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It had only been two weeks since the constable, headmistress, captain, and knight had been trapped in the house together, and Lucifer was quite delighted at Brienne’s sudden request to speak with them. Always a being who appreciated theatrics, the Lightbringer emerged from Brienne’s hearth, a benevolent smile gracing their lips.
“Well, if it isn’t my favorite knight... How may I be of assistance to you, Lord Commander?” Lucifer gazed down upon the Lady knight, fully aware of why they had been called on so soon following the events of the road trip. Their interest had been piqued by the relationship between the Lord Commander and Constable Hilmarson, making the Morningstar more than delighted to further the plot of their romance. “Perhaps you called me here regarding a special little constable, hmm?”
Brienne was sitting by the fire when Lucifer appeared, her armor long since discarded, Oathkeeper laying over her lap. She was dragging a rag over the blade, the white cloth stained with blood. How humorous that almost two weeks ago the only thing it was used for was to cut a hole in a wall. “Sire.” The knight didn’t look up from the reflective Valyrian steel as she spoke to the Lightbringer. “Perhaps. What if I did?”
“I had the power to bring you together and I have the power to keep you together. You only need ask.” Their head tilting to the side as they spoke, the Morningstar moved about the room curiously, observing the sparse amount of personal belongings. “How much is holding you here, Lord Commander?”
“I’m sure you do… But what’s the catch? There’s always a hidden ploy in your offers.” Watching Lucifer in her peripheral, Brienne’s movements never stalled, they only slowed as she spectated the Lightbringer take in her quarters. “Majestic, isn’t it… One of the benefits of being the commander of the King’s Guard. The view isn’t all that bad either.” The knight sighed as she thought over the Morningstar’s query. “Much is. My duties. My oath. My obligations to my land, to my King.”
Lucifer ignored the former half of Brienne’s thoughts, preferring to focus on the latter with the hopes of getting the knight to admit her personal desires, “And yet, the Lord Commander is thinking about abandoning her post and King for love?” They took up a place before the grand view the knight had mentioned, turning back to face Brienne, wings flexing momentarily.
“I have been back for one week. Using this sword in the way that I have within that short amount of time is… it’s enlightening. To think that Constable Hilmarson held this… if she only knew how I have tainted it since.” Brienne finally stopped her ministrations with the bloody cloth, her eyes moving up to stare into the crackling flames. “I have considered it more than I would like to admit. Frankly, it’s unloyal of me to even entertain the thought of leaving, yet I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it, or Hilmarson.”
“I have never been one to deny myself indulgences. Just say the word and I will take you to your sweet Mir...” The Lightbringer’s hands came together in front of themself, a mischievous smile beginning to grow, “For a reasonable price of course.”
Brienne clenched her jaw at hearing Lucifer using her nickname for Miranda, she was much aware that she had only used that in private. All of her pet names showed how endeared she was with the constable, so the fact that the devil used it to play on the knight’s vulnerability and feelings for the Aussie woman irked the Lord Commander so. “Hmph. That’s what I thought. There’s always a price when you make a deal with Satan. It all depends on what the price is. What do you want, my soul?” She went back to her previous movements, wiping off the clean blade just so she could busy her hands with something as she held back her anger.
“I stopped taking souls ages ago. If I were feeling particularly troublesome, I would have you offer up Miranda’s soul for her, but I know as such a virtuous knight, you would never go for it.” The Morningstar began to pace once more, walking to the hearth and back to the window again, “You know, I did enjoy our little fun house experiment. How about you come back to my little fun house, say… every 10 years? And I will let you jump timelines. How does that sound? You will have all of the proper amenities in your new timeline as well, those are just the little details. Truly a wonderful deal if you ask me. A lifetime with your lovely little constable... It would be a shame if you turned down such a generous offer when Miranda hasn’t been able to stop thinking of you...”
At the mention of her gracing Miranda’s thoughts, Brienne’s hand halted momentarily before resuming. This was too easy, Lucifer must’ve known that the knight would go back to the house for the constable. “Sure. I’ll come back. Alone. That’s the deal.”
Lucifer stopped their pacing before the fireplace, growing bored of making deals with such a stubborn woman, “Alone? That is not nearly as fun... Hmm, I will let you go back for the day and if Miranda agrees to go back with you, I will let you stay. I suggest you make up your mind quickly as I am growing tired of this discussion. Tick tock, Brienne of Tarth.”
“That wasn’t the deal. I thought Satan’s deals were all about specifics. You should be more clear. My answer is no. I don’t care. I’m not putting Mira… Hilmarson through that again for my selfish desires.” Brienne couldn’t hide her fury anymore, and it presented itself as eerie calmness. “You can take your ‘deal’ and shove it.”
“You misheard me, Lord Commander. Miranda will choose if she returns. All you need to do is ask if she would be willing to go back. If she says ‘no,’ you would have least seen her one last time, and if she says ‘yes,’ the two of you can live- What was it? Happily ever after?” Lucifer wished the knight would be more willing to take the deal as it would provide an afternoon of entertainment, but if Brienne didn’t want to take the deal, that was her own prerogative, “But I can certainly take my leave, if you wish.” Moving slowly, the Morningstar began to turn back towards the hearth, taking their time in returning to the underworld.
“And have her make the decision? You are cruel. She has done nothing to deserve to be faced with a choice like this.” Brienne couldn’t believe the words coming out of Lucifer’s mouth. Putting Miranda on the spot like that was just evil. A choice to make between a life of loneliness or impending doom. It was all villainous, especially when the knight knew the constable would say yes. “Just let me go back alone. I’ll go through the torture again, but I will not have Hilmarson choose between slow-approaching torment and a lifetime of aching longing.”
Eyes observing the flickering flames, the Lightbringer smiled, enjoying the light torment she was bringing Brienne, “This is the fun of it all. You can’t tell Miranda what is at stake. You can only ask if she would be willing to return. The true determinant of her adoration for you... Would she be willing to return to the house just to spend time with you? She will have no clue of the repercussions. Only you would live with the burden of knowing.”
Brienne scoffed at the devil’s words, they were really living up to their name. “You really are Satan. Calling you here was a mistake.” The knight placed her sword into her sheath and stood up, walking to place it next to her armor. She was silent for a long while before she spoke quietly. “She’ll say yes. She would be willing to return to that hellhouse. I know her well enough to know that. My hindrance is if I’m ready to let her say yes. Ready to abandon my post. My King. My country. My duties. My oaths. All I have ever known.”
“Ah, yes. The fear that is changing... Typically, it comes for us, regardless if we are ready for it. Your reservations are reasonable, but do the losses equate to what you will gain? Only you can answer that, I’m afraid.” Lucifer found the knight’s integrity endearing as it was frustrating, so they paused their deal-making in exchange for offering a few words of wisdom.
Letting her fingers dance over the golden plates of her armor, Brienne pondered Lucifer’s utterances. “I will be marked as a deserter. I will bring disappointment to my father, my family, and our house. I will bring failure to my title, my job, and my post. I will be deemed a traitor by the King. Am I ready to taint my legacy? My father’s? My family’s? Oh, Gods.” The knight couldn’t remain composed anymore. She sat down on her bed and laid her face into her palms, allowing extreme despair to wash over her.
Lucifer listened intently, their response quick and well-thought-out, “Those are certainly important, yet you are still conflicted. Is Miranda worth all that? Is she worth all of this? This was more than you could have dreamed of as a girl. Is the constable worth giving it all up?”
Brienne mumbled into her palms when she responded, indecisiveness gnawing at her entire being. “Constable Hilmarson is worth everything. I would give all of this up. Risk all the repercussions for her. I just don’t know if she would want me to tarnish my legacy for her, or if I would be able to provide her with all that she deserves. Sadly, she doesn’t think herself worthy of… anything, even if I think the opposite.”
“Perhaps you should just talk to her about it yourself. I find you... respectable, Lord Commander. I will alter the deal. You must return to the house in 10 years. I will take you to her and by midnight, if you choose, you can move timelines, but if you wish to come back and live out your life as Lord Commander, no one in the kingdom will know you had gone. Miranda will not have to go back to the house unless she chooses.” While the Morningstar had changed the terms of their agreement, their motives weren’t completely without selfish intent. The drama brought forth this evening would be worth the kind deed.
The knight looked up from her palms, genuinely surprised that Lucifer had changed the deal. Yet at the same time extremely suspicious, knowing that they did nothing unless it favored them. “But I must still ask her without going into details… however, her answer will not affect if I am able to remain there or not. That the final choice is mine. Are those the new regulations in the deal?”
Lucifer gave a curt nod, the final bits of their patience waning away, “You have the final say if you choose to stay. Now, am I taking you to 21st Century Australia or not?”
Shooting up from her spot on the bed, Brienne walked over to where Lucifer was standing. She was terribly aware that what she was currently wearing wasn’t what Miranda was used to seeing her in, but she knew that the second she would see the constable’s face all that would seem unimportant. “Yes.” The Lord Commander stuck out a hand toward the Lightbringer. “Do we shake hands to seal the deal, or how does this work?”
“You have yourself a deal, Lord Commander.” When Brienne’s title left Lucifer’s lips, Lucifer stretched out their hand, grasping at the knight’s. At first contact of skin to skin, the world around Brienne twisted and altered rapidly, suddenly leaving the immortal and the Westerosi woman at the base of the steps leading up to Miranda’s apartment. “First door on your left. I’ll be back at midnight.” Lucifer nodded at the knight and disappeared as quickly as they arrived.
In a flash, Brienne was running up the stairs, skipping multiple steps on her ascension. She was sure that her footsteps were audible as they thudded before stopping in front of Miranda’s door. Hesitantly, the knight raised her hand in a closed fist before knocking gently on the door. She lowered her hand as she awaited the sounds of steps on the other side of the door to signal the constable’s approach and the eventual opening of the door.
At hearing the knocking on her door, the constable huffed, slightly annoyed at who could be interrupting her few hours of peace after work. Pushing herself up from the couch, Miranda paused her show, calling out to the visitor as she crossed the room, “One second!” The constable raked a hand through her hair, fixing whatever mess had been created during her lounging on the sofa. Her hand gripped the doorknob, twisting the handle and sliding the door open, eyes widening in shock when she saw the face of her beloved Brienne.
Neither Brienne nor Miranda could get a word out before the knight’s lips were on the constable’s in an act of passion, the sight of the woman who had graced her every waking thought overwhelming her completely, resulting in all of her actions not being entirely thought out. She had in a short span of seconds managed to invade the apartment, cup the Aussie’s jaw with her hand, closed the door with her foot, and pinned the cop to her wall. The inevitable conversation about potentially returning to the house where they had first met would have to wait, all she needed in this second was to relish in the moment of finally being reunited with her Mir and feeling her familiar warmth once again.
With an initial gasp of surprise, Miranda savored each second of the kiss, her arm winding around the knight’s neck while her other hand winded its way into Brienne’s hair. The constable had millions of questions regarding the reasons surrounding the knight’s return, but as long as Brienne’s lips remained on hers, she would push her curiosity to the back of her mind.
When Brienne eventually broke the rare aggressive kiss, she only parted their lips, foreheads still leaning against the others, the knight’s eyes closed as she breathed in Miranda. “...Sorry, but… I’ve just missed you so much…”
“Oh, Brienne, I thought I would never see you again.” Miranda mumbled, pressing two more short kisses to the knight’s lips, unable to help herself. The constable leaned her head back against the wall, keeping her arm around the knight's neck to prevent any space from forming between them. The Aussie traced a line down the side of Brienne’s face, tears forming in her eyes, “This week has been- I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.”
“I rued the idea of never seeing or feeling you ever again… Oh, Gods.” The hand on Miranda’s jaw never left, it seemed to be glued to her skin, and her other hand moved to land on the wall next to the constable’s head, her eyes still shut. The knight shivered when the constable traced a line on her skin, having completely forgotten the effect the cop’s touch had on her, and what it felt like to be touched in a way that had no ill intent. “You’ve never left my thoughts. You have been at the forefront of my mind at every waking hour…” Brienne decided against going into the gory details, knowing she had thought about the Aussie woman the most in the more grave moments. It was the most, and worst, in the evenings when she cleaned the blood from her sword, but her Mir didn’t need to know that.
Miranda’s smile hadn’t shone this brightly since she had parted ways from Brienne. She was reveling in every bit of the physical proximity, fingers stroking at the knight’s blonde locks while her eyes attempted to memorize the minute details of Brienne’s face in case their time would be short. Her eyes fell down to Brienne’s lips, eyeing them as she spoke, “What are you doing here? How did you get to my time?”
At hearing the unavoidable inquiry, Brienne only wished she could’ve had a few more seconds of bathing in the happiness of being back with Miranda. Only now, she had to avoid the last question and ask one of her own. “I’m here for you, of course.” The knight opened her eyes and looked at the constable, wanting to assess the cop’s initial reaction to her loaded query. “Would you consider going back to the house… with me?”
“The one we just came from? Why would we-“ Miranda let out a small chuckle, preventing herself from asking any further questions, deciding that she should answer Brienne’s inquiry first. “I mean... if you would be there, then of course I would.”
The knight chuckled slightly at the constable’s answer, amused at how well she knew her before a smile crept up on her lips. “I knew you would say that.” Brienne leaned forward to press a kiss on Miranda’s cheek, right above where her hand rested. When her face retracted, her previous expression was suddenly solemn, preparing herself to tell the cop the explanation of how she got there. “I made a deal. With Lucifer. That’s how I’m here. The agreements of the deal will only be set in motion if I make the choice that would qualify them to be.”
“Brienne… I don’t know what kind of deal you made, but I’m not worth it. What did you do? What are you risking by being here?” Miranda’s eyes narrowed, angry frustration beginning to rise in the constable. She pushed her way from Brienne’s grasp, creating a meters distance between the two of them. Her mind was working overtime coming up with assumptions about why Brienne could be at her door. “I really like you, Brienne. Adore you… I never want to be apart from you again. But I- I don’t want us to get into something and you find out quickly how flawed I am and just end up regretting your decisions. I couldn’t live with myself.”
The hurt from being pushed away was evident in Brienne’s eyes and tone, she had come here to be reunited with her beloved and had ended up being put at meters distance instead. “You’re worth everything… and right now, I’m not risking anything. The risk comes after I give my final answer, but you’re worth the repercussions, and the agreements of the deal if I were to make the decision.” The knight took a small and slow step towards Miranda, hoping to close some of the distance and offer some assuring words. “I like you too, a lot, which I know is irrational considering we’ve known each other for a very short amount of time… but I couldn’t deny my heart. Which is why I made the deal in the first place. Adoration is only one of the many things I feel for and about all of you, and judging by how I have felt this week, I don’t think I could survive being away from you for a longer period of time. I would never regret my decision, because no matter how it plays out, at least I will be in the same timeline as you, be able to be close to you, to see you.”
“I want all of those same things… I want to be near you and touch you and-“ Miranda took a hesitant step forwards, Brienne’s words reminding her of how much she wanted to be with the knight. She was reaching forwards towards the knight’s face when she paused, hand retracting backwards at the memory of how she had failed in so many past relationships, “The house was different me… You didn’t see all of me. You don't know what I’ve done. I’m- I’m not as virtuous as you. I’ve had affairs and I- I’m emotional and- and- and I have been wildly unprofessional at times. Bri, I’m all the bad things you aren't, so please, just, think about this.”
Brienne was quick in capturing Miranda’s retracting hand, holding it in her own as she gazed into the constable’s eyes, wanting to convey the sincerity of her words with her tone and her expression now that the choice she wanted to make was obvious to her, there was no more doubt, no more indecisiveness. “I have thought about it. I want to be here, with you. I barely made it a week in my own timeline without you until I realized I couldn’t be so far away from you. We all make mistakes, it’s part of being human. What’s important is what we take from our experiences; what we learn… and you’re acting as if you’re the only one who has done terrible things; as if my job isn’t to fight. I may be virtuous and inexperienced in many aspects of my life… but one thing I am not is pure or clean. There is a lot of blood on my hands, and I have done things as well. We all have flaws, Mir. The only thing that matters is the people we are trying to evolve into, not the people we were.”
The tears that had once been threatening to spill over were now pouring down Miranda’s cheeks. She choked out a sob, fully unable to comprehend the knight’s breadth of understanding for the young constable. Miranda flew forward into Brienne’s arms, her own arms raveling around her love’s neck, desperately searching for comfort. Multiple times the constable tried speaking, but the sound of her own sobs was the only thing to escape.
The knight was quick in enveloping the constable with her arms, gathering her into a hug. One of Brienne’s arms was draped over the majority of Miranda’s back, whilst her other rested on the Aussie’s shoulder so her hand could find purchase in the light blonde hair. The Lord Commander pressed her lips against the cop’s temple, giving the skin a quick kiss before she murmured against her head. “Oh… my sweet girl…” The Westerosi woman started repeating sweet nothings and affirming words, hoping to comfort the crying woman in her arms to the best of her abilities.
The soothing touch and voice of Brienne were enough to bring the constable off the peak of her emotional high. Once the tears subsided enough, she was able to choke out a sentence, “You- You- You really went to all- all this trouble to be with m-me?”
The knight leaned back slightly, gaining the minimal amount of distance between her and the constable necessary to be able to place her hands on Miranda’s wet cheeks. She needed the Aussie to see every bit of honesty on her face. “After seeing you again, and feeling you, I realized what I already knew, that I’d do anything for you. You’re worth everything. Even the risks, the consequences, the price I have to pay for making a deal with the devil, and all that abandoning my timeline entails. I can’t be without you. I need you in my life.”
Miranda’s lips were on Brienne’s in a flash, with more ferocity and passion than she had ever risked to use before. The constable was desperate for Brienne, desperate for her to stay, desperate for the knight to choose her. While the Aussie knew to be more patient with the knight in these moments of intimacy, she couldn’t hold back any longer. When the kiss parted, Miranda moved her lips about Brienne’s face, scattering pecks across every inch of skin with the final kiss landing back on the knight’s lips. “I feel so selfish in saying it, but please stay. Stay here with me. I’ll make a deal with Lucifer if I have to. Anything. I’ll do anything.” The constable’s mind was racing, the words tumbling from her lips at a pace equally as rapid.
“Mir… Mir. Calm down…” The knight’s hands stroked Miranda’s tear-stained skin, leaning in to press a soft kiss to the constable’s lips. “I don’t think I would be able to depart from you even if I wanted to… and you don’t have to make a deal with Lucifer. All I have to do is say ‘yes’ and they will let me stay.” Brienne smiled at the cop, her eyes never leaving the Aussie woman’s face. Ten years was a long time, and when they had to eventually return to the house, their bond and teamwork would be stronger than ever. “Actually, let’s make it official… Lucifer!”
The Lightbringer stepped from the constable’s kitchen into the living room, their demure smile directed at the two women who hadn’t strayed far from the front door, “You know, this exchange was beautiful. I nearly shed a tear.”
Never taking her eyes from Miranda’s face, Brienne gave her answer to the Lightbringer with the most loving smile on her face. “My answer is yes. I’m staying.”
“I had a feeling you would say this.” The Lightbringer reached a hand into their robes, pulling out a keychain with a silver key hanging from it. “Your apartment is ready. Two blocks away. All the amenities for modern living are waiting there for you. Along with bank accounts, cell phone, clothing, documentation and such. Hilmarson here will explain it all.” They dropped the key onto the constable’s coffee table, their mind thinking of the decade of planning they had for the next set of escape rooms. “Congratulations.”
This time, Brienne turned her head to look at Lucifer when she responded. “Thank you, Sire. May I inquire about my… old armor and sword? I hate to ask when you have already done so much, but it would be nice to have something from my time. Something familiar.”
Lucifer looked to Brienne and then to Miranda, pleased with the deal they had made for themself. “You will find them in your new home. Now if you ever need me, you know where to find me.” And with those words, they vanished, leaving the women alone once more.
Looking back at Miranda, Brienne grinned, posing the most important question of the day. “So, how would you like to spend the first day of my new life?” The knight was sure that as long as the constable remained in her life, every day would be worth her decision to leave her old life behind.