Chapter Text
Scarlett ran her fingers across the map laid before her. They traveled from the edges sprayed with gold to the shimmering writing at the center. Legend had placed dozens of maps on his coffee table; out of all of them, this one stuck out to her the most. She had never been to the magnificent north- the reason behind that originally being her father, now it's because of a certain fate.
She looked up at Tella who was sitting in the armchair across from her. She was twirling one of her blond curls between her fingers, clearly uninterested in where the next caraval would be hosted. She lifted her head to meet her sister's gaze. As soon as she did, her eyes trailed down to Scarlett's hand that was still on the map. It only took her a few seconds to figure out what was going through Scarlett's mind.
"No." she mouthed.
"Please..." Scarlett mouthed back.
Their silent conversation went on and consisted mostly of begging and head shaking. Julian who was on the couch next to Scarlett, noticed the interaction. He exchanged a confused look with his own brother. For the first time since he entered the room, Legend walked away from the corner he was standing at and got closer to the table. He spotted the map that Scarlett was, now, gripping and immediately identified the problem. He tilted his chin towards it, to make Julian notice it.
"What’s going on, Crimson?" Julian asked as he placed his hand on her shoulder.
She let out a sigh in response and leaned back on couch, her gloved hand still on the piece of paper. She could still feel Julian’s eyes on her but Tella’s burned the most. She shook her head before Scarlett could even say anything.
"It’s perfect…" she voiced
"It’s a terrible idea." Riposted her sister as she pointed to the other options on the table. "Pick anything else"
"Why?"
"You know why." Countered Tella almost immediately. "I don't want to spend that much time in the same place as him."
She was right, but Scarlett couldn't let her know that. To be fair, the empress wasn't very excited about that part either. She watched as her sister started pacing around the room while they all sat in silence. Tella’s arms were crossed so tightly around her chest; Scarlett was surprised she could even breathe.
"Tella’s right"
Legend’s voice broke the silence, sharp and firm. His expression was unreadable but Scarlett could tell from his posture, that this wasn’t just a casual objection; she couldn’t blame him.
Tella stopped roaming to throw her hands in the air.
"Thank you!" She exclaimed
Julian had been awfully quiet the whole time. From the corner of her eye, Scarlett saw him studying the map. She also noticed the small smirk growing in the corner of his mouth that he tried so hard to hide.
"I think it’s a great idea." He states
Legend arched a brow. "Which part of being in the same place as the apple sucking demon who forced the love of my life to marry him sounds like a good idea?"
"It’s not like we’re inviting him"
Tella chuckled. "He’ll still find a way."
With a frustrated sigh, Julian dragged a hand across his jaw and slightly tilted his head, pondering on the situation.
"He probably doesn’t care" he says almost too quietly for his friends to hear "if he did, we would’ve heard from him by now"
Tella buried her face in her hands, obviously looking forward to this conversation being over. Unlike Scarlett, she didn’t notice the way Julian was looking at his brother. For a moment, she suspected they were somehow able to hear each other’s thoughts. Her partner’s eyes were pleading and urgent. Legend’s were impassive but she didn’t miss the way his mouth was slightly pursed.
He exhaled sharply before placing his palm on Tella’s shoulder, lightly at first as if to make sure she wouldn’t shrug it off. When she didn’t he grip became firmer, pressing her down just enough for her not to turn away from him. He bent down just a little to talk to her at eye level.
"I know you don’t want this" he started, his voice low, meant only for her to hear. "But come to think of it, I think it’s our best option"
He said that almost unwillingly.His hand trailed down from her shoulder, and he began lightly stroking her arm.
"I can’t guarantee that we won’t run into him at some point in the game, but I can assure you it will go well. You just need to trust me."
"Last time I did that, you practically offered your immortality to a temple"
He flinched a little but swiftly his face swiftly went back to expressionless. Julian let out a low laugh he quickly disguised as a cough once Scarlett shot him a look from the spot next to him in the couch.
"Yeah but I already gave that up, for YOU, remember?" He asked "the North is the perfect location; it’s beautiful and magical. I will barely need to use any of my own magic. You can’t let Jacks stop you from living your life, he’s taken enough from you already"
Tella still hadn’t spoken a word, but the way she shifted her weight from one foot to another, and her frown slowly turned into a smile, no matter how hard she tried to stop it, were hard to miss.
"I love you and I value your opinion but I’m doing this with or without your approval." Legend added. "But I’d rather do it with you by my side"
The princess lowered her head and shut her eyes closed briefly, to process what Dante had just said. When she finally opened them again, they didn’t meet Dante’s- They met Scarlett’s
Scarlett had been holding her breath the whole time.
"Fine." Exclaimed her sister after a long exasperated sigh. "If anything goes wrong, keep in mind that I was against this from the beginning"
Legend grinned without looking away from her. Julian clapped his hand and leaned back on the couch, smiling from ear to ear in delight.
Relief washed over Scarlett as she finally dared to breathe and looked down at the map. She rested her head on Julian’s shoulder, her smile matching his, and started daydreaming about all the things she was wanted to do in the North.