Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

     The Hero smooths her skirt nervously, waiting for her turn at the shop’s counter. In one hand, she held a bag of tonics and juices, in the other, she clutched a pouch of shiny silver coins. She should be more confident in herself. After all, the Hero had to win. There was no other option. The Head Housemaiden had entrusted her with her blessing, after all. She had the skills as well! She’d taken ever so many classes, on fighting and cooking and research and adventure, survival and language and bargaining. She was knowledgeable in Craft, not only a rare dual type, but she was also quite experienced in healing. Besides that, she had her faith in Change, and practiced her prayers often. She thinks that the Change God themselves would be supportive of her quest too. After all, starting a journey like this is a huge Change, and she will surely Change while she travels all over the country. She has nothing to worry about!

     But even so, the Hero missed all of her friends dearly. She had spent almost all of her adulthood in the House, and rarely spent time in the town of Dormont itself. A few other housemaidens that she knew had graduated, or left the faith, and settled down in the town, but many more of the townsfolk were unfamiliar to her. She wished she could have more company, but on the other hand, she was the only one who had been blessed. The only one immune to the king’s curse. If she wanted help, she would need to seek it out from a stronger group. That’s exactly why she was gathering supplies now. Jouvente’s Defenders were often spoken about as a powerful and skilled group of fighters, ones who were dedicated to upholding peace and protection throughout the land. It was even more fortunate that there were reports that one of the five orbs needed to open the House’s barrier was near the town. The perfect first destination for her quest.

     “You’re up next ma’am.” The voice cuts through her thoughts. She looks up, meeting the shopkeeper’s gaze. Nervously, she extracts a handful of silver coins from the pouch, sliding them across the counter. 
“Good luck Housemaiden.” He starts, expression serious as he takes her money. “We’re all counting on you.” 

     No pressure!! She straightens her back, assuming what she hopes reads as a confident pose. “You have nothing to worry about!” She responds brightly, more for herself than for him. “Everything is going to be okay!” She exits the shop, hand gripping the straps of her bag so tightly in her anxiety that lightlessness flushes her fingers. Quest…begin.

     As days turned to weeks, and her supplies grew scarce, she decides firmly that adventures seemed way more fun in her books. She was cold, and hot, and sweaty, and hungry, and thirsty. All the time!!…At least she’d be in Jouvente sometime today. Change, finally. It had taken far longer than it normally should have, but everywhere that the King’s curse had struck, Sadnesses roamed, and even skirmishing with the weaker ones had left her bruised and exhausted. It wasn’t worth it for the fighting experience and chance to practice her craft skills. She only had so much money to spend on tonics, money that she needed for food and shelter. It wasn’t exactly the time to pick up an odd job to shore up her supplies. So, she had no choice but to take the long way around, avoiding them whenever she could. The streets already shone with the silvery glint of the darkless moon by the time she dragged her tired legs into the city.

     She spent the night in an inn, protected from the elements for the first time since leaving Dormont, worrying about how low her coin pouch was shrinking. Why did nobody write about this in any stories? Maybe because it was boring. It was boring and it sucked. She yanked her hairtie out so quickly and dramatically that it caught on a curl, and she yelped, tears brimming in her eyes. She collapsed onto the bed, curling up until her knees pressed against her chest, eyes closed so tight that they hurt. She needed to stay optimistic. The next day would be for exploration. Maybe she could even afford to have some fun, she’d never even been to Jouvente before, and it was the biggest city in all of Vaugarde! She rolled the idea around in her mind until she felt some hope. Unfortunately, no matter how nice she made the thought appear, the image of her fellow housemaidens frozen and fearful were still glued to the inside of her eyelids. That night, she slept fitfully and awoke restless. No nightmares this time, but how much did that count for when she was still. So. Tired.  

     After washing up, which really was the best part of staying in an inn, a real shower, she strode into the front door of Jouvente’s fighterhouse. A greeter faces her, idly drawing shapes on the dust of the counter. “What do you want?” They’re clearly bored, and eye her with a look of mild interest. 

     “Um!” Be polite Mirabelle! Introduce yourself! “I’m Mirabelle! From Dormont’s house! I’m here to seek aid from the Defenders.” Will that be enough? 

     They sigh and recite a phrase that comes so easily to them that it sounds mechanical. “The Defenders are always ready to provide aid. As long as you don’t require the lemon kind.” Huh? Is that supposed to be a pun? The presentation could certainly be smoother…The greeter clears their throat and continues, their tone still flat and bored. “I’ll call the captain out for you.” Mirabelle is left wondering as they disappear into the back, returning not more than two minutes later with three men. 

     One steps forwards (The captain?) and smiles warmly, giving her a friendly wave. “What do you need from us, valued citizen?” 

     She wrings her hands nervously. “You’re aware that the King has recently set up residence in Dormont’s House?” He looks unimpressed. What a silly question! Of course he knows! She trips on her words as she keeps explaining. “W-well! I’m from Dormont, my name is Mirabelle- I’m the only one who was able to escape the house after he cast one of his time freeze spells- I was blessed you see and-”

     The man to the left of the previous speaker cuts in, clearly excited. “You escaped the time freeze spell? Are you immune to it? How?” 

     She’s a bit annoyed that she’s been interrupted already, but she clears her throat and explains. “Like I said! I was blessed!” She’s about to explain that the Head Housemaiden had been doing some sort of research on wishes, and was a very powerful user of Craft, but he’s already crabbing talking again. 

     “You were blessed? By Change themselves? I only ask because my little brother, he was caught up in the curse and I’ve been praying to Change every day that someone would come along that would somehow be unaffected by the curse and be able to do something to stop him.” His eyes were brimming with hope, and suddenly her anger melts away. 

     She couldn’t bring herself to dash his hopes and crush his faith by explaining that no, the Change God did not actually directly divinely intervene for the first time in who knows how long and handpick her to give power to. At the same time…she hates lying, Lying is wrong. So she just sighs and looks to the side. “So, will you all help me? I may be immune to the curse but I’m just one person, and I’ve not even faced any of the stronger Sadnesses yet. I know that you Defenders have been fighting Sadness for the past few months as the King has been moving through the country…So I thought I’d ask.” 

     The captain(?) speaks again. “I’m afraid we cannot help you. As you said, we’ve been fighting plenty of Sadnesses recently. Jouvente is the most populous city in Vaugarde, we need to stay here to protect everyone.” 
The man to the right of him speaks for the first time. “If she, Mirabelle, was it?, was able to defeat the King, then everyone would be protected for sure! We should go with her ‘Toine! If the spell is broken by his defeat, then Jule’s brother might be unfrozen. At least let some of us go, we don’t even fight more than a handful of Sadnesses every day.” A bright smile adorns his face, no trace of fear in his expression. The man to the left (Jules?) perks up at this. 

     Toine(?) shakes his head. “We’re not immune to the King’s attacks, we’d be more useful alive here than dead there. My decision is final. I’m not sending the Defenders on a suicide mission. None of you are permitted to go.”
The man to the right frowns. “But Mirabelle isn’t immune to the Sadnesses’ attacks. Or any other physical danger that may be in store for her in the House. But she’s still trying her hardest. It’s our job to protect people. We can’t let her go alone to face the King. Besides, we’d be much more useful stopping the root c-”

     “I said. My decision is final.” The captain snapped. His anger betrayed the fear he had hidden underneath.

     Mirabelle tried to look only mildly disappointed, and catastrophically failed. Her eyes started welling up with tears immediately. She wiped them away with her fist, and carefully coached her voice to stay steady. “Thank you for hearing me out, at least. May Change protect you from any Sadness that you may face.” She escaped from the situation as quickly as she could manage. The moment that she was out of the building, the tears fell from her cheeks freely. She didn’t manage to get far, however, before she heard footsteps. She turned around quickly, face still wet, and was face to face with the Man On The Right. 

     He awkwardly waved at her, and she waved back. “Name’s Isabeau, by the way. I forgot to introduce myself.” 

     She smiles sadly, tears clinging to her eyelashes. “What are you doing out here? I thought that the Defenders weren’t going to help?”

     He grinned. “The Defenders might not, but I will.” He strikes his own confident pose. “Like I said, it’s our job to protect. I stand by that.” 

     His smile was infectious. He looked about her age, didn’t he? Much younger than the captain, certainly. His bravery and conviction made her feel immediately calmer. “But didn’t your captain say that you’re not permitted to go?” 

     He shakes his head, but the smile is still there. “He said that if any of us went, we were out of the Defenders. I walked right up to him and told him that if he changed his mind about that after I defeated the king, that I’d think about rejoining. And then- and then I left.” His eyes were full of something that she couldn’t quite parse. He seems proud, and nervous, and scared.

     Oh! She should try to help. “Thank you! Thank you so much- Isabeau, was it?” Her eyes met his. “I can’t possibly ask for you to quit your job just to help me though! So, it’s okay! I’ll be okay.” She hoped her mouth wasn’t too wobbly. She really did want to convince him that she was fine. She could find someone else willing to help her, surely. 

     He shook his head again, more intensely. “It’s more than that.” His eyebrows lowered seriously. “I lost a lot of respect for the Defenders, when they weren’t willing to help. That was a cowardly thing to do! And Jule’s brother, I want to help…I want to help everyone who’s been frozen! And, and, I want to kick the stupid King’s crabbing ass!” The explosion of energy that bursts out of him all of a sudden takes Mirabelle off guard. “Things here, have grown so stagnant, so changeless, it’s suffocating. I want to be inspired! So really, I want to come with you! It’s okay!” 

     Oh. Oh Change. She’s going to cry. She raises her sleeve up to her brimming eyes, hoping to not make a scene. She’s been so alone for weeks, and he sounds so enthusiastic to help her, to come with her. He’s so nice!! “I couldn’t have asked for a better person to join me. Thank you, truly.” She manages through tears, and breaths, and sniffles, and pauses. He holds out a hand towards her shoulder, but seems to think better of it, pulling back. He gives her a thumbs up instead. 

     “Do you need a place to stay?” He offers, eyebrows still pulled down in concern. “I was living at the fighterhouse’s quarters, and I doubt they’ll kick me out until they get my replacement at least.” 

     Well, she really did need to save money. “Yes, I would really appreciate that.” But wait? “Is there room?” 

     He nods. “The room that I stay in is meant for three people, and I only share it with one other Defender right now. So, there’s plenty of room for you.” That’s good. Mirabelle has a sneaking suspicion that if the room had been full, he would have offered to sleep on the floor or something foolish like that. 

     “They wouldn’t mind if I stayed there?” She knew Jouvente had multiple Houses, she could always…

     “Mirabelle!” She jumped. Isabeau was looking right at her. “Believe me, okay! If we’re going to be travelling companions, we need to trust each other. I wouldn’t offer if it would be a problem.” 

     She lets out a breath that she hadn’t realized she was holding. Change, her lungs feel like they’re being grabbed by a giant hand. “Right. Right! Let’s go then!” She follows beside him as he turns back. Maybe this adventure won’t be so bad after all. The Hero had found her Warrior.

Chapter Text

     As she awakens the next morning, relaxed for the first time since the King invaded Dormont, she notes that Isabeau’s roommate has been quiet, and for that, Mirabelle is grateful. She’d had an emotional day yesterday, and she still isn’t exactly sure how the orbs even work.

     After she had stumbled out of the House, on the day that the King had taken residence there, the doors had slammed shut on their own, the sound of the heavy collision making her wince. Her face only scrunched up more as an overwhelming wave of scent washed over her, something not unlike the smell of fruit left far too long on the tree, fermenting and rotting. It was especially unexpected because there were no fruit trees immediately outside the House, certainly none close enough to cause this. 

     She quickly turned around, her eyes widening. Under her gaze, indentations formed in the massive wooden doors that guarded the main entrance to the House. They were scooped out, as if by some enormous ghostly melon baller, smooth and round. Even more unbelievably, shapes began materializing within these hollows, forms that glittered like glass. Five orbs, each a different shade. Once they had completely formed, another sound rang out across the grass, and Mirabelle’s hands instinctively flew to her ears. A booming click, exactly as if a metal lock had latched. A sound that made no sense whatsoever for the situation that was unfolding before her. 

     The display wasn’t done yet, however. The orbs started rotating, as if threaded on tiny grooves, twisting out of the wood. As they did, concentric circles dug themselves into the door around each hollow, and Change, the spheres were floating now, spending just a moment too long in the sky, before speeding off, all in different directions. The heavy scent of overripe fruit was even stronger now, forcing itself into her lungs until all she could do was collapse to her knees, gagging into the grass with futility. When she composed herself enough to clamber back to her feet, she rushed to the door.

     The handles were gone. It was just a solid wall of wood, no line even showing where the door was meant to separate. She dug her nails into the groove between the door and wall instead but found nothing. This had to be the King’s doing, locking himself in. His range of influence went far beyond his physical form after all, so barricading himself inside like this was admittedly smart. Were the orbs the keys? Where did they go?

     In the end, she had arranged to send out pamphlets. They were covered in information about when they traveled out, the circumstances of their creation, and they also included a drawing that she had constructed of the orbs, showing what she could remember of their size, shades, and sheen. Unfortunately, despite the details, the relatively generic form of the objects meant that, if nobody witnessed the exact moment they miraculously landed from the sky, the accuracy of the reports would be questionable at best. For all she knows, there wasn’t even one in Jouvente! Maybe it was just some shiny rock that someone saw. 

     Even if every report was somehow correct, she only had four leads to follow so far. Oh, that was another thing she’d have to do at Jouvente, check the post office for any new letters. She had included in her pamphlet that she was in Dormont at the time, and also that she was travelling to Jouvente. It had been enough time since the door had been sealed that anyone who witnessed the orbs firsthand and had seen her words would have written a letter by now. Maybe there was more information.

     She sat up, noticing that Isabeau must have already awoken earlier. He’s gone. So is his roommate. It makes sense, she imagines that the Defenders would have early rise times. Evil never sleeps, or something like that. She uses this opportunity to take her time with her morning routine, showering methodically and pulling her hair up tight. No curls falling into her eyes today! She goes through her bag, finding the letter that had mentioned an orb in Jouvente. That’s right, the woman, she signed her name as Clara, had mentioned that it had showed up in her back garden. She’d helpfully included a map of where her home was from the town center. Luckily, not too far from the fighterhouse.

     She collects her things quickly, glad that she had packed light. Isabeau is probably eating with the Defenders, right? She should try to find him. As she heads out the door, she’s greeted by boisterous laughter. Was that him?

     She rests her hand on the wall as she rounds the corner, keeping out of the way. She wasn’t really supposed to be here, after all. She scanned the sea of heads for his swept up hair, but before she could truly start to search-

     “MIRABELLE!” An already familiar voice booms. She turns towards it, and it’s Isabeau. Who else could it be? He’s patting the seat next to him, and she hurries over, skirts rustling as she moved. “I was just telling my pal, Jean, about you! He thinks your quest is very admirable.”

     Her eyes light up. “Does he want to join us?” She clutches her own fingers, barely resisting the urge to bite her nails.

     The man shrinks back slightly, still smiling. “Ah- no, I can’t. I have important responsibilities here that I can’t leave behind. May Change be with you, though!” Oh. Figures. Mirabelle gets the distinct impression that he’s not being truthful with her. Perhaps it’s the vagueness, or the frantic tone, but she’s certain that he’s just afraid. She can’t really blame him, but…

     “Are you ready to go, Mira?” Isabeau’s enthusiastic tone catches her before she starts to worry too much. “Wait, can I call you Mira? Is that okay?” His smile instantly becomes apologetic.

     Warmth blooms in her chest. “Yes, that’s okay.” She smooths down her skirt, despite it not being wrinkled. “I’m ready to go, but you need to pack your things, right? We’ll be travelling for awhile.”

     Isabeau grins. “Already done! I did it last night. You must have been really tired because you went to sleep pretty early.” Her cheeks darken. “Do we have anything else to do in Jouvente before we go, though? I was thinking of leaving most of my things here until we head out from the town.”

     Oh! He’s smart. “Yes, actually. I’ve heard reports that one of the orbs that we need to collect is here.” She spends a second digging in her bag, but it’s easier this time to recover the letter and the crudely drawn map. “Have you ever been here?”

     His eyebrows draw in, concentrating. He’s got a hand on his chin, lightly rubbing at his stubble. “I think that looks familiar. What’s their name?”

     She presses the map into his hands. “Her name is Clara.” A spark of recognition flits across his eyes. “Do you know her?”

     He nods. “Once we recovered one of her cats from a tree.” He thinks for a moment longer. “I think she works at the bakery.”  

     “Lead the way then!” She beams, extracting herself from her chair. He follows suit, waving to his friend. Once they were up, he took the lead. It made sense, even if he wasn’t the one who knew where to go, having the fighter lead the party and having the mage in the back, something about that seemed right. Maybe in one of her stories?

     It doesn’t take long for him to strike up conversation, turning to her with a smile. “So, Mira! What do you know about what we’re facing?”

     She pulls the fabric of her glove away from her hand, rubbing the back of her thumb against it, feeling the texture of the threads on her fingertip. “Not much more than you do.” She follows him as he turns down a street, and she has to hurry to keep up with his longer legs. “He’s able to freeze people and objects in time, he’s incredibly tall, he’s strong, he has long hair, he came out of nowhere…”

     He tilts his head to the side, thinking. “Really? Nobody knows where he came from?”

     She’s suddenly aware that she’s chewing on her lip and stops. Not again… “Well, I guess I haven’t really ventured far beyond Dormont in the time when he was causing havoc, so I guess I can’t say for sure, but you know that people have been writing about him ever since he started freezing people in time, and I don’t remember any information about where he was from.”

     Isabeau notices that she’s a bit out of breath from how quickly she’s walking and slows down himself. “Well, he’s been travelling south, right? So that must mean that he’s coming from the north.” He thinks a bit longer. “Bambouche is in the north, but he’s been the King for longer than that.”

     Once again. Mirabelle notes down that Isabeau is very clever. “That’s right, I do remember that. Up by the coast, right? But that was one of the first towns affected by the curse, so it would make sense.”

     “But, why?” Isabeau questions, voice raising in emphasis. “Why did he stop in Dormont?”

     Mirabelle blinks, caught off guard. She had never wondered that before. “What do you mean?”

     Isabeau’s eyes met hers. “I mean, why did he settle down in Dormont’s House? I guess it is somewhat in the center of Vaugarde, but if he wanted to freeze as many people as possible, why stop anywhere at all?” He pauses to take a breath. “No offense of course, but Dormont is a fairly small town, so why didn’t he go further south to Jouvente? Was there something he wanted in Dormont?”

     Mirabelle hummed; the sound tinged higher with distress. “I’m not sure…I don’t think we were known for anything especially?” She tugged at a curl. “I’m sorry…I can’t think of anything.”

     Isabeau notices her discomfort immediately, and his own intensity right after. He pulls back, not even having realized that he had leaned forward in the first place.  “Hey, Mira?”

     She’s stopped walking, and he joins her. She’s looking at the floor, clearly overwhelmed. “Hm?” She won’t meet his eyes.

     Isabeau frowns. He sees something in her avoidance. “You know it’s not your fault, right?”

     She looks up immediately. “What?” Her eyes flash with a desperation that can’t be placed. “What do you mean?”

     “It’s not your fault, that the King ended up in Dormont.” He’s still frowning. “Don’t ever think that it is. It’s not your fault that everyone in Dormont’s House is frozen in time, either. The Defenders were too afraid to go with us for a reason. Nobody has been able to stop him, or even slow him down for long. There was nothing that you could have done, and there was absolutely nothing that you were responsible for, okay?”

     Her eyes are overflowing with tears now. She buries her face into her hands, shaking slightly. “Everyone was so scared…I wanted to help them…I didn’t. I didn’t know what to do.”

     Isabeau...currently has no idea what to do. He barely knows Mirabelle. What could he do to help her? “Mirabelle, the fact that you’re here now, trying to help? You’re incredibly brave.” She shakes her head, still buried in her hands, disbelieving. “Yes! You are! Your courage is what inspired me to come with you in the first place! If not for you, I wouldn’t be here.”

     She gazes up at him, eyebrows still pulled in, eyes still shiny. “Why did Eu-” She stopped. “Why was I chosen to be immune to being frozen?”

     Now he’s the one who’s shaking his head. “There’s no use in wondering why Change works the way that it does.” Her bottom lip is between her teeth again. “It’s up to us to make the choices in how we react to what life throws at us. So far? I think you’re doing an amazing job.”

     She still doesn’t look like she fully believes him, but her shoulders lower slightly. “Would it be weird?” She questions, the statement devoid of context. He gives her a puzzled expression, and she realizes her mistake. She continues, rushed, tripping over her words. “I mean! We’ve only just met yesterday! Would it be weird? If I asked for a hug?”

     She jumps as he laughs. “No! It wouldn’t be weird at all!” He holds open his arms, waiting for her. She wipes her eyes once more before moving forwards, trying to avoid getting his clothes stained with tears, but he crushes her into his chest and they undoubtedly do. The first thing she notices is that he’s so warm, way warmer than she runs, and she can’t help but let some of the tension drain out of her that she has been holding tight ever since she left Dormont. It’s finally sinking in that she’s not alone, not anymore. She has another person by her side. An ally! A friend! A real human person who smells of sweat and soap!

     She realizes suddenly that she’s leaning on him and that he’s not letting go until she does, and she pulls back. She brushes down her skirt, which had been crumpled in the embrace. “Thank you.” She gives him a smile. “For everything.”

     “There’s no need to thank me.” He replies, beginning to walk again. She follows. “I just did what anyone should do when they see someone asking for help. If there’s any way that we can defeat the King, then of course I’ll do everything I can.” He pauses, smile as bright as the sun. “I should be thanking you for giving me hope, Mira.”