Chapter Text
Gem has only just run into the forest, eyes full of tears, when she runs into the bandit troupe. They grin when she stops, cornered and clearly from a wealthy family. Her cloak disguises her well, in the bustling streets of Dawn, but in the forest it does little to hide her intricate gown. She wipes her tears away and clutches her pendant, ready to fight, but before anyone can act a knight, on a massive white horse and wearing silver armor gilded with green, rides into the clearing. Their horse rears and the knight waves their sword as the bandits scatter into the depths of the forest.
Gem walks towards them, intent on thanking the knight and then moving on, but they stop her as she walks by, thrusting a note into her hands. You must come with me, it reads. The seal at the top is not the sunburst of Dawn, instead an unfamiliar symbol, so she prepares to get on the horse herself. The knight clearly isn’t having any of this, because they reach both their hands under her arms and hoists Gem onto the horse.
"You know, I didn't need saving," Gem says angrily. "I was fine on my own."
The knight doesn't say anything, doesn't even turn their head to acknowledge it. It's not like she could see a facial expression if they did, the visor covers any face that would be revealed.
"Ugh. Where are you taking me, anyways?" This also earns no response. "Fine. Just know you'll be in trouble if my family finds out about this."
There's a laugh, maybe, a quick release of air, but nothing else. They sit in silence for the rest of the ride, listening to nothing but the clanking of the knight's armor and whistling wind.
They arrive at a small cottage as darkness truly sets in, Gem nearly nodding off. The knight helps her down and leads her to a bed, then retreats outdoors again.
When Gem wakes the next day, her eyes are pierced by the bright sun shining in through the window above her head. It doesn’t seem to be too high overhead, just barely peeking over the horizon and into the window. That’s good. She hasn’t missed too much of the sunrise.
"Oh! You're awake!" Someone says from across the room. There sits a blonde woman, mending an article of clothing. She’s not wearing the typical dress and corset of a farmer’s wife in Dawn, instead a loose tunic, baggy pants and tall boots.
"Ah!" Gem yelps. "Terribly sorry, am I in your house? I was brought here last night by a knight on a white horse... did they..."
The blonde woman does not react to the mention of the knight, merely laughs. "'S alright. I knew you were coming. I'm False, Lady Gem."
Gem falters in surprise when False knows her name. It shouldn't be a big deal, because her family is one of the most prominent in the city of Dawn, but they seem to be so out in the middle of nowhere that it feels like Dawn isn't even on the same planet.
"Did I take your bed?" Gem asks finally, trying to ignore her confusion. "I'm so sorry, I really didn't mean to."
False laughs. "Oh, no. Nothing like that." She motions to a pile of blankets neatly placed on the floor. "I often prefer to be closer to the earth."
Sure enough, the ground of the small cottage—hut, really—is nothing but hard packed dirt and a few cobblestones by the doors and hearths.
"What about the knight?" Gem asks. "Do they live here? Do you know them?" False turns her attention back to the sewing.
"I saw no knight last night. All I know is you were delivered to my house as planned and that you're safe here, my lady."
"You can call me Gem."
"Very well then. Gem."
"Why am I here?" Gem asks, the question coming to mind for the first time today.
"You're in danger," False says, tone not changing. "There are some very dangerous people intent on eradicating your family, and we were tasked with keeping you safe."
Gem gulps and clutches her pendant. She doesn't have to ask why they would want her family gone.
"But you're safe here," False continues. They won't be able to find this place. It's protected, I'm sure you understand." Gem nods slowly and False stands, placing her mending on the bench. "Well, come on, we've got some chores to do."
For the first several weeks Gem resents False. She makes her do this hard labor, taking care of a lot of the farm animals and cleaning, keeping everything in working order, when False will disappear for days at a time with no warning, gallivanting off somewhere. And sure, it's a little because Gem misses her old life, her nice dresses and rooms, the big flower gardens, but mostly she misses her family. Her brother, mother, father, aunts and uncles. Gem prays for their survival every morning with the rising sun.
Eventually, however, she starts to enjoy the work. It gets her mind off the assassins who might be after her, gets her to see the sun more than she would in Dawn.
And as she begins to work faster and False is gone longer, Gem begins to use the time to practice her magic again. She's not as strong as her brother, certainly not her father, but she still has some.
Gem starts by healing the broken stem of a dandelion. Healing is the easiest for her to do, the magic that requires the least effort, and the magic she enjoys the most.
Then, once she's remembered how to heal, she moves on to directing the rays of the sun. It's certainly not as offensive as her brother, who can produce explosions large enough to bring buildings down, but it can light a fire if she's not careful. So Gem is careful.
She nearly forgets about the knight, too, mostly because she doesn't see them. It's almost as if they never existed. That is until one day when Gem is carefully weeding a small flower bed she created, and the knight rides up to the cottage.
They don't say anything to her, just motion for Gem to enter the house. Gem obliges, seeing as the sun is about to set anyways, and the knight does not follow. They don't come back the entire time that Gem is awake that night, but when she wakes False is there.
She's asleep on her cot on the ground, her breathing shallow. Gem pays it no mind and goes about her morning duties.
False wakes up at midday, slinking out into the fields like a shy barn cat. "I see you've gotten used to living out here," she says as Gem feeds the sheep, making her jump.
"I've been doing my best. Oh, False! The knight was back yesterday evening! You didn't see him?"
False shakes her head, looking amused. "You and this knight. You're more of a princess than you look."
Gem frowns. "I'm not! Look, I'm dirty and everything!" False just laughs. “Oh, come on. You leave all the time to have fun or something and leave me here!”
“It’s less fun than you might think, mostly meetings with our allies to the north. They’re very empathetic to your plight, but there’s not much they can do without a direct attack to them.”
“Wait, allies? Who?” Gem is aware of the countries that neighbor theirs, the rulers of them, but they’ve never reached out to Dawn. They’ve never really been allies.
“Chromia, mostly. But there are other safehouses that I’ve been meeting with that are very willing to help us if need be. We shouldn’t need it.” That doesn’t make Gem feel any better about the whole situation.
But she doesn’t have much time to worry, especially over the coming weeks as fall starts to arrive. False sticks around a lot more as the preparation for winter starts to ramp up and Gem knows less and less what to do. Less and less news comes from Dawn as well, or at least False tells her less and less.