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11 o’clock in the morning. Furina woke up in her apartment. Even though she slept in, she still felt exhausted. She rolled over and tried going back to sleep. Despite her extreme fatigue, she couldn’t lull herself into unconsciousness. And so, she mustered all the energy she had to lift the sheets off her and get out of bed.
She stumbled her way to her fridge, intending to have something small and easy to make for breakfast. However, she came to discover there was barely any food in there. “I’m gonna have to go to the store,” she groaned and mumbled to herself.
As she walked out of her small kitchen, one of her aquatic familiars, Mademoiselle Crabaletta, appeared before her. The crab lightly put one of her pincers around Furina’s arm, then pointed the other pincer toward the shower door. “I didn’t say I had to go TODAY,” Furina said, trying to get out of cleaning herself.
Crabaletta was visibly upset by Furina’s remark. Gentilhomme Usher appeared beside her and helped his fellow follower in dragging Furina into the shower. Furina sighed and gave up, not putting up any resistance to being tossed in. She took a quick shower- no more than 10 minutes- and got dressed in the outfit she’d usually go out in. It had been a couple days since she last wore it, having spent that time lounging in her apartment in pajamas.
Afterward, she stepped out of the apartment with her purse hanging off her shoulder. She went to the local market with the intent to buy food. Before, going out at all would result in her being surrounded by paparazzi, cameras taking picture after picture as she simply walked from one part of the city to another. But after her 500 year-long act was exposed to the people of Fontaine, nobody gets that excited by their presence. Everyone still greets her with warm smiles and gives her sizable discounts on her purchases, but next to no one is running up to her desperate for an autograph or selfie.
As she was wandering around the market, she happened to spot a familiar face among the crowd. It was Arlecchino, one of the Fatui Harbingers. Furina almost instinctively grabbed her hat and held it in front of her face like a shield, trying not to be noticed by the woman in monochrome.
“Is there any reason you’re hiding your face, Miss Furina?” Arlecchino asked before Furina could scurry past her.
Furina turned around, letting out a nervous chuckle while placing her hat back on her head. “I-I wasn’t hiding! I was using it as… As a fan, yes! The heat is insufferable.”
“It’s the middle of autumn,” Arlecchino answered bluntly.
“R-Right! That summer heat just always stays around too long, hahaha.”
Arlecchino chuckled and decided to humor the former Archon. “It is noon, so that may have something to do with how hot it is. Say, Miss Furina, since it’s around noon, would you like to join me for lunch?”
“Hmm?! Lunch?”
“Yes, I was just on my way to a diner, in fact. If you’re not busy, I thought you and I could eat together. My treat, of course.”
“Oh, w-well then… How could I decline such a generous offer?”
Furina followed Arlecchino to a small diner, where they got a table for two. Furina had the first full course meal she had eaten in what felt like weeks. After having their main meals, both women ordered dessert. Furina smiled from ear to ear as she partook in each bite of the ice cream she ordered.
As Arlecchino watched the former Archon gleefully chow down, a feeling of bittersweet nostalgia struck her. The smile reminded her of an old childhood friend of hers: Clervie. Arlecchino’s stoic expression broke. She bit her lip and her eyes became pensive and gloomy. Furina looked up from her dish and noticed Arlecchino’s worsening expression. “Umm… Did I do something wrong?”
“N-No, nothing at all! I was just reflecting on the past. Don’t mind me.”
Furina could tell from a mile away. Arlecchino was trying to bottle up her negativity. The two of them were alike in that way. Because of that similarity, Furina felt the best course of action wasn’t to force the Knave to spill her insecurities, but rather to help her without prying. Furina leaned over the table, holding her half-eaten ice cream to Arlecchino. “Here. You can have the rest of it. Maybe it’ll cheer you up.”
As she looked into Furina’s gentle eyes, Arlecchino’s heart pounded. Her bittersweet regret was melting away in the face of a new feeling: one she’d never experienced before, but could recognize what it was regardless. It was a special kind of affection; of attraction to the lady in front of her. “N-No, you can have the rest of it,” Arlecchino said, uncharacteristically stuttering over her words. “I’m sure my own dessert will lighten my mood just fine.”
“OK then.” Furina moved back to properly sitting in her chair.
After the two finished their dessert, they waited for the bill to come around. “Say, Miss Furina-”
“You don’t have to be formal with me. Just call me Furina.”
“It… It feels wrong to speak to you casually, but that’s your wish… Furina, I’ll be going to Snezhnaya in a few days to reconvene with the other Harbingers. The House of the Hearth will remain here in the meantime. When I return, maybe we could meet like this again?”
“Sure. We could meet at my place if you want.”
“That sounds lovely. I look forward to it.”
After Arlecchino pays the bill, the two split off and go their separate ways. Once she was alone, Arlecchino felt safe to let a flustered blush form on her cheeks.
A few days later, Arlecchino went to Snezhnaya to attend a meeting with the other Harbingers. After the meeting, Arlecchino pondered to herself as she walked down one of the halls. “Who could I ask about this? I can’t ask the Tsaritsa such a dumb question. Pierro would probably turn me away and say love is inconsequential to the mission. Columbina may give a very… sadistic answer to my queries.”
Just then, she spotted Tartaglia coming off of a room up ahead. “Do you have a moment, Tartaglia?” she called out to him.
“Ah, Miss Knave. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“What do you know about love?”
“Hmm… Well, I love my siblings. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have become a Har-”
“Not familial love. I am well aware of that kind. A different kind of love…”
“Ah, alright. Well, I certainly love the thrill of battle-”
“Nevermind, forget I asked,” she said as she moved past him.
As she walked by another room, she peeked through the open door and saw Dottore plotting out a future experiment. Although she would love to chop his head off with her scythe, she knew that wasn’t the love she was looking for answers to, and thus turned and walked away.
She eventually went to the nearby cemetery. There, a large, ornate tombstone was put in place for La Signora, who was formerly the sixth Harbinger. Staring at the tombstone, Arlecchino thought to herself, “The one comrade who could’ve given me half-decent advice on love is dead. The Celestia must really have it out for me.”
During the days in which Arlecchino was absent from Fontaine, Furina spent her days awaiting her arrival. No matter how much she tried to occupy herself with something else, her mind always went back to the beautiful Knave. Furina was unsure of how to express the feelings she was harboring, or if Arlecchino harbored similar feelings. One evening, Furina took out a notepad and began jotting down a list of things she knew about Arlecchino.
“The skin of her hands is naturally black… She likes to watch bugs. She obviously likes kids, since she runs that orphanage… She enjoys barbecues. She really is a father in that way, hehe. I remember her once telling me she doesn’t like a lot of seasonings or condiments. If I ever give her food, I should make sure it’s plain. She’s mentioned before that she’s a fan of my acting and singing. Maybe I could do an in-house theater performance for her.”
She wrote down a long list of traits. She turned around and saw all three of her watery familiars giving her judgmental looks. “It’s not that weird, is it?”
Furina eventually went to someone she could ask for advice.
“Hello, Lady Furina,” said Clorinde. “You asked to see me?”
“HELP ME CLORINDE!!” Furina screamed, being a crying mess as she violently clung onto and shook Clorinde. “I NEED YOUR ADVICE!!”
“OK OK, I’ll help. Please stop screaming in my ear.”
“Sorry…”
“So what is it you need my advice for?”
“I have a crush.”
“Oh. Um, what exactly made you think I could help you out here?”
“Aren’t you and Navia dating?”
“Hm? I mean, we are, but… How did you know?”
“I’d be surprised if any Fontainian DIDN’T know you two were a thing.”
“I guess we haven’t been that subtle about it. Anyway, who is it you’re crushing on?”
“The Knave.”
Clorinde almost spat out her cup of tea. “A-Ah. I’m not sure how I can help you with that.”
“Well how did you and Navia hit it off?”
“I’m not too sure. After the trial with Vacher, we reconnected and grew closer than ever before. It simply worked out the way it did.”
“Ah, OK. So I just tell her how I feel and it’ll work out.”
“Well, Navia and I were childhood friends, so it was pretty easy to form chemistry. I’m not sure our situation really applies-”
“No no, it does. You killed Navia’s dad, Arlecchino almost killed me. It’s, like, totally the same thing,” Furina said with a pathetic-sounding laugh and a shrug.
Clorinde blinked at Furina a couple times, before finally asking in a confused tone of voice, “It is…? Also, wait, she tried to kill you?”
“Oh would you look at the time! Bye Clorinde, see you later, I gotta go!” Furina dashed out of there, too embarrassed to continue the conversation.
The day after meeting Clorinde, Furina was going on an afternoon walk around the city to get some fresh air. She looked to her left and saw Arlecchino exiting Chioriya Boutique. She was holding onto a bright-colored dress as she quickly walked out of view. Furina was unaware that Arlecchino had returned until she saw her at that moment, though Arlecchino seemed to have not noticed her.
Arlecchino returned to the Hotel Bouffes d'ete where the House of the Hearth operates. She went into her room and hung the dress on her closet door. She slicked back her hair with her pitch-black hand and took a deep sigh. After taking a moment to calm her nerves, she thought about when she should see Furina. “Maybe tonight after supper? No, that’s too soon. I need to put the dress in a nice gift bag at the very least. But I should be the one to give it to her, not one of the kids. I want to see her reaction myself. OK, tomorrow, I’ll go by her apartment and give her the dress.”
After she and the children had supper together, there was a knock on the hotel’s front door. Arlecchino opened the door to find Furina, being taken slightly aback by the lady in blue standing right outside. Despite that, Arlecchino quickly managed to regain her composure before she spoke. “Greetings, Furina. What brings you?”
“I saw you leaving Chiori’s boutique earlier. Since you were back in Fontaine, I thought I’d surprise you with a visit.”
“I see. No need to keep standing outside. Please, come in.”
Arlecchino led Furina to her bedroom. Furina’s attention immediately turned to the dress. “This is very pretty. Do you plan on wearing this to a party?” Furina asked.
“No,” Arlecchino answered. “Besides, I despise wearing dresses.”
“Ah, of course. And looking closer at it, it’s too small to fit you. So you got it for Lynette? How sweet of you.”
“It's not for Lynette either.”
“O-Oh… Is it for Lyney, then?”
Arlecchino shook her head.
“Um… What’s the name of the other kid? The one with the scuba gear?”
“You don’t know Freminet’s name yet you think of him before yourself?”
“Huh? You got this for me?”
“YES!”
“Why??”
“I thought of you when I saw it. That’s all.”
“Why were you thinking of me?”
“I… How am I supposed to answer that??”
“Well… What am I to you?” Furina was too shy to look Arlecchino in the eye as she asked that question.
Arlecchino’s eyes widened. She began to look stressed out as she tried coming up with an answer. Furina gritted her teeth, fully expecting the worst possible answer. After a few silent seconds that felt like an eternity, Arlecchino spoke. “There are way too many things I could say, and you’re all of them. So I’ll just say it as plainly as possible… I adore you, Furina.”
Another moment of pure silence passed. Furina then fell to her knees, using her hat to hide her extreme blush. “D-Did I say something wrong?” Arlecchino asked.
“N-No, just… Aaaah, just hearing you say it is… Umm, I l-love you too, Arlecchino. I have for a while now.”
Arlecchino stepped closer and leaned down, offering her hand to Furina. Furina grabbed her hand and let the Harbinger lift her back onto her feet. The two looked longingly into each other’s eyes. The dewdrops in Furina’s and the red x’s in Arlecchino’s… The two found them equally beautiful. They brought their faces closer and closer together until their lips connected; a kiss fueled purely by passion.
After the two pulled their lips apart, Furina noticed how much Arlecchino was leaning her upper body downward for her face to reach hers. “No, that won’t do…”
“Excuse me?” Arlecchino asked in confusion.
Just then, Furina jumped on Arlecchino, causing the Knave to stumble backward and fall onto her bed. Furina sat on her lover’s lap, slowly unbuttoning her shirt. “Get ready, Miss Knave,” the former Archon spoke with a playful tone of voice, “you’re about to see a one-of-a-kind performance from moi. One that’s your eyes only…”
…
The night passed. Furina and Arlecchino eventually fell asleep embraced in each other’s arms. The sun would eventually rise to signal the arrival of morning, and the two women woke up in the same bed. Arlecchino was the first to awaken, accidentally waking up Furina with a kiss to the forehead. Arlecchino pulled out a set of clothes from her clothes to cover herself up, while Furina put on the dress Arlecchino had bought for her. “How do I look?”
“Perfect,” Arlecchino answered with a small but heart-melting smile.
Arlecchino momentarily left the bedroom to check up on the children and help make them breakfast. She returned not long after to hand Furina a plate of food she curated for her. Furina thanked Arlecchino for the meal before digging in. As Furina grinned from ear to ear, Arlecchino was once again reminded of an old friend. “Say, Furina. After you’re done eating, would you care to accompany me somewhere?”
“Sure! Where to?”
“It’s a surprise.”
Arlecchino would take Furina to the very place where Clervie died. As she looked around the ruins surrounding her, the memories began to flood back all at once. “I lost a dear friend here. She was like a sister to me.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. I hope she’s resting in peace.”
“I’m sure she is… She was pretty similar to you, actually. She hid so much pain behind such a bright smile. No matter what, she always knew how to uplift others.”
“Is that so?”
“She was a big fan of yours. She would’ve been overjoyed to meet you in-person if she were here today.”
“I wish I brought flowers. It feels wrong to leave nothing here, even if I never met her.”
“Don’t feel bad. I didn’t tell you where we were going. Besides, your presence here was enough of a gift. I’m sure she’s smiling from the beyond.”
Arlecchino let out a relieved sigh before she and Furina left the area. The two held hands and almost synchronized the tempo of their footsteps. “Oh, I just realized… You’ve been calling me “Knave” and Arlecchino all this time.”
“Ah, yes, um… You don’t have to tell me your real name if you’re not com-”
“Peruere.”
“Hm? Is that your real name?”
“It is. I trust you with it.”
“I like it. It fits you.”
Furina and Arlecchino smiled at each other. With each dawn of a new day, the bond between the former monarch and the rogue started off as one of enemies, and slowly blossomed into the beautiful romance that mutually fixed these once broken hearts.