel better at all.”

“All the more reason to make a move before someone else does,” Navia said, with a wink.

Furina worried her lip.

“How do I know that these feelings are... real,” Furina started. “I mean, what if it is just a... phase... and it just fades with time?”

She liked being friends with Clorinde, after all. She would probably be fine if that’s what they were forever.

“It’s a good question,” Navia said thoughtfully. “But I think if I had to answer, I’d probably press into your reaction from before. How would you feel if Clorinde ended up with some other man or woman that isn’t you?”

Furina tried to imagine it. Clorinde holding hands with some nameless woman. Clorinde taking her out to dinner and throwing small smiles in her direction every so often. Clorinde escorting her home with their arms linked together in all her chivalrous charm.

She felt her heart clenching painfully. Navia shot her a smug, knowing look.

“Exactly. It doesn’t hurt to try, Furina! What’s the worst that could happen? There’s no way she’d be weird about it, even if it didn’t work out between you,” Navia said matter-of-factly. “If you didn’t try then all you’ll be left with is a life-long regret.”

“That’s... true...” Furina mumbled. She couldn’t imagine Clorinde being anything less than caring and kind. What really did she have to lose, apart from a little dignity?

“Thank you for listening to me,” Furina said meekly.

Navia was another person that Furina never thought that she’d get along this well with. Out of her guilt over Poisson, Furina had avoided the woman for a long time, only interacting with her when necessary. Yet Navia was more gracious and understanding than she gave her credit for. And as she recently discovered from their first Tabletop Troupe session, she was also infectiously friendly and brought out a rare light-hearted ease in Clorinde.

“You know, I’m really glad you and Clorinde were able to work things out in the end,” Furina said softly. “She never said much about it, but looking back... I can see that when you two were estranged it really affected her.”

Navia looked at her in slight surprise.

“Yes, I’m glad too... it’s a small miracle really,” Navia said, her features soft. “But Clorinde has always been my best friend. And she’s... really stubborn. Maybe it’s because she didn’t have much growing up, but she’s really... over-protective over the things she cares about. But that’s probably what helped bring us together again.”

“She’s lucky to have you,” Furina said with a chuckle. “Those childhood stories of hers were a bit disturbing.”

Navia laughed brightly. “It really has been rough on her... so I want her to be happy.”

“Me too,” Furina whispered.

Navia looked at her carefully. “I think you deserve to be happy too.”

When Furina looked into Navia’s eyes shining with genuine kindness, her own started to burn. She could see why Clorinde was so fond of her. She coughed loudly, averting her gaze.

“Okay. I think I know what to do.”

Slowly a plan was forming. As much as she hated to admit it, she probably had been overthinking things. Furina exhaled deeply. She could do this.

She'd plunged her hand into Primordial Seawater before (kind of). Surely she was brave enough to ask a girl out.

Furina felt her stomach doing flips inside her when she knocked on the door to Clorinde’s office at the Champion Duelist Headquarters. She opened the door and shuffled inside when she heard Clorinde’s muffled voice from behind the door telling her to enter.

The interior of the office was tidy and sparsely decorated, characterised by classic Fontainian charm. With interest, Furina cast her eyes around the room. Unsurprisingly there was a display cabinet in the corner holding an excessive array of swords. Furina also noted the typewriter, stack of books, and small vase of white flowers on her desk.

“Welcome to my office,” Clorinde said warmly as she stood from her seat at the desk. “You have good timing – I just finished my last report for the day. Is there something you wanted to talk about?”

“I want to... er...” Furina stuttered, feeling her heart skip at the little smile Clorinde sent in her direction. Ugh, not now, please!

“I want to invite you out somewhere,” Furina blurted out, before she could reason herself out of it.

Clorinde looked at her curiously when Furina didn’t elaborate. “Are you going to give me more details?”

Furina flushed. “Ahem. Yes. Are you – free the day after tomorrow? In the evening? If we meet at the Fountain of Lucine at 5 o’clock then we can go from there.”

Clorinde pulled out what looked like a little book, flipping it open with a finger. “It looks like I should be.” She offered Furina another tiny half-smile. “I’ll write you in.”

Relief flooded her. “R-Really? Great! Wonderful! I’ll meet you there in two days’ time then!” Furina said, a broad smile splitting her face. In her excitement she dashed off, forgetting to even say goodbye.

Once she reached her apartment, she couldn’t help flopping onto the sofa, holding her face in her hands.

“Ahh that was more terrifying than I thought it’d be,” she said, with a groan. “But... she said yes!”

Not that she had explained much to Clorinde about what she was saying yes to... but still!

Mademoiselle Crabaletta looked pleased, snapping her claws encouragingly, while Usher and Chevalmarin brought her tea and a cake slice on a tray. Furina accepted the offerings gratefully with a silly smile.

Now to prepare for the next phase.

If Furina thought she was nervous before, it was nothing compared to now. She had double and triple-checked to make sure she had everything, made sure her appearance was impeccable (not that she ever settled for less than flawless on a normal day, mind you), had even gone and bought a new perfume...

It wasn’t too late to change plans. Maybe she could scrap everything and just take them back to the dinner spot with the nice lasagne.

“Furina? You’re early,” Clorinde’s voice came from behind her. Furina let out a little yelp, nearly jumping out of her skin, and drawing the attention of several curious onlookers nearby.

“O-Oh! Clorinde! You’re early too,” Furina stammered.

Clorinde blinked and pulled out her pocketwatch. “Only by seven minutes. The last trial just finished – were you waiting long?”

Probably for a little over half an hour.

“I just got here too,” Furina lied, forcing a smile. In reality she must have made quite the sight, pacing up and down the fountain plaza, but thankfully only one Melusine Garde was concerned enough to approach her to ask if she was alright.

“That’s a relief,” Clorinde said. Her eyes shifted over the basket Furina was holding with both hands. “Oh, let me carry that for you.”

Furina was too nervous to protest, allowing the duelist to reach over to take hold of the basket. Clorinde paused slightly as she leaned over, before straightening up.

“You smell good today,” she said, the corners of her lips turning upwards. “Lumidouce Bell notes?”

Oh, she could die right now.

Furina nodded mutely, thankful for the breeze that cooled down her rapidly warming face.

“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” Clorinde prompted with an amused look. “Or shall I let you surprise me?”

“Er, yes!” Furina said quickly. “You’ll find out soon!”

Before she could second guess her decision any more, Furina began marching off towards the path trailing southeast, Clorinde following along slightly behind.

Furina was glad about her decision to stick to the path, even though it did take a little longer to arrive at their destination. They barely encountered any monsters, and the ones they did see seemed to leave them well alone.

They didn’t speak much for most of the journey, since Furina had to concentrate on making sure they made it to the right spot, but Clorinde didn’t seem to mind.

Eventually, they rounded the final corner and Furina released the breath she had been holding.

They were met with a stunning view of a lake surrounded by blue willow trees, the largest and grandest one growing in the centre. In the light of the setting sun, the skies were painted a dusky pink with pillow-soft clouds scattered artfully among the heavenly canvas, the faintest outline of the moon appearing behind one of them. The surrounding mountains and trees were cast in a soft golden glow.

Furina paused to drink in the beauty of the scene, feeling relieved that it was as breathtaking as it looked when she first came to see it. She made a mental note to thank the Traveler for telling her about it.

She looked behind her to see Clorinde staring out at the view, eyes wide.

“It’s beautiful,” she murmured. “The last time I came across this lake, the tree wasn’t like this...”

“I heard that it was only recently revitalised,” Furina admitted. “But it’s amazing, isn’t it?”

Seeing Clorinde’s awed look, she knew she made the right decision.

“Shall we... sit?” Furina said tentatively, gesturing over to a spot near one of the willow trees.

They walked over and unpacked the basket Furina had prepared, which included a picnic mat, freshly baked bread, sliced meats, an assortment of fruits, and sparkling bulle fruit juice. Furina’s familiars joined them to help lay out the spread and fill the stemless wine glasses.

“You spoil me,” Clorinde said, looking impressed as she graciously accepted an offered drink from Chevalmarin who appeared to be fluttering happily.

You’re worth it.

You’re important to me.

The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?

“Well, I mean, you’ve been working so hard lately so... ow–!” Furina said, rubbing the spot on her leg where Mademoiselle Crabaletta lightly pinched her. She glared balefully at her familiar.

Clorinde chuckled. “There has been a greater influx of trials lately, but it’s not like the amount of people who want to duel me has increased.”

They spoke casually on a number of topics as they ate and drank. Furina felt herself relax as Clorinde told her about the latest Tabletop Troupe script that she was able to try out and the new book that she’d been reading.

Furina couldn’t keep the smile from her face. Clorinde looked so at ease... so free.

It really had been worth it.

Gradually the skies darkened and more and more stars started to appear in the night sky, glittering alongside the moon which Furina couldn’t help but think was smiling at her too. The leaves on the willow trees and the Lakelight Lilies began to glow in the stillness of the night, their splendour shimmering in the crystal clarity of the lake’s surface. Clorinde trailed off on her last sentence, her eyes drawn to the scene around them. And Furina knew it was time.

“Clorinde,” Furina said softly. The duelist’s attention was immediately drawn back to her. “There’s something I want... you to see.”

Clorinde gazed at her, eyes alight with curious wonder as she nodded slowly. And Furina decided she really liked seeing the fragments of luminescent blue reflecting off of them too.

Furina stood, taking a breath as she smoothed down her outfit.

“Please watch me,” she said, relieved that the confidence of her stage persona had not left her, filling her with the courage that she needed.

She nodded once at her familiars who had already set up a gramophone they had retrieved from a magic pocket that Lyney had gifted her. Furina stepped back onto the shallow waters of the lake as the soft piano music started to play.

As the notes resounded in the breeze, Furina allowed her body to move on instinct, carried along by the gentle melody as her steps treaded lightly on the surface of the water, luminous trails following every sweep of her arms and every twirl that she performed.

All the while, Clorinde’s eyes never left her form.

It feels good... dancing again, Furina thought to herself, her eyes slipping shut as she leapt and spun in perfectly executed arcs, foam and sparkling iridescent water droplets spraying around her and accentuating her every move.

Under the moonlight, surrounded by the soft glow of Lakelight Lilies, against the backdrop of the Great Willow Tree, Furina danced pouring her heart and soul into every step.

Surely you understand, Clorinde? Surely... the meaning is not lost on you?

As her performance ended and the music faded, Furina exhaled, willing her heart to be still. She looked into Clorinde’s eyes, the duelist staring back in wonder as though barely registering that what was happening was real. Furina stepped towards her, and Clorinde, seemingly drawn by some invisible magnetic force, stood and took a step towards her too.

“I kept you waiting once,” Furina began, her voice light. She thought back to the Lakelight Lily left on her desk so long ago.

Deep down she probably knew who left it there all along.

“But I want you to know...I think I’ve been waiting even longer.”

“Furina...” Clorinde murmured, her face still so charmingly in awe.

I think I’ve been waiting my whole life... for an opportunity I never thought I could have.

Gently Furina took one more step to close the gap between them, reaching to grasp both of Clorinde’s hands in her own.

Then they both froze as though the spell in the atmosphere had been broken.

Furina’s heart dropped, sensing an eerie shift in the air around them. She saw Clorinde’s jaw tighten as she noticed the same thing.

A strange mist started fogging the area around them and the temperature began to drop causing the hairs on the back of Furina’s neck to stand on end. In an instant Clorinde was on high alert, moving closer to her, eyes darting around the surrounding area.

“Stay behind me, Furina,” she said in short and sharp tones as she stood in front of her, prepared to shield her from any threat that appeared. Furina could only nod in silence, her heart thudding in her chest. In the next second, her familiars also appeared, surrounding her protectively.

A cold, sneering laugh seemed to echo in the area around them. Furina looked around wildly trying to locate the source. For one heart-stopping moment she thought she saw a shadowy figure between the trees before it disappeared. And then, Furina’s eyes widened in shock as a strangely familiar dark cloud-like entity rose from amidst the trees, with two more following suit.

“C-Clorinde–” she gasped. “A-Aren’t these–?”

Clorinde’s face looked pained. “Please, Furina, they're after me - just, don’t go near them–”

Furina watched in horror as, without warning, all three of the dark violet clouds sped towards Clorinde, swirling around her before appearing to force themselves into her body. The duelist staggered forwards onto her knees, her face looking incredibly strained, as she seemed to fight a vicious internal battle that Furina was barred from. An agonised cry escaped Clorinde’s throat as one of her arms shook violently, before slowly expanding and morphing into a stone-like construct.

Furina felt so helpless.

“Clorinde!” she cried, her eyes stinging, as she saw the pain on Clorinde’s face, an unnatural violet light intermittently glowing in her irises. “Fight it, please, Clorinde!”

The laughter echoed around them again, followed by a cruel voice.

“How impressive... I knew it wouldn’t be easy to take you down, but I didn’t think you’d be able to resist three so well.”

With a shout, Clorinde seemed to wrench back control over her body, her arm making sickening cracking noises as it reverted slowly back to normal.

Suddenly a large glowing rift circle slowly formed on the surface of the shallows nearby. The smoky clouds had stopped trying to enter Clorinde, who was now doubled over, her breathing laboured as beads of sweat rolled down her face from exertion. Furina immediately rushed over, arms coming protectively around Clorinde as she propped the duelist up. Her eyes snapped up towards the rift circle, her face growing pale as a large beast was slowly materialising over it.

The beast’s shape took on more and more dragon-like features until it was fully formed, water dripping off its gleaming indigo scales. Furina could only stare in fear as the three nebulous wisps that tried to take over Clorinde entered the large, hulking blue Vishap instead. It roared as the smoky clouds sunk into it, looking like it was in great pain, before its eyes glowed violet and it zeroed in on Furina and Clorinde.

It looked furious.

Furina stepped in front of Clorinde, shielding her.

“Furina, don’t–!” Clorinde said, panting.

The Vishap stomped over, its steps shaking the surrounding trees. It picked Furina up like she was a ragdoll and flung her aside. Furina heard Clorinde shouting as she sailed through the air before landing in the lake, breaking past the surface with a violent splash.

Furina cried out helplessly, but her voice was drowned out by the waters, only bubbles expelling from her mouth. She felt herself sink into the cold depths of the lake.

What do I do...?

Furina watched as her familiars materialised around her in the water, swimming around her in a frenzy and pointing to the surface.

I have to help Clorinde! But how...

The further Furina sank beneath the waters, the further she sank into her despair; into her loathing at her own weakness.

She clenched her fists, tears of frustration mixing into the waters around her.

There was no time for self-pity.

As Furina summoned her resolve, her eyes caught sight of something shimmering at the bottom of the lake underneath the roots of the Weeping Willow. It seemed to call out to her.

Without any time to doubt and any time to lose, Furina plunged down towards it, hands reaching out to grasp at the handle extended towards her. It released itself easily from the rock that held it captive.

Furina found herself staring at the most regal and otherworldly-looking sword she had ever seen, an ancient power radiating within, from its intricate white bejewelled pommel to its sharpened ivory tip.

An azure blue aura swirled around the handle, glowing brightly around Furina’s hands which grew warm as the sword seemed to... evaluate her.

Please, Furina thought desperately. Please help me.

Whatever the sword was searching for, it seemed to find it and immediately Furina sensed its approval; its willingness to be wielded by her as the handle seemed to almost fit itself into her grasp.

With sword in hand, Furina surged upwards, slicing through the depths towards the surface of the lake. She broke through, water giving way to air rushing past as she landed with a light thud onto the grass. Her eyes snapped up to see Clorinde who was still fighting the giant Vishap valiantly, though Furina could see she was looking more and more haggard. The Vishap was bleeding terribly from cuts and burn marks littered all over its body, but in its anger, its movements seemed to only grow wilder and more erratic, the glow in its eyes burning with fury.

Clorinde’s attention snapped over to her for just moment before returning to the Vishap, which slammed a fist into her in the split-second that she was distracted. With a grunt, the duelist had raised her blade just a moment too late and was sent skidding backwards before falling onto one of her knees.

Furina felt a surge of anger course through her, and she charged forward, blade in hand as her familiars followed her into the fray.

As the Salon Solitaire launched themselves at the Vishap to draw its ire, Furina ran forwards and manoeuvred herself behind it. With a great cry, she plunged the glowing blade into the Vishap’s back, sinking it in past its scales with all her might, even as blue blood spurted from the wound, spraying onto her face and clothing.

The Vishap unleashed a mighty roar, Furina quickly stepping away as it staggered backwards, stomping around to face her.

Seizing the opportunity, Clorinde leapt up onto its back gripping its neck as she drew her pistol and fired three electro-infused shots into its head. She balanced on its shoulders to draw her blade before making one more violent slice through its neck and launching into a reverse somersault back onto the ground.

Again, the creature roared in pain, making wild swipes at the threats surrounding it. Most of them missed, but one clipped Clorinde hard on the shoulder and she was sent reeling, her knees buckling as the back of her head forcefully hit a tree trunk.

The Vishap lumbered towards Clorinde who appeared to struggle to orient herself as she pushed herself onto her feet. The beast stopped in front the duelist and drew back its fist, claws outstretched.

Furina ran faster than she had ever ran before, wild desperation flooding through her as she leaped over rocks and brambles, splashing through the shallows – she couldn’t fail – she had to make it – she had to stop that thing –

She skidded to a stop in front of Clorinde.

She watched almost in slow motion as the Vishap roared in her face, its clawed limb extending out to her.

There was a sickening sound of fabric and flesh tearing, the feeling of pointed claws plunging – inside her, before violently ripping away–

A scream tore from Furina’s throat as white-hot pain exploded from her abdomen, forcing tears out of her eyes which scrunched themselves shut. She doubled over, falling onto her knees as she gagged and hacked violently, a coppery taste in her mouth. She reached a shaky hand downwards- 

As her hand came into contact with warm liquid, shredded fabric, and what felt like – loose ribbons of her flesh– she immediately felt sick, thinking she might throw up, her heart pounding in her ears at an erratic and furious tempo .

She vaguely registered in the periphery of her senses, the sword being pulled from her already weakened grip, brilliant flashes of dazzling purple and blue light, the smell of ozone, and the roar of thunder.

And then a loud thud as the beast finally fell heavily onto the ground, sending water and dirt flying.

“...rina! FURINA!”

Furina felt strong arms come around her as she collapsed forward into a warm shoulder. Her ears were ringing and the noises around her sounded muffled and fading fast.

“Please ... don’t give ... don’t ... dare ... not now ... !”

Clorinde, she thought weakly, blood still pooling and dripping out of her mouth as her consciousness blurred in and out from the agony. A wild yet strong heartbeat thudded against her cheek. She wanted to sob in relief. You’re okay.

...

I’m sorry.

The world went black.

Chapter Text

One of the first things Furina noticed was the sound of waves lapping gently on the shore. The sand sunk soft and pliable beneath her back and underneath her fingertips. The sun on her face which she would normally have found unpleasantly hot bathed her in a gentle warmth. She didn’t want to open her eyes.

“Furi-na,” a familiar voice called, light and melodic.

Furina sighed. Getting up was the last thing she wanted to do right now. The musical voice let out a tinkling laugh.

“How long will you stay there?”

Furina’s brow creased.

“Can I not just...rest for now?” she murmured, as a gentle breeze ruffled her hair.

Another laugh. “Yes. Of course you can.”

Furina relaxed, contenting herself to just lie there, surrounded by nothing but the sound of the rolling tide and the blissful warmth in the air.

There was a strange sense of déjà vu in the feeling where she neither knew nor cared about how much time was passing. She might have been fine staying there forever.

But her curiosity got the better of her in the end.

With a deep breath, Furina finally opened her eyes, blinking as she adjusted to the light. Pushing herself up into a sitting position, she slowly drank in the scenery of white sands, crystal blue waters, and clear azure skies. Against the horizon stood lofty mountains and rolling hills adorned with Cypress trees. It looked somewhat like Fontaine, yet not, at the same time. For one, there was no wildlife to be found, but for another, the landscape was just too perfect.

She turned her head to find sitting next to her someone that she had not seen in centuries, and yet, no amount of time could ever erase her from Furina’s memory.

“Focalors,” she murmured. The woman beside her who was her mirror image, yet at the same time so distinct in her own ways, smiled.

“Furina,” she said, her eyes creasing happily. There was a moment where they just took in each other before the Archon spoke again, the ever-amused inflections still present in her voice. “As much as I enjoyed you calling me ‘mirror-me,’ hearing you say my name is something else.”

There was a hollow ache in Furina’s chest, a feeling that she couldn’t quite name.

“You’re not real.” Furina said finally, turning her gaze back onto the waters.

As much as she wished she could have had another conversation with her divine counterpart, Furina knew that she was long gone. The woman next to her smiled innocently.

“Do I seem unreal?”

“Do dead Archons tend to make cameos in people’s dreams?”

The words hadn’t meant to come out so bluntly, but Focalors seemed to take it all in stride.

“Maybe they do.”

How mischievous and mysterious. Furina cast her a sidewards glance. The woman definitely looked like the Focalors from her memory. She sounded like Focalors. And if everything that Neuvillette told her was true... then weren’t they the same person? Two sides of the same coin? Was Furina just talking to herself right now?

It was confusing to think about. But it couldn’t hurt to humour her.

“It would have been nice to speak to you again.” Furina said with a resigned sigh. The other woman’s smile remained, though there was now something wistful and sad lingering in her eyes.

“If the opera could have played out differently, I would have rewritten the script in a heartbeat,” she said, leaning back on her palms in the sand. Then,

“Are you angry at me?”

Furina’s brow furrowed as she pondered the question.

“How can I be...” Furina started carefully. “You suffered just as long as I did. Maybe longer.”

Focalors hummed. “That doesn’t mean you cannot feel slighted by your fate.”

“My fate...” Furina murmured. “You make it sound like I was a prisoner of it.”

Focalors lifted an eyebrow at that, inviting her to explain more.

“It is true that I didn’t choose to become your human proxy. I didn’t choose to be thrust into the role of the Hydro Archon. I didn’t choose to be cursed and to bear your burden and to suffer loneliness for centuries.” Furina said, feeling tired just listing out everything.

“But for every day of those five hundred years, I chose to believe in you. I chose to guard that truth and to play my role until the end,” Furina said seriously, looking straight into her divine counterpart’s mismatched eyes. “And you... you came through.”

Focalors stared back at her, wide-eyed for a moment before her face split into a warm smile, full of pride.

“You really are perfect. And you played your role perfectly,” she murmured. “I only wish that I could have been around longer to make it up to you.”

“You could have brought cake to this catch up.”

Focalors laughed brightly.

“Well, as a matter of fact, I think I may have given a better gift than that,” she said, smiling mysteriously.

The Archon didn’t elaborate, so Furina’s gaze slid back to the waves foaming onto the sand. Focalors moved on with her musings.

“The justice that I had always wanted for the people of Fontaine... was that they could continue to exist. That their right to live would be protected,” Focalors said in a light and lilting tone. “On the long and lonely road that you and I walked... we fought against the injustice of the Heavenly Principles.”

Focalors turned towards her directly and Furina almost irresistibly followed suit.

“But that battle is over now... And so, my final wish was that you would be happy,” the Archon said softly. “That you would live a happy life as the human I always wanted to be.”

Furina felt a sudden wave of melancholy wash over her. “Yes, I... I’m not sure how, but I think I remember that message.”

“Are you happy?” Focalors prompted. Furina should have expected the question, but was still somewhat taken aback by the directness of it.

“I’m... content,” Furina said slowly.

For some reason, what came into her mind then was her time on the stage, playing the final scene of the Little Oceanid. It was a bittersweet, heart-wrenching tale. For her lover and the people, Clio sacrificed everything. And it had been worth it for her.

It was a good story.

Focalors tilted her head in her direction. “And you would be satisfied if your story ended now?”

“I...” Furina said, struggling a little. “I’m not sure...”

Focalors smiled gently at her. “Then perhaps there’s an answer that you still need to discover.”

Furina opened her mouth, wanting to ask more, but Focalors and everything else around her was already fading to white.

Furina’s eyes opened, blearily taking in a familiar dreary ceiling with awfully chipped paint. There was a clinking sound of someone setting down a tray, possibly with teacups.

“Furina? Oh, goodness, you’re awake!”

Furina blinked as Navia suddenly appeared in her vision, her eyes brimming with unshed tears.

“Oh, Archons... we were so worried,” the Spina di Rosula president said in a rush, quickly taking one of her hands in her own.

“N...Navia...?” Furina croaked out. She tried looking around, but she the fatigue in her body and the stiffness in her neck protested immediately. Yet there was no mistaking it now – she was in her own bed at her apartment.

“Shh, it’s okay,” Navia said, squeezing her hand reassuringly. “You’re fine. Clorinde brought you over here. Initially she brought you to the Fortress of Meropide, so Sigewinne could treat you, but once the major damage had been taken care of, we moved you back to your apartment.”

Furina nodded and closed her eyes, leaning back against her pillow. Her brain felt foggy and she felt terribly weak. And hungry, now too. “How long have I been out for?”

Navia chuckled nervously. “It’s been close to six days now.”

Furina’s eyes flew open. “Wh-What?”

“Do you remember what happened? Apparently, you were in quite a state...” Navia said, looking concerned.

“Uhm...” Furina squeezed her eyes shut, her mind scrambling to think. “Oh–!”

Furina gasped as the memory returned to her violently, her heart thudding wildly against her ribcage. A beast with glowing violet eyes. Black claws like razors. In a panic, her hands instinctively came up to her abdomen, dread and relief coursing through her as her fingers came into contact with thick bandages.

Relief because her guts were inside her and her body was intact.

Dread because what happened was definitely more real than a nightmare.

“H-How did I... what–” Furina said, her thoughts racing and colliding into one another messily as Navia rubbed her back in concern. Then, a sudden spike of fear as she registered the name that Navia mentioned and that person’s absence. “What happened to Clorinde?”

“Oh!” Navia eyes softened in understanding. “Don’t worry about her – she’s fine. She was really shaken up, of course... but physically she’s in good condition.”

Furina felt herself visibly relax at the news. “That’s a relief.”

Though... there was a disappointed twinge in her heart seeing that the duelist was missing. Which Navia seemed to notice immediately.

“Clorinde, she...” Navia started. “Well, once she knew that you were going to be okay, she actually took a week of leave... to track down whoever was behind the attack.”

The anxiousness from before started to bubble again uncomfortably in Furina’s gut.

“Navia, she can’t–” Furina said shakily. “Whoever attacked us that night – they’re dangerous–”

Navia squeezed her shoulder. “Don’t worry, Furina... actually, Clorinde already caught him a couple of days ago.”

“What?”

“I asked her about it when I caught her yesterday back at the Palais. She didn’t really give many details...” here, Navia shivered, “But I suspect there’s nothing left of him.”

There was silence for a moment, before Navia seemed to remember something. “Oh! Also, Clorinde asked me to return your sword.”

She gestured to the gleaming blue and white weapon currently leaning against the wall next to her desk, looking very well-maintained.

Furina nodded faintly, a frown creasing her brow. She was curious about the sword, but the thought of Clorinde taking off to track down such a deadly enemy on her own bothered her immensely. She supposed things were fine if the duelist was alright... Although...

“Navia,” Furina whined suddenly. The Spina boss looked over her anxiously.

“Are you okay? Does your wound hurt? Can I get you anything–”

“The date went awfully!”

“Oh.”

Navia smiled ruefully at that, rubbing her shoulder sympathetically.

“Don’t feel so bad. The both of you are alive aren’t you?” Navia offered tentatively. “You can... try again?”

Furina winced. She was fairly sure that as far as dates went, the way this one ended could rank among the worst. To say this experience had been traumatising was an understatement.

“Maybe...” she conceded dejectedly, unsure if she wanted to take any more risks right now.

And yet... A memory, hazy yet startlingly poignant, punctured through her thoughts.

Even when she was bleeding out, doubled over in agony with her knees sinking into the damp earth, she remembered Clorinde’s warmth as her arms held her tightly, could remember the scent of cypress, musk, and ozone that cut through the coppery blood and smoke, something gentle and familiar as her face was pressed into her shoulder. How cruel that such a moment would be the first time Furina was held by her, that that would be the closest physical contact they’d shared so far.

She released a shuddering breath, suddenly wishing for that warmth.

She missed Clorinde terribly.

“Your recovery is progressing amazingly,” the little Melusine nurse said, sounding impressed as she looked at Furina with her head tilted in wonder. Furina had to admit that she had feared the worst about the scarring on her body when Sigewinne offered to re-bandage her, but while it was significant, it didn’t look as bad as she imagined.

“You think so?”

“I know so!” Sigewinne nodded happily. Furina felt relief at her enthusiasm. She knew that her strength was returning and had even gone on several walks the past few days, but it was reassuring to hear it from the nurse.

It had been thirteen days now since that disastrous night, and Furina had guests visit her every day since she regained consciousness. Navia had come by again bearing macarons and other sweets. Lyney and Lynette had dropped by with a bouquet of flowers as well as a tiny mechanical blubberbeast that apparently was made by their brother. The Traveler and Paimon had brought over some new light novels that they had picked up on their travels and cooked macaroni. Neuvillette had taken an hour out of his schedule to come by with a new box of expensive tea from himself and Wriothesley. And even Sigewinne had come by several times to check on her while on vacation.

It was a little overwhelming. She hadn’t realised that so many people were so invested in her recovery.

Yet there was still no sign of that ever so familiar tricorne hat or amethyst eyes.

Furina swallowed another spoonful of macaroni slowly. She was starving right now, but she also wanted to delay her next dosage of Sigewinne’s medicine as much as possible.

“I suppose the injury must not have been so bad after all,” Furina said conversationally. Sigewinne shook her head.

“Oh, no it was bad,” the nurse said blithely. “I think Miss Clorinde did as good a job as she could of bandaging you up... but when the two of you arrived at the Fortress, the bleeding had still gone right through.”

Furina winced. “Isn’t the Fortress really far from Erinnyes Forest? Could she not have gone to a hospital in the Court of Fontaine?”

Sigewinne hummed. “That would have been more suitable, given how severe your injury was. It might have caused quite a commotion though, if she carried you into the city covered in blood. You’re not exactly low profile, you know?”

Furina looked crestfallen. “I suppose...”

“Based on what she told me of the timing of the attack... She must have taken the entrance behind the Opera Epiclese and convinced the Fortress Administrator to let her take the aqua line directly to the Fortress.” Sigewinne smiled ruefully. “She was also in need of her own treatment... but she brushed that off, like always.”

Furina felt a turmoil of emotions swirling in her. She imagined Clorinde, who had already been in terrible shape, bandaging her up and carrying her back through the forest to the Opera House. Trying to move as quickly as possible but carefully enough that she didn’t aggravate her injury. Doing her best to avoid civilians as she brought her to the Fortress entrance. Desperately trying to convince the administrator to bypass the Fortress protocol.

“I... owe her a lot,” Furina said wistfully. “And you too. I can see that her trust in you was not misplaced.”

Sigewinne shook her head with a smile. “I’m not a miracle-worker. You really should’ve gone to a hospital... but actually Miss Furina, I think it was your own power that saved you.”

Furina looked confused. “My power...?”

Sigewinne nodded, her eyes creasing happily. “One of your Hydro Familiars... the singing one!”

Furina’s brow furrowed. As far as she was aware, Mademoiselle Crabaletta, Surintendante Chevalmarin, and Gentilhomme Usher did not sing...

“I’m afraid I’m not sure what you are referring to,” Furina said hesitantly.

“Huh... well it definitely wasn’t from me or Miss Clorinde.” Sigewinne looked at her with interest, raising a finger to her chin.

“Anyway, I was just about to tell Miss Clorinde that... you might not make it,” she continued, her eyes growing distant.

“It’s really hard to tell what she’s thinking most of the time, but that day, the look of pain on her face was so plain that I almost couldn’t bear to break the news to her. But then... Your Vision started glowing, and something that looked a little bit like an Oceanid appeared.”

“An... Oceanid?”

Sigewinne nodded. “Kind of. She stayed near you the whole time... and your wounds started healing. She sang a beautiful tune. A little bit sad and lonely. But beautiful.”

“Is that so...” Furina murmured, digesting the information slowly.

“So with the Singer’s help, I was able to make sure that you were cleaned up properly and monitor your recovery, especially since you also were running a high fever at the time.”

“Sigewinne, I... I can’t thank you enough...” Furina said sincerely, feeling deeply humbled.

Before this, her only interaction with this Melusine had been during her trial before the Prophecy was fulfilled. She was sure that she had done nothing to warrant such kindness.

“Don’t worry about it,” Sigewinne chirped. “Again, it was Miss Clorinde who was the one who brought you to me, and while you were at the Fortress, she barely left your side. I think she wanted to personally make sure everything was okay. I told her that she should hold your hand and talk to you, and she took my suggestion very seriously. It was really sweet seeing that side of her.”

“Oh...” Furina breathed, her cheeks suddenly feeling hot.

“Is your fever returning? Your temperature's rising and your heart rate has elevated again,” Sigewinne said curiously.

“Er, you think so?” Furina said, pointedly looking out the window, though she couldn’t help her face becoming even redder under the little nurse’s concerned scrutiny. “I think maybe I just need some water and I’ll be fine.”

There was an awkward silence for a few moments.

“...Oh, I see.” Sigewinne said, with a little smile. “It makes sense now.”

Fortunately, she was spared from further embarrassment by a knock on her room door, followed by the entry of Navia Caspar.

“I brought more macarons,” the blonde woman announced brightly, setting a little paper bag on her bedside table, before glancing over at Furina. “You’re looking well!”

Furina smiled genuinely. “I’m feeling much better. Thank you, Navia.”

“She’s doing much better,” Sigewinne agreed happily. “I have to go back now, but Miss Navia, could you make sure that Miss Furina takes her medicine?”

“Sure,” Navia grinned, to Furina’s dismay.

The door clicked shut behind the Melusine nurse as she left and Navia sat down in the chair next to Furina’s bed. Idly, Furina played with the last of her macaroni with her fork.

“Are you avoiding drinking the medicine or is something on your mind?” the Spina boss said teasingly. Furina blinked, eyes snapping over to Navia’s quickly.

“I...” Furina started, before letting out a sigh. There was no point hiding it. “How is... Clorinde?”

Navia’s face fell for a moment, though she recovered quickly.

“She’s seen worse days,” she said hesitantly. Furina admittedly felt a bit frustrated at the secrecy.

“You said last week... that she had already hunted down the one behind the attack,” Furina said, unable to keep the sullenness out of her voice.

Navia nodded slowly. “She did...”

“And since then, she has also resumed work in the Trial Court?”

“Also true.” Navia said softly.

So where is she?

Navia sighed, hearing Furina’s unspoken question loud and clear. “Ever since she’s returned to work, Clorinde has been leaving the Opera Epiclese straight after her last trial and... well, I think she probably goes out to hunt or train.”

Furina’s brow creased. “What for?”

Navia smiled sadly. “She’ll probably get over it eventually... but I think she might be ashamed to see you.”

“Ashamed...?” Furina repeated, blinking in consternation.

“Well... she probably feels responsible for what happened.” Navia explained gently.

Furina was stunned into silence, her heart suddenly feeling pained.

She didn’t want Clorinde to just ‘get over it.’

“I need to find her,” Furina said quietly. “Can you please... tell me where she is?”

Navia looked at her doubtfully. “You only just recovered. Clorinde... even Monsieur Neuvillette wouldn’t let me hear the end of it."

“Navia...” Furina pleaded.

Navia sighed again, eyeing her up contemplatively. “I’ll tell you, but only because I think you’d be crazy enough to try it yourself either way.”

“Thank you.” Furina mumbled, looking down into her lap.

“My other conditions are that you rest another three days and that you let me accompany you most of the way.” Navia continued, offering her a small smile.

Furina nodded mutely, swallowing her last bite of macaroni around the lump in her throat.

“And just so you know, Furina,” the Spina boss warned. “She can be a bit scary when she gets like this.”

“I’m not afraid.” Furina whispered. She thought of the recklessness with which Clorinde strove to protect her, the meticulous care which she offered her ceaselessly. “I don’t think I could ever be afraid of her.”

After three days, several doses of medicine, and many re-strengthening exercises, Navia ended up accompanying Furina to a forest in Northern Erinnyes in the late afternoon.

“Clorinde has a few places where she likes to hunt,” Navia had told her wryly. “But my guys tell me she’s definitely here.”

Furina swallowed, staring into the stillness of the trees.

“You okay?” Navia said, looking her carefully. “We can always go back and try to catch her at the Opera Epiclese tomorrow.”

"I think this is better," Furina said after a beat. There were too many people at the Opera House. It would have been too easy for Clorinde to avoid a real conversation; too easy for her to slip away. She turned to the blonde woman, suddenly feeling overwhelmingly thankful for her. “Thank you for coming with me."

Navia’s features softened. She wrapped the smaller woman into a brief but tight hug, which Furina returned just as fervently. “Go talk some sense into her then.”

With a breath, Furina began her trek into the forest.

It didn’t take long for Furina to find her. As she progressed, she saw more and more signs of wreckage – signs of someone who had aggressively fought their way through the woods, trees marked by sword cuts or toppled over entirely, the scent of ozone clinging to the air. Eventually she reached the clearing she was looking for.

Furina winced, seeing the much of the surrounding area was blackened and charred, whether trees, stumps, grass, dirt, rocks, and bodies presumably of monsters strewn around the edges. In the middle of it all was Clorinde, her sword outstretched, breathing hard as she faced an unseen foe. Furina felt her heart leap into her throat as her eyes landed upon her form.

It had only been two weeks but it felt like so much longer.

She stepped into the vicinity.

“I didn’t realise that you were so determined to rearrange Fontaine’s scenery,” she called, announcing her presence, even though she was sure that Clorinde had already noticed it some time ago. The duelist slowly lowered her sword. Furina suppressed a shiver as she turned, dark eyes locking with hers. Flashes of emotion crossed the woman’s face. Agitation and disbelief... weariness and resignation... and something else.

In the back of her mind, Furina was slightly comforted to find Clorinde's expressions were becoming easier for her to read.

“Shouldn’t you be resting,” Clorinde said apprehensively, as Furina walked towards her.

“I’ve rested long enough. And...” Furina said, her voice growing soft. “I was worried about you.”

Clorinde’s brows knitted. “About me?”

“Navia told me that you’ve been coming out here every evening for the past week and more.”

Clorinde barked out a mirthless laugh. “I should have known.”

Her eyes shifted to the sword strapped to Furina’s back. “I see that your sword has returned to you.”

Furina glanced back at the weapon. “Oh... I’m not sure I can claim some sword I found in a lake as mine..."

Clorinde shrugged. “It accepted you. I don’t think you should take that lightly.”

“I heard that you borrowed it,” Furina said softly. “You were probably able to use it better than I ever could.”

Clorinde shook her head, a hollow and fleeting smile crossing her face. “It... tolerated me. But I think it eventually accepted my purpose.”

A pause.

“Listen, I... I’m glad you’re well,” Clorinde said sincerity lacing into her tone. “But you really shouldn’t be out here.”

“Then come back with me,” Furina said, sudden and firm. Clorinde tensed at that.

“I’m not done yet.” she said flatly. Furina exhaled.

“So what, you’re going to stay here and train until your arms fall off – is that what you’re doing?” Furina said sharply.

“What I’m doing here is not your concern,” Clorinde retorted. Furina frowned.

Clorinde had been stand-offish and blunt at the worst of times, but never rude. It unsettlingly echoed some of her own behaviours in the past.

For whatever reason, Clorinde had built a wall between them, and Furina was determined to tear it down, no matter what drastic measures she needed to take.

There was a brief moment of hesitation, an internal struggle where Furina questioned her next move.

A second later, her resolve triumphed.

Furina reached behind her to draw her sword, pointing it directly at her ex-guard’s heart. She watched in satisfaction as Clorinde’s eyes widened in shock.

“...Are you serious, Furina,” she said, her voice a low growl. “Are– Are you out of your mind, right now?”

“I am as serious as I’ll ever be, dear Champion,” Furina enunciated airily. “Now duel me or lose your honour.”

“You really think... that just because you found some old hero’s ancient relic, you can best me in a duel?” Clorinde frowned. Furina arched a brow.

“Hm. Why don’t you come find out?”

Clorinde’s eyes narrowed at her. “You have yet to fully recover.”

“Then handicap yourself however you see fit.”

Clorinde blew out a frustrated breath, fast running out of excuses. “...This is a bad idea.”

“Humour me,” Furina drawled. “Now draw your sword. Or is the great Champion Duelist who drew her blade against a god too afraid to draw her blade against a human?”

With great reluctance, the duelist finally accepted. They stood facing each other in the middle of the clearing, a gentle breeze blowing between them. Clorinde seemed to decide that in order to compensate for Furina’s recent injury, she would not have access to her dominant sword arm, even though she knew as well as Furina that both her arms were proficient. As typical of how she began most duels, Clorinde stood with her sword outstretched, one arm bent behind her back. Her eyes locked with Furina’s, searching her carefully, her posture an open invitation.

Furina breathed deeply, forcing her heart and mind to be still.

She was not afraid.

Furina slowly charged at the duelist, steadily building momentum as she swung her blade aiming to disarm her.

With cold and lightning-fast precision, Clorinde swung her own blade in retaliation. The angle with which the duelist’s blade struck Furina’s own knocked her sword clean out of her hands with a loud clang. It sailed through the air and landed in a clump of burnt grass nearby.

Clorinde lowered her sword as Furina scrambled over to retrieve her weapon. Quickly she picked it up and pointed it back at the duelist, who turned slowly to face her once again.

Furina charged at her a second time. And then a third time. And then a fourth time. Each attempt met the same result, over and over again.

After about the twentieth time, Furina’s glove had torn, her hand was raw, and her legs were shaking from all the running. Clorinde had pointedly flung Furina’s sword further and further away each time.

But Furina could see. Clorinde’s patience was wearing thin. Her duels didn’t normally last this long. Usually her opponents surrendered within the first minute or two.

“How long do you plan to keep this up?” Clorinde said. There was just a hint of edge to her calm voice, a barely perceptible tightness to her demeanour.

Furina scoffed. “Have you forgotten? My persistence has spanned hundreds of years. I think I can last a little longer than this.”

Frustration flashed through the cracks of Clorinde’s visage. “You will yield to me, sooner or later. Don’t regret your decision.”

Furina laughed harshly. “How bold! But your arrogance will be your downfall.”

At the end of the day, a duel was more than a test of competence – more than a test of physical strength. If it was, then this would have been a lost cause from the start.

But Furina knew, that a duel was ultimately a battle of wills. Clorinde had said so herself many times.

Eventually Clorinde resorted to becoming more aggressive. The force of her blows sent Furina staggering to her knees, even sweeping her clean off her feet at times.

But even though her knees were scraped and bleeding and the freshly healed wound on her abdomen began to throb, Furina still managed to push herself off the ground and onto her feet, to Clorinde’s rising agitation.

“Furina. Yield.” Clorinde said through gritted teeth. It was the harshest tone that the duelist had ever used with her.

But she couldn’t back down now. She was starting to see it.

Underneath the anger and the frustration that her ex-guard was exuding, a fragile weakness surfaced.

Clorinde was afraid.

Furina could see it in the way her sword was faltering, the strikes becoming less precise, landing with less conviction. Clorinde was terrified of... of hurting her? Was that it? But there seemed like more to it...

“You first!” Furina retorted, raising her voice defiantly.

The fight progressed, and Clorinde only looked more and more lost.

This was not the courtroom, nor the Duelist’s ring. There was no judge but the moon, no witnesses but the first stars that appeared in the wake of the evening.

She was not fighting a criminal but her friend, and she was rapidly losing sight of her reason for fighting in the first place.

With a forceful swing, Clorinde deflected Furina’s latest attempt, but this time Furina managed to numbly maintain her grip onto her sword. Caught off-balance, Furina stumbled backwards and fell to the ground, and Clorinde, in a sudden change of tack, followed her down, pushing her shoulders back into the ground with her forearm hard enough to knock the breath out of her lungs.

They stayed like that for a moment, Furina lying flat on her back, Clorinde with her knees on either side of her legs while she leaned over her, pressing her upper back firmly into the ground.

Both of them stared unflinchingly at one another, breathing heavily.

Slowly Furina lifted her blade, pressing the side of it whisper-light against Clorinde’s neck.

“The real you, Clorinde,” Furina bit out, desperate frustration leaking into her own voice as she broke the silence. Her words felt breathless, but her jaw was set like granite. "Why can't you show it to me!"

Clorinde's eyes widened in unrestrained shock. The frustration on Furina's face gave way to a softer emotion, just as powerful, just as sure. Furina lowered her sword back to the ground, her next whisper a silent entreaty to trust in her.

“What are you afraid of?”

There was a thunderstorm brewing behind Clorinde’s eyes. A terse silence ensued, before Clorinde finally loosened her hold, easing back to thrust her sword into the ground next to them and then–

“It was this close, Furina,” Clorinde ground out hoarsely, letting the admission finally fall from her lips as her palms rested on either side of her.

Furina stared back at her, her eyes daring and pleading with the duelist to say more.

“I already failed to protect you once–” the duelist’s voice was rising, yet breaking, at the same time. “I came this close to failing again!”

Ah. There it was.

“You still haven’t forgiven yourself from before...” Furina said in muted shock. “This whole time.”

Clorinde looked pained.

“How can I?”

Furina felt the emotion welling up inside her own heart, hearing the honesty bursting forth from her Champion’s mouth, her eyes starting to sting.

“Clorinde...” Furina said softly. “It’s not your fault. Didn’t I tell you that I understood what you were doing...?”

Clorinde looked away, disbelief etched onto her features.

“You don’t understand,” Clorinde said, her voice dropping to a pained whisper. Furina’s brow creased, trying to process–

“I came this close to losing you.”

Furina was rendered speechless. Some of Navia’s earlier words echoed in her head.

Of course Clorinde hated failure. A will of steel and a form of perfection was hammered into her from when she could first walk. Yet there was something even deeper.

For someone who didn’t have many things she held dear, Clorinde’s grip on the things she did have was so unrelenting that the very prospect of losing those things eviscerated her.

Furina couldn’t help feeling dizzy at the thought.

“Clorinde, please... look at me...”

Her ex-guard sighed, slowly turning back to face her. Furina inhaled shakily.

Even now, she couldn’t help thinking those striated amethyst irises were beautiful.

“I’m not your Archon...” she started gently. “...and you’re not my guard. Not anymore. Weren’t you the one... who said we were friends now?”

There was a twisted humour to it. After all this time, after chiding Furina for not recognising their friendship, Clorinde also struggled to fully let go of the past – struggled to let go of her old responsibilities and her failure to keep those responsibilities. Furina should have seen it in the way that she struggled for so long to drop the titles on her name.

“I can protect you as a friend,” Clorinde muttered stubbornly. Furina snorted.

“Does that not that go both ways then?” she said. “What I did was my choice, Clorinde. And besides...”

Furina felt her heart suddenly overcome with emotion, thinking about all the times Clorinde had protected her; had helped keep her safe. Had given her a new hope to live. An anchor to get through dark nights. A chance to fight and to grow as a person.

A friend when she had none.

Tears filled her eyes with each memory that surfaced from their precious residence in the ocean of Furina’s heart.

Time and again, Clorinde was there when Furina needed her.

“You have always protected me, Clorinde,” Furina breathed, her own voice trembling. “I... I wanted – I hoped that I could do the same for you. Even though I probably ended up becoming a burden–”

“–Don’t. Say that again.”

Furina’s jaw clicked shut at the sudden sharpness in Clorinde’s tone.

“Furina, you... you’re not a burden. Have you not been the one protecting Fontaine for five hundred years?” Clorinde said, her eyes piercing and her voice indignant. “And you – you did save me, although I... I understand risking your life for our nation, but... for someone like me–”

“I would do it again,” Furina said, cutting her off.

She was only slightly surprised at the ease with which she could say such words honestly.

“Why?” Clorinde rasped, her voice thick.

Furina gazed up at her, with a look equal parts exasperated and fond. She reached up, brushing the back of her fingers against Clorinde’s cheek.

“Do you really not know,” Furina said softly, one eyebrow lifted in dry amusement. “...Clorinde?”

Clorinde looked down at her, her stunning amethyst eyes wide and her mouth very slightly ajar.

It was... frustratingly cute.

“Navia was right,” Furina muttered. “You really are a blockhead.”

With her last reserve of strength for the evening, Furina gripped the back of Clorinde’s neck and leaned up to clumsily press their lips together.

Both of their lips were chapped and dry from being out here for so long. There was no build up, no elegance, and nothing inherently romantic about the situation or the backdrop of burnt trees and charred ashes around them.

Yet as Furina pulled away and dropped back to lie on the dirt, feeling the exhaustion overtake her, she couldn’t help feeling overwhelmingly satisfied.

A tiny, warm droplet landed lightly on her cheek. Soon she felt another and heard the soothing patter of rain which started to fall around them.

In her fading consciousness, she felt Clorinde’s strong arms slide underneath her and lift her close to her chest.

With a soft sigh, Furina pressed herself closer to the junction between her Champion’s  neck and shoulder, inhaling the familiar and comforting scent of cypress, musk, and ozone, as she was carried away.

It took another week and a half for Furina to fully recover, delayed further because of her duel with Clorinde and the cold that she caught afterwards. Navia had shot her with an incredulous look at the story.

“I can’t believe you two,” she said, shaking her head as she offered Furina another cup of Sigewinne’s medicine. “Was it really so hard to just talk?”

Honestly, Furina couldn’t quite believe it happened either.

The days passed by quietly. There was a low-lying anxiousness that quickly developed as Furina thought back to her reckless actions. At the time, the... kiss had been instinctive. But what if she had read things wrong? What if all she had done was make things awkward after all?

Just when the anxiousness was slowly giving way to a sullen resignation, she found a note slipped under her door as she arrived home with a packet of macaroni and a new sauce flavour.

Picking it up, she immediately recognised the familiar neat cursive.

Opera Epiclese, tomorrow, 7:00PM.

Furina felt her breath catch in her throat. There was just the barest temptation to ignore the note. How presumptuous to assume that someone like her would be available at the drop of a hat...

She sighed in annoyance, pursing her lips. Of course, she couldn’t ignore it.

She would just have to give someone a personal lesson on punctuality when it came to matters of the heart.

When Furina arrived outside the Opera Epiclese the next day, there was only the usual Melusine officer standing at the entrance. Excitedly she opened the doors for her and Furina walked into the all-too-familiar foyer with polished marble floors and elegant vases along the walls filled with cornflower blossoms. She stopped just outside the doors leading to the auditorium, suddenly feeling her nerves buzzing. She glanced over at the clock on the wall. 7:02PM. Feeling a bit petulant, Furina had half a mind to keep her waiting longer.

She rested her palms against the heavy doors, running her fingertips along the intricate patterns of beveled edges. Taking a long moment and a few breaths to compose herself, she pushed open the double doors.

She was greeted with a familiar sight, brimming with multitudes of memories, many of which were admittedly unpleasant. There was a time in her life where she had to avoid this place, because those memories were too painful to bear.

But... that pain had faded. Not entirely. But Furina no longer felt it so sharply, could look back at it distantly with only a faint sadness.

This stage also bore witness to the moment where she had received her Vision. And since then, she had directed several plays here to sold-out crowds.

The polished oak stage was already lit. The plush red carpet and the tiered seating with gold trimming looked as tidy and regal as always.

The Opera Epiclese would have been the same as ever, except there was no one in the room.

No one but a single lone figure standing in the centre of the stage, under the spotlights.

Furina felt herself move forward instinctively along the aisle, step by muffled step, towards the stage. She barely registered the faint piano playing in the room, her eyes focused solely on the woman on the stage. And Clorinde held her gaze all the way until she ascended the stairs to meet her.

“A little bit excessive to hire Fontaine's most expensive venue for one conversation, don't you think?” Furina said lifting a brow, her eyes still fixed on the woman in front of her.

“I might have some connections.” Clorinde replied simply. She walked towards Furina until she was only an arm’s length away.

Furina’s eyes widened as Clorinde offered her hand.

“You want to...?” Furina started hesitantly. The corner of Clorinde mouth turned upwards slightly.

“I do,” she replied softly.

Tentatively, Furina placed her hand in the one Clorinde offered. The duelist stepped closer, placing her other hand behind Furina’s right shoulder blade, Furina's other hand positioning itself automatically in response. Smoothly, Clorinde swept them into a slow waltz along to the faint piano music playing in the background. The steps were simple but well-executed, and Furina found herself following along with pleasant ease. She felt herself relax with each passing moment, finding a strange comfort in the lack of audience.

“I wasn’t aware you knew how to dance,” Furina remarked lightly as Clorinde led her through an underarm turn. The duelist was silent for a moment.

“I didn’t,” she admitted quietly.

Oh.

Either the woman was a natural... or very well-practiced.

“And no, it didn’t come easily.” Clorinde said as though reading her mind, her lips quirking into a crooked smile. “I thought it would, since my footwork in general is well-trained... but no, I needed many hours.”

Furina was quiet for a moment, a dozen questions swirling in her mind. All of which felt a bit too... presumptuous.

“If you just asked me, then the lessons would’ve been free,” she decided to joke light-heartedly. It earned a small puff of laughter from the woman in front of her.

“And if I wanted to impress you?” Clorinde quipped back as she spun them across the stage. Furina felt herself flush a little.

“I don’t believe you’re someone who’s quite that shallow,” she mumbled, averting her gaze.

“So you do understand me a little,” Clorinde agreed. Furina scoffed, annoyed at the pinprick of disappointment she felt in her heart.

“Then... the real reason?”

Clorinde smiled lightly. “I’ll get to that. But there’s something that has been bothering for me for a while...”

“The last time we stood across from each other on this stage,” Clorinde said slowly and carefully, checking to see if Furina was okay with her broaching a potentially sensitive topic. Furina nodded once as she spun outwards, and the duelist continued when they reconnected.

“I tried... very hard to figure you out,” Clorinde said wistfully, her eyes growing distant. “The whole time I watched you, I wondered how someone so obviously guilty could still be so desperate to prove their innocence, even when the tables were completely turned against them. I searched for a long time... for the reason why you fought so strongly to protect that lie.”

Furina smiled sadly, as she continued following Clorinde’s steps on the stage. “I know. I’m sorry that I deceived you.”

“That’s not what I’m getting at...” Clorinde shook her head, her brow furrowed. “You often say that the trial proved you as the fraud that you really were. But I never saw it that way.”

She guided Furina through another underarm turn.

“And I told you already, that we should be the ones apologising." Clorinde added. "You were hurt because of us... because of me.”

Furina sighed. “Of course I was hurt... I wanted to tell you all the truth so much. But I already told you... I understood why you did it. And I respected you for it too.”

Clorinde’s features softened. “I believe I do understand that now. But I also want you to understand something.”

Clorinde slowly moved them from a reverse turn to a stop in the centre of the stage, gingerly trailing the hand on her shoulder blade down her arm until she held both of Furina's hands in front of her.

“You and I... we both made decisions that we thought would protect our nation. But in the end, your justice was greater than mine. Your justice saved Fontaine, not mine.”

Furina swallowed, unsure what to say to that. Clorinde pressed on.

“If the trial proved anything, it was not your fraudulence, or deception.” Clorinde said firmly. “It proved to me that you were the strongest, most courageous person in all of Fontaine. And so...”

Here Clorinde gently released her hands and took a step back, dropping onto one knee, while she held Furina’s gaze. Furina’s heart thudded seeing the woman kneel in front of her. Slowly, Clorinde unclasped the sword from her side and laid it on the ground between them.

“Even though you are no longer my Archon, and I am no longer your guard, my wish is that you would allow me to pledge my blade to protect you always."

Furina was moved deeply by the admission, her heart thrumming as she absorbed all that the woman said. And yet...

“Is your blade the only thing you are willing to give to me?” Furina asked softly. A deep fondness settled in Clorinde's amethyst eyes.

“Of course not.” Clorinde murmured. She took a breath before continuing, “You told me before that you’ve been waiting a long time. So my other wish is that you wait no longer.”

From a pouch behind her waist, Clorinde procured a single, shimmering blue Lakelight Lily, laying it on the ground next to her sword.

“The last time we stood here on this stage together... you stood alone against everyone,” Clorinde spoke solemnly. “So the reason why I wanted to join you on this stage today is quite simple...”

Clorinde’s eyes locked with Furina’s again, serious and soft.

“My heart longs for you never to be alone again.” she uttered. There was a growing lump in Furina's throat as she registered the words. It was hard to keep up.

“Today I offer you not only my blade, but my promise." Clorinde said finally, offering a heartwarming smile. "I no longer wish to stand behind you, but next to you always.”

There was a long moment where Furina was again rendered speechless. She must have stayed quiet too long, because Clorinde coughed politely.

“That is, if... if you’ll have me,” she added hesitantly. "I understand if... this is not what you desire."

Furina blinked down at her. She realised that for the first time since they’d met, Clorinde was nervous.

She really, really couldn’t resist.

“If I didn’t know any better, Clorinde, I daresay this looks awfully like a proposal,” she quipped loftily, though her voice struggled to remain steady.

Furina watched in delighted wonder as Clorinde’s ears peeking out from behind her hair seemed to burn red. The woman stood and straightened up awkwardly, raising a finger to scratch at her cheek.

It hit Furina then, the sheer genuineness of this woman’s feelings and the weight of what she was offering.

“Ah. Yes, well. I didn’t want to presume... but maybe in the future–”

She was cut off suddenly as Furina stepped over her gifts to throw her arms tightly around her Champion's midsection, the force knocking Furina’s hat off onto the stage. She greedily breathed in that comforting scent of cypress and ozone, as Clorinde wound her arms around her shoulders, leaning her chin against her hair as Furina started to tremble.

“You... you fool...” Furina sobbed, her voice muffled. “How dare you... Don’t... ever make me wait this long again!”

Clorinde laughed sheepishly, her own voice thick with emotion. “Never again.”

They stayed moulded against each other for a long time, Furina’s tears seeping into her shirt and Clorinde holding her tightly until her tremors ceased.

When Furina pulled back slightly, Clorinde gently reached up to cradle her face, wiping the last traces of her tears with her thumb. The duelist pressed a kiss onto the crown of her head before moving back and looking straight into Furina’s eyes.

“Never again.” She repeated, soft yet sure. “I promise.”

Carefully, as though handling a priceless treasure, Clorinde tilted Furina’s face up towards her. Furina’s eyelashes fluttered shyly, seeing Clorinde’s imploring gaze. Her breath caught as Clorinde’s thumb gently brushed against the corner of her lower lip, with her eyes following, seeking permission.

Furina wasn’t sure who connected them as they both leaned in, but it didn’t matter to her. Her heart stuttered as she felt Clorinde’s lips brush feather-light against hers, fleeting and delicate. Her hands came up to the duelist’s shoulders to ground her as she chased to connect them again. Again and again, they kissed each other under the stage lights, never moving more than a breath apart, every touch chaste and soft, as though afraid of breaking the ethereality of the moment.

In every exchange Furina felt Clorinde’s aching apology. Her quiet plea. Her hopes and desires that she felt too unworthy to express. And Furina too, hoped that her own wishes were received.

Eventually Furina pulled back, flushing as she saw Clorinde’s lipstick smudged a little. She startled as Clorinde reached up to wipe her thumb near the corner of her own mouth, reddening even more as she realised she must have looked the same.

Furina wrapped her arms around the duelist again, feeling a sudden urge to listen to that wild yet strong heartbeat pounding in Clorinde’s chest. And as she pressed her ear over it, her own heart resounded with overwhelming joy.

“I do hope you know that it’ll take a lot more than that to convince me of your devotion to your promise,” Furina murmured breathlessly, before shooting a playful smile up at the woman. Clorinde lifted an eyebrow, amused, before leaning down near her ear.

“In that case, I look forward to showing you just how deep my devotion goes,” Clorinde whispered lowly against her skin. Furina shivered, her heart hammering in her chest. Knowing Clorinde, the statement was probably very innocent and sincere, but the phrasing...

She gave the duelist a half-hearted shove, not quite pulling away from her arms.

“I-I’ll give the final verdict on that later then,” Furina mumbled, her face burning.

Furina wasn’t sure how much longer they stayed there on the stage together. But one thing she was sure of was that the spotlights weren’t nearly as harsh as they used to be.

Furina was shocked to find out that all of their friends were wholly unsurprised when she and Clorinde announced the development of their relationship. Happy, certainly, but embarrassingly unsurprised.

Navia was a given, the Traveler as well, perhaps. But Lyney and Lynette? Neuvillette? Wriothesley?

“Wriothesley made a bet with me, actually,” Clorinde confessed to her one evening, around a month after they started their relationship when they were out for dinner again at the lasagne place that Furina adored.

“A what?”

“He told me that you’d end up making the first move since I was too much of a coward.” She sighed. “And he was right, I suppose.”

Furina felt warm. “Er... so you mean, even before that night by the lake... you...”

Clorinde looked amused. “Is it that surprising? I just... never thought you’d be interested in someone like me.”

The Salon Solitaire also eventually warmed up to the duelist. Clorinde explained wryly how upset they had been with her after the attack, Mademoiselle Crabaletta being especially angry.

Furina was a bit worried about making their relationship more public, knowing how Clorinde felt about her privacy from the press. Both of them were big names in Fontaine so people would be sure to make a fuss. When she voiced this to Clorinde, she pondered it for a moment.

“Well, if our relationship will be mentioned in a paper, why not make it the Steambird? At least Charlotte is one of the more professional and fair reporters.” Clorinde said offhandedly, to Furina’s shock. The duelist squeezed her hand under the table. “I’m sure people will get bored as well, once the next big news hits. Besides... I have to deter your fans somehow, don’t I?”

Furina laughed. She was fairly sure that Clorinde herself had more admirers by now, especially with her own withdrawal from the stage.

When Clorinde escorted her home that night, there was an odd restlessness that she felt, perhaps partly from their discussion earlier and perhaps partly from the frequent looks that Clorinde had been sending her across the table.

On reaching her apartment, there was a sudden urge she had to lean up and kiss Clorinde’s cheek before they parted ways outside her door... and a disappointment that soon followed, knowing that it would have been too out in the open. Slowly, she turned to face the duelist, opening her mouth to bid her good night.

“Do you want to come inside?” Furina blurted out instead.

Clorinde nodded once, the look in her eyes speaking volumes.

As soon as they entered the threshold of Furina’s apartment, Furina raced to get the kettle going, while Clorinde set her hat on the table. Furina chewed her lower lip, unsure why she suddenly felt a bit on edge.

She heard Clorinde walk towards her as she leaned on the counter. Slowly, the duelist’s arms came from behind, wrapping around her waist, while she nuzzled into her hair. Furina melted into her touch, leaning back against her.

“Furina,” Clorinde said, a quiet earnestness in her voice.

“Yes?” Furina breathed.

“May I kiss you?”

Furina’s face felt hot. It’s not like she wasn’t thinking it, but Clorinde’s forwardness never failed to catch her off-guard.

“Please,” she mumbled, turning around to face her.

One of Clorinde’s hands came up to her jaw, tilting her face up as she leaned in. Furina’s eyes slid shut as their lips pressed together.

The contact was pleasant. But she wanted more. Furina reached up wrapping her arms around the duelist’s neck, opening her eyes only briefly before she closed the gap between them again, the room filling with the sounds of soft sighs and contented noises between kisses.

It was an addictive feeling.

There was a low simmering flame inside her. She wondered if Clorinde felt it too.

“Furina,” she said, her voice a low rumble as she pulled away to whisper in her ear. “I've been thinking about you all evening.”

"Mmh... me too..." Furina nodded faintly, unable to suppress the delicious shudder that rolled down her spine as Clorinde nipped hotly at her earlobe. The whistling of the kettle barely registered in her senses, her hand coming to squeeze the nape of Clorinde's neck encouragingly.

The duelist moved back and Furina blinked up at her, dazed. A moment later, she decisively hefted Furina into a bridal carry. Furina squeaked, her own arms instinctively coming up around Clorinde’s shoulders.

“Just thought you should be more comfortable,” she explained simply, amused as Furina buried her face into her Champion’s neck while she walked them over to her room, kicking her shoes off once they were inside.

Clorinde gently laid her down on the sheets and was immediately on her again, Furina’s arms wrapping around her shoulders as they resumed kissing. The tiny bed creaked underneath their weight, causing Furina some alarm.

"Erm - Clorinde..."

"I'll buy you a new one," The duelist said shortly. Furina reddened at her words, but allowed the woman to distract her again. She gasped as Clorinde nipped at her lower lip and the duelist swiftly took advantage of the opportunity to deepen the kiss.

Furina felt light-headed as she allowed Clorinde to explore her mouth, doing her best to keep up with the duelist’s passion.

Clorinde leaned back on her knees after they both broke away for air, looking down at her with a self-satisfied smile. Furina flushed, panting heavily, and wondering how she must have looked. She watched as Clorinde unclasped her vision and her capelet, dropping them to the side, her smouldering gaze not leaving Furina's for a second even as she started on her gloves. Furina swallowed a whine. It was unfair how good she looked in that form fitting uniform.

In a display of boldness, she reached up and pulled Clorinde back down towards her, and on a whim pushed her bangs aside to graze her teeth along the top of her ear. Clorinde shivered against her and suddenly she felt the duelist’s knee slip between her legs and she jolted as it pressed up against her core.

It felt too good. Clorinde locked their lips together again, tongue stroking against hers insistently and Furina couldn’t help but buck her hips against her thigh, evoking little waves of pleasure with the friction, guided by sensation rather than experience. 

The knee pressed up against her again and she let out a breathy moan.

Abruptly, Clorinde pushed herself back up, breathing ragged. Furina cracked her eyes open, blushing as she saw Clorinde’s stormy eyes dark with desire.

“Furina,” she said, her voice strained. “I am... unsure if I can hold myself back if we...”

Furina swallowed.

“I don’t think I want you to,” she admitted, her chest rising and falling heavily.

Clorinde’s eyes softened then, leaning back on her knees and taking both of Furina’s trembling hands in her own, thumb stroking over her knuckles. “You’re too important for me to take this lightly.”

Always so considerate. Furina’s heart filled with affection.

“I want this – I want you too.” Furina said pouring as much earnestness into her voice as she could muster. “I’m just... nervous.”

What if I’m not what you hoped for?

Clorinde blinked down at her and Furina turned her face to the side shyly, trying to hide in vain from her piercing gaze.

“If that is truly your answer... then I want to have you – all of you – tonight,” Clorinde said, reaching down toward the pendant of Furina's cravat. Gently she undid it before sliding her hands underneath Furina’s blazer and prompting her to shrug it off. Every now and then Clorinde would pause to check Furina was okay as she continued working through the layers.

Furina had to admit, it made her... uneasy at first. She was so used to hiding that revealing herself and allowing someone to lay her bare in any sense railed against the instincts that had been burned into her for centuries.

Sensing her hesitation, Clorinde leaned down, brushing their noses together, earning a breathless giggle from Furina, before she pressed multiple soft kisses against her cheek.

As Furina gazed up into Clorinde’s eyes so soft and full of longing, she couldn't help wanting to trust her Champion.

And now, with her upper half exposed, she felt herself heating up again and shifting restlessly as Clorinde pressed wet open-mouthed kisses across her stomach where her wound had scarred over and another on the underside of her breast.

“So beautiful,” Clorinde murmured as she pulled back, eyes roving over her in wonder. Furina resisted the urge to hide.

“A-Are you going to just stare?” she said with a huff. Unfazed, Clorinde continued to look down at her, fondness written into her features.

“I... still feel as though this is a dream,” the duelist said, her voice barely above a whisper. Furina’s breath hitched, seeing the vulnerable look on her face. She could understand the feeling.

“And if it is, I want to cherish and memorise it always.”

Furina pouted up at her.

How unfair that her lover could say such things with a straight face.

Well in my dreams you’re wearing less, came the sudden intrusive thought.

Clorinde coughed, her ears burning scarlet as Furina clapped a hand over her mouth a second later, mortified at the slip of her indecent thought.

The duelist chuckled after a moment, regaining her composure, though she still looked slightly red.

“Would you like to amend that?” Clorinde said lowly, the corners of her mouth quirking upward. Furina could only nod silently with a flush, lifting her hands up towards Clorinde’s collar, fingers working clumsily at the buttons. It was embarrassing how much her hands were shaking, but eventually Clorinde released her from her misery, raising her own hand to help out.

As the top three came undone, something small and metallic came loose, landing lightly on Furina’s chest, right over her heart.

Their movements stilled. Furina peered down curiously at the little short-sword pendant, before looking up at Clorinde.

“My master gave me this. Right before she left,” Clorinde said softly, seeing the unspoken question in Furina’s eyes. “It’s a Marechaussee Hunter symbol... that reminds me every day to interrogate my own heart.”

“Your justice,” Furina breathed. A statement, rather than a question. Clorinde inclined her head in affirmation.

“Will my heart doubt, causing me to tread the path of treachery... or am I resolved to eradicate evil and injustice? Before I raise my sword in any duel, this is the sword raised against myself.”

Furina nodded in understanding. Of course she knew. There was a similar sentiment echoed in the writings of her country, within the very fabric of Fontaine as a nation. Justice must be blind, and those who wield the sword of justice must not be led astray by their own interests or affairs.

Her mind flickered to the courtroom and the trial from so many months ago. For the two of them... they both made decisions that day to protect their nation, unwilling to bend for the sake of their own interests. She remembered how her heart had initially faltered in grief at seeing her guard raise her sword against her. And yet... her courage prevailed.

The memory which had once held so much pain was slowly becoming a proud testament to her strength.

“So…” Furina said shyly, her gaze shifting from the tiny sword lying on her chest up to her Champion’s eyes. And though Clorinde had already told her as much before, she couldn’t help asking, “I passed your test, then?”

Clorinde’s eyes softened, her face full of breathtaking longing as she smiled so sincerely, so genuinely that Furina’s heart couldn’t help stuttering.

“Furina,” Clorinde whispered, soft like a prayer. Furina shivered at the sound of her name spoken with such reverence.

“You’ve exceeded every hope and wish I could have placed in the god of Justice.”

Furina choked out a laugh. “Ah… I’m not… I think I’m just Furina now, you know.”

Clorinde raised an eyebrow, a twinkle in her amethyst irises. “‘Just Furina,’ hm?”

Clorinde gently took one of her hands and brushed her lips against her knuckles.

“I think I can accept that if it means I don’t have to share you with the rest of Fontaine.”

Furina laughed again, though her vision also started to blur a little too.

“Have you considered not being a theatrical sap?” Furina said with a huff, trying and failing horrendously at sounding annoyed. Clorinde’s smile only widened.

“Furina,” she murmured, and Furina helplessly felt her heart ache wonderfully all over again.

Clorinde turned her hand over and dropped a kiss into her palm. “My peace.”

She leaned down and pressed a kiss into the skin over her thundering heart next to where her pendant fell. “My justice.”

She moved up and kissed the corner of her eye where a tear had escaped. “My love.”

Clorinde moved back slightly to peer down at her, the soft smile never leaving her face. “I won’t stop until you believe it for yourself.”

Unable to take it anymore, Furina pulled her Champion in and locked their lips together, desperately breathing in every word that Clorinde spoke, and wishing that somehow, she could continue to become everything that this woman hoped for and everything she longed for in herself.

In a little sandy bay northwest of Marcotte Station, Furina gazed out at the sun setting over the Palais Mermonia, a wistful and nostalgic feeling filling her chest. Sitting to her left, Clorinde lazily twirled a seashell between her fingers. In the distance, Marie and Kiara were constructing an impressively accurate sand sculpture of the Opera Epiclese, while the rest of their friends played near the water.

“It took long enough for us to come out here,” Furina said with a laugh, leaning her head against the duelist’s shoulder.

“I had forgotten about it,” Clorinde admitted. Her hand came to rest on top of Furina’s, thumb rubbing over the metal band on her finger. Furina closed her eyes, listening to the gentle sound of waves rolling onto the shore.

It was so peaceful. So warm.

And still so difficult for her to believe it was real.

She turned her hand over so she could intertwine their fingers, suddenly reminiscing days past.

“You know, I... I wished so long for my suffering to end. I was alone for so long,” Furina said softly as she opened her eyes to look back at the Palais, backlit in a dreamy amber glow.

“But for all the lifetimes I’ve lived through, I’m glad that I lived long enough to find you.”

Whether she had met Clorinde or not, all her hardships and loneliness had always been worth it. Perhaps the feeling had originated from a vestige of her Archonship, but Furina had always loved Fontaine; was always willing to give her life for her people and for their justice.

But in finding Clorinde... her heart swelled with a happiness she never knew she could experience, soared to a height she didn’t know was possible.

"I'm glad you waited for me." Clorinde murmured, leaning her head against her.

Her hand tightened its grip in Furina's own as though reassuring her of her promise. Furina fixated on the connection. Warm. Safe.

In this woman, Furina found one more reason – one that she would protect for the rest of her life.