Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Once upon a time, there was a small castle, and in that castle lay a tower. A tall spiraling tower that outlaid the entire kingdom. Far and wide the princess could see, and yet the princess stuck in that castle was not happy. She wept every day wishing for someone to rescue her from the monster that kept her locked up until one day a knight appeared and a battle ensued…

“Your Highness!” A familiar voice screamed, “Princess Furina!”

Furina slammed close the book of children’s fairy tales, hiding it away from a pair of dark purple peering eyes staring up at her from the ground.

“Dame Clorinde,” Furina softly called between the tree branches, “What are you doing here?”

“Her Majesty, sent me,” Clorinde took off her baldric and the dark purple cape that hung from her shoulders, placing them on the ground, “may I come up?”

“There’s plenty of room, just grab a branch,” Furina giggled between her words.

Clorinde climbed up the tree trunk, testing each branch with her feet to see if it could hold her weight as she settled on a branch just above Furina.

“I do not understand your fascination with this tree,” Clorinde told her.

“It’s the only place I can see what lies beyond these walls, even if it’s just more trees” Furina looked out over seeing a forest, “well outside of my bedroom, but that’s all going to change soon isn’t it?”

“You will be queen here soon,” Clorinde replied.

While the word soon was correct, it did not feel real. In two days’ time Furina’s life would change forever, In two days’ time all of Fontaine would change forever, and she could not help but feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest that she swore it was about to pop out through her lungs, and a growing pain inside her stomach that she could almost confuse for a cramp if she did not know what the true cause of her affliction was. Every time she remembered that the Fontain crown would soon rest on her head, the feeling returned like a storm, as she exhaled the feeling trying to keep her forever presentable face.

“I think the first thing I must do is, see my people,” Furina told the woman her grand ideas, “I want to know them, I know everything in Fontaine is fine but we can be better than fine.”

“Yeah,” Clorinde looked out towards the forest with a solemn look on her face, “I will be right there with you when you do.”

“As my favorite knight.”

“Her Majesty asked me to be part of your queen’s guard.”

“No!” Furina denied it automatically.

“It’s considered an honor even to be recommended such a position,” Clorinde spoke to her words she already knew, it had been beaten into her head since she was a child.

“There is no honor to be had if you get nothing from it, Clorinde, you would not be allowed to get married or have children or own practically anything at all. You would just be my guard with no land and barely a title to show for it.”

“I understand what I’m being asked of.”

“I do not think you do, and nor do I want you to take such a position, it is my choice at the end of the day. I do not want a Queen’s Guard,” Furina put it plainly.

“I mean no disrespect, Your Highness, but that has never been done before in Fontaine. The Queen requires a guard to be stationed with her at all times in case of an assassination attack.”

“Then I will spell it out for you, Dame Clorinde, I do not want a Queen’s Guard nor do I require one because if I do that means you have failed at your job. And you will not fail me or will you?” Furina challenged her.

“I will not, Your Highness,” Clorinde backed down.

“After everything you’ve done the least I can do is allow you a happy life,” Furina’s tone became soft again, “hopefully someone can make you smile.”

Clorinde hummed, “I think your mother is waiting for us, you have a party to attend tonight.”

“It will be the first time I meet the rest of the nobility truly, rather than just peaking at my mother’s meetings,” Furina clapped her hands together, “I cannot wait, you’re coming tonight?”

“Of course, it’s my job.”

“Not as a guard but as yourself.”

“Yes, I am.”

Furina’s eyes lit up at the sound of those words, there was a question that had been formulating on her tongue for almost six months now probably much longer than that but she never had a chance to speak it.

“I hope you enjoy yourself tonight then, you deserve it,” Furina said instead.

How badly she wished to say what she wanted to instead.

Clorinde climbed down first, picking back up her cape and baldric and placing it back on her shoulders. She looked up at Furina giving her a sign that she could come down now as Furina carried her book with her as she jumped into Clorinde’s arms.

Furina felt her arms wrap around her back and knees as Furina wrapped her arms around her neck shoving her nose into her crook trying to fight the blush forming on her face, her heart was racing faster as her breath hitched from Clorinde’s strong hands gripping her body.

“Carry me,” Furina demanded to hide her embarrassment or maybe she wished for this second to last just a little longer.

Furina inhaled Clorinde’s perfume, she smelt like soft flowers and fresh earth, Furina had come to find out she always replied to it after training sessions especially right behind her ears. At first, Furina found this action to be strange but now all she wished to do was smell her perfume as she applied small kisses from her cheek to her chin.

 Furina stared out at the gardens, the perfectly trimmed trees and blooming bushes of rainbow roses that sprouted everywhere but Furina’s favorite were the lake light lilies that grew by the small pond the swans played in. It reminded her of a different time one she barely remembered outside of feeling of nostalgia whenever she smelt the flower's fresh scent.

Clorinde gently let her down on the tile letting Furina brush off the excess dirt from her pants before holding the door for her letting Furina through. Furina climbed up the stairs towards her bedroom where she summoned a trio of sea creatures made out of water to her aid, an octopus, a seahorse, and a crab. They danced around her as a small greeting before getting to work setting her bath and pouring in a lavender scent oil in her water.

The crab tried her best to help remove Furina’s suit without damaging it, succeeding in her task. As she entered the warm bathwater letting the animals attend to her.  Furina frowned as the hydro creatures practically scrubbed a layer of her skin off trying her best not to wince at the pain as her mind drifted back to her knight. She had failed again at her task, though Furina did not know exactly why it was so hard to muster what she was trying to say.

All she wanted to do was ask for a dance, it did not have to mean anything at all if Clorinde did not want it too and knowing her it would not, but just for four minutes Furina wanted to pretend that they were something more than just a princess and a knight.

They placed a face mask on her before addressing her hair as they scrubbed it like their life depended on it, they made sure every inch of her was clean and up to standards before allowing her to leave the bathtub, once they did, they wrapped a towel in her hair and around her body leaving her sitting alone waiting for her hair to dry.

Furina walked around her bedroom taking a look at everything once more, her dark blue curtains that blocked out the annoying morning sun, her silk light blue bed sheets and pillowcases, and the several plushies that filled her bed. Her room was smaller than others but she felt like this was her corner of the room that was about to change,  soon her room would be moved from the spot down to where her mother right now rests, for she would be queen and Queen Egeria would be no more. The feeling was unusual, it was anticipated for nostalgia that did not exist yet.

Emotions were a strange beast that yielded unusual responses that she had yet to make note of, Furina took a look through her window, seeing the beautiful Fontaine ocean, a scene she would sincerely miss. Furina had everything in the world, more than she could ever ask for and yet there was still a craving for something more.

She wished to swim, and float underneath the waves just once, it called to her deep in her sleep like no other.  The ocean was memorizing watching the waves over and over again, it looked peaceful, almost freeing.

The Sea horse floated over to her grabbing her attention as she found herself back in the bathroom grooming her, placing her makeup for the evening, and curling her long jellyfish hair.

They brought her out to her bedroom, to dress her linen chemise was placed on first along with her stockings, garters, and shoes. Her plain white corset was tied around her and then came the hip supports, and the three layers of white petite coat telling Furina they were almost done as they wrapped her in a dark blue skirt and matching blue Mantua before finally placing the stomacher that had little white bows to match with her petite coat.

Furina was pushed to her vanity table wear the octopus started placing the final touches, gloves were wrapped around her hands, hiding her most vulnerable traits away from peering eyes, and he picked out blue golden encrusted gems to match her dress.

The rest of her life would begin here soon.

Furina heard several knocks at her door.

“Come in,” Furina called.

Queen Egeria entered the room taking on look at her daughter, “You look lovely.”

“Thank you,” Furina tilted her head at her mother in the mirror.

“Let me finish this up for you,” Egeria waved off the hydro eidolons from Furina as she took the corset strings in her hand.

She watched her mother’s reflection in the mirror, her dark blue hair covering her eyes as she placed the golden crown on her head finishing Furina’s look, a fickle of  a smile played on Furina’s lips as she met her mother’s eyes through the mirror.

“You’re going to do great,” Egeria’s hands rubbed her shoulders, “I promise you.”

“Are you sure?” Furina’s hesitancy showed.

“You were made for this.”

‘You were made for this,’ replayed in Furina’s head. Yes, it has been her purpose since her creation; to become the queen of Fontaine carrying off her mother’s legacy, leading her soon-to-be citizens into an already planned out future by Egeria. It was all her mother’s design because nobody can live forever, not even her or Furina either.

She was made exactly for this, everything in her room reflected that every fancy dress and suit, every book stuffed on her shelves, and every jewel, and toy she grew up playing with had a single purpose in mind: become the queen and lead Fontaine.

Not that Furina minded her situation, she rather enjoyed the better direction than having a crown placed on her head and then thrown to the wolves as she would be forced to figure it out all by herself.

 The unknown variable was rather scary.

“So, I know you’ll do great,” Egeria reached up kissing the back of Furina’s head, “just remember to be your pleasant self, do not let your mind wander your natural curiosity is both your greatest trait, and by far your worse, and make sure to keep your gloves on. It is quite improper of a young lady to not always have her gloves on unless she is at the dinner table or taking a bath. You will not be doing either tonight.”

“I know,” Furina whined.

“I hope so, I do not want any mishaps going on tonight, this will be your first time meeting with the court ever, first impressions are always the lasting ones,” Egeria lectured her, “that goes both ways, I want you to be able to examine the court for what it is, I will not be able to hold your hand for much longer.”

“Will I be able to leave?”

Egeria frowned, she was tired of having this conversation with her over and over again, “I do not understand your obsession with leaving Furina?”

“I want to know how everyone is,” Furina turned full face to her mother, “not just the nobility.”

“You will receive reports on it,” Egeria shook her head, “you have a good life here, Furina, do not ruin it.”

“I am not ruining it; I just want to be a good queen.”

“And you will be, but first you must speak to the nobility, they are key to your success,” Egeria continued her lecture, “your event starts soon, and you’re going to do great I promise you.”

-

Furina peaked around the corner searching high and low for a sign of Clorinde instead seeing a full ballroom of Fontaine’s nobility, women all wore deep blues, and dark yellows during the warm summer night, while the men wore almost the same identical outfits if it were not for the ties matching with whatever partner they brought to the ball. People were already dancing to the music being played by the string quartet.

Furina could not see her mother either in the crowd, as a biting nervousness entered her body as she heard her name announced to the crowd, the music died so did everyone’s voices as she took her first few steps out into the public.

Furina had never seen so many people before in one room in her life, she had occasionally seen her mother in meeting rooms with maybe upwards to ten people but not this, there were a hundred people maybe more coming in all shapes and sizes, young and old.

They all had their eyes on her.

Furina smiled at the crowd as several cameras blinded her forcing her to squint as they took their photos.

Furina looked down at the paper written to her by her mother in case she lost her place in the speech, she had it memorized word by word but now standing in front of the crowd she felt uneasy like the whole world was resting on her shoulders and finally just settling on top of her.

“Hello-“ Furina spoke as the mic let out a screech, “Hello I am the Crown Princess Furina de Fontaine.”

“Yeah that's obvious,” a man heckled from the crowd.

Furina’s smile wavered for a second as she continued, “This is my first time out in the public eye and yet I find myself excited rather than scared to meet all of you, I wanted to welcome all of you to the midnight ball, a celebration dating back centuries to the time of Remruia, this simple celebration has been used in a way to help the almost crowned king… or queen,” Furina chuckled as she added the last part, “to mingle with the noble society and learn of its people, I find myself wishing to do the same and I hope that you wish to learn of me as well so that we can lead Fontaine into a prosperous era not that it is not already but I wish for it to be even better than it is,” Furina stumbled on the last part trying to ignore the uneasy laughter.

It felt like they all did as if they were waiting for her to mess up, she could see their frowns and disappointed looks, they looked angry at her, for what reason she had not done anything she was aware of? Not yet at least, her reign had not even started yet.

“If you see me and wish to speak of something political you may grab my attention any time tonight if you wish,” Furina added quickly hoping to ease their worries, “as this is a way for me to help you.”

“Isn’t a queen supposed to be able to make decisions,” someone whispered.

“she’s so timid you would think I was speaking to a child, not an adult,” another whispered.

“And what of the dragon?” Someone screamed from the crowd.

“What dragon?” Furina tried to project her voice more.

“You cannot be serious,” a woman laughed loudly from the front row.

“No, I very much am,” Furina spoke into the mic, “I said if there are any issues, I wish for you to speak of them. I meant what I said.”

Furina stared into the crowd as several more photos were snapped waiting for someone to speak, to answer her question as she heard the sound of familiar heels clinging against the marble floors. She looked up to see her mother standing over her giving her the sign to leave the room.

Furina stepped away from the podium as her mother took the stand, “I understand your concerns but we are working on resolving the issue as fast as possible, I know what I can only offer you right now is a temporary bliss but I promise you all we will solve this quickly.”

“Not quick enough,” Furina heard someone say.

What exactly was going on? And for how long? Furina had heard stories of how dragons used to live in Fontaine centuries ago but they were all killed off, Mondstadt and Liyue had dragons, Natlan was the land of dragons, not Fontaine.

“Please try to enjoy the evening, this is a once-in-a-lifetime event,” Egeria finished her speech, looking disappointed at Furina as she stepped away.

Did she do something wrong?

Furina followed her mother back to the hallway as she singled down a human waiter to bring her a drink.

“Maman,” Furina called out to her.

“Why did you not follow the script, the one we have been practicing for ages?” Egeria asked her without looking at her, “The one I had you memorize. Do you not understand what this makes us look like? We look like fools to them, the last thing we need to worry about is an uprising.”

“I did not mean to,” Furina defended herself, “they looked so unhappy.”

“Of course they are going to look unhappy, nobody wants their old Queen retiring,” Egeria finally faced her, “I understand what you’re doing, I know you care about them very much Furina but you have to understand you cannot please everyone.”

“And what of this dragon they are talking about?”

“Do not worry about it Furina, it does not concern you.”

“I do believe it does, I will be queen in about forty-eight hours, do you plan to resolve the issue by then or will you thrust paperwork at me without me having a clue on what’s going on out there.”

“My darling, sometimes you need to let other people handle things. I keep telling you this curiosity is getting out of hand.”

“I wish to know so this does not affect my future.”

“Your future is already affected. You made yourself look like a fool out there, come tomorrow morning smear campaigns will be working against you saying, ‘that you do not know what you’re doing,’ after this little stunt,” Egeria raised her voice, “but we can still save this. Go out there, be pleasant, and do not speak of things you know nothing about.”

Furina felt it in her gut to argue for answers with her mother but she was in no mood to open up, and it made no sense to her. Furina would be queen here soon and if there was an issue, should she not know of it.

Why exactly was her mother keeping her in the dark and for what? Or maybe her mother was right she was too curious for her own good.

“Of course,” Furina bowed her head.

Furina listened to her mother’s heels click as she walked off leaving Furina to attend a party she no longer wished to attend. She would be a laughing stock would she not? It did not matter though, it was what her mother demanded.

Furina peered through the dark blue curtains once again, the people looked still about as interested in the party as they did her speech but some of them looked to be enjoying themselves as Furina’s eyes scanned the crowd, she finally saw her.

Furina had never seen Clorinde’s hair down nor had she ever noticed the length of it, it had always been contained in a tight bun slicked back like the rules dictated but here, her hair was down and she wore an elegant lavender gown, with a small hoop. Furina could not make out any details on the dress from here but she knew she looked beautiful regardless.

Furina hesitantly took one step as remembered her mother’s words, she would be queen here soon, and she needed to act like one. Furina pulled her shoulders back and tilted her head up, she would only speak to them if she spoke to them first those were rules of law the timid smile fell from her face as she stepped back out into the light.

People stared at her as she made her way towards the podium and down the stairs, none of them looked satisfied with her, she could hear the whispers from their mouths reaching her ears, as they parted like the sea for her, “Does she even know what she’s doing?” “How can we have a queen that knows nothing about the world outside?” “Fontaine is doomed.”

Furina kept walking, only smiling when it was appropriate to do so, and thanking the occasional person for coming to her ball. Furina made her way towards the one person she had been wanting to see, she could still manage it, she could still ask her for a dance, even if the whole court of Fontaine would be staring at them, even if they already had ideas on much of a failure she was when they did not even know what she looked like twenty minutes ago.

Furina could feel a flush of heat growing from her neck once she saw Clorinde standing beside a white marble column speaking to a blonde woman who was just a little shorter than her in a yellow dress that was not too far off in design from the dress Clorinde was wearing. They were matching. A sinking realization hit her as she saw Clorinde smile for the first time in her life.

Clorinde had never smiled before, she always kept her perfect straight face. No that was not correct, Clorinde did not smile for her.

Furina felt a crushing sensation in her body, one she had never quite experienced before.

It seems tonight was full of surprises.

The blonde woman laughed as her eyes caught Furina, she smiled widely as she curtsied towards her. She was the first person in this room to do so.

A sinking realization that none of these people respected her, not even before she gave her speech did anyone do so, they just stood around waiting for her.

Clorinde’s eyes widened in surprise as she curtsied as well, “Your Highness, I was not expecting to run into you tonight,” Clorinde spoke to her.

“This is my party; it was only a matter of time.”

The blonde woman chuckled at her comment, Furina turned to her trying to read her. She looked kind, and yet Furina found herself disliking her. Was this jealousy? No, Furina would not allow herself to be jealous, as she shoved that emotion into a closet somewhere in her mind. She wanted Clorinde to have the best, and maybe she wanted that to be with herself but she would be Queen for crying out loud, there will be suitors coming from every corner of the world once that crown sits on her head. There was no reason for her to be jealous. Furina forced a smile.

“This is Navia,” Clorinde quickly introduced her, “She is my um…”

Furina already knew the answer, on the very few things Clorinde allowed her to know, this was one of them. The two’s forever-long and entangling romantic and platonic relationship dating back to when she was still a child They had been on and off according to Clorinde, and from the way it looked they were back ‘on,’ so to speak.

How could Furina compete with that?

She would not, that is how.

“I’ve heard so much about you!” Furina said pleasantly, “It is nice to put a face to the name. I hope you are enjoying the party.”

“I am, it’s been quite interesting, to say the least,” Navia spoke, “the people here are something else. They can be quite rude at times.”

Furina could feel their eyes on her back, waiting for another mistake to be laughed at “I’ve heard you two have been friends for quite a while but the one thing I’m interested in is that Clorinde tells me that you bake,” she switched the conversation.

“She does?” Navia eyed the woman standing not too far from her, “Well I do not know if I’m the best but I do love to bake macaroons when I have the chance too, you must come over to try it, or better yet I will bring you some, you’ll have your hands full running a kingdom and all in the next few days.”

“Yeah I will,” the conversation about the dragon was still fresh in her mind, “I must admit I am quite excited; I have been waiting my whole life for this.”

She already felt like a failure.

“It’s like a dream, and the biggest honor I could ever experience in my life,” Furina kept talking trying to silence the growing uneasy feeling in her stomach, “though Clorinde,” Clorinde tilted her head towards her much like a dog would, “may I speak to you later.”

“Of course, your highness,” Clorinde nodded her head.

“I will come to find you in a bit but for now I need to go speak to my other guests,” Furina smiled, “I hope to see you both on the dance floor at some point. Have a good evening you two.”

Furina bowed her head towards the two in a sign of respect, before walking away to go acknowledge other partygoers, none of it felt real nor did it feel gueiene. Furina could tell that they were lying behind the masks they were wearing and she was too, she wanted to know more about the dragon, about Fontaine. Yet she did not ask, instead thanked them for coming and talked about nonsensical conversations like having children and getting married. Two things she had been asked since she was a child.

Was this what a queen should be doing? It did not feel right, it felt too passive.

When her mother would lead, she was quick and decisive, unfeeling at times and nobody questioned her whatsoever. People loved her mother, respected her, and even feared her sometimes.

Should this crowd not be doing the same with Furina? Furina bit her lip as she spoke to a red hair man, unsure of what to make of herself as her eyes found herself looking at Clorinde and Navia.

Furina understood why Clorinde liked her, she was pretty and quite charming, her smile was quite dangerous too, and she seemed kind. She would be good for Clorinde if they ever figured out their relationship.

Why did this hurt so much?

Furina did not care so much for the man in front of her when she all she could do was catch glimpses of the person she rather be speaking with and the world felt like it stopped when Clorinde’s dark eyes synced with hers.

It was just a small moment in time, it could mean nothing to Clorinde as her attention went back to Navia, Furina on the other hand could not concentrate on the conversation being had as she stumbled her way through it, with occasional ‘yes,’ and smiles.

Furina was getting tired of this, speaking to people, listening to their whispers and rumors, watching Clorinde dance with another woman. She bit her cheek as the jealousy poured into her once again. ‘What a selfish emotion,’ she thought as she waited for the conversation to die. She made her way back up the steps through the way she came.

It was fine for her to do so if there was one thing she remembered from all mother’s lessons was never to overstay your welcome at a party even if it's your own. ‘You’re a princess, not some lowly commoner or noble who thinks being a party animal helps a kingdom.’ She remembered those words like it was yesterday.

She leaned against the wall, sighing, she just wanted to go to bed, tonight had been awful and she wanted to retreat before it got worse than it already was.

“Your Highness,” A voice startled her.

“Oh, Dame Clorinde you scared me,” Furina smiled at her, “are you not enjoying the party?”

“I could be asking you the same question, you're leaving quite early,” Clorinde closed the distance.

“My mother always told me I should not overstay my welcome at parties even if they are my own, so I thought I would leave now before I continue to make a fool of myself.”

“I did not think you made a fool of yourself.”

“How differently you think of me. Enjoy your date, I am going to retire for the night,” Furina turned away from her.

“What did you want to talk to me about?” Clorinde stalled her.

“I-It’s not that important,” Furina hesitated. There were a million things she wanted to talk about with her but none of them mattered anymore. Furina chewed on her lip, “actually tell me about the dragon.”

“You do not need to know about issues that do not concern you.”

“I will be Queen here soon; do you really think it does not concern me? Answer me Dame Clorinde.”

“It will be solved before then.”

“Can you guarantee that?” Furina asked her as Clorinde looked away, “You cannot. So, tell me.”

Clorinde looked directly at her as if attempting to read her intention, “A dragon has been seen circling coastal towns and drowning ships for unknown reasons.”

“Did it live there beforehand?”

“I do not know.”

“Was it disturbed in some kind of manner? They are noble beings; they do not act on aggression unless something is wrong.”

“I do not know.”

“Do you not know or will you not tell me?”

“I am telling you the truth, Your Highness, I do not know as much as you think I do, all I know is there is a dragon in Lumidouce Harbor, its been drowning international and national trading ships, screwing up our trade system and lives of those who live there but it has yet to attack on land only through see.:

“If this continues it might lead to economic devastation,” Furina finished that thought, “and what is my mother doing about it?”

“We sent out the gardes but their boats keep being drowned no one can cross the ocean.”

“And you expect me to believe that this would be solved in two days. I do not understand the need to keep me in the dark.”

“The military can handle this.”

“Does everyone really think me unfit to be Queen!”

“It’s not that.”

“Then what is it?”

Clorinde sealed herself up again, choosing silence rather than answer. Furina let her shoulders droop as she walked away not even whispering a goodbye as she made her way back towards her bedroom seeing her only true friends in the world waiting for her as they helped undress her down to her chemise.

Furina sat by her bedroom window letting the warm night air enter her room as she listened to the hushed sounds of the waves breaking against the stone as the tears slipped down her face. She made herself look like a clown to the entire court of Fontaine, they already thought her unfit for the job.

The only thing she was ever meant to do in life and she had already screwed it up, her mother was severely disappointed in her actions if only she just learned to close her mouth instead of being too curious, and worse of all Clorinde did not even like her back maybe that was Furina’s fault for assuming a woman who could not smile just once would ever look at her the same way.

Maybe she was never meant to be queen at all given how everyone was acting choosing secrets instead of the truth, but who else would-be queen instead of Furina? It is not like her mother could live forever, she had already lived a long time, longer than most humans.

Furina wiped her hot tears away, crying was useless just like her mother would always say when she was a child, and that sentence had not changed at all. There was no point in tears, she would be queen here soon and nobody thought her to be ready.

Fontaine did not need an uprising or political interference; she knew she needed to prove herself capable of leading a country.

But how?

Furina’s attention shifted as she heard a seagull’s cry from out in the wind. It was a stupid idea she already knew it before she let it manifest, she had never been outside of the palace walls, let alone know how to fight a dragon the only time she had ever picked up a sword was when she played pretend.

‘It could not be that hard could it?’ Furina chewed on her lip.

The military could not kill a hydro dragon that keeps sinking their ships and most normal humans do not possess the ability to swim underwater for long periods but she did. All she technically had to do was stab it, right? Maybe scare it off, and if she did well enough the creature would leave her people alone.

They would all think of her as a hero. They would all think her fit to be queen, just like in her book of fairytales.

Furina looked at her reflection in the glass, her mother would never agree to this but what was the saying, ‘It’s better to beg for forgiveness rather than ask for permission.’ It seemed to be one of those situations.

Her mother would forgive her, she always did.

Furina left her bedroom as she walked the empty halls, it was always abandoned at this time of night, she could still hear the party going on downstairs not far from her location reminding her that Clorinde was probably off dancing with another woman or maybe the two had gone home together.

Furina entered the armory, all the weapons and armor worn by the knights were kept here hidden away from the public eye as Furina quickly picked up the lightest sword she could carry, she saw her reflection in the armor, a part felt it right to take it but if she did they would surely know what had conspired. She was on limited time, come morning the human maids would find her not at the breakfast table alerting her mother that something was wrong, and she did not need to be held down by such heavy things either.

Furina took the sword back to her room throwing it on her bed as she rampaged through her clothes, grabbing whatever would be suitable for travel which was not a lot, she had a couple of pair of pants that were not suit for courts, three shirts to go with it, one pair of shoes she could wear for more than two hours before hurting her feet, and at least one coat that was not to frilly.

She quickly dressed herself, looking more like a traveling bard than a knight, an image she would work on at a later date. Furina stuffed the rest of the material into a bag and some jewelry she did not mind parting with once she got out of the castle, in case she needed money.

Furina took one last look in the mirror understanding the decision she was about to make as she pulled out a pair of scissors she usually kept only for art craft, as she snipped her large jellyfish strands out of her hair leaving herself with a rather bad haircut.

“it will all grow back,” Furina told herself as she cringed at the mirror.

Furina took one last glance at her bedroom before leaving it in the dark for the others to find in the morning, she knew it would not be long before they would send out a search party for her. She would have to do this quickly, slay a dragon, get out, and then be crowned queen. A simple plan.

Furina entered through the kitchen and out the back door where the human servants slept during the night as she quietly passed through their hall, exiting out of their building into a world she had never quite seen before.

The roads were paved with brick and tile, leading towards Fontaine city where most of Fontaine lived, whether that be on the top or in the sewer system, she did not much to expect only remembering the occasional conversations her mother would have about laws and court cases being passed through the Palais, a place she thought she would have seen by now. Her mother went all the time, she did not even know what the place looked like. Furina walked through the empty streets taking in all the sights, it was beautiful out here and she wanted to see it all and exist just like her people did. She would At a later date, after she was queen she would come here and experience it while her people were wide awake and not resting dreaming of better days.

Furina navigated her way through the city as she located the place for the docks, seeing several older-looking military boats docked, she knew from photos the newer ones were being fashioned with metal instead of wood, were they afraid of taking out the newer ones because of the cost if it would be damaged.

A strange choice given they were facing a dragon.

Furina hid herself against the shadows, as she looked around watching the workers bring supplies up the walkway carrying guns and supplies for the villages near the harbor. Furina looked around trying to see where she could hide on the ship.

It would not be as simple as escaping her castle was, chances are one of them would probably recognize her not being part of the military even worse if they had ever been stationed in the castle before, most knights go through military training first or some stay for a little before being relocated somewhere else.

She could hide between rates, but how long before one of them found her? She would be jailed, killed, or sent home. She could hide in a raft boat, but if the ship was going down, that would be a rather dangerous game. Furina looked around as she spotted a water barrel.

A small sigh escaped her. It had been a long time since she had made a move like this. She crept over to the barrel, lifted the lid, and nestled herself comfortably inside. The last time she did this was when she was a child playing hide-and-seek with her mother. It would work, though.

Her vision warped adjusting to the darkness and her loss of perception as her eyes blended into one. It was just a waiting game now until a worker would pick her up, or maybe they would just leave her here.

Furina shook her head, there was no need to think about that at worst she would have to swim there, which was not so bad, maybe even a better option than whatever she was doing now, but she could not get distracted in the water. She was on a mission to save her kingdom after all or her soon-to-be kingdom.

She would just have to think of something else to pass the time, her mind wandered back over to Clorinde as she thought about what could have happened if Furina was brave enough to ask her if Clorinde was still single.

Would the two of them have matching outfits? Clorinde wore a dark purple dress that complimented her eyes, while Furina wore her Dark blue one, both of them having matching bows. Would she have stood Front row? Waiting for Furina’s speech with diligent ears, Furina would have found her eyes in seconds, smiling at her softly before facing the crowd would a renewed sense of vigor. Furina held her head higher as she faced the crowd delivering her speech.

Furina would cascade down the stairs quickly after her speech locating Clorinde and she would smile at her softly.

“You did well up there,” Clorinde complimented her.

“Thank you,” Furina giggled, “but I believe I owe you a dance, my Dame.”

Furina held out her gloved hand feeling Clorinde’s strong hand wrap around hers as she led her to the center of the ballroom, she pressed her hand into Clorinde’s waist as she felt Clorinde’s cool hands trail up her arm fitting snuggly on her shoulder. The music started as the two would dance to the rhythm joining every other couple as they circled the ballroom.

“I wanted to tell you something for a while now,” Furina said as the dance slowed down, “I think you're quite beautiful, you’ve always been but what I want to say is I like you a lot, and I miss you when you’re not around.”

Clorinde’s eyes widened and then softened as she came to terms with what Furina said, she pulled Furina’s hand towards her lips pressing a soft kiss on it, a gesture of shared affection.

“Would you like to go somewhere else, Furina?” Clorinde eyes stared into her heart, Furina carefully nodded her head with a blush growing from her neck.

Furina’s barrel wobbled taking her out of her fantasy, feeling herself being lifted as someone moved her to another location, she waited until they placed her back down peaking her one eye out of the lid, and took a look at her surroundings, she had been safely brought on to the deck of the ship, whether she would be moved under or stay above was unknown to her but for now she had accomplished a part of her goal.

Furina relaxed back into her barrel being consumed by darkness once again, closing her eyes this time around as she might as well try to get some sleep before they made it to the harbor where she would inevitably face the dragon head-on.

-

Furina awoke as she felt her barrel practically jump off the ground knocking into whatever was beside her spinning the barrel, as a sense of nausea built inside of her, she heard a loud crash and something bang off the top of her lid.

‘What is going on?’ Furina asked herself.

She heard a scream from inside her barrel breakout freezing Furina, something was going on out there and all she could hear was the pitter-patter happening on the wooden lid keeping her barely sealed inside.

Furina blinked hard not knowing what to do as she went against every command in her body telling her not to look as she opened the seal peering out. She had been surrounded by other supplies, mostly fresh fruit and other water barrels tied down with a rope hoping to keep it in place as the boat rocked hard to the right, knocking over another wooden crate onto the ground.

Furina slid out of the barrel touching the wooden planks that covered the floor of the ship as she felt cold rain touch her skin, she looked up at the sky, dark clouds obscured the light peaking from the clouds, was it still night or was it morning now? Exactly how long had she been asleep? And where was she? She saw no land near her at all, just the open ocean with unfriendly waves crashing against the boat rocking it from side to side.  

Furina heard someone yell, “There it is,” and then the sound of several gunshots being fired.

“get to the lifeboats!” another voice issued a command.

Furina fell as the ship rocked to the left trying her best to keep her body upright as she stumbled back upwards fighting against herself and the ship. Her vision split back into two, as she grabbed a hold of a crate keeping herself up. Furina held tightly onto whatever crates had not fallen over just yet moving towards the sounds of commotion as her eyes went wide at the scene.

The ship had a massive hole in the side of it that looked dangerously close to bite marks, men and women fled to the lifeboats fearing for their lives, while others stayed aboard the ship pointing their rifles at the water while guarding the lifeboats, hoping to keep those retreating safe.

The smaller ships plunged into the water as the next one began to be loaded, she could feel everyone’s frantic nature from here.

Furina wobbled as another large bump ensued and gunshots went off again, a sinking realization filled her brain as she registered what was happening, the dragon was underneath them and it was not going to allow them to live, it had full intentions of drowning the ship and everyone on board, those in the lifeboats might live and she would as well. she could not say about the rest of the humans aboard the ship especially those risking their lives staying behind.

The rain stopped suddenly and Furina felt the water around the ship go still. A dread feeling infested her mind one she did not know existed before as everything in her mind registered to run. She searched all around her for the sign of this feeling as horror stretched across her lips there it was a massive wave bigger than the ship she was standing on was barreling towards her and everyone else here. She knew she had seconds to leave before she would be buried under the ship until the wood rotted in the water.

Furina took whatever strength she had in her body, running towards the edge, tripping on fallen debris from an already tipping-over ship and she scrambled to get herself up as she made it to the ledge plunging into the ocean. Letting her eyes burn with salt until it became singular once again. Taking off with speed trying to get away from the ship as it snapped in half the water pressure taking it down into the seabed along with everyone else aboard the ship as the sand exploded like a bomb obscuring her already faded vision.

Through all the damage that had been dealt, she had not seen the dragon once.

Furina did not know as much as thought she did but she knew one thing, dragons were not small creatures they were bigger than most people and sometimes even larger than buildings and castles.

She had no idea what she was dealing with, and she was no dragon slayer at all.

Chapter Text

Furina flipped in the air as the shock of the ship shattered against the sea floor. Her mind meld into one as she tried to think of what to do. There were people down there still trapped trying to find a way out. She had little time to waste before they all perished, she knew most died on impact or by water pressure collapsing their lungs. Not all, she hoped. Someone was still alive.

 Human beings were funny that way almost every bone in their body could share and they would still be alive, whether they recovered fully or not would be left to the gods.

Furina summoned her small collection of hydro-based creatures giving them a simple command, ‘rescue the living,’ as she took off with speed in the water searching high and low for any survivors, coming across a stream of dead bodies falling into the sand along with the lumber.

 She increased her pace praying that someone was still alive and, that all of this was not for nothing as she came across a woman buried under a piece of lumber, trying her best to push it off with her foot. Furina pulled the lumber off of her with all her might, pressing her fin to her skin healing whatever injury she could. Furina bubbled the woman floating her to the surface as she trailed behind her. Furina’s head poked out of the water as she changed the angle directing the woman to a small boat of survivors.

“An oceanid?” a brown-haired woman stood up rocking the boat, “I thought they went extinct in Fontaine years ago.”

“Clearly not all of them,” a man said beside.

“A sign from the gods that everything will be okay,” someone aboard the ship whispered.

Furina let the bubble pop once the woman was in the boat, “she is still alive, please keep her that way,” Furina instructed before diving back down.

She looked around seeing her trio following her example bringing the people they found up to the surface, it would be a long night for all of them as she swam back down to the ocean floor searching between the wreckage and the dead bodies for any more survivors.

There was no one left alive.

Just bodies bobbing in the water clinging to their rifles with fear imprinted on their face, understanding their incoming doom and wishing to somehow live anyway.

If she had any lungs all air would have disappeared as a searing feeling of grief took over, maybe in a story book a dragon could be compromised with but there was a reason why they were known as monsters and not beings.

Furina swam to the surface with a new feeling inside of her, she came here with irresponsible feelings of seeking glory for herself rather than the genuine cause of helping her people, maybe the nobles were right she was unfit to be a queen with such a selfish attitude. She could still change; she followed the boats to the small broken docks to the nearby fishing town.

Furina watched them unload the boat carrying the injured to the closet infirmary as her sea creatures waded beside her.

“It looks like we have our work cut out for us, huh?” Furina whispered amongst the breaking shoreline, “This dragon will be a hassle.”

The creatures offered no condolence or answers as they whispered song-like sounds disappearing in thin air leaving her by herself. Furina swam among the shoreline looking for the place where the dock turned into a beach as she transformed back into her ‘normal self.’  It never really felt normal to her, only half of who she is.

Furina walked her way back to the village, her shoes were flooded with water with each step she took, maybe she should have stayed in her oceanid form if she had known it have been like this.

The roofs of the buildings looked to be collapsing in on themselves from the water damage, Furina would not be shocked if water was getting into people’s homes and destroying farmland that they cultivated off of. She was expecting a dragon and some trade issues not a land on the brink of devstation. It seemed as if they were more focused on killing the dragon rather than evacuating the people out of the village to somewhere safer.

Furina saw some commotion of people moving around in the village mainly whoever survived the boat crash moving the injured and dying to an inn they turned into a hospital as Furina followed close behind, if she planned on sleeping anywhere there was a good chance it be there as she snaked her way over.

A woman stopped her at the front door blocking her from entering, “who are you?” the woman demanded, “I have never seen you around here before.”

“I am,” Furina hesitated, “I am a knight.”

She needed to change her tune; knights do not hesitate they were charismatic and always knew how to hold their head high.

“You don’t look like one?” The woman looked her up and down.

“And what exactly should a knight look like? Hmm..” Furina backfired, “From your lack of answer I do not think you would but given the laws we abide by I forgive you. My name is..” Furina paused remembering a name from a storybook she read over a decade ago, “Dame Focalors, I am a knight who worked closely with the royal family, I have been sent here to help with the dragon crisis.”

“You and everyone else,” the woman rolled her eyes as she allowed Furina through the door, “there are beds on the top floor everyone shares a room.”

“Is there a way to get my own room?” Furina asked her.

“You can pay for one somewhere else if not you can sleep on the streets for all I care but I don’t think you want to be doing that right now,” the woman chastised her, “the room with red crosses on it means it’s full for the night.”

Furina's shoulders sagged as she entered the messy inn. There were people everywhere mostly of men playing cards, smoking cigarettes, eating whatever food they could scrounge up as they watched her like a hawk as she sulked her way upstairs.

 Furina looked at the red crosses across the rooms looking for one that did not have it as she entered a room with already sleeping inhabitants she knocked off her shoes keeping her soaking wet socks on, throwing her sword down as she fell asleep on the worse bed she had ever experienced in her life.

-

Clorinde had barely slept at all last night, replaying two situations on a loop in her head as if the outcome would change, Furina was one of them.

Her conversation with her left a warning in her mind, that Furina was about to do something, she would regret. Clorinde for the most part thought it was in her nature,  Furina had always been rather curious she would ask her every question under the sun whether she could think, and there had been one too many times she found Furina breaking stuff or tearing it apart so that she could see if she could fix it. She never could.

There’s always been something a little strange in how Furina acted, as if she did not know exactly how to act like a person around others as if she was interpreting it all for the first time. Clorinde chalked it up to her being lonely, she had never interacted with anyone outside the occasional guard or kitchen staff when she wanted to order a slice of cake. She had no ladies in waiting, no maids, nor a circle that was meant to act as her friends or advisers.  Being subjected to that was bound to cause some sort of development issue. But for the most part, Furina was fine, she just happened to ask one too many questions.

There was only so much Clorinde was allowed to tell her before she would be in trouble with Egeria. When Furina confronted her about the dragon she tried her best to look like a fool to end Furina’s curiosity the dumber she sounded usually Furina would get frustrated and leave it alone. This time it felt different like she had just unlocked a door in the Princess’s mind.

Her other situation with Navia was no help either, their on-again-off-again relationship was ripping apart at her, and they both knew it.

 She loved her, they were not good for each other, she wanted them to be together, she should move on, she wanted to be loved, she did not think anyone else would be capable of it.

It seemed only Clorinde felt this way as the two of them stood outside feeling a slight breeze as Navia faced her laughing over the fact a butler ended up smashing a tray into a noble on accident.

“Did you see that?” Navia chuckled. Yet Clorinde could not ignore how pretty she looked when she smiled. “Do not look at me like that,” Navia frowned.

Clorinde quickly adjusted whatever the look on her face was, “My apologies.”

“I know that look you make Clorinde, I’ve known you long enough, but I-I don’t want to keep doing this anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I would still want to be your friend but we can’t keep doing this. Whatever it is. You’re a good person and a good friend but I don’t-“

“I understand,” Clorinde felt her entire body stiffen.

"though I do hope you will find someone about as smitten as you are with them as they are you with you. Someone who understands you perfectly without having to guess the inner workings of your mind.”

“I understand completely.”

“Please don’t be upset.”

“I’m not,” Clorinde lied.

“I hope you find someone who can make you smile, Clorinde.”

She might have been happier if Furina allowed her to become her queen's guard than deal with this, Clorinde rotated in her bed trying to fall asleep.

By the time she felt as though she finally got some sleep her alarm went off informing her that her day had begun as she got up performing her morning.

Early mornings in Fontaine court was about as lively as ever cafes were getting set up for the older crowd who liked to order coffee once the sun came up, and the occasional store was restocking as Clorinde climbed the steps through the military quarters. Some knights were going about their morning warmups, Clorinde would join them soon, but she had to report to Egeria first every morning. Clorinde entered inside watching the maids run around as they rushed to clean Egeria's room which would soon belong to someone else.

The occasional Garde nodded to her on her way in as she followed the path leading to Egeria’s room a man slammed the door quickly leaving the room, “Oh good you’re here, she’s been wanting to see you,” he said sternly before leaving her alone.

Clorinde knocked four times in proper etiquette, waiting for Egeria’s ‘come in,’ before entering and the room looked like a mess. It was normal in the early morning hours to see Egeria’s room in a less prepared state but this was something else. It looked almost like the queen had every law book open along with maps all over the room as if she were planning to go to war.

Maybe she would finally take the dragon crisis seriously.

“Dame Clorinde!” Egeria barked at her as Clorinde immediately dropped herself into a deep bow, “Where is she?”

“I mean no disrespect your majesty,” Clorinde avoided her piercing gaze, “but who are we speaking of?”

“Where is Furina? You were the last person to see her at the party last night,” Egeria demanded.

“I saw her right before she went to her room alone last night, to retire for sleep,” Clorinde confessed, “after that, I returned to the party.”

“Are you telling me the full truth?”

“Of course, I would not lie to you on purpose.”

“Do you have anyone to back up the value of that claim?”

Clorinde fought against her brain as the words dripped out of her mouth, “Navia Casper.”

-

Furina struggled with getting out of bed after waking up four times and falling right back to sleep as she fought with her dream self to keep themselves awake, by the time she had awoken she had felt groggier than ever and it seemed all her roommates had abandoned her. Luckily no one had stolen anything at all as she gathered her things heading downstairs to see a fully active community.

A woman was attempting to push out the water from the inn with a broom, while several people chewed down on their loaves of bread, people in nursing uniforms moved around the facilities occasionally attending to a person with a badge around their arm or head.

Furina had no idea of where to go nor what to do with herself as she looked around the room spotting a purple-haired woman leaning over a map as she moved several pieces onto the board. Furina looked over the board as the woman looked up and smiled at her.

“Did you just get in last night?" the woman asked.

“Yes,” Furina responded, “I’m here to help with the dragon crisis.”

“So, is everyone else,” the woman chuckled, “I am Captain Cheveruse, and you are?” holding out her hand.

“Dame Focalors, I am a knight from the castle,” Furina took her hand shaking it, like she had seen others do.

“You have a rather weak grip for a knight.”

“I didn’t want to start on the wrong foot by hurting your hand,” Furina quickly lied, “what can I do to help the situation?”

“Do you know how to build a boat? Or have medical experience?”

“Not real medical experience,” Furina thought about her hydro creations.

“Then you’ll be tasked with getting supplies,” Cheveruse picked up a list, “every time the dragon drowns a ship because it gets hungry, we are not only losing men but supplies as well on the occasion supplies and people wash up to shore alive. You're tasked with locating that.”

She shoved the list in her hand and grabbed a map, circling the shores in red, “I want you to take a cart with you from the stables and go to these areas and try to pick up anything you can, clothes, food, weapons, and of course any people you spot along the way, dead or alive, they at least deserve a proper burial. The stables are located three buildings down you can’t miss it, you’ll probably smell it before you see it.”

Furina nodded her head understanding her orders, as she stepped back out onto the flooded streets, it had not stopped raining since last night.

Was it always raining like this? Or was this also the dragon’s power? If it was, was he also planning to drown the people on land? Why not just attack directly? Were all questions bubbling around Furina’s head as entered the stables.

She might have smelt it before she saw it if she were paying attention to her surroundings, the place here was about as damp as everywhere else. The smell here was worse and the thought of Furina stepping in liquid horse feces only made her sicker, as a man stood on top of a hay bale trying to dump a pallet of horse food into a coral.

-

For the first time, since Clorinde was appointed Furina’s knight she sat in the hall outside Egeria’s office at the Palais it was the only place in the world where a certain demographic of nobles and commoners were allowed to speak to the queen. The true head of Fontaine not the pretty castle a missing princess lived in.  It had become an uncommon sight for her since becoming Furina’s knight but now she patiently waited for her boss to finish speaking with Navia clearing her name of any suspicion.

A fellow knight opened the door, looking around for Clorinde as his eyebrows raised, “Her Majesty wants to speak to you now.”

Clorinde followed the knight into the overly large office that contained one too many sofas and too tiny of a desk. Egeria sat in a grand chair with a giant window overlooking Fontaine City just below her, she looked directly at Clorinde and Clorinde bent down as far as could go in apology for ever making the queen feel deceived. Once she arose the queen nodded her head letting her take a seat next to Navia, who had her beautiful, pleasant smile painted across her face.

“Ms. Casper has informed me of last night’s extrusion and by the time you left the party I believe that is when our issue arose,” Egeria spoke.

She had not told Navia what this was really about, Clorinde inferred.

“Just Navia is fine,” Navia gleamed.

“Well, Navia,” The Queen corrected, “I hope you have a pleasant day, and do not speak of anything I asked if I do hear of a rumor started by you-“

“My lips are sealed Your Majesty,” Navia bowed her head, “thank you for trusting me and the Spina.”

“Of course, please close the door on the way out.”

Egeria and Clorinde watched as Navia left the room leaving the two women alone, as the queen's twisted smile fell into the frown Clorinde was familiar with.

“I am sorry for not trusting you earlier Clorinde,” Egeria apologized, “I just, she’s never pulled a move like this before and you’re the only person she talks to.”

That was not by Furina’s choice, Clorinde quickly noted in her head.

“So I'd assume that she would somehow woo you into one of her little ideas again, or that you two had formed a relationship past friendship,” Egeria stated with ease as Clorinde’s mouth formed a small ‘o,’ “It’s not unusual for nobles or knights to form feelings for one another over time, you are her closet companion, and she is an adult,” Egeria coughed.

“It seems as though that is not the case, I’m quite glad to see that you maintain your professional relationship,” Egeria continued, “but as of now Furina is missing and we have no  idea where she could be, from what we know her hair was found in her room along with some missing items and a missing sword in the armory, which we do not know if this is because a knight forgot to return a sword or she had taken it with her.”

Clorinde brought her hand to her chin as she thought of the information, “Your majesty do you think  she could have gone after the dragon herself.”

Egeria turned her face out towards the bright blinding sun, thinking to herself in silence her eyes lowered as she turned back to Clorinde, “If she has we need to get out there as soon as possible the dragon is destroying every ship that enters those waters, and Furina’s in trouble if she hoped aboard one. I do not want to assume the worst case possible but there’s a chance,” Egeria bit her lip.

Clorinde knew the words she did not say. Furina could have drowned to death she could not swim, or maybe she had been killed by debris or maybe eaten by the dragon itself.

“There is still a chance she is alive and well, but I cannot let the public know about this. The news came out this morning,” Egeria rummaged through her desk; tossing a paper at Clorinde, “they think she is unfit for her crown I can use this as cover claiming that ‘I put her back into training and will reintroduce her back into society at a later date,’ you on the other hand will go to the harbor and look for Furina. You wanted to be a Queen’s Guard.”

“Yes, your majesty,” Clorinde nodded her head.

“Prove yourself worthy of the position and bring my daughter home, she is the only one I have left.”

Clorinde felt the weight of Egeria’s words on her shoulders, a mother in grief and not a queen leading a nation. Though something did not sound right, from what Clorinde could remember Egeria had no other daughters, none that were recorded at least. It was not unusual for Queens and Kings not to mention the birth of a child until months later as stillborn,  miscarriages and sudden infant death were common even for royalty. She would not put it against her if she never mentioned such things to the public if that were the case.

It would be like reliving the traumatic experience over and over again without any cure and every noble and commoner would find a way to blame it on her lack of ability to govern correctly.

“I understand your majesty, thank you for entrusting me with this. I will bring her home soon.”

-

Furina stared at the map, she had no idea where she was going, she was pretty sure she was going in the right direction but everything looked the same. The occasional trees and open grass were no help to her either, she was following the coast for a bit until rocks and slightly hill terrain screwed her over bringing her inland. She felt every bump in the road listening to the constant turning of the rotting wheels on the cart, the bag of supplies she was given in case she was not back by dark, and the nonstop rain since yesterday.

“Do you know where we are going?” Furina asked the horse.

The horse she had named Reine Chevalette even though the stable boy had already given her which was not up to Furina’s standards bumped her head with her snout sighing.

“I take that as a no then, how about we head back towards the coast and hope to find supplies there,” Furina suggested as she pulled the horse reins.

Furina walked alongside Reine Chevalette leading her back to the open and dark coast, where the water looked unfriendlier than the one at home. Furina would occasionally stop pulling up a piece of lumber here and there then tossing it back to the ground with nothing to gain from it other than the occasional crab or starfish that washed up, maybe a sword or two if she was lucky.

‘they would send another ship soon,’ Furina thought, ‘another crew to another graveyard until the situation would end.’

Was this the game of politics she heard so much about? Putting everyone’s life on a scale and measuring the cost of it. Hundreds of Fontainain lives to kill one dragon in seconds.  Human lives should not be used as a commodity to spend.

They were all children at some point, some may even have been married or have kids themselves and now they were nothing but shark food. She also knew if they did nothing the people out here would die not because the dragon killed them but because of the flooding. They need to evacuate, but the dragon could interfere with that.

Furina kicked a shell across the sand, everything was too complicated it would have been easier if Furina could just tell it to go away and it would listen to her.

She saw a lone cabin near the shore making a mental note of it if she ever got lost continuing forward picking up the occasional washed-up crate with her Saloon.

Furina picked up one item and then the next not noticing she had cleaned up the entire beach beside for a blanket that seemed to be submerged in the sand near the water as she went to lift it, it was a lot heavier than usual until she noticed a man wrapped around in it.

Furina stopped pulling, dropping to her knees, ‘what if he is dead?’ the words edged in Furina’s head as she began to look him up and down trying to see if there was a sign that he was alive.

How did one know if a human was alive?

Their heartbeat, Furina remembered as she let her hand rub against the crease of his white shirt she suddenly felt a large hand wrap around her forearm keeping her in place.

“What are you doing?” The man had a deeper voice than she imagined.

Furina paid no attention to his face beforehand seeing two pretty purple eyes staring fiercely at her, it almost reminded her of someone else. If Clorinde’s eyes were the deep color of amethyst then his would be the softness of fresh lavender.

“I umm.. wanted to see if you were alive,” Furina explained trying her best to look anywhere else than his face at the moment, “I was sent out here to see if there were any survivors.”

“Survivors?” the man asked slowly.

Furina had read somewhere that it was not unusual for people to forget they went through a physically tragic situation until hours later, given that he washed ashore that must be the case.

“Yes, you had been attacked by the dragon recently, the one that has been drowning ships near the harbor,” Furina explained to him, “can you walk?”

“I don’t know,” the man answered.

“It’s okay I can help you up!” Furina stood up holding her hand out to him.

The man stared at her as if not knowing what to do, he reached out to her as she pulled his dead weight trying to get him up without him stumbling over his feet. He stood up straight as he attempted to walk without falling.

If he had not washed ashore from a major accident Furina would have assumed he had never walked beforehand as he limped around on one leg.

“If it hurts to walk you can sit in my cart, I saw a small cabin up head,” Furina offered.

“I need to get to the closest town to here,” The man told her, “quickly.”

“I can take you but I do not think you should be walking around, right now,” Furina gripped his arm, leading him to her cart and letting him sit down, “we can see if there are any supplies up ahead to help you, does that sound like a deal?”

The man looked at her as if she had just insulted him, “fine.”

“What’s your name?” Furina asked him. “I am Dame Focalors.”

“You’re a knight?” the man sounded surprised.

This was the perfect time for her to reinvent her image, she so badly needed to work on if she was going to do this, as Furina recalled hundreds of stories of knights in her mind, they were responsible, noble, smart, charismatic, romantic, and kind. She could be it all, and he could be the first person to try it out on.

Furina crossed her arm over her chest bowing deeply at him, “Yes I am,” Furina raised herself taking his gloved fingers to her lips, kissing his knuckles lightly, “but you have not answered my question Monsieur. Do you wish for me to repeat it?”

He stared at her trying to figure her out, “I- I am Neuvillette,” he pulled his hand away, looking far away from her face.

-

Clorinde packed her suitcase with only a few days’ worth of clothes, enough mora to last her a month, and two small guns in a separate case. She thought of writing a note to someone, informing them that she would be gone for an uncertain amount of time, to who, Clorinde did not know. Not many people left in her life were truly close and the one person finally finished putting up her wall.

She did not mind it though, there was a reason why she wanted to become Furina’s Queen Guard, it would be an easier and more secure life than the one she was living now. Yes, she would not be able to get married or have kids but it was better than this.

Clorinde frowned at that thought, as an uneasy feeling grew inside her heat.

She sealed her suitcase.

The ship would be leaving in the late evening, past sundown.

-

Vines wrapped around the cabin informing Furina that no one had come here for years as she parked the cart, untying Reine Chevalette letting her rest by the closet tree with the largest patch of thick grass. Furina grabbed her bag and sword from the cart, then proceeded to help Neuvillette out of the cart like a princess who needed saving.

 Furina attempted to open up a door that fell right off its hinges the second she touched it, seeing the building insides most of the furniture had rotted away outside of the two knocked-over chairs, weeds poked through the floorboard, and then was one big open hole in the ceiling.

“You need to watch your step monsieur,” Furina instructed him as she entered the debated building.

“You may rest but I need to look for supplies,” Furina picked up a chair for him to sit in, “I am rather worried about you monsieur.”

“Do you really think anything will be in here?” Neuvillette took a seat watching her every step like a hawk.

“There has to be something, I need to bring back supplies to the village,” Furina explained, “there’s a dragon about and they claim he eats people.”

“Does he really eat people or did someone just tell you that?” Neuvillette asked her.

“I would not be here if the dragon were not an issue,” Furina opened a drawer seeing it empty outside of the spider crawling around.

“I do not your dragon is particularly fond of human flesh, so there is no need to worry Dame Focalors.”

“How would you know?”

Neuvillette paused trying to think of his answer, “a guess. Exactly how many dragons do you know eat human flesh?”

“Zero,” Furina admitted honestly.

“May I ask how many dragons you have slain?”

“Also, zero,” Furina answered without realizing it.

“And here I thought you were a knight,” Neuvillette mocked her.

Furina was about to yell at him after her being so kind enough to rescue him from the beach where the dragon could very much be circling around right now, looking for a lazy man wrapped in a blanket, easy enough for eating when she stopped; staring at him directly, his hood was undone fully revealing his face to her.

He was pretty. No, he was gorgeous.

She did not notice his long eyelashes or the blue eyeliner he was wearing bringing her attention back to those pretty lavender eyes she saw earlier. His hair was a lot longer than Furina imagined and it seemed longer still, only revealing what had not been tucked away by the cape.

She very much disliked the fact she could feel herself blushing, even worse that he could see it too.

“Is something wrong Dame Focalors?” Neuvillette called her breaking her stare.

“No, not at all,” Furina finally diverted her eyes, “and I am a knight, I may not be the most suited for the job but I will save this kingdom, people are dying, and the village will starve soon if this rain or dragon does not go away. Someone needs to do it; I do not care what happens to me as long as they get to live.”

Neuvillette did not reply to her as scoured the house looking for anything they could use, there was not much here besides a rotting mattress too disgusting to sleep on, a closet full of rotten clothes, and a cane tucked into a corner.

‘a cane?’ Furina thought to herself as she walked it over gripping the black cane and testing to make sure it would not break after one use.

“Monsieur Neuvillette?” Furina poked her head around the corner. “I found something you could use to help you walk.”

Neuvillette held his hand out as Furina gave him the cane. He inspected it like he was looking for a trick or faulty part.

“Thank you,” for the first time Neuvillette’s voice did not sound harsh as if trying to find fault in her character.

“It’s getting late, I think it's best we take shelter here for the night,” Furina continued.

“I need to get to the village,” Neuvillette shook his head.

“I understand but there will be monsters out there,” Furina told him.

“You’re a knight, are you not?”

“I am, but it will be dark soon and it’s a several hour walk back, monsters are more likely to come out at night than during the day and with this nonstop rain, we will not be able to see our path let alone which ones that have been flooded out,” Furina explained.

“You don’t understand I need to find my daughters.”

“They are safe in town, I promise you. The townspeople are making sure everyone has a safe place to stay from the flooding,”

“I don’t think you understand Dame Focalors, I am not from here,” Neuvillette confessed, “I am not some fisher from town that washed ashore.”

“Did you sneak aboard the military ship that landed last night?”

“Please, I need to get to town and you’re the only person out here, I do not know where I am going.”

“I understand, but we can't go out tonight its too dangerous,” Furina spoke softly.

Neuvillette’s eyes moved away from her staring off into some faraway place as the rain picked up outside, “I understand,” he sounded disappointed with her answer.

Furina felt like she was failing him, not just as a knight but as a future queen as well. Someone in her kingdom was struggling she should be acting better than this, her mother would know what to do, she always had the answers when Furina did not.

Furina chewed on her lip taking one step towards him closing the distance, “I promise you that I will bring you to the town safely and I will help you search for your missing daughters.” Furina spoke without realizing the weight of her words.

“I thought you said you’re here to slay a dragon.”

“I can do both!” Furina smiled, “I can help you find your daughters and slay the dragon. I want to help my people, in any way I can,” and prove her worth as Queen to the rest of Fontaine.

A curious expression played on his face, “Okay.”

“There’s a bed in the other room but I don’t think you’ll want to sleep on that, I have something a bit better,” Furina ran over to the bag she brought in with her.

Furina looked through it pushing aside other items in her bag as she pulled out a bedroll given to her by the person taking care of the stables.

“Here you can use it,” Furina gave it to Neuvillette, “you're going to need it more than me.”

Neuvillette looked down at it as if he had never seen the object before in his life, “very well, Dame Focalors, rest well.”

Neuvillette hobbled his way into the other room leaving Furina alone as her shoulders dropped and she practically fell onto the floor. She was exhausted, and her feet hurt. She had never walked so much in her life and she did not even have a bed to rest in, well she did but she gave it away to someone else in more need of it than her. It was not like she could sneak next to him and ask to share, bedrolls were rather small, nor would he be willing to share.

Furina lay down on the wooden floor using her bag as a pillow as she stared out into the night sky. There were no stars here, just dark clouds but occasionally if she was lucky she could see the bright moon.

Maybe the moon could also grant wishes if she dreamed hard enough.

-

Clorinde stood on the port side of the boat as the ship set sail staring out into the black sea, only seeing the occasional firelight reflect off the battering waves. The waters were calm this evening as the moon hung over them illuminating the entire sky, hopefully, Furina was also looking up at the same moon too.

She did not understand the need to leave so late, it was much more dangerous leaving at night than it was in the morning or the daylight hours. Yes, Clorinde took into account the possibility the dragon was either less active or asleep during this time like most things were but there are far worse things swimming in the water beneath Fontaine than a nasty sea serpent or overgrown vishap.

Clorinde had heard stories of the monsters floating beneath the surface when she was a child, part of her educational training was learning about every monster under the sun even ones that were long dead practically mythic. Stories of krakens, whales with the taste of human flesh, sea serpents, and hydras though whether by luck or lack of truth behind those words she had never encountered any of them outside of primordial vishap laying on a beach in the late afternoon. Though in all of her years of hunting another thing she had never encountered was a true dragon.

They were a long gone and defeated species here in Fontaine or so she heard, the word in everyone’s mouth now was the dragon that snuck into Fontaine’s waters destroying every boat that entered the harbor but something did not add up to Clorinde about this entire situation. She could not exactly put her finger on it but a dragon just appearing out of thin air was highly unlikely.

All vishaps could become a true dragon over time if they lived long enough that is, chances are what they could be dealing with is some overgrown vishap but even so could the military not deal with such an issue; highly unlikely as well. Being a Marechausee Hunter was a dying art in Fontaine or, for most regular citizens a dead art only used in overly dramatized plays, but handling a monster should not be such an issue.

Clorinde did not come here to track down a dragon nor slay one either, she had her responsibility as a Knight to the Queen and future Queen of Fontaine, even if she lied to the princess most of the time she still hoped was somehow still alive and not buried beneath the waves.

-

Furina never realized how cold it got in the night until she was curled in a ball huddling for warmth, she kept shaking listening to the downpour of the rain with her eyes closed hoping to get some sleep, just a little bit so she could last the walk back to the village without turning into a puddle.

She was always told about how frightening her oceanid form would be to the human eye, the last thing she wanted to do to Neuvillette after gaining his trust was scare him.

She felt something light fall on top of her as she opened her eyes seeing the exact man she was thinking about seconds ago staring down at her.

Was his eyes glowing?

“My apologies, I did not mean to wake you, you looked rather cold,” Neuvillette whispered as if they were in a crowded room trying to speak one-on-one.

Furina noticed the cape that Neuvillette wore was now resting on top of her, yet she couldn't care less about it as her eyes roamed his body taking pictures of every inch of it. He was so pretty and, fully clothed. Not a part of his skin showed outside of the bare rims of his neck and face.

“You can take the bed roll, I cannot sleep,” Neuvillette told her, “I am going to take a walk.”

“I can come with you,” Furina sat up, “it's dangerous to go alone.”

“I will be fine.”

“I do not trust that with your injury.”

“If you insist,” Neuvillette did not stop her as she sat up wrapping his cape around her.

He did not say anything as she followed him outside into the rain away from the house keeping a short pace behind him.

“It hasn’t stopped raining since yesterday,” Furina held the palm of her gloved hand out feeling the water drop onto her.

“I’m sorry,” Neuvillette apologized.

“It's not your fault, no average person can control the weather like this.”

“If that is what you think I will not argue.”

Furina blinked processing his answer, “Where are you from Monsieur Neuvillette? You said you weren’t from here.”

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“I do not know where I am from.”

“So, you were orphaned?” Furina asked with no reply to her question, “Are you married?”

Neuvillette stopped and Furina ran into the back of him, as he swerved around staring down at her.

“You ask too many questions.”

“Well, you mentioned children, most people who do are usually married or in a relationship of some form.”

“I’m not married nor am I in a relationship, is your curiosity satisfied Dame Focalors?” Neuvillette continued his walk.

A huffed breath came out of Furina’s mouth, she was just trying to close the distance between them, if they were going to be stuck with each other for a little longer than Furina anticipated. She did not have all the time in the world but she could do this, she could at least help someone in trouble.

“I did not mean to sound rude,” Neuvillette apologized again, “I am just not used to all these questions, how about you tell me something about yourself.”

“I-“ what could she tell him? “There isn’t much about me, I was never really allowed outside the house.”

“Then tell me about something you enjoy.”

She could do that, she could tell him about all the films she watched and books she read, every pastry she had ever tried in her impossibly long life, as a smile played on her lips. No one has ever really cared to hear about what she enjoyed, it's not like the servants and Clorinde did not know, it happened to be their job, and he was not receiving a paycheck from her mother.

He actually wanted to listen.

-

The waves calmed down the closer they got to the harbor and then rain started. It was a shocking difference in the air, the court was hot and warm as the world was starting to blend from summer to fall, yet the rain here felt like ice. It was cold and depraved, something felt off about this as well.

She felt like she was missing something about this whole puzzle and yet the answer eluded her.

Or maybe the weather happened to be strange like, it was not unusual for unusualites once in a while to happen. She heard of hurricanes happening in the dead of winter, so why not ice rain this early?

Clorinde’s attention was transfixed on the ship’s crew as she looked around seeing people praying to the gods and Celestia that they would dock safely without a dragon trying to kill them, maybe tonight they would be fortunate and land with no destruction after all, they had not heard word from any of other ships since the attacks started. Clorinde so happened to be prepared for a confrontation with this dragon if did so happen to show its face. She may have never faced a true dragon before but all living things can be killed.

It seemed to whatever god they prayed to choose to listen to them that night, as they sailed through the rainy seas toward the town's lonesome dock, that looked to have been tampred with, hundreds of lifeboats tied to whatever post they could find. Some were thrown on the docks to make way for other lifeboats.

One by one people started running down to the dock looking up at the first supply ship to touch the docks in over two weeks, food, weapons, medical care everything this town needed since the attacks began as the ship began to unload its supplies.

Dockworkers and shiphands worked in tandem to try to get the supplies down from the ship as quickly as possible so they could get the crates up and start distributing supplies, hopefully before the dragon awoke.

Clorinde ducked under a moving crate as she made her way down to the dock, searching between the buildings for any sign of Furina's presence as she looked through the boarded-up windows and the faint glowing lights of candles.

She moved forward inland coming across a rather busy inn with several gardes smoking outside laughing over a joke she did not care to know about.

"Dame Clorinde?" a familiar voice called yet not the one she was hoping for as she came face to face with an aquantice, "I have not seen you since you took the position in the castle."

"Captin Chevreuse, it's been quite a while," Clorinde greeted her.

"Do not tell me Her Majesty finally started to take the situation seriously and throw out the big guns?" Chevreuse said sarcastiacally.

"I'm here on another purpose."

"Of course you are," Chevreuse spat, "come on let's get you inside it's better than standing in this rain, and you can tell me all about why you're here."

"I cannot stay for long I'm looking for someone," Clorinde confessed as Chevreuse waited for her to finish her thought, "have you seen a woman around your height with bluish hair along with heterochromatic eyes that are two different shades of blue?"

Chevreuse paused, "Possibly most faces blend in together for me given that I'm now captain of archons knows how many people. Everyone always asking for something and I'm being pulled around to supervise stuff I'm not even qualified to know about."

"I just need to know if she is still alive."

"If she is and came here, I separated everyone into four tasks medical work, shipbuilding, patrolling the area for monsters, and supply fetching i-" Chevreuse paused lost in thought, "Now think about it."

"What is it?"

"We're still missing someone, she never came back i think I spoke to her in the morning she claimed to be a knight but from the looks of it, I think she was lying to my face. I didn't care enough to look into it, we need the help but according to a staff member she claimed to have worked closely with the royal family but there are only about ten knights that ever hold that title, and you're one of them. I do not remember ever hearing about her before either."

She did not need her to paint the picture any more clearer for her.

"Do you have a map of the possible location she could be?"

"You're not seriously thinking about going out right now do you?"

"I need to find her."

"It's dangerous, Clorinde I know you're quite capable but there's something wrong with this place, all of Fontaine in general, and it's only getting worse."

"It's urgent," Clorinde swallowed her spit, "please I need to find her, I am very worried about her safety. She is not capable of fending for herself at all, if it's as serious out there as you are saying it is."

"I understand," Chevreuse gave in, "come inside at least eat something before you go after this girl."

-

The two of them were back inside their delapted home sitting against a wall watching the rain stream in from the cracks as Furina yawned loudly for the fourth time.

"I think you should take the sleeping bag Dame Focalors," Neuvillette instructed her.

Furina shook her head, a knight should watch over others, "No I will be alright."

"You're practically falling asleep, I promise you I will be fine, I've taken care of myself long before you arrived."

"Well now you can have someone looking out for you," Furina closed her eyes again.

She tried her best to open them feeling herself drifting further and further away by the sound of the rain and a rather warm pillow she was leaning against.

Chapter Text

Instead of taking the sleeping bag like Neuvillette had insisted on Dame Focalors had decided that his arm was a much better option between the two too much of his annoyance. He waited a few minutes as her breathing became heavier before changing her position by allowing her to sleep on his thigh pushing the tiny strands of hair out from her mouth, so she would not choke.

 He would get rid of her by the time they got to the village. Until then it would be rude to treat her with such hostility, as much as he disliked the Fontaine royalty and their dogs she had yet to truly do any harm other than press a bunch of questions and use him as a pillow, none of which elected criminal sentencing.

He stared up at the shattered ceiling watching the rain pour in, the temperature was slowly dropping, and illness was probably running high within the village with the lack of supplies to treat it. Why did it matter what happened to them? A voice in his head reminded him. They were the ones that stole the Melusines, without any plausible explanation, not that there would be one, they did not do anything wrong other than use him as a sticker book while he was sleeping.

He destroyed every ship that entered the harbor and every ship exiting the harbor, not allowing their kidnappers a chance to escape. It seemed whoever was in charge of this seemed to have guessed what he was doing sending ship after ship distracting him from the real issue at hand.

Dame Focalors let out a tiny snore, at least one of them would sleep tonight, though he could not remember when the last time he got proper sleep, maybe it was when the Melusines decided to come out of their little homes and ‘sneaky’ sleep beside him of course he knew but he never said anything. It made them happy when they got the better of him.

She wrapped an arm around his leg giving it a tight squeeze, it would be a long night.

-

Cheveruse by some luck managed to get Clorinde a room by herself instead of dealing with sweaty men who were a little too eager to earn her praise or try to best her in a fight to see if she really deserved all the praise she had been given. Egeria’s most trusted knight that’s been undefeated since the day she joined, though to their disappointment she is not in a mood for shows.

Clorinde pulled her hat a little closer to her face as the rain trickled down. She kicked up some water with each step as she walked into the woods. Furina could be anywhere, it might have been an easier option to wait for her to come back but she had no true way of defending herself and with the rise of monster activity in Fontaine, waiting may cost her her life.

The rain covered most of the tracks making it hard to tell which way she had gone, given the information that Cheveruse provided knowing her she would have gone towards the beach. If anything survived the recent shipwrecks it would wash ashore up there, if someone else had not gotten around to it already. There had been a minor issue with thieves appearing in town and attacking caravans.

Clorinde was still trying to wrap her head around the idea of becoming a knight with no actual experience to help join a war with a beast, she always had her whims but it had never been this extreme. Did she not fear dying? Or at least leaving Fontaine with no heir to the throne? The political consequences of that might result in another civil war inside the nation.

Clorinde was not alive around the time Egeria took to the throne, and while she has her moments it seems as though her imprisonment and the war never really left her during the remembrance days her hand starts to shake nothing to obscure her work but noticeable enough to Clorinde that something is off. She also formed a hatred for small spaces which granted her the largest room in her palace after she destroyed several others combining them into one.

-

Furina groaned as she felt someone shake her she closed her eyes ignoring it as the shaking became a little more violent Furina blinked open her eyes hitting Neuvillette’s chin.

“Ow,” Furina looked at him accusatory as she realized the position she was in, “Oh I-I’m sorry, did I fall asleep on you?” Furina rushed out an answer trying not to think at the compromising position the two were in.

Neuvillette put a finger to her lips silencing her as he spoke in a whisper, “There is somebody outside.”

“Th-there is?” Furina muttered against his lips. What were they going to do there was no one here to handle it if monsters or thieves were running about.

‘Oh wait,’ Furina remembered.

She would have to handle it.

Furina swallowed her fear as she looked straight at Neuvillette, “It’s okay I’ll go look, I’ll make sure to deal with it, it is my responsibility after all as a knight,” she laughed nervously. “anyone would be afraid to run into me.”

And like a fool, he bought it instantly as his body became less tense.

Furina pulled herself up, readjusting Neuvillette’s cloak that she had yet to return to him, Furina took up her sword holding it closely as she tried not to shake showing no fear in front of him as she peaked out the broken window seeing a group of hilchurls wandering around banging up the limited supplies that they had. It seemed morning had crept up on them or at least she hoped it did it was impossible to tell with such grief-filled weather.

 Reine Chevalette looked spooked as she kept pulling against the tree trying to escape the threat as a hilchurl pulled against her reign. Furina looked over to Neuvillette and she flashed him a large fake smile.

Furina slowly sneaked out the door without catching their attention as she jumped up puffing up her chest, “Hear me you detestable creatures, I ask that you leave this place and no harm will come upon you and if you stay you will fear my wrath for I am a knight.”

Furina peeked her eyes over to Neuvillette, who was staring at her through the window, the hillchurls let out a garble crying readying their weapons.

“So be it,” Furina held up her sword like a shield.

One of the hilchurls swung their bat at her but she managed to dodge at the last second, wildly swinging her sword as her hydro creatures suddenly appeared by her side in defense. Furina felt a sigh of relief as she watched Crabllette barrel roll into one of them knocking it off its feet as Furina sliced at causing it disintegrate into black dust.

“We did it!” Furina cheered as her hydro creatures let out a musical cry in agreement.

An intense pain sore through Furina’s body as something cracked against her back, she tilted her head to the side only catching the whisps of a bullet cutting the tips of hair and shattering the hilchurls mask. Several more bullets flew through the air as the last three hilchurls burst into dust around her. Furina looked around for her mysterious savior and her smile quickly became a frown.

“Furina,” Clorinde stepped out from the section of the woods she was hiding in. Clorinde was not always the world’s most expressive person yet there was a noticeable difference in the way she spoke. She almost sounded angry.

“Oh Dame Clorinde,” Furina chuckled out of fear, “I didn’t expect you to be here.”

“Focalors?” Neuvillette stepped out of the house.

Clorinde instantly went on guard cocking her weapon in his direction. Neuvillette’s face hardened by the sudden aggression as neither party made any moves only choosing to speak with their eyes. As her hydro creatures suddenly disappeared in fright.

“Clorinde please put the weapon down,” Furina timidly pushed the gun to the floor, “this is Monsieur Neuvillette he washed up on shore and he’s trying to find his way back to the village,” Furina joined him by his side wrapping herself around his arm. “He’s been quite kind and even lent me his cloak.”

“what’s going on?” Neuvillette eyes were on her.

Clorinde holstered her gun as Furina released a quiet sigh, “I’m sorry you’re getting caught in all of this Monsieur, but Furina is no knight, nor does she have any sort of background to qualify her as a garde, she’s-“ Clorinde paused as if trying to sort out her words. “a Lady who left her home to play the hero.”

Clorinde lied for her covering up her true identity, her mother must want to keep her little escape a secret if Clorinde was forced to lie.

“Is this true?” Neuvillette’s voice lost all the gentleness it held earlier, as he ripped his arm away from her.

“I’m sorry,” Furina stared at her feet.

Neuvillette did not say anything but she could feel his eyes practically pushing her face into the mud as the rain trickled down just a little harder.

“You wish to go to the village,

Monsieur?” Clorinde cut the silence.

“Yes, I do,” Neuvillette walked around her.

“Then we can leave right, I will get the wagon ready,” Clorinde nodded her head. “the ship back to the court leaves tomorrow morning.”

Furina watched as Clorinde untied her horse from her tree, bringing her to the cart she had already walked for so long, that her legs were probably hurting. Furina was hoping to give her a break at least for tonight but it seems her plans got cut a little short by Clorinde. She tied her up as the horse shook her head in dissatisfaction.

“Are you coming?” Clorinde called to her.

“There are supplies still left in the house,” Furina blurted out. “I will go get it.”

“I got it don-“ Furina did not give her a chance to finish as she entered back into the home gathering the missing supplies.

Furina picked up the sleeping bag folding it slowly trying to ignore the tears running down her eyes. She had no idea what she was crying about, it was not her knight identity at some point that would be blown. She had no actual training at some point someone was bound to find out. Her trip being cut short might have been it, the first time out of the castle since the day she was created, and now she would be shoved back in there for all eternity. Maybe it was the angry look in both of their eyes knowing that her stupid idea could have cost their lives and now she would go back home with two known failures under her name once that crown sat upon her head.

She heard Clorinde’s shoes tap against the wood as she stepped from the doorway, Furina avoided her eyes as she kept folding the same sleeping bag she had been in for five minutes now.

“How long do you plan on folding that sleeping bag?” the anger left Clorinde's voice.

“As long as it takes!” Furina shouted between her sniffles.

Clorinde sat beside her pushing the hair away from her cheek as Furina cringed under her touch. She removed her hand placing it on her lap.

“what’s wrong?”

“Please don’t bother,”

“I’m just doing my job, Your Highness,” Clorinde whispered against her ear. “What was your plan? To slay a dragon?”

“I don’t know.”

“You could have died on that ship,” Clorinde reminded her. “what would I have to say to your mother? That her daughter decided to throw her entire life away on a whim leaving the throne empty.”

“Maybe I don’t want to be queen!” Furina shot back, looking her in the eye. “I didn’t mean that,” Furina's eyes drift back to the sleeping bag. “I’m so tired of being in there.”

“The rules were you would be able to once the crowd was yours.”

“How am I supposed to lead if I don’t know my people?”

“Is everything alright in there?” Neuvillette poked his head through the door.

“We're coming!” Clorinde called to him.

Clorinde picked up the folded sleeping bag as Furina slowly rose to her feet dusting off all the dirt that collected on her pants. Clorinde carried it out to the cart before helping Neuvillette climb into the back of the cart. Furina got into the cart across from him she forced a smile, one he simply turned his nose to.

-

Clorinde was the first out of the wagon once they made it back into town by the afternoon feeling the mud water rewet her pant legs as she went to the back reaching for the supplies that they had passing them over to the stable hand before helping Neuvillette out of the wagon as he whispered a quick ‘thank you.’ Furina decided she was above help as she got out of the cart on her own.

She watched Furina wave to the horse with a frown as she followed Clorinde back to the inn still packed with Fontaine’s most annoying military members. She nodded at Cheveruse as she made her way up the stairs dropping Furina’s small makeshift luggage in her bedroom “You two can stay in here with me,” Clorinde told them. “We leave in the morning Furina, the ship is heading back to the court of Fontaine, and thank you once again monsieur for putting up with all of this.” She repeated.

The poor man had been found on the beach after surviving a dragon attack only to be put through all this. Furina seemed a little agitated as she walked around the room looking at everything.

“I’m going to go downstairs,” Furina stated as she made for the door. Clorinde stopped her in her tracks blocking her with her arm. “Are you being serious right now Clorinde where am I going to go? You're clearly capable of tracking me in the dead of night in a muddy forest, I think it's within my right to go downstairs,” Furina narrowed her eyes at her.

Clorinde did not say a word as she lifted her arm not bothering to argue with her as Furina quickly left the room leaving the two to themselves.

“Is she usually like this?” he asked her.

“No, she’s just upset right now,” Clorinde placed Furina’s stuff in the corner of the room.

There was no need to make use of the closet, given that they would be gone before the sun was fully up in the morning.

“Lying about being a knight, now that’s something I did not think I would ever hear about,” Neuvillette took  a seat on the chair. “from what I remember most people are scared to join the military but from what I’m gathering you happen to be a real one.”

“Yes,” Clorinde left it at that.

“You have a wonderful aim,” Neuvillette complimented her. “amazing how you managed those shots, especially with her in the way.”

Clorinde’s lips curved into a small smile as a blush grazed her cheeks, “thank you. But it’s my job to keep her safe. Though if you are wondering about her personality, she’s not a bad person and I do not think she meant you harm by lying to you. She has a habit of trying to take care of others.”

Clorinde may have never lost a duel in her life but that did not mean she never got hurt in one. Once in a while, the palace allows the knights to duel one another as a form of entertainment for the Queen and her daughter. She did not remember exactly how she got cut on her arm that one day while she was fighting but she vaguely remembers the earful Furina gave her later that day as it tended to her wound with her hydro.

“You need to be more careful, Clorinde,” Furina wrapped the bandage around her arm. The rest would heal naturally.

“I will be fine, your highness, it's nothing.”

“You are important to me. I hope you know that.”

“I think she was trying to help you the best way she could even if it was a little ridiculous, what are you here for anyway? You do not look to be military,” Clorinde asked Neuvillette.

“You're right I’m not,” Neuvillette admitted. “I’m here for my children they were taken, I believe they are somewhere around here.”

“Do you have any proof of this?”

“I do.”

“I cannot help much given that we will be leaving tomorrow but I can speak to one of the others in charge to help you with your investigation.”

Neuvillette seemed hesitant before agreeing to her compromise.

-

Neuvillette was behind Clorinde as she spoke to a purple-haired woman he had come to know as Cheveruse she was a lower-ranking member than Clorinde. She still spoke to Cheveruse as though she were of a higher position at times and as a friend at others, a conversation that balanced both professionally and personally. The same way she spoke to Furina just with a tad bit less reluctance.

“I would not be shocked if people are kidnapping kids with the thieves running around and sex trafficking some nobles love to engage in, a crisis like this is the perfect time to pray on them,” Cheveruse stated. “I’m sorry you’re going through all of this. Do you have any photos so we can run them through the printing press?”

“No, I do not even own a change of clothes,” Neuvillette shook his head. “all I have is a little bit of mora to spare.”

Stuff he had come to collect from the Melusines gifting him random treasures they found in the ocean while they were out.

“Can you describe them?” She asked him.

“I-“ Neuvillette paused, describing how too much would cause a panic. Humans were not friendly to those who were different. “My girls are not very tall, and most of them wear the same brown dress with thick straps. Their hair does not go past their shoulders,” vague but it could work.

“Okay, it’s not much but I can work with it,” Cheveruse scribbled the description down. “I will pass it around and see what we can do.”

Neuvillette’s eye caught sight of Furina’s head floating just outside the window walking passed, “Thank you for everything and you too Dame Clorinde.”

“You're welcome monsieur, I hope everything works out for you,” Clorinde said sweetly.

“I’m going to walk around for a bit.”

“Do you need me to accompany you?” Clorinde asked him.

“I’m glad you both keep offering but I am capable of walking on my own,” Neuvillette smiled softly at her.

“I did not mean to offend you.”

“There are worse transgressions, believe me.”

Neuvillette gave a friendly nod before departing from the two women as he made his way outside looking right and left fur Furina. He found her sitting in a puddle being drenched in the storm of his own making in an alleyway by herself. His cape still covered her body covered in mud water, her cheeks were puffy and red for some off reason.

“Lady Furina,” Neuvillette called.

“Neuvillette,” Furina jumped up, dusting herself off. “I thought you would be upstairs with Clorinde.”

“I was, I wanted to walk around for a bit and become acquainted with this little town,” there was no lie in that but he did not mention that he happened to also be looking for her. “would you care to join me.”

“I um.. yes,” Furina wiped her cheeks. “oh um..” Furina looked down at his cape, removed it from her shoulders folding it. “I can dry it off for you once we get back inside, I’m sorry for using it for so long.”

“Thank you,” Neuvillette took the cape from her hands as he began to walk off.

Furina followed behind him as silence seemed to settle between them while they looked at the sights of the town. There was not much here few stores and mostly residential areas, there were several inns and restaurants as this was a prominent trade route between Fontaine and Liyue.

“I’m sorry,” Furina practically whispered. “about lying to you. You trusted me and I let you down.”

“I do not understand why you did it. Though Dame Clorinde said you have no ill intention.”

“Would you have believed me if I told you I was noble in the garb that I am wearing? And I also wanted to help. I will admit there was some benefit to me as well, but it boils down to me helping my people. They are suffering and I am sitting around doing nothing.”

“Would have it not been easier to just send money?”

“Probably,” Furina admitted. “but that does not feel like it does anything. What exactly am I throwing my money at? A ship? Clothing? Food?”

“You would rather gamble your life if it meant helping others?”

“I would like to live my own life. I have always wanted to go visit the other countries and direct a film but I alone cannot be equated to the same worth as an entire population,” Furina answered. “if that is what you’re asking, and if I am being entirely honest I have also never left beyond the walls of my home.”

“You’re a lady who has never visited the court of Fontaine. I find that statement quite untrue.”

“My mother made it clear that the people of Fontaine may never gaze upon me until I was ready to take her position. It was to save her from the embarrassment I could bring by being ill-informed.”

“How could one ever hope to be informed if they are not allowed to experience it for themselves?”

Furina giggled, “It seems we agree on something monsieur. I did want to help you with your issue, maybe it was a little silly thinking I could slay a dragon but I am very good at figuring stuff out. Coming morning Clorinde will quite literally drag me if she has to get me aboard that ship. I hope they can help you with your issue and if they don’t well just tell them it’s prioritized by me,” she seemed to laugh at the thought.

Neuvillette let out a short yawn, his tiredness was catching up on him but he could not sleep now, not with his children missing.

“Are you tired?” Furina asked him. “we can head back if you want to.”

“No, I’m fine,” Neuvillette shook her off.

“You haven’t eaten since we met, that could also be contributing to your sleepiness, Let's head back and grab something to eat,” Furina grabbed his free arm pulling him.

Neuvillette sighed allowing her to lead as he followed her back to the noisy and overcrowded inn for a terrible plate of whatever they were serving.

Once their early dinner was over Furina reached for his arm that was not gripping the cane, wrapping herself around him as she led him up the stairs. To their shared room where Clorinde had already seemed to have made herself comfortable. She was no longer in her uniform opting for a simple top that almost seemed a size too small for her muscular build. It did not cover her arms properly and barely covered her chest. She removed the hair tie letting her hair hang loosely around the rest of her body and Neuvillette could not help but stop at gawk at the sight of her. She had a unique beauty to her that he could not quite place as he pulled his eyes away realizing how inappropriate it was to stare catching a glimpse of Furina’s bright red face that was glued to her body.

“It seems my appearance has startled the both of you,” Clorinde apologized. “I can change into something different.”

“No please don’t-” Furina spoke quickly before switching her tune. “What I meant to say was there is nothing wrong with dressing into something a little more comfortable, it’s just for one night. It's fine.”

“Any objections Monsieur?” She was asking him.

From what he remembered about human customs it was quite inappropriate to see a woman half-naked or full naked without being a family or a close member of one unless you happened to be married which they were neither. Though Furina knew her better and if she was alright with it, then he should be too.

“It’s fine,” Neuvillette diverted his eyes away from her chest and the rest of her body. “I can sleep on the floor, you two may have the bed.”

“No-no-no you are hurt I cannot allow you to sleep on the floor and worsen your injury,” Furina looked directly at him. He really needs to tell her that it was not an actual injury. “so, you’re going to take the bed. I’m fine with sleeping on the floor. I’ve done so before I can do so again.”

“I can if you wish,” Clorinde offered.

“No!” Furina insisted. “I can handle sleeping on the floor Clorinde.”

“If you change your mind the offer still stands.”

Neuvillette looked over to CLorinde who held no objections or even a hint of emotion behind her face. As the two of them got ready for bed or more so Furina got ready for bed taking a bath, and donning a long night gown, pinning up what was left of her hair. The three seemed to move around in their own world for what was the rest of the day not interrupting each other’s space as Furina flipped through a book she found in the room while Clorinde kept herself busy sorting and tending to her things.

Neuvillette owned no other pair of human clothing outside of what he was wearing, once Furina caught wind of this she told him that come tomorrow he should seek out more clothing. It was unhygienic to only wear one outfit, especially after trudging around in the mud.

Clorinde separated the sheet from the quilt and the blanket taking the sheet for herself and passing off the blanket to him and the quilt to Furina who had built herself a spot on the floor from cushion pillows collected from the seats. Neuvillette slept on the edge of the bed not daring to enter into Clorinde’s space as he faced the door. He did not know what the future would bring and a gut feeling told him it would be nothing good.

-

Furina lay awake in the darkness staring up at the ceiling, she hated sleeping on the floor. She would never do so again after this tiny detour of a trip. It was fun while it lasted, well it could have been fun if it were not for the horror of watching people drown to death and getting into a fight, but maybe in another life, she could run free doing whatever she wanted without having to worry about a future where she would lead the entire nation.

She did not mind it though she wished to have gotten to know her people more, she would make an ignorant queen the way it was going and everyone already hated her.

Furina could hear Neuvillette snoring from her spot on the floor, as she looked over to the bed, his hair was all over the bed with nothing to restrain it Clorinde breathed softly, Furina’s brows furled as she tossed herself on the Floor trying to get comfortable. She could at least do this.

She could not do this.

“Clorinde,” Furina spoke in a harsh whisper.

Clorinde opened her half-lidded eyes, “you're still awake?”

“I don’t like sleeping on the floor,” she muttered.

Clorinde sighed, “We can switch or if you want this bed is big enough to fit all three of us.”

“yes, but it would be a bit crowded.”

“it does not matter to me, come into bed,” Clorinde patted the open spot between her and Neuvillette.

Furina picked up her quilt crawling into bed laying her head on Clorinde’s shoulder as she wrapped her arm around her. Clorinde responded in kind wrapping her arm around her waist as Furina's breath hitched, she felt CLorinde’s grip tighten. She could feel her heart beating faster, and her face becoming warmer as she realized how close her face was to her chest.

This was worse than sleeping on the floor.

“Are you still mad at me?” Clorinde asked her.

“I’m not mad at you more at the situation,” Furina whispered against her collarbone.

“You do not need to prove yourself Furina,” Clorinde’s eyes glanced at hers.

“You’re not the one who is about to lead the nation,” Furina turned to face Neuvillette’s shoulder. He looked even prettier when he was sleeping with hair covering most of his face. What was she thinking? “I’d also like to see Fontaine for myself.”

“The agreement was it would happen after you took over,” Clorinde pleasantly reminded her.

“Do you know how many years I’ve been waiting?”

“try to get some sleep Furina we have two hours before we leave.”

Clorinde’s grip loosened as Furina stared at the door just passed Neuvillette's chest, she felt a calling to get up and leave once again, it’s like once she got a taste of the outside world it was more addicting to her than her favorite cake. She needed to watch her thoughts; Fontaine needed her inside that palace more than they did here.

 It was fate, that’s what made sense.

Furina felt Neuvillette’s fingers brush against hers by accident as his fingertips lay against her knuckles. She became more presently aware of the situation; he was still wearing gloves over his hands but she could feel his sharp nails scratching against the fabric as she covered his fingers with hers. She could still feel Clorinde’s arm holding her.

This was so much worse than sleeping on the floor.

-

It was never this quiet, even when they were sleeping some of them breathed a little too deeply others snored slightly with their mouths wide open. Even when they were hiding amongst the rocks, he would hear their short giggles and quick movements in the water. Neuvillette popped his head up out of the water seeing the rest of the cave empty, no signs of life in the little homes or them talking and playing amongst themselves.

“Girls?” Neuvillette called over knowing he would get no response.

Neuvillette ducked his head back under the water, calling out to them once again. No responses.

The world felt like it was closing in on itself as the water felt like it was getting darker and darker by the second as he tried to find where the Melusines went and he had no idea where he was, the whole world felt bleak as he heard two voices suddenly speaking. Maybe it was them as he approached the sound the voices sounded familiar yet he could not recall from what.

“Neuvillette,” a voice called softly.

Neuvillette blinked open his eyes seeing Lady Furina with arms stretched across him and Clorinde just over her shoulders watching the scene before her.

“Are you okay? You looked to be having a nightmare,” Furina asked him.

“I’m fine,” he did not remember when he fell asleep but he still felt exhausted regardless.

“Okay,” Furina nodded her head. “go back to sleep, you still look tired. We have to go now.”

“Go where?”

“The ship is going to leave in an hour,” Clorinde joined in. “there’s going to be a line of people trying to get on the ship so we need to go.”

He somehow managed to sleep through his plan, “I’ll come with you.”

Clorinde’s head tilted to the side as if she did not understand his offer.

“I’ll walk with you to the ship, it's the least I can do for you for all the help you provided me.”

Clorinde simply nodded as Furina busted into a smile, Neuvillette could not help but smile too.

Clorinde was carrying both her and Furina’s stuff throughout the rain insisting that it was her responsibility no matter how much Furina begged her to let her help, Clorinde insisted on keeping her helpless. After ten minutes of arguing Furina clanged to Neuvillette’s side instead while Clorinde led the charge forward.

“I don’t think I’m going to need this much longer,” Neuvillette stepped with the cane.

“You're already healed?” Furina looked puzzled. “was it just a cramp?”

“Something like that.”

“What are you going to do now?”

“I will try my best to look for them on my own and hope that maybe the military will dig something up,” they would not.

“It’s better than searching alone.”

Clorinde stopped as Furina almost ran into the back of her, Neuvillette looked up and saw a massive line of military and civilian members trying to climb aboard the ship heading back to the court of Fontaine. People carried their stuff in backpacks, and suitcases clinging to their hoods and umbrellas to try and keep out of the rain not that it helped much given the town was already flooding.

“We can keep moving,” Clorinde told them. “We have permission to board immediately.”

Furina did not say a word as she stared longingly into the ocean as a faint smile crossed her lips, at least she heard the message.

The three of them pushed past the line, with several unkind looks, and whispers of insolent words of people jealous that they were getting to go ahead of them. Several shouts came from the front as heads turned to figure out what was happening up ahead.

“My baby,” a woman shouted as a figure in a yellow dress was shoved aboard.

A man in uniform pulled her up the platform, lifting the staircase as the ship began to pull out of the harbor. Insults and complaints rang out from the villagers still stuck in line as Clorinde pushed towards the front with Furina following behind her. Furina grabbed a hold of Neuvillette’s hand as the crowd began to disperse.

Cheveruse held a child with some distance between them as she looked over to Clorinde.

“What’s going on?” Clorinde interrogated her.

“I wish I knew,” the baby began to cry as she looked in disgust. “I don’t understand why they did not let her take her. The last thing I want to be doing is dealing with a motherless child.”

Neuvillette looked over to the crying baby seeing it shake in the cold windy wet air, helpless to the circumstances as he picked up the child from her hand wrapping her in his arms.

“Huh?” is all she said. “I don’t know something about them having no space-“

Neuvillette did not care to hear the rest of the story, it was probably some made-up issue as he looked at the crying baby as she wriggled in his arms for attention, his daughter used to be tiny like this. He would have to be careful with them or else they would get seriously injured. The rain bloated her face as she whined reaching out for his falling hair and pulling it. The cold rain was bothering her. He could stop it just for a second, just for her.

The grey clouds never cleared as the rain dissipated. He wrapped the baby around his shoulders letting her snuggle up to him to get warm. He made direct eye contact with Clorinde as Furina engaged in conversation with a purple-haired woman. She seemed rather impressed by his ability to calm the child so quickly.

A man came running in almost bumping into him, “where’s my wife?” he spoke frantically holding a suitcase and a folder in his hand.

The purple-haired woman frowned, “the ship left.”

“I see that,” he replied sarcastically. “she went on board without me?”

“Not by choice,” she shook her head. “they were eager to leave but,” she gestured to Neuvillette who was holding a sleeping baby.

“Oh she’s still here,” the man whispered as he reached up for his baby.

Neuvillette handed him his child as she blinked up her eyes giggling at her father as he wrapped her safely in his arms, “let’s get you home, my little princess,” he whispered. “we will see momma here soon don’t worry.”

The man sighed as he took the rest of his stuff joining the crowd of people heading back for their homes waiting for the next ship, if there would be one. Neuvillette wished it would be that easy for him.

“Thank you for that,” she smiled at him. “I’m not in a mood to deal with crying children, now I’m going to have to figure out a way to explain this to everyone,” she sighed. “you can keep your room Clorinde, or switch it given we now have a few empty rooms.”

Cheveruse left the three of them alone, as Furina broke into a smile, “Maybe it’s a good thing that the ship left, we can help you look for your children.”

Neuvillette saw the lights shine brightly in her eyes, and Clorinde’s soft smile at her. She dropped her once she realized that he was looking at her.

“it’s up to you monsieur?”

He should say no that was the wisest decision, the last thing he needed was one of them figuring out what he truly was.

“That’s fine by me.”

Furina seemed more than delighted with his answer, “Okay let’s start with getting you some new clothing it’s not good to wear the same thing over and over its rather unhygienic,” Furina interlocked her elbow with his, “we can start by forming a documented account of when was the last time you saw them, maybe posters or talking with the locals. We could go by the nobles as they will have some form of governmental allocation but we might have to offer them something in return. Hmmm… there isn’t exactly much I can do given that I’m not near the court but we can figure something out if we need to but who knows they might be nice about it.”

Furina stopped pulling him along the dock as she turned her head around looking for the missing member of their party who was trudging slowly behind them.

“Clorinde!” Furina exclaimed. “Come here!”

Clorinde picked up the pace matching their footing as Furina interlocked her elbow with hers. She squeezed the two of them together as a large goofy smile seemed to form on her face. Neuvillette could not help but join her.

“Where was I?” Furina continued. “oh yes, maybe we can offer a service of some kind if needed. I still wish to know about what’s going on with the dragon, so on my off chance I’ll talk to the other military members or maybe try to locate a library. There should be one established in every Fontaine town according to that law that passed fifty years ago, not that it would give me much but it’s good to stay in shape. It’s scary not knowing what we're truly dealing with.”

“Maybe the best approach is letting others handle it, you do not need to be in the direct line of action to contribute,” Neuvillette offered.

“I want to help Fontaine prosper,” Furina pouted. “I don’t want to see them like that.”

“If there was anyone in the world capable of doing that, I think it would be you, Lady Furina,” Neuvillette told her.

“I-“Furina's flustered cheeks prohibited her from saying more. “Clorinde what do you think?”

“Moniuser Neuvillette is right,” She caught his eye. “it’s also my job to keep you safe, it’s quite hard for me to do that with you attempting to fight a dragon. Regardless you have no true training to handle yourself in basic combat either.”

“Fine you two win,” Furina complained. “let’s not speak on this further, though I do wish we could go grab breakfast even if it's that slop soup they keep serving.”

The three ventured back into the inn where the rest of the cavalry were waiting to hear their next set of orders. The three of them quickly unpacked back in their shared bedroom, heading downstairs to grab a serving of soup as Furina.

Chapter Text

Furina’s arm left Clorinde’s side as they walked up to the tiny library, which looked as though it had seen better days with its damp flooring, the windows bashed in by people attempting to seek shelter, and the sinking roof from all the rainfall. The rest of the town looked as if it had seen better days before the rain and flood, but the people were starting to look up now that the sun was finally peaking from the clouds.

A soup kitchen was slowly being established for those looking for a warm meal now that supplies had finally reached land. Some were singing in the street now that the rain had stopped, the dragon was still an ever-present concern as it had not died it had simply gone away but for right now people could be happy about something.

“Are you sure you want to go in there?” Clorinde asked her.

Furina turned around seeing two sets of purple eyes staring down and watching her every move, “Yes I will be fine. It’s just a library even if it’s not in the best condition.”

“There could be dangerous people inside,” Clorinde insinuated.

“I agree with Dame Clorinde on this, you have not proven yourself very capable in fighting, Lady Furina,” Neuvillette agreed.

“I defeated a hilchurl before!”

“Your crab defeated a hilchurl,” Neuvillette argued.

“She has a name and you will learn to respect it!” Furina growled then took a deep breath remembering what she was here for. “and still counts you know, I created her. But I will forgive you for this. Now would it make you two feels better, if you scoped out the place before leaving me inside?”

The two eyed each other before nodding their heads in agreement.

“Fine I will wait out here, while you two play bodyguard and scope out the place,” Furina sighed in annoyance,

-

Clorinde pushed up the door as it wobbled on its hinges, entering the building. Neuvillette took the right side of the library while Clorinde took the left. She walked cautiously through the aisle. From the looks of it - relatively safe. a few mice scattered over the floorboards, splashing up the puddles as they tried to run from Clorinde. Spiders have built webs and some books laid flats on the floor destroyed by water damage but there was no sign of present danger.

Clorinde’s ear turned as she heard the sound of chairs scarping the floor. She felt for her gun un holstering it from her side as she stepped out towards the center seeing Monsieur Neuvillette pulling together a couch and a table while his cape laid over a few pillows.

Neuvillette caught her in the corner of his eye, “I think you have a habit of pointing your gun at me.

Clorinde let go of her gun as she placed it back inside it holster, relaxing under his gaze. She picked up some books floating in the water placing them on a nearby table.

“The dragon really made a mess of things,” Clorinde complained.

“Yes,” Neuvillette agreed with some reluctance. “I am pulling together a spot for Lady Furina. I do not think she wants to be sitting on the damp ground while she reads given the only working light source at the moment is the sun.”

“I can help,” Clorinde offered as Neuvillette attempted to drag the couch again.

Clorinde rushed over as she picked up the couch with ease as the two carried it towards the sunlight. She then lifted the table without any help as Neuvillette watched her every moved.

“Are you sure you do not need any help?” Neuvillette asked.

“I have lifted things worst in my past,” Clorinde placed the table down. “I promise you it’s nothing I cannot handle. Come, Furina is waiting on us.”

-

Furina sighed dramatically as Clorinde and Neuvillette finally left the building, “I have been waiting forever, I started to assume you needed backup.”

“It’s safe in there but watch out for mice,” Clorinde warned.

“Okay now you two must leave me alone while I work,” Furina told them as they both looked at her like lost puppies. “shoo I say. I will be fine, I promise,” Furina found both of their hands giving them both a tight squeeze. “but I work better alone,” Furina brought their hands together making them hold each other. “You can come pick me up at a later time. Do not do anything stupid while I am away. I’m sure you both can suffice without me. Now go be free my dears.”

Furina watch the two of them did not let go of their hands as they walked off. Furina let her shoulders drop as they finally gave her some alone time, as she summoned her salon with a snap of her fingers.

“Okay I will need books on the history of this town, any files on the noble family, and keep it between us stuff about dragons,” she whispered the last part.

Furina walked through the library nothing about how Neuvillette and Clorinde had set up a small place for her to sit while she worked and left his cape in case she got cold as she peaked her head through the aisle looking at the books. Most of them were fiction books and light romance novels. Two things Furina was not allowed to read while growing up but that did not mean she wouldn’t try to occasionally sneak a book to read after being forced to read through every fontainain codex of laws that existed.

She read through the titles, ‘Why Do the Crocodiles Sing in Sumeru,’ ‘Love at First Baguette,’ ‘Carving Her,’ ‘Kisses at Moonrise.’ each had unique cover art to go along with it as a particular title caught her interest, “girls want to have fun too. Now including images.”

Furina picked up the bright pink book with strangely no cover image not caring to read the back of it as she flipped through to find the artwork stopping in the middle of the book as the words “ORAL SEX AND THE DIFFERENT WAYS TO HAVE IT.” appeared in bold with an image of a man held a woman’s legs wide up as he pressed his tongue to her vagina as he fingers practically pinched her clit.

Furina’s face went red as she slammed the book close shakingly putting it back on the shelf it slipped out of her hands again lying flat on the ground as she picked it up again seeing quick art of two women playing with each other’s breast as she closed it again shoving it back in its spot before running off towards the middle seeing her saloon had gathered her some books on her table.

Furina  straighten her vest as she tried not to think about what she saw earlier, ignoring the images popping up into her head as she fiddle around with her books.

-

A clothing store was set up for those who lost their stuff due to the heavy rainfall. Though ‘store’ was in loose terms. It looked and acted like a store items were on display, clothes covered mannequins, and there were even employees who would help with try-ons. The cash register was fake, all they did was remove the ‘price tag,’ and shove it into a paper bag for you to take home. It was meant to replicate the feeling of being in a store so those who suffered could feel some sort of normalcy in their life.

Neuvillette, who was a mess to say the least, held open the door for Clorinde to walk through as paused to look at him, running her fingers against his cheek as she pulled off the hairs glued to his lips entering inside. Their eyes shared a quick glace as he pulled away from her grasp allowing Clorinde to enter.

“I do not understand how this helps with finding my children,” Neuvillette spoke.

“It does and it does not,” Clorinde answered. She looked through the random scattered items in bowls for a hairclip, picking up a blue feather clip sliding it up against his hair pining the loose hairs out of his face. “so, it doesn’t happen again.” Neuvillette’s eyes moved away from her lips, she watched his cheeks become a soft pink.

“You need clothes whether we were looking for your kids or not, it's unhygienic to wear the same thing only for days on end. Also, if we are to get in contact with nobility they are not going to help us if we are dressed like slobs.”

“that’s a little cruel to deny someone help based on what they wear.”

“It is, but I also like to think of clothes as a form of armor. We wear it to show off and represent others. To protect ourselves from the elements but also to insert our authority when necessary,” Clorinde explained. “and if we are to rip this town part looking for your kids, then we must dress our very best. Now let’s get you something to wear.”

Clorinde searched through the men’s section pulling off several shirts for him to wear and bottoms to wear as she handed them for him to try on and one pair of heels that was the only size for his large feet. He played dress up for her, as he would step out of the closet in a new outfit and she would exchange it for another piece or go up to him and rearrange it, pulling out his collars, buttoning his cuffs, straightening his shirt.

 They finally finalized the look of a fluttery white shirt, and black pants to match his heels as Clorinde stood behind him while he held his hair tying his blue corset vest.

“Is that too tight,” Clorinde pulled hard on the black strings making his back arch.

“A little.”

Clorinde loosen the strings, tying them around each other before finally letting him breathe, “one last thing. Sit down.”

He sat in a blue chair as Clorinde looked around for a brush and bow, tending to his hair. He seemed to hiss every time she would brush over his blue strands of hair but made no sound when she attended to the rest of his long white hair. She tied it up hooking a blue bow to the tie as he frowned in the mirror.

“I do not think this is necessary,” Neuvillette commented. “I understand the clothes but my hair is perfectly fine.”

“Furina likes bows, she incorporates them into all her outfits.”

“I do not-“ Neuvillette’s voice fell short as Clorinde reached up pushing another loose strand of hair behind his ear.

“You're representing her when you speak to others you're speaking for her. There needs to be something to show for it,” Clorinde removed her fingers from his hair. “The first day I was introduced to her the first thing she did was tie a bow into my hair so everyone would know that I was hers.”

“What does she mean to you?”

“She is my life.”

“So, the two of you are together?”

“You’re not the first person to ask me this but no we're not. I would lose my head if something were to happen to her. If she ends up dead, injured, or damaged, I would die.”

“That’s quite harsh.”

“It’s my job. I understood what was being asked the day I took my vows, but Furina has given me no concern. This job has been the most cushions one I could find in,my field for someone of my age.”

-

This outfit felt stiff, the pants clung to his body, and the heels bent his feet in an awkward position pinching his toes and heels every time he moved. It did not help that he was walking in the mud but this was karma taking into effect for all the rain he caused. The streets had become livelier with people playing music and children kicking a dirty ball around. The two snuck back into the inn which had a little bit of elbow room now given some troops had been moved to another building since the residents had left.

The three of them were still stuck sharing a bed to their dismay but at least they could move in and out freely. The food quality was going to start increasing too not that Neuvillette minded eating nothing but soup every night.

Clorinde placed down his clothing bag next to the rest of the suitcases that they were debating on unpacking or not. Clorinde waited on him as he snuck into the bathroom peeling off his gloves as he turned on the sink.

Things were getting more complicated by the minute, the longer he stuck around. A tiny part of him did not mind having Clorinde and Furina around, maybe he did need some sort of help navigating with people. Talking with others and attempting to converse was never his strong suit but in the end, Furina’s goal specifically was to kill him. He stared down at the blue scales forming around his fingertips write where his dark grey claws poked out. He would hate to have to end things badly between the three of them if something were to go wrong. He just wanted his kids back, none of this would be happening if humans did not plan on intervening in everything.

Neuvillette stepped out of the bathroom after splashing some water onto his face, seeing Clorinde sitting on the ledge near the window staring out into the world.

“So, what do we do now?”

“We need to head downstairs anyway to talk to Cheveruse about getting posters up about your missing children or talking to the local government.”

“I follow your lead on this Dame Clorinde.”

“You do not have to keep calling me by my full title.”

“It's proper.”

“We are sharing the same bed.”

“Then I follow your lead, Clorinde.”

Clorinde chuckled as she left the room first with Neuvillette following behind her, as she made her way downstairs to where Cheveruse has spreaded her supplies. She gave them both a small smile as she looked up from her map.  There were more markings on the map and from the looks of it one of the locations they had just visited.

“We're here to check up on the possibility of doing posters for Monsieur Neuvillette,” Clorinde spoke for him while he awkwardly held himself.

He was surprised people have not gotten suspicious about the features of himself he could not hide, maybe humans were more dafted than he remembered.

“Given the lack of description, the best I can do is put up contact information on the possibility that someone might know. Do you have any relatives or friends that we could question about this?”

“No,” Neuvillette answered.

“You’re not building yourself a good case here, for all I know is that you're making this all up,” Cheveruse's words felt like a bullet.

She chuckled as the words sunk into Neuvillette’s skin twisting like a knife. He made no sudden moves just blinking in and out as he turned his attention towards the window.

“I am going to step outside if that is alright with you Ms. Clorinde?” the words flew out of Neuvillette’s mouth.

“Of course, Monsieur,” Clorinde’s eyes gave him a soft smile.

-

“Why would you say that?” Clorinde's voice hissed in her direction as Neuvillette walked outside.

“I thought to make light of the situation; he isn’t giving us much information to work with. It’s not unusual for people to make stuff like this up to get their ten seconds of fame in the Fontaine court system, especially during a crisis like this.”

“I understand that you do not say that in front of him, you keep your suspension to yourself or me privately. You could lose your job for this if it were someone other than me here. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Do you understand Captain Cheveruse?”

“Yes Dame Clorinde,” Cheveruse's eyes lowered.

Clorinde swiftly left the room searching for Neuvillette, which was not so much an issue, most people had disappeared behind closed doors trying to hide from the rain that was pouring down again and he choose to stand there letting it fall against his face.

“Monsieur,” Clorinde alerted him of her presence.

“You can go back inside, Dame Clorinde. I appreciate your help but I can do this on my own.”

“From what I understand is that you are in a town you’ve never been to before with no money, clothing, or shelter and you think you can do this on your own. Lady Furina wants to help you with your issue and if that is her wish I will do my best for you.”

“And what do you want Clorinde?”

His question was strange as his pupils expanded trying to figure out her hidden agenda.

 “It was a bad joke and I apologize on her behalf. I will still help you with this search and Furina is trying her best right now to do what she can to find information on this town to help you.”

“Fine but I will not tolerate this again.”

“You have my word,” Clorinde knelt her head as if he were her king.

-

Furina was lying on her stomach over her favorite blubber-beast plushie as she lay on her bed looking at a book she could not make sense of. All the words on the pages bleed into each other turning into scribbles, she must have been exhausted from reading about the dragon she should be researching along with information about the town she was staying in. Furina squinted her eyes, she was no longer in town. She was back home in her bedroom with the queen’s crown on over the vanity table.

She did not remember when she got back home or when she was crowned but it must have been relatively recently. Furina felt her bed sink behind her as she turned around to see Clorinde’s smiling face at her. Clorinde got on her hands pushing the loose strands of hair out of Furina’s face before planting a kiss on her forehead. Furina’s cheeks burned bright red as Clorinde burst into laughter.

“You are so easy to fluster,” Clorinde teased her.

Furina lightly pushed her off, Clorinde’s back fell to the bed like she had been wounded, Furina’s legs wrapped around her right thigh, “I am not easily flustered,” Furina complained.

Clorinde cupped her face brining her face to hers as their lips melted into one, she tasted like chocolate cake as Furina tried to take a nibble from her bottom lip as the kiss extended into another.

The doorknob turned as her bedroom door swung wide open and Furina pulled herself off of Clorinde turning her attention to the door as Neuvillette walked in.

“Care to join us?” Clorinde’s voice dripped with lust.

“Join?” Furina squeaked. “What?” Furina felt her eyes flutter between the two of them as her heart started to beat rapidly. “I-“ Furina felt something pinch her legs. “Huh?” Furina looked down as she saw her crab under the bed snapping her claws at her.

Furina woke up with a scream as she felt her crab pinch her leg again, and she almost fell from the couch knocking over several books. She saw her octopus and seahorse floating in front of her face with a look of judgment carved on it as a choir of singing started informing her that she had fallen asleep while she was supposed to be working.

“I know, I know,” Furina huffed. “But I’m bored and staring at pages too long makes your eyes tired.”

Their singing blended into one telling her that she could do something else when she retained the information she came here for which was to find information on the town’s nobility line and government.

“You three are worse than my mother,” Furina insulted them. “Fine but once I get what I came here for, I will treat myself to something fun.”

-

Cheveruse got right away on the posters as an apology for her words earlier. The two still had time to kill while waiting for Furina to finish her little research project as they took a simple job that one Cheveruse team were going to do before helping out Neuvillette originally. It was easy enough that Clorinde asked if the two of them could handle it.

Neuvillette huffed at the idea of working in a set-up soup kitchen even despite the easy work of just rationing food.

A mile long line was forming as more people were gathering by the minute in front of the restaurant they were occupying for the time being. Most places had loss access to electricity making stoves and ovens useless but some buildings like this one managed to be relativity untouched with minor damages.

Neuvillette followed her behind as they made their way through the back entrance seeing an overly busy kitchen using their spare vision users to help run gas stoves as the rest were prepping the ingredients. A few people looked at them, some mustered a hello, and it did not take long for someone to come and find them informing them of their task. It was simple work, just running the line making sure nobody would steal anything. It was just something to pass the time for a few more hours.

There was not much on the line anyway today just quick things they could cook up pasta and diced up fruit, some water for those who needed it. They were mainly preparing for tomorrow trying to figure out filling meals with little ingredients until the next ship came in. The doors opened while they stood up-front bagging things, passing their items to a person on the other side. Occasionally someone would stop and thank them and Clorinde would smile at them.

Neuvillette was not enjoying himself with this, his mind somewhere else. She was still trying to figure out why Furina was so fixed on helping him, he had not done anything in particular for her other than accompany her back to the town and give her a coat when she was cold. Furina was known for her grand gestures but attempting to solve a kidnapping case was a little too much, especially for someone she did not know. Her behavior around him was odd in the way she would cling to his side and stare at him at random.

“Is something wrong?” Neuvillette’s eyes looked over at her.

“No.”

“You have been staring at me for quite a while,” Neuvillette informed her.

Neuvillette handed another baggie with water and some basic napkins to clean up with as a lady caught his hand pulling it down to her as she placed a flower in it, “thank you very much.”

“You're welcome,” he smiled at her softly.

He twirled the flower in his hands staring as blush crawled down his face before stuffing it in his pocket when he caught Clorinde looking at him.

“It’s alright, I won’t tell anyone.”

“We just need to concentrate on the task we were assigned,” Neuvillette scoffed.

The day passed by without many issues, occasionally a spilled drink or someone angry about the current events unfolding, they were mad at Egeria for not doing anything, mad at the dragon for targeting their town and not somewhere else, mad at them for not doing anything about said dragon. Someone getting upset that they did not have any real food to eat. Most people have been starving clinging to the snack rations they had until the boat arrived.

There were plenty of things to be mad at, and they took it out on each other. It was easier to insult the victim than turn their anger at the perpetrator.  The crowd was getting rowdier by the minute, people came in shouting and pushing each other out of the way, cutting ahead, and snatching items before the person in front of them could reach for them. The gross parts of humanity always found their way out into everyday life as a man screamed at Clorinde over an issue that was out of her control. She greeted him with a simple blink and a nod of a head.

“You think this is funny?” The man paused his rant to insult her. “You can just sit here and play heroes while the rest of us suffer.”

Clorinde gave him no time of a day as she handed him a water bottle.

“Of course, you have nothing to say,” he spat at her.

Clorinde closed her eyes as the liquid hit her face dripping down her cheek, it always made her feel gross but that was the point of it.

“I would advise you to step aside,” Neuvillette interfered.

“And what are going to do about it?” the man mocked him.

“I think it's best you leave,” Neuvillette eyes darkened as his voice lowered.

The man’s expression changed in an instant, as his lips wobbled, “I’m sorry sir,” he whispered before leaving.

“Are you alright, Clorinde?” Neuvillette asked as he grabbed a napkin.

“I’m fine,” Clorinde felt him press the napkin to her cheek rubbing the man’s spit off of her as she tried not to gag.

“You do not look fine.”

“This is not the first time it's happened,” a frown formed on his lips at her comment. “I will be fine,” Clorinde reached for his hand peeling it off her face. “a shower would help.

”

Neuvillette got another napkin pouring water over it wiping away whatever excess spit was left on her cheek.  He did not have to be doing this but feeling Neuvillette wipe her cheek gently with napkin had a strange warmth blooming in her chest as her eyes fell to the ground.

“I think we should go pick up our lady from the library,” Neuvillette suggested as he noticed Clorinde’s sudden change.

-

Neuvillette entered the library seeing Furina wraped in his cape in the couch slumbering between the pillows with a book in her hand as the sea creatures she summoned during the fight floated around her blowing soft bubbles at her. The octopus flew over to him letting a deep piano key noise that Neuvillette could not quite understand as he walked over to the table looking over at the book she had scattered around.

Most were about Fontaine's history, the town’s history, and its noble family lineage as another book caught his eye. ‘Vishaps, dragons, and humans, and what’s the difference,’ Neuvillette opened the book glancing at a few of its pages seeing that it went into detail about vishaps that blend into human society and how to catch them.

‘what a dangerous book,’ Neuvillette thought to himself as he picked it up tucking it away on a shelf far from her sight. The octopus followed him around, hopefully it would not become an issue in the future.

Neuvillette walked back over to her, lightly shaking her away as she blinked open her eyes, jumping at the sight of him.

“Oh Neuvillette, I almost did not recognize you,” Furina looked him up and down. “Clorinde made you look so pretty,” she cooed.

“Just for you,” Neuvillette smiled.

“Just for me,” she repeated processing the words as her face became bright red. “oh um... I-“

“Have you found what you were looking for Lady Furina before taking your nap?”

“Uh yes,” Furina jumped up examining the table. She picked up several books, “this goes over the history of the town, the nobles families past and present, my suspicion is correct while the noble family is not exactly part of the governmental entity that makes the town. It still plays a huge part in it. I think its best if we start there, they will have the money and power. They will either help us or play a role in it.”

“You sound like you think they are the ones that took my girls.”

“Neuvillette have you ever been to the opera house and seen a trial?”

“That’s quite a turn from what we were talking about.”

“It relates,” Furina patted the spot beside her as Neuvillette took the seat. She picked up a book leaning close to him, their thighs touched for a short second as a jolt ran through Neuvillette’s body. “I may have never been allowed out but I will still be one of the many leaders here in Fontaine so I have to know the way the law system works.”

Furina opened up the book flipping through the pages, “while it’s not all of them most noble houses tended to have dealt their hand into criminal activity especially when their fortunes are failing.” Furina stopped, “we have had several houses play into the human trafficking issue here in Fontaine. They sell kids from this country and other countries to  noble families looking for indentured servitude, sexual purposes, strange medical practices, or even bodies for war.”

“This town’s economy is a port close to Liyue if my suspicion is right, they might be trafficking children to and from Liyue back towards the court of Fontaine or even Poisson where most purchases are made.”

“And if not?”

“Then we now have possible allies and hopefully a different lead,” Furina smiled up at him. “I think you should read up on some of this stuff too,” Furina yawned.

“Are you still tired of napping?”

“A bit,” Furina admitted. Furina leaned against his arm as his body stiffened, “Reading all the stuff is quite boring, but if it helps you then it’s worth it.”

“Clorinde is waiting for us,” Neuvillette coughed.

“Oh, she is,” Furina jumped at the sound of her name. “then we must go.” She picked herself up, placing down the book before picking it up again. “I’m going to hold on to it so you can read it, oh and maybe,” Furina waved her hand in the air as her salon appeared in front of her face, “find me a book on manners,” the salon dispersed in the library.

“If we are going to partying with nobles we should at least get you up to standards, I’m not too worried about Clorinde,” Furina paced around the room.

“Is there something wrong with the way I present?”

“Yes,” Furina agreed with a thought. “not that there is anything particularly wrong with you. It’s just  knowing how to act in the right way that can leverage us.”

Her crab came barreling down the room with a book in her hand as she jumped up placing the book in Furina’s hand. She leaned down patting the crab on its head before it disappeared.

-

Furina stepped out into the late afternoon air, puddles gathered on the ground. She did not remembering it raining, it must have happened when she dozed off as Clorinde leaned against a tree looking over at the library. She was almost sure; she was smiling at her before she killed the expression on her face as the two hurried over.

A part of Furina wanted to wrap Clorinde in a hug and kiss her cheek but she needed to remind herself, that her fantasies were not her reality. She was not even sure if Clorinde would consider themselves friends.

“I see you brought some books,” Clorinde acknowledge the books being held by Neuvillette who was just behind her.

“Oh yes, they are mostly for Neuvillette. If we are going to some nobles residence I think it would be best for all of those for him to learn some manners,” Furina whispered.

“There is no point in whispering Lady Furina, I can hear you,” Neuvillette mocked her.

Furina just giggled as the three of them made their way back to the inn, the kitchen was cooking up something as the scent of garlic and oil whiffed in the air, her stomach rumbled. She had not eaten since this morning, and it had been so many nights since the last time she had cake.

They snuck back up to their room, as her salon burst out of hiding flying around the room as they sorted through the unpacked bags and cleaned up the bed. They even started working on cleaning up their dirty clothes from last night.

“What are they doing?” Neuvillette asked in horror.

“Oh, I never actually properly introduced you to them,” Furina flopped onto the newly made bed. “They are my salon, they mostly keep my room cleaned and help me get ready in the morning. That’s probably what they are doing now, they can sense a mess even when I don’t summon them.”

“So, they are your maids?” Neuvillette inferred.

“My friends,” Furina corrected. “They can do whatever they want, they just have a preference for doing this. I gave them full autonomy on all their decisions when I created them.”

Furina watched as Neuvillette’s eyes wandered around the room in amazement as the salon got to make this place feel more like a home rather than a stuffy inn. Her seahorse flew over to him shooting bubbles as she cooed at him before going back to work.

“This is amazing,” Neuvillette complimented her.

“You say it, likes it difficult, I’m pretty sure anyone could do this,” Furina disagreed with him.

Clorinde sat at the edge of the bed while Furina positioned herself to lay her head next to her, Clorinde brushed a few strains out of her face, “I’ve never been able to do that with my vision.”

“Well, it might be because you use electro and not hydro,” Furina theorized. “and there’s a belief that hydro is connected to life itself, while electro is connected to time,” Furina stopped talking as she felt Clorinde’s gloves hands brush her scalp. She could feel the back of her neck getting hot as she tried her best to look at the ceiling and not at her.

Now it probably looked like she was concentrating on the touch and not finishing whatever thought she had before, she was making things worse.

“I don’t know much about this topic, there’s probably a scholar who knows more about it than I do,” she awkwardly laughed. “I have a better idea!” Furina shot up almost slamming her forehead into Clorinde’s chin. “Let’s go have dinner!”

The two of them looked at her wide eye as she tried her best to keep her cool, “when’s the last time either of you ate? Personally, I’m starving!” Furina laughed as she looked between the two of them before putting her shoes back on and hurrying out the door.

Furina almost tripped on her feet as she made her way down the stairs as she hurried in line grabbing a bowl from behind a man twice her size as a woman also a foot taller stood behind her. Furina peaked her head out from behind her as she saw Clorinde rush down the stairs after her.

“Dame Clorinde, Monsieur Neuvillette,” Captain Cheveruse's voice stopped them. “I have some of those posters ready, if you would like to see them?”

Furina sighed feeling the butterflies in her stomach slowly disappearing as the line moved towards the woman cooking up some potatoes and a chicken with a gravy poured over it as she slapped her plate down with someone before sending her on her way towards the drinks.

“What would you like?” a woman held up fonta soda and a small personal bottle of wine.

Furina looked between her two options, fonta would fix her sweet tooth issue, just until they could get cake here or until Furina found a loose baker wandering the streets. Or maybe she could go bold, Furina had never had alcohol before.

She was strictly forbidden from drinking one of the many rules implanted by her mother growing up, she would always pound it into Furina’s ahead that alcohol ruined the brain, and if she was going to grow up to be the queen she needed to have at least a semi-functional brain but once she became an adult she was allowed to try it.

Furina had been an adult for years, maybe even decades or centuries now. Time flowed by her like a river, yet at times when her mother would speak to her she felt like she still viewed her as nothing more than a mere child, a teenager most days.

The alcohol bottle glistened in her eyes, what would her mother think? She was not here was she, now? She could not stop Furina from doing anything, well Clorinde could but she was Furina’s knight not Egeria’s.

Furina bit her lip, she was free to do what she wanted, she could go outside, she could go shopping, she could drink, she could party with the locals and get into fights. She could even have sex if she wanted to. Furina blushed at the last thought as she locked it away placing a smile on the drink lady.

“I will take the wine please,” Furina clapped her hands.

The cook handed her a small glass for her to pour it into, as she found a secluded table in the corner away from the loud noises of the kitchen, the people playing cards and those setting up to play with their musical instruments they brought along. Furina cracked open the bottle, strange to see a wine bottle that did not need a cork to open but she wasn’t going to complain as the smell of wine plunged her nose.

She poured the red liquid into her cup eagerly as she gobbled up half of the drink in one sip. It tasted like garbage as it swirled in her mouth, she was always told that wine tasted like sweet honey grapes or crisp morning with a slightly fruity aftertaste. It tasted nothing of the sort, it tasted bitter and sour, she wanted to spit it out but she wanted to know exactly why everyone was so eager to drink this as she swallowed the drink with a tinge of disgust in her mouth. She poured more into her cup as Clorinde and Neuvillette sat beside her with their plates of food.

“Are you sure you should be drinking that much?” Clorinde asked her.

“I’m fine,” Furina felt an instant lightness in her head as if it were a balloon attached to her body.

A warmth overtook her like sitting outside during a sunny day, a perfect time for napping and she felt more awake then ever as she carved into the chicken. She took a bite of it, overly salty with no unique flavors as she placed her fork down and sighed.

“The food here is terrible,” she complained.

“They are struggling,” Clorinde reminded her.

“I know but I still want my cake,” Furina place her hand in her palm. “You know it’s been days since I last had a slice of cake. I have no chocolate and I have had no sweets, it’s terrible.”

“You can have all the sweets in the world once we get home.”

“I don’t know if I want to go home,” Furina mumbled as she took another swig of her drink. It was making her woozy.

Furina bit into her over salty chicken trying to take the edge off with alcohol and the potatoes as her vision felt like it was getting further and further away from her. She was still in control of her movements and nothing was blurry so she was not drunk yet, at least she assumed so.

She was always told that alcohol took the edge off of everything as she looked at Neuvillette who was sipping a glass of water.

“How did you get water?” Furina uttered.

“I don’t like sweets, and I refuse to participate in drinking, so I asked and they had a few bottles in the back,” Neuvillette explained.

“Another thing you two share in common,” Furina pointed out. They both gave her the same look, not seemingly understanding what she was saying and not realizing how they were replicating each other’s moves as she laughed.

“You are both doing it again,” she giggled. “You don’t even realize it.”

Furina looked at her fingers as she counted everything they shared, “your purple eyes, dislike for sweets, doesn’t drink, Neuvillette do you like seafood?”

“I prefer it,” Neuvillette answered.

“That’s something you don’t have in common,” Furina dropped a finger. “so last but not least your stern personality and never letting me have fun.”

“It’s my job to keep you safe.”

“But it’s not Neuvillette’s!” Furina exclaimed.

“It will be if you keep acting out,” Neuvillette responded and Furina rolled her eyes, they were both getting on her nerves.

“Can we go dancing?” Furina asked.

She did not even realize the words left mouth until she already said it, as the thought of Clorinde pressing her hand to her waist, pulling her in close as they moved in rhythm appeared in her mind.

“I do not dance Furina,” Clorinde rejected her outright.

“I-“ she felt her heart shatter, this first time she ever felt confident enough to make a move on her and yet it felt like she was further than ever. “umm..” Furina felt tears building up in her eyes, crying over this seemed pathetic.

“If you want to go dancing, I will come with you,” Neuvillette offered.

“Really?” Furina asked as she searched Neuvillette’s eyes for a lie.

Neuvillette pressed his gloved fingers to her eyes wiping away the tears, “yes but I’m no expert.”

“It’s okay, I’m an expert,” Furina giggled as she popped out of her chair.

Chapter Text

Furina could feel her fingers being crushed by Neuvillette’s gloves, he seemed keenly aware of their surroundings trying his best not to bump into others or tables as he wrapped his hand around her waist pulling her in tighter. She sucked in her breath as her chest collided with his upper abdomen. He looked down at her with those big purple eyes of his, as her cheeks grew warm. Her entire body felt warm actually, it felt like she was floating with each move.

“You’re so beautiful, Neuvi,” Furina muttered in her drunk state.

“Neuvi- what is that a nickname?” Neuvillette’s eyes sparkled. She wanted to reach up and kiss them like gems.

“Do you not like it?” Furina’s words seemed slower. Maybe she should not have drunk so much. I can call you something else if you would prefer, my dear, my love,” his ears redden with a blush. It’s okay,” she shushed herself. I won’t tell anyone; it can just be between you and me.”

Neuvillette gave her no answer as he suddenly twirled her, and she laughed out loud. She probably looked so goofy dancing with him, but it was the first time she had real fun in Archons know how many years.

Furina’s back hit his stomach as his hand was placed on her hip, Furina became more and more aware of the size of his hands and where he was placing them as they danced. She could feel the heat of his body radiating on top of hers. Her mind was going somewhere else as his hand pressed further in, thinking what would happen to them if he reached down and pressed his lips to her neck and draped one of his gloved fingers down her pants.

-

Clorinde watched as the two whirled around their tiny dance stage among the other dancers, she kept her eyes glued to Furina. Her reactions were strange it might have been the alcohol but she had been acting strange around Neuvillette since she caught up with them. She seemed so anxious to touch him and be with him,  her cheeks grew redder with each step. It became increasingly obvious that she was attracted to him. A sour feeling took hold of her.

Jealousy?

It was not the first time she felt it when she found out Navia had started dating someone long before the two of them got together for the first time around. She hated the idea of another girl taking her spot next to her. Then she felt it with Wriothesley when he would play flirt with others. Now it was with her, usually she would recognize her only feelings beforehand it was easy to spot when she liked someone. She would become touchier with that person; she would bring them gifts and go out of her way to do things for them. She supposed she did all of those things with her, maybe it was because she never had competition before him either.

It was hard to really imagine him as competition it did not feel directed towards him, usually the hatred that invested her like a bug now felt like a wanting. They should be dancing with her and not each other.

Furina’s laughter broke over the music as Clorinde smiled, she sparkled under the light. She looked over at Clorinde flashing her a big smile before Neuvillette spun her again. She stumbled back into his arms as the song ended, she slumped against his chest informing him that she was done for the night.

Furina tried to stand up on her own and walk back to the table as she tripped on her feet almost smashing her head on a table if it were not for Neuvillette acting quickly wrapping his arms around her back and holding her still.

He helped her upright as she linked arms with him, finally making it back over to Clorinde.

Furina let out a large yawn collapsing in the chair from exhaustion.

“Is the alcohol wearing off?” Clorinde asked her.

“I don’t know,” Furina shrugged. “I want to crawl into bed and go to sleep.”

“Can make it up those stairs  by yourself?” Clorinde asked her but it seemed as though Furina was already miles away. The alcohol was definitely wearing off of her. “Do you want me to carry you?”

That got her attention as she leaned against Clorinde’s shoulder with a fixed smile on her face, “Yes.” She could smell the alcohol on her breath.

Clorinde swopped her up in a bridal carried as she giggled leaning her head against her shoulder, her hot breath tracing her ear.

“She’s so strong Neuvillette she could probably pick you up too,” Furina bragged.

“I would not burden Ms. Clorinde with such a request,” Neuvillette said.

“She’s so amazing,” Furina's compliments kept coming as Clorinde started walking. “you should see her when she’s hunting, she could directly kill a bird without fully seeing it.”

“You’re making it sound like I’m some superhuman, I am just doing my job.”

“Don’t say that you say thank you when someone is giving you a compliment,” Furina lectured her even in her drunken state. “you have always made me feel safe, and I value you as a knight and a friend. You are my knight,” Furina repeated. “I would not trade you for anything in the world.”

Furina’s arms squeezed against her neck, as she pulled herself up placing a short kiss on her cheek. Clorinde froze in her spot as Furina quickly realized what she was doing burying her head in the crook of her neck.

“I’m sorry,” Furina apologized.

“It's fine,” Clorinde reassured. “I was just caught off guard.”

Furina’s eyes peaked up at her as their noses brushed against each other.

“Are you sure? I did not mean to overstep,” Furina’s lips were practically muttering over hers. Her breath felt so warm against her own.

“Yeah let’s get you to bed,” Clorinde pulled away.

Neuvillette held open the bedroom door as Clorinde placed her neatly on the bed. Her feet hung over the sides as Clorinde knelt untying her shoes one by one. Furina climbed to the middle of the bed smooshing her face into a pillow.

-

Furina was in a field of some sort, she could see the occasional flower poking out from the ground, a tree line in the distance, and a clear view of the ocean. She sat on a comfy blue blanket with a glass and plate just a few inches in front of her. She was wearing a white dress as a breeze lifted her skirt forcing her hand to push it down.

“I told you not to wear a dress today,” Neuvillette’s voice instigated.

Furina looked around seeing Clorinde holding her hat in her hand and Neuvillette was sitting on the blanket with his knees up as he looked over at her and smiled. He picked up her hands, pressing a kiss on the blue part of her fingers. Furina felt Clorinde’s hand part of Furina’s hair as she lightly kissed Furina’s shoulder.

Furina giggled as her nose collided with Clorinde’s and she caught her in a kiss she could not escape from, Furina could feel her smiling against her lips as she let go. She turned her attention back to Neuvillette who had already bent over to her as she bit his bottom lip dragging him into a kiss. Furina climbed up on his thighs wrapping her feet around his hips as she drank their kiss, feeling his mouth open. Furina tried not to pay attention to whoever’s hand was sneaking up her skirt playing loosely with her underwear and another pair finding her corset strings. Clorinde’s lips were back on her shoulder kissing up to her neck.

Furina did not want to neglect her as she broke the kiss with Neuvillette but it seemed the other two already agreed on neglecting her as Clorinde and Neuvillette’s lips connected. Her mouth hung agape, she felt a thousand things at once and all she could think about was growing uncomfortable wetness building up in her underwear.

Furina woke up from her dream noticing whatever feeling that ached between her thighs followed her back to the land of the living as she pressed her thighs tighter hoping neither party sleeping beside her noticed her thoughts. She could feel Clorinde’s arm wrapped around her waist holding her in place. Furina’s head propped up on Neuvillette’s shoulder. Furina wrapped her arm on Neuvillette’s stomach squeezing his nightshirt as she tried to push down whatever she was feeling.

“Furina?” Neuvillette whispered.

Furina saw Neuvillette’s purple eyes glowing at hers as she tried to fake her sleep.

“There’s no use pretending I saw you looking,” Neuvillette muttered.

“I did not mean to wake you,” Furina whispered.

“Quite the opposite I was already awake.”

“Another nightmare?”

A silence washed over them as Furina waited for his reply, “Yes.”

Furina felt her brain working against her groggy self, “your dreaming about your children aren’t you?”

“I cannot help but think of all the terrible things happening to them, right now while I lay here doing nothing.”

“You’re doing the best you can, I know they will be so happy to see you once we find them.”

“And what if we don’t?”

“We will, I’m not giving up on this that easily,” Furina squeezed him. “Neither should you, get some rest okay?”

“Furina, thank you for everything.”

Furina smiled to herself as she watched his eyes close letting darkness consume the room again. She positioned her head near his chest as she listened to his steady breathing and the rhythm of his heart. A pang of guilt flooded her veins, she was sitting here dreaming about the two of them on a date, kissing in the warm sun and he was here to find his children. She got so caught up in her idea of a romantic escapade that she forgot to be greeted by reality, he probably did like her that way, and neither did Clorinde.

Clorinde was just her knight, who was already pinning for another woman, one Furina completely erased from her mind. Neuvillette was just a commoner who had his life unfortunately turned upside down. The chances of one of her liking her that way were low, let alone the both of them. Her desire felt completely selfish, she had never once heard of a relationship with three people in it and yet in the back of her mind, it was the only thing that felt right.

Furina shut her eyes before she could start crying from the heartbreak she had not fully felt just yet.

-

Before Furina decided to spend the evening getting wasted, Clorinde thought the morning would go by quickly. She would deal with the posters instructing the staff where to place them and creating a folder for all of those who reported on missing children along with getting a map on the warehouses about of the few nobles houses were located. Clorinde then would clean her weapons and be on the road towards the nobles who lived a few hours away from town.

This morning, she woke up to a miserable and whiny Furina experiencing her first hangover as Neuvillette left the room to get her some water and a bit of food. Clorinde attempted to pack everyone’s clothing against the wishes of a crab who kept trying to fight her while an Octopus honked at her like a trumpet. Once Neuvillette was back and helped Furina to sit up and eat her breakfast he managed to get the sea creatures under control or maybe Furina did but she seemed relatively spaced out.

Furina got back into her cheerful personality once they made their way down to the stables she found the horse she had named ‘Reine Chevalette,’ ignore whatever the stableboy called her, as she ran up to greet it patting its snout.

“Oh, I would give you so many apples if I could,” Furina cooed, kissing the horse’s forehead. “Would you like to accompany me on a journey?”

The horse shook its head in reply as she giggled. Clorinde already knew she would be taking the horse not by choice.

“We will take her and two more,” Clorinde readjusted the bags in her arms.

“Clorinde,” Neuvillette butted in. “I was never taught to ride.”

“Oh, then you can ride with me!” Furina exclaimed as the horse licked her hair.

“I think that solves that,” Clorinde tried to ignore the growing pain in her heart. “maybe more luggage packs instead,” Clorinde suggested trying to steer away from Neuvillette’s gaze.

The stable boy got everything ready for them, Clorinde leaned against a post watching Furina hold Neuvillette’s hand as she instructed him on how to pet a horse without spooking it. She giggled as the horse huffed him turning her attention back on Furina, throwing little glances at him every chance she got. She tried to turn her attention to something else but Furina’s giggles sounded like music in her ears.

She thought about the incident on the steps last night of Furina’s lips pricking her cheeks. Why would she do that if she had someone else in mind? Maybe she was reading way too far into this. Furina was just being nice to him, after all the only person she had ever seen Furina interact with was her mother, or maybe she did like him and what happened last night was just a mishap. It’s not unusual for friends to kiss each other on the cheek.

Neuvillette’s pinky finger reached out for her hand, grazing her skin until Furina took hold of his hand. Her cheeks were burning red as she looked up at him turning her attention back on the horse.

It only got worse as the day went on, Furina got on the horse first helping him up as he sat maybe less than a centimeter behind her. Furina purposefully moved his hands towards her waist and stomach, ‘securing,’ him in the ride. He was not in danger of falling off but it made more easier for Furina to lean against him while they rode and absorbed in each other’s aura forgetting about everything else in the world including her.

Clorinde rode beside them, seeing their eyes form heart shapes each time they shared a glance and the way Neuvillette’s lips would graze her hair and Furina would go still.

“Once we reach the bridge, we will be there in an hour and a half maybe two given the heavy rainfall recently,” Clorinde interrupted their lovely dovely session as Furina jumped up in her saddle.

“Oh Clorinde,” Furina plastered a smile. “I was just wondering about that.”

“Of course, that’s what I’m here for.”

“Is everything alright?” Furina saw right through her.

“Yes, everything is fine,” Clorinde hit her reins as pushed ahead making a wide enough distance between the three of them that she could no longer hear what they were saying. She had to get over this and soon.

-

“humph,” Furina held the reins closely.

Neuvillette placed his hand over hers and instantly let go letting their fingers submerge, “is there something going on between you two?”

“Something is wrong but I don’t know what it is. She sometimes does this when something bothers her. Was it me? I knew I was quite a handful this morning but I did not think I burden her this much,” Furina realized.

“You were not the easiest,” Neuvillette agreed.

“And you are also not helping,” Furina hissed. “She has been doing so much for the both of us, maybe we should do something for her. Tonight, after dinner maybe we can all get away for a little bit.”

“Even if I said no, I think you would do it anyway,” Neuvillette’s head fell on her shoulder.

“I’m glad you're catching on so quickly,” Furina reached up feeling his longer hair running her fingers through his scalp as a low hum emitted from him. “My dear we still have a while to go. You can rest once you’re there.”

“It’s not that, it’s the sun, it bothers my eyes.”

“Is that why you insist on wearing a cape covering up that handsome face of yours,” Furina pinched his cheek. “the sun has always bothered me as well, I have always preferred darker areas nothing too dark, like light leaking in through a shade cloth. Though between you in me,” Furina whispered. “I like the way the sun bounces off the water when I’m under, that’s the feeling I have always been trying to replicate.”

“Do you enjoy swimming?”

“I do though my mother rarely lets me do it.”

“Your mother does not let you do anything, it seems,” Neuvillette concluded.

Neuvillette plagued her with such a statement. He did not know the full story of her shoving fins into her pants every day in that tiny bathroom of theirs to make herself look more human but he had some truth. Everything Furina did was constantly being examined and berated the slightest mistake on her part cost her everything.

She made no attempt to answer his question instead she focused on Clorinde as she galloped far away from them. She had no idea what she done wrong to make her act like this, maybe she was just unwell. She did not want their relationship falling apart, not before she got a chance to truly say what she felt. If she could ever own up to them.

-

A beautiful marble white house with several blue roofs domes and giant windows peered in the distance with a large broken golden fence, and shrubby that had not been attended to in a while. Clorinde led the trio through the main gate as they passed by a larger circular water fountain still working.

The place reminded her of the rich side of the court, just without the people. Small houses were spread across the lawn for the workers. Some came up in marveled at the sight like they had never seen a human before. Flowers blossomed near the paved road as the three of them road up to the front door, with no reception waiting to take them as the air of late afternoon settled amongst them.

Clorinde helped Furina down from her horse and then Neuvillette, though this time Furina insisted on trying to carry all the luggage even if she kept dropping it every five feet.

“Are you sure you do not need my help?” Clorinde urged her.

“I got it,” Furina shooed her as Neuvillette went against her wishes picking up the dropped bag.

The front doors were larger than average with a stained-glass pane of rainbow roses on each side, a turned off light hung just above the door in the alcove area of the porch. The door swung opened, as a man in Fontaine’s finest wears stepped out.

His hair was a little shaggy, blonde and covering some of his right eye. He wore a purple tailcoat and a matching vest with golden embroidery, and a pair black shoes with golden buckles. He was accompanied by two butlers carrying guns pointing them straight at their faces.

Furina reacted by raising her hands to her face dropping the bags, “we mean you no harm,” Furina spoke quickly. “We come from the village near the dock. We are from the military looking to help all of those who were troubled by the recent dragon attacks, and flood waters. We heard several of your ships were destroyed.”

“You aren’t the first person to say that” he huffed.

“Dame Clorinde here is a knight appointed by Egeria,” Furina was shaking.

Clorinde reached into her coat pocket pulling out a simple dagger that she carried with her, it had a golden hilt decorated with different scores of blue gems, it was more for decoration than a weapon but just like a butter knife it could also slice open your hand if not careful enough. She pulled it out with the hilt sticking towards the man, it had her full name written on the blade along with the date she was ceremonially appointed Knight, not the date she got accepted for the job.

If he was a true noble he would know exactly what this meant, if not, Clorinde’s hand was already resting near her weapon. Clorinde bowed her head politely as one of the butlers raced over to where she was standing, pulling the dagger from her grip. Running it back over to him as he looked over at the other two.

“And the other two?” He asked as he inspected the dagger.

“They are with me,” Clorinde gave him no further information.

“So, the three of you are together, what are their positions?”

“Focalors is a researcher, here to assist the cause and damage of the situation, Neuvillette works with her,” Clorinde made up a reasonable lie.

“Well, everyone knows what the cause is,” he laughed.

“But paperwork requires we have fully documented evidence,” Furina butted in. “You know how stingy the Queen is, she wants everything in order” she faked a laugh. “and we want to make sure everyone gets properly covered when we can finally get in touch with the court again.”

The man sucked in his breath, “fine,” he held the knife back up. The butler lowered their guns, “but you need to stay somewhere else.”

“According to the Fontaine codex, if during a crisis such as war or natural disaster, those who can provide a place to live for the military must do so,” Neuvillette suddenly spoke. Everyone’s eyes were on him instantly, “given the size of your estate you have more than plenty of rooms to spare. Refusing to do so can be considered a federal crime given Dame Clorinde’s position.”

The tension cut through the air like a knife as Furina shakingly took the spotlight once again, “we mean no harm, he is lawyer just doing his job. We wish to help you best of our abilities if we could, we are more than happy to provide other services like protection. With the rise of monsters in Fontaine and now bandits, it’s a scary time.”

“You may stay in one of our rooms,” the man agreed. “but do not go making a mess of things or snooping around. I have a party to plan for.”

“A party?” Furina whispered in confusion.

The man walked inside and his two guards followed leaving the three outside with the front door wide open.

“You did not need to lie for me,” Judgement laced Neuvillette’s voice.

“If she had not the situation would have gotten worse,” Clorinde spoke bitterly. “The last thing we need to be doing is killing people.”

“Where did you even learn about that?” Furina asked him while Clorinde picked up the fallen bags.

“The law book you gave me yesterday, I read it while you were sleeping.”

Clorinde recalled the scene of Furina snuggling between them with her hand wrapped around Clorinde’s thighs, Neuvillette sitting up in bed reading his book while the candle burned by the bedside. He pulled the bow up higher and released the pin letting his front hairs hang over his pointed ears grazing the book edges. The candlelight did him justice as Clorinde could not help drawing his eyes over to him every few seconds. She let out a short yawn grabbing his attention when her eyes quickly flicked away though she remembered suddenly feeling hot.

“The whole thing?” Furina pulled her out of the memory.

“Most of it.  We need to get inside, Lady Furina. I do not think the nobleman would appreciate us standing out here with his door wide open.”

Furina looked down at the ground for a quick second noticing the bags were gone, sighing as she led the two of them through the front door. The entrance was just as grand as the porch, the house lined with several porcelain vases mostly of Liyue design. There were paintings from different skylines of Fontaine, a purple carpet that took up the center of the home right below a grand chandelier that dangled different colored crystals though it seemed electricity was not fully functioning inside of the home given the amount of burnt candles around the area.

A maid in a long black dress awaited them with her hands cross, beads of sweat clanged to her face as she forced a smile, “welcome to Lord Henri’s home,” she bowed. “The nephew of Duke Lyam. Let me lead you to your rooms unless you are together?”

Before Clorinde had a chance to explain the situation Furina said ‘yes’ without a thought.

“Oh interesting,” the woman spoke aloud. “This will be easier then.”

The woman led them to a room bigger than the apartment Clorinde lived in, it was spacious and neatly decorated, unlike the inn they were staying in back in town. There was a sitting area, several closets, a section for eating, and even a bathroom, hopefully plumbing worked this far out. Along with a bed that was meant to hold a family of five.

Furina walked around the room and twirled as she opened the glass doors to the outside flower garden and the hedge maze as she marveled at the sight of it. Something slightly familiar to what she was used to. The maid bowed leaving for them to get settled as Furina stepped back inside closing the doors.

“Duke Lyam is in the parliament,” Furina informed them. “he mostly runs trade finance; he deals with tariff prices of imports and exports. It explains the fancy furnishings in the home.”

“Do you think he’s the person we're looking for?” Neuvillette asked.

“Maybe but we need to be careful about this-“

Clorinde sat on the couch ignoring the both of them, closing her eyes. Her body was starting to ache from all the activity; she used to be able to keep this up for weeks on end but now she was not so sure. She was still in better shape than most, at least she could get up without struggling but at some point as she aged she would end up like that too.

Her peace lasted about a minute in a half before she felt the cushion beside her bend, she peered out of the corner of her eye seeing Furina’s smiling face shining down at her.

“If you’re tired you can go sleep on the bed, Neuvillette and I can handle investigating,” Furina suggested.

“I’m fine. I’m not tired.”

“It’s okay to rest, Clorinde. You have done more than enough for the both of us, allow us to help you now.”

“And I told you I can handle it.”

Furina did not seem satisfied with her answer as she rolled her eyes, “tonight I was thinking the three of us could do something. Like we could go for a walk and see the surrounding areas. We still have some snacks in our pack so we can have a tiny picnic together.”

“The maid already thinks all three of us are dating, I do not think we need anyone else getting suspicious.”

“Huh?” Furina’s demeanor changed instantly as her cheeks turned red like a cherry. Then Clorinde swore she muttered something under her breath, “How did they reach such an ignorant conclusion.”

“That is the reason why we received this room rather than our own.”

“Oh, we will just tell-“ Furina balled her hands in frustration.

“Lord Henri-“ Neuvillette called.

“Yes whatever his face is about the mix up, but only if you’re comfortable,” Furina sounded as if she was pleading for a different answer.

Knock.knock.knock.knock.knock.

Three knocks on the door before they swung open with now a butler and a maid both bowing at the sight of the three of them. They lifted their heads as the trio all stood up to greet them.

“We hope that you managed to get situated but the master wishes to see you now,” the maid spoke. “we will give you a small tour as we lead you to his study, and we have brought your horses to the stables where they will be taken care. So please do not worry about that.”

“Thank you,” Neuvillette spoke.

-

In Neuvillette’s opinion, the house looked the same no matter which way they turned. There were very few details informing them of the different winding paths outside of the occasional staircase. He had never been the biggest fan of Fontaine’s nobility especially after Egeria took the throne.

The nobles and their laws, which barely changed after centuries, always played the same game, what could they do to make sure the poor people stayed poor and that the system never worked for anyone but them? They lived in their fancy homes and built a literal wall between them and their people, not caring about the world around them unless it had a way to entertain them. It was the same case with Lord Henri just by the way he decorated his home and the way he was so eager to get rid of them.

They were the first people to be able to reach him since the attacks he should not care about the news on the village, or whether his staff had enough supply to care of their own families or was it only him that he cared about and this so-called party.

Neuvillette walked only a few feet behind Furina, whose curls were becoming looser in her hair by the day, she was also the same breed that Lord Henri was. Her clothing was more refined than his and Clorinde's. She carried herself differently and yet approached the world with a type of innocence that despite everything she was sure that it would all turn out well. At first, Neuvillette simply thought it was because she was dumb or simply because her training decided not to include anything about the horrors of humanity, it was not unusual for nobles to lock their daughters up without even knowing how to read until they were married. It seemed to be a choice Furina made, to be morally optimistic about everything.

She was peculiar in a way that he had yet to grasp, her mood to the way she spoke changed in an instant. Her beautiful eyes searched for his, flashing a quick smile before dropping it to pay attention to whatever the man in front of them was saying.

Ever since last night, his heart rate around her had gone up. He found his face becoming warming when she would get a little too close, the ride here was the worst with the way she made him hold onto her the entire time. He felt like he did not need to but she insisted that this was proper and for his safety. Who was he to argue with her? It felt wrong for him to follow her around without question, his safety was in jeopardy if she ever found out about his little secret but he kept doing it anyway. Despite everything that was happening, he was enjoying their time together.

Clorinde was still a little more reclusive to him, it felt like she only spoke to him when she had to. The softness in her voice was saved for Furina while she spoke to him like he was another client in her life. He knew there would be a gap in the relationship given that those two had known each other for years but Furina did not struggle with making him feel like the two had known each other for a lifetime.

The butler opened a white door which led to a small office that should be stacked with paperwork but instead sat a short man who looked to be going over a menu. Neuvillette had no idea if he was actually interested in what was to be served, or he was doing it to look busy.

Lord Henri smiled up at them as everyone bowed at the sight of him. He forced a cough reminding everyone to rise as he ushered for the three of them to come forward and meet him by his desk with only one chair on their side.  Furina would be the one to take it while Clorinde and him stood behind her waiting for Lord Henri to explain his reasoning. The butler and the maid left the room.

“So, what is the real reason why you are here?” He asked the group.

“As we explained before, we're here to assess the damage and bring in medical supplies that we carried with us,” Furina kept up the lie. “According to the captain they have not had time to contact the nobles dealing with the crisis by the dock.”

“So, you have all recently arrived,” Lord Henri concluded.

“Correct in your observation,” Furina cheered. “Yes I was the first to arrive before Moniuser Neuvillette and Dame Clorinde. We want to be able to assist you best to our abilities, we have heard that certain parts have been contaminated by monsters and even those looking to raid businesses. Given your massive amounts of wealth, and lack of guards you must have your fears.”

“Yes of course I do, you would think with the amount of wealth my family brings in for this country and taxes we are forced to pay. We would be higher on the list of priority,” he complained.

“And you should be,” Furina matched his energy. “It’s a shame no one came here until I said something,” she pouted. “I hope to do better by you, and the other nobles that live in this area.”

“There aren’t as many as there are in the court but we are a small collective.”

“How many exactly? I want to make sure to speak to everyone who has been neglected.”

“Don’t worry about that, you will be meeting all of them soon anyway, we're throwing a ball here.”

“Oh yes you mentioned that before,” Furina clapped her hands. “I’ve never been to a ball, I heard they are wonderful.”

Neuvillette raised his eyebrow to this, throwing Clorinde a look and she slightly shook herself as to saying, ‘do not mention anything.’

“They are quite so, I was so mad I had to miss the midnight ball.”

“I would be rightfully upset too. It must have been beautiful if it were not for this stupid dragon making a mess of things.”

“The midnight ball?” Neuvillette asked aloud.

He seemed puzzled by his question as panic struck Furina’s face before she chuckled, “please don’t mind him. He’s a foreigner, who immigrated because of the legal workings of Fontaine. You know how much better we are than the rest of the countries in our colleges for law. He has yet to learn everything about the finer things in life.”

Furina turned towards Neuvillette, staring daggers at him before the innocent smile slipped back on her face, “But the midnight ball was thrown for the princess the night before her coronation to become queen.”

“It’s a very big event, especially for the nobles who have been wanting to meet the princess or I suppose now the queen for years,” Lord Henri joined in. “This is also when foreign delegates come in in preparation for the big day. I was so excited to meet her but I guess I will meet whenever this clears up.”

“The nobles all love a good party, so I thought it would best to throw one to raise everyone’s spirit,” Lord Henri concluded his original thought. “everyone is so depressing, all day, and every day all my workers complain they are never happy anymore.”

“Well, I think throwing a party is a wonderful idea, please lets us help you. That is what we are here for,” Furina pleaded with him.

“Hmm...” he placed his finger on his lip. “well, I do fear the paths had not been checked in a while and there has been some damage from the storm. You are here for that sort of thing right?”

“Yes those are our expertise,” Furina pushed him towards an answer.

“And I do need some help with keeping the party protected if you are alright with that.”

“Yes, as long as we have access to the materials that we need,” Furina nodded her head. “I hope I am not asking for too much like pen, paper, and maybe a library.”

“For you, no,” he smiled at her, grazing at her appearance. Something hardened in Neuvillette’s chest, something that he did not like. It seemed to have bothered CLorinde too judging by her appearance.

“Then let’s get straight to work, we can go check on the pathways for you to make sure that they are cleared for travel,” Furina hopped out of her chair.

“And if you can accompany me Monsieur Neuvillette, I can show you places that are damaged by repair.”

Neuvillette looked at Furina confused as she smiled towards the Lord, “of course he can. Clorinde and I will handle the pathways, be safe okay,” Furina grabbed his hand giving it a tight squeeze. “Oh, also it seems there was a mishap on the room. We all got placed into one, is it alright if we spread out.”

“Oh of course I believe in the wing you’re staying in there should be two rooms just across from you.”

“Thank you once again,” Furina bowed.

She reached for Clorinde’s arm pulling her out of the room leaving the two men. Neuvillette watched as he placed the papers back into a folder throwing them into his desk.

“You’re not very talkative are you Monsieur?”

“I am just here to do my job.”

“Well come with me I would love to show you around.”

-

Furina finally let the air stuck in her chest release once she was far enough placing a hand on her chest as she tried to bring her heart down to a steady pace. She felt Clorinde’s hand squeeze her’s not realizing they were still connected. She felt her cheeks grow warm as she looked up at Clorinde. Who was smiling at her?

Clorinde was smiling at her.

“You're smiling,” Furina pointed out.

“Well yes, I do it all the time,” Clorinde chuckled. Something else she had never done before her. Her gaze felt softer and so did her words.

“Yes but you never do it to me,” Furina spoke honestly. Clorinde’s smiled dropped as her hand let go of her’s. Furina heart felt like it cracked just a bit, “come on lets go.”

Furina followed Clorinde’s feet as she led her outside. She heard Clorinde’s voice as she spoke to a staff member and the sound of leaves crunching under her feet. Clorinde led her to the stable back towards their horses as Clorinde grabbed the reins of Furina’s horse bringing her out to be ridden on. Clorinde obtained the other horse they had gotten for their trip as Furina got situated on top of hers. She cooed sweet words into her horse's ear running her hands through her mane occasionally spying up at Clorinde.

She looked so beautiful, the tight pants she wore greatly defined her legs and other parts. Her heeled short boots and slightly rugged white shirt were covered mostly by a purple coat and the little crystal earrings that she always wore. She was so perfect even when she was not trying to be, Furina always felt less than adequate next to her and now that gap felt wider than ever.

Clorinde signed for her to follow as Furina hit the reigns. They galloped alongside each other treading the pathway. While the sky had been cleared of rain for a day now, the world still felt moist. The trees bent under the weight of the heat and the grass had long since died. Sticks, rocks, and random pieces of trash were scattered everywhere. Furina saw the ruins of a grape farm and another community submerged in water and her heart broke. Monsters traversed the field in packs looting areas that once contained human life. She looked over at Clorinde who kept a simple trot in front of her. Her ponytail bounced with each step of the horse.

Furina hit the reigns passing her, trying to break that straight face of hers.

“Furina you need to stick behind me in case someone jumps out,” Clorinde explained to her as she passed her.

“Oh okay,” Furina faked a sad voice before bringing up the horse to galloping speed.

Laughter ripped through the air as Clorinde attempted to chase after her, she breezed by the trees jumped over a fallen fence post. Clorinde flashed her a smile as she gained speed on her, and Furina hit the sides of her horse forcing her to go faster. She took the lead again, leaving Clorinde to eat dust as her horse slowed down.

Furina boiled in laughter, “I win.”

“Yes, you win,” Clorinde leaned on her horse in exhaustion.

“Is everything okay? You have been acting odd all day,” Furina finally asked her.

“I’m fine, I’m just tired. I have not done this much stuff since I started working with you. I guess I have gotten a little lazy,” Clorinde insulted herself.

“Or old,” Furina joked.

“Is that coming from the same woman who is older than me? I still don’t know how you do it.”

“Maybe one of these days it will hit me,” was the answer Furina came up with instead of the truth. “How about we sit down for a little bit?”

Furina hopped off her horse tying her to a tree as Clorinde did the same. They took a seat in a dry shaded area. Furina felt their thigh touch as Clorinde slumped against a tree as she tucked her knees upwards crossing her arms over. She examined the pasture fields of farm life that had been destroyed by the recent storms.

“I wanted to ask you about Neuvillette, do you like him?” Clorinde did not look at her when she spoke.

“Why did he do something to you?” Furina touched her arm in concern.

“No, I mean how do you feel about him?”

“Oh umm... I think he’s quite kind beneath that rough exterior he pretends to have. He cares a lot you know and I enjoy speaking to him.”

“I mean do you like him,” Clorinde finally looked at her Furina felt herself retreating inward. “I see the way you look and act around him.”

“Oh, that’s what you meant,” Furina knew she had to confess eventually. “I do and I don’t its quite complicated.”

“I do not think it’s that complicated, if you like someone then you do.”

“No, I don’t think you understand Clorinde,” Furina’s voice shrieked. “I do think he’s very pretty and he’s been incredibly sweet to me. Yes, I have thought about the two of us together but I umm..” Furina bit the inside of her lip, it was now or never. “but I also like you, and I have for a very long time.”

“Wha-”

Furina kept speaking she was not ready to hear whatever rejection Clorinde had planned for her, “I don’t know when I started having these feelings, it was just a random change one day and I could not look at you the same. I think you are beautiful, and your amazing Clorinde seeing you in action is breathtaking. You’re so smart and so kind. I wanted you to be my date to the ball,” Furina’s voice began to choke. “I have wanted you to be with me instead of her for the longest time but I kept these feelings to myself because, at the end of the day, I want you to be happy.”

Furina felt the tears streaming down her face as Clorinde did not say a single word, “I know my feelings for the both of you isn’t right. you should only like one person. And your with Navia and Neuvillette is a commoner there is no way my mother or the parliament would agree but I do. I dont know what to do with these feelings becuase the last thing i want to do is hurt someone.”

Furina began to wipe her tears away as she felt Clorinde gently take hold of her wrist, Furina could barely see her through her tear-filled gaze. Clorinde gently took a hold of her cheek pressing her thumbs to her eyes, wiping away the tears.

“I’m not with Navia,” Clorinde confessed. “I haven’t been with her for a while and the night at the ball. She said they were done, officially. No more trying to restart it, no more second chances. She’s right I need to move on. If I didn’t I might have never realized exactly how much you make me happy until recently.”

“Huh?” She was expecting a million different rejections but not this.

“I mean it, I haven’t had this much fun in a long time even if it might cost me my job,” Clorinde attempted a joke. “but I want to be with you not as your knight.” Clorinde leaned over kissing the top of her head.

Furina squished her head in Clorinde’s chest to hide her embarrassment as she wrapped her arms around her back. She felt Clorinde play with her loose hair strands as she closed her eyes.

She had Clorinde, it felt unreal, like any moment she could wake up and she would be back in the inn’s bed getting ready for the morning. She looked back up at her as Clorinde’s hands were wrapping around her face gently wiping the tears away as Furina leaned into her touch.

Furina’s lips connected with the palm of Clorinde’s hand, then wrapped her hand on top of her own pulling it away from her cheek. Furina gingerly kissed Clorinde’s fingers waiting for her response, when she got none she pressed her lips to the back of her hand looking up seeing Clorinde’s face had gotten closer.

When their lips finally connected it felt like a short fuse, it was a quick simple kiss to test the waters. They disconnected faster than the kiss was meant to last as Furina tugged Clorinde’s shirt with force smashing their lips together as Clorinde drank her whole. Clorinde wrapped her hand around her head gently leaning Furina against the tree. Furina’s legs parted giving her more room.

Chapter Text

Clorinde tasted a little like the fruit she had eaten for breakfast and smelled like flowers kept in an attic, and a little like sweat, in Furina’s opinion. She could feel Clorinde on top of her slowly crushing her with her weight but she did not mind. She had wanted this for so long. Clorinde’s tongue practically melded itself into Furina’s mouth, with her hand pressing on Furina’s inner thigh, she felt on fire. Maybe it was a little too much to handle as Furina pulled away.

“Clorinde,” Furina gasped. “Clorinde my dear.”

Clorinde finally lifted her lustful gaze with a small smile playing on her lips as she kissed Furina’s lips with a short kiss. Furina did not need to tell her anything as she pulled away from her grasp sitting beside her as Furina rested her head against her shoulder.

“I’m sorry for dampening the mood,” Furina apologized.

“You do not have to apologize to me,” Clorinde wrapped an arm around her placing a kiss on her temple.

“I umm...” Furina huffed as her cheeks went red.

Furina felt the warm touch of Clorinde’s actual fingers as they wrapped and twirled her hair. She closed her eyes sinking into the sensation. The world seemed to move much slower as Furina snuggled up against Clorinde, she wanted to rest here and stay with her as long as possible.

No matter how much she wished to dream her mind reminded her of their goal. They had a mission to complete the dragon. Also, Neuvillette was waiting for them, and she was still uncertain about how Clorinde felt about him, and if she would be alright with the two of them together. She knew the dream of all three of them dating was a little out there but that did not mean she did not hope for that outcome.

“Clorinde?” Furina looked at her. “You never answered about Neuvillette. I know it’s strange and all. If you feel uncomfortable I have no problem with forgetting about him,” Furina lied.

“I don’t know,” she sighed. “I’ve never been presented with a question like this.”

“So, this isn’t normal?” Furina concluded.

“Just because it has not happened to me before does not mean it doesn’t happen at all. Let me think on it okay?”

Furina nodded her head, as Clorinde stood up, they still needed to finish their ride through this area, while it looked relatively safe, monsters were still up and about. It would be more unsafe to travel during the night than during the day.

-

Neuvillette was not exactly sure what he was supposed to be doing, he was following around the owner of the house, and his tiny entourage as they toured his property. They walked all over the place, through the gardens that were not far from the room they were all staying in. To the library, and to the small village-like home structure he made on his property for his servants. He took him through the halls and to the bedrooms, showing off areas that were damaged because of the excessive sadness he had been feeling for weeks.

His tears turned to rain which turned to puddles and eventual floods that scrapped the land beyond repair. There were holes in the roof caved under pressure, some of these people were walking around in flood water in their homes because Lord Henri did not care to move them into his actual empty house. Fences were broken by water damage. Twigs were everywhere and walkways were covered in debris and bugs.

All Neuvillette did was scratch stuff onto a piece of paper claiming he would look further into it. He would have to name a possible price on all the damage at a later date, for his property insurance company. He just needed to keep this lie up long enough to find more information on the whereabouts of his kids, but Furina and Clorinde were assuming they were human children after all. He had no idea how to begin to broach the conversation without giving away everything.

He was sure Furina would never look him in the eye again.

“So, I will be sending another group down to the docks to address the situation further, and maybe gather whatever excess supplies the military is willing to lend,” Lord Henri continued. “I am losing money by the day as long as those ships are not running.”

Neuvillette did not say anything as the lord looked over at him like he was expecting him to say something. He rolled his eyes and huffed before continuing his walk as Neuvillette shuffled behind him and his entourage.

“What are some of your hobbies Monsieur Neuvillette?” Lord Henri crossed his hands behind his back.

What sounded right in the human mind? Neuvillette wondered, “I enjoy the performing arts.”

“A man of culture,” Lord Henri spoke. “I’ve seen a few plays in the Opera of Epiclese, they are quite pleasant I have even seen a few trials but I mostly keep myself here.” Neuvillette did not comment. Lord Herni still seemed not happy with Neuvillette’s lack of speech, “Do you enjoy hunting Moniuser?”

“I have occasionally,” Neuvillette thought that answer was best. Humans treated life differently than he did, it was not a lie to say he did not enjoy the thrill of the hunt but he also knew humans did not do it for the necessity like they used to do centuries ago, they did it out of pure enjoyment leaving the carcass to rot while the vultures ate it. Only choosing to kill simply because it was fun to watch an innocent animal die. Not understanding the true circle of life in this world.

“Then another time let me show you my collection but you are probably tired, especially after traveling in this heat,”  Lord Henri wiped the sweat off of him with a handkerchief. “I already know I need a bath maybe two. I will have someone show you back to your room.”

“Very well have a good night’s rest,” Neuvillette bowed his head.

A sigh of relief escaped him as he watched the lord walk away. He now had free time to research this man and hope that something came of it.

-

The monsters were not hard to deal with at least for Clorinde, Furina struggled a bit with each of her swings. Maybe they could work on it together during their free time in the morning. Surely the lord would have some time of training room for guards even if he lacked them.

Claws ripped at Furina's arm as she screamed from the pain, Clorinde violently swung at the best killing it in an instant.

“Furina are you--” Clorinde tenderly grabbed for her watching the wound instantly heal between Furina’s choked tears.

 She may have lacked physical strength but she made up for it, in complete mastery of her element. She had met her salon in the past but now seeing Furina in action like this, she wondered what else she could be capable of.

“I will be fine,” Furina wiped her tears away, wrapping Clorinde into a hug. “Thank you for checking on me,” Furina whispered against her jaw planting a short kiss there.

As they continued their travels running into the occasional passerby traveling with empty carts heading towards the village in hopes of supplies.

Furina seemed so happy around her now that they were something, she had not asked her to be her girlfriend yet. It seemed both of their minds were on the missing member of their party as they road back to the estate.

Clorinde could not wrap her head around it, she could not figure out why she liked him so much after only a few days. Every time Clorinde tried to think about it she could feel her heart beating against her ribs and the air around her grow thin. She had no idea what to think about it. It did not feel like jealousy nor did it feel like anger but something different completely and until she could figure this out, she did not want to even think about answering Furina’s question.

Even if she said yes, she had no idea how their relationship would function, what it would look like, or let alone how everyone would see it. If Clorinde and Furina kept going down the path they were, she already knew exactly how the rest of the court would react if they found out their new Queen was ruining her purity and chance of marriage because of her Knight. Then to throw a commoner in there especially one with children, would cost them everything and possibly someone’s head.

None of these possibilities have seemed to occur to Furina or maybe it did and she simply chose to ignore it anyway.

Clorinde walked behind Furina as she practically skipped towards their bedroom, seeing Neuvillette tucked on the couch with one of the books Furina had given him he made no move even with Furina leaning over his shoulder taking a peek at his book. They exchanged a few words as Furina chuckled before lying down on the couch beside him.

“Clorinde are you going to continue to stand there are you going to come sit down?” Furina’s head poked up as she shouted.

Clorinde nodded her head as she unloosed her belt carrying her blade, placing it on the nightstand as she located a spot on a couch between the two of them. She could have taken one of the chairs but Furina kept staring at her until she sat between the two of them. Furina readjusted herself to lay on Clorinde’s lap while Neuvillette’s arm wrapped behind her and the couch.

This was peaceful, she almost hated to admit it. She closed her eyes listening to the occasionally singing bird and the breath of her two partners beside her.

Clorinde felt Neuvillette leave her side as she slumped against his missing space falling back to sleep for another hour before she felt someone shaking her awake as she blinked open her eyes seeing Furina’s smiling face.

“Good morning,” She joked. “Come on let’s get you something to eat.”

“I’m sorry I did not mean to fall asleep, my lady,” Clorinde let out a short yawn.

“We all get tired,” Furina reassured her.

“Yes but what if-“ Furina placed a finger on her lip.

“You overthink more than me sometimes, now zip it!” Furina commanded. Her eyes narrowed at her, “good,” she praised Clorinde once she was satisfied. She looped their fingers together pulling her out the glass door towards the gardens, “while you were napping, I did something.”

Clorinde said nothing as a smile ripped at her lips with her eyes fluttering down at Furina. The candlelight bounced off her hair with grace, and her eyes were constantly filled with wonder and joy. She had never seen Furina so happy before, it seemed like the world came to life just for her, and Clorinde was politely being allowed in it as well.

The twilight hour was always the prettiest,  the frogs began their evening song. Clorinde could smell night flowers just beginning to bloom for the evening. As Furina turned around fighting her grip on Clorinde ‘s hand.

“Okay close your eyes,” Furina instructed. “just follow me, and don’t pull against me.”

Clorinde shut her eyes only focusing on the feeling of their fingers interlocking and the way Furina could not exactly settle her fingers kept shaking her hand, drumming her fingers along her skin. Her gloves were probably drenched in sweat as she helped Clorinde move through the garden.

“Stop,” Furina commanded as Clorinde came to a halt. “okay you can open your eyes now!”

There was a small picnic set up with a basket and a blanket. She already knew Furina was planning this but it felt like her heart missed a beat or two looking over at it. Neuvillette was sitting on the blanket, with his feet shoved under his thighs as he lit up two candle sticks with a box of matches.

“Oh, that’s not all,” Furina clapped her hands together.

Her Salon popped out all with instruments floating in front of them, as they all gave a little bow before they started their performance. Clorinde rolled her eyes, they did not need instruments but Furina was always one for being a little over the top.

 Furina looked over at her as she waited for some kind of response from Clorinde, she wanted to be praised for everything she had done.

“Thank you,” Clorinde is all she could muster in words.

Furina seemed suffice enough with that as she took an empty seat next to Neuvillette and Clorinde’s heart tried not to break when Furina looked over at him with a smile hanging from her lips. Furina’s hand collided with his as they both reached for the basket, she let out a quick giggle. It’s almost as if she could sense Clorinde’s jealousy, ripping her hand away as her face and voice dropped. She swore she saw something break in his eyes as Furina tucked her hands away into her lap.

She looked over to Clorinde flashing an apology smile and then she saw Neuvillette’s disappointed face freezing herself, “you know what I’m not quite that hungry just yet,” she awkwardly laughed. “Gentilhomme Usher why don’t the two of us dance,” She offered the octopus.

The octopus let out a honk extending one of its arms towards her, as she propped herself up, propelling herself into the octopus’s arm as it spun her towards the other members of the salon.

Neuvillette focused his attention on the basket pulling out a small selection of bread and cheeses, “the kitchen did not have much to offer, I do not know how they plan to feed the nobles when they can barely feed themselves.”

“All the actual food is being saved for them,” Clorinde responded.

“There is enough of them to overtake him in an instant,” Neuvillette argued. He sighed as if already knowing the answer, “If the nobles do not get to them first the laws of Fontaine would sentence them for life. The structure of Fontaine laws is both a gift and a curse.”

“It can and it cannot be but my opinion on it does not matter.”

“I keep forgetting you are nothing more than one of Egeria’s pets,” Neuvillette scoffed as he handed her a water container.

Furina threw a curious gaze over at them at the mention of her mother, “be careful Monsieur, you have no idea who could be listening,” she warned him with a look.

“That almost sounds like a threat,” Neuvillette picked out some bread taking a bite. “Do not worry, I do not hold it against you, your behavior towards me is quite unusual.”

“I still do not know who you are and yet Furina has become quite obsessed with you,” Clorinde pointed out.

Neuvillette smiled at Furina as she danced, “That’s one way to put it, though the truth is I wish neither of you got concerned with me,” Neuvillette looked back over to Clorinde. “My apologies if I seem off-putting because of that.”

The sincerity in his eyes and words made Clorinde a bit uncomfortable, maybe her emotions were getting to her, he was quite pretty like Furina put it, “I just do not know you,” Clorinde looked down at the food he gave her.

“There is not much to tell about me. I have not done anything significant with my life.”

“From what I understand you have no family outside of your daughters.”

“Yes. I have no parents either, if I did I never met them.”

“I do not know mine either,” a look of sympathy flashed on his face.

“Looks like we have something in common,” Neuvillette’s eyes tilted to the right indicating something other than her.

“I would like to know about your children, if you wish to ever speak about them.”

“I think they would like you,” Neuvillette smiled. “your quite kind.”

Clorinde hated the way her body felt warm at that compliment. She had been called nice before, maybe it was the way he said it or she was just starting to feel the heat of the candles. Yes, that was it, just the candles. The distance between the two of them closed but she did not remember when and she did not want to figure it out either.

“Your hair is falling in front of your face again,” Clorinde blurted out.

His hair felt so soft in her bare fingers as she pushed it back behind his ear, she noticed how he froze each time she touched him, carefully watching her every move. She pulled back as a breath left his mouth.

“Oh, I know this one,” Furina’s voice caught both of their attention.

Furina’s creatures changed their tune as a slow song emanated from their vocals, Furina joined in as she hummed along with her eyes fixed on her crab that was spinning herself around in small circles.

Neuvillette’s pupils expanded as the song continued, his eyes completely fixated on Furina and her hand movements like he was in some kind of trance.

Her voice carried through the garden sending a shiver down Clorinde’s spine, she sounded heavenly even when she was not singing at her full capacity. She seemed lost in her world, startled as Neuvillette thanked her with applause as the song ended. She jumped rushing back over to the two of them in a flustered state.

She pushed her feelings down as she beside Clorinde, “Yes I know, I’m quite a wonderful singer.”

The picnic could finally begin as Furina cozied up beside her with a smile on her face. Neuvillette handed her an assortment of items from the basket as the three of them ate, discussing what they had done that day without mentioning certain details. The night felt like it could last forever as they stared up at the stars only basking in each other’s time.

Clorinde did not want this to end, she enjoyed the comforting silence with Furina pressed against her and Neuvillette’s fingers lying on top of her own. With the small jokes they would share and the discussion about life that would come about, Neuvillette always seemed a little more pessimistic and pragmatic than Furina. Clorinde would just listen occasionally agreeing with one or the other.

She knew she could feel her heart racing in a way that she had not felt in a long time. It was a quiet feeling that was slowly creeping up on her, it made her feel uneasy and uncertain. Yes, she did have something now going on with Furina, as her fingers tenderly walked up and down her spine. But how did she feel about him? She had no idea, Clorinde did not know him like she knew her. The feeling she felt when Neuvillette and Furina interacted with each other left her sour, it tasted like jealousy and yet it looked like a monster she had never seen before.

They would pick up their picnic as Clorinde let out her fourth yawn for the night retreating into their room. Furina insisted on her taking that room to sleep in but ultimately gave it to Neuvillette as Furina and Clorinde retreated to the two rooms across the way.

Clorinde’s room was about as large as Neuvillette’s room just decorated differently, more fit for someone with a love for artwork and satin though everything being wrapped in lilac was a welcome surprise. She would look into the rest of the room and unpack in the morning as she stripped herself down to her underwear crawling into bed.

-

Furina stumbled into her room allowing her salon to do her work as she explored the bedroom she would be staying in, it was the same grandness as the other one but it was clear that a lady important to the house used to leave her, maybe a relative or a lover based on the décor. The room was covered with soft colors reminding her of spring, paintings of flowers, a large makeup stand, and blank fashion mannequins near the walk-in closet. Maybe she was a fan of fashion, though the closet was mostly empty outside of a few dresses and worn-out shoes that all went out of fashion half a century ago. There was a bathroom with a large tub and thankfully working plumbing and some toiletries that looked to still be useable. There was also a lounging area separate from the bedroom near the entrance that functioned as a study where the supposed lady would do her work though from the book titles, it was probably more for the look of it as Furina pulled a few down from the shelf.

Dust covered this book as she blew it off coughing on the dust particles that flew into her lungs. She looked over at the cover, an old romance novel. Of course, it was as she chewed the inside of her cheek, it looked short enough for her to finish it in a few hours and it was not that late and her curiosity would end up getting the best of her. She took the book with her as she carried herself into her bed.

The book itself was awful, to say the least, there were no true romantic aspects to the story it felt like one big horny confessional booth for the author. The plot was too fast-paced, the world-building was awful the dialogue was alright and Furina knew she should have dropped this after the first few chapters but like a fish, she was hooked to it.

She could not tear her eyes away from the sex scenes even if she tried to, and it was so easy to project Neuvillette and Clorinde into the love interests of this book as she kept reading on. The book became much more enjoyable when she projected Clorinde pinning her against the wall and fingering her while she forced her to look into her eyes as she moaned and then licked the excess of Furina’s orgasm or thinking about Neuvillette ten inches deep inside of her telling her how pretty she looked and sounded as he kept railing her.

The feeling followed her to her body as she felt that uncomfortable feeling building inside her again as she smushed her legs closed, making her salon disappear with a swipe of her finger, nothing gave her release even when she rubbed her thighs together. She chewed the inside of her cheek, she knew the quickest way to get through this, as she put her fingers in her pants pressing one finger over her covered clit hissing at the sensation. She always wanted more; it never truly satisfied her.

She knew exactly how embarrassed her mother would be if she found out Furina enjoyed touching herself from time to time and maybe even Clorinde if she found out she was getting wet at the idea of the three of them having sex together. She squeezed her eyes shut as she pulled away, this was so wrong. All she needed to do was fight through the feeling and everything would go away.

‘It was just one time right?’ The evil voice in her head whispered.

It was never just one time; it was a multitude of times. She knew this feeling would also not go away either. Once she had a feeling like this it would be a multiple-day experience, sometimes she would even touch herself twice maybe three times a day. She was always craving the satisfaction she could never truly give herself even when she reached her own peak.

Decisions, decisions, she looked around the room as she listened, there was no one else awake. There was no one patrolling the halls as she picked herself up from the bed tiptoeing to the bathroom.

She turned on the bathwater just in case, knowing she would need a bath later anyway. She had an issue of making a mess. She waited for the water in the tub to gush out before stripping herself barely in front of the mirror as she threw her dirty suit to the side. She examined herself in the mirror looking at her already erected nipples, she did not have to go through with this, she should be saving herself for marriage anyway but the need to be touched felt greater and it only got worse as the years went on.

Furina ripped a towel down from the towel rack placed it on the floor and she on top of it.

‘Where would they start?’ She wondered. As she used a finger to trace the skin of her neck imagining Clorinde sucking the nap of her neck and pressing kisses to her shoulder between breaths. Her hands would find the bottoms of her breast pushing them upwards and pulling her in closer to the point her back was pressing into her breasts. (but the wall felt so cold compared to what Clorinde felt like.)

Neuvillette would start with her cheeks kissing there lightly, traveling up to her ear as he would chew on it planting little kisses between breathy words, his tongue would travel down to her neck as his hands would search for her fin tails, dragging his fingers through it earning a moan from Furina. (it was always her favorite part as she glided her fingers up and down her oceanid tail.)

Furina would kiss Clorinde greedily as Clorinde would shove her tongue down Furina’s throat as one of her fingers would slowly walk across Furina’s stomach, pressing against her clit as she would moan her name into her mouth. She would rub against it before diving a finger in as far as she could because she knew Furina liked it far in. She would begin pumping in and out at a slow speed letting her body get used to it but not enough to let her reach her orgasm just yet because even Furina liked to delay herself.

Furina would slide a second finger in acting as Neuvillette using her longest finger, as his hands were so much bigger than Clorinde’s spreading her legs just a little wider so they could both be inside of her. Furina pumped both of her fingers in and out of her at a climbing speed, whimpering at the thought of the both of them fucking her at once. She pulled another towel down from the rack shoving it into her mouth as she felt her orgasm approaching with each pump she let out a choked moan of both their names coming on her hand.

She pulled out moments later as her legs were still recovering from it feeling her cum leak into her ass and onto the towel. She panted as she looked over to the tub, she would have to cut the water off and get in. No one needed to know exactly how dirty she was. A true princess was pure and proper not running off on adventures and touching herself while thinking about others.

She slowly got up still feeling uneasy as she made her way towards the tub shutting off the water while diving head in. She poked her head up laying against the backrest of the tub as her gaze fell back to the spot where she was just moments ago. She hoped no one would find an outlet alone to hear her. They would both be so disgusted by her if they ever found out, maybe the entire world would be too.

‘What if Clorinde left her over this?’ the question popped into her head. She sank lower into the tub becoming one with the water, hoping it would purify her of everything including her thoughts.

She sat in the tub for archons know how long as the water slowly became cool telling her it was time to leave. Her body reformed as she pulled the plug out of the water stepping out of the tub she picked up the towel that she bit into wrapping it around her body while throwing her dirty clothes and ‘used’ towel into the corner. Her salon would clean it tomorrow.

Furina walked around the room looking through the drawers as she pulled out a pair of underwear and chemise for the night as she heard a knock at her door. Furina halted in fear as she heard her name being called before her door swung open.

“Furina?” Neuvillette called from the room over.

“Do not come in here!” She yelled with her face flushed.

It was too late; she never closed the dividing door separating her lounge from her bedroom as Neuvillette walked over pausing as he saw her. His pupils grew wide as he turned his back at the sight of her.

“I told you not to come in!” Furina yelled.

“I must have misheard you,” Neuvillette stumbled on his words.

Another evil thought of her dropping the towel and telling him to turn around popped into her head. He would hate her if she did that. Furina tightly grabbed her clothing throwing herself into the closet as she quickly got dressed noticing she forgot gloves and socks, she peeked her head out of the door.

“Neuvillette,” she called for him. “can you bring me some socks and gloves?”

Neuvillette panicked as he went through her drawers grabbing her socks and gloves before knocking on the closet door and leaving them at the foot of her door, her hand sneaked out for a quick second hoping he did not notice anything before covering herself up for the night. She hoped if she got her room she would not have to be doing this but here she was anyway.

She swung the closet door wide open, “Neuvillette!” She called to him whose back was facing towards her, even stuck in a closet he still shamed himself.

He timidly turned around looking at the ground, “My apologies I did not realize you would be taking a bath so late at night.”

“It’s not that late,” Furina crossed her arms.

“It’s almost three in the morning, Lady Furina.”

Furina felt her body go still, it could not be that late already she could not have spent more than half the night reading a book and fantasizing about one of the people in front of her, “even so that does not explain you bargaining into my room. You should be asleep,” Furina kept her pride.

“I could not sleep,” Neuvillette admitted. “I was going to go on a walk but I saw candlelight still burning in your room so I thought I could come in here to pass the time until morning.”

“Not sleeping is not good for you, Neuvillette. It will damage your mental state.”

“I wish it were so easy.”

“Are you still thinking about your children Neuvillette?” He made no reply but by the pull of a frown on his face, she knew the answer. That guilt would consume him until they were found, it would probably kill him if they did find his children and they had already died. She would not feed him this idea until they knew for sure. “Not sleeping will not help them either. Why don’t you go relax and I will get us something to do so we get rid of this pent-up energy.”

Furina wandered around the room, reading was out of the question the last thing she needed was Neuvillette to find out what she had been doing. Furina looked around the room for puzzles or a board game, finding none. She went back into her bathroom grabbing a hairbrush and some loose face cleaning supplies hoping that none of it was expired despite the small layer of dust forming on it. Furina exited the room seeing Neuvillette sitting by the fireplace.

“Not there, Neuvillette, go lay in bed,” Furina complained.

“I did not want to assume-“

“We have already slept together,” Furina blurted out adding to the statement. “in the same bed. You don’t need to be so embarrassed.”

Furina dropped the supplies on her nightstand as she waited for Neuvillette to sit on the bed, staring at him into the ground so that he would move just a little faster. He propped himself on the bed as Furina gave him a pillow to hold before finding a spot behind him with a hairbrush and several bands looped on her hand.

Furina parted his hair as she began to run a brush through his soft strands, and they both became content in the silence. Breathing at the same time with each pull of the brush. Furina looked over at the blue strands of hair that he had, she was always curious about why he dyed those specific portions of his hair as she ran her brush through them, he hissed much like a cat did. Furina blinked a few times trying to understand what she just heard as she went back to attending the white part, which earned no reaction.

‘Maybe what she was brushing was not hair at all?’ the evil voice had made its return.

She chewed the inside of her lip as she made her way towards the other blue strand, letting her hand slightly slip so she could determine if it was hair or not as she felt something that could be described as flesh. There were blue mounds of flesh growing on top of Neuvillette’s head.

‘What a strange condition?’ she thought as she examined the strands closely. Then it hit her by the shape of it. The mounds looked like antlers on deer from photos she had seen of Natlan, yet they bent back and were softer they were more like bug antennas. ‘Why would he have these?’

‘Neuvillette might not be human at all,’ she heard the voice in her head speak. She repeated the sentence over and over again as she came to terms with it. She hated how much it made sense to his story, his strange eye shape, the antennas, the way he always covered his hands much like Furina did. Also, it made sense to his story, how he ended up here without knowing where anything is located, barely grappling with Fontaine’s modern life like he had seen it before a long time ago. How he knew no one and could not give an accurate description even of his own ‘children.’ It should be less of a shock to her given his ear shape, but she simply assumed he was an elf or part elf. The elvish race was few and far between but her mother had spoken of them before.

Should she say something or would he act volatile? If anyone were to find out her secret, she too would be angry. Maybe she should simply not mention it at all, ignore it until they were both ready to confess because at some point she would also have to confess to both of them that she also was not entirely human either. She would ignore it, pretend like it never happened, and go looking in the library tomorrow for other inhumane species that could blend into human society as she could, that’s if the lord had any at all.

She was pretty sure in Fontaine at least that she was the only one capable of doing this, but maybe he was from a different nation completely and that he visited before once upon a time.

Furina picked herself away from his hair reaching for the assortment of skin products she left on the nightstand before facing him. His eyes seemed to glow in the candlelight; he looked so pretty. Now more than ever she wanted to kiss him and tell him that she understood more than anyone else did.

Furina pushed his shoulders down as he lay flat on the bed carefully watching her every move as she straddled his waist applying the white cream to his face. His eyes watched her fingers as they gently glided over his skin rubbing the application in. She dampened the towel in cool water before wiping his face off and adding the next product onto his face repeating the procedure.

“You look so beautiful, Lady Furina,” he whispered.

Furina paused before applying the next layer of skincare. She could not let him get to her like this; she made a promise to Clorinde.

She felt his hands reach for her thighs holding her in place, his hands went slightly up her skirt, tracing circles with his thumbs over her flesh, she put down the skincare products giving him a knowing look.

“You need to keep your hands to yourself, monsieur,” Furina told.

“My apologies,” Neuvillette backed off. “I did not mean to-“

Furina felt his arm sneak away as she grabbed the right one pinning it into the mattress, “Keep your hands right there.”

She felt the air in his lungs stop, startling the both of them, his pupils went wide and she could see the blush forming on his ears. His eyes moved away as he attempted to shield whatever dignity he had left. They both knew he was rather enjoying her being on top of him like this. She moved herself up on him, letting go of his wrist.

“Just one more thing, and then I will set you free,” Furina fought her flustered state.

Her finger barely grasped it, she knew it would be so much easier to just get off of him and grab it and yet she did not move at all barely breaking eye contact as her fingers finally grabbed the lip balm. She leaned down applying it to his lips.

Their breaths entwined with one another, he smelt like mint and rain and he was so close. She could feel his large nose practically hitting her own and his eyes never left her lips. It was so easy to just reach down to kiss him,  and the way his fingers pushed back the strands of her hair behind her ear did not make it easier on her.

Then Clorinde popped into her head as she swallowed her spit.

“We cannot be doing this Neuvillette,” Furina let go.

“We are not doing anything,” he whispered.

“We both know that’s not true,” she got off of him. “Good night Neuvillette.”

Furina could not look him in the eyes as he waited for her opinion to change. She bit her lip as she heard his sigh and felt him get up. She pretended not to listen to his feet step on the carpets and wood spread around her room or the way her door closed.

She quickly blew out the candle once she knew he was gone for good, and timidly she pulled the lip balm out tracing her lips with it.

He would have tasted like vanilla.

Chapter Text

The morning sun’s golden rays pierced through the window as Clorinde blinked her eyes open. She conducted her morning stretches and then her basic morning routine of making sure weapons stayed clean and in perfect working condition. Clorinde got dressed for the day and looked a little bit better than she had on previous days. She now had access to tools to properly clean herself as she took a long shower, washing her hair. As her hair dried, she retouched her nails with the nail polish she found in the drawers and did her makeup for the day.

She put on an outfit with whatever clothes she had left. She did not expect to be gone this long or to get sidetracked. She was hoping she could get Furina’s creatures to do her clothes if they were in a kind enough mood. Though she was sure that Crab hated her and may even hate Neuvillette too.

She stepped out of her room, knocking on Furina’s bedroom door, getting no response as she entered the dark bedroom, seeing the light barely escaping the curtains. Furina was in a fetal position, snuggling her seahorse in her sleep. Her octopus wrapped its tentacles around the crab, who was already giving her the death stare.

Clorinde sat on the bed, gently shaking her awake as Furina blinked up her eyes, greeting her with a smile as she wrapped her arms around her shoulders, pulling her down into the bed. Furina had turned Clorinde into her plushie as she closed her eyes again, now with a smile on her face.

Clorinde lightly kissed her forehead as Furina shoved her face into Clorinde’s chest, giggling to herself.

“I’m trying to sleep, I was up late last night reading a stupid book I found,” Furina muttered.

“It must have been good that you stayed up all night to read it.” Clorinde pulled her closer as their legs intertwined with one another.

Furina pressed a kiss to her lips; she tasted terrible, like vanilla and rotten morning breath. “I promise you it was dumb,” Furina insisted as she opened her eyes, “you’re not going to let me rest, are you?”

“Maybe just for a few more moments.”

“Oh no, I’m wide awake now,” Furina sprang on top of her, pinning Clorinde down to the mattress. “You look so beautiful this morning, “She chuckled as she kissed her lips with a smile.

Clorinde fought against her grip, freeing herself, chasing after Furina’s lips. Furina allowed her to take control of the kiss. Clorinde’s fingers found the edge of Furina’s night gown, letting her gloved fingers trace up Furina’s warm thighs.

Furina broke the kiss, almost surprised by her actions as she looked for the answers in her eyes. She leaned back into the kiss as her lips trembled against Clorinde’s.

“Do you want to do this?” Clorinde whispered the question against her lips.

“I don’t know,” Furina said sincerely.

“We can do it when you’re ready, and if you don’t want to, that’s fine too.”

“Thanks,” Furina half-smiled. “I’m going to get dressed for the day.”

Furina sneaked off towards her closet, and Clorinde let her shoulders slump against the bed. There was still so much to talk about it, and she wondered if that was the reason she was holding back. It was also highly likely that Furina was a virgin too, and virginity was a tricky thing for nobles.

It was demanded by all women to be virgins, but the worst thing Clorinde would get would be ridiculed for it if someone cared just a little too much. Furina could very much lose her station, but Egeria was a little more progressive with her view on it, given that she thought Furina and Clorinde were dating at first.

Egeria was always right at the end of the day.

Furina exited her closet, smiling at Clorinde holding her clothes as she went to get dressed in a suit in the bathroom.

Clorinde waited for Furina by the front door, watching her skip through the apartment towards her as she wrapped her hand in hers, pulling her out the door.

-

The Lord’s library was larger than the one in town, but still fell short of the one in the palace, as Furina looked around, still trying to gather information. They had been informed it would be two days before the so-called ball would happen. That Neuvillette seemed quite opposed to both in what it stood for and attending. Clorinde, on the other hand, did not seem to care as much; they could complain about all they wanted, but their opinions did not matter at the end of the day, according to her.

“I think it would be good to snoop around for information at the ball,” Furina said while looking up at the bookcase, reading across the titles. “Nothing women love to do more than gossip.”

“Clorinde said the same thing this morning,” Neuvillette spoke from across the room.

“You can be very pessimistic, Moniuser.” Furina turned towards him, her boots echoing through the room. “It’s good to make ourselves friendly towards people we are looking into. In case you need to be reminded, we are here looking for your children.” Furina marched right up to him.

“I would choose your next words quite wisely, Lady Furina.” Neuvillette’s eyes glowered at her.

Furina stared up at him with a smile breaking on her face, “You’re not as scary as you assume you are, though it might work on someone else.”

“I think it’s because you have seen too much of me,” she saw a hint of a smile forming on his face.

“Will you dance with me at the ball?” Furina asked him.

“I thought we were looking into the nobles while we were there, not participating in the festivities,” Neuvillette mocked her.

“We will have time for one dance,” Furina pleaded.

“If Clorinde still insists on not entertaining you, only then can you come and find me.”

Furina rolled her eyes at his reply as she spotted a book delving into the mythological creatures in Fontaine. Furina saw the corner of his eye looking at it suspiciously, before reaching for another book on the family tree. He pulled several more books down, placing them into Furina’s arms to grab some more.

They relocated to the couch with their pile as Furina sat in the corner with her legs tucked up, and Neuvillette sat with legs crossed per usual. Furina peered up at him; the sunlight made his white hair shine and his lavender eyes sparkle. He looked regal and well-adjusted, like this is where he belongs, not hidden away in a cave somewhere, full of sham and hatred.

“Neuvillette about last night I-“ Furina found herself saying.

“There is nothing to discuss, I crossed a line and I apologize about that,” He did not even look at her.

“It wasn’t you; it was me,” Furina muttered. “I’m sorry.”

Furina watched his lip twitch and his hand let go of the page, zoning out, thinking of what to say to her, but he vocalized nothing. Furina turned her attention back to her page, trying her best to pay attention and not steal glances at him, wondering what she could have said or done differently instead. If she had never felt this way at all, it would have solved everyone’s issues; maybe she should have never told Clorinde the truth either.

What a headache she made for everyone involved. Her mother was certainly right about her ability to do that. The tension between the two of them felt like a pressure gauge that was ready to explode off a pipe as Clorinde finally entered the room, and Furina breathed a sigh of relief. She carried a small plate of bread and butter and another tray of cups filled with hot water and some tea bags, nothing luxurious, but it was something for breakfast.

“My apologies that took longer than expected,” Clorinde squeezed the plates between their stack of books on the coffee table.

“Thank you,” Neuvillette looked directly at Clorinde.

Furina watched a pink flush bloom on her cheeks as she quickly coughed, taking a seat between the two of them. Clorinde reached her hand out to grab a chunk of bread. Neuvillette instantly reached out at the same time, but he faltered, letting her go first.

Furina shoulders fell as she buried herself deeper into her knees, she was to blame for the reason why they were so awkward with one another, she wanted to escape from this before it was too late or maybe just go back in time to right when she confessed her feelings to Clorinde and just lied to her saying that she never felt that way about him and then kick him out of her room later that night.

If she did that, she would have never figured out Neuvillette was not human either, maybe that would have been for the better, being completely ignorant of the world around her.

“Furina?” Clorinde called out to her.

“Hmm…” Furina peeked her head over her knees.

“I was wondering if you would like to get some sword practice in,” Clorinde offered. “With monsters on the loose, I want to know that you’ll be safe if something ever happened to me.”

“Nothing is going to happen to you!” Furina shook her head. “I would never allow that, plus I have the salon. They are quite ferocious.”

Clorinde rolled her eyes at her response, “Yesterday you got hurt quite a lot.”

“Did something happen yesterday?” Neuvillette finally looked at her.

“We just got caught up with some monsters ever since the dragon appeared; they have been active,” Furina answered. “I got scratched by some, but I healed.”

“Yes, but what if you couldn’t?” Clorinde insisted.

Furina bit her tongue; she should tell her the truth. She should tell them both that she was not human, that she could not die normally. That her body would constantly repair itself over and over again, no matter how much she got injured. No matter how much it hurt, she could never die in the same way Clorinde could, and maybe even Neuvillette.

She found herself nodding instead. It would be fun learning to sword fight with Clorinde, and she could finally get away from Neuvillette and the tragic look on his face, “I mean, I can handle minor injuries,” Furina lied, “but I don’t want you to be worried about me.”

Furina forced a smile, chewing on bread, ignoring both of their gazes while she kept digging a bigger hole of lies she had built her entire identity off of. Poor Neuvillette still did not even know who exactly he was talking to. He would probably call it quits once he found out she was the princess of the Queen he hated.

-

They walked around outside feeling the heat grip their skin as they searched for a clearing that was not covered in collections of puddles or completely flooded. It must have rained again sometime last night after Furina had kicked Neuvillette out of her room. The sky still had its grey tinge to it, and hopefully the clouds would block out enough sunlight to cool them off.

“I think this is the best we're going to get,” Clorinde placed down the two parge wooden swords she had found earlier.

Furina had insisted on using an actual sword, but Clorinde refused to, even if she could heal quicker than the average person, because of her connection to hydro, it did not mean she wanted to accidentally pierce her. Though to make up for it, Clorinde said that she is more than willing to bruise her as a joke that Furina did not find funny.

Furina watched carefully as Clorinde tied her hair up into a tight bun. She had seen her fight before sometimes. Furina would sneak off into a hall on the upper levels that overlooked the knight's courtyard to watch her train. She really was the best; every man or woman that stepped up to the plate would get wiped off the board like it was nothing to her.

Furina’s favorite times were in the last summer when it was the hottest outside, and Clorinde would fight with nothing but her corset bra on. She would get flustered every time Clorinde would flex her arms when she went to drink water or wipe the sweat off her forehead.

“Furina?” Clorinde called.

Furina felt the blood rushing to her cheeks from her embarrassing thoughts, “Yes?”

“I know you chopped off most of your hair, but I can put up whatever is left for you if you would like me to,” Clorinde offered.

Furina eagerly nodded her head, letting Clorinde comb her fingers through her hair as she gathered it into a short tail before pulling a hair band through it.

“I never realized you curled your hair,” Furina could feel her warm breath on the back of her neck.

“Yes,” the words fell slowly out of her mouth. “I do it every night back home. I put my hair into rollers and take them out in the morning before you arrive. I think this is the first time you have seen me that was not completely dolled up, I’m not that pretty, am I?” Furina giggled at her deprecating joke.

“I never thought that in my life,” Clorinde placed a quick kiss on the nape of her neck.

“Clorinde,” Furina spun around in protest.

Clorinde reached for the swords, ignoring Furina’s outburst with a smirk on her face, placing the sword in her hand like nothing had happened between the two of them, but Furina could still feel her lips on the back of her neck.

She hungered for more of them; she wanted those kisses on the rest of her body, too, those quick kisses on her hands, her chest, her thighs, and her stomach, but Clorinde was already barking orders at her like she was a recruit in the military.

Clorinde walked through the various basic poses, occasionally pulling her hips back to adjust her stance. Occasionally, Clorinde would adjust her hands, and Furina could not meet her eyes. It should not be this embarrassing. She was kissing her face this morning.

She thought once she had confessed her feelings, that this nervousness would go away, but now she was more frightened than ever. Clorinde would leave her because of all the secrets she was keeping from her.

“Okay, now swing,” Clorinde guided her.

Furina swung the sword at her command as Clorinde stepped out of the way.

“Put more force into it,” Clorinde directed her.

Furina tried again, almost stumbling as she swung.

“Try again,” Clorinde barked.

She swung and swung and swung, repeating it over and over again until Clorinde finally allowed her to stop. As she bent over, dropping the sword.

“Are you okay, Furina?” Clorinde asked.

Furina looked up, “Of course I am,” she tried to steady her breath. She wanted to say, ‘no,’ she wanted to let the words run out of her mouth instead of what she offered, “how about you fight me?” Just go easy on me, and I will be able to learn better in an actual combat situation. I want to try to apply the techniques you're teaching me.”

“Fine, we will do something simple, but if it gets too much for you or you get hurt, we are stopping immediately,” Clorinde agreed.

Furina faked a smile like she had won an argument as she reached for her sword. She tucked one hand behind her back like Clorinde suggested, and Clorinde took her position. She moved almost mechanically like a machine prepping itself before doing the job it was instructed to do. A pang of fear raced through Furina’s body as a smile drew upon Clorinde’s face, telling her that she would go easy.

“I just want you to attempt to hit me,” Clorinde entrusted her.

Furina stared at her, trying to figure her out as she held her sword in position. ‘What was she planning?’ Furina thought to herself, ‘Is she just trying to give her a leverage but letting her move first?’

“You’re thinking too much,” Clorinde interrupted her.

“I am not,” Furina denied her.

“The sword is an extension of oneself, move like it is.”

“Well, you said you should examine your opponent.”

“And you should do that too, but hesitate too long, and I will take the first step, which can lead to you cowering. Run into a fight blind, you also run the risk of being overwhelmed and out of breath; you need to figure out balance.”

“And how do you do that?”

“Time. Though I picked up quicker than my master imagined.”

Furina took one step, swinging her blade, as Clorinde blocked it with a flick of her wrist, and Furina sliced her. Clorinde parried, and the two began to dance around the field with the few simple steps that Furina had learned.

“You never mention her,” Furina spoke while she was out of breath.

“My master, she is the woman who raised me and taught me everything I know, and eventually she left too.” Clorinde blocked her incoming attack. “There is not much to mention.”

“Yes, but do you miss her?” Furina asked.

The question caught her off guard as Furina managed to hit her in her shoulder as they looked at each other with wide eyes, and Furina applauded herself as if an audience was watching. She fell onto the ground, giggling to herself.

“I won,” Furina cheered. “I think as an award, you should dance with me at the upcoming celebration.”

“It seems only fair,” Clorinde said as she sat beside her. “And yes, I do miss her.”

“You can talk to me about her if you want,” Furina lay on her thigh.

“There’s not much to talk about, but thank you,” Clorinde pulled the tie out of Furina’s hair. “I think that’s all we're going to practice today. You can take the rest of the day to rest or do something else.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Clorinde was a usually hard-to-read woman, never letting her emotions shine while she worked. The occasional pleasant smile when she had one and anger to command a group, she never showed a hint of sadness ever, yet right now, she looked almost lost.

-

Furina found herself back in the library after sword practice, looking around the room to see if Neuvillette was hiding somewhere. A sigh of relief left her mouth as she saw no trace of him.

She took it back to the bookshelves, scanning over the books once again, trying to find the one she wanted to read. The one she saw earlier on the history of monsters and dragons in Fontaine, as she reached for the shelf, pulling the book down.

She quickly stuffed the book under her shirt, hoping that Neuvillette would not pop back in as she sneaked out of the room, running back to her bedroom.

She did not want him to know she was onto him, and she did not want to worry Clorinde either.

She entered her bedroom, flipping the book open as she scanned the pages. It went over the simple things, the theory of creation, and the end of Fontaine, the different sea creatures, and automated machines that ran on their own now in the sea. She flipped through the pages, stopping at an anatomy of an oceanid, seeing the word extinct on the top of the page.

The whimsical sea fairies that had enchanted the waters of Fontaine for centuries are nothing but myths now killed off by humankind for their mystical nature. An all-female species born from the purest water deep below the sea…

Furina’s lips wobbled at the words. She wondered if her mother feared that life for her, and that’s why she had always kept her away from everything. She traced her finger across the oceanid; there would never be anyone like her again. She felt an overwhelming sense of grief. She flipped through the pages, not bothering to read the rest of the passage, wiping her tears away.

The page landed on a passage titled the ‘God of Life,’ as she paused, taken aback by the strange illustration of a lavender purple eye with a spilt down the middle, much like Neuvillette’s eyes were. There were two other drawings of a human and a vishap, comparing the size of the beast to a human.

Furina read along the passage about the story of the legend of the hydro dragon and how all water is theirs from the tears they cried from their eyes. That life was formed by their blood alone. How the beast grew into anger at the formation of humans from the use of its blood and became a wild and untamable beast rampaging through Fontaine, only to be slain centuries ago by the human hands it thought were capable of matching up to its strength.

From then on, the vishaps have scorned humans for their very existence, being forced into something they were not, denied their final transformation, or even some forced to bear children with humans, becoming a weird half-species. From the diagrams shown, they all had a strange resemblance to Nuvillette.

-

Clorinde strangely found herself in front of the room Neuvillette was staying in. Furina had locked herself up in her bedroom after the lesson, complaining that she smelled bad, and now that she had proper access to bathing material, it was not a habit she planned on keeping. She should have been doing something else to pass the time instead of wandering the halls trying to calm herself from her flighty feelings about her master, but she paused anyway, staring up at the big door, seeing it cracked up just a little bit. Walking, seeing the glass door to the garden open as he looked up at Clorinde, who was now standing in the middle of his room.

“Oh, Ms. Clorinde,” he forced a soft smile. “I did not see you come in.”

“The door was open and I heard the music – do you play?”

Neuvillette looked down at the keys, “No, I just like the sound. Music tends to help me calm down, but I do not think it’s helping right now.”

She had forgotten again, maybe Furina did too, when they would get distracted with their little tasks, pulling away from what was actually at stake. It was so easy to forget what they were here for when she saw Furina’s eyes glow with excitement or heard the sound of her voice giggling through the echo of the room.

He looked so distant and messy, and eyebags were building under his eyes, and his hair was tangled. He hated dealing with people and playing with their puppets while they hopped from one possible clue to another. His shirt had been stained for days. Did he ever plan on cleaning it? Or just waiting it out until everything is solved. His hands had a slight shake in them as though something had frightened him. The smile he was holding up for Clorinde wobbled every few seconds; he was doing it for pleasantries to make her comfortable.

“Have you been sleeping well?” Clorinde found herself asking. “You look exhausted.”

“I do not sleep at all most nights,” Neuvillette answered sincerely.

“That’s not healthy for you.”

“I am not a child, I am completely aware of the consequences of my actions.” His voice deepened in anger at her response. “I do not wish to burden you with this.”

“You already have,” Clorinde spoke softly.

It seemed like something broke inside of him as his eyes became smaller, the rain started pouring down at a slow speed, and Neuvillette got up, closing the glass door so the water would not get all over the bedroom.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“There’s nothing to apologize for, we are the ones failing you,” Clorinde confessed.

“It’s me who is doing nothing,” he muttered. “I am sitting here idling my days, thinking of a thousand ways to make this go faster, to locate them, to do something other than this. But all I do is sit and wait, and it drives me insane. I do not like to do nothing.”

“And we have not learned a single thing since we have been here. They could be dead for all we could know, and I get to live with the guilt of failing them,” Neuvillette continued on his rant.

“There is not much we can do,” Clorinde answered him, though it was not something he wanted to hear. “Once someone goes missing, we have a short chance of finding them with each hour they are gone. That is the truth, and with the little information provided about them, we are doing our best.”

Clorinde took a seat beside him, “I know you're angry, and I would be too, but we got to where we are, and that’s good enough. We will see this through, you just have to put a little more trust in me.”

The rain grew heavier; lightning struck the ground as his head grew heavy.

“I know, and I am sorry for my outburst. I should not,” Neuvillette was already apologizing as Clorinde reached out, placing a hand on his bouncing knee. “I’m worried about them and I lose sleep over it. They are not capable of defending themselves.”

“May I try something?”

“Of course.”

Clorinde’s fingers traced on top of his arm down to his fingers as he flattened against her touch; she could feel his heartbeat bumping through his veins. She traced her fingers down to his hands over and over again. A trick Navia taught her to calm her nerves when she would become a ball of anger herself. She could feel him relax under her touch; she could not do much to remove his pain, but she could do this.

“I’m sorry,” Neuvillette apologized again.

“You may stop apologizing now,” Clorinde looked up at his soft lavender eyes.

“I’m very tired and I will apologize for it,” Neuvillette spoke. “I should not be behaving like that.”

“Do you get nightmares?” Clorinde asked him as she peeled away her fingers, even though she wished to continue.

He seemed perplexed by her question, “I used to,” Clorinde continued. “A lot when I was a child. I may have even gotten them when I was a baby, but I cannot remember that. I would cry a lot because my parents left me, and she would…”

‘Bemoan it.’ She wanted to say. Dealing with a child under stress is quite a handful, especially the ones who do not know what they were crying about, just that they knew something was wrong. A shadow that was large enough to frighten Clorinde or the sound of thunder being a little too loud sounded like the world was ending, gun fire was a completely different fear she had to address as she grew older.

Clorinde’s nightmares would plague her with the fear that she would be left again, lost and alone in the world, stuck in the woods with no way to get out, no matter how far she ran.

“She would allow me to sleep with her,” Clorinde kept speaking, “it was the only way I felt safe from them. We use sleep as a relief only to be plagued with violent images when we fall asleep, but I think at some point she even got tired of dealing with that and got me the geo vishap.”

“You had a geo-vishap as a pet,” a smirk formed on his lips.

“Yes, I used to sleep on its back,” Clorinde spoke with a smile. “But what I am saying is it's normal to feel like this, that even sleep feels like a prison.”

“I hate wasting time when I could be doing something else, sleeping only delays it even further.”

“They are waiting for you as much as you are them, you’ll see them soon.”

“May I admit something embarrassing?” Neuvillette answered. Clorinde only replied with an exhale of her nose, “I do not think I’m used to sleeping alone anymore. When I was younger, I could do it, but now I think I am so used to someone crawling in bed with me, I could not fall asleep until one of them did.”

“That’s probably why you could fall asleep next to me and Furina,” Clorinde concluded. “You're used to being comforted.”

“I think they take care of me more than I do them,” Neuvillette smiled. “Though I do not like burdening them with my issues, it’s not right for a parent to do that to a child; it’s nice to speak to an adult once in a while.”

“You have been on your own raising them for quite some time, then.”

Neuvillette nodded his head, “I did the steps in the opposite direction. I have never once been in a relationship. It’s hard for me to read people, and most humans require you to do that.”

Clorinde took one breath and, without thinking, asked, “Do you like Furina?”

“I find her company agreeable; she is very smart and kind, quite entertaining, and trying to figure her out. I think she is very beautiful, but your question is if I want to pursue a romantic relationship with her, is that correct?” Neuvillette waited for Clorinde to nod her head. “I cannot tell you I have never felt this way before about someone, but I would like her to say yes if we did.”

Clorinde stiffened at his reply, “But you like her too, am I right, Ms. Clorinde?” His eyes peered at her as his gaze softened, his pinky finger reached for hers, placing it on top as their hands looped around one another. “I do enjoy your company as well,” Neuvillette framed his words slowly and carefully.

Clorinde could feel her heart pounding; she wanted to pull away, and she wanted to stay. Too many feelings at once, and she had no idea how to deal with them all.

Furina busted through the door with a knock as the two ripped their hands apart, looking at different corners of the room like two people who were just caught kissing in school. A part of her smiled at the thought that she and Navia used to do that too, and an aching realization of what her heart was pulling her towards.

“I’ve been looking for you two everywhere. I’m so bored and wish to be entertained,” Furina prodded around the room. “What are we doing here?” Furina took a seat on one of the side chairs.

“We were talking about nightmares,” Clorinde coughed. “Neuvillette has been struggling with sleeping lately, and I was relating to the topic.”

Furina frowned, blinking twice, a thousand thoughts must be running through her head like they typically do, “Oh, I have an idea, what if we did a sleepover?” Furina suggested. “Oh, we eat finger foods and snacks, do makeup, we read magazines, though I don’t think they have any here at the moment, and we play board games, share stories.”

Clorinde cracked a smile. She was trying to replicate a sleepover that young girls used to have, ‘she must have never had those,’ Clorinde thought.

“We could tweak the idea a bit, given that we're all adults, but we can,” Clorinde nodded her head.

Furina clapped her hands together and, with a shriek, her plan became real.

-

Neuvillette followed Clorinde down to the kitchen; she always looked so serious as if she had a plan for everything. There was something Neuvillette enjoyed about that; if something were to happen to him, he could simply rely on Clorinde to figure it out. Not that he should give what he was, but the feeling that he could gave him comfort.

She spoke to the chefs for the two of them, because he did not like speaking to strangers, and she knew this. She poured a glass of water on him without asking because she knew that he wanted one. It was strange being seen like this; the feeling did not hurt, but he felt his body becoming warm. He wanted to know exactly how much she knew about him, but his brain was telling him to pull away before she could figure it out.

 He helped her plate the finger food for the three of them while Furina stayed in his room decorating for the occasion, much like she had done the night before while Clorinde rested.

Neuvillette helped her with the pillows and other things she required; she called it a date for three of them. Though she retracted the statement quickly, changing it to an event. Maybe this sleepover idea was also a date for them; he did not know, he had never been on a date before. He had never wanted to try it until now; something was alluring about being with them, and now the idea of an actual date did not sound like a bad idea.

He had seen how romantic relationships formed between two humans in the past and the subtle nature of it all. The questions, whispers, giggles, and the waiting for alone time to press their lips on each other’s bodies. He always wondered what exactly sparked it, how one knew that this was the person they wanted to be with, was it subtle and slow, or did it come crashing down like a meteorite falling from the sky? It was much different than how other animals loved most of it did it simply to populate the species, others did it to seek solace or something more, and yet for humans it's switched to either or. He wanted to ask, but he did not want to make his nature obvious.

He watched her as she led him down the hall; her hair, pulled back into a tight bun in the morning, was slowly losing its definition. Her makeup was slowly fading off of her, but she still looked just as beautiful as she always did. He once heard falling in love was gaining a new perspective on someone you knew; he wondered if that’s what he was experiencing right now.

Furina clapped her hands at the sight of the plates as her salon brought out the finishing touches with pillows and blankets everywhere, a game of chess had been laid out for them to play together, and a deck of cards. She was already in her nightwear with her hair in curlers.

The salon took the food away from them, setting it up on the table as Clorinde left the room to take her shower and get ready for the evening. Neuvillette and Furina decided on chess to pass the time. She was so much quicker at it than he was. She pulled moves on him that he had never thought about before, and even went so far as to throw out her queen if it meant beating him.

She always looked up at him and smiled like she was just as surprised as he was at her accomplishments. Her lips always had a shine to them when she did, and her eyes sparkled in the candlelight.

“Neuvillette, where did you grow up?” Furina suddenly asked him.

“Why are you bringing this up?” Neuvillette asked as he moved a piece.

“You never say anything about yourself, you would rather talk to me about the intricacies of Fontaine law that you read in a book before yourself,” Furina laid her head on her hand. “I want to know you.”

“There’s not much to know about me; I have not lived a significant life like you have.”

“I was born to be significant, but what have I ever done to make me that?” Furina insulted herself. “But you're avoiding the question again, Neuvillette.” Her eyes narrowed at him, “Who exactly are you?”

He felt his heart racing like she could see him past all the clothes and see where his flesh peeled away, leaving harsh scales that scratched against his clothes. His breath got stuck in his throat as he tried to figure out something to throw her off. Maybe she found another book on vishaps, and humans, and a piece of reference on what he truly was.

“I think you're very beautiful, Lady Furina.” The words escaped his mouth.

Her face turned a shade of bright red. “Oh look, I won again,” she trailed off in laughter.

She looked away from him as she tried to fix the board again to restart the game. He would pick up a piece, trying to hand it to her, only for their fingers to touch and her to rip it out of his hand in frustration. She would not pressure him much more after that, and then Clorinde would take his spot as he was sent to the baths.

The rain always allowed him to feel, and water allowed him to calm whatever was boiling inside, but right now, he could not pay attention to anything. He felt more naked than he ever did as he dipped his body into the tub; at any moment, one of them could walk in and see him for what he was.

He was getting closer to them, and it was becoming a distraction. He had a very simple goal at hand, and yet he found himself looking for their company, hoping one of them would bother him and distract him from the world. It was the only thing that would keep this anxious feeling away from him, even if he swam with guilt every night because of it. He knew he was being selfish for it, but he never realized how greedy he had become so greedy recently.

Piano music flowed into the bathroom, ‘it must be Furina,’ he thought. The song was upbeat like a warm spring day, and then dipped like a thunderstorm ruining a midafternoon activity. It felt like she was playing just for him. She was on a stage in her best tailcoat, and he was the only one in the audience. He wanted more of it, even if he knew it would be the end of everything he wanted in life. Eventually, the truth would spill out, and the stain he would leave behind would damage all of them for the rest of their lives.

He got out of the bath and changed into his night clothing, pulling his gloves back on as he stepped out of the bathroom, seeing Furina at the piano and Clorinde sitting on the couch watching as she played. Both their eyes turned towards him as he slammed the bathroom door closed. They smiled at him, and he felt like he was a part of something he never wanted to let go of.

The three of them finally decided to eat dinner, consuming the sandwich that he and Clorinde made and giving the plate of cookies to Furina, who still forced both of them to at least eat one. They played around with card games to pass the time before Furina kept yawning and blinking her eyes shut.

“I think it’s time for you to go to sleep,” Clorinde told her.

“Yeah, I know I just want to spend time with the two of you,” Furina sighed.

“And we will be here tomorrow,” Clorinde insisted.

“Yeah, I know,” Furina spoke in defeat.

Furina picked herself up, carrying her seahorse into Neuvillette’s bed, tucking herself under the covers while her other two sea creatures slept at the end of the bed next to one another.

Furina pulled herself up, looking at both of them, blinking, “Are you two coming?” Furina asked them. “I cannot sleep without both of you near me,” she whined.

Clorinde rolled her eyes, giving Neuvillette a knowing look as Clorinde climbed into bed, lying beside her, wrapping her arms around Furina as she giggled in delight. Neuvillette lay beside Clorinde, watching the two embrace each other awkwardly as Clorinde pressed a quick kiss to Furina’s forehead.

“Go to sleep, Furina,” Clorinde told her as Furina nestled on top of her breast, closing her eyes.

Neuvillette looked over at Clorinde as their eyes met, and Clorinde pushed out the strands of his hair on his forehead, planting a short kiss on his temple, “You too.”

Neuvillette nodded his head, closing his eyes as he lay on her shoulder, feeling her body shift towards his, wrapping her arms around his back with her hands sticking to his hair.

“We're all here now,” she whispered in his ears, and he could feel Furina’s hand interlocking with his own.

-

Egeria paced around her room. Furina was still missing, and now Clorinde was too. Maybe they had planned this all along. Furina was smart enough to do something like this even if she played dumb and passive all the time. She needs her to come home and that dragon to reappear, too. Fontaine was beginning to split; the cracks were getting easier to notice by the minute. Monsters kept pouring out of holes, climbing for the abyss she could no longer keep away. All her power left her the minute he decided to be reborn. She needed to do something before it was too late.

She heard a knock at the door. “Come in,” she yelled, trying to stay as calm as she could.

Three faces appeared, all wearing a different expression, but somehow all managed to look a little bit like one another. They were the best, and she hoped the knave was right.

Chapter Text

Clorinde peeled her eyes open. The room was still dark, but the faint edges of the sun were sneaking their way through the curtains as Clorinde tried to lift herself. Her body felt stiff, like it begged for more sleep, and there were too many hands and legs wrapped around her. She could tell the minor differences between the two in a way. Furina clung to her as if she were an oversized teddy bear while Neuvillette’s leg hooked her knee and scratched her lower back with his gloved fingers. She turned towards Neuvillette, letting her fingers fall between them as she looked over at his slumbering face, framed by his long hair. She tentatively pushed away the few strands of hair from his mouth so that he would not choke in his sleep. Feeling these few moments freeze in time as more sunlight kept crawling into the room.

She saw Furina’s creatures were already up and awake, sorting the room from last night’s sleepover, filing away Furina and Clorinde’s stuff like they planned on staying in this room with him. A smile hovered over her lips, thinking about how great an idea that would be.

Clorinde felt Furina’s thin hands climbing over her body, snuggling her close as Clorinde shifted, seeing Furina's smiling face as she let out a small giggle, rubbing her nose with hers as she kissed Clorinde's cheeks and then her lips.

“You’re up early,” Clorinde said, kissing her again.

“Hmm… I’m just enjoying my time with you two,” Furina spoke softly as her eyes hovered closed. “And I’m afraid to move, it might wake him. It’s the most he has slept in days. And how else am I supposed to see your beautiful face while you sleep?” Furina joked as her eyes peeked open.

“Do you enjoy watching us?” Clorinde teased her.

Furina's cheeks redden, changing the conversation. “We can sleep in today, given that the nobles should be arriving here soon,” Furina combed Clorinde’s hair with her fingers. “I don’t think either one of you is interested in dealing with them, though once everything settles, we can go snooping around.”

“We have seen everything. Are we even sure what we’re looking for is here?”

“I have a feeling we are going to find out our answer in an unexpected way,” Furina said, looking over at Neuvillette.

“I-I would not mind it,” Clorinde confessed.

“hmm…”

“The three of us.”

“Let’s talk about it later,” Furina whispered, closing her eyes.

Clorinde could feel Furina’s hot breath on her shoulder as her body slipped away into sleep. Clorinde stayed awake, imagining romantic scenarios with the three of them. Guilt played in her mind about what she was doing, but acceptance did as well. It was too many feelings clogging her as she was pulled back into sleep.

When she woke up next, both Furina and Neuvillette were awake, setting up the table for breakfast. Instead of the chunks of bread with slightly rotten fruit and cheese, there were eggs, bacon, tea, coffee, and breakfast pastries. It seemed as though the staff started to actually care about them, or maybe they were just leveling up their game, given the big shots had finally arrived.

Furina caught her staring from the bed. “Good morning,” Furina sang with a smile. “They brought us breakfast this morning. It seems we are now guests worthy of treatment.”

“There is still a great distance between how we are being treated compared to the nobles and how the peasants are being treated compared to us,” Neuvillette spoke ill.

He poured himself a cup of tea, sipping on it slowly, nibbling at the fruits they had provided for them while Furina helped herself to the pastries and other items at the table. Clorinde did not comment as she helped herself to a plate. There was truth to his words; the income inequality in Fontaine was staggering, along with its social politics. Even if you had no money, simply owning a title was enough to grant access to another world of wealth.

Clorinde had seen both sides of it. Growing up, she lived off whatever her master was willing to spare in her tiny hunting lodge, mostly clothes that never fit her properly, fish her master caught every day, and furniture that broke constantly. Money was tight, and food was low; being introduced to Navia was like meeting an alien from another planet.

She had a family and friends who loved her, a home that functioned, and food on the table. Her father got her whatever she asked; she wondered if her parents never abandoned her, that they would have done the same, but even with all the wealth in the world, Navia still was not seen as a perfect equal to the nobility.

She would be denied access to certain things, like fashion designers and bakers. That only took Nobility customers. She was rarely invited to social engagements that she did not have to pay for herself, and even when she looked exactly like them, their treatment never equaled. When Clorinde first earned her title as a knight, she wanted to give Navia everything that both of them were denied because of the axis of class, and have the freedom to do whatever they wanted once they were married.

Clorinde frowned, wiping away the memory, returning her attention to the two of them, she pretended to listen in on Neuvillette’s and Furina’s conversation and their uncontrollable smiles. There was not much anyone could do about the nobility and common class gap; maybe one person could, as Furina stole another's scone off the plate.

The door to their bedroom sprang open as lord Henri strutted into the room. Furina dropped her plate and rushed to find a blanket to cover Clorinde as he turned around on sight.

“My apologies,” Lord Henri issued. “But we have a dilemma.”

Furina’s face burned with anger as Neuvillette spoke for the two of them instead, “Yes?”

“Abyssal cracks have been spotted along the roads again, which is why, at the moment, I have no guards. I was wondering if you three could handle it, given that I am feeding and housing you,” Lord Henri coughed at the end.

Furina's mouth fell open, and before she could answer, Neuvillette replied with, “Yes.”

“My attendants will be pleased to know that they are safe because of your doing,” Lord Henri thanked them.

Furina stomped her feet in anger as soon as he left, “he shouldn’t be walking in here unannounced!”

“It is his house,” Neuvillette remained calm.

“It does not matter if it's a house; Clorinde is not dressed for the day,” Furina reminded him. “It’s improper for a man to walk in on a woman in her nightclothes.”

“I have done so,” Neuvillette pointed out.

“It’s different with you!” Furina argued, “your...” she paused, not knowing how to fill the gaps, her eyes flickered over to Clorinde.

“You're with us,” Clorinde finished her thought as a weak smile tugged at Furina’s face. “he isn’t. He is a stranger, you aren’t.”

“We were together,” Clorinde smiled. It felt too natural when she said it out loud.

Furina picked up her plate off the ground as she grumbled, still upset over something, placing it at the edge of the table, stealing Neuvillette’s unused plate.

-

Furina had missed Reine Chevalette petting her snout as the stable boy got her ready. Furina pulled an apple out of her pocket, placing it in front of the horse’s mouth, brushing its lips against the apple before gobbling it up like it had not eaten in days. Furina loved her so much that she wanted to take her back home with her once this whole issue was solved. There, Reine would be allowed to graze on grass for the rest of her days, not worrying about anything other than when her next apple would arrive.

The horse lifted her head in irritation as the man tightened the saddle, putting the bribe in her mouth, and Furina guided her hand to the saddle, hooking her feet and swinging herself over. Clorinde was waiting for her horse to be ready for mounting as her eyes found Neuvillette, smiling over at him, letting him know it was okay.

She helped him up as he wrapped his hands around her waist once again, and she felt herself stopping, taking in the moment, his hot breath on the back of her neck, and his claws gently scratching at her stomach. She wanted to lean back and kiss him and let their lips melt into one. She wondered if he would hold her chin while doing so or maybe nibble her bottom lip before their tongues would entwine.

“I've got to teach you how to ride a horse one of these days,” Furina shook off the oncoming shiver.

“I would like that,” Neuvillette replied.

Clorinde was now ready as she pulled herself onto her horse, looking back at the two of them as Furina rode up to her, letting the two of them fall into a similar walking pace. They would be heading down to the road near the village.

Furina thought it to be a little strange; they should be making room for more guests, but when Furina tried to question it, Clorinde simply shrugged and said Probably a supply situation. Which made sense, they were throwing a party here soon, and they would need enough food to feed everyone, and the lord of the house had a few boats down by the village, and he had complained earlier about wanting access to them again. Something still felt off about the whole situation.

It’s like she saw a keyhole but did not have the right key to fully grasp the situation at hand.

With the new fact that Neuvillette was probably a vishap human, there must have been something more to all of this. Maybe they were selling vishap eggs, she heard there was a market for them, but that would dismantle the entire story that Neuvillette has given them so far, claiming that he was single unless he was lying about all of that, too. Which she also had to take into account because vishaps don’t go too far from their mates.

Then there were Clorinde’s feelings in play along with her own; she still wanted his affection, but she guessed the honeymoon phase was over before it started.

“Neuvillette?” Furina could see his eyes on her.

“Yes,” his eyes looked so sincere and glassy.

“I was going to ask you about something, but I cannot seem to remember what it was,” she awkwardly laughed, or maybe she was still in it, wishing to believe every word he’s spoken so far.

Clorinde came to a stop as Furina yanked back on her horse, watching Clorinde dismount as she pulled out her sword. Neuvillette followed Clorinde, and Furina took the rear as her Salon popped out trailing behind her like little ducks.

Clorinde quickly moved, stabbing a beast through the throat before anyone had a chance to react, as several monsters stepped out into the clearing, a hydro barrier surrounded them. Furina and Clorinde both looked up as a hydro tentacle released, spearing each beast with black corpse dust flying everywhere. The shield fell once the monsters disappeared, with Clorinde turning to Furina with her mouth agape, but Furina quickly shook her head as their eyes both turned to Neuvillette, who was busy straightening out his coat.

Were Vishaps really this capable? She knew about their extensive power when it came to their claws and water jet streams from an inner compartment in their body, but not the ability to shape hydro to their will like this. It’s almost like his hydro ability stemmed from the same source as that of an oceanid.

Neither of them said anything as Clorinde continued to lead them deeper into the forest, occasionally jumping ahead to kill a monster. Furina’s eyes never left Neuvillette’s back. He was terrible at pretending to be human.

“I can feel your eyes on me, Lady Furina,” Neuvillette spoke softly.

She felt a shiver climb up her spine as her eyes turned towards the ground, “That was you earlier, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, it was,” Neuvillette nodded. “I did not want to see you or Ms. Clorinde get hurt.”

“Where did you get your power from? You have no vision.”

“I was born with it.”

“Wh-what-“ The honest answer shocked her. It spilled out without a fight or argument.

“I found it,” Clorinde reappeared from the clearing.  “It’s just up ahead.”

Neuvillette waited for her to walk ahead of him. Clorinde led them to a small break in the woods where a large black crack with a tinge of purple floated in the middle of the air. There was a feeling of mourning in the area, but outside of that, it was a normal day with a strange heavenly anomaly.

“This is so strange,” Furian commented.

She held out her hand, leaning into it to touch it.

“Furina don’t,” Clorinde barked at her.

Furina dropped her hand with a sigh. She wanted to know if her hand would go through the mirage or if she would end up somewhere else entirely. Would she end up in the abyss? Or somewhere in the sea, or maybe back in the court of Fontaine.

“I have never seen one of these before. How do we get rid of it?” Furina asked Clorinde.

“You don’t, it just gets bigger,” Clorinde responded.

“They used to,” Neuvillette spoke up. “A long time ago. Egeria’s power was capable of holding it back, but it seems that’s no longer the case now. Her ability is fading.”

Furina frowned at him. Clorinde coughed. It was not the first time he had spoken ill of her mother, and probably would not be the last. He had secrets, and he knew something, but she did not know how, “What do you mean by that?”

The person who spoke up was the last person she expected, “It’s the truth, other countries have been infected with the abyss; Natlan is experiencing the worst of it. But Fontaine never did.”

“But one day, according to my master, these cracks just appeared randomly. They used to disappear, apparently, though I think she was just lying to me as a child,” Clorinde finished her short speech.

Furina stared off into the distance, trying to process the new information she had received. Clorinde reached out for her hand, squeezing it. It felt like everyone was hiding something from her. Why was she being told this now? She was supposed to be queen soon. Why would her mother never mention it? Nor Clorinde? As she ripped her hand away from her.

Clorinde’s face shattered instantly by Furina’s rejection, and Furina put her mask back on, propping a smile, “Sorry, it’s just my hands feel puffy because of the heat. I did not mean to act that way.”

She kissed Clorinde on the cheek; she tasted terrible but showed no feeling as a way to make up for earlier. Her smile stayed on her face as she did the same to Neuvillette to show that she had considered Clorinde’s words earlier.

They fought off the few monsters they had left as she paid extra attention to Neuvillette’s moves. He did not move with speed or strength in the same way Clorinde did, a shuffle of his hand, a flick of his wrist, and the creatures evaporated one by one. Clorinde was drenched in sweat by the time they were over, but Neuvillette didn’t even look disheveled. He was a terrifying force they managed to tame.

They made their way back to their horses as they remounted, removing the horses from their daily grass grazing as Furina pretended like nothing was out of the ordinary. She acted like she cared for the conversation Clorinde and Neuvillette were having about a book they both read.

She noticed how the two of them were getting along more. A few days ago, they seemed like a dream, but now it was an annoyance as she felt Neuvillette cling to her with each step of the horse; she was like a balloon waiting to pop, and maybe she would once she managed to pull Neuvillette away from Clorinde.

Thinking of Clorinde, Furina noticed her eyes looked glossier. She smiled more at him; she was more alright with touching him. She treated Neuvillette just like she treated Furina. Maybe this was evidence that she was falling for him, and she hoped Neuvillette felt the same. It was strange watching your partner fall for someone, after everything she had been told that relationships with more than one partner were wrong- it felt like a welcome experience. She was happy to see Clorinde happy, and that’s what was important to her, despite all the issues that were constantly occurring.

Furina counted the minutes it took to finally get back to the house as she dragged her feet towards her room after saying goodbye to her horse. She watched Clorinde take her leave first, saying that she was going to get her exercise in even after all she already did today. Neuvillette muttered a goodbye and told her to have a nice time. He looked over at Furina as though he was waiting for her.

“And you?” Neuvillette asked her.

“I wanted to speak to you,” Furina said urgently. “Somewhere quiet and alone.”

“Is everything alright?”

“Yes, why would it not be?”

“You're speaking to me differently,” Neuvillette said, his eyes were wide with concern as her heart fluttered against her chest.

She held out her hand towards him as his fingers slid in the grooves. She could feel his nails gently scratching her skin as his thumb rubbed up against hers. She led him back towards their rooms, away from the growing crowd of nobles. She knew it would be stupid to question him publicly in case this went sideways, but also locking himself in a room with him was not a wise idea for a multitude of reasons.

“Neuvillette, I want to be straight with you,” as she broke her hand away from him. “Rather than keep playing this guessing game with you, and I know you're more reasonable than you like to make yourself out to be.”

“What is this about, Lady Furina?”

“Your power, where did you get it from?” Furina asked him.

“I already answered that question.”

“You know that’s not something you're just born with.”

“How long have you known?” Neuvillette cut to the chase.

“A few days now,” Furina confessed. “I figured it out that night when we were. “ Furina did not need to finish that thought; the idea of kissing him then still made her cheeks turn red.

“I’m not a monster, you can trust me,” Neuvillette begged.

“I know,” but she was not so sure. “I-“ Furina fiddled with her glove. If there was anyone she could trust with this, it would be him. After all, revealing each other’s secrets may get them both into serious trouble. “I am just the same.”

Furina wiggled her fingers in front of his face. Seeing the blue light emanate from the parts of her that were still oceanid, “Well, not the same, but you get it.”

“I’m just better at hiding it than you.” Furina’s cold fingers reached out, brushing Neuvillette’s hair behind his ears.

“I never would have guessed,” Neuvillette’s eyes followed her fingers as they trailed down his cheek towards his lips. “You’re  the oceanid?”

Furina could only nod her head as Neuvillette kissed her thumb softly. She imagined him kissing her a thousand times over, but not with the graciousness that he gave her. His breath was warm on her finger, and his lips shook as he puckered her lips. He kissed her like she was the most fragile thing in the world, as she badly wanted to taste him on hers.

She stood up on her toes; even in heels, she could not reach his face with her own. Her feet wobbled under her weight, or maybe her anxiety was building up in her as she clung to his coat. His hands rushed out, holding her waist as she steadied herself against him. She noticed how their faces were much closer now, and the distance was unbearable.

“May I?” Neuvillette asked timidly.

Furina should have nodded her head or spoken a soft yes; instead, she found her lips on top of his, clinging for the affection she so desperately craved. As she kissed him, nibbling on his bottom lip, she could feel him tremble like he was scared. She blinked open her eyes, pulling back, with Clorinde, it was easy. Clorinde knew what she wanted and took it, and yet as she looked into Neuvillette’s eyes, concern was written all over his face.

“I’m sorry,” Furina apologized as she broke away from him.

-

Clorinde found Neuvillette standing in front of Furina’s door, lifting his hand like he was going to knock, but stopping himself every time he tried. He heard the sound of Clorinde’s heels stomping on the ground as he looked over at her with a confused face.

“I think I did something wrong,” Neuvillette confessed, “but I do not know what I did wrong.”

“Did you two fight?” Clorinde asked; they were prone to little disagreement with one another.

Neuvillette shook his head, “quite the opposite in fact. She kissed me and then apologized.”

Clorinde felt her stomach lurch. They spoke about it briefly, but she did not expect Furina to act on her feelings so quickly. She could not even be mad at Neuvillette for it; he was being played by her, they both were.

“I will try speaking to her for you,” Clorinde offered, and Neuvillette stepped aside.

-

Furina paced around her bedroom, trying to think about what she had done and what she would do. Not only did she reveal her biggest secret to him, but she also overstepped by kissing him. He was not interested in her in the slightest. There was no other explanation for why he would have pulled back like that.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Clorinde stepped into her bedroom; they locked eyes with one another. Furina knew that she knew what she had done as her eyes fell to her uncovered fingers, and a frown was plastered on her face.

“What are you doing?” She asked in a whisper.

“I don’t know,” Furina confessed quietly. “I don’t know what I’m doing at all,” Furina said as she sat down on her bed. “I just feel lost, and the only thing that seems right is being around you two, and even then it doesn’t feel right.” Furina pulled her knees up to her face to shrink herself some more, “You're mad at me, aren’t you? For kissing him?”

“I thought we would talk about it more. Does he even know we're together?”

Furina opened her mouth to retaliate, but she was right; they never told him about their relationship.

“I’m sorry,” Furina apologized quickly. Maybe Fontaine was right; her behavior was not very queenly. She should know how to act and what to do without having to be explained anything. She was the sole ruler; they had every reason to be disappointed in her.

So was Clorinde, and so was Neuvillette.

“Everything feels so confusing right now, just give me some time,” Furina asked her. “I promise you, I will get it together.”

Clorinde sat beside her with her hand hovering over Furina’s with a sigh, “Let me help you.”

“I’m supposed to figure this out myself.”

“And I’m your knight,” Clorinde's fingers fell through Furina’s grooves, “ and your partner, you’re supposed to burden me with everything.”

“Even if I haven’t told you everything,” Furina’s ungloved finger rubbed against Clorinde’s palm.

“You’re not human, are you?” Clorinde asked her as Furina shook her head, “How old are you?”

“Very old,” Furina joked. “I lost count a long time ago, I would say a few centuries.”

Clorinde choked on her response, “And you haven’t gone mad yet?”

“Time moves very differently for me. You will understand as you get older.”

Clorinde must have noticed her sadness as she pressed a short kiss to her forehead, catching Furina’s attention. She moved subtly, rubbing her lips against Clorinde’s, savoring the kiss as she pulled her down with her into the depths of her feelings that had been buried for centuries.

Furina opened her mouth to catch her breath, but Clorinde gave her no pause, licking her lips and teeth, letting Furina swallow her tongue as she became buried in affection, letting her know she was no longer alone as she pulled Furina to sit on top of her lap.

Clorinde broke away from the kiss, looking up at Furina with indescribable affection, placing a light butterfly kiss on her chin and neck as Furina giggled at the affection. Clorinde kept her hands on Furina’s hips, not wanting to go further, as Furina moved her hand up to her breast, letting her know it was okay. This time, she was not going to run.

Furina kissed her head as Clorinde found her vest buttons pulling them one by one, sneaking a peek at Furina, waiting for her to tell her no, to tell her to stop, but every time she did, Furina only smiled at her. She wanted this; she wanted to be close to her.

Furina shimmied her vest off as Clorinde dug Furina’s tucked shirt out of her pants, pulling it above her head, seeing Furina’s already erect nipples staring at her. She wore no undergarments on her breasts, and Clorinde giggled at her before kissing the middle of her chest between her small breasts.

“I want to see you,” Furina confessed. “I want to see you too.”

Furina kissed her lips between each button she unhooked, and Clorinde sat there basking in her affection as Furina finally opened her eyes, seeing the coreset hidden underneath Clorinde’s clothing. Furina took the string in her hand, slowly unlacing it from the front with her shaky hands. She could feel Clorinde’s eyes on her as she unloosed one section after another. She watched her chest begin to sag as he breasts began to show.

Her eyes sparkled, “Oh wow,” as the redness in her cheeks grew. “I um…” Furina licked her lips.

Clorinde lifted her hand, cupping Furina’s face, softly kissing her eyes closed, breaking the kiss only once she was satisfied, as she picked up Furina like she was nothing, lifting her and placing her softly on the bed.

Clorinde placed light feather kisses on Furina’s neck and down to her breast as she sucked slightly on Furina’s nipple. She felt nothing erotic as she did so, but the feeling of Clorinde touching her skin like that made her clench the sheets; something inside her was telling her to run, even though she did not want to.

She felt Clorinde find her best unlooping as she squished her eyes closed, trying not to run as she tensed up. She felt Clorinde’s warm lips pressed onto her stomach and belly button as she pulled off her pants by shimmying them off.

Furina peered her eyes open, seeing Clorinde standing there looking at her. She could see the blood rushing back to her face, her hair was fully down, her built frame with scars that never fully disappeared, her breasts sagged, and her skin was awkwardly tanned, and Furina thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world.

In that moment, she knew she wanted to spend the rest of Clorinde’s life with her if she allowed it.

“May I continue?” Clorinde asked her.

“I-Yes,” Furina said with a false smile. “Do what you will!”

She heard Clorinde flare her nostrils in a chuckle as Clorinde lifted her hand, kissing the blue tips of her fingers. It felt so intimate that Furina did not know how to feel as she swallowed her spit. She kept a careful eye on Clorinde, following her moves as she raised Furina’s thighs to her face.

Her fingers glided over her thigh, tightening her hold on Furina as her breath hovered over her skin, sending a shockwave down Furina's spine as she kissed her skin upward towards her center one by one. Furina felt her breath felt ragged and her legs tense up, wanting Clorinde to continue to touch her like she had read people do in books.

She felt Clorinde’s fingers glaze her underwear pressing against a spot that made Furina gasp in surprise. She wanted Clorinde to touch her again to shove her whole finger up her vagina.

Clorinde pressed a kiss above her underwear, lining, peeling off Furina’s final layer of clothing. She continued her line of kisses down to Furina’s vagina, kissing the hairy part of her body before kissing her clit. She felt a shock of sensation.

“What are you doing?” Furina asked in shaky breaths.

“Do you trust me?” Clorinde asked her.

‘Yes, no, maybe, I don’t know,’ a thousand thoughts flew through her head as she wearily shook her head. Her curiosity got the best of her; she wanted to know, she wanted to know what it felt like.

Clorinde kissed that spot again, unfurling her tongue as she licked it like a dog trying to get a drink of water, as Furina slowly became a mess, moaning like the times she would when she would touch herself in the bathroom, but this felt so much better and so much worse. It felt just right enough to make her stumble, to make her want more and beg Clorinde to continue as she moaned her name like she was calling out for god, but not enough to remove the growing tension in her body.

She felt Clorinde's tongue move in a way that she did not think was possible as Clorinde’s tongue slipped inside her, licking her inner walls as she clenched the sheets, trying to stabilize herself as she gasped for air. She felt her legs begin to shake as the feeling was building more in her body as Clorinde raised the tempo, making a whine in frustration.

She wanted to cum so badly, and she knew she would. She had no idea if she should warn Clorinde like women did in books when their partners did this to them, or simply let it happen, but almost if Clorinde knew as Furina bit her lip finishing on Clorinde’s tongue as finished her off as Furina came down from her high.

“You're quite messy,” Clorinde commented. Furina felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment, “I think it’s cute.”

Clorinde leaned beside her, kissing the side of her face as Furina felt one of Clorinde’s fingers slide in between Furina’s legs. She felt her slowly getting to pump and scrape the inside of her as that feeling returned once again.

“If I knew this, I would have brought my toys with me on this trip,” Clorinde whispered in her ear, kissing the lobe.

“What toys?” Furina's lips hovered over Clorinde’s. She wanted to kiss her so badly, but she did not know what to do other than moan as Clorinde’s fingers worked her magic. “Like dolls?”

“I suppose there are some,” Clorinde’s response made Furina feel embarrassed. She had a feeling she was talking about something entirely different from baby dolls, which little girls play with.

Clorinde kissed her embarrassment away as Furina felt her body trying to match Clorinde’s pace wanting to reach her orgasm again and Clorinde’s fingers got a little faster, she had no idea how she was keeping up this speed without her hand cramping while she sucked on the soft spot of her neck but it drove Furina wild as she moaned cumming on her fingers like it was nothing.

Clorinde pulled the fingers out of her mouth, licking the excess off her fingers before kissing Furina, finishing whatever she did to her. She kissed Furina's hair and hot face over and over again as their legs intertwined, much like they did when they would cuddle together.

-

Neuvillette had found himself invited into a group of nobility against his will after he got lost exploring the house and its endless secrets, hoping to find something about his missing children.

The group led him through the house, complaining about the terrible weather that was all his fault, the dragon that none of them saw because they were safe in their home, while others suffered also because of his fault. The way it ruined their plans to meet the new queen, but word on the street is that her coronation had been held off for some time after she embarrassed herself during her midnight ball.

“The last thing people want is a stupid queen,” a woman laughed.

“Maybe not,” a man suggested. “It would be so easy to mobilize against her, imagine having a puppet on a stage dancing to any tune we want. It would be much easier to get away with what we want.”

“Speaking ill of your future queen is unwise; someone in her position is very capable of harming you as well as helping you,” Neuvillette defended her.

“You’re the lawyer staying with Henri, aren’t you?” The woman raised her eyebrow.

“And hoping for an unfit candidate may lead to more trouble than it's worth,” Neuvillette warned.

“You're speaking highly of a woman who did not even bother to know about the dragon floating around our home,” the man shot.

Everything, of course, somehow led back to him; he made no sudden moves as the two began a stare off, with the nobleman turning away after a few moments, choosing to move away from Neuvillette instead.

It seemed the future queen’s situation was a lot like Furina’s issue; maybe it was normal for noble women of Fontaine not to be educated on political issues. That was not the case centuries ago, but policies tend to change for better or worse over time.

The tour stopped at a room with doors locked shut as people began to whisper about lord Henri and a prized collection. Neuvillette remembered how Lord Henri was talking about his hunting pastime. He knew it was common for humans to then decorate their bodies as corpses to display them as trophies to basically say, ‘yes, I did do that.’ A hobby Neuvillette was not keen on agreeing with, especially when many better options felt like an enrichment to Fontaine’s life.

He was the last person to step into the room, looking around, he saw animal corpses standing in poses on the ground staring at him with their beady fake eyes, furs that hung off the wall like rugs, and heads of bigger animals decapitated staring down at him. Everyone looked around with gasps and whispers, seeing animals that they had never seen before, as if this were some kind of zoo.

The room stretched onward as he walked through the graveyard. As the room began to change, it went from animals to monsters. He somehow managed to preserve the body of a hilchurls, stuffed a shroom from Sumeru, and made models of the hydro mimics floating around Fontaine.

“Oh, Monsieur Neuvillette,” Lord Henri’s voice squeaked behind him. “Are you enjoying the exhibit?”

“It’s quite interesting to say the least,” Neuvillette must have made it sound like a compliment as the man burst into a smile.

“Yes, I’m quite proud of it myself.”

“Did you do this all yourself?”

“For the most part,” the man agreed, “though some of these were donated in by my friends, I would not have had such an extensive collection if it were not for them.” He smiled over to his guests, who all had a twinkle in their eye, “I’m most proud of my monster collection, you know I wanted to join in on the dragon hunt, though I was assigned a more interesting task beforehand. I will be revealing it at the party, my proudest achievement, honestly.”

“May I ask what it is?” Neuvillette had a strange feeling.

“No,” Lord Henri played with him. “I’m still disappointed by the dragon hunt, though apparently it just managed to disappear one day, maybe it has finally learn to calm down.”

“Maybe,” Neuvillette glanced at his reflection.

“I did hear that some people spotted an oceanid swimming around the area during one of the attacks. I highly doubt that’s true, but if it is, she would have made a wonderful part of this collection.”

Neuvillette frowned, “Do you think that would be a smart idea, given that all the oceanids are gone in Fontaine?”

“I’m not stupid, Moniuser,” he said, side-eyeing him. “Once you remove the oceanid’s head, the entire body dissolves into water, much like other hydro-based creatures. What I would like to do is study it closely to create a chart or replica of it. Though I will say managing to keep it for my own and display it for all of Fontaine could make me some money.”

Neuvillette made no noise of his disgust and hatred he had for this man, only saying, “That would only be if it's real.”

“What I would give to live in the old age of Fontaine,” He sighed.

“Thank you for the tour, but I think I will seek out the ladies now,” Neuvillette excused himself.

“I can’t wait to see what I have in store for everyone,” Lord Henri said as he placed a hand on his shoulder, which he immediately shrugged off.

He only liked being touched by Furina and Clorinde.

He gave a simple bow of his head before leaving the room quickly, trying to relocate the hall where the three of them were staying, needing directions from a servant who was on their way towards the ballroom where the party would be happening later.

He wanted to see them again, even if it was just for a second; he knew that the rising anger and frustration would calm in his heart the moment he heard Furina or Clorinde’s voice. They were working some kind of magic on him, and he had no idea how.