Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

What comes to mind when one thinks of The Cod Empire?

Cod, for sure. Then slime, as that is the empire's major export. Next is wood, brown and greenish, bog filled with insects and slippery animals.
It doesn't appear as a clear, beautiful biome to someone who only knows these few things, stagnant water rarely is.

Pearl observes the curves of vines on trees, the moss on fallen trees, becoming part of the earth.

She observes silently out of the gray tinted window of her wagon, adding a muddy look to an already muddy view.

Sanctuary is far behind now, the warm air and jungle trees a brighter green than the oak' leaves outside.

Despite the unpleasant spell, it is rich with softness.
Grays and blues and green and brown, trees and grass, coarse dirt roads guiding them through the treacherous path to the capital.

The Queen's caravan emerges through old castles, ruins of buildings left abandoned, cobble now brittle on the thin sands cornering the roads.

It's not just marsh and swamp, like the name of the empire would suggest, it's also green meadows with colorful moo blooms, it's thick forests of very old oak trees, it's farmland and little houses and huts dotted in between grassy hills.

It's pleasant.

No one should want to reign over a place as unpleasant as the swamp, but yet, one does.

One that sees the beauty in the simple, that admires the life in the intricate vines connecting tree tops over green waters.

Waters filled with fish and frogs, their little spawn swimming around.

It's birds, small and big, it's orchids that bring the Ocean’s blue to this biome.

The Swamp Empire is as majestic as any empire should be, as diverse and interesting as any land, loved and taken care of by its Emperor.

Gem gawks at the beauty of it all.

On her voyage to the Prisma Palace her caravan had taken an alternate route, cutting through the Avian Empire's west hills and directly into the Ocean Empire's ancient birch forests.

While the Cod Empire is new, there's always going to be people living on land, no matter its denomination.

It might not be densely populated, but they come across plenty of sheep and farmhouses.
Green grass eaten by cows and horses, dotted with yellow flowers, the sun's summer drops before it leaves the bogs dark and cold at night.

That isn't a real worry though, as even at night the humid air is filled with sparks of light, the firefly’s dance.

Toads and frogs croak, as cicadas gently lull them to sleep.

The Journey from Sanctuary to the Cod Empire is relatively short.

The next day, September 20th, as the sun rises in between the olive green oak branches, the sky's blue pallor reveals the day as a kind one.

The caravan stops for lunch in a clearing right next to a big marsh, the nature here is a little orange and purple, bringing surprising colors to the view.

“My Queen, we'll reach Capital Cod by evening” her courtier, a brown axolotl, announces as the Queen descends her wagon, eyes sleepy, accepting the axolotl's helpful hand.

“That is wonderful news, thank you very much, Stella” the Queen smiles at her.

Lunch is short and pleasant, Pearl and Gem laugh together, while Cleo and Lizzie calmly converse, a mellow peace has settled.

“I'm very curious to meet your brother, Lizzie” Gem smiles, sitting back on the mossy rock, playing with the folds of her pink dress.

“Curious? Why curious?” the Axolotl Queen cocks her head ti the side, blue and magenta eyes blink with surprise.

“Well, not much is known of him, the “newest Emperor”, the youngest too apparently?”

“Youngest? I'm not sure how old you are to-”

“Me and my brother, we're twins. We'll be 500 in the fall.” Gem scoots closer.

“Wait, really?” Lizzie asks, surprised.

I knew you were old, but so... Young, still. Lizzie thinks to herself.

“Then your brother is the youngest Sovereign, Jimmy is a little younger than me by some few decades”

“And you, you're-” Pearl start asking, one finger pointing up, white fringe jumping as she leans forward.

“About a thousand years old” Lizzie looks away, starting to feel uncomfortable.

“You are old old” Pearl comments, missing Lizzie's wince.

“I've been told you're not that short of me, Pearlypop” Lizzie shoots back, on the defensive.

Pearl's breath stops, then shakes her head, forcing a smile.

By who? She wonders in a quick panic.

But... Does it matter? Lizzie is a powerful Queen, with spies everywhere, with powerful Emperor friends and a huge empire. Of course she has knowledge. Pearl should be careful, she's fine being known. But her Court? They have secrets to protect.

Her Emperor had advised her to be careful and watch the Queen closely, and Pearl has done just that. She's done even more, she's found an ally in one of the most powerful Queens.

The very ground they're carefully treading right now used to be hers as well, before she split the Water Empire into the Ocean Empire and the Swamp Empire.

Cleo observes silently.

“Does your brother even look like you, since he's… you know,,, Cod?” she asks, face held by her hands, legs twisted over the massive rock.

Lizzie laughs, “Well, we do look alike, our hair does kind of the same thing, with the fading colors thing, and his eyes are heterochromatic, too.”

“But he's a fish, and you're an axolotl hybrid? How would that work? Would… How do you know he's actually your brother?”

That strikes a chord, lonely and pulsating with grief.

“I know that he's my brother because that's what my mother told me before she disappeared and left me to take care of hundreds of eggs” Lizzie barks out towards them, body immobile.

“And Jimmy is your only-” Gem asks.

“Yes.” Lizzie bites out, turning when head towards her with a snap.

The three share a glance and as usual, it's the lycan that breaks the tension.

“...I'm sure he's a lovely lad.” Pearl says, one hand brushing against Lizzie's to soothe her.

It works. Lizzie's eyes lower, turning soft.

“He is. He's a scamp, a troublemaker, but he's my little brother, and I love him” she speaks, voice filled with emotion.

“That’s very sweet” Gem comments, hiding her own bitterness.

The Queen loves her brother. That must be why she gave him space, let him make his own decisions. Gave him land to make an Empire, not just a small region to east, a forgotten problem.

Gem is only a little bitter.

“Do you two have any siblings?” Lizzie asks Cleo and Pearl, then.

Cleo slowly shake their head, "Not one".

“I don't have a sibling, not a blood related one, at least. But I've known a kid since I was little that has always done what's best for me, and I appreciate him. Even though-” Pearl cuts herself off.

Even though he sent me here, against my wishes, to shatter the peace I'd made for myself.

“-Even though we rarely see each other now, he's always quite busy” she says, teeth pointy against her tight smile.

“Ah, I understand, I also wish I could see Jimmy more often… But the Journey is long and we're both busy. He's also going through that phase of “don't talk to me, I'm all angsty and want my space” that kids go through, ah, baby brothers” Lizzie sighs, laughing awkwardly.

“He's an adult though, right? You both aged at the same pace? Or did the difference in species change that?” Cleo questions, lensing forward with an apostrophe between her eyebrows.

“What? Uh- No, no, he's just younger-”

“Still an adult though, right?” Cleo pushes.

“Yes, of course. It's just- Look, we've aged slowly…”

“What? Is he like a teenager, still? You don't even look 30, in human years” Cleo pushes further. Curiosity, breaker of boundaries.

“Well, not literally- Well, for a period- Look, we aged weird out there in the water- I aged faster! He was so small... But he grew! He did-” Lizzie is struggling now.

“So, he's a young adult?” Pearl takes pity and helps when friend out.

“Yeah! That!” Lizzie snaps to her, snapping her fingers with misplaced anxiety and unrest.

“Why do you speak about him as if he's just a kid, then?” Cleo asks, with a raised brow.

Lizzie makes a confused face.

“I- I don't-”

“Okay, let's chill with the questions. Their business is none of ours” Pearl growls at the Earl, getting fed up.

They raise their hands in defeat with a roll of their eyes.

Gem is staring at Lizzie's confused face, eyes glazed with some faraway images.

“Your Highness?” she asks, no answer meets her.
“Lizzie, are you okay?”

Lizzie turns to her, eyes unfocused, she looks troubled. “I love my brother, I do”

“I don't doubt that, and nobody said otherwise.” Gem soothes the axolotl. So maybe, it's not just for Gem that the "brother" compartment in her brain causes so many issues.

“It's just… I think… To me he'll always be my baby brother, out in dangerous waters while I hunt for us both to sink our teeth into scarse food. And he was always home… Now he's so faraway. I miss that, I miss hanging out” she says, almost crying.

Oh, oh my.

Gem thinks this is so sweet, yet, a little feeling is nagging at the back of her mind.

A fastidious itch that she ignores in favour of consoling her Queen.

“It must be hard to spend…uh-”

“Centuries” Lizzie looks away, into the green waters around them.

Centuries!?

Gem can't imagine having to deal with when brother for centuries uninterrupted, but their relationship has always been a little stormy… The war drove an edge between them, and now the Peace put literal empires in the middle, widening the rift.

“... Centuries together and still you let him have his own Empire... You adapted to this new change, that's very noble of you, Lizzie. And you're not alone, you've got us, now!” She smiles, squeezing the Queen's hand.

Lizzie's smile is a little tight, but sincere “Thank you, that's true. You're so precious, Gem”

Gem blushes and laughs.

“It's nothing” she smiles, eyes crossing with Pearl's smiling ones.

“Alright! Time to go I reckon!” Cleo shoots up, eye ticking.

Pearl's ears twitch, “We're almost ready to depart again” she agrees, looking towards the caravan and the people shouting in the distance.

Lizzie looks up at the olive tree branches, looking at the little ants marching in lines, and sighs.

“Just a few hours devide us from the Capital. So, my Knights?”

“Yes?” they ask in unison.

“He might be brash, and be a little slippery. He's always like that around strangers, but I promise, once he warms up to you, he'll joke around, too” she says, standing up and dusting off her dress

“Ah, no worries mate, we got used to Cleo, we can surely survive your bother”

“Excuse me!?” Cleo balks, offended.

“Yeah! We'll be on our best behaviour meeting Emperor…Jimmy?”

“Oh- I- I think- Yeah, that's his title” Lizzie breathes out.

Gem hides her surprise, mild confusion.

She doesn't know his title? It's been years since he's been appointed to the throne.

“He's an Emperor and that's a fact.” Lizzie says, more firmly.

“I heard he goes by, uh, the Cod God, I think?” Pearl snickers.

“Who told you that?” Cleo questions, not believing her.

“Scott?” Pearl raises her arms behind her head, a smile on her lips.

“Ah, great.” Cleo kicks s pebble as they stand up.

"He's a little full of himself, I'll admit" Lizzie pinches her eyebrows.

“Well, every Sovereign chooses their own title. My brother is Viscount, he's just called Emperor by everyone because he runs an Empire. You're a Queen, not an Empress. Pixlriffs is a King, Sir Sausage is a Protector, just a Sire.” Gem reasons, defending Jimmy.

“And my brother is full of pride and- Oh whatever, he's an Emperor first and foremost. He can choose whatever silly name he wants anyway, doesn't make it official.” Lizzie begrudges.

“Doesn't it?” Cleo asks, with a raised brow.

Before Lizzie can answer, she's interrupted.

“Your Majesty! We're ready to go!” a courtier yells from the end of the road.

“We're coming!” she shouts, giving Cleo a final look.

The four rejoin the group and enter their wagons to prepare for their arrival.

The hours tick, and soon the sun sets.

The Cod Empire's palette is becoming bitter to the eye, bogs and stagnant waters string on the nose, the sight is a sludge of watercolour greens and browns.

The watery gray of the horizon meets with the orange of the torches lit up at the sides of the road.

When wheels start rolling on compact dirt and stone they know the time has come.

The wagons stop.

Lizzie takes a deep breath, and tries to keep the anxiety swelling in chest under control. It's hard, it's grown huge with every ticking minute on the clock.

You'll finally see him. You'll finally face all the choices you've made in the last centuries and talk to a faraway brother, one you love. Who is still alive.

It's a grand welcoming, the big avenue is filled with black cats, the crowds cheer as the Queen and her Knights reunite, now all in their official garments, the Queen is even wearing her crown, her gills and tail are revealed, scales shimmering on her face and hands.< /p>

She smiles ,making big gestures with her body and hands.

The crowd cheers as another group comes closer, the Swamp Emperor's entourage.

There's celebration in the air.

Around them swing the banners for the upcoming Fall Festival, new flowerbed are planted under pruned dark oak trees, mushrooms litter the sides of road.

The Equinox falls tomorrow and with it, the rain will again refill the swamps and waters.

Gem isn't sure what she was picturing for their first meeting with the Cod Emperor.

Truth is, it's not this.

Lizzie's sisterly laments and sorrow are forgotten, because in front of them is a sure, tall and smiling man.

“Hello, my bright sister” Emperor Jimmy smiles, green gills vibrating slowly around his face, showing his nervousness.

Lizzie feels trapped in her own body, heart hammering in her chest, blue blue blue...

...Time passed so slow ever since his departure, it felt thick and sticky like molasses, and it still does, her memories from decades ago still coat her mind, overlapping a small helpless, unsure teen with this... Stranger.

Not a teen, but a man. He's grown more, far away from Lizzie. She missed this. She never thought... He'd grow. Not really.

And yet... Here her brother stands, a few paces in front of her, observing her expressions with his own closed off.

He's carrying himself so highly, so tight. He's tall, he's grown so much… His hair has also grown longer, now well beyond his shoulders, blonde and choppy, turning a olive greenish gold at the ends.

His eyes, just like Lizzie's, are heterochromatic, brown and azure.

And just like her, he's a Chimaera, fish and bird, with two huge yellow and blue parrot wings folded behind his back and a long cod tail sliding behind him as he walks towards the group.

His gills quiver happily as his eyes crinkle, hand grasping onto his trident tighter.

His pale skin is covered in patches of scales, ranging from green to tan to brown.

Lizzie observes with wide eyes as he comes closer, and her breath catches in her lungs, she's waited so long to see him again.

His blue and hazelnut eyes squeeze as he laughs, bubbles of breath that would be breaking the surface of the Ocean were they at home, so far away from here.

“Hi, my darling brother” she smiles, an explosion of feelings trapped in her gut.

She slowly walks towards him, as he does, decades of not seeing each other- of avoidance- eat at both Sovereigns’ guts, acidic and unpleasant.

“I've missed you” she says, almost a whisper. Just for him, in a crowd of many.

“I've missed you, too.” He bends down to hug her, sweet and contained.

I miss the way you'd grip onto me when you were scared, when I protected you from the evil of the world...

Keep it together, Lizzie. She urges herself to stop quavering, to stand still. She smiles wide, sharp teeth glinting in the torches light.

“But not too much, I bet! You've got all these lovely people to help you build a beautiful Empire! Aren't you all lovely?” She asks, turning robotically to the crowds.

They were hers before, now they're not. Those people have long since died, now the Swampers only know Jimmy as their Emperor.

The people cheer, content and touched by the comment.

Kids jump to get a better look at her, curious. She smiles at them, little cod hybrids. So small.

“She's right! You're like my family now!” He cheers, turning towards them.

Lizzie feels cold. The grip on her trident tightens.

“Don't get ahead of yourselves, though!” She smiles wider, teeth sharp and reflective of the moon's glint.

“Your Highness” Cleo walks forward, head low but yet her gaze is fierce and steady.

Gem and Pearl, beside the Earl, are observing her with veiled worry, visible only to the Queen.

Lizzie laughs awkwardly, feeling like she's been caught.

She looks to the Earl and mouths ‘I'm fine’.

They move to the center of the avenue, next to the original wooden shack, the first place Jimmy settled in centuries ago.

There's a stage set up with baskets, filled with gifts for Lizzie, and her Knights, symbolic for the Peace Treaty.

It's not a long ceremony. Besides the formal introduction conducted by formality, it's short lived.

Afterwards there's a small buffet with typical foods (green jelly, algae and flower petals salad, escargot), wine and liquorice.

After they've eaten, the crowd isn't overwhelming and it disperses quickly.
They know their previous Queen already.
Besides, there's work to finish for the Equinox Festival of tomorrow, a three day celebration.

The two Sovereigns and their Courtiers stand still, waiting to be left completely alone.

When the silence settles and becomes overwhelming, it's the Queen that breaks it.

“Jimmy!” Lizzie exclaims, running towards him to envelope him in a tight hug.

She's so small next to him, but Jimmy immediately folds, Lizzie's poise and powers overwhelming even in something so small.

“Lizzie” he smiles softly, talking into her hair as he hugs back.

Gem, Pearl and Cleo observe, dumbfounded.

Flick and Norman (who they've met in Tumble Town already, on their way to Sanctuary), stand behind him, ears flickering and tails low, moving slowly.

“I've missed you lots and lots” Lizzie admits, eyes swollen with tears as she beams at her brother, finally letting go of her anxiety.

He's here. I'm here!

“I've missed you, too” he reassures her, shifting uncomfortably.

This is probably meant to be private, but the two Sovereigns can't afford such a luxury in their current positions.

Emperor Jimmy then finally turns to the Queen's Knights, and bows.

“And you three, I'm told you've been accompanying my sister around” he notes, playing the role of the protective brother.

Lizzie seems offended, rightfully so, and smacks him in the back, bare skin exposed becauseof his green robes.

Gem almost bursts out laughing, caught by surprise.

“Don't be rude, they're Oceankin now. And my royal Knights and Ambassadors”

“Ah, yes, true, my apologies” he laments, pouting at her, and bows again to the Knights.

“Accepted, Emperor. We've heard quite a lot about you, too, mate” Pearl laughs, tail wagging slow.

“All good things I hope? Right? Right, Lizzie?” he asks, turning to her with a pout.

“Sure, yep. Only good things” Cleo nods, conspiratorial.

“I don't trust you even a wee bit” he grumbles, one finger pointed up.

Just like his sister, he's a very animated character.

“Don't mind them, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, Emperor Jimmy” Gem smiles, calming the waters.

“For me, too.” He admits, “Although, I do not know your names. Would you be so kind as to introduce yourselves?”

“Sure, mate. I'm Lady Baroness Pearl of Gilded Helianthia, Royal Counselor of Avian Peaks” Pearl bows, hand bringing down with when the folds of her yellow dress.

“Oh? A fellow bird?” He asks, prompting Lizzie to blink and look at her, too.

Pearl stops for a split second, then smiles, eyes hidden under her white fringe . “No, just a wolf.”

“Dang it, I could've sworn” he laments.

Lizzie laughs, giving him a pat on the shoulder.

“I am Viscountess Gem of The Grimlands, Dame of my Crystal Cliffs.” the nymph kneels cordially, apricot locks swaying with the motion, beautifully in tone with her green dress.

“Ah! Sister of fWhip!” the Emperor exclaims, incredulous.

“You know my brother?” Gem asks, surprised.

“We've had… Some friendly disputes” he laughs, awkward, hands playing with his trident.

“Friendly?” Gem pushes, curious.

“He's not fond of cod” he shrugs, like that's an acceptable explanation.

“He’s not fond of water, either” Gem deadpans, "Neither am I"

"What are you even doing here, then?" He wonders, tactless.

"Mate, my god" Pearl blinks, taking Gems hand.

"Correcting an Emperor on stupid gossip, apparently" Gem sighs.

Lizzie sighs, Cleo pinched sheet eyebrows.

“No, see, he's fond of salmon, though.” Jimmy shakes his head.

“Yeah? And… it's a fish? Aren't you, like, the Fish Emperor or something?” the fawn asks, confused.

“No! The Cod God! Cod Emperor! Emperor of Cod and fish!”

“Mate, salmon is fish” Pearl's so lost.

“Yeah, but I don't like them” Jimmy scowls, nose wrinkling.

“Oh” Gem blinks.

“I… See” Cleo blinks, slowly.

Jimmy turns to them, with a judgemental stare. One that's less teasing and more critical.

“Oh, yeah, and you?” he asks.

Cleo's eyebrows shoot up, their lips flatten.

See, Cleo could squish this little bug under finger if she so wanted. He really does act youthful for his supposed hundreds of years.

“I am Earl Cleo of Hermitopia, Your Highness. Like I was in the Fairy Court, I am now the Ocean Empire's warlock”

“Ah, the warlock… I was told you were a Strategist, too” he shrugs, with a mean smile.

He's not fond of the Fairy Empire, that much is apparent. Not many are. But he's the Emperor of a new, weak empire, that agreed to the White Dove Peace Treaty. He's absolutely baffling.

Gem observes him, and suddenly understands the naïveté, some of it real, much of it a construct to appear as defenseless, playing the enemy into his hands. He's a smart one.

Oh, so he's not completely dumb. Pearl thinks, relived.

Cleo's eyes are fierce, their scowl deep as they say “I was many things, my time there extends until now for hundred of years.”

“I see. Well, I hope you're treating my sister well, see, she likes to boss people around but- but she means well” he reveals, turning to smile at her. His gaze is down, looking at the tight grip she has on her trident.

“So we've noticed.” Cleo answers, biting her cheek to avoid adding on an insult.

Remember your role here, they remind themself.

“Your Highness, I think it's time to split up. Tomorrow will be a busy day, and you'll have all week to catch up” Norman steps forward.

The cat has left behind some of the cowboy look, still, his Deputy badge is pinned to his loose shirt.

Flick stands beside him, nodding in accordance.

“Ah, Norman, you're right. I bid you all a good night, then! My courtiers will escort you to your own huts, recently built just for you!” The Emperor exclaims, clapping his hands and waving slowly.

“Goodnight, Jimmy” Lizzie waves at him, and he smiles, then he's whisked away by the two cat courtiers.

A few black cat hybrids lead them away, down a small street that faces swamp and bog, drowned in darkness and night sounds.

“Okay, that went well” Lizzie whispers to herself then turns around.

“My lovelies, the Equinox Festival here is excellence, they love it! So the next few days will be busy!” Queen Lizzie says, coming closer to them, finding her footing again.

“Man, we've been flying through so many festivals, I wonder what normal life is like, at this point” Gem jokes as they follow her and the black cat courtiers.

“We're seeing the best of the best, isn't that nice, though?” Lizzie wonders, looking around the small wooden huts, all decorated with vines and azalea bushes, orchids and mushrooms grow in little patches soft dirt. One hut has a wind bell chime made of seashells and snail shells.

“A little calm would be appreciated, honestly” Pearl says lowly, tired.

“You'll have that, too. Besides, the festival only lasts three days, we'll be here at least a week” Lizzie cheers.

“Only a week? In your brother's empire? I thought we'd stay more” Cleo says.

Lizzie isn't facing them, but even from behind it's apparent the way she deflates and immediately masks it, turning around with a forced smile.

“It's fine. We're on a tight schedule, after all” she says, “And- and besides! At the end of the Journey all the Sovereigns will be welcomed in my Empire, so I'll see him soon again” she says, forcing her voice ti stay steady.

“Ah, right. True” Cleo shrugs, dusting off her black dress from the random spiderwebs that cling to it.

They stop.

“Yeah… I believe this one is mine” Lizzie says, observing the dark wood hut with a critical eye.

On the steps are a vase of peonies and a banner with her Empire's flag.

Vases of oleander; sunflowers; lilacs and the Knights' home Empires indicate their own huts.

"It is, Your Majesty" one the cat courtier says, bowing. "We bid you adieu, Queen Lizzie, and a good night."

"Thank you, my stars. Goodnight, and go forth, get some rest" she bows cordially.

When they're finally left alone she groans, tired.

“Goodnight ladies, our things should already be inside, carried by our owncourtiers” Lizzie says, yawning.

"Thank goodness" Gem yawns, too.

And so, follows Pearl. "Mate, augh- That's contagious, I tell ya" she groans.

Cleo observes silently, breaking off to walk to her own hut.

"Probably, my Pearl. Well, bye" she waves.

The Oceanid hears a choir of Goodnights as she closes and locks the door, hearing their locks click, too.

Lizzie stands alone now, staring at the dark wooden door then, she slowly turns to the wall and slides down, facing the interior of the lonely cabin.

Her dress pools around her, white waves and dark sandy tulle rough under her hands.

The bed is big, covered in pink sheets. The room is orderly, a few vases of flowers decorate it. A chest at the end of the bed is closed, a nightgown folded and ready to be worn.

There's no dust here. The room is entirely illuminated by jars filled with fireflies.

The pavement is rough under her feet, the wood not properly laid down and cured, but a blue woolen carpet easies her walk to the bed.

It's soft. Every detail planned for her, so that she'd like it.

Yet, the room is bare. No photos, no letters, nothing left to study or a book to read.

Bare and basic like welcoming gifts at the Meeting Ceremony earlier, four golden cups, each filled with a different substance (ocean water, river water, swamp water and wine). A short ceremony for a sister the Emperor hasn't seen in years, all resolved in a total of 20 minutes. Nothing major, no big announcement.

Maybe it's just silliness, why would she expect something like that? Her brother's been very busy, after all...

Something like desperation boils in her gut, she wants to cry so badly.

Nausea bubbles in her stomach as she swallows down the tears.

Decades of nothing, only letters. Promises and gifts, and now finally they live together again, even if for a short amount of time.

“It's okay.” Lizzie numbly says, voice hoarse.

One week, they get one mere week.

Lizzie squeezes her eyes and curls on herself, eyes closer to the grain of the pavement, she absentmindedly counts the eyes on it.

Bastard eyes, they've been blinded already. He's safe. He's safe. And I'm here. He's safer than ever.

Lizzie puts down her satchel, the white book warm under her fingers as she goes through the pages.

The Prophecy Tome; blue ink has burned words on a few pages now.

That last one, it finally has a name:

Echoes of Ego.

“Buried alive, her Heart will survive
Embellished in a statue that will newly smile
Yet, now, she's stricken with grief, terror, fear
Fed with hot embers that don't char
Beyond the next destination, a new culmination grows near
While she fights a power that draws not far
Something grows in the darkness of dejected eyes
Hidden away, for a thousand moons or so
Approaches a danger that quietly lies,
Brought along the tender reunion, a whole new low
They sing sweetly of times gone past,
but futures divert and shadows are cast
By the refusal to acknowledge change,
She'll find discord within a broken down, rusted cage.”

“I will NOT let your stupid words dictate my life” she growls at it, tired to the bone.

The book is still in her hands. It stays still, doesn't glow or burn new words on new pages. Good.

Lizzie thinks this means the… prophecy is yet to become true.

So far, nothing she's done has ever deterred new ones from appearing.

The Queen doesn't know what they mean.
She only knows that they do come through, that they're confusing as hell until they become real (even after) and that they're about her.

“I am finally here and I will not let anything ruin my stay.” She clarifies to the air, a threat to the world.

Thunder claps from far away, promising rain in the coming days.

The book is thrown on the desk on top of the satchel.

Lizzie changes clothes and slips under the covers.

Sleep comes hard and strenuous, but eventually it does.

Chapter Text

Lizzie looks outside of her cabin window, face hidden behind light pink lace curtains.

The town is noisy, the citizens yell and scream from one house to the other, the system of over water houses is all connected by spruce bridges.

A sudden knock at her door makes her jump in place.

“Your Highness, it's Cleo!” the voice reveals.

Cleo never knocks.

“Yes, come in?” She allows, coming to the door to greet the Earl.

It is, in fact, Cleo.

“Good morning, darling” they say, apparently in very good spirits.

“What happened?” Lizzie asks, suspicious, closing the door behind them.

Cleo shrugs, turning to the small kitchenette and pulling the wooden chair to sit it on backwards, they're smiling ear to ear.

“Oh, nothing” their grin extends.

“I don't believe you” Lizzie crosses her arms, shifting her weight on the door.

“Okay fine, I just witness a very sleepy Dame walk headfirst into a pole while she spoke with Pearl” their eyes twinkle.

Oh.

“Oh.” Then, a laugh tries to escape her, hands jump up to keep her from bursting out loud.

“Cleo! That's not nice at all” she admonishes. Oh, poor Gem.

“I'm not nice” they grin, fiery red hair wild around their pale face.

Lizzie tries to contain her expressions, and sighs.

“Alright, then. Why are you here? We're meant to be out and about in-”

“Fifty minutes, yeah I know, I read the schedule
That's your bad for sleeping in, by the way, your Highness”

Lizzie pouts.

"Did you actually just wake up?" Cleo asks, observing her movements. Slow, guarded.

"Yeah. I don't like sleeping here, I miss home" she grumbles.

"I thought you'd feel right at home in your brother's empire"

"This isn't- It's nothing like it"

"...It used to be yours, you've never spent time in the swamps?"

"Yeah, and it's not mine anymore. And I didn't, I preferred the coral reefs, the waters here are too cold"

"Ah, so it's a fish thing"

"I'm an amphibian"

Cleo blinks, and laughs. "Alright, sorry"

Lizzie taps her foot on the ground impatiently, "So, why are you here exactly? I have to get ready."

“I came here to finish a conversation we left incomplete, the other day”

Oh. Not now.

“We talk a lot, about a lot of stuff, Cleo” Lizzie evades, turning around to face the big chest.

She doesn't even know what to wear…

Cleo raises an eyebrow at her, sighing she stands up and brushes against Lizzie's side as she passes by her, stopping at the desk by her bed.

Cleo turns around with the Prophecy Book in their hand.

Lizzie cringes.

“Is it really time, now?”

“I mean, we could talk about your death, if you'd like.”

Lizzie's head snaps up at their words, upset.

She scowls, “Must we really-”

“You're not dead” they say, matter of fact.

“I am not.” Lizzie looks down at the fabric between her hands.

She could always just wear a suit, she's not really feeling these dresses.

“You say you died” Cleo presses for her attention.

“Yes. You've also told me you've died” Lizzie argues, not once lifting her face towards the Earl.

She packed a burgundy suit, though it's probably at the bottom of the box…

She rummages through the gowns, and pulls the soft burgundy out the mess.

“Yes, but see, I am a zombie. I was brought back from the dead with a necromancy spell.” They say, making Lizzie blink in surprise

She finally looks up.

“Did seeing Gem get hurt put you in such a good mood you're actually being open and upfront about your personal life? I thought I'd never see the day”

“I did also see Pearl fall back into a puddle, earlier” Oh, boy, those poor girls.

“I see.” Lizzie sighs.

“Let’s get back on topic, you are not a zombie” Cleo lounges back. “How?”

“I don't know” Lizzie barks out, uncomfortable. She's gripping the fabric of the suit a bit too tight.

She lets go of it. She turns to the shoe cabinet. She's not walking barefoot around here.

Cleo observes her.

“I can’t even call you a liar. Because you have died. You don't smell of rot, anymore. You smell of nothing, as if you don't even exist” they mutter, deep in thought.

Lizzie stops and turns to them slowly.

“I drowned, or well, choked on an Artifact. Then I found myself on a beach, and in the Void. I heard something there, I swear I saw something, then I was alive again on the sands, unable to control my magic and spells” she explains with a faraway tone.

It's a mystery both want to understand, even if for different reasons.

“If you weren't raised from the dead, I can only wager… You might've been revived” Cleo keeps observing her.

Lizzie grabs black, shiny leather boots.

“Revived?” she mouths, confused.

“That book of yours, the tome...” Cleo holds it in between two fingers, letting it swing open.

“The Prophecy Book?” Lizzie turns around, and yelps at the contents being treated so carelessly.

She puts down the shoes to inch closer to Cleo.

“Sure, if that's how you call it.. It's like a huge splotch of magic grabbed from another timeline and thrown into here. Whatever it was, it's now attached itself to your Magic, to your Soul.” they explain, treating the book both with disdain and curiosity.

“My Soul?” Lizzie takes it from them, and frowns.

“Yes, your Soul” Cleo nods, sitting on the soft bed.

“Like… like my actual soul?”

“Yes, I would bet that's what brought you back” Cleo nods, conspiratorial. So sure of their thesis.

"I thought we had lost that kind of Magic" she mutters. She's read of Totems that prevented death, although the way to forge them has been lost to Time, and that Magic has faltered out the more people were able to survive sickness and war.

"Totems or Undying. They could take the image of anything really. Maybe yours is the last one of its kind" Cleo reasons, scratching their chin in thought.

“Makes sense” for something so unreasonable as this all is, it sure does.

There's a short silence as Cleo observes Lizzie brush her hair and palm it with rose essence.

“You call it a prophecy book, so there must be something in there that relates to your life?” Cleo ponders.

“I tried to tell you before, and you wouldn't listen-” Lizzie rolls her eyes, shaking her mane.

"Yeah, well-"

Lizzie walks closer to the desk, where she put as she went to take care of her hair.

“I'm listening, now” Cleo leans in.

“Okay, then” Lizzie sighs, slipping one hand under the cover and opening it.

She's faced with the poem that last appeared, the one she re-read last night.

“You're free to read it” she grumbles.

“It looks blank” the mutter, eye twitching.

“Again!?” Lizzie groans, turning it around. But there's words there!

“It belongs to you… Why don't you read them to me?” Cleo asks.

It's not going to work. We've already tried this.

“Fine, then. From the beginning” Lizzie mutters, flipping to the first poem.

She takes a deep breath before she begins to read.

“The Rapture repeated in time as it captures
The manifold molds of whom it has fractured
Over and over, dozens of lectures
Written and stored away in broken down lecterns

She flickers to life like a weathered lantern
Infused with water, wind and motion
An overflowing well of hurt and devotion*⁵
The Lev-” Lizzie's voice dies, and she coughs.

“Continue?”

“Yes, sorry. Uh, The Levia-” Lizzie's voice dies again.

Cleo scowls, one brow rising, judgemental.

“Fine, how about the next one?”

“Yeah, um… it's called… Healing Process” Lizzie says, before reciting again.

“Clear the sky from storm and squall, in preparation
Of a final waltz, bedazzled ballgowns, celebration
Joyful laughter, plenty a-drinkin' and nicely fed
Forward then back then two steps ahead,
Time follows, on the beat, "Just forget your sorrows!"
One last dance for two, as sunrise draws near
Hidden away, heart to heart with a dear

While longing is nurtured, hungry is the pressured
In a fair beach, draped under the moonlight
A talk with the wolf on one secret night
Brings all four together to something closer
Working the labour that one might call closure.”

“Is that all of it?” Cleo asks, surprised.

“Yep.” Lizzie answers, “I mean, it's pretty straightforward I think. It's stuff that has already happened.”

“It did? When?” Cleo prompts her, curious.

Lizzie sits on the small stool and taps her finger on the spruce wood of the desk.

“My interpretation is that all that jazz about celebration and ball gowns refers to the Cherry Blossoms Ball we had before we left the Prisma Palace. Then, the dance…-”

“Yeah?”

“You told me something similar when we danced in your room, that weekend. And then, I also danced with Gem, after she got real drunk at the banquet, later. We talked a bit, about stuff.”

“About stuff.”

“Yeah, stuff” Lizzie shrugs. It's none of Cleo's business.

“Okay, and then the rest…?”

“I also shared a talk with Pearl, another time”

“On a beach? But we left that night, when on earth would that have been-”

“It doesn't matter. It happened. Look-”

“What about the rest?” Cleo huffs.

“I think it's just something silly, like, we have gotten closer, you know… From complete strangers two months ago, now… Friends?”

“Sure, sure.” they nod, stretching backwards on the bed.

Way to make a person unsure, Lizzie grumbles silently.

“But there's more, right?”

“Yeah, another three. They seem to appear at random times. Two, the next ones, appeared one right after the other”

“That's interesting”

“I think they're like… Linked?”

“Linked? To you? Or something else?”

“I mean, to me, that's what it seems. But something else, too? I can't figure out what, though”

“Okay, well, let's hear it”

“This is… The Ocean’s Orb..
In the hidden ruins that forebode,
In their desperate search to strike gold
They rifle through offers at the altar
Finding success in the plates that don't alter
They snatch it away, held hostage like dark power
That Careful Hunger, as once sang by her
Treasure buried, ripened premise,
A hand once married, holds this diamond like a promise.
Crystalline, enchanting, o’ so gracious
Unearthed was the precious.
She grasps it, devours and absorbs,
the Queen's coveted Ocean's Orb.
Alone, shedding tears through blind possession,
She's brought to the place of her silent obsession
Stolen soul, torn apart and woven anew
She lays in the water, consumed further by the blue.”

“You've figured out this one, too?” they ask, curled on the bed towards her.

Lizzie hums.

“Not completely, though” she lies.

She skips the explanation over the beginning, because that's for her and Gem to know.

“I mean, I basically only understand the last part. That the Orb we found was the Ocean’s Heart, which I ate… And I guess, it poisoned me, or something. Because that's what blinded me and killed me, that's how I was like, astral projected into the Void. Then I woke up in the shore of a faraway beach”

“These are so specific, yet so undiscerning…”

“The next one is even weirder.” Lizzie laments, pink fringe covering her eyes as she leans in to read.

"Devoid. The Void:
Red sand eats, it devours
Forgone Empires by history once told
Adrift in time, gone those hours
Needle and thread, she's woven a fold
becoming threat, tethered between two points,
She's the Divine! The One that from her slaughtered loins,
the living world has spawned, or so it is ushered
By those who stitched back a universe shattered.”

“...I have no idea what it could mean” Cleo mutters, finger tapping on her hand.

“I thought it might refer back to some myth or- I don't really know. It feels like I'm missing a ton of context clues”

“Yeah… Like it's not… Time to read them, yet” Cleo mutters to herself, then looks up at Lizzie.

“Does the first poem end with something like- Uh- a prediction?”

“No, more like a cautionary tale? It's a famous legend, I don't know why I'm unable to read it out loud”

“...You said there's another one?”

“Yeah, that one, too, is very confusing to me” Lizzie grumbles, flipping to the page.

“Uh… Echoes of Ego. The title appeared only recently, it reads:
Buried inside, her Heart will survive
Embellished in a statue that will newly-” Lizzie yelps as she's cut off by the book shutting itself.

“Mh” Cleo ponders.

“And it does this, too” Lizzie tries her hands up, annoyed.

“I think… Because it's an Artifact from somewhere else in Time, it's likely retelling stories from there that might happen here, too. They're just… Out of order, that's probably why you can only read out some”

“Maybe, just the ones that have been… Completed? Fullfilled?”

“I guess? But it must have something to do with you, Lizzie. Because the focus of them seems to mainly be you”

“That much I gathered”

Cleo stands up, “Well, that was eye-opening”.

“I'm not sure it was” Lizzie mutters as she observes the other stretch their arms.

“It was, for me”

“I'm glad? I mean, I'd hope so, since you're the Magic aficionado, here”

Cleo laughs, “That I am, always at your service, your Highness” bowing theatrically.

Lizzie laughs, “Okay, sure, my Earl. Go get ready, now. I must too, or my brother will have my head”

“Let's hope not, you'd be very uncomfortable, speared on a stick”

“Or in a basket, all alone”

“Yeah, well- See you later!” Cleo slips out of the room like a snake.

“Bye!” Lizzie waves as the door closes. Lizzie can hardly believe this was built recently, there's already moss growing as a carpet under her feet.

“That was weird” Lizzie grumbles, turning towards her outfit again.

“Time to look decent.”

It's at noon exactly that the bells of the Cod Capital ring, marking the start of the Equinox Festival, and so, the beginning of Fall.

Today, September 21st, is marked by the leaves of the trees around floating in the breeze.

The air is colder here, by virtue of being inland and being surrounded by miles of water. But it's not just that, it's the Seasons finally changing.

Something has shifted in the atmosphere.

Lizzie wonders if back home, Oli has seen his friend The Summer again, if she had appreciated his play.

The sky is a natural blueish gray today, still clear from clouds, except for the occasional running ones.

While most of the houses stand on water, the town's square is on firm land; the streets are filled with cobble and gravel, thin sand lines the paths.

The vegetation isn't colorful with flowers, but itself is almost shaped like some, and shaded with gorgeous purples, greens and oranges.

There's ponds with cods everywhere.

“There she is!” Jimmy greets Lizzie as she walks closer, followed by her Knights.

“I know, we're late. Something came up, sorry” she smiles, apologetic.

“Lizzie, you're early” her brother laughs, blonde fringe covering his blue eye.

He looks so bright, so different.

“Early?” she asks.

Jimmy had always preferred to start on things early; Lizzie prefers the cover of night for all her fun activities.

“Yeah, we don't celebrate properly until it's dark. It's like, afternoon… Did you even have lunch?” he walks closer, sun shimmering on his tan scales, which cover most of his face.

“We- Not really, no” Lizzie stutters, feeling insecure in her own glamour.

She's having trouble with her own Magic, unable to completely hide all of her axolotl form. And here is Jimmy, basically unable to use Magic, yet confident in his height and fish appearance.

It burns a bit. She's always had to hide her real form, because she's just too big for the world around her. Yet, here her brother stands, uncaring to that.

He smiles, fist going up in excitement.

“Okay, then. It's my treat, you'll love Willie's shrimp skewers!”

Willie's (an old frog man, with carrot hair and a big bushy beard) is a lovely overwater venue, brown and warm, with fishnets that act as curtains, and paintings of swamps and decoupaged pieces on the walls and the shelves.

There's quite a few tables, all covered in yelled tablecloth, adorned with creativa centrepieces, some are little glass bottles with a scroll inside, others are either glasses filled with sand and seashells or for the one they sit in, probably only private to the Emperor's, sits a fish bowl with small fishes darting around and hiding in their little rock house and seaweed.

The place is beautiful, yet, the air is taut.

Pearl observes the exchanges going on, and looks around at the other tables. There's only a couple eating salmon and two cod girls laughing about their day.

It's a little awkward, the Queen and the Emperor chat politely, exchanging glances with each other's Courtiers.

Pearl's nerves can't really take it, and Gem is becoming annoyed by it, she can tell.
Cleo, for whatever reason, seems to be in a good mood.
Which is actually more concerning than their current predicament, probably.

“So, Emperor, do you travel a lot?” Gem asks, fork in her plate of noodles, zucchini and shrimps.

“No, not yet! With the change of routes and the new market trades I'm sure to, though. A lot of things will need to be discussed” he nods to himself, excited.

He looks relaxed, so comfortable in here. It must be his favourite place to eat, Pearl assumes.

“Oh? That's interesting, though. I mean...I meant, do you travel a lot? Between home and here?” Gem asks.

Pearl internally sighs. Oh, Gem.

“I don't understand?” the Emperor asks, blonde choppy hair framing his face as he observes her closer.

“The Ocean Empire and here?” Gem asks, unsure.

Jimmy exchanges a look with Norman and Flick, then weighs Gem for a moment. “I haven't in a while, no. This, after all, is my home empire”

He's so similar to Lizzie when he seems upset. They have the same pinch in their brows, and their mouths hang at the same angle.

“That's- I'm so sorry. That's true” she looks away, uncomfortable.

“Aren't you excited, though? I heard you'll be heading home soon?” the Emperor's asks.

“Home? No, it's not- Not anymore-” Gem stammers.

Pearl reels in a growl that so badly wants to come out at the mistreatment of her friend.

“Yeah, thought so” Jimmy smiles, spikey.

“Jimmy.” Lizzie admonishes him.

“What?”

“They were just asking”

“And I gave them an answer” he shrugs.

Lizzie breathes out. Don't make a scene out here, enjoy this. He's just being dumb. He's just a kid, after all.

Gem blinks, taken aback. How rude.

“Emperor Jimmy, if I may so ask-” Pearl starts.

“You may”

Change topic. Make this lighter.

“- What is your favourite colour?” Pearl finishes.

“My favourite colour?” he blinks, surprised.

“Yeah, I mean. Mine is red, although it's different from what I usually wear, you know, I don't make it my entire personality. It's such a pretty colour, though, don't you think, mate?”

“Red… I mean, it's a good colour for sure. I do prefer blue, personally.”

“Oh, blue? I would've said green!” Gem chimes in, finally understanding Pearl's angle.

Lizzie observes them, taken aback.

“Yeah… I do like it, too… I mean, pink is good, too” Jimmy shrugs.

“What? Good? It's the best colour!” Lizzie exclaims.

“Personally, I think you're all sleeping on aquamarine” Cleo grins.

“Oh, I'm not, in fact, prismarine will be part of my streets very soon-”

“Jimmy, she said aquamarine, like… Teal” Lizzie explains.

“Oh”

“Yah, mate” Pearl laughs.

“Oh! No then, it sucks. Hate it, I prefer green waters to clear ones” he grumbles, shaking his head with crossed arms. He's such a character.

Lizzie seems to almost take it personally.

“Since when?” She asks, fork stabbing her salmon.

“Uh, since always?” He answers, grabbing the glass of water.

There's a pause, and Gem jumps in “Well, just like your waters. I'm sure you love them just like that!”

“Oh, I so do. Around this time of year, too, they're just so nice and fresh to swim in. It's very nice”

“They couldn't beat the warm waters of the Ocean Empire, though” Lizzie continues to argue.

Pearl turns to her, confused.

“Oh they can, by a mile” Jimmy answers.

“Right.” Lizzie scowls.

“Emperor, say! Have you told them about the schedule?” Flick asks, tapping his white paws on the tabletop.

“No, I haven't!” He gasps, mind distracted.

“You should, then” Norman answers with a tight smile.

Emperor Jimmy holds his hands up for effect, and smiles wide.

“Okay, so! Exciting, today is day number one! We'll have a few bands give a short concert on the stage in the Square Cod, just something nice for the first day. Tomorrow though, there'll be music and entertainment all day long! And the day after, as the big last day, a light show!” He vomits out, nonstop.

“That sounds really nice” Pearl answers.

“What about the rest of the week? I assume there's beautiful places for us to visit?” Gem questions.

“Oh, right. Well, huh, I hadn't thought that far. I'm sure you'll find plenty to do. We have construction crews and sites everywhere, if you wanna embody an old man. Otherwise, we're building the Cod House, and- Nope actually that's also a construction site. Uh-”

“The cranberry bogs, your Highness” Flick whispers.

“Those! Right! And also-”

“The Cod Sanctuaries” Norman suggests.

“Most importantly those, yeah!”

Cleo observes the back and forth.

“Something more for people under the age of retirement?” They ask, chin on one hand.

Emperor Jimmy makes a shriek, as if offended, but then laughs.

“Okay, okay. Yeah, we have archery grounds and axe throwing, too. There's a few public charity kitchens that would love to have you there, to help. For fun, well, there's plenty of campsites , although you'll maybe prefer the huts we constructed just for you”

“Ah, so that is something” Cleo nods, satisfied.

“Yep”

“Will we be hanging out? Or will you be too busy?” Lizzie asks, observing the whole exchange

There's a line there.

“I'm not so busy that I can't hang out with you for a few days” he answers, “Although, I do, as you know, have responsibilities”

“I know” Lizzie sighs, eating the shrimps left on her skewer.

Evening comes and the bands play for a little over three hours before midnight takes everyone to bed.

Gem stares at her reflection in the small mirror by her bed, pondering over the day.

Compared to their previous stops, there’s a big difference in how things are run here.

The most apparent one is that a newly established Empire with fewer citizens doesn't run the hours of big towns like Forgotten Cove, Olipeligo or Sanctuary.

It's not like it's dead, it's just a different kind of rush. It's lively in the way seaside towns are, or, in this case, swamp towns.

There's life everywhere, but there's also reprieve. It's not humbleness, it's simplicity.

It's really nice, to be frank, after two months of nonstop grandeur.

The Cod Empire is a tranquil place, and while Emperor Jimmy is a touchy feely fool, he's jovial and pleasant to speak to.

A knock at her door shakes Gem out of her thoughts, and when she opens it, she's surprised to find Cleo's face out of everybody here.

"Hi?" She asks, guarded.

They've been having almost respectful (well, maybe not respectful, but civil, yes), civil conversations as of late.

"Good evening" they answer, green eyes shimmering with mirth.

"It's like one in the morning, what do you want?" she bites out, coldly.

"Oh, I'm not welcome?" the Earl smiles wide, crooked teeth barely hidden by her black lips.

"No, not really. What is it?"

Cleo shrugs, taking out something from the pocket of her elephant jeans.

"I found this, after you so gracefully collided with that pole this morning" they say.

"Oh."

Gem stares at her hands, blinking surprised.

They're empty.

"Are you just here to make fun of me?" She asks, looking up, annoyed.

"Nope" they answer, and as the invisibility spell disappears, it's finally shown what she came to give back.

Gem looks up at Cleo, and takes her property back mutely.

"I don't suppose you did that for free" she mutters, turning around to put it back it where it belongs.

"Well-"

"Oh great." Gem sneers, turning to face them again, one hand on her chest.

"Your secrets aren't quite as hidden as you'd like to think" Cleo says, observing the golden lock with a judgemental eye.

"Excuse me? What does that mean?" Gem's guts are boiling, with anger, and fear.

She could've lost it, and she didn't... Thanks to... Cleo.

"Don't lose your head before we've even reached your brother. Let Lizzie handle her own."

"I didn't do-" she tries to argue, scowl deep in her face.

"And don't do nothing. We both know you-" Cleo is grinning, enjoying angering her.

"Do not think for a moment, that just because you know, you have a right to my life." Gem pushes her away, taking a step back. Her hooves tap on the solid spruce pavement.

"I don't. It's just, everyone knows, clearly. They just pity you enough to not mention it". Cleo shrugs, pushing her buttons.

"Ah, so what? You don't pity me?" Gem mutters, angrily.

"Oh, oh, I do. I just think that maybe, since I shouldn't either, it's not for others to know your past unless you want them to"

"How charitable."

"Yeah. I'd keep that photography closer, if I were you. Imagine if someone else found it."

Gem's scowl deepens.

Cleo eyes the golden sun pendant hanging from the fawn's neck. "You should enchant it".

"That's none of your business" she takes another step back, hand rising to cover the locket protectively.

"It's so easy too, it'd keep that crumpled photo of yours safe, since you can't"

"Cleo. Fucking- Go away". Gem insists, feeling too exposed.

"Don't let the bedbugs bite, then!" Cleo laughs as they walk down the spruce stairs down the cabin, towards their own.

"Fuck off, for real." Gem mutters as she bangs the door closed.

Gray eyes observe from the nearby house.

Mauve, scaly hands close the pink curtains to their windows.

The waters under the houses crest, as fins and a tail disappear underwater.

Chapter Text

For the second day in a row, Lizzie's morning is shaken up by a knock at her door.

This time, it's her brother.

“Hello! Good morning~!” He sings, dancing into the room with a smile, tail dragging in some slime and dirt.

“Oh, Jimmy, you got it all over the mat” she laments, closing the door behind him with a huff.

“How's my favourite sister doing this bright morning of Autumn?” He asks, arms folded behind his back.

“Uh, good? I was just getting ready for the celebr-”

“That's great! And you're all alone, your guard dogs gone?” he continues, feet flapping on the ground like an inpatient kid.

“Jimmy, what-” she eyes the hands still suspiciously behind his back.

“What is it? What have you got?” Lizzie asks, crossing her arms with a slight, amused smile.

“Oh, you know…Nothing” he grins, walking backwards.

She hums, taking a step forward. He takes another one back.

“Alright, really, what is it?” She stalks forward trying to get a peek.

He immediately caves, jumping closer, pushing into her hands the surprise.

“Oh, Jimmy!” she exclaims with sudden delight, holding up the clear glass jar.

“Thank you” she smiles, looking at the small moss balls floating in the water “You used to love these”.

“Yeah, I know! There's so many in the swamps, I just thought- Well, you needed cheering up, and I got you some. I just call these Jingles but you can call them however you like-”

She laughs at the name. Not Marimo algae, or moss balls. Jingles.

“Thank you, so much” she whispers emotional, “I'll try very hard not to kill them”

There's a second of silence before he answers.

“Yeah, please don't” Jimmy pleads, taking a step back.

He sounds cheerful, but his tail has stopped swooshing.

She swallows harshly, eyes shifting away like torrent water.

Keep it together, Lizzie, keep it to yourself, she reminds herself.

Two eyes are still sadly observing her.

Jimmy watches his sister, and feels bad for her.

He shouldn't, he thinks, it's just the usual with her, always so mournful around him, treating him like an open wound from the past.

A past she's always refused to speak about.
One that has dug a canyon between the two, the chasm growing steadily for centuries and now they live in two separate Empires, when once they lived in the same coral reef and shared the same meals.

“I'll let you get ready now” his smile is big, but forced.

Lizzie, queenly as she is, nods and gracefully puts down the jar.

With a small contained smile she says: “See you later, little cod”.

Jimmy smiles bright until he closes the door, and then it drops.

His dirty blond fringe covers his eyes as he walks down the wooden steps, taking a left towards the body of water that extends onward.
He slowly sits down on the shore, tail curling around him, moving the gritty dark sand and little pebbles.

Jimmy looks down at the foggy waters and sees his reflection. He looks upset.

“When are you going to see me as who I am instead of who he was?” He mutters.

“Emperor?” a voice rises from behind him, and he looks back, almost annoyed.

“What?” he drawls.

It's Gem, fWhip’s sister.

Jimmy doesn't know her, but he knows her brother, the Grimlands’ Viscount.

He knows of the secret she keeps. The secret that the Witch from the Fairy Court knows, too.

They look similar, but that's a given. They're twins.

Both with wild red hair, their eyes light and shadowed with a bloody past, a troubled life.

“Are you quite alright?” she asks, coming closer.

He eyes the golden locket around her neck and then at her face.

There's lines of sleepless nights carved around her hazel eyes. It's not his place to worry, his sister will do a perfect job in that department.

“Of course I am. What are you doing here?” he asks, deflecting, deeming her as nosy.

“...I was going to my Queen?” she answers, as if it's obvious. It is.

“Right. Well, go on, then.” his hand gestures to the cabin, fingers webbed with translucent membranes.

She goes to turn away but hesitates.

“I'm sorry, she can be overbearing when tired-”

Jimmy leans back, curious as to why Gem feels the need to excuse his sister; surprised with how she knows Lizzie so well already.

He wonders if his sister is as overbearing with her new Knights as she is with Jimmy.
He hopes she isn't, no one deserves the same treatment.

“I know. I've known her all of my life” he answers, rising up.
His tail sloshes in the water, green and hazel scales glitter under the sunlight, wet.

Gem closes her mouth, opens it, then closes it again unsure of what to add.

So, Jimmy continues for her.
“She can't help it, I know.”

Gem goes to answer again, but Jimmy cuts her off with a raised hand “I'll be going, now.”

He leaves the fawn to herself, walking down the path of gravel and sand, grovelling.

Gem just stares, speechless.

“What is going on…” she whispers to herself.

The Queen and her Knights all stand in the flowing crowd, cruising through the stalls of souvenirs and food that line the sides of the main street, Cod Avenue.

The rows and small streets are also filled with decorations, from green and hazel shaded banners hanging from fairy strings, to floating potted blue orchids to altars brimming with offerings of cod, gold, grapes and wine.

The music from the stage in the main plaza reaches their ears, despite all the hollering and laughter of the citizens and tourists.

There's a stall set up with activities for children, where kids paint on canvases, glass panes and rocks. Some paint each others' faces, all talking and squealing in their small voices. Surprisingly, miraculously, no crying or fussing can be heard.

Lizzie observes the small children as they walk by the stand, mutely interested in what they're doing.

Gem has already seen that the Queen is good with kids all the way back in the Ocean Empire, where children buzzed around her and squealed with laughter and praise of Lizzie's big and beautiful dresses and flowers. Now it's like she's studying the kids, lost in thought.

Pearl and Gem are giving back a ball that almost hit the wolf back to a little toad girl when another, a little cod girl and her older brother run up to the Queen and Cleo, waving all excited with big, toothy grins. Their cheeks and foreheads are stained with blue and red painted fingerprints.

The Queen waves back, polite. Cleo blinks, surprise, and comments something about the girls socks, striped white and magenta, saying that she owns a similar pair.

The parents notice the collision and call back the group back to the stand to play, waving at the Queen as well.

“There's a lot of people around today” Pearl notices, ear flickering.

“I told you yesterday. People from around here really love the Equinox Festival Jimmy's town hosts each year” Lizzie hums, one hand folded in her dress and the other holding her trident.

Gem can't place her finger on it, but she looks... Perturbed. Stressed by something, and also, almost... Bothered. It's a weird mix. It digs creases in between Lizzie's brows.

“They come just for that?” Cleo asks, looking at all the children with an apostrophe between their eyebrows, lips titling up every time kids yell and laugh.

Gem almost thinks the witch likes them, which is a crazy thing if true. No way she likes children but is absolutely aborrent around adults.

“The Equinox is important here, it opens up Jimmy's favourite season. The cooler weather here is preferred.”

“I had thought we'd see more diverse people, like in your empire, or Sausage's. Instead, they're all…”

As expected: Fish. Toads. Insects. Cats. Even humans.

“These folks have lived in this biome for long, they prefer this weather to mine.” Lizzie answers, simply.

Gem has noticed something weird when Lizzie speaks about the now Cod Empire. It's always other.

“I cannot imagine ruling over such a giant Empire. The Ocean Empire is already an incredible feat, how did you manage ruling this one, too?” the fawn asks, stressing her lips.

Lizzie's eyes are shifty today. She's almost like a cloud: gearing up for rain, swirling in the wind at high speeds, changing shape and altitude under minimal pressure.

Surprisingly, Gem gets a straightforward answer.

“When it was the Water Empire I moved around a lot. I didn't live inland like I do now. I never had a stable home, just settlements which I routinely visited, even once a month. I lived off the waters, and my followers, even if fewer, were very dutiful. It wasn't as if I did it all on my own.”

Right. The Water Empire, which divided into the Ocean Empire and Swamp (now Cod) Empire.

“You swam for literal centuries… Why even rule over so much land?” Pearl's ear flickers again, her nose is scrunched up with confusion.

That's cute, Gem decides.

Then, Pearl's question actually registers and she finds herself strongly agreeing.
Swimming, jumping coast to coast, town to town, keeping everything in check for decades, centuries....
That kind of nomad lifestyle sounds exhausting.

“There were less Empires back then, and mine was more a declaration of protection for all that lived in oceans, ponds and rivers. Those became the confines with the other existing Empires. The people decreed me as their Queen, and I didn't back out once the word reached powerful ears.”

Lizzie, for her part, sounds like she's had to repeat this a lot. It sounds so obvious, too, like it was the only logical thing to do.

Centuries of a most exhausting lifestyle, never backing out of a deal she never laid down but accepted, nonetheless.
At least, she wasn't alone. Gem remembers that Lizzie had mentioned her brother a lot when reminiscing about it other times.

“Through all this, your brother followed?” the fawn asks anyway. If only, to have a better idea of the timeline of Lizzie's power.

“He did.” Lizzie confirms with tight lips.

They've left behind the stall with creative playtime, now passing by games set up in a playground.
A group of tweens are playing catch the flag.

Pearl observes the kids pushing each other to reach the top of the pole, where a blue flag is raised.

“There's a lot of kids here” she notes.

“A new Empire means that things are going well, it means prosperity” Lizzie explains. She sounds tired.

“If they loved you so much, did they not have anything against your brother?” asks Cleo, biting at her nail in a gesture Gem can now identify as boredom.

The dryad has half the mind to stop herself from voicing her confusion, because why would they hate him? That sounds nonsensical.

“They knew him, in here. They knew him more than me. He'd sneak off in the rivers inland, curious, and people loved him” Lizzie shrugs, dejected. Despite her bad mood, she keeps explaining.

“I was like a shark, swimming in the waters to ward off any danger. Jimmy, on the other hand, was young.
He was a young, curious fish. They really took a strong liking to him. They hated that I'd settled so far, where the Prisma Palace stands now”

“So you simply sent Jimmy away, to check how things were going?” Gem wonders, piecing the info together.

Lizzie stands silent. Her fringe covers most of her face as she looks down at her feet.

“Lizzie?” Gem whispers, fingers reaching out to graze at the Queen's blue arm.

She's mostly in her axolotl form today, unlike the previous day.

Her eyes are far away. Her mouth is down turned.

“He left. I followed him, and-”

“What?” Gem blinks, surprised.

No... Lizzie had already told them that she sent Jimmy because he was ready. Not that he... What? Escaped? Ran away?

“Doesn't matter. He was positioned to take care of this part of my Empire. Then, when I couldn't move away anymore, we split it. And now he's Emperor.” the Queen quickly says, her wings puffing up, pink feathers twice as big.

It's even rarer that she shows her wings, Gem realizes.

“A thousand years old and you only gave it to him 50 years ago?” Cleo voices their skepticism, clearly unoffended by the glare the Queen shoots them.

“He’s been staying here for over 200 years. Fifty years ago is when we made it official. It was only a few years ago that he was recognized by the other Empires and crowned as Emperor de facto.”

Gem does the math real quick in her brain.

200 years ago... And if Lizzie is 1000 years old...

“You swam for 800 years?” Pearl blinks, in disbelief.

That sounds insane. But after all, what is an amphibian supposed to do when basically a nomad?

“...I did. That's all I knew. It wasn't just for the Empire though, since the Ocean Empire only began as such around 500 years ago. It wasn't immediately recognized either since it was more a declaration from random people than me officially declaring it one. After all, how can I announce a new Empire when I was basically renowned for guiding another, bigger one?”

It wasn't recognized then, but it is now. And Lizzie is the proud Queen of the Ocean Empire. So, only one question remains: In all this time...

“What changed?” Gem's eyes shift from Lizzie tight grip on her trident to her dark blue eyes. So dark they look black. If light were to hit them just right, they would realistically be purple. This is the darkest shade Gem has seen them change to.

Everything about the Queen is ever-changing, like even her body can't stand to look the same. Gem can perfectly believe she used to never stop in one place, always change scenery. That begs the question again...

What changed to make you settle in one place? What happened that made your brother sneak away to somewhere else, a place that proudly appreciated him?

There's just silence for a moment, empty of spoken words and swirling with thoughts running wild, filled with the world around them, still moving and uncaring of the heavy expression on the Queen's face.

The people almost seem to be ignoring her.
Kids laugh. Adults chatter. The reoccurring little fountains filled with cod still spill water and slosh with the fish.

Then...

“It struck me, one day.” Lizzie says, words heavy as rocks as they tumble from her cerulean blue lips.

“What?” Gem blinks.

“That I could die.” Lizzie says, looking away.

A shiver runs up unsuspecting spines, like thunder struck three different rods, unlikely all at the same time. The air tastes like copper on Gem's tongue. Pearl's ears pin down.

“But you haven't” Cleo answers, long lashes beating like the quivering wings of moths, drowning in suspense, maybe even understanding.
They know what a fickle thing Time is, too.

“I don't visibly age, but in my... Soul... I am a thousand years old." Lizzie swallows the rock stuck in her throat, continuing.

Gem notices the death grip she has on her poor trident.

"I've seen death, I've seen generations of citizens come and go. I watched the first settlers of my Empire die. I made friends with some other Empires, hoping for stability. I've strategized my way out of wars. I've seen blood be spilt in their name. In my name.”

That is true.
It is something all three of them forget, because they too have been blessed with a lifetime of lifetimes.

Even Gem, youngest of the Knights, turning 500 in a month, feels it.

The dryad looks away, mind travelling to her youth.
Lonely and inexperienced, with an army of rejects that elevated fWhip and herself to their current positions, that died for the cause, for freedom.

She feels the years, too.
Time passing, inexorable, feels like a very slow tear in the fabric of a costly item, like pulling at the hide of rabbit until it carves to become something different. Softer.
Like breaking into a new corset, feeling the stiffness give away to stretch marks, to wear and tear.

Lizzie has felt it more than her. Twice as much.
Gem feels desperation just at the realization. Even if she can begin to understand the pain of it, what does it matter?

Lizzie keeps talking. She sounds greatly pained, yet somber. She looks like a marble statue, staring into space while the world still turns.

“I guess, it settled in who I wanted to be. I decided who I wanted to be remembered as. Me.”

“Lizzie, Queen of the Oceans” Cleo finishes, weighing Lizzie with a pointed stare, like she's studying a moth, pinning her in place like a butterfly.

So far Cleo has been weirdly quiet, without a true mean comment or a whip. Whatever is in her stare must be more transparent than any spoken word ever could.

Lizzie's wings fluff up, looking away.

“From Empress of the Waters, to Queen of the Oceans. It felt good. It feels good.” she confirms, pink fringe covering her face, the sun shimmers on the mauve scales of her cheeks.

“You're a beloved Queen” Gem states, not just because it's true. She suspects it's what Lizzie needs to hear. She would be correct.

Lizzie smiles, genuine, “I'm glad you think that”.

“She's not the only one” Pearl says, tagging on.

“Thank you” Lizzie's smile is small but bright. In her mouth are sharp pearls.

“I don't mean just me, mate. Believe me, being from the Avian Empire where sovereigns come and go like the wind, it takes a strong and beloved leader to keep an Empire under their power for as long as you have” Pearl continues, matter of fact.

Lizzie hums, “I guess… You would know. I don't even know how old you are, I'm guessing you've seen many.”

Gem looks curiously at Pearl. Cleo observes silently.

It's no secret that the Avian Empire, for as strong as it is now, has a history of killing and reinstating Sovereigns.

So many, in fact, that in the centuries some names have even been lost. The latest Emperor has done well to keep himself secret, deciding against a public coronation. He's only ever met other Sovereigns, and even then, not all of them.

Gem knows his brother and the Avian Emperor have met, but that's about it.

Pearl laughs nervously.

“I'm not old like you, Lizzie. Or like Gem” the wolf mutters, arm crossing behind her back, feigning relaxation.

“You're younger than me?” Gem asks, shocked.

She never even thought that Pearl could've been like them, an anomaly in time.

“No. Older. I'm just- Not sure. I was a pup for a long time, and I spent a lot of time alone. When… I was taken in the orphanage I was a couple of decades old, but still a child. I am hundreds of years old, now. My best bet is 800 years, but it could be less. I haven't actually kept track.”

There's silence and then, an exhale of air that slashes the tension in two.

“And you called me old? Mate, you're- And you have white hair and all!” Lizzie snorts, making Pearl laughs in surprise.

“Guess I'm a little bit of a hypocrite” the wolf smiles, taken off guard by the sudden levity.

“Guess you are” Cleo chimes in.

They do no talk about themselves. It doesn't go unnoticed. A hypocrite recognizes hypocrisy, after all.

The hours pass, and the quartet circle the town and experience quite a pleasant day.

Their satchels are filled with small presents from adults and children alike (golden trinkets, painted rocks, seashells) and shiny stuff they find on the stalls running the streets.

Pearl buys a good luck ticket (a gray round rock spun with red yarn, sparrow feathers and pine needles);
Gem also gets a luck blessing by a local dryad (pretty, white and orange and yellow, a clown fish hybrid, their hair twined with gold coins and beads, elemental magic washing over Gem's face with a breath of fresh air).

Cleo finds a stand that sells pins, and buys a few floral ones (Gem steals a glance at them, choosing between red roses or blue cornflowers. She thinks those might be their favourite flowers, as beside the symbol of their empire [oleander] they keep them around a lot [their red rose gown at the Cherry Blossom Ball; cornflowers in their hair all the time; Lizzie's gift of roses the other day]).

They even gift a pin to Lizzie, weirdly enough, including the Queen in their shopping endeavor.
It's a beautiful silver pin, shoes like a hibiscus flower, fuchsia and yellow. It look beautiful on Lizzie's white dress.
Gem looks away every time blue fingers trace over the gift.

The day is coming to an end when the (weirdly absent) Emperor's cat courtiers come to them with an invite to join him for dinner at his favourite restaurant.

Gem stares at Flick and Norman as they bow respectfully to the Queen, before turning around and disappearing in the crowd.

They end up in front of Willie's again, now standing in line. There is no attempt to let the Queen be bumped up in place and let in immediately. She doesn't seem surprised, but Gem sure feels shocked by that fact.

There's a wait of least ten minutes ahead of them. Pearl grumbles at her side, looking around with shifting paws and a nervous tail. Her ears flicker.

The restaurant is full and very noisy, Gem can hear it from outside.

Cleo and Lizzie are in front of them sharing silent words, the Knight leaning into the Queen's space with no trouble.
Jealousy burns in Gems guts.

Why is Cleo so easily let in, meanwhile Gem has to beg and barter to know anything?

Pearl bumps shoulders with Gem as they stand, “Are you alright?” she asks, low.

Gem jumps, taken by surprise she grabs Pearl's elbow with a woody hand.

“I am… I'm tired, that's all.” she grumbles, looking down at their shared touch.

“Remember that we can talk” Pearl whispers, gray eyes earnest.

Her brows corrugate then relax.

“I know, Pearly. We just talked the other day, I need some rest before… I need rest” the dryad sighs, following behind her as the crowd moves.

“Your brain has been busy, I can see the cogs are all overheating” Pearl teases.

Gem laughs, “I've been overthinking our whole entire journey, I think.”

“But something else here is worrying you” Pearl notes.

Gem stays silent, looking down at the arm hooked around her own.

“You're not the only one to see it” Pearl reveals, leaning in.

Since they've entered this Empire Gem feels like she's walking on eggshells. She thought she was the only one to notice. Or that she was being excluded. Painfully lonely, either way.

Her eyes trail over the two chatting in front of them, at Cleo's permanent black lips now open in a smile, and Lizzie's previously empty eyes that crinkle with mirth from whatever dirty joke Cleo just muttered.

The few paces between the duos feel like empires. And truthfully, they kind of are. Four empires, divided by two, joined at the hips in a most unexpected way.

“See what?” Gem feigns, looking up at the sky. The stars twinkle over them, judgemental.

“The delicacy” Pearl mutters, simple.

Cleo at the Queen's side instead of someone else.
Instead of who Gem knows should be there but isn't, for reasons unknown but clearly impending on the thin peace they've found. Walking on eggshells, indeed.

Pearl steps to the side towards the shrubs that line the gardens, taking Gem with her.

The crowd around them steps forward, the duo stands to the side, letting others take their place.
The Queen shoots a look behind, sensing the motion and casts a questioning look to the two. Cleo says something under their breath and Lizzie rolls her eyes.

Pearl holds up her hand and shooshes them, as if to say 'We'll join you again in a minute, go on'.

Had it been anywhere else, any other day... Had the Queen been in high spirits, she would've asked questions, made sure they were okay.
Pearl and Gem are left alone, walking behind the shrubs in a hidden side of the garden, illuminated only by a copper lantern.

The silence is finally broken as they breathe in the acrid air of fish and stagnant waters; the brief silence is nice.
Though, music still dances far away, and chatter echoes on the waters behind more greenery.

In the open space Gem can finally speak, can finally breathe and look up; can express her worries.

"You've seen it... We've crossed two empires now and in the one where we should be more at ease... Where the Queen should feel most comfortable, she is..."

Gem doesn't want to say it, she still does: "A ticking time bomb".

Lizzie hasn't said it outwardly, but she's clearly having trouble.
With her magic; with her glamours; her emotions.
She's rewriting her past every time she speaks about it, making up something that sounds pleasant but which unfortunately ripples out and falls over itself.

It's not a healthy smile she wears around her brother. Gem, having experience with the rot that lines the crinkles of Lizzie's smile, recognizing it in her own, is filled with an anxiety that only breeds more concerns.

“I want to help... I want to help them-” Gem exhales breathless, looking into Pearl's gray, worried eyes.

“I do, too.” the wolf takes her hands, squeezes them.

There's a pause that ticks wrong in the back of Gem's throat. Or maybe it's her heart missing a beat at the grip of Pearl's hands shifting up her arms.

“But?”

Pearl sighs, “But… Would it be welcome? We're strangers to the Cod Emperor, and I don't think he's as keen on having us around as the Queen is.”

The Cod Emperor, (Emperor Jimmy. Jimmy), alone on the pond shore next to Lizzie's hut, curled in on himself and silent, eyes cast on the waters.
He looked sad. Alone.

“He's… I spoke with him briefly, this morning. I was going to greet a good morning to Lizzie, but I saw him outside, sitting pathetically on the shore of the pond”

“Wait, really?”

“He looked really sad, Pearl. He said… I tried to excuse the Queen for whatever she'd done or said, but he told me not to. That he's known her all his life. He looked… Angry… Defeated.”

She knows Pearl is also worried about whatever this dejection means.
Because they've known Lizzie for, what, two months?
The Emperor has known her for a thousand years, has seen her do stuff that is greatly regrettable.

They worry, rightfully so, that the Queen isn't who she appears to be. That somehow, she's hidden away a part that beckons anxiety and rightful questioning behind all her expensive gifts and shiny smiles.

They are, after all, the people who will be closest to her for a long time, and that means being in the direct line of fire in case anything less than palatable were to happen with the Knights' home empires.

Pearl scowls, avoiding the worst of that anxiety with an astute observation, “Lizzie always talks about him like he's the brightest star in the firmament”.

Gem's mind is not as kind, but the truth of that statement can only be confirmed: “And I think she means it, he really means a lot to her. And he seems like a good person”.

And yet. Yet... Even on the first day, standing in front of each other, there was a moment that felt electric, like the clouds above were readying up lighting. It cleared up at the sight of bright smiles, but the air still smelled of copper.

Pearl lolls her head back, laughing uncomfortably, ears pressing back for a second, calling back to the memory.

“I know. It's a little awkward, honestly, when they pretend that everything is fine. They're two statues, cemented in place, somewhere else. It's like they're astral projecting somewhere else”

Without hesitation, Gem's mind immediately imagines the two very still Sovereigns pressing two fingers against their temples and two ghostly versions bumbling in the air, yelling as they stumble and yelp, shaken back and forth by indivisible hands.

“Oh, c'mon that's so silly” Gem blows air as she chuckles, pushing Pearl back with a smile.

“I don't mean literally, Gem” the other's eyes crinkle, clearly also amused with the conjured mental image.

A beat passes, and some somberness settles back in the space in between the two.

“I know. I just- Seeing them, two Sovereigns, act this way… It reminds me of fWhip and I. It reminds me how far I am from him. How far away I've been, for so long.” Gem crowds closer, feeling suddenly overwhelmed by the silence around them.

“Ah, so that's what your silly mind has been churning in there?” Pearl flicks her forehead, taking advantage of the closeness.

“Ow!” Gem scowls, hands flying up cover the spot.

“Stop commiserating and be glad that you'll see him soon. You have another chance to make things right” Pearl takes Gem's hands again, squeezing them softly.

She looks haunted, Gem notices.

Not just by the noises around them, which have been bothering the wolf all day... But also...
Gem sees a mirror in front of her, waters of a lake that ripple out enough for the image to be unrecognisable in the shapes and traits, but still human-like.

Gem's eyes stare deep into Pearl's, green reflected on gray. “That's true. And after I do, will you?”

“Will I what?” Pearl whispers, looking, too.

Gem isn't one to assume anything further than what she's given. But she speaks on what she's been told in hushed late night conversations. She's been playing a game of Clue for months now, and not just with the Queen.

Pearl, sent away just like Gem.
Pearl, close to the Emperor for centuries, even before his rise to the throne.
Pearl, advisor to the Avian Emperor, part of his Avian Court.
Pearl, Lady of her own region, Gilded Helianthia.
Pearl, now Ambassador. Now Knight of the Ocean Queen and Oceankin.
Just like Gem, soured by the decision of her Emperor to send her away (away from home, away from her safety and friends and home).

If Pearl can call Gem out, so can she do the same.

“Will you resolve your problems with your own Emperor?”

Pearl looks away, suddenly real adverse to sharing eye contact. Her hands even jolt a bit, as if taken by surprise.

“Pot calling the kettle black and you don't even realize it” Gem blows air on the other's face, raising an eyebrow.

She sighs, letting go of the wolf's hands to plop down on a big, lichen covered gray rock sitting just behind them.

“It's a little complicated, mate” Pearl mutters, uncomfortable, watching her drop.

Gem just hums.

With a sigh Pearl sits closely to the fawn.

“C'mon... Because my situation is easy” Gem rolls her eyes, pressing shoulders with hers.

“Sorry. My mind is projecting towards my duties, now. I don't wanna think about him. I can only… Seethe for being sent away, so suddenly.”

“At least I wasn't the only one” Gem smiles, grimly.

“I know. And I can't even be angry with Lizzie about that. She didn't choose us. It was our own family that sent us away” Pearl mutters, voice double edged with a growl.

“You're that close with the Avian Emperor?” Gem blinks, frankly surprised that she had assumed correctly.

“We've known each other since we were little, through unfortunate events. It was him who chose me as his Advisor, and when I expressed my desire for a place of my own, he let me choose anywhere I wanted. He's only been supportive. That's what surprises me, I guess... That's why I hate him for his choice.”

Pearl doesn't sound particularly angry, mostly she sounds like a wounded animal. Gem presumes, that they both are.

She also has no doubt that Pearl could change that hurt into anger quickly. She's seen her hackles rise a few times before, especially when threatened. (Examples of their arguments with Cleo at the Ocean Court come to mind. That seems so long ago, now).

There's cicadas in the distance, and music and chattering and noises. But in this little bubble, it's the two of them.

“I'm glad he chose you, though.” Gem says, genuinely.

Pearl looks at her, surprise lining her expression. Gray eyes twinkle under a brightly moonlit fringe, nose scrunching up with her smile, sharp canines pinching into her pinkish tan lips.

“I'm glad I met you” Pearl whispers back.

There's a small silence.

Cool wind blows, fluttering with wings of dragonflies and dry leaves.

“If he loves you so much, there must be a reason he chose you and not another one of his many courtiers” Gem reasons.

“I just don't understand why it had to be me” Pearl shakes her head, silver light cast over the fluff of her hair and tail as it swooshes closer to her legs.

“Maybe it could've only been you. Maybe, he chose you because he trusts you so much.” Gem mutters.

She isn't sure if the reasoning is directed at the wolf or herself no more.

Pearl looks away, teeth stressing her lips.

“He didn't take away you region, or your title, or your ability to come home.” Gem notes, softly.

“He didn't.”

“Then, maybe Emperor Xelqua meant well” Gem breathes out.

That name is so alien in her mouth, ushered so carefully amongst the Sovereigns. It sounds like it'd belong somewhere aquatic, not up in the snowy peaks of avians and wolves.

Pearl nods then sighs, shoulders going slack.

“You always bring such a tranquility to me, Gem. Thank you. For existing, just- For being here”

Not like I have a choice, she thinks, but kindly keeps it unspoken.

“Maybe my brother was right to send me away, too. I got to meet you, and that's worth all the pain his choice brought me” she elects to say, more relatable.

They hug, warm in the cold breeze.

“To our futures.” Pearl whispers in the soft apricot curls of Gem's fringe, nose brushing up against her antlers.

“To our friendship” she smiles, leaves rustling as she laughs when a tingly leaf makes Pearl sneeze.

It really sounds like a dog sneezing, Gem thinks internally with delight.

“They're changing colour, that's so cool” Pearl awes, fingers coming down on the grass to pinch a stray leaf between sharp nails.

“They are! My antlers are birch wood, and they're seasonal”

“Will they be absolutely bare in the Winter?” Pearl teases.

Gem sighs dramatically, then nods, “Yep.”

“I'm going to adorn them in silver and pearls” the wolf decides, still turning the leaf in her fingers.

If Gem leans away a bit and hides behind her shrub of hair, that's for her only to know.

“I can't wait for you to do that” Gem smiles, cheeks pinker than they were a few seconds ago.

The few minutes they've been gone Cleo and the Queen successfully found their way in the restaurant.

Gem and Pearl find them sitting at the usual table, making small talk with a waiter, while two other seats wait for the missing Knights;
wo are occupied by the Emperor's cat courtiers, Norman and Flick.
The space between them is still vacant.

They're joined by the Emperor not much later.

He occupies his seat after waving goodbye to the man he walked in with (short, eyes red and hair bright blonde; a blaze hybrid), quickly parting ways with the stranger before too many eyes found him.

While he had looked relaxed, cheeks reddened by the chill of the night, the closer he walks to the royal table the higher his shoulders rise, the tighter he looks.

He does a good job of schooling his expression, though, smiling politely and bowing to the group waiting for him and excusing his belated presence, blaming something about the show lights or similar.

Gem, then, assumes that the blaze hybrid was just the head technician for the shows and wider event. He looked nerdy enough.

Glasses click, silverware scrapes at ceramic plates, laughter and hollering hit every wall around them and a few stories of the day and their adventures on the road are shared.

It almost looks normal, the on going debate happening at the table. it would certainly look entertaining, from an outsider's perspective.

But a thin line of feigning is only effective when the eyes looking in are blind to what goes on behind closed doors.

Emperor Jimmy only speaks of his festival and never asks of the Ocean Empire, thus pushing his courtiers to inquire to fill in that that awkward silence.

Queen Lizzie only inquires on the Emperor's life, avoiding any real talks of her Court, leaving her Knights to bring up their own recollections of things and experiences on the road.

It's a very awkward push and pull, neither Sovereign seems happy with this newfound settlement.

Gem studies the two siblings, observing how similar they are. How similarly they speak and act.

She can’t understand how Cleo can say they're not, even if of different breeds. With even the treachery of implying they're not actually brother and sister, it's not just blood that makes two people siblings.
These two have shared centuries together. And it shows.

Both look away when put on the spot; both fiddle with their fingers; both hold their breath when caught by surprise; both the Emperor's and Lizzie's gills flutter around their faces when they think real hard about something;

They both share the way their hair fluffs up when drying or curling squarely when wet;
the same glint on their scales, magical and not;
the same blond shade, despite the way the hair gradients down into different colours; the same fixed smile, touching all the muscles but neve reaching their eyes.

Similar, so much so that Gem could almost say they're twins. She can't, because they're not.

The photo inside Gem's locket is similar, too.

Two siblings (two twins) one next to each other smiling in an Empire that banished them, a time when they looked almost the same. Then they grew up, things changed, and they changed. The locket is a reminder of a past withered away, the rose they hold in the photo blackened and respected. A family's heirloom.

It could've been a sign, maybe. A family haunted by death before it began decimating it.

A coup; running away; two lives lost.
Two left, side by side, similar hands clasped together with shock and grief. In their hands a Withered Rose.
The symbol of the Grims.

A war broke out, a new coup warped her brother into the undead, trenches growing with more dead bodies and then, suddenly they had won.
But the graveyard was vast, and the graves that separated them only grew in number.

Now, they're empires away.
Gem, a creature of the day.
Her brother, a creature of the night.

It burns, seeing Lizzie and Jimmy next to each, yet with such a gnawing chasm between them.

They don't know how lucky they are.
How quickly a sibling can be taken away, how much it hurts to deal with the death of somebody that you used to see each day; to deal with living with a person that you don't recognize anymore.
Seeing their ghost in the place of the one who knows you better than anyone else.

Gem could only see corpses after all the ones she's had to bless and order for a decent burial. All the ones who couldn't be buried, that died in the enemy's territory.
She had been alone, on the battlefield.
Her brother, in the capital; Gem, in the trenches.

She knows why. She always knows why. It never lessens the pain. Knowledge never lessens the reality of things.

She watches her new Queen and her grief, understanding that something is deeply wrong with the way Lizzie interacts with Emperor Jimmy, but lacking any way or resource to help.

She watches the Emperor, who never meets Lizzie's gaze, understanding that he also knows of the grief lacing the Queen's expression, who is also unable to shake it off.
Gem sees the way it clings to Emperor Jimmy, and she mourns, seeing another mirror image in his shifty eyes and nervous attitude.

Gem had moved away. Emperor Jimmy did, too.

More than moved away, he'd run away. From what she doesn't know, but from who it's made clear in every one of his quips.

Gem wonders if when Lizzie realized she was still mortal, despite all her years, Jimmy was the one to see his own mortality as a sign.
If he fixed his mind of his own eternity.

Lizzie says he's changed, that he has grown, she says it with so much grief.
Gem understands why, because if an Emperor that is a thousand years old can still grow old, how much does he actually have left?
What if he ages all of a sudden and in 50 years he's gone? After only 50 years on a throne?

She sees the way Queen Lizzie looks at her brother and wonders if all these thoughts have grazed her, instead of the Emperor.

Chapter Text

Lizzie is slowly coaxed out of a very deep sleep, something lethargic and enveloping.

Soft fingers travel up the skin of her arm, stopping at her shoulders to knead and massage at the tight muscles.

She hums, sleepy.

Her eyelids flutter then narrow at the bright light around her.

[Is it morning already?]

She should probably wake up, start to get ready to face another day.

[You're already leaving us? Won't you stay a little longer? Just to say goodbye?]

[Don't you see she's sleepy?]

[C'mon, Betrothed. Won't you open your eyes for us?”]

Lizzie does as the familiar voices ask, but it's hard.

Her eyelids are heavy as rocks. Something feels wrong.

How can Lizzie be seeing light, when her eyes are shut tight? That can't be…

Her eyes open.

Light. It's so bright.

[There you are] the voice of Autumn says, so warm.

The beginning of Winter creeps in through the vines, and Lizzie shivers at the sudden chill that envelopes her.

It’s like deja vu, but she can't quite place why.

[She'll be gone soon]

[We have a little time, still]

[After her, it's your turn] another says, their voice soft like rose petals and sharp like thorns.

[I know, I'll depart after we say our farewells]

[Who are you?] Lizzie asks, though her mouth doesn't move.

She doesn't even feel corporeal, just extremely warm.

Laughter like birds comes from the one in the back, something inhuman, not comprehensible, yet Lizzie knows they're flowering with wrinkly blooms, their fresh wind enveloping her legs.

[Bright one, our Beloved] they say, their projected syllables sound like the rustling of leaves in the wind, the shy sun dotting the forest floor.

[You know us, Beholden, but not as spirits] the words bring a chill to her skin, goosebumps, in light of a concept too grand for what is still partly, a mortar's soul.

[You know our earthly impressions, you think of them when you see us] the flower in bloom continues.

[I know you?]

What follows is noises of Lizzie's lives, the seasons repeated in every one of her memories, echoed in the rippling of frozen water springs; in the blooming of primroses; in the smell of October's mushrooms.

[For longer than this Universe has existed] wolves howl, paws on the fresh snow of mountain peaks.

[Once together, we were parted] red wine drips form a chalice, spilling down like bloodied tears.

[Like the waters you reign, the sunlight that glitters on your waves] spoken like the freedom from a cocoon, butterflies and insects flying by a flowery meadow.

[You sang with us a month ago], the revelation of a warm cabin in the middle of a storm.

[We appreciated the gift, Beloved], a scenic sunset in the afternoon, flooding the sky with temperate colours, fast but not unkind.

[Do you accept ours?] It's the sweetness of a bouquet, only bitter because some flowers have wilted, and others haven't yet bloomed.

Words and imagery swirl like typhoons in Lizzie's mind.
Her, standing in the eye of the storm, safe only for seconds before the winds grab onto her and whirl her around with malicious intent.

Can Nature be malicious? Or does Nature simply… Be?

[I-]

The storm roars and Lizzie has no power over its titanic grip.

The world around her shifts, from bottomless and blindingly white, to pitch black of a devoid void.

The light is snuffed out.

The space that they occupied, bright and warm, is now a total black void.

The emptiness is choking her.

Instead of the/ the? [The Seasons]; there's bodies; eyes set on Lizzie's supine body, three sets of arms hold her down, arm to arm and legs pinned under a crushing hold.

Lizzie gulps in deeply, lacking her breath. Nothing fills her lungs, her head pounds with the lack of oxygen.

Cleo, [Spring/veridian and vermillion/blooming flower now rotting] is holding down her legs. Her skin, pale and gray, is plastered in gore and blood, their blind eye hanging out, squelching as blood sprays down. Their lips are black and blue, set in a scowl as they glare at her.

Lizzie tries to struggle but a growl freezes her in place, eyes shifting to her right to witness a ghostly figure.
Pearl [Winter/blue and white/ warped] is snarling at her, strong claws digging into her arm, white fur covered in ichor, white wings curled at her back, hovering with malice, her eyes are bloodshot; blood runs down her mouth in small rivulets, staining her white dress.

Her left arm is tugged by a sneering Gem [Autumn leaves, orange and hazel/warmth that seeps into hair and bones as the cold approaches], woody hands grip hard into the meat of her arm, roots growing into it, anchoring Lizzie to the ground like a promise. Over her chest a stain is expanding, dark teal with stars that float through the Void.

“Did you like our gift? We died for you” she asks, her voice echoes in the wide empty void around them.

Lizzie mouths, breathless, her words are a sibilant exhale “No, why?”

“You are too precious to die” Pearl answers, teeth red with crimson.

Lizzie feels nauseous, her body tingles, going numb.

“Everyone you love dies” Cleo says, voice devoid of feeling.

“It's not my will!” Lizzie cries out, chest heavy.

“Your will is null” Cleo answers immediately.

“You exist to fulfil your purpose” Pearl growls.

“And then you die” Gem caresses her face with one gentle, woody finger.

"I die?" Lizzie chokes out.

"Yes"

“And then the world restarts”

“And we die again”

“He/Us/Everyone dies.” the three echo, loud and disorienting.

“Wake me up” Lizzie orders; pleads.

“Do you accept our gift?” their voices intermingle, rising louder than any scream Lizzie could tear from her lungs.
Still, she tries.

“No! Please!”

A chorus of the question is repeated as it swirls around her as the darkness becomes liquid, yet thick enough to keep her immobile as she sink down— down_ down…

(...!)

Lizzie wakes up with a start, darkness still prominent outside of the window beside her bed.

Her mind is sluggish as she looks around the space, panic cursing through her veins as shadows move in the corners of the room, her lantern extinguished by the chilly air that enters the open door.

Her movements register slowly, world stuttering around her.
The cabin is cold.
The distance and perspective of objects are all wrong.

Lizzie can't hear a sound, only a suffocating silence.

The door is wide open, the blackness beyond it is absolute, and terrifying.

A malice, lurking under each breath the cabin takes, as it expands just like lungs, the planks shift under feet.

It's petrifying.

Lizzie observes as the motion sickness sets in, mingling terribly with the dread hurling in her gut, but she can't voice her worries, can only feel the wild heartbeat of her Heart grow with each step she unwillingly takes.

She’s out on the stairs, the steps ending onto absolute void.

Lizzie looks down.

The Universe stares back, planets and stars a slow smear of teal and purple as time drags them forward, faraway from Lizzie's spirit.

it speaks at her.

swifting through unrest, the troubled heart

infinitely, of stories a part, is put to test

axolotl queen, prideful, you preen

birds of a feather, under sun's gleam

the siblings live long in the waters

eggs that hatched with bright purpose

mind latched onto many realities, struggles to understand

birds that fled home, like swallows

leaving your memories of waters once shallow

they deepen until only darkness permeates the sand left to settle

but the grains move, ever so slow

under Time's watch as they pass forth the mantle

and realities collide, the future always evolving. and so

an ending is written, the script made to be read

pages soaked in icy tears and bloody red

tread lightly as you waver, closer and meager

the line between consciousness and code thins

catch your breath, catch meanings

crown, upon your head

multiplied, a cube of one thread

third of the story unwoven

almost gotten, a thwarted attempt

for the second was stolen by the dark coven

instilling the first with unmeasurable contempt

this hunger, the hate, fuels the anger and the thirst

Three versions of aquatic spawn, hatched thousands of suns ago

so begins the retelling of the tale, under the sky's dark veil

twinkling stars hovered as children escaped the primordial abyss

a home forgotten, for only one to miss

warped thy form, red feathered phantom

perched on a branch, little bird looked for freedom

swam in clear waters, baby axolotl, heir to the blue queendom…

this new version, told seldom

a gruesome end

of changes yet to be lent

watch where you tread

listen for signs

whisper your dread

break the binds

wake up

wake up

[wake up]

(...!!)

Lizzie's eyes open.
She's on a beach, far away from the coasts of the Prisma Palace; far away from the ponds of the Cod Empire.
Far away from the Present.

It's centuries ago, she knows this day.

Lizzie's hands are smaller. She is smaller. Younger. Foolish.

Her brother plays in the water, small little cod grown enough to walk and swim, but too small to hunt.
She'll make sure he won't have to bear the grunt of hunting on his own, of ever leaving his safe cave in the reef.

"Jimmy?" she calls, standing up on feet that have yet to turn blue.
They thought she was a cyan axolotl before she started changing scales, years later.

Her little brother doesn't turn, giggling at the way the fish tickle his legs, at the dolphins that laugh from further in the water.

She's holding a salmon in her hands, Jimmy's favourite.

"Jimmy, I've got this for you!" Lizzie laughs, walking on the soft sand. She doesn't leave any traces. That seems weird.

Her brother still won't turn around.

"Jimmy?" She asks, the laughter dying in her throat.

The boy won't turn, his blond hair wild around his head, his tail flops around him. He won't turn around.

The scales on his arms, hazel and tan, don't shade to their usual green, instead, they glimmer the colour of rust under the scolding sun.

Lizzie's heart is beating fast in her ribcage, trying to escape, to jump out and reach her little brother.

"Where's Jimmy?" the axolotl girl asks, trembling.

The boy turns around, and Lizzie can only see dark eyes, one black and the other grey. She hasn't seen them since... Since...

There's a boat on the horizon, right next to his face.

"He's gone" the boy says. He's not smiling. The cod around him all float, belly up. There's no more laughter. The sky darkens.

"He's gone?" She repeats, unsteady. Her hands are shaking.

"The way I'm gone. The way everyone goes away, because you're a curse that kills everyone you love" the boy take a step back, a monolith out of the mercury liquid.

The water is rising, out of control. The waves crash on the shore, all around them.

"That's not true..." she denies, upset, crying. She's a kid, too.

"It was true for mama, for me. And Jimmy. Your friends, too. Then, the world."

"You're being mean" she cries, shaking her head, throwing the fish to the ground with a grunt.

Then, silence. The world is still moving. But Lizzie's hearing is muffled. She's breathing harshly, hands gripping her chest, tearing at her pink dress.

"Lizzie" the blond boy says, eyes brimming with sadness and hurt.

"Grian?" she heaves, taking a step closer. Everything hurts. Her head hurts. Her chest hurts.

"You should wake up" he says, holding out a hand.

Lizzie tries to take it, she screams "Don't go!" before a wave tears him away.

Then, the boat soars over it, colliding with her small frame.

(!!!)

Panic. Panic. Panic!

Lizzie falls from her bed, covers twisting around her limbs as she steals a breath for her squeezed lungs.
A scream tries to tear itself out of her throat but rocks have found themselves there.

An invisible mountain presses down on her chest, she struggles, pulling herself to the middle of the room.

A knock shakes her, and Lizzie trembles, curling in the middle of the room.

“---__****?”

There's shards of glass on the ground, carving into Lizzie's arm.

She cries out, and the door barges open.

“~--~~~!?”

Lizzie curls tighter, trying to drown out the static that burns her limbs, the cotton that fills her ears. Her head pounds.

She hears a loud noise, something shrill from right over her head and hands are pulling Lizzie's from her face, letting the light blind her.

She's crying, a gray smudge is all she can see.

“-_–zie!?” the smudge is screaming, she thinks.

There's knocking on wood, and more noises that Lizzie can't really make out.

The static is loud. Painful.

“Pearl!”

“Gem! I don't know what happened! I came here to greet her good morning and-”

“What is-”

“Cleo!”

“What is going on!?”

“I don't know! I found her on the ground, like this-”

“Close the door!”

Alle screaming is making Lizzie's head spin.

“Why!? Shouldn't we ask for help?”

“Close the door and allow her some decency!” the voice growls.

“Queen Lizzie?”
She shakes her head, refusing to open her eyes.

“Lizzie? Hey. It's Cleo.” the zombie repeats, kinder.

“Cleo?” She warbles out.

“Yes. Yes, I'm here to help. Did someone attack you?” they ask, voice low.

“No…”

“Did you- Was it the book?” they continue, hovering. She feel them hover.

“No- Night- Nightmare”

“A nightmare did this?” Gem shrills out.

What this is remains beyond Lizzie, but she can feel pain. All over her body.

“Lizzie- Hey-” Pearl whispers to her.

“Yes?” she croaks. She's not sure any sound actually comes out.

“Open your eyes?”

Lizzie refuses. She might witness them dying, and if she looks, then it's possible they'll start holding her down, restarting the loop.

“That's okay. Can you- Can you breathe out, mate?” she requests gently.

Lizzie does, with great difficulty.

“That's good. Now in, okay? In and out” Pearl instructs, one hand softly touching her knee.

She does, barely.

“Cleo?” Gem presses, voice brimming with concern and panic.

“I'm looking. There's no identifiable magical traces, nothing even entered the cabin.”

“So a dream really reduced her like this?”

“Why do you sound almost disgusted?” the witch growls.

“I am scared! She was fine last night, and now- now-"

“Gem, yelling won't help” Pearl interrupts her.

“I doubt she'll want her brother to worry” Cleo continues.

“But maybe we should call him, he’s… He's her brother”

“I doubt he'd appreciate the fact that we found her like this. What do you think will be his first assumption?” Cleo barks out, standing up.

“I- But-”

“Gem, it's for the best. She's our Queen. Calm down, please.” Pearl reassures her.

“Gem?” Lizzie asks, feeble.

She's curled on herself. Pain. Worry. Anxiety. Pain.

“Yes, yes Lizzie I'm here” the fawn whispers, one hand touching her arm.

She still won't open her eyes, but there's warmth around her limbs now, and the smell of fire that accompanies Cleo's spells.

“What do I look like?” Lizzie mutters.

A beat. “Warped.”

“Gem-”

“Beyond help?” Lizzie asks, again.

“No- No, Cleo is helping” Gem reassures Lizzie, finally taking her hand.

“Th-Thank you” Lizzie sobs.

She passes out, then.

It's well into the morning when she stirs again, opening her eyes to see sweet Gem sitting at her bedside.
Pearl and Cleo are muttering on the side of the room.

“Hi” Lizzie whispers.

Gem’s hazel eyes shoot up. The axolotl can tell she was crying.

“Hi” the fawn smiles with a sob, leaning in to grab her hands.

They're scaly, mauve and blue.

“Lizzie!” Cleo and Pearl exclaim as they tumble forward towards her.

“Hi” she repeats, hoarse.

She’s still echoing the tremors of a dreadful nightmare.

“Oh, mate. You gave us quite the scare” Pearl exhales, shuffling by her bed.

“Where is my brother?” Lizzie asks, trying to assess the situation with cottoned ears and brain.

Gem gives them a sharp look before speaking, “He's setting up some things for the light show of tonight, said he'd come later to escort us for lunch at Willie's. We haven't told him”

“Okay. That's… Good.” she breathes out.

“Your Highness” Cleo says, coming closer.

“Cleo?”

“You should take this” they offer a flask of glistening golden and red liquid.

“Okay, what is it?” she asks, unsure. She should know, or remember, but right now she can't.

“A potion of regeneration” Cleo answers simply, helping her gulp down the sickly sweet potion.

A moment of silence passes, saturated with unspoken questions.

“We found you in pretty bad shape this morning” Pearl starts, ears pinned back with unease.

“I'm sorry” Lizzie answers immediately.

“What for?”

“...Worrying you. We should be celebrating and I'm-”

“Mate, don't even start” the wolf squeezes one of her ankles. It's not a lock, just a soft touch.

It makes Lizzie choke up. “Pearl…”

“What? You can't control your health. You can't control your nightmares.”

“That's true” Gem tags on, squeezing her hands.

A random firework echoes in the sky, sudden, making all of them jump.

“Could I have some water, please?” Lizzie exhales.

“Of course, mate” Pearl smiles softly, holding out a fresh glass.

Lizzie looks to the ground. And then at her desk.

It's missing, her gift, the jar... It's not there…

“Where…”

“We found it, shattered on the ground. The shards were digging into your arm. Cleo took care of the injury.”

“But inside the jar-” Lizzie's lips tremble.

“The water spilled out, and the mossy balls dried out… I'm sorry” Gem says.

How is it possible? How do I kill everything I touch?

Lizzie feels ice burn in her veins. Her head hurts. Her Heart thuds against her chest.

“Okay.” she whispers, mournful.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ 𓂃☀︎⚘᪥.°+ ࣪ཐིཋྀ₊⊹𖥧𔓘˖ ִֶָ𐀔'𑁍𐂂෴𖧧↟⸙͎𖠰𓂃

It's the afternoon, and the Emperor hasn't come to take them to lunch. He hasn't come to see his sister, yet.

Gem had thought, initially, that he must've been busy, since today was the last day of the Equinox Festival, it'd surely be filled with surprises and most important of all, the grand lightshow, tonight.

Hours pass, making it almost apparent that he's avoiding the Queen.

It wouldn't feel this bitter, or backhanded maybe, had Lizzie's health not taken a dive right this morning.

When Gem had burst the doors open, her eyes had locked on the miserable figure of the Queen.

Lizzie, bleeding on the ground, warped and elongated, magic sizzling on her blue, scaly skin while she took deep sibilant breaths, eyes squeezed tight as she tore at her hair, grown longer and almost floating around her, like she wasn't quite in this dimension yet.

Talking had helped her. Cleo had helped her.

The whole ordeal had left a sour taste in Gem's mouth.

Afternoon turns into late evening, and the first fireflies start glittering under the darkening sky. They sparkle like stars, flying over the pond that laps at all their cabins.

Lizzie looks better. She's gotten some colour back on her cheeks. Though, she's still stuttering, eyes latching on quick movements and shying away from touch.

Pearl leaves and brings them take-out, skewers from the food stalls down the main street.

Cleo observes Lizzie like a hawk, the cogs of their brain continuously in motion. Gem hopes they overheat, then feels bad. Lizzie is what matters now.

Lizzie doesn't seem better.
She acts like nothing had happened, and although she's gotten better at lying, her body isn't able to, in this case..

When Gem went to object at the Queen deciding she's had enough of her bed, she wass met with stern looks and Lizzie's cold reply: “I am Queen, I have duties to attend.”

She had then sighed, “Sorry, sweet Gem. You know the way this works. It's not a pleasant affair.”

“I know. I just want to treat you with some care”

“And I appreciate it” Lizzie had cupped her face, warm hands and blue eyes sizzling and changing colors every time they caught the light of the sunset pooling through the window.

It's already late when they split and reconvene.

It's about dinnertime that the four meet outside the Queen's cabin, dressed for the occasion, acting like she's fine, but standing closer than they would usually.

The lanterns hung from lampposts and on the windowsills have all been changed from their usual orange glow. They now exhale wisps of dark purple plume while green flames dance inside the copper lanterns.

The color changes the atmosphere of the town, streets now flickering with moody lighting.

There's so many fireflies in the air around them that it's almost like the sky has shed stars for the night.

Gem had thought that by lightshow Emperor Jimmy meant simple fireworks, and while that's not wrong, it's not the only thing he had planned.

There's little theaters where shadow puppet plays capture the attention of children and adults alike.

Glowberry food (ice cream, cake, cookies, pastries) are being sold at food stalls set up just today, where colorful paper lanterns are hung.

A kid shrieks with delight as their hands and cheeks start glowing after eating the food. Their mother laughs and twirls them around.

Another group of teens runs past them with laughter and screams, holding ropes of popping confetti.

On the side of main street are boxes set up with a one gold coin surprise bag., where children and teens exchange trinkets they won with each other.

Jars of blue fireflies are buzzing, set up on a prismarine shrine. A lone cyan axolotl swims in the pool, the water sploshes down, where little cod fishies splash happily.

Lizzie's eyes linger.
She doesn't say anything as they move down the street, sometimes waving at curious children and respectful adults.

“That was sweet” Gem comments, trying to break the strange silence that has befallen the group.

“Wish he'd been there to show it me” Lizzie simply answers.

He still could. He's busy. He's not dead, Gem thinks.
She stays silent.

Dinner is some glowberry food after they loop back around the streets. It's good.

It approaches midnight.

A warning shot is sent up, the green firework explodes into sparkles over the nearby pond.

“Should we find a better place to spectate?” The Queen asks, a smile forced on her puffy face.

“I imagine we'll see better by the water” Pearl nods, stepping as the first, leading the four.

Cleo has been mostly silent. Gem can appreciate that. And they've hardly left Lizzie's side.

“You love fireworks, don't you?” they ask the Queen as they walk, their dresses all rustling and sparkling in the ever present glow.

They're gemstones plucked from the hard ground and dropped on the surface of the earth to sparkle under starlight.

“You remember?” She asks, surprised.

“Of course” Cleo smiles, amicable.

It's on the shore that they find the Emperor and his entourage, all laughing and sharing booze.

Lizzie's steps falter for a moment, then they pick up speed and she's storming down to him with a wide, sharp smile.

Her tail is swishing behind her, her wings barely held tight as they try to puff out.

“Lizzie! You’re here!” the Emperor cheers, bringing up a chalice of white wine, which pours over and stains his creamy white chemise.

On his head is the Cod Empire’s symbol, a giant cod head, the fish embalmed and fitted like a hat. Peculiar. And quite literally slimy.

There's seats and a deck chair laid about, next a wooden table laid out with some appetizers and white wine for the occasion.

“I couldn't find you. Thought you'd run off to somewhere else” Lizzie says, voice calm, but filled with sharp snark.

Gem bite sher lips. He was meant to come find them. Lizzie was sick. She has every right to feel abandoned.

The Emperor, clearly drunk, scowls visibly and huffs out something to Norman, who nods reluctantly and pours him more wine.

The Queen and her Knights have reached the banquet, they're standing with surprised faces.
Except Lizzie, who's steadily growing angry.

“Remember that we're in public” Cleo whispers to her, the voice of reason.

Whatever their problems, it shouldn't be aired out to their citizens. Not in times like these.

“Sorry, dear sister. I was busy.” he retorts with a wide smile, raising his cup with an amused smile, so taut and mean it turns acidic.

Gem is tired of the constant walking on shells. Can the day end on a good note? She'll make it.

“Emperor Jimmy! If I may say, Capitol Cod looks brilliant! Every detail is magnificent!” the fawn steps forward, clapping her hands to take away attention from her sickly queen.

He tilts his head back and raises an eyebrow, unimpressed, then sips on his drink.

“I've been preparing the festivities for months now, thank you for noticing my effort”

“Of course! And I'm sure the fireworks will be the perfect ending to a beautiful day” she smiles, all sweet and bright.

That seems to put the Emperor in a better mood, he's easily swayed by compliments.

“That it shall! There’s so much more to prepare for the upcoming festivities at the end of the month, after all!” He laughs, boastful.

“More festivities, your Highness?” Pearl steps forward, chin up, curious.

“Oh yeah, of course! Hasn't your Queen spoken of it? It'll be my birthday on the 30th” he nods, swaying with the chalice in hand, Flick pulls him up, holding his own small chalice.

The Knights turn their heads towards the Queen, who stiffens.

“I'm sure you wanted it to be a big surprise. It's your birthday after all” she says, voice sibilant and loud, drowning out any comment from Jimmy's court.

“Yeah, sure” he shrugs, and yelps as the last warning shot explodes in the sky.

"Yyyaahhjjj- Jimmy, it's done!!" someone screams, running towards them with a laugh and various noises.

A man (the one from yesterday, the blond technician) slips cheerfully to the Emperor's side, clearly drunk as well.

“Jimmy! Jiiiimmy! It's starting!” He cheers, arm looping around the Emperor's and jumping up an down, making the Cod Emperor laugh richly.

“That's so exciting! Tango!” He cheers, hugging back, back turning as they sway to the side and against the table. The group with them laughs boisterously.

The Queen is watching with an open mouth, astonishment running over the angry pinch of her eyebrows.

The first firework explodes, orange and green, then the second purple and pink.
So, follows a rain of sparkles and shapes, the loud booms reverberate in Lizzie's chest as she watches the scene.

The fireworks are merely background noise.

She watches her brother exchange whispers and laughter with the blond man, Tango, and wonders when exactly she was replaced as the one to make him smile so wide.
That could surprise him, because she knew him better than anyone else.

Now, Queen Lizzie stands a few feet away, hidden behind the wide shoulders of her Court Witch, accompanied by her Knights, and she is a stranger in a place she used to rule, one word away from who used to be her little brother.

She doesn't speak, anymore.

The Cod Emperor laughs with his friend and his Courtiers, exchanging cheers and toasting to the festival and the beginning of Autumn.

Watching from so close, yet feeling so far away… It's loss.
It beats an aching thrum in her Heart.

Chapter Text

A few days pass, and worry gnaws and expands in Pearl's guts.

The Cod Empire is undoubtedly beautiful.

The day after the festival ended Capitol Cod was bustling with people, hurrying to clean up to prepare for the next festivities: the Emperor's birthday approaches fast.

Pearl doesn't blame Lizzie for not mentioning it before.

She doesn't blame her for avoiding her brother, the same he's done the days prior.

Gem and Pearl talk, taking a walk while Cleo and their Queen visit the Cod Committee.

“Doesn't it seem weird?” Gem bites her nails, apricot curls floating around her as the cool breeze grazes them, traversing the streets of town like breath inside lungs.

The fawn looks nervous. She has been ever since she found Lizzie writhing on the ground.

“You mean to tell me you and your brother never avoided each other? Not even over petty things?” Pearl answers, burying her hands into the pockets of her grey hoodie.

Gem purses her lips, then scowls. She doesn't deny it.

“How would you know the dynamic? You told me you don't have siblings or family” she buffs, partly annoyed.

“I spent a lot of time with kids, anyway. As a child at least, then… Well, the Avian Court is a handful. Although… it kind of is a like a kindergarten sometimes”

“Right, well… If not weird, then… Am I the only one to find it worrying?”

The breeze flows with some dirt, sand and crumpled leaves.

Pearl shrugs, wild white hair tickling her nose.
“You're not. But… They need to talk”

“I don't see how that's possible when they avoid each other like the plague” Gem laments, kicking a pebble with her boots.

“Gem. You can't force two people to face something they're not ready to talk about. They're adults with a thousand years on their shoulders. I'm sure they've had disagreements before. I can only guess how those were resolved”

“I know… I just… It might be selfish, but I want to see them interact and act like siblings instead of strangers… I know how easy it is to flee from pain, but- It'd be nice to see them both laugh and spend time together” the fawn mutters under her breath.

Pearl sighs and turns to her with a gentle smile, her ear flickers.

“Is this about your brother, again?”

Gem's lips shut quickly, and she looks away.

“It's okay if it is. We'll be there in a few weeks. It's okay to worry”

Gems lips are a long line. Her shoulders are tight.

“I don’t- I don't know how to approach him. We've only shared radio silence this last month, even when he could've send me letters through the special mailboxes in the caravan... He didn't. I didn't, either.”

The caravan? But it's out of the city a good mile.

“You've been checking daily?” Pearl wonders, surprised.

“... It's a nice stroll in the early morning” Gem nods, looking guilty.

Pearl really wants her to feel better. To forget her sorrows for a bit. She's always so worried about everyone, it's... Pearl doesn't think it fits Gem. She should be bubbly, excited, mean.

“Do you want my advice?” Pearl whispers, taking her hands.

Gem follows their fingers and looks up at Pearl's face with surprise.

“For... What?”

“Everything” Pearl shrugs.

“...I'm all ears.”

“Let time pass. It will force them to act, and however that goes, well… We'll have an answer soon enough. Worrying isn't helpful when one way or another they will do or say something and take action. Just be.”

They reach the salmon sanctuary erected in honour of the peace between this Empire and the Grimlands.

“I wasn't there when they had that wholw kerfuffle..." she breathes in, "It's a lovely place” Gem comments, eyeing around the small room.

A single pond in the center with water streams from the miniature rocky mountains creates a lovely background of noise.

The vegetation is wild and green, moss growing everywhere in the humid air.

Frogs ribbit from a hollow tree, while ants scamper and hurry to bring seeds into their tunnels.

It is lively, what with all the noise and sloshing from the fish.

“Look! There's bees!” Pearl laughs, pointing at the gentle swarm that bubbles over the wildflowers bushes scattered around the lone sanctuary.

“Yes! I love bees!” Gem smiles, buzzing with contentment.

It's peaceful in here. A few people walk around them, whispering between themselves.

Gem is wearing a daisy in her hair. A bee comes by and dances around her, much to the fawn's amazement.

She turns to the wolf with a smile, then, it falls. Something sturdier takes its place.

After a moment, “Pearl?”

“Yes?” the wolf comes closer, allowing the gentle insect to buzz around her, as well.

“I just don't want to see my life repeated, when I am able to help them avoid that similar pain. Would you not do the same? If you had the chance to save someone? Would you not risk being hurt if it meant you could free someone of their ailments?”

Pearl stays silent, but Gem knows, she understands the expression Pearl is wearing.

“I never said your wish wasn't sound of mind. I said to let some time pass to see where things go. We are, after all, here to prevent them from going South.”

Gem smiles softly, “Thank you”.

She relinks their fingers again.

"I never doubt you" Pearl says softly.

The sanctuary is beautiful.

Pearl smiles at Gem. Her radiance brings all the bees around them. She offers a blue orchid to a couple of the buzzing friends.

She's radiance Pearl never wants to lose.

On the other side of town, Cleo observes her Queen deal with a bunch of curious tourists.

Lizzie smiles and bows lightly to the axolotl hybrids that approach.

"Your Majesty! We heard of your pilgrimage around the Empires and back home! So we've decided to do the same!" the tall yellow axolotl exclaims, blue eyes sharp, he's holding hands with his companion.

"We were hoping to see his Majesty, your brother, around as well? It has been so long since we could celebrate your joined greatness!" the small brown axolotl exclaims, smiling. His dark eyes crinkle from excitement.
On their back is a big backpack.

"Oh, then I'm afraid you'll have to wait until his day of birth celebration. He's so very busy, this beautiful empire of his takes much of his time" she smiles. It's the fakest smile Cleo has ever seen her wear.

They keep a sigh from escaping.

"Is that why his citizens have told us we'd find it hard to meet you both?" the yellow axolotl asks.

Right. Cleo thinks annoyed, People talk.

"Our Queen is also busy with bringing gifts and recognition to his marvelous work and all his citizens, they're only two, albeit powerful and very resourceful. That is of course why you'll see both of them celebrate the great royal's birthday together." Cleo interjects, making a show of her royal armour and weapon. They glint under the blue sky's light.

"Oh. That is very understandable" the brown axolotl answers, bowing and taking his companion's hand again after the action.

"Unfortunately yes, our schedules are very busy. We're giving our all before the big day so that we can spend it together without interruptions" she sighs, a hand on her cheek. Pretending.

"Of course, excuse us for stopping you and asking. It was very rude of us"

"Do not worry. It is reasonable that our subjects wonder about us. We are at your service after all. There is much to be done, so I hope you'll excuse us. The Cod Committee awaits us" Lizzie nods, apologetically.

Cleo nods a salute and stays at her Queen side when they continue walking.

"You reveal too much" Cleo chastises her, "Although, you've gotten better at faking."

Lizzie makes a sound of annoyance, "I wish I didn't have to pretend over this."

The gravel they walk on makes a very grating sound.

"If you really wanted to spend time with him, why not march over and force him? He might be an Emperor, but he's still your younger brother. You could force his hand and you'll have what you want" Cleo questions, kicking a pebble.

A child passing by them kicks one as well.

"You jest, I hope?" Lizzie asks, voice monotone all of a sudden. She's looking forward, eyes hidden under her fringe.

"You're a Queen. Ask and you'll be given." Cleo shrugs.

"Taking and receiving are two very different things, my dear Cleo."

"Of course they are, but you're powerful. And you really need this."

Lizzie suddenly stops, causing Cleo to walk into her with a surprised noise.

"Cleo."

A hand sneaks around their wrist and the knight is pulled into an alley, where they exchange the noise of the loud crowd for a muffled sound.

What?

"Uhm...?"

"I can't show my displeasure around these people. But I will express my thoughts very clearly to you." Lizzie comes closer, pushing them against the mossy wall. Her eyes are clear under the fringe now, two blue orbs of diamond ore.

Cleo's attention is peaqued.

Lizzie comes closer, the shadow of the alley making her face hard to see.

"I don't know what example your Empress gave, or how she treated you. I cannot just take what I want. And yes, he's an Emperor. We're walking amidst crowds that elevate him to the likes of a god, or at minimum, to a father figure. I am the aunt. What happens to aunts in the tales of the old Empires?" Lizzie hand is firm against their armoured chest, keeping them in place.

"They're-"

"They're expelled from Court. Forgotten. Killed. I love my brother, I wouldn't force him to stay in the same room as me unless we had to for the greatness of our Empires."

"You're powerful." Cleo scoffs.

"A coup only takes a few people to rally a crowd. I am beloved at home, but even in my Empire not everything I do is seen as just. The very fact I accepted your presence in my Court raised the concern of many. How could I trust someone form the Fairy Court? That'd be unreasonable. Foolish. I stand here, proving them wrong. You can be trusted." Lizzie raises her chin.

The Queen trusts Cleo. She trusts them. Cleo stares at Lizzie with wide eyes, shocked.

"Trust is all I have. Once a kingdom doesn't trust their King, it's over. I must pay for my position, and I have for centuries. I will not betray the trust of his Empire. I will not betray his trust." Lizzie clarifies under her breath, eyes hard and fiery.

Cleo isn't used to this way of thinking. She assumed Queen Lizzie operated on the same level of her Empress.
Giving in exchange for something, but expecting ten times more.

"Fear. That's my Empress' way" Cleo says under their breath, watching intently Lizzie's expression.

Lizzie's eyes soften. The hand on their chest stops pressing down.

"You don't have to live in fear under me. I consider you trustworthy." she whispers, breath hot on their nose.

"Lizzie leans back, letting them breathe, "There's a fire inside you that burns everything and desires to burn anything that stands in its path"

"What-"

"But it is just protection. It burns around your heart, an old thing that's been staked and broken many times. You can't command a heart." she whispers.

"But you can't let your heart command, where's the reason in that?" They counter.

"I don't." Lizzie denies "Although we think differently, both you and I know the power of a tyranny ends in pain. Your Empress lost half of her original empire ruling with terror."

"You lost half of your Water Empire, too" Cleo observes the overhang of the house they're hiding under.
The rain drain is filled with families of mushrooms and wisps of grass.

Lizzie shakes her head, falling against the wall next to them with a huff.

"Power doesn't equal happiness. I gave it my brother, who loves this place. I love my Ocean Empire. I'll protect it with my life."

"If it ever came down to a new war, you'd give your life for the survival of people?" They ask.

A bunch of teenagers pass by the entrance of the alley, laughing at some stupid joke.

"You ask such peculiar questions. That's a hard one to answer."

"Why?" they whisper, watching Lizzie's face contort with guilt.

"Because of course I'd like to survive and rebuild the empire anew, try to mend the ways that caused the war in the first place. But..."

"But?" They press.

"If there was no way, I'd give my life for them. If it meant salvation for all. If one sacrifice could save them all, why wouldn't I save their lives?"

It sounds so good. So optimistic. It rings as fact, something that is obvious, in Lizzie's eyes.

She could be faking. Lizzie could know of Cleo's intentions and say what is best to then attack them with an assassination attempt. She could be playing a reverse card.

Lizzie is telling the truth, though. Cleo's come to know the quirk that falls on her face when she lies. Her intention is clear.

"Does my answer satisfy you?" Lizzie asks, peeling away from the wall.

Cleo blinks, feeling...

It was Cleo that was sent to terminate the Queen's life.
Wasn't she supposed to be a ruthless ruler? Someone who'd spill the blood of her subjects without second thought?

"You're a good Queen" Cleo answers, surprising even themself with their honesty.

Lizzie smiles and brushes her dress from the grime and dust.

She hums, eyes cast down, ruffling the feathers at her back.

"Don't think I wouldn't force someone to give me what I want, if the need arises. I do what's best for the people. If it's best for them that I force someone to do it, I would. We're not in wartime though, there is no reason for doing anything similar. You've known me for so little."

"Of course. It's preposterous of me to think so." Cleo hums, stepping to the side.

Lizzie looks up at them with a sincere expression.

"Remember: I won the battle against the Empress' attempted coup with the force of trust I built with my allies. I never pressured my friends to help. I have lost citizens because when I decried the advance of the Fairy troops, they raised up and fought for me and my beliefs."

The famous last battle, the reason they've celebrated the 250 years anniversary with the Olive Branch Ceremony.

"Where were you?" they ask.

Queen Lizzie wasn't rallying up her troops. She wasn't leading them or seen anywhere near the borders.

"So curious, even after so much time."

Lizzie tilts her head with a lemony laugh.

"You were the one commanding those troops. You've killed my people."

"Where were you? Isn't a Queen is meant to go down with her people?" Cleo accuses.

"I was on my way to kill the Empress, side by side with King Pix and Sovereign Sau Sage."

"What?" Cleo's lips part, shock making them shiver.

That can't be.

"Then, gracefully, you ordered the end of the fight. I wonder why?"

"My Empress called for me." They blink, looking away.

"Where was your Empress? While her people murdered innocents and coughed up blood for land she didn't need? For a capricious order?"

"At the Fairy Court." Cleo answers simply, not letting the memories get the bets of her.

"I wonder if you've ever judged your Queen the same way you've judged me."

"We were taught to hate you" Cleo answers.

I know you killed her family. In another reality. I know what you're capable of. I know you could turn into a monster and destroy us all. I know... Bloodshed... You seemed bloodshed.

Except... In this world. Lizzie hasn't. But another Empress had. That must mean something.

"You can think for yourself, Cleo. I don't ask anything of you, except to serve my people the same way I do." Lizzie says, gently.

"We were told you were hiding away. Letting your people die at our hands."

"I imagine the knowledge came from the Fairy Court instead of whistleblowers from my Court?" Lizzie asks.

Whistleblowers...

"We couldn't doubt the Empress' word." Cleo explains.

If we did... If I did... She would've pulled her strings... I still owed her. I wasn't killed for that simple motive.

"See. I wonder why it was you out with the troops, a Mage, instead of her War Strategist" Lizzie turns around, looking down at the end of the alley.

A few garbage cans echo with soft meows from a family of strays.

"You know of him?" Cleo scowls. He's resorted to hiding away. He's the Empress's most trusted man. Cleo despises him.

Lizzie laughs under her breath, "Of course I do. My oldest ally is Empress Stress' neighbor. And, gossip travels."

"Why did you end your expedition, thougg? Why didn't you kill her?" Cleo asks, trying to hide their desperation.

She could've been freed... Or would she have withered away, once her necromancer died?

Lizzie sighs. "The bloodshed was over. A very kind Mage terminated the war, and suffered the wrath of their Empress"

Cleo stays silent.

"I wonder sometimes, why you did it. I couldn't understand. Then, she sent you away, to my Court. I think I know why, now." Lizzie says, taking their gloved hand.

"Yes?"

"You're kind, Cleo" she says, cradling the zombie's hand in hers.

What? Kindness? That's it? Cleo's kind?

That's a baffling answer.

"Close your mouth, it was a compliment" Lizzie laughs, eyes sparkling.

"You're too naïve for a Queen. I can't believe you've survived this long" they huff.

"If you expect me to be a lily, pure and white, you're mistaken. I have killed to keep my place, to protect who I love" Lizzie shrugs.

There it is.

Lizzie's touch doesn't turn cruel.

"You've killed?"

"Don't act so perplexed. You've killed, too. We've lived a thousand years. My hands have known blood. Some of my decisions have killed people. I have killed enemies who entered my palace and tried to slice my throat. Many fairies sent to kill me. None of them succeeded." Lizzie laughs, humorless.

"What makes you think differently of me, then?" Cleo asks, heart stuck in her throat.

This could be it. This could be Cleo's end. In the empire of the Queen's brother. They're going to be found out, and their head will be skewered on a trident while another slices into their guts.

Lizzie laughs like it's the stupidest thing Cleo's ever said.

"You've shown me I could trust you. I gave you plenty of opportunities for. Not only have you not killed me, but you've helped me, again and again. We've spoken. We know. You know me."

She says like it's gospel, received at night by some guardian angel. Cleo's hands are cold, wrapped in leather, skin covered in armour and chainmail. They wear the armour of the Ocean, and bear the scars of the Fae.

"What if it's a ruse?" Cleo asks, looking away. Desperation claws at their heart. Their face betrays nothing. Simple curiosity, that what it sounds like.

"It'd be a very convoluted one, then. If I were your Empress, I'd be very unhappy with the time you're taking. I'd start thinking you were a traitor, who fled and is taking refuge under my wing." Lizzie answers seriously.

No... It's... They made accords... It'll take time. They just need to time it perfectly...

"Tell me, did you offer yourself to come to my Empire? To become part of my Court, my Knight?"

The breeze is cold. October approaches. The chill burns on Cleo's magic, the glamour that hides their grey skin and the sores that will never heal properly.

Lizzie might know. She must. If she does, she doesn't let it on. She doesn't seem to mind. She entertains the thought, like it's silly. She trusts so wholeheartedly. It's a pity.

"I did not" Cleo's tone lacks any kind of spark. It's a simple fact. It had to be done. Or else...

"So you were forced" Lizzie dances on her feet. She's so lovely. Bird-like, she sings like a siren, but her song doesn't envelope Cleo just to send them towards their death. It might save them from one.

"I was."

The windows of the houses are open. Someone has started playing the piano. Skillful hands coax music, the notes swirl in the chilly air. A few white linen shirts cling to the air and move in time.

"Do you wish you weren't?" Lizzie asks, blue eyes now lilac, a being of change, she sparkles in the shade, her hair is a cloud around her face.

A precious moment. It's a gentle one. It's more revealing of Cleo's nature than it is of Lizzie's.

"No" they say, looking down at her with certainty.

This place would be burned down. The smell would irk the Empress, the muddy waters of the nearby swamp would alienate it from other water sources. The people in here would be judged disgusting. Richness, in the soil, in the difference from the plastic perfection of the Fairy Court... It's be considered abhorrent.

Lizzie lays out a query, one that shakes them from the incoming panic of times gone. The torching of villages. The killings...

"Imagine: one night I couldn't find you. Maybe you fled, for a better life. What would she do if she couldn't find you one day?"

The question seems almost cruel. It's one Cleo has wondered many times.

"She'd send someone to kill me" they answer truthfully.

Lizzie knows the nature of the Empress. Only the fools of her Court pretend there's worse out there.

"What do think I'd do?" She asks, tone lowly, but demanding. The crescendo of the music. The force of the wind... Everything speaks under its breath, letting the air be inhabited by Lizzie's voice.

"What would you do?" The words fall from their lips, and they take a step forward. Lizzie's hands are still holding theirs. This could be considered treason in the Fairy Court.

"I'd let you go." the Queen answers, lilac looking into green. The flower and its stem. Linked by the hands, they could be a plant.

"What?" They utter in disbelief. The world feels unstable.

"You could go if you wanted." Lizzie whispers. "After the Journey, of course. Maybe after we come back to the Prisma Palace, all three of you could disappear, end up back in your regions, or somewhere new. Living the life you wanted.... After you've served your purpose, I'd cover you for years." She promises.

"Who would be your Royal Knights, then?" Cleo asks, a bit stupidly.

Lizzie smirks, humoured. "Those titles are new. I already have my guards and my Court. You were all forced to come to serve me. I accepted with the idea you could go home, one day, once the peace was shown to mean something."

"Why?" Cleo asks.

Why? What could Lizzie possibly gain from this? Why?

"You suffer at my side every day. Gem suffers, far from home. Pearl longs for her mountains. You might find peace in a faraway, secluded hut."

"I'd never escape my Empress."

Lizzie sighs. "You don't have to go back to her. You could make a home in the east. Live your life. Be independent from her."

"She'd find me" Cleo shakes their head.

Lizzie looks at Cleo, worried. One hand rises to cradle their pale cheek, "In my Empire you'll always find a safe place. You'll be hidden."

Cleo blinks, utterly gutted by the possibility of peace. Of a real peace. Of finally having the change of freedom...

It's a foolish wish. Stress would find them. She'll force Cleo to kill Lizzie, then she'll either kill the zombie, or Cleo kills her. The dread of it all is blinding.

Cleo stares at the bright star standing in front of her. "Let's worry about it when the Great Journey is done. Once we're back in the Ocean Empire..." Cleo whispers.

They will never reach it, because Cleo will kill Lizzie before then, because otherwise, everything she's done until now will have counted for nothing... Each life lost at their hand, each terrible injury they bear from the battlefield... Each sleepless night planning for the assassination... To avoid that this world will end at the hands of a monster...

The Leviathan stares at Cleo's apostrophed brows, and sighs.

"You're right. First, we gotta save the Peace. Then, we will save ourselves"

With that, their linked hands are separated, and they exit the alley, leaving behind the dreamy piano notes and the dancing linen. A cod lady stops playing her old piano. A young salmon takes the sheets inside.

They reach the huge turret, lanterns swing in the breeze. Outside there's a small gathering of young town committee and children listening to the monument's history.

The Queen and her Earl Knight breeze by them with high chins and plastered smiles.

The meeting with the Cod Committee goes well.
They are respectful, and only ask Cleo of a long bow to show respect. They are a bunch of old and young Cod hybrids.

The Knights and the Queen meet back at midday for a shared meal and then, the afternoon brings some clouds.

"You seem lost in your thoughts" Pearl notices, sitting next to Cleo on their porch.

"I had quite a strange conversation with the Queen this morning" they nutter, looking at the ripples of the water of the nearby pond.

"Yeah?"

"She said after the Great Journey, she'll let us go back home." Cleo hums.

There's no reason in keeping this a secret. Pearl can be reasoned with when she isn't blinded by grief.

"She did?" Pearl asks, petrified.

"Why? You don't want to?" Cleo turns to her, confused.

"I do, of course... I just... I don't know"

"She said that we could go. Build our lives back up. Or new ones" Cleo insists.

"New ones?"

"My Empress would probably kill me for disobeying" Cleo laughs, humourless. Pained.

"Sheesh. You could come to my region, then. We're all farmers over there. You could farm the land" Pearl offers.

There's a flock of flamingos flying overhead, so pink they clash with the muddy green of it all.

Cleo observes her, "Why are you being so nice to me?"

"Am I not, usually?"

"No." They arch their eyebrow.

Pearl imitates them.

"That's because you treat Gem like dirt. But sometimes, I can stomach talking to you. You can be surprisingly pleasant".

"You were surprised with the way I handled Lizzie's sickness?" Cleo guesses.

"You are a tough cookie. I doubt you sometimes, but you are not stupid. You have eyes on you, all the time. Remember that" Pearl shrugs, standing up on furry paws.

"Is that a threat?" Cleo scowls, making Pearl laugh in disbelief.

"It's a reminder. We can look out for you"

Oh.

"I like you" Cleo decides.

"I like you sometimes. I'm sure you could work harder for a better position, but I don't think you care that much"

"I don't" they confirm.

"That's fun. Remember that when the powers that be press you to do something untoward" Pearl shrugs, back to them. Cleo has difficulties reading her voice.

"You seem strangely keen on many things"

Pearl sniffles, making an expression.

"You seem strangely alive, you know?" she grins with pearly white canines.

Ice erupts in Cleo's veins.

Pearl huff, almost offended, "I was never good with magic, but I'm a wolf. My nose works really well. And I know of curses. Live out yours."

"Curses?" Cleo asks, trying to sound aloof.

Pearl stares at them in mock disbelief, "You're a mage. You'll figure out each and every secret we have. We already share one. Have fun with it."

Ah. Their stay at Scott's in Forgotten Cove...

Cleo stands up, chin held high.

"Pearl?"

The wolf turns back, curiousity clear on her face.

"Scott-"

Pearl scowls. "Don't. We both know those are worlds far from here. What matters is the here and now. Remember that people can change."

Cleo observes the ground in front of their cabin: gravel, some mud and wisps of grass.

Pearl closes the door to her cabin.

Footsteps on wood.

Cleo goes inside theirs.

Gem closes the curtains of her windows and presses herself against the wooden walls of her room.

All three are given a free evening. There are no celebrations today. No more duties to uphold.

Lizzie's cabin is empty.

She's not going to force her brother to spend time with her.
She just wants to talk. Maybe her approach isn't the best, but with every step she takes towards his hut, her stomach churns with anger and hurt.

It might be her ego, for she's never felt so inadequate.
It might be the words of the prophecy she's been reading over and over again all evening. She doesn't know what any of it means. But it speaks of danger, it speaks of hurt, and she fears it could affect her brother.
She fears it will cause him more pain. He doesn't deserve it.

Standing under the moonlight, her worries bubbles and turns vitriolic. She never thought jealousy was a trait she wore, not so perfectly until this week.

Night has fallen, and darkness envelopes the city. Two people sit outside the Emperor's hut.

The blond man is leaving, face blushed and shirt put on backwards.

"Good evening, Your Highness!" he pipes up, embarrassed.

This puny man... How is he deserving of so much attention and the Queen of an Empire isn't?

"... Go away, I need to speak with him." She says simply, shooshing him with her hands.

The blond technician makes a face but then nods. His hair flames up only for a moment, and red eyes look away.

"Oh. Of course. I- We were just-"

"Tango, right?"

"Yes?"

"I don't care what you and my brother do. It's your business. Just- Go." she groans, walking away and towards Jimmy, who's looking with a stony face at them.

Tango makes a noise and scutters away like a bug.

Lizzie stops in front of her brother, who sits with crossed arms and folded hands on the highest step.

He stays silent, eyes hard with annoyance.

It makes Lizzie's stomach boil with anger.

“Are we done avoiding each other? Or are we going to pretend yours is an empire of toddlers?” Lizzie asks, brazen.

Jimmy keeps quiet, yet his expression reveals that he's taken off guard by her scorching remark.

“Are you done avoiding me?” Lizzie questions, chin held high, trying to keep her composure.

“I've been busy.” he answers with a scowl, standing up.

He towers over her.

She scoffs.

Windows click, closing. The wind blows harder.

“Oh. Busy.You've been so busy hanging out with a Courtier you see every day. So busy setting up things that have already been taken care of by your helpers. So busy, to never mention or- Or… Speak, of, your buddy.”

He groans, displeased, passing by her as he walks away from the hut.

Is he ignoring her?

"Jimmy!?" Lizzie shrieks, scrambling to compose herself at the lack of respect.

Why is she so angry? It shouldn't matter. It wouldn't matter... If he had payed some attention to her. She's being childish.

Lizzie ignores the realization, letting the pain of their prolonged avoidance simmer bright.

“My buddy?” he asks slowly, stopping to look at the muddy waters he's reached.

"Tango. You're so busy with him that you won't even look at me, you don't even have time for your sister” she laments.

Jimmy scoffs in disbelief. "You..."

He turns around, expression hard.

It's unlike anything Lizzie has ever seen on him. He's almost unrecognisable.

“My buddy is my best friend here. And he's not the first of my lovers, as shocking as that may seem to you, since apparently I am still a child and not my own person, an Emperor.” he growls.

The fish in the swamp jump in and out of the water and splash all around them, sensing the man's anger.

“I made you one” she shoots back, and regrets it immediately. That was too childish. Unreasonably so.

The effect is immediate.

“I know. !I know I'm some mistake or burden that you were forced to bear. But no more! Do not worry, sister." his voice rises, as so does the wind, enveloping the two as they tread on burning coals.

"My life, my partners, the way I conduct myself and my people, all of it... It is none of your concern. They are mine, under my protection! Act like an adult, and realize that maybe, maybe, I'm tired of being your little brother. If I died tomorrow, I'd want that fact to be the last thing revealed of my existence. Or does the Burden not get to choose?” he spits out, green gills vibrating around his face.

He looks so different from only a few years back. He's grown. He's a man. He's... He's Jimmy. But one that Lizzie doesn't recognise.

It's cruel. She's fighting to hear him talk, to see if he says something a younger Jimmy would say. She expects him to yield, and obey. She expects him to break and apologize. She was used to that. Why does it seem so horrible now?

“I don't- You're being cruel” she gasps, taking a step back.

His tail is heavy as it drags on the mud behind him, as he kicks the water into the air with a muffled scream around his fist.

Lizzie watches, shocked and perplexed, at his loud display of frustration.

He turns to her with angry eyes and a pointed finger. She takes a step back, blinking wildly at her own unruly feelings.

She should feel sorry. It's so clear! She's hurt him! Yet her chest beats with a drum of war, and words only feed into it.

“You've been cruel for hundreds of years! You've been selfish and hurtful and blind to all my pain, because yours was so blinding you thought your room's four walls were better than my company. I was alone. In here… I finally have friends. I have a family.” Jimmy waves hks arms in the air, he looks menacing.

He looks proper upset. Lizzie's never seen him like this. She sees... Herself.

Guilty. She ruined him. In the end.

Her next words are baffling, even to herself. "The mossballs you gifted me died. They died."

Jimmy's eyebrows arch and constrict, "You..."

He looks baffled. So angry. He doesn't even ask how, or why. He looks like... It was the end meant for them.

Lizzie's heart is beating fast against her chest, it shakes her body and stuffs cotton inside her ears.

"Jimmy..." She extend a hand out to him, maybe and blue scales shimmer under the moonlight.

"What!?" He shrieks, kicking the water again.

It's not fair... They should be laughing now. They should be drinking together and talking about their good memories and their achievements...

“I just want… I want us to get along like we did back then, I want to spend time with you!” Lizzie exclaims, angered and sad.

We used to swim together. We laughed and joked and ate together on the rocks of our reef. We kept each other safe...

“Back then, when? When I was a tiny baby who couldn't defend himself? Or back when I had to sneak out to procure food before you were in your room for months at a time? Mourning someone I had never even met, while I starved and you cried”

They shouldn't be talking about this... Not their past... Not the grief and sorrow of a loss caused by tiny pink hands and perpetuated by centuries of dark thoughts.

“You helped me then…” she whispers.

Thunder echoes in the distance, flashing the dark sky with a sudden light. His lungs rattle with it.

He remembers: the strong currents and dreadful thunderstorms, months of them, starving the people, his sister turning into a shapeless being.

“It might've been the only good choice I made, other than fleeing”

“Jimmy…” his sister whispers.

It feels good, in an awful way, to see her finally breaking down. Why though? It's the last thing he wants. That's what hurt the most, the helplessness of seeing her drifting away. Why is he doing this?

People have fled to their houses, hiding away from the incoming storms. They don't meet Jimmy's eye. He's not looking at them, anyway.

He shouldn't be yelling out in the open. He's never been a conventional ruler, anyway.

His subjects like him because he speaks his mind and...

That's what he does. He says the truth. Now, maybe he lies. Maybe he's just desperate to hurt Lizzie with all he has before she retaliates with some stupid order.

“I'm glad I fled! Even if you always found me. Even if you forced me by your side. In the end I won! In the end, we're empires apart. And you, you can finally feel the way you made me feel."

She looks heartbroken. She shimmers of her own light, like she's always done. Her magic is electric in the air, expanding and causing the air to change pressure, inviting the storm to stalk closer.

“I loved you, is that not enough?” she whispers with wobbly lips.

He scoffs, furious. He's pushing himself to the brink of it all. He wants to cry and scream and swim away. Why should he be the one to do so? It's his Empire!

“Lizzie. Love is a feeling. You need to show me that love meant something, that it still means something” he scowls, fists tight at his sides.

Love... What is affection worth? When pain cancels it out? He feels like a sore, infected and festering with a dark ooze. He feels... He wants...

“How?” Lizzie shrieks, voice breaking.

Space. Space. He needs... He doesn't want to face her. Not now. Not after she's been so awful to his court and Jimmy... Jimmy can't face her.

“By staying away. Giving me space!” he yells, hands in the air.

“I don't… Jimmy, how? What would they think if I just- They've been antsy before our litigation, already… The Peace-” Lizzie stumbles, sweat on her face and eyes burning with fear.

He doesn't care. He should. People can... This is about them two, why is it always about what the people want!? Why can't he have a life!? Why can't he face his sister and crash out like any other person!? It's not fair!

“This isn't about them or the Peace or whatever! It's about us. Look me in the eyes.” he pleads. He orders.

She does.

She sees a man; she sees a stranger.

Jimmy stares back, something burns in his throat.

He sees a shadow; he sees a stranger.

She looks at him with horror and pain and like he's plagued. Like he's dying... He's alive! In front of her!

He hates her and hates who she misses.

He simmers with indignation, and hurt and rage.

“Tell me you don't mourn me every moment you stare at me. Tell me you didn't mourn our lost brother and that you didn't transfer your blame and sickness onto me. Tell me you didn't trap me by your side for hundreds of years, because- Because you-” he spits out, choking on air.

She tells him.

“I fear I'm going to lose you, like I lost him, like I lost Mama” her lips tremble, thunder shakes the ground, it echoes overhead.

She choked on air that is too humid and electric.

"I fear I'm going to die! I fear I'm going to see you die before I die. I fear of causing your death. Of being the reason everyone I love dies."

He turns his back to her, hands trembling as he grasp onto the fabric of his shirt.

“You will.” he answers, gravelly.

Their hearts beat in tandem, protesting inside the tiny cage they're trapped in, fighting to jump out of their chests to fly away.

“I know… That's why we need to be better with our time-” she urges, hands grasping the front of her corset, breath short and eyes welling up with desperation.

She's finally said it, she told him... Why does he feel so numb?

“No. You will lose me if you don't agree to leave me alone and give me my space. I will not speak to you ever again. You will die a lonely Queen.” he takes a step away, trying to put some space between Lizzie and himself.

“What- Wait, wait!” she urges him, scrambling to reach him.

He snakes away, avoiding her touch.

She sees it:
A hallway, at the end of it is light. He walks towards it, towards salvation. And Lizzie is being dragged backwards, sinking into darkness because of her mistakes, of her inability to be good enough.
She tries so hard to do good...

Thunder, in her heart and overhead. It starts to rain. Cold droplets of liquid ice soak into her hair and clothes.

Even the sky is crying, pitying a Queen and her failing greatness.

"Leave me be" he says. He looks in pain. Lizzie just wants to help...

Why? She's done everything she could to make him happy! She's given him the place he loved! Let him live so far away! Let him build a new life... Lizzie asks only for his presence. Just for a laugh. For a moment of comfort and familiarity...

Jimmy turns completely to Lizzie with a desperate expression and a scowl.

The flash of lightning paints him so pale, he could be a ghost.

“Why did you force me to be a stupid helpless child? When I could've helped you feel better? When I could've gotten us food, and you could… Relax” his green hands are trembling, scales wet under the rain. The rain makes it seem like he's crying.

He sounds... Heartbroken p. He's pleading.

Like he would when he wanted a morsel of food more, and Lizzie would give up her own.

She can only give him what he wants. It's all she knows.

“Jimmy… You were so small, I thought… At first I thought you'd die immediately” she confesses, trying not to cry harder.

“What?” he exhales, sibilant.

It's a fickle sound against the loudness of the storm.

“You didn't, because you were very strong. You hatched, even if a bit crooked and bent. You grew, you breathed and wailed loud. I was your only guardian, and I had to take care of you. Being lenient with G… It killed him. I killed him. I couldn't live with myself if another baby brother was… I couldn't risk you being taken away” she confesses, tears falling.

The ground seems much further down than it was a few minutes ago. Jimmy is looking up at her now, face carved with...

“And yet, I almost was” he bites back.

She hugs herself, pulling at the fabric of her dress with distress.

“You almost were… That made me… Scared. And angry. And…”

Please, please, PLEASE, I can't think of it again!

Her lips wobble badly. She wants to scream. Her hands grasp onto the ends of her hair now.

“What?” he prods, angry.

His eyes are stormy. Lizzie doesn't recognize the anger that pours off of him in dark waves. It resembles poison. It burns.

She tries to plead her case in front of a jury that already hates her.

Please. Please.

“You grew up so slow Jimmy! You were a baby for centuries, then, a kid for many more. The last 200 years you've grown, and I'm glad you did, I swear!” she panics.

“But?” he takes a step forward, looking up at her with expectation. If he directly impaled her with his trident, it'd be less painful.

“Don't you feel the weariness of our age deep in your bones? I fear… I thought you'd always stay young, younger than me. I grew. You grew up. And- What if… What if our time is counted?” she frets, anxious. She feels like a flower in the eye of a storm. The worst is coming again. These last days... It was just a fake out tranquility.

“It's always been. We're just weird individuals. We will die.” he bares his teeth, sharp and truthful.

“I've seen so many people die around me, so many Courtiers and friends” Lizzie shakes her head.

Jimmy's stare is harsh.

“You think you're the only one who has suffered the pain of watching a long time friend die of disease or age? You think other people… Me! That we haven't felt that?”

Of course not. She wishes she could've shielded him from that pain, too.

“Jimmy…”

She knows, obviously, that it's not possible. She tried for so long, and in the end, she was the reason for his pain.

Once, she believed if she cut him out from world, then the worst wouldn't reach him. How wrong she was.

"I meant to keep you safe. I only meant to keep you safe!" She pleads.

"What a great job you've done! Look at me! You've hurt me more than any unknown, imaginary danger could!" He yells, hand coming up as the waters of the swamp splash high, with them fish and insects.

Lizzie's brain is split into too many memories.

Too many years and realities and possibilities.

A boy reaching out for Lizzie, caught in a net. Hurt. Taken away. Decades later....
Another boy. Same boat. Same net. She beat up that boat.
She saw it last month in the port of Forgotten Cove. The danger is never gone.

"You're safe! You're alive! I kept you safe from the monsters that came for us!" she cries.

The world is loud around them, smudges of colours and sounds as the two fight in the middle of the night.

"You had me trapped like a prisoner!" He cries out.

"I saved you!" She screams, desperate.

“Stop treating me like a child! I'm almost as old as you are! I'm a grown adult! I am an Emperor!”

“Jimmy…” she pleads with terrified eyes, tearing at her hair.

She's towering over the man, who looks at her like a monster. Who sees something horrible and painful in her. She... Why is she here? She should flee! Go away! Keep him safe!

“No, stop that! Stop looking at me like that.”

“I don't… What-” Lizzie stutters, face too open.

“Like I'm dead! Like I'm gone! While I'm still here, I'm in front of you! I'm alive- I'm- I'm- I'm not him!” he yells, terrified and upset.

Rain pelts down on the muddy ground, beating against the wood of the houses nearby.

“You know I can’t- Don’t-” she struggles to say, taking a step back.

Run! Run! Run!

“Then speak to me! All you do is glare at me like I'm imperfect! I can't never escape his shadow, even if I've never known him, you've always just compared me to him, you've never seen me! You see him and try to lock me in a cage, you've only anchored me to your side because you think I'm weak!”

“I never said anything like that!” Lizzie shakes her head. The pain is all consuming.

“Oh! That's rich! When I wanted to play and I couldn't because then I'd be in danger of being kidnapped! Or I couldn't search for food because then I'd be skewered by Drowned! I couldn't even visit my own region without you freaking out!” he pours out his heart in poisonous waves.

Lizzie takes a deep breath, struggling to see clearly behind all these stupid tears.

“I love you, as- As my little brother-"

“You've never acted like a sister to me! I was just your burden!” he screams, cutting through the air.

Like a knife, the words have the same effect. They sink into Lizzie's chest. She looks at him with giant eyes.

He knows, it's the anger that speaks for him. It's cold, rushing through his veins like shards of glass.

“No! No I did! I did all I could to protect you!”

“You did everything you could to avoid a fate you've already given to your favourite brother” he laughs, crying.

“He wasn't- Don't do this” she whispers, soft against the heavy boom of thunder.

Jimmy is unbelievably angry. She doesn't understand...
Lizzie's sadness warps, dark tendrils extending under her skin, wrapping around her new Heart, squeezing the storm that rages inside it.

“You only cared to avoid the guilt! Look at me, prospering only when I'm away from your deadly claws!”

“Jimmy!”

“Growing, finally, not your little baby to protect! Not the teen that needed a babysitter! Not the young man that escaped from your tight grip! An Emperor.” he yells, the wind pushing against the glass of the windows; the leaves of the oak trees around them are torn form the branches.

Her eyes are wide, aghast. She's trembling.

It's sickening, how proud he feels for finally being able to hurt his sister back.

"If you could see outside of your pain, you'd see other people suffer too. Who saved me from you? I did!" He growls.

"From me?" She whispers.

"I saved myself from staying a dumb child! I forced your hand, because otherwise, you would've been content to see me trapped inside your Empire forever!" He screams.

"That's not true! I just wanted to save my baby brother!"

“You always do this! Oh, baby Jimmy. Too small, too dumb to do anything!”

“Jimmy... Don't- No-" she struggles, That's not what I meant!

“What? What!? Don't say the truth? Don't say what you were thinking?” he yells, finally escaping her bubble and reaching the steps of his hut.

"Don't put words in my mouth! I taught you how to survive! I taught you to hunt and to survive! I'm sorry I didn't when I was so sick I couldn't even function! I'm sorry I let you suffer so long! But I never wanted to keep you trapped! I just- I didn't want to be alone. But I let you go! You're here! Please, please, understand-" Lizzie stands by the shore, trembling.

"Why should I listen to you!?" He reaches his door.l with heavy steps.

"Please...I don't know how-"

It's too much...

"I've already told you how you can remedy. Leave me alone." He spits out.

He opens his door.

Her brain short-circuits, and nausea like waves runs over her. Her heart chokes her. And thoughts become a simple thumping of flee, flee, flee.

Lizzie shrieks and jumps into the water, finally giving Jimmy the space he wanted.

Suddenly, the storm stops, leaving behind a deafening silence.

The air is empty.

He watches as she disappears in the waters of the swamp.

She's actually gone...

After a minute of shock, where he keeps staring at the dark horizon, thunder echoes, very far away.

He's not alone on the street anymore. His hand is tight around the handle of his door.

People are peeking from behind curtains, voices are whispering.

Eyes are staring. He shuts the door behind his back, and lays in his bed.

He doesn't sleep. He stares at the ceiling, and hears his own words repeated again and again.

"I finally have my space, I'm free" he whispers to the darkness.

His ego stops him from running after Lizzie. He asked for this. And he got it. He wanted her in pain. And he succeeded.

"She'll be fine..." he lies to himself.

His heart is a lone canary, crying out from inside a cave as breathing becomes a hard task.

When he passes out from exhaustion Jimmy dreams of his ribcage splitting open, a rusted cage to a lone bird, who flies away, even after it has died from the suffocating fumes of poison.

Chapter Text

The sun rises the next day, shy rays so pale against the path and waters around.

Gem knocks on the door of Lizzie's cabin.

The fawn waits, giving the Queen time to probably wrap herself in a pink robe or to finish her morning tea.

The taste of lemon and sugar is still present on Gem's tongue, from the breakfast she made a couple hours ago.

Her dreams have become weird. She keeps dreaming of mountains, orange and magenta rooftops and candles lit to keep a path clear, one that always ends on blue flames.

Gem knocks again, wood fingers making a similar noise to the spruce of the door.

"Lizzie?" She asks, voice tilting up so she can be heard.

Could she still be sleeping? That's unusual. She's akways on time when they have things on schedule. This morning they were going to give offers from Lizzie's Empire (symbols like necklaces made of seashells, ampoules of pink sand and dry kelp as Ocean Blessings).

She was so excited to pass them around to children and adult this other day, surely she hasn't forgotten?

Gem knocks again, more insistently.

Worry starts churning in her guts. Images of the Queen writhing on the ground and crying and morphing...

"That's weird. She usually answers immediately..." Gem whispers to herself, hand reaching out to grasp the golden handle.

Gravel crunches and a pebble flies somewhere off.

"Gem! Good morning!" A voice scares her from behind, causing the fawn to spin with a hand of her heart.

"Oh! Pearl! I hadn't heard you!"

Pearl laughs, walking up the steps with a soft smile.
She yawns.

"Sorry I'm just sooo stealthy. Oh. Oh, dear" the wolf observes her, Gem makes a face "Have you slept? You look awful"

Gem rubs at her eyes. "Not much" she shrugs, looking away then back at her, "Is it true?".

"What? What's true?" Pearl asks, confused.

"That after the Journey she'll let us go?" Gem whispers, detaching herself from the door.

"Ohhh. She told Cleo that much. I don't know, though. I'd like to ask her directly." Pearl clicks her tongue and takes a step forward so she's by Gem's side.

The fawn look down at their feet, side by side, four.

She doesn't mention that Gem could only know by eavesdropping.

"Let's ask her, then" she says and pushes the door open.

The cabin is empty. The bed is done. The dust dances in the rays of sun that pool in from the open window.

Gem feels her chest expand, shake, and then her ears are ringing.

Lizzie isn't here. Lizzie... The Queen isn't in her cabin.

There's footsteps behind them. Pearl turns around with her ears pinned down. Gem can't hear well, her heartbeat is too loud.

"Why are you stood here like statues, we have stuff to do." A voice says, accompanied by footfalls coming up the stairs.

"Cleo..." Pearls says, grey eyes stark against her pale face.

Behind Gem the footsteps stop, then a sharp inhale is heard.
Cleo speaks again, angry: "Where's Lizzie?"

Gem turns to her, eyes wide, anger simmering and mixing with the fear of having lost their ruler. She's scared. "The Queen has disappeared".

The trip from the Queen's cabin to the Emperor's Hut is a short one, eyes straight and faces taut as they stare ahead.

They avoid making a panic, marching straight to His Majesty.

Thre are many people in the streets, some look curiously at the trio, some laugh loudly and share food.

Cleo's jaw clenaches and clicks.

Pearl, good, gracious Pearl, tries to calm things down.

"Let's think for a moment before causing a panic... Maybe she went for a swim?" Pearl tries to reason.

"She hates the murky waters" Gem answers, walking.

Lizzie had told her so just yesterday. She was planning to wait until she could find clean springs in the saunas of Chromia up ahead.

"Okay... Maybe she just- maybe she went on a walk! Maybe she went to the caravan!" She tries again.

"I was there before I went to wake her up" Gem replies, shaking she head.

Lizzie would have no motive to just disappear without warning at least one of them of anything...

"Let's be reasonable. Cleo! Surely she's just somewhere around here" Pearl rubs at her face, nervous.

"She wouldn't leave alone. Not after our talk in Forgotten Cove." Cleo bites out, on the same wavelength of Gem.

Pearl's ears pin down, becoming flat to her head. She looks very nervous. "I know! She wouldn't! But the alternative... What? She just... Disappeared?" She whispers, hugging herself.

"Pearl, ssh" Gem takes her hand, trying to calm her down.

"She's the ruler of the biggest empire to date, maybe spies heard she was staying here. Her brother will know more. He must." Cleo reasons, eyes blazing.

They reach the Hut.

The Emperor's Courtiers laugh, Norman and Flick talk about some gossip.
The Emperor sits on the steps, shoulders pressed with Tango.

Pearl walks in front of the group of angry Knights that approach at her side..

"Your Highness! May we have a word?" She urges.

Tango looks suddenly uncomfortable. The Emperor stands up.

"What a pleasure. Although I was in the middle of a very important conversation, so-"

"Our is more important." Cleo barks out.

"You are so rude" he scowls.

"I can be worse if you'd like." They smile, simmering with anger.

Gem takes a step forward, "Your Highness, it's about the Queen"

He hums. "I see. Come inside, then. Don't cause a ruckus".

Tango follows behind. The three observe with mute surprise his nonchalance.

Norman and Flick station close the door behind them.

The hut is clean. Everything neat and tidy.

Tango stands by the Emperor as he sits on his bed, hands going to point at the three chair pulled out from the big dining table.

"You were expecting us" Cleo realizes.

Their weapon is drawn.

"Cleo." Pearl urges, but Gem does the same.

"I'm ever so glad my sister has such... Good Knights." Jimmy drawls.

"She's gone" Pearl tells him.

"For a swim?" He asks, with a... smile?

"She's disappeared." Gem grits out.

"Oh."

"Jimmy..." Tango warns him.

"Oh? That's all?" Cleo asks.

They have not sat down.

"Yes. You're bad knights, I reckon. Leaving my sister wander around all alone. She came here last night." He shrugs.

"You saw her last?" Gem's eyes lock on his nonchalant pose.

"I did. I watched her swim away, actually. To where, I couldn't tell you." He bites his nails.

"You- She fled!?" Gem shrieks in disbelief.

"That's one way to word it. No. She... She's on a spiritual journey somewhere else. I'm sure she'll be back in... A while, who knows."

Nothing is adding up. It doesn't make sense. He should be more worried. He should be yelling and commanding them to find her, he should be sending teams for retrieval.

His shoulders are taut. His expression is schooled to seem relaxed.

"What the fuck is wrong with you." Cleo answers.

"Your mouth is a touch too big for your position, Earl Cleo. I'd advise to wash it with soap. That's no way to speak to an Emperor." He advises, annoyed.

"I'll ask my Queen to wash it once we find her." They reply, fire in their gut.

"Good luck with that. You wouldn't be able to tread a mile of these lands in five months. Unless you grow a tail of course, I'm sure your secrets are many, but that's not one of them."

"What are we supposed to do then? Just wait for her to come back? Pray!?" Gem snaps.

"Yes, you should wait. We had a small disagreement. She's blowing out steam. That's all. Now, go." He snaps back.

They are invited to get out. They storm off. And growl at the cat courtiers when they try to stop them for information.

"I cannot believe it!" Gem whispers with anger, hands fists at her sides. Wild curls brush her face, as if trying to calm her down.

"Gem... There's too many people around" Pearl pleads.

"We need to make noise! He can't just do that" Cleo howls, fuming.

"Cleo! Think... We don't even know if he was serious. Why would he act... He either knows something, or it's not that serious."

"What are we supposed to do, then? Actually wait?" They ask, annoyed.

Pearl scoffs. "No. Remember, he's in a precarious place without her here. Let's use this... Start whispers. Talk loud that she's gone to a sudden spiritual journey. He said it, tagtllybe his angle. We can say the same but we don't have to sell it." Pearl whispers to the two redheads.

"So..."

"Force him to either work to get her back fast, or blow this thing out of the water. People love gossip. He's not stupid, he'll know that he's being scrutinized."

Cleo hums, "I forget. You come from a court that loves doing this. No wonder Avian Peaks can't keep a ruler"

Pearl scoffs, "It's the culture of it all. Besides, my Emperor has occupied that place for much longer than is public"

"What?" Gem blinks.

The door to the Hut closes, the three turn to see the blond man step away from it and towards them. His fire hair dance sand glimmers, he wears an annoyed expression.

"Pearl!"

"Tango?" she prompts, turning completely to him.

He stops by her side.

"There's something you should know. I don't care what he says, if it puts everyone at risk like this. He's not used to life in Court, but I try to help..." He groans.

"What is it?" Cleo prompts him.

"I saw the Queen approach the hut yesterday. She looked very angry. Before I left, I heard them start a screaming fit. Many around have heard something, they're just not talking about it. You know how unrest travels in a court. Use it to your advantage" he whispers to Pearl then scurries off.

Gem observes with a shocked face. "What was that?"

Pearl sighs, leaning back. Her joints pop. "Experience. He knows how courts work."

"You know him?" Cleo asks, suspicious.

"He used to be an Emperor. He's part of Avian Peaks, time to time. Didn't know he came her, specifically." She bites out.

"Excuse me?" Gem answers, shellshocked.

That makes no sense... How could he... And he's just free to... What?

"Well, he's supposed to be dead. The world thinks he is. Before my Emperor was elected, a coup was started by a very bad guy to capsize the previous one. Tango, was that previous Emperor. Uhh, happened around the time of the coup of the Grims, I think the world was unstable in many ways." Pearl says, walking away.

Cleo and Gem follow, processing the information.

"What the hell is an ex Emperor doing here?" Cleo barks out.

"He travels. By the way, don't tell anyone I told you that. He doesn't exactly keep it hidden, but not many have connected the dots." She sighs.

"Right. Gossip, yay." Cleo says in a monotone voice, "With him here... This could be a coup against Lizzie, she could actually be dead".

"No. No. They argued" Pearl shakes her head.

"Pearl. You really trust this guy? She's gone." Gem reminds her.

"You think I don't know? We need to stick to the plan. Raise questions by being maliciously compliant. Then, if he doesn't act, start to voice our displeasure. If he still doesn't do anything... We are Ambassadors to our previous empires. The threat of letter to the Committee of Empires will scare him enough to do something." She utters, taking away to the center of town.

The three are seen walking around, alone. The missing Queen isn't overlooked by the people.

People start questioning. Pearl answers, acting sad that's he wasn't included. Gem shrugs and says it was a last minute plan. Cleo acts annoyed, giving short but concise answers.

The hand out the Ocean Blessings to grown ups and children. More questions arise. They keep smiling, they sighs, they answer.

Let's just hope Lizzie is okay....

The next morning, Pearl goes back to the Emperor's hut.

Tango is waiting outside the door with a knowing look.

"He doesn't like being talked down to" he warns her.

"I doubt anyone does" she shrugs. She's wearing her Ocean armour.

"His whole life, he lives being a step under the biggest and brightest star of the Rulers. It makes him wary of why people seek him out." he whispers.

"You know I can be respectful when I want, Tango" she sighs "Besides, I only want my Queen to come back unharmed and okay. Wouldn't you worry if you were staying in an unknown empire and suddenly Emperor Jimmy disappeared?"

He lets out a very long sigh. She raises an eyebrow.

"Fine. Have it your way. Just... We're far from home. I want you to be able to reach it again. I've heard some things are happening that are... Unpleasant."

"What?" Pearl blinks, worried.

Surely not another coup? Grian has grown a huge following, he wouldn't be so easily ridden of.

He shrugs. "Rumors. Stuff you'll know once in the Avian Court"

"He's not in danger... Is he?" she asks, worried.

Tango shakes his head. "Scar wouldn't be more concise. But he was nervous about something. He asked how you were."

"I'll write him soon, then. If I can't exchange mail with the Emperor, surely his Advisor will be more lenient" she hopes.

"What if it was Scar's idea not to exchange mail? He asked me to ask you directly when we met. He wanted to avoid written notes. He was adamant."

"Did he say why? I'm fine, by the way... Haven't had many problems. The Queen has actually helped, believe it or not".

" I dont... But, that's nice to hear. I'll relay the knowledge when I go back next month." He promises.

"Alright... Can you let me through, mate?" Pearl asks.

The talk is nice, she misses home and her friends. But a pressing matter is more important at the moment.

"Of course" the blond says, letting Pearl inside and sneaking behind her.

The door closes with a click.
Emperor Jimmy turns around, wide-eyed, with a bitten donut in his hand.

"Tango? What... Why are you here?" He speaks with a mouthful.

Pearl arches an eyebrow then schools her expression to one of respect. He doesn't need to know that she thinks he looks ridiculous.

“I know him, I know his secret." She bows, looking up, she continues to speak.

"She does?" He turns to Tango, blinking. His hair is caught in a bandana, keeping it away from his scaly face.

Tango nods and walks closer to him.

"Oh. Very well. What are you seeking here? We've talked yesterday. Things haven't changed."

Pearl is no one to call him a liar. His shoulders are a hard line of stress, his eyes have slight bags. He speaks for himself.

"It is peace we seek. It's accordance and tranquility, not pain. Your sister, might I remind you, was the spark that started everything that lead me and the Knights here." she exhales through her snout, keeping her balance.

She knows Gem was right about worrying. So, she uses that to make the Emperor worry.

"Your Majesty, there is not a day she doesn't suffer from some ailment or the crushing weight of her empire. Still, she pushes through because she is the Queen. You should learn some from her. You two are more alike than you've come to resent.” she declares, looking to the ground. The carpet is a heavy fabric, probably made to stave off the cold that approaches.

Pearl has presented her case.
Make him worry. Then, make him uncomfortable. Make him shake it off, and then open his ears.

Jimmy scoffs.

“Jimmy… Let's hear her out.” Tango whispers.

The Emperor hums.

“Knight, Pearlescent Moon. I've heard of you. Lady of her own region, Gilded Heliathia. You speak of secrets. You speak of pain and titles and suffering.” he says, arms swaying around like he's monologuing.

He's very charming. Foolishly so. Pearl doesn't judge him to be an idiot, but fools do stand next to a King. And well, he is the Emperor now.

She bows her head down, but shrugs, as if aloof.

“I merely reminded your Highness of his status, when poised next to the grandeur of the Ocean Queen." Pearl answers, tone changing to something sharper.

“So you've come to insult me in her stead? How thoughtful” he scowls, in disbelief.

Had the Queen insulted him? She seemed so angry, yes, but to treat him unkindly... Maybe she did, after all he was avoiding her like a child.

Before then? Pearl had thought the Emperor to be a statue of gold for how bright he shone in Lizzie's tales of him.

She straightens back, “Your sister has spoken nothing but good things on every occasion she named you. She's always put you on such a high pedestal, one I fear only she's built and one only she sees”

“Whu- How dare you!?” he shrieks, spinning to her with a shocked face. He's very offended.

It's marvelous, to still see an Emperor with such a spark of naivety and life. Usually, they get stripped of them with war and bloodshed. He's been lucky.

Pearl shakes her head, then laughs something grim “Do you not see it, Your Highness?”

“What!?” he shouts, nervous.

"Jimmy..." Tango takes a step back towards Pearl, aiding his friend. Pearl might even appreciate the spectacle of the push and pull. She's seen it work. It will again.

She keeps her head high, body down. She's a wolf, she'll lay low and bow and obey, teeth bared and eyes sparkling. Snout bloodied from her previous wins.

Pearl used to be an Advisor, too. She knows her way around snarky nobles who only wish to gain and pretend they deserve ill-fitted respect.

She cares not for dazzling acts or blinding words.
She speaks her mind. Truth can be moulded into something easy to swallow, if first coated in sugar.
It'll still be the truth.

Her voice rings loud and clear in the walls of the cage the Emperor finds himself in, with two Courtiers from an Empire of lies and beguile, where cold peaks tower over the sky amongst the immaculate clouds of a beautiful sky.

Pearl speaks her mind, as she often does.

In her heart, Pearl is worried for a friend who's gone missing. For a friend who had a big fight with her brother who she loves very much.
A friend who is whimsical and funny and precious.

A friend that is the Queen of an Empire Pearl swore to protect on her Accolade and that will be found.

She worries, because Lizzie wasn't well and she's just a person, with so many problems and the pain of a thousand years worth of living.

“You’re her most precious jewel. Lizzie's already given you everything you wanted. She's already put you above any one of her wishes. Then, she's done so with her people. Now with the Empires. When will it be her turn to feel human? To feel like she can do wrong without the weight of the firmament on her shoulders?” her eyes are two stones, she speaks with sadness and understanding.

Jimmy turns completely towards her, face filled with surprise and guilt.

Pearl is still kneeling so he makes a gesture and she rises.

"

Tango blinks, surprised as well. He takes a step towards his friend, and then, he speaks up.

“Jimmy, your Highness. Are you not tired of escaping this? From what I hear, it's both of you. Pulling at a rope for centuries, resulting in your hands burned and unable to grasp what the use of the rope meant. Connection. Stability.”

“You, too? Tango…” he groans, stamping his feet on the floorboards.

“You know I'm only speaking my mind” he smiles, eyes crinkling.

Jimmy sighs, tired, and falls back on his bed.

“It is not my place to order people around, especially not an Emperor."

"Yeah, right."

"But Queen Lizzie is also a friend of mine, I should be cursed if I let anyone hurt her after all she's been going through.” Pearl expresses, hands holding into her chemise.

Jimmy raises his head from in-between his hands, looking up at the wolf with confusion, and suspicion. “All that… What do you mean?” he asks.

He looks exhausted.

“I fear I cannot divulge further. If you're curious, you should take it up with her.” Pearl insists.

He looks thoughtful, fingers interlaced in front of his face.

“It's very honourable of you. But I will not allow anyone to leave the town to find her. She's safe, I promise. You have my word that she'll come back.”

Pearl looks to the pavement and tries not to frown.

"Do you keep your promises, Emperor? Queen Lizzie's " she asks, chin sharp and eyes glaring.

"Stop. That. She's my sister. I'm the one- I'm-"

"Don't strain yourself. She doesn't need to know." Tango reassures him.

Pearl observes them, then sighs.

“Very well. I'll leave you with a warning, though. Queen Elizabeth is a being of change. Change is good. Sometimes, though, what it brings strips oneself of their mind and reality, leaving only nightmares and fears behind. You should beware of the change you bring. And what change will bring to you.”

She bows and walks away, to a very shocked Emperor.

The next day the town is brewing with worry. Jimmy orders the preparations for his birthday be anticipated, to shift the attention.

“Emperor” Sir Norman and Sir Flick greet him, side by side, at his door.

The birds are singing their autumn song, on the oak trees by his hut.

“Good morning?” he greets. They don't look happy.

They push to come inside.

“What?”

“Does your Majesty think the social blunder of a disappearing Queen will be taken well by the other Empires? Or shall we wait until her allies march into Capitol Cod to… Interview you?” Norman asks, very seriously.

It's too early for all this. No. He's not having this conversation. She's fine. Far away from here and her worries and Jimmy.

He groans, hands in the air, going to finish his tea.

"Jimmy! Excuse me, this is important!" Flick meows, nervous.

“Excuse me! What do you mean?”

Norman is prowling around them, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Your Highness. Do you not see it?” Flick asks, fluffy tail flicking around.

It's too early for this. He's slept too poorly.

“Stop with the riddles. What do you mean?”

“Your sister has gone missing after you two were seen by citizens arguing loudly! Your sister, the Queen of a very powerful Empire, who is still scheduled to visit the Grimlands, the Avian Peaks, the Fairy Court and Pixandria.” Norman snaps, turning around with disbelief.

“I know that. ”

What's the matter!? She'll be back on his birthday anyway. She'll be back. Even if he sent her away. She will! She... Will.

Norman holds up his paws, and claps them together.
“Very well. You may also know that her Knights are on the verge of rallying the people against you if you do not address it or do something about her disappearance.”

“Rallying... What? What do you mean?”

“They are feisty people. And, in their rights, very intelligent people. They come from the Empires both her Highness and your Majesty have the least connection with. The fault will not fall on them if the Queen is found harmed or dead. It shall be chaos.” Norman urges.

That's ridiculous. Lizzie can't die. She can't. She's an axolotl! She recovers. Sure... She has her moments. And... She's been sick lately. But surely, well. It's... The people...

Jimmy breathes out. He's... He's an idiot.

“I see” he whispers.

“Then!?” Norman prompts.

“I know where she is” he answers simply, looking up slowly to watch the dust dances in the sun.
Soon, rain will be approaching.

“That does not make things any better” Flick comments.

The room is cool, his clothes are warm. Jimmy likes it that way. He likes comfort. He likes his comfort zone. He hates people that don't respect it.

“She needs some privacy” he says.

Lizzie hates the weather here. It's too cold. She hates the swamp water. It's too muddy and dirty. She likes company. She's all alone out there. Why did he tell at her?

“Jimmy..." Norman walks closer, his small boots tapping on the floorboards, "We've been told she suffered some sort of sickness, on the last day of the Equinox Festival”

She was sick. But Jimmy didn't see. He avoided her. He broke his word, they were meant to have lunch together.
But he stayed away, afraid of her eyes and her judgement and fearing his own feelings because he's missed her so much, but he feels so small next to her.

“So I've been told, too” he answers, mind coming back to his conversation with Pearl and Tango yesterday.

Everything he does makes him seem like a fool. But he tries, and yet...

He tries, to keep true to himself. Lizzie never taught him how to act like a leader. He saw her, natural in the role, and wished he could be one.

Then, she granted that wish, and he found himself alone and with a new possibility: to be himself.

“You don't see how that may be a problem?” Norman asks, next to him. He sits on the stool next to Jimmy.

He sighs, weary. “You want me to do something. What is it?”

“There's doubts of your power and coronation. There’s awful doubts on the legitimacy of your throne. Do you not see how the other Empires might see this disappearance?”

Stupid gossip. Of people ho don't know how hybrid blood works. They don't know their history. Even if they weren't related by blood, would it matter? They've been side by side for a thousand years.

“Who says so?” he questions.

“The Fairy Court, your Highness.” Flick interjects.

Of course. The ground of "Perfection", and "Gorgeousness", as that two forked Fae likes to call it... What a ruthless animal.

“How dare she-”

“It doesn't matter. We are worried. For the Queen. And you” Norman cuts through the anger.

“Me?” Jimmy whispers.

He's fine! He's dandy! He's swell and... Fine.

“You've been most shut off since she came here. You've been avoiding her for months. Has she cast her hand on you while we weren't looking?” Flick questions, serious.

Jimmy scoffs like it's stupid. It is. She would never.

“She has not.”

“Has she been cruel and unreasonable to his Majesty?” Norman asks.

She was for so long. She...
She's given Jimmy his Empire and gifts and companions and... And he's yelled at her when she came to speak. She was angry. He was angry, too. It seems so far away, now.

“Not to his Majesty…” Jimmy sighs, pinching his eyebrows with his fingers.

Jimmy doesn't know what she felt like. Was she right to be so angry? To be so hurt? Why couldn't she be strong for him? She always cried for their brother and mother. But Jimmy didn't know them. He was a child. He just wanted his sister to see him, not those ghosts.

He was a child. He's an adult, now. He should know better. Even if he doesn't understand. He should... He'll ask Lizzie. He will.

He stands up, thinking and planning.

“Fine, listen. I will be seeing her Knights later, we'll talk. Then, I'll write letters to Pix and Sausage to let them know she's okay. Then, we'll publicly declare the Queen has gone on a spiritual three day lone voyage to one of her oldest temples, which she hasn't seen since I rose to power here. On the day of my birthday, she will be seen again.”

“You cannot be serious” Norman scoffs.

“Is it not sound?” he questions, unsure.

“How do you expect to douse the fire inside the Knights’ hearts? They're angry.” Flick rebuts.

I don't doubt that. Jimmy cringes internally.

“I've spoken to Pearl of Avian Peak just yesterday. I have an angle.” he reveals.

“Fine. Her closest friends and allies?”

“Sausage will be visiting for my birthday. He'll see her. He'll be a witness to her presence. He'll also write to Pix, and other Empires, testifying my word.”

“How do you know she'll be back on your birthday?” Flick sighs, tail whipping around nervously.

“I told you. I know where she is.”

I'll go find her.

“You better know what you're doing. Remember, the power we have is new. Without her blessing, we would fall to the enemy's sword quickly. It was thanks to her that we kept the land when the Fairy Empress sought to take it.” Norman reminds him.

“I know. I know. I know she's beloved more than me” Jimmy sighs.

“That isn't true. You're most important to us. You're our Emperor. We've known you. But her reign is powerful. Everything we own was once hers. You should be thankful.”

“She didn't want it.” He scoffs readily.

“You wanted it. She gave it to you. She asked for nothing in exchange” Norman reminds him.

“I know.” Jimmy answers simply.

“You should revise your feelings. I may never know what it means being ancient like you, but I fear all these years have twisted up the truth for something far more painful” Norman says, looking away.

"Flick.”

“Yes?”

“Go fetch her Highness’s Knights. We shall talk.”

Jimmy is sitting on a chair, waiting.

The Queen’s Knights enter the room, sporting their shiny armour and weapons.

They look angry, and smug.

The tallest, the one from the Fairy Court, the Witch, wears a deep scowl, with fiery hair, they do not kneel.

The youngest, the one from the Grimlands, sister of the Viscount, the Fawn, her eyes are hard, her curls vaporous around her face.
She does not kneel.

The one from Avian Peaks, the Wolf, she kneels and rises in one fluid movement. She looks upset, but keeps her facade fairly controlled.

It's her, the Lady, who speaks first. Her eyes are softer today.

“Why did you call for us, Your Highness?”

“I've heard you were causing unrest” he answers simply.

“We've merely expressed our opinion over your actions and what they led to” Cleo answers, chin high.

“And what is that?” he asks, annoyed.

He wore the cod head to seem more menacing but it might not be working. These people have seen actual blood. What is a costume going to do?

"A mysterious spiritual journey to somewhere else, apparently." Pearl says in between her teeth. Sharp canines.

Gem takes a step forward, “The disappearance of our Queen” she bites out.

“She's alive” he answers simply, waving a hand in the air.

He gulps down saliva, and ignores his heartbeat.

“How do you know?” the Earl challenges.

“Don't question the Emperor who hosts you so kindly” he rubuts.

Earl Cleo scoffs, “Don't think yourself so tall. Our Queen is the reason you can look down upon us. Sovereigns are people with crowns. You are not undefeatable. You are vulnerable” Cleo grits out between their teeth.

“All I'm hearing are threats against my life.” he says, eyes squinting.

The air in the room is tense with stress.

“We are worried, Your Majesty” Lady Pearl interrupts, taking a step forward.

“I've told you already, she is fine.” he insists, nervously.

“But what if she isn't!?” Gem says, “She's been… She is sick!”

He knew she wasn't okay.... She's sick?

“Gem.” Cleo booms.

“No! No! If it's what moves him to do something, he has to know”

“She's... Dame Gem. What do you mean, sick?”

How could Lizzie be sick? She can regenerate. She's healthy and strong… His own stress is starting to cloud his perception of his sister. She used to get sick, and she hid away. She's been avoiding Jimmy, too.

The nail is sealed in the coffin when Gem says the same.

“If you hadn't been avoiding her, you'd know!” she growls, so unnatural for a sweet-eyed doe.

“Gem…” Pearl whispers, trying to calm her down.

“I will not get into details!" she reassured them, then turns again to the Emperor.

"But you must know. We've been worried sick for her health. She wasn't okay even in her own Empire. Now, she's miles away somewhere that only brings her sorrow and discomfort! She could've been having a grand old time, if her brother hadn't decided drinking with his buddies wasn't more important than rekindling!”

“You're stepping out of line, Dame Gem” Norman takes a step forward.

Gem freezes them on the spot with a frankly terrifying face.

Jimmy wonders if vampirism wasn't the actual reason fWhip was something scary to deal with. Maybe, this danger just runs in the family. Maybe fWhip isn't even who he should be worrying about not encroaching. His sister seems more protective of her charge than the wolf and the fairy, notorious for their possessiveness.

He's curious.

“No. Please. Go on” Jimmy stops them with a raised hand. “Tell me how I could have a conversation with her, when after I've tried, away from your eyes she's only looked at me like a ghost.”

Gem gulps and straightens up, “I don't mean to say she's without fault. How could she? But are you? When you look at her like a puppy, ready to be kicked? Can you not see?” she asks, almost pleading.

“Dame Gem.” Flick warns.

Jimmy stands up, and takes a few steps forward. He stands in front of the fawn.

It makes sense. He's never had to deal with both the Grim twins before. He wonders why. fWhip loves his sister. But he so rarely talks of her. Gem's hand are tight around the gold locket around her neck.

“You speak from experience, do you not?” he wonders.

“You know my brother.” she answers, fire in her eyes.

An intelligent man with a love for trouble. Like Jimmy. But he's not sure he sees himself in the man. Gem's story seems more akin to his.

She had helped her brother lead the resistance and create a new Empire. Then, she fled away to the East. There she built her own region, and started caring for what she loved. Unfortunately, it seems they too haven't talked in a while.

“I do.”

“Then you know that he's in the Grimlands, while I am here in your Court, fighting on the side of my new Queen”

He takes a step back, thoughtful.

Dame, Viscountess Gem, seems genuine in her worry. Lady Pear does, too. For different reason. Even the Fairy Ambassador seems peculiarly angered by all this.

He sighs, softening his approach, “What is the ailment you so jabber about?”

Gem does, too.

“I cannot specify. But in her palace, she'd be sick for many days. She's had sick days on our journey. And in your empire, too.”

He feels so dumb for not having seen earlier. He might've noticed the signs. Or... Helped. Instead they had a screaming fit. And he couldn't have guessed, his sister did come here looking for a fight.

“Are they life-threatening?” he pushes.

Cleo takes a step forward, with a stony look and a scowl they answer: “Potentially.”

He feels... Devastated.

He tries not to show it, but his expression must've fallen to the ground.

“Why wouldn't she tell me if that were the case?” he asks, slowly walking back to the bed.

“You don't seem to talk about the weather, your Highness. It seems hard to believe you'd be able to talk about matters of that graveness.” Pearl cringes, ears pinned back.

“I'm a foolish brother” he breathes out, falling back into his chair.

“Please, that's why we are worried." Gem kneels down.

"We don't doubt her strength. But in the current times, there's danger afoot. It isn't safe for her to be alone” Cleo takes a step forward.

All three Knights are crowding around Jimmy.

They've been fighting against his stubbornness for days. And finally, he sees why. They actually care for his sister. And, they're not stupid. They know what would happen if things got out of hand.

“You three make a fine group. It is good you are her Knights and not her enemies.” the Emperor sighs, “I will go fetch her.”

He stands up, and walks in between them, his robe fluttering and curling a this feet. His hand rises to to the charm at his neck, holding the trident bead in between his fingers. He'll only need this.

“Bring her back safe, please.” Dame Gem pleads, getting up.

“I will.” he promises, letting them go.

With the Knights gone, Jimmy breathes in some air, and steadies his trembling hands.

"She used to come find me, when I ran away. It's my turn, now"

His Cat Courtiers nod, "We'll keep things stable, here. Remember, we hang on a balance. We'll be expecting visitors soon"

"Of course. See you soon. Thank you" he smiles.

The door closes behind him, and he matches to the shore of gravel and slime with his jaw tight.

It's time he fixes things.

Jimmy dives into the swamp and swims towards the mouth of the river, where all water must go to reach the Ocean again.

Chapter Text

Lizzie is far far away from the innermost parts of the swamp.

She's at the mouth of the river most of these lands' waters flow to, fleeing to the salty big waves.

She's standing on the gray sand of the small beach, staring with empty eyes at the Ocean she traversed year after year after year.

It's been so long since she's seen it, since she's stopped on the shores to... Exist.

It's always felt unwelcoming to her.
The breeze is cool. The water is cold.

There's an old, abandoned temple on the shore.

It used to tower over the water, on a hill a few metres back.

It used to house her and her little brother when they'd stop by to make sure everything was in order.

Jimmy, who now lives in the Capitol of his own Empire. Lizzie, who now stands on this beach, alone.

The temple is almost completely submerged.

Lizzie's trembling.

Her memories have never been the most reliable.
After all, although she's lived so long, she's not untouched by the passage of time and the frying that occurs when fear attaches itself to one's mind.

Her thoughts, echoing in her cranium, and her body, fighting against itself. Lately, she's been fighting against both for control.

The fear that burns through her; the horror of her life that she's barely spoken about to anyone...
The pieces of herself that she's shared with her companions in these last two months.

She was sick. She died. She's sick, again. Plagued by visions that stain her eyes, but never leave a signature to decipher.

The voices that haunt her dreams, that taunt, that warn. They echo in the most silent of moments.

The fear, which across the years, turned to grief, like a black goo that had overtaken her, in which she still drowns.

The sand is gritty against her tail when she walks on it.

She doesn't approach the water or the temple. She doesn't want to stain those happy moments, those last moments they spent together where they got along.

Seeing this place again after so long... It moves something in her chest.

The sky is cast by dark swirling clouds.

She feels weak.

Lizzie falls to the ground, curling over herself and reminisces.

Her tail flicked, scales of white and blue glimmering underwater.

Before her brother was kidnapped, Lizzie used to count while waiting for him to come back from his hunting sessions, while she kept the cracked egg safe from predators.

After he was taken, only water currents and dolphins made noise. She tuned most of it out.

She became accustomed to silence again.

Months, then years, passed.

She was back to counting.

Counting the fish schools as they went by, sardines and anchovies, all good snacks but hard to catch;
Counting the glinting stars and the dance of the moon;
Counting the seconds and counting on her fingers; counting the scales on her arms and the shrimps and the rocks on the grains of sand on the sea bottom;
Counting and counting, time on her tongue and her fingers and mind.

A lonely girl, who could only count the days until she wasn't alone anymore.

One night she heard it, a little creak.
Then a crack formed.
Then another, and then another and then-
It broke and her littlest brother was born.

Cod. Both boys were cod. She was ecstatic.

A tiny cod fish, small, smaller than when Grian hatched.

And just like Grian he grew, not just a fish anymore: the golden boy grew limbs and then wings, and a big tail to swim all by himself.

Yellow feathers and blonde hair, so similar to Gri and yet so different.

So much counting passed by, and then, she wasn't a tiny axolotl girl anymore.

Lizzie grew too, big and bigger.

She changed her scales many times, beautiful colors, sometimes pink sometimes white or even light blue.

Her hair grew long and soft, pink gold and white (like her Mama's!), adorned with pearls, gems, seashells, coral and coins she found in the sand.

When they moved house again, they found themselves in shallow waters and next to rivers, so both could eat what felt good.

In the follow centuries, Jimmy never outgrew his appearance, a rowdy sunny teen, but Lizzie kept growing, and with her, so did her powers.

Years later after her encounter with the W.A.T.C.H. Boat that night, they came face to face again, when they tried to snatch away her darling youngest brother.
But now she was smarter, bigger, and meaner.

History rhymes a lot.

Lizzie was asleep when she heard the low rumble.

Jimmy was nowhere around, having likely snuck out to hunt in the early morning, despite not being very good at it, he tried his best for his sister.

Lizzie will always be thankful that she's made friends during her life at sea. She found a whole array of people-like creatures, similar to her not just animals and food. She'd recognise them as hybrids when older.

Dolphin screams were the first thing Lizzie heard as she shot up from her seaweed bed. Then the seagulls yelled in the air, circling up above, calling for her attention.

The rumbling grew unbearable and stopped abruptly, schools of cod swam anxiously to her.

"He's in danger!" they all screamed in chorus.

With a swish of her tail she was swimming fast to the surface.

It wasn't night, there were no stars and moon, no hunger and fear in her gut.

Fury, deep and snarling instead took over her.

Water splashed over the boat before she even shot out of the water, knocking against the vessel with a threatening roar.

Lizzie saw Jimmy in that same cage, wings bent and bleeding tail caught in nets.

He was crying and screaming at the creatures on the boat to let him go, to go away and when he saw Lizzie, to preserve their skin and to watch out.

Two hooded two-legged people shut him up with the poke of a trident, though to Lizzie they seemed much more sinister than humans.

They had an air of wild magic about them, runes and sulfur, badly concealed torn fairy wings and balded feathery wings, broken horns, missing limbs, and what she couldn't recognize way back as a youngster, she now knew as gurgles of broken words, like they couldn't speak properly.

Because they were creatures not meant to be alive, drowned and puppeteered.
No life embedded in the flesh, only the will of a puppeteer. Banned magic.

Lizzie swam around and crashed into the other side of the boat.

Scratched and washed away the words read "W.A.T.C.H.E.R. ~ Surveillance Over All".

She did not like that at all.

Screaming, she used the waves to land on the boat, her weight destabilizing it.

With the boat sinking, the creatures screamed and grabbed lunged forward with weapons, tridents and bows, but with her tail Lizzie tripped and hit them over the border, where the runes lost their power and dissolved in water. They sank like dead weight.

She turned to her brother and tore off the nets, making him flinch with a shocked cry. He kept looking overboard.

Now freed, she hugged him.
"Holy shit Jimmy! What the hell were you thinking!?" She screeched, gripping his arms.

"I'm sorry! I wanted to grab some lunch for us! You always do the work and it's not fair!" he cried with big eyes, upset. He was breathing fast.

Space. He probably needs some space, Lizzie panicked.

"Jimmy..." she let him go, instead holding his hands to placate the trembles.

"Please..." He sobbed.

"Let's go" she held on tight, and they jumped into the water.

One hand was softly holding into her brother. The other, she employed for revenge.

Enraged out of her mind and with a heartbeat still too fast, grabbed the anchor and pulled the boat along to the shore, still comforting her brother with soft words, now cradling him on her arm.

She'd grown huge.

They reached the surf, passing by a rocky reef, mossy rocks reflecting the sunlight.

They stopped, Jimmy wiggled free and slipped into the waters with a small splash.

He was always so small next to Lizzie.

"Lizzie… I'm not a baby anymore" he whispered, the waves lapping around them anxiously.

Lizzie's eyebrows pinched together, greatly upset after their latest situation.

He wasn't a baby, obviously, but he was clearly helpless.

He wouldn't appreciate the comment. That's her opinion, though.

"...I know. It's just… I worry, Jimmy. A lot…" she admitted, though she knew her brother knew that best than anyone.

He's the only one she had, as she's the only family he's ever known.

… For good reason… You were almost abducted… Lizzie thought, frowning.

"I know you do….” He whispered then let himself fall on the surf and let his tail curl and hug him. It was bleeding from a few torn scales. His wings are all fluffed up, the cerulean bright in the blue waters, the yellow of his feathers turning green.

He looked sour. Sad.

He's hurt. Lizzie's ribcage is a black hole where everything got sucked into, love and grief and empathy.

What he said next surprised her. And upset her.

“...I'm gonna have to go on someday. Find new waters, new people. I want to explore, Lizzie. You'll have to let me go." he said, lips trembling, though still he's so scared.

That's what's important? Not that he was about to die? Be torn away from Lizzie? He's already/still thinking of leaving her!?

Lizzie mouthed, breath hitching, lips trying to close around syllables to actually say something instead of looking and grieving.

Jimmy was looking back, seething, panic surfing on the anger that filled his veins.
He was breathing heavily, sharp teeth sparkling under the sun as his mouth opened to try and add more, explain that he really needed some space. Some real space.

He's just been saved from what- Poachers? Mercenaries? Unusual individuals that were going through here by chance… He'd been caught only because he went to get them some lunch near the shore.
Surely that cannot stay the same forever, he will have to learn how to defend himself, much to his sister's chagrin.
He will have to make the life he's living his own.

Anxiety exploded inside Lizzie's chest and enveloped all the darkness inside of it, like a smoky cloud, it covered everything in her sight.

Tiredness grabbed at her limbs. Not defeat, it's…

"I know. I know." she sighed and let her tail flop around in the water, akin to a nervous cat's.
His was no difference.

The tan greenish scales on his tail shone wet under the sunny rays, his hands still trembled and he shook, scared out of his mind but this moment here, it cemented it in his mind:

He cannot rely on his sister forever, she deserves to have fun, follow her own dreams, find her own people, find friends and finally laugh with them.
No more living in fear of land creatures, no more running away to survive to the next meal.

They'd gotten better throughout the years: better food, better waters, better shelters.

But they had never never had a home, not a real one, never had other people to rely on.

He didn’t really know how old they were, he wasn't as good at math like his sister…
Always counting, perfect in every choice and action.
I'm like Mama! She'd cheer when she did something Jimmy would never ever do. Watching her reflection, far from who Jimmy would ever look like.
Jimmy, who's never met Mama. But Lizzie talks so much about her; how she shone, how pretty she was, how big she was, easily holding Jimmy's small egg on the tip of her finger.

Lizzie had known Mama, she's talked to her, spent years with her.

He knew his sister is much older than he was, and he knew she'd lost more than he could know.

He remembers how, some times, when the moon hovered high up and the waters were dark and deep, his sister would cry out and hug him tighter.

He'd asked her to talk about their family (many) a couple times.
She's never liked to, despite all of Jim's pushing.
He knew they had a brother, lost not long before he was born.
And Mama, because at first he'd asked about his name and how Lizzie had came out with it.

She'd told him: "Mama would tell me many many stories while we waited, I think she liked myths and stuff like that. I don't know all of them, only a few".

Lizzie couldn't remember them well anymore, it’d been too many years.

Things settled down, with treacherous waters still brewing in their hearts, it was up to time when the boiling would result in steam and fog. When the frog was finally soup.

They were still young, they knew, but deep in their bodies they felt the rush of wild magic only old bones carry.

Birthdays went by, hundreds on them, and the boiling bubbles became hard to swallow with each argument.

Jimmy looked down, and he saw in the water, a bit under the sand, his poach. He must've dropped earlier when he was swimming idly, looking inland with a lost stare.

He grabbed it and offered it to Lizzie, smiling "Hey, I know it's not much but I got you some stuff at the river's mouth".

Surprised, she grabbed it.

Inside were a couple of snails (good snacks, squelchy), shells and a couple rusted coins.

She gave him a gentle push with her shoulder, "Ah, thank you..."

The waves sparkle with the sunny yellow rays of the afternoon.

She jumped in the water, poach held in her big blue scaly hands.

The water splashed, just shy of her calf.

He was a bit jealous, the water was almost at his waist. She was already so tall it felt unbelievably unfair.

"There's some seaweed for you at the reef if you want. And I saved you some shrimp if your palate is truly delectable today" she said, her tail wagging ready to swim.

Thoughtful. Controlling. Both and the same.
Lizzie, overthinking older sister.

"Oh alright, yeah I'd like some shrimp" he smiled sheepishly. Jimmy liked shrimp, but he preferred his snails.

They swam with laughter and silly insults.
Lizzie was cheating, pulling Jimmy's tail when he overtook her, he cried out in offense and she blew a raspberry at him.

Moving helped with some worrying thoughts... When they stood idle for too long those memories started resurfacing, ugly and mean.

They ate in silence on the Reef later.

Lizzie still churning on that day's events.

Jimmy had left again to go inland, to find himself something different to eat.

She had wanted to scold him, but he looked so happy on the shore, looking to the swamp with a desire that hurt.

It's not the first time she'd caught him sneaking out, it'd become a habit of his the latest years.

It's sour. Lizzie's lips twist and pucker.
She sighed, hugging herself as she curls tighter in the mossy bed of her cave.

Before it's too late, she should teach him how to defend himself.
She could disappear too, one day soon. Better be prepared.

The sun has set. It started drizzling a few hours ago. Lizzie hasn't moved from her place.

She's soaked. She's cold. She shivers and stays in place.

The night is dark.

Lizzie lets herself fall into the wet sand, uncaring of the discomfort.

The droplets stop.

She closes her eyes, humming numbers.

Then, some buzzing starts around her, in the tall grass and bushes a few metres from her.

She opens her eyes to a black sky and fireflies bubbling over her body, curious and tranquil, they pulse and shimmer.

“I never appreciated how beautiful this place is. I only felt the discomfort it gave me. I never considered…” she whispers, voice hoarse.

A few of the insects fly lower, and creep in her blue scales.

“You're beautiful.” She smiles.

“I wish I could've noticed that before. Maybe then, we could've bonded over his love for you.”

Jimmy had grown so much from a little baby, now he was as tall as Lizzie was when he hatched.
That made Lizzie sad.

She wished, sometimes, that she was on that boat instead of their brother.
Lizzie wished she was stronger, smarter, bigger.
Lizzie wished she and Jimmy weren't the only ones left of her Mama; she wished she had a hundred more siblings, instead of just one.

She thought, maybe, if she hadn't hatched first, that someone else would've taken better care of their siblings.

Someone who could've saved more.

Lizzie closed her eyes, drowning in guilt.
A tar pit ready to swallow her, staining her wings, her tail, her mind.
Growing luke a dark cloud from her chest, travelling down blue veins into numb fingers.

“Lizzie?” she was shaken to relaity by her little brother, peeking into her room in the Reef, he asked with a small voice: “Are you okay?”

She curled tighter, hugging her scaly tail.
“...Go away, Jimmy. I'm tired” she'd say, for the hundredth time.

“But! It's day! And you always tell me it's good to do stuff in the day and sleep at night” he shot back. She could hear the pout on his lips.

“I know Jimmy but I'm really tired” she'd repeat.

“You promised we'd go fishing together” he argued, swimming closer.

“Jimmy” she growled, “I don't feel well and I don't trust myself to protect you while we hunt. If you're hungry I left some fish inside the old chest.”

“No! I wanna go and I wanna protect you! I'm a big strong man! I can help!” he'd puff up his chest and show off his lean arms.

“Jimmy, please” Lizzie's chest hurt. Her head hurt. She just wanted to sleep.

“I’m serious!!” he objected, jostling her arms.

The touch was too overwhelming, and her pain spiked.

“JIMMY, PLEASE! I don't feel well. I'm tired and you're stressing me out. Go play with the cod if you're bored.” she'd growl with sharp teeth and trembling hands.

“Oh… Okay...” Jimmy whispered, floating backwards, holding his hands as if he'd been burned.

“I'm sorry…” and with that he swam away.

Lizzie wanted to say apologise. She should've, but she didn't.

She wasn't even hungry, curling up on her bed of seaweed. Soft tendrils. She wished she could stay here forever.

She fell asleep after weeks of sleepless nights, plagued by cruel nightmares.

Lizzie woke up later with a start, hand reaching out to grab a ghostly memory. “Don't go...”

She had no idea what time it was.

She swam by her small window, only seaweed and coral visible at this hour. It was dark.

There was only silence.

Jimmy?

She swam out fast, paranoid, and rushed into Jimmy's cave.
She found him there, sleeping soundly with bubbles floating all around his young face.

She sighed in relief. Good Oceans…

He was still here. He might not have been, if he'd gone out on his own, if Lizzie hadn't prohibited him from doing so.

She had to be more careful.

She couldn't be this stupid, to let him go in and out anywhere he wanted on his own. Who knows what could’ve happened.

She grimaced.
She couldn't be so weak now that her brother needed her to watch over him.

Lizzie needed someone to confide in, but that wish was foolish. All she had was her brother.

She couldn't let him know.

She couldn't tell him the nightmares that'd been plaguing her mind, of…
A small hand reaching out the water towards a just as small one, reaching out of nets, crooked feathers, cries and a big boat.

It would always go like this.

She'd allow him to him go fish, or she sent him away after they bickered, or worse. They would ended up separated, because of her.

When they saw each other again, it'd be on the surface… And it would be too late.

Jimmy would be screaming her name, then he'd warp form until he wasn’t himself anymore.

The small cod would cry and yell.

‘It's all your fault! You were supposed to protect me!’ He'd say, on repeat.

The accusations cut into her black heart, making it hard to keep herself from crumbling.

Too many sleepless nights, too many nightmares went like this.
Reality and dream blurred together.

She wanted to go away, too, sometimes.

She wanted to ascend amongst the stars, to take refuge by Mama's side, where Grian must also be.

But she couldn't, because then she'd die alone...
She'd leave Jimmy alone, and she couldn't. She couldn't fail him, too.

Lizzie won't abandon him to the whims of the world. It's her obligation to protect him.

One aspect of the boy made things easier.

Her brother was smart, despite his clumsiness and affinity for problems.

Jimmy would notice her sadness, her …whatever she'd been doing, lately.
And although he hated it, he'd always bring her little gifts and snacks to comfort her.

Years passed, and she did get better.

Although she never really left that tar pit, she'd learned to live and move while the tendrils tried to grab her at every movement and word.

Jimmy observes the sky softly turn from teal to yellow to azure.

Morning shines a new light on his voyage towards the east beaches of his empire.

The beaches where he and his sister used to visit when they came by.

A place Lizzie chose: to be close to the water, afraid of the humans and people who could try to kidnap him.

Jimmy knew he looked small, and that while Lizzie had been growing up, he was stuck, unchanging.
But that was physically.

Mentally, every one of their rituals of life, the food and reef, started to feel too small.
Too stagnant.

He wanted… Needed…

He couldn't leave Lizzie. Not when she looked at him like he was the sun, the only solace amongst her dark thoughts.

He resented, some moments.

Lizzie had been treating him like a baby.

She'd prohibit him from doing anything.

He couldn't leave to play with the cod that travelled inland; he couldn't play with the dolphins or even go for a swim.
He wasn't allowed to swim away or hunt or go further than the reef.

It was frustrating and scary.
Jimmy knew that he's young, but he's growing up!

Months were passing, and a few birthdays went by.

He wanted to help so bad, he wanted to learn how to help his sister, but Lizzie wanted nothing to do with him lately.

She couldn't seem to stand being near him, her, always out to hunt and him, segregated in the reef caves, always on the lookout for danger.

A hundred seasons passed and things only got worse.

Jimmy watched her with big, sad eyes.

Lizzie didn't want to play with him anymore, won't let him play too far, she started catching so much food in case something bad happened.

She was stressing her hair a lot lately, and stayed in bed a lot more, too.

She seemed to oscillate between hunting forever and laying in bed motionless.

Lizzie was always irritable and her eyes didn't sparkle anymore.

It'd been a while since she'd told Jimmy she loved him.
Lately, she'd grown so far.. Jimmy was confused. Was it his fault?

Since he asked why Lizzie hadn't told him so lately, she'd been saying it too much, instead.

More years pass and the tides all seemed to lead back to his sister, in ways more literal than metaphorical.

If Lizzie could see outside the smoky grief that clouded her senses, she might notice the whole of the waters around them becoming pliant to her mood.
She might notice the worry that the animals showed and the care that people took to leave them gifts and safer ways when they travelled for the seasons between this side of the Ocean and the colder one.

Lizzie had noticed that Jimmy was suffering the warmer waters so, she'd decided that for the winters they'd stay here and for the summers they'd swim south, to balance the water temperature.

That way, Lizzie wouldn't suffer the cold waters of the wetlands, and Jimmy wouldn't suffer the hot waters of the tropics.

The change of scenery also seemed to help Lizzie, somewhat. It helped Jimmy, too.

He'd begun feeling weary, lately, a sort of misplaced tiredness that followed him every now and again, then each day.

More time passed.

As a tween, he was more receptive than formerly.

He noticed things but although he tried to articulate, he was shot down every time he tried to bring Lizzie to speak about her sadness.

It must be something he did, because she looked extra sad and when looking at him.

Jimmy's not sure what he did but if he tried to ask again he'd been sent away to swim alone or in his room.
Boring. Sad. Annoyingly arbitrary.

On the gray beach, unmoved from last night, Lizzie reminisces about those same moments.

The tides move. Time passes.

Yet, she's doing what she did centuries ago.

She fled. She hid away. She's doing the same. It feels like dying. It feels terrifying.

“Am I broken? Why can't I ever change?” she mumbles to to the sky.

The sun is shy. The clouds don't answer.

“I keep falling into my old habits. But I've changed. I have…”

The sands around her don't deny it.

“But everyone… Everything around me changes faster than I can notice. I don't know how to be. What am I, if I'm unable to exist? When I'm only capable of hurting?”

The waves crash into the shore, a simple noise.

“I miss… Myself. I miss…”

Her voice falls. She reminisces.

Under a coral reef, inside a dark cave, carved by ancient currents, slept a creature warped by accidents and the inevitable.

Lizzie was drowning in sorrow, despite still having a brother, his existence started to be seen as the loss she'd suffered instead of the live that prevailed.

Jimmy, ghostly vision of a boy that still lived, alive only because he was smart enough to avoid spending time with Lizzie.

She had to take care of him but couldn’t even stand his sight.

Terror crawled in her veins and up her throat each time they spoke, whenever her shoulders rose with laughter.

The initially tremulous anxiety that had solidified to a statue, lodged in her chest, would vibrate and make her tremble and shiver.

What if he's killed because of her one day…?

That possibility skewered her like an arrow tipped in poison. The cure, attainable.

She’d let the bow have the chance to reload if it meant keeping Jimmy safe.

Jimmy reaches the main river.

He knows this is the way forward. Soon, he'll find himself on dark sand.

The afternoon sun is nice, the air is cool.

The wind is rising. On the horizon, he sees a storm gathering.

He dips again and swims fast towards the Ocean.

The Ocean was angry.

It has been a lot recently, almost every day for months.

He'd noticed offerings on the altars by the shore: dryland people praying for it to cease with the cruelty.

Boats weren't able to go out. People started to starve.

The fish and aquatic animals veered away from their reef.

The currents were strong, lightning was striking the waters.

Jimmy was scared.

It had been raining lately and the lack of sun only helped to make him feel unsafe.
The feeling, the fear.... It was creeping him out.

It felt dangerous. It felt like a culmination, before things got even worse.

Jimmy had been warned to leave her alone, but it'd been weeks and he hadn't seen Lizzie in too long.
He missed her. He hoped she's okay.

He swam out of his room quietly, towards his sister's.

The cod peeked in and… Lizzie was nowhere to be seen.
Her bed, soft dancing algae, only had her impression carved on it, from all the time she spent curling on it.

Anxiety tingled in his fingers. The water around him crackled with electricity.

Loud thunder hit right overhead, shocking him in place.

A scream, louder than the howling winds, cut through the noise.

He gulped, panicking.

Was that Lizzie!? Was is she doing up there!?

Fast, working against the heavy currents, he swam up to the surface.

When he broke through the sheen, he saw see her.

Lizzie was glowing, grown to a size Jimmy had never seen.

She looked wild. She looked… Dangerous.

The lighting had hit her.

Lizzie was injured.
Howling like a wolf that lost her cubs. Louder than any screech mothers would give, departing from the ashes of their sons at the beaches of death in the far away mesas.

“Lizzie!” he screamed, fighting against the waters that splashed on his face and pushed him back.

The sky above looked black, reflecting on the ocean.

“Jimmy?” She twitched, head snapping towards him, eyes huge and flashing with a million emotions.

“Lizzie!” he screamed back.

“It's dangerous out here, go home!” she cried, hair whipping around her head like algae, ignoring gravity and the rain pelting down, it flowed around her head in waves, like it would when they sat on the bottom of the sea and faked holding their breaths like the dryland kids.

He was breathing hard, teeth grinding together as the waters kept trying to smother him, “No! Not until you come home with me!”

A battle of currents started. Jimmy's attempts were pitiful against the storm his sister was controlling.

“No! Go away!” Her voice moved the current against him, pushing him back and back.

It finally grabbed him by the tail and pulled him under.

With wide eyes he looked at all the creatures that were freaking out, fish and molluscs swimming wildly.

Lizzie had sunk, too.

She was huge up there, looking down at him with a heaviness that only the sky could rival.

Her gaze was hazy, and she looked… Spooked, like she'd seen a ghost.

He'd never seen her like this. Though, the latest years, he hadn't seen much of her at all.

It's terror that pushed him to try and teach her.

He was growing, too, he wasn’t small child anymore. His body was strong.

His tail and fins and will were strong, now.
That's how he fared against the current.

If leaving Lizzie alone like she wanted caused her to become this, he was done with it!

“I won't let you alone out here!” He screamed, hands reaching out.

“You should leave me! Or you'll get hurt!” she cried back, trembling. Her hands shot outwards, moving him back.

“I won't! I'll make sure you won't too!” he shook his head, chest tightening with fear.

She wouldn't…

“Leave me! I'm better here!” she was panicking, squeezing her eyes. They kept flashing with many colours, from blue to magenta to purple to red.

“I don't believe you! You look sad!” he argued, fighting with all his might the strong currents.

All around them animals formed a tornado, like a shield.

The space between the siblings grew.

No!

He gripped the back of a giant turtle speeding by, “Get me near there” he whispered and the turtle obeyed, moving with great difficulty towards his sister.

“l’ll deal with it alone!” she screamed, swimming backwards with huge eyes.

She was crackling with energy, limbs glimmering blue.

“No! I wanna help you! I could hug you!” he insisted.

Jimmy just wanted her at his side again. He missed Lizzie.

“You don't understand! I break everything I touch!” she cried, the waves over then breaking tall and ireful, dragging her along back and forth with dizzying motions.

Jimmy felt queasy. He could throw up.

“That's not true! I'm whole!” he replied.

He was okay! He was alive!

Lizzie just panicked more, howling louder “Then how long do I have until I break you, too?!”

Me, too?

Lizzie, who was perfect in everything she did.
Lizzie, beloved by the waters and the animals, who was even viewed like a goddess by some people.

Lizzie, revered like an empress, respected for miles by Ocean and Land.

Lizzie, who made everything better.

Lizzie, who before becoming tortured by her thoughts, shone brighter than the stars above; who beamed with smiles and shook with laughter when Jimmy made yet another stupid joke.

And maybe Jimmy was growing, but the need for a sister couldn't be negated by a few more years on one's back.

He felt… Helpless. But, Lizzie needed his help. He needed to be strong!

“You fix everything you touch! You help me when I'm sad, you feed me when I'm hungry! We used to hang out together when I was sad!” he shook, trying to reach closer. He made progress when the currents suddenly changed trajectory.

“See, then? It's already begun! I'm already ruining you!” she cried out, arms cradling herself.

No! Jimmy panicked.

“I'm not glass or- Or a vase! Or anything that shatters! I'm made of flesh and I'm alive! Thanks to you!” he was crying, hard.

“No, no! You're the only one left, that's proof! We could be so many together! But because of me it's just us two!”

He feels so so sad.

“That's enough! That's enough for me!”

The currents changed suddenly, sucking them downwards with a dizzying force.

She's still floating above him, graceful, and emanating waves of grief darker than death.

“... Jimmy… Go home, leave me alone?” she asked, shaking.

The words deeply hurt Jimmy.

Is he not enough for her? Does she feel so utterly alone that he's not worth the company?

He sniffled, chin held high, fists clenched at his sides.

It doesn't matter. He's not leaving her alone again, not until she's better and not until she smiles.

The ocean was flowing around Lizzie, and over them, huge waves hit the coast with raging force.
Cod and turtles tried to coax Jimmy down to the reef but he couldn't just leave her.

He won't back down.

“I will not leave you alone!” he repeated.

“I am alone!” she screeched, fists and legs curling from the force.

The pain of the statement shot straight through him, burning worse than a lightning bolt.

“You're not! Your brother is here to help!” his lips wobbled.

“NO!”

He fought the urge to listen to his sister, the siren song working strong on his poor heart.

Lizzie had always been the prettiest, the best, the tallest of the two, she would always win when she used her siren voice.

But Jimmy isn't a child anymore. He's smarter. Faster. Stronger. He'd gotten taller.

Nothing when next to her, tall enough to reach her hip. In comparison, he's a pebble, now.

She looks large as a whale, huge and intimidatory, ruby eyes lost and unfocused, soaked in grief.

The waters around her smell of something putrid, like she's rotting.

The lighting must've done some real damage to her.

“I am still here and I care for you!” he declared.

She sobbed, loud.

“I am sorry I've let you command me around like a little cod! I can make my own decisions, I can play outside and swim! You don't need to worry about little things! I could help get us food! I could find trinkets and... And so much more!”

“No! I'm sorry I burden you with so much! I should be the one taking care of you and yet you want to take care of me!”

It hurt so much to hear her speak like this.

“You don't let me do anything, Lizzie! I'm a prisoner in my own house! I can't leave, I can't do anything! I'm incompetent and stupid!”

“It's my failure for you to feel this way”

He felt rage simmer in his gut.

“You can't control the whole world and people and fate! You can't burden yourself with a weight so big!”

“I should ! I deserve it!”

“Lizzie...” he whispered.

Never in his life has he had to deal with feelings so strong.

He's always held onto his big sister's skirt and hoped she'd beat away the bad guys.

In this case there are no enemies, only a hurt girl.

Centuries together, running circles in this dynamic, made him feel useless and powerless.

But if he could do anything now that'd mean he's not just a kid, and he can take care of the bigger fish, and his sister.

Problem is…How?

She's keeping far away from him, sending currents to repel him into their reef. So he coudn’t swim upwards.

His sister had very acute hearing so maybe talking would help? Not that it had really helped so far.

If…Something to break the moment and distract her?
Maybe he could sing something? He could use his siren song, too.

He remembered, when he was really little and during thunderstorms, Lizzie would sing him a little lullaby.

He knew she was scared, too, so he hugged her back. They held each other, and the song helped to distract from the loud noises. He could try.

He started to sing, low and broken, but it didn't matter.

A melancholic little song. Nostalgia gripped him by the throat.

Jimmy wished he could be younger and not notice how awful his sister felt, but then again, it's his turn to help her. Any way he can.

“Oh little fish, move up here and loop around my hair.
Oh sweet, oh my fair.
Flutter-" he breathes out, hand holding out towards her.

"-Flutter your wings around, air and water bound.
Little fish, close your weary eyes, sleep until noon,
See the rise of the moon in the skies." he swam closer, her eyes were huge. She was frozen, looking at him.

"Oh little fish, to sleep you go, I'll be here to watch over you.
Before you go remember I love you, and I'll be there when you wake, oh- Oh I love you so.”

The effect was immediate, with every word the waters came to a stop, currents moving slowly and fish escaping away.

The waves above cut off, no more lighting echoed overhead.

Jimmy was scared, but not for himself, for his sister.

She must've been using so much magic…

“You remember that? Mama used to sing it to me when we slept together with the eggs” she whispered in the loud silence.

Oh…

He swam up to her, trembling fingers gripping at her elbow then, he hugged her.

She was crying, eyes open looking away. He took a deep breath.

“I remember it because you used to sing it when I was scared” he whispered.

“Right…”

“Lizzie, I'm so sorry you feel this... This. So sad about everything” he stared at her face, his sister just shook in his arms, avoiding his eyes.

“I'm not a kid anymore and I want to help you in any way I can” he said, squeezing tighter.

“You shouldn't have to, I should be strong enough for it” she insisted, hands shaking as she hugged him tighter, too.

“But you're only one against the world! With me, we can be two, and I can watch your back” he argued into her soft hair.

“You'd be in danger” she muttered.

“I don't care, because you are. Lizzie I cannot fathom the thought of losing you because you're too tired to escape predators or for other reasons…”

“I'm too strong for them” she argued.

“But you're still just one person. A hand wouldn't hurt” he coaxed her to look into his eyes. She finally did.

The bags under her eyes were dark and purple, worrisome and troubling.

He gulped, holding back a cry of concern.

“I.. I don't know Jimmy. I'm tired, I just want to sleep right now” she muttered, one hand rubbing at her blue face.

“Alright, but we will talk soon” he muttered, helping her, pulling her to their reef.

She went easily, now exhausted. They swam down and Jimmy let her settle in her room.

He didn't know when, but she'd shrunk back to her normal size.

He left her to sleep, but stood nearby to make sure she wouldn't flee, again.

His chest wass heavy. He's incredibly tired.

Jimmy couldn't tell her how he wants to escape this reef, explore outside this coast, their late “house”.
He wants to stay up north, in the colder waters.

The fact that he wasn't allowed to be autonomous, It's been eating alive…. He hoped that'll change after a long talk.

Lizzie will have to deal with that one day, she'll have to realise she deserves a life all of her own. To let him go. That Jimmy deserves the same.

Today is not that day, and that's okay.

On a later date, they'll have a talk and it'll be okay.
She promised to be less strict at least until she was feeling better.

It wasn't exactly what Jimmy meant, but it was a step towards freedom.

Jimmy finds Lizzie on the beach, lying down with her eyes closed.

The wind is bitingly cold. The storm has moved away.
It's thundering, away and over the waters.
It stopped raining a few minutes ago.

He finds her laying on the beach. She's drenched in water.

“Lizzie?” he asks, walking closer with a soft gait.

“You came” he speaks, eyes closed. Her hands are folded on her chest, tail flat under her.

“Of course” he whispers gently.

“Why?” she questions, voice empty.

“I wouldn't abandon you” he scowls.

She laughs, almost choking, almost crying.

“I wouldn't” he repeats.

“I know. You're too good” she smiles, in pain.

“You never gave up on me” he says, looking down at her.

She stays silent. He sits beside her.

“I love you, you know?” she whispers.

"I love you, too" he answers.

She makes a sour expression, shoulders rising around her face.

“Is it so hard to believe I also love you?” Jimmy asks.

“I'm your big sister. You don't have anyone else”

“By your reasoning, then you don't have anyone else either” he argues.

“It doesn't matter. I'm the Queen. I can have anything I want”

“It does. And besides, you're wrong”

She hums. He's unsure what it means.

“I have other people. You're not the only family I have. And you do, too” he reminds her.

“I'm glad. That's all I wanted" she smiles.

“Really?” He asks. He sounds like a child, even to himself.

Lizzie opens her eyes and looks at him with two big eyes and a trembling sad smile.

“I always wanted you to leave the nest and be free. But I couldn't."

More years pass, yet they still looked the same.

It was a sunny early morning, the sky was pale, the last trickles of orange leaving space for cerulean to expand and fill the firmament.

Lizzie was swimming lazily, slow movements to enjoy the sight under and above her, soaking up this peaceful moment.

At her neck was a small pendant, a trident charm, enchanted to grow in size when she would need it for defense.

She was currently looking for breakfast and if luck was on her side she'll also find some trinkets on the sea floor… Hopefully something sparkly for her hair!

The leather pouch on her side was full with soft and delicious seaweed, but she was looking for something a bit more filling.

Lizzie couldn't catch cod or else her brother would get angry, so she caught a few salmon.
This close to the coast it's pretty easy to find them.

Turtles and dolphins were swimming at her side, lazy and peaceful.

She giggled, looking at the gray creatures and playing with them, jumping out of the water, their laughter contagious.

Lizzie'd been swimming for about an hour now but if she wanted, she could race back to the Reef very quickly.

That's when she spotted a little broken settlement on the bottom of the sea, and immediately, she had to dodge a few stray tridents.

Oh! Just what she needed!

A couple of Drowned were floating near the ruins, already aiming up more weapons.

She grimaced.

With her fingers she brushed against her pendant and suddenly she was holding a pink, luminescent trident.

Lizzie's used to brute force but from this far she'd been at a disadvantage.

With a swirl, she swam quickly to avoid more projectiles and charged towards the drowned zombies with an angry trill.

Lizzie might've left them alone today, if only they weren't so damn aggressive.

She hit one with her tail, knocking an axe out of its hand. Out of reflex, it tried biting her but quickly she impaled it. It exploded into a handful of sand.

More groans echoed in the water, so she turned to the remaining two monsters: one was double wielding tridents and the other held a very rusted sword.

The one with the sword attacked first, she dodged quickly and didn't give the other time to aim.

She parried the rusty blade and with a kick threw one Drowned onto the other.

In the mad swirling of water it dropped one trident. Good.

Taking advantage of the sudden currents, Lizzie used her tail to send the monster upwards, and gripping its decaying leg with her free hand, she snatched away the trident it just dropped.

Double wielding now, Lizzie quickly impaled the monsters and suddenly, nothing but floating sand was left.

She looked at her new trident.
A treasure, lost by some pirate or important Emperor sailing by long ago.
It's a copper one, tinged green, decorated with bands of gold and crowns of emeralds. She weighed it in her hand, attacking the empty water and back flipping with fluidity.

This will do perfectly.

Now content with her loot she opened her pink wings and used them with the tail to propel herself through the water towards the Reef, away from the dangerous shallow coast.

She arrived there in a few minutes. Lizzie called for her brother with a small trill.

Nothing greeted her back. She scowled.

Peaking into his favorite cavity in the Reef, she didn’t find anyone.

Huh, he usually likes to sleep until much later, she thought.

Lizzie looked around, scenting the water for clues. After a moment of searching, she finally caught a whiff of something.

She followed his scent to the surface, where she found him looking up at the sky and sunbathing on a particularly large rock.

With a big splash and dramatic sigh, she joined him.

“Good morning, smelly cod” she greeted him, flicking at his nose, where hazel scales glimmered with water and his wild fringe stuck to his forehead.

“Hah. Good morning, you ugly toad!” he replied, arm rising to cover his face. He's peacefully smiling, now filled with humour.

“Hey!” she hit him in his side, making claws with her hands, knowing he'll squeal for fear of the tickles.
Surprisingly, he just laughes and swatted her hand away, eyes peeking from under the shade of his arm.

She blew him a raspberry , offended at the lack of reaction. A soft giggle fell from his lips.

“I got us breakfast” she said, sitting back and smelling the salty air, closing her eyes under the bright sun.

Jimmy hummed, acknowledging her but still not moving.

“Aaaaaand I got you a gift!” she continued, not moving from her sunbathing position.

The phrase elicited the exact reaction she wanted, making her snicker in return.

Jimmy jumped up with a flurry of limbs and feathers and grabbed her arm. “What? What did you get me?”

“Oh! So, now I caught your interest, I see” she smiled big, eyes closed in a show of nonchalance.

She wanted to explode into a fit of laughter so badly, but no, it'll be so much better to see his reaction.

“Yeah, duh. So, what is it?” he prodded, sharp fingers poking at her tummy and shoulders in a super annoying little brother manner.

She laughed, then sighed super dramatically and grabbed her pouch, taking out an enchanted necklace.

It was simple, with small shells, pearls and a trident charm.

He screamed and squealed, making grabby hand, super excited.

“No way!” he took it from Lizzie's offering hands, “For me?” Jimmy muttered, lips wobbling.

She laughed, hugging him with one arm just over his shoulders then hit her head on his his, making Jimmy yelp.

“Yeah, idiot. Don't activate it so close to me, though. I'd love not to be impaled…” she leans away, eyes sparkling with affection, “You'll like it though” she hit him on the shoulder again, giggling as she slipped down the rock with a big splash.

She's floating, watching and waiting for him to activate the charm. It took him approximately five seconds.

With a hitch and a giant smile, he jumped to stand on the rock, wings all splayed behind him with excitement.

Jimmy threw the necklace on and gripped the charm between his laced fingers.

Immediately the trident appeared in his hands, and he wielded it in the air with an excited sound.

“Wow! This is so freaking cool!” He impaled the air, and spun on his tail with a loud “Thank you, Lizzie!”

She stared at him, weighting her next words.
She had rehearsed them for so long now, it's as scary as it was reciting up for the first time.
They're awkward on her tongue, ripped away.

“I thought you might need one if I'm going to teach you how to use it. You know. Convenience and all” she played it all smoothly, lips numb and fingers trembling.

His mouth opened in shock, the borders of his lips turning up in a creeping smile, bright, like a rising sun.

“What! NO WAY!!” he screamed, freaking out.

He felt ecstatic! Lizzie was going to teach him more!

She'd already taught him how to read, surely that's why hunting was next!

“Yeah, doofus. Take some food and I'll teach you immediately after. You've got a lot to learn. Clumsy as you are” taking out four fox from her pouch, she teased him with crinkly eyes and lines around her tight mouth.

Jimmy looked away, eyes falling on his trident again.

It's super pretty! All green and gold like him!

“C'mon now” he huffed, holding it close to his chest with a small smile.

They ate on the rock, soaking in the sun, though Lizzie made a show of eating slowly purely to annoy Jimmy.

After they're all done with food, they started with the basics.

And so she taught him how to use a trident.
Then, magic. That came harder to him.
Day after day, some simple spells, and how to charm fish with his voice, and how to construct glamours to hide some parts of him.

Finally, he's not so helpless anymore.

His magic isn't as strong as Lizzie's, but there's not much comparison when she's perfect at everything she does.

“Took you long enough” she joked, at the end of another day.

He huffed out in disaccord, tired, muscles he'd never used now burning.

They'd been fighting all day, taking breaks for food only.

Lizzie was ruthless about this, but he's glad she chose not to treat him delicately. He didn't want to be babied.

She'd taught him different ways of attacking and defending, dodging and swimming.

He'd never really used his wings to swirl and use the currents before, only to swim and float around when the waves got strong.

Lizzie had told him she would keep teaching all week. And longer if there was the need. He hoped not, really. But something like this is good to know well and thoroughly.

“Took you long enough” he shot back.

It wasn't like he'd never asked, his sister just had never found it necessary. He resented the sentiment deeply. But he's on his best behaviour, now.

“Heh.” she shrugged, finger following a dragonfly that had flown all the way out here, “Thought you were finally ready” she nudged him, face turning to look over the horizon.

The sun was setting, colours making the sky their canvas.

They were sitting on that big rock again, where Lizzie has impaled that dreadful boat. It has disappeared, some time later, probably masticated by the waves of winter while they swam beach to beach.
It'd kind of become theirs, now.

The breeze was nice, seagulls were cackling in the air, diving to fish behind them.

She looked up at them, a thoughtful expression on her glittering blue face.

Jimmy liked the fact that Lizzie wasn't completely blue.... Wasn't completely perfect.

Her scales were all rosy and mauve around her cheeks, hands and feet.
Even some parts of her tail trailed to lilac. Her gills and membranes, too, were a shocking shade of teal.

She turned to him, blue and pink eyes doubtful, despite her strong words: “I think it's finally time for us to create our own lives” she says.

He looked at her, confused, a feeling arising in his throat. It scared him.

It's all he's ever wanted.

His sister continued to speak, hands cradled in her lap.

“I know I've been overbearing. I see you longing to explore and I'm too much of a wuss to let you go. But you're big, now. A big man, you'd probably say” she chuckled, hands squeezing his.

Jimmy was speechless, mouth agape.

What changed from yesterday? The day before? The years passed?

Nothing bad has happened in a long time and maybe that is why.

He knew that his sister was the anxious type, quite heavily actually, but she's always wanted the best for him.

He felt like a little kid, suddenly not wanting to let go…
To have a door open in front of him like this, all he's wanted for a long time, but caught off guard while he was just walking down a random hallway, curiously.

He grabbed her hand, and smiled.
“I'd say that, yeah.” Jimmy nodded vigorously.
He held her hands, she gave him a frying smile.

“I'd also say that you deserve to retire from having to deal with me for so long. I'd say to go explore for yourself, find some place you like. New people to bother. All that good stuff” he tilted his head and hoped his sister would see that he was being sincere.

He hoped for her to create her own life outside of family and duties. To find hobbies she liked, to explore outside of water. To learn more about myths, math and the stars.
She’d always liked to write stories for all the fish around them, and the stars above. He hoped she'd pass them down to more people.

He voiced his wishes in a simpler way.

“I really hope you find someone who puts up with you” she deadpanned, but her brows unfurrowed and he knew the message has been delivered.

“I hope so, too” he laughed, and the happiness he was feeling outweighed the nostalgia by one million.

“Alright, it's the last night I can order you to go to sleep early” she joked. He hoped she was joking.

They ended up going to sleep late, looking up at the stars and the galaxy, exchanging anecdotes.

It took more time for change than they'd both like but it all started on that day.

Jimmy closes his mouth.

“Oh, I remember” Lizzie sighs. Her stare is less heavy.

“I was thinking…” Jimmy continues.

“Yes?”

“We're now Emperor and Queen”

“Yeah?”

“But it's been so long since we've been… Siblings”

"Yeah..." she sighs.

"We talked though, it's been a long time since we just sat down and... Spoke about things"

Lizzie looks up at the sky. "...Did you explore on your own? You met so many people. You have a big Court"

"I did. Did you?"

"I found many trinkets. I wish I didn't find... A specific one"

"Oh? Which one?" Jimmy asks.

Lizzie finally sits up, and with her face on her knees, continues talking.

Alone now, Lizzie swam along the coasts of her Ocean, she'd been spotting interesting things out of the water, two legged creatures similar to drowned but alive. Humans? Her mom had spoken of them a few times.

She'd described them as short-lived fools, but worth a good laugh and a good time. Lizzie's unsure what her mother had meant, but maybe they're sociable?

In her exploration of the waters, rivers and ponds, she's found many interesting discoveries.

Grottos with stolen treasures, old decrepit shipwrecks full of shiny stuff and peculiar food, though it tasted good. She liked exploring with dolphins at her side, they made for good company and are pretty fun.

When she swam inland, they'd trade places with turtles, then squids.

Forwards and back, she'd mapped out a way to the ends of her Empire to where she resides so long with only Jimmy at her side.

After she'd allowed him more liberty he'd been more keen on following her, and the way he looked at everything new was incredible.

She, too, felt reinvigorated by the novelty of her Empire.

It was a lot, but the amount of travelling kept her mind busy, and that was all she needed.

Thought tended to grow louder at night, and though dolphins aided her with their laughter, they couldn't bring her out of the occasional panic episode.

They escorted her around, though they stay far from drowned’s ruins, which were surprisingly full of loot.

Many tools, fish and the most pretty pottery sherds and strange hardened red and green eggs.

She'd kept them all in her house’s loot chests (found in the ruins as well, pretty handy to store stuff).
The pretty vases looked very cute in her lonely Reef.

Lizzie grimaced, feeling incredibly alone.

She gripped her trident tighter and swam forward to the rocky shores.
This part of land seemed to have crumbled down from the cliff above.

This close to land, fish, crabs and sea urchins dominated the waters.
Nothing worth eating, too small and pointy for her.

As she got closer the midday sun hit the mossy wet rocks and Ah-Ha!, she noticed a glint in the darkness of a small hidden cave, just above water, probably unearthed by the landslide.

Curious, grabbing her trident to propel herself, she exited the water and jumped rock to rock to reach the entrance.

There was silence from inside the darkness, only a stale smell of old and the splash of tiny water drops on the pavement echoed.

She pushed the big granite rock that was blocking the entrance onto the water, the big splash hitting her shins with an annoying salty spritz.

Now that she could enter, Lizzie noticed that the glint was due to the many objects and treasures inside.

The room was gorgeous, an amethyst geode almost at sea level disguised by granite detritus, the interior was decorated with moss, precious stones and calcite.

In the middle was a rusty old cauldron, atop smeared coal.
All around was a display of enchanted books, and what seemed to be remains of wood, bones, food, tools and armour all hung on the walls. Huh.

The grotto seemed very old, and despite the closeness to the sea, unbelievably untouched by water, bothered only by humidity.

Lizzie looked through the books in the creaky library shelves, taking note of their good condition.

They were in a language she'd never seen and there were so many of them.

Lizzie's got nothing to do now that Jimmy was gone, living in the swamps up north.

She could take up learning a new language… Maybe?

There's a soft glow from the side of the grotto, where three books were propped up and in display, looking perfectly intact.

The two lecterns, one already prepped up with a crinkly, old journal. The other was hoisting two books, stacked one on top of each other.

Lizzie opened the lonely book and… Well, it's just scribbles in that strange language, but they were… Smudged, as if tears had soaked the page or it had been poorly been sunk in water.
The only clear page was a picture of an orb with little decorations. It looked very pretty.

The book on top seemed to be exactly what she wanted just two seconds ago: a learning guide to the mysterious language and glyphs.

Lizzie softly stacked it on the old journal.

Stacked under it was a manuscript sealed in dark, sturdy leather held closed by tight blue iron clasps.
At its side was a pink feather, set softly, poofy as if placed recently.
Lizzie looked around, suspicious. Huh.

Her hairs stood up with subtle shivers.

This place is creepy…

She scowled, and softly traced her laced finger on the leather wrapping.

She unclasped the bindings, and freed the book that slept inside of the seal.

The book looks to be in very good condition, it's dry, only a bit dusty, as if it was left alone for a while before being wrapped away.

The hardback was a single unique pearlescent white, while the cover was decorated with a braid of blue iron, embedded with amethyst shards, pearls and small tear shaped emeralds. It’s decorated with depictions of soft peach coral; pink roses carved into the insides of the cover.

Lizzie opened the first page, then the second, flipping to the tenth and then she's flying through all the blank pages.
Peculiar.

What a gorgeous book!
And, she's just found a perfect hideout.

"So, now, the book is haunting you?" Jimmy, asks confused.

He has no idea what Artifacts are, or anything about the theory of multiverses that is circulating around the Court.

But... The idea that's more of him... More futures and more past... It doesn't sound as alien as it should.

"Basically, yeah" Lizzie chokes out a laugh.

She started to cry silently when speaking about the weird powers of the prophecies and the power they hold over her. He thinks it sounds more like a parasite than a book.

Jimmy hugs her tighter.

"For what it's worth... You're not alone. Your Knights have been helping you. They were worried, when you disappeared"

"... They were?"

"Did you doubt that?"

"I dunno... I just..."

"Had other things on your mind?" He ask, low.

"Yeah..." She hugs him tighter.

"I'm sorry" he whispers into her hair.

She melts into the hug, "I'm sorry, too."

It's so easy. It won't solve every problem they have.
But it's... An Olive Branch.

Afternoon turns to evening, and Jimmy swims by Lizzie's side, guiding her back to the Swamp and Capitol Cod.

At midnight, the celebrations for his birthday will start and they'll be swamped -hah- with all the guests that came to his Empire for the occasion.

Chapter Text

It couldn't be later than 10 PM, and Jimmy stopped and turned around to his sister.

He hopes their conversation has started healing some wounds, or that the surface cuts have at least started scabbing.

It will be September 30th in less than two hours.

The past ten days echo in his brain, and guilt trips and swirls in his gut.

Truthfully, he doesn't feel guilty for making his sister feel a bit of what he's felt for so long. Some childish part of him that demanded some stupid retribution is sates.

This guilt is different.

He hadn't thought… He's a person, too.

He hadn't thought that she could be swept under all her past, when clearly she's fighting for the present and future as well. The whole Great Journey thing, it really is important.

Lizzie has her own preoccupations, her own worries.

She's lived much more than him, although they know their births both range about a thousand years ago.
Him, less. Her… She doesn't know. It isn't important, she used to say.

There weren't any calendars in the Abyss, and Mama would accompany me in every moment, I wouldn't need to worry, Lizzie would say when they were kids, while she braided Jimmy's growing mop of hair.

You worry now? He had asked, and she had laughed.

Well, of course, little cod, how could I keep count of your birthdays if I didn't count the seasons? tapping his nose with a finger and a smile.

Lizzie counted a lot. She counted everything.

She told him she counted many thousands before his egg started cracking.

Jimmy could count to a thousand. But why would he?

He's never really understood his sister.

Their minds work so differently, it can sometimes be intimidating.

He knows she thought he was broken, at first, because of the damage to his egg. Because he'd started coming out of the cod fish sideways.

He's fine, though. Maybe… Maybe it's her who's the weird one.

He thought, and feared, that he and her were so different.

She would reassure him.

We look so alike! And our brother, you look so much like him! And he looked like me, so clearly, we all look like each other.

Jimmy had never known his late brother. He never knew if Lizzie was lying.

From the things she seemed to know about cod babies, though, he was real.

When they grew, something grew inside Lizzie, too.

A brightness, a promise of something greater.

Then, she was nominated Empress of the Water Empire, and crowned Queen of the Ocean Empire.

Something else was there, too, sinister.
Self preservation. Worries that stemmed from a mind who shouldn't know of the terrors that lurked around.

Jimmy remembers…

Waking up find her guarding his nook, warding away even small fish.

The denial of freedom.

The denial of her feelings, when he'd ask why she treated him like this, and she couldn't answer, and cried.

The pain remains a stark memory in every moment they’ve shared.

He's not immortal, he knows this. He knows, because like his friends and courtiers and citizens, he forgets.

He doesn't remember all of that. He remembers tidbits, and smells and sights. He remembers some conversations.

He knows, too, because he's still growing.

There's a distinct… Quality, to growing old while aged a millennia.

From what he remembers, his growing spurts had all always been random.

He'd stayed as a small, simple cod for not long, a few months at best, he thinks.

He'd emerged from the fish as a merman. Lizzie said those would visit, sometimes, only a couple, before they went extinct. Killed by pirates, and the glitching waters beyond the borders.

Jimmy had stayed as a toddler for a while then started aging like a normal kid until he reached what people call his tween years.

He'd stayed like that for a long, long time.

But Lizzie kept growing, not just in appearance.

He was a frail, elongated kid, which still had much to grow still.

Lizzie, large and tall and soft, looked much older.

She looks older now, too.
He knows he looks different, as well.

Apart from each other, they have both grown.

She looks like a mature young woman, beautiful and glowing with a light of her own.

He'd always thought that if his sister looked so pretty, then their Mama must've been a titan of incredible beauty.

Lizzie would tell him that he looked like her, too. And Lizzie was genuine.

Us three, we have her same eyes! she'd cheer.

He couldn't understand, Lizzie and Jimmy had different coloured eyes.

No, silly! Hers would shine so bright, like yours! And, they changed colours, but they were never the same!

That's when Jimmy started taking pride in having blue and hazelnut eyes.

Was Mama green like me, too? He'd ask as a small cod.

No-oh! Mama… Mama was very pale, almost white! She looked like a star!

So, you also don't look like her? He'd ask.

She had pink hair, and white, and gold. Like me. Like us!

I don't have pink or white. Mine is blonde and green and all rubbish. he replied.

Don't say that! It shades to a different colour! So did our brother's, in the same way yours does. We all have gold. Lizzie would pinch his cheeks.

Does that mean we're precious? He wondered.

Lizzie would smile and hug him tight, It does, indeed, little cod.

/

They're so close to the capitol, they can see the lights in the sky.

“They've been looking for you” he says, looking at the orange glow. It'll soon turn to green with the new lanterns and fireflies.

The sky is a painting of purple and cerulean, spritzed with many miniscule bubbles of white and gold.

“Who?” Lizzie asks, stopping by his side, arms thrown over the bushy land stripe.

“Your Knights” he comments.

She smiles, “They're feisty.”

It's a bloody understatement, he thinks.

“Wouldn't let me be! They started spreading rumors and impatience at your sudden disappearance. They insulted some and basically called me stupid”

Lizzie snorts, “Maybe you deserved it”

“Heh. They kept freaking out, because you were really sick. I mean, I know you've told me about the book. But they talked about it like you were dying”

Lizzie purses her lips.

“How did you find me?” she asks, changing topic.

Jimmy shrugs with a smug smile, “You think I wouldn't know where my sister ends up in my own Empire?”

Lizzie rolls her eyes.

“No one told me” he says truthfully.

“Then, how…”

“We used to camp there, back then. It's a long way home, but I couldn't quite forget the horrible sand and the boggy waters”

“You love boggy waters” she scoffs.

“You don't.” he teases.

“... Why did you come to me?” She asks.

“We argue and we make up. That's what we've always done. Siblings do that a lot, I reckon” he makes light of it, but means it.

He needed space to think. As did Lizzie.

“I'm sorry I hurt you” she whispers.

“I know you are” he smiles, plopping backwards into the water.

Lizzie follows, mouth held in a line, uncomfortable, “I know you're capable. I know… I know you're strong and have a Court and an Empire to run”.

“I do. Just like you” he nods and blows a few bubbles at her.

She splashes him in the face, with a soft apologetic smile, “I'm sorry”

“I know” he repeats, lips out of the water as she swims on his back.

She makes a face. “How would I be able to-”

“Fix things so I'll accept the apology?” Jimmy guesses.

“Yeah” she mutters.

“It's hard to rectify hundreds years of guilt in three days, sister”

She looks away, eyes cast down at the debris floating under them.

“Give yourself room to think and do your work. You have much to do until you can go home and sulk in your rooms for months on end, Liz” he advises her.

“I've only just begun, and yet…. Jimmy, I don't know how I'm meant to do this” she confides, blue eyes shimmering.

“You accepted.”

“I did.”

“The Council doubted you would. Why did you?” he inquires, curious.

“I didn't have much of a choice. If my fleeting pain would mean peace for hundreds of years, wouldn't you do it, too?” she questions him.

“For your pain? I wouldn't. There are easier ways” he scoffs.

“Jimmy… It is important. I know, you've just begun. But… the Empress didn't take kindly to the stipulations, even if she agreed to them. She resents the wording, even when she is guilty”

“The whole 'celebration of 250 years without any major war’?”

“Yes”

Jimmy laughs, “C’mon. Everyone hates her. Everyone hates her people”

“I don't” Lizzie answers seriously.

Ah. Right. The Knight.

“How's the witch? Seems like... An interesting fella.” he asks.

"Good...? They're just- I don't know, a particular type. I like them"

"Hm. Do your other subjects like them? Doesn't seem so, on certain occasions"

“What do you mean?” Lizzie scowls, speaking around water.

“They're quite unpleasant and I've seen them mock your little fawn, a few times” he informs her.

“They don't get along, for various reasons” Lizzie sighs.

“I'd bet.” he turns to her, tails and waters sploshing.

“They’re fine.”

“Mh. You know? They seemed worried about you. Real worried. Both of them.”

“They worry a lot” Lizzie answers.

“But they told me the strangest thing, you know?” he pushes, trying to hold eye contact.

“They say many weird things” Lizzie's eyes wander to the horizon.

“This one wasn’t peculiar because of the claim. It was…”

“I don't want to talk about it.” Lizzie stops him.

“You don't have to. Your butterfly's worries were pretty direct”

“She talked?”

“For the way I replied, she might still cut off my head and cast it in bronze”

“She’s the loudest” Lizzie answers, fondly.

Crickets and insects make all sorts of sound on the lonely strips of dried grass and thorny bushes.

“I’m glad she is, truthfully”

“...You are?” Lizzie blinks surprised.

“I actually want the people around you to worry, Lizzie. I don’t want them to fold just because you're their Queen”

“Oh. Yeah.”

“And I'll be honest. She didn't say anything specific. The wolf too, told me to ask you”

“I'm not speaking a word right now” Lizzie zips her mouth with her fingers.

The city is so close. He can hear the people cheering.

“The fact that she told me I should ask, means you have been talking to someone. That's enough” he confides.

“You're not angry?”

“I'm so angry” ha laughs, and the tension is palpable, still obviously so. They're tired.

“You are?”

“I’m not going to vent out my worries to you, either. Waters know that has never gone right” he jokes a bit grimly.

“I'm sorry” Lizzie says, again.

“I know” Jimmy repeats.

“You're not?” she asks, a little offended.

“For what?” he grins, dirty blonde fringe sticking to his face.

“You were mean to me” she scowls.

“You've been cruel much longer. I don't think I can compare”

She looks away.

“There is one thing that'll help to get an apology out of me, though”

“What is it?” she asks and collides with him when he stops swimming.

He turns around and looks seriously into her eyes.

Cerulean against blue, hazel against magenta.

His hand grasp onto her shoulders and he tries not to beg.

“Stop looking at me like I'm dead. Stop grieving me in front of my eyes. I am alive.“

She blinks, eyes widening, taken by surprise.

“I don't-”

“You do, though. Start being thankful that I am still alive.
Stop worrying that I'll disappear. We both will, someday. Start thinking you're a normal person then, maybe, you'll feel like one” he says then pushes back into the water.

Her hand points up at the natural crown on her head, “I'm not, though”

“I’m not, either.” He smiles, all toothy.

They swim and reach the shores next to Jimmy's Hut, there a chorus rises from the people hanging by.

Norman and Flick run towards them, and they look infinitely relieved to see both all in one piece.

“We've been waiting! Your Highness, your Knights Pearl and Cleo, are making sure the special guests are welcome. Meanwhile, Gem-”

“I'm here!” the fawn walks forward with wide eyes, scanning for anything wrong.

“Gem, dear” Lizzie walks forward and holds her hands.

“Queen Lizzie… You're okay” Gem exhales, face red, relieved.

“Of course I am, darling” Lizzie smiles.

“We'll be helping Emperor Jimmy get clean and dress nicely, we only have about 30 minutes before the first warning for the begining of firework show is shot. The guests will be worrying over your absence. Until later.” Norman bows to the Queen, and with Flick he takes Jimmy to the Hut.

“We'll see each in a bit, I swear” he promises before the door closes.

“Void, Lizzie, you stink” Gem laments, taking her hand and leading her to her cabin.

Applauses and cheering are what greet them at every corner, and Lizzie gladly shuts the door behind her back.

“So, I already laid out on your bed a dress, and some shoes you could choose from. To save time I'll just put a few pearls and seashells in your hair, after you've cleaned yourself in the bathroom, so- Shoo! You have to get ready, queenly duties!” Gem frets.

“I was only gone a couple days” Lizzie sighs, and walks to the bathroom.

The floorboards creak, “Lizzie?” Gem asks, sounding way less peppy.

“Yes?”

A moment of silence.

“Did you find what you were looking for?” she asks.

Her face is soft, hazel eyes shimmering with sharp wit.

“A part of it” she smiles, and steps into the bathroom.

The shower is a small blessing, cleaning away the stink and grime, leaving behind the smell of roses.

She wears the gown Gem had chosen for her (beautiful, blue and white, nets falling down from the waist, tight with a leather corset, entangled with small beads and wooden boats and wooden stars).

Lizzie's hair is dried with Gem's light magic, which fortunately also produces warmth. It's then styled with large, soft curls and braided blue beads, petals and white shells.

Her face is blushed and her lips shimmer with the taste of cherry.

Lizzie's still in her axolotl form, but she's fashioned herself to her usual short size.

Her wings are fluffy at her back after a few quick brushes of fingers.

“You look gorgeous” Gem whispers from behind, admiring her work through the small oval mirror.

“As do you” Lizzie smiles, taking her hands.

Her soft apricot curls brush around her freckled face and chin, it flows into a loose braid.
She's wearing her usual oak corset over a white and mustard green medieval dress and shiny leather shoes. Her face and skin are sparkling with some fairy dust.
Her butterfly wings flap and flutter.

She seems excited.

“Let's go have some fun” Gem says, tugging the Queen along.

They emerge outside the Queen's hut, where a giant group of people is already laughing and drinking.

Lizzie is incredibly tired, but before she can pass out on her bed, she needs to socialize. She needs to feel like a person again.

She holds onto Gem's hand and they wade through the crowd, looking to join the rest of the Knights and to meet back with her brother and the special guests he mentioned.

After wading through a sea of people, they finally reach the podium set up for them on the eastern shores.

They join by the Emperor's side just a minute before the show begins.

He, too is short of breath, holding onto Tango's hand with a squeeze and turning with a big smile to Lizzie and then the crowd behind them, waving wide.

“You were almost late” he whispers.

“As you were” she replies, then awe fills the air as the first boom and sparkles rain down.

It's a beautiful spectacle of shapes and sparkling colours, a rainbow of breathtaking beauty.

It ends a few minutes later, leaving behind the smell of gunpowder and ash.

Lizzie turns to her brother with a smile then they both face the crowds, and Jimmy speaks.

“Thank you all being present tonight for the celebration of my 987th birthday! From the start of the fireworks to the last second of September, we'll be celebrating it and my Empire, for without me and your presence, we wouldn't be here” he smiles, sharp teeth and eyes sparkling with happiness.

He must be tired, just like Lizzie, but nevertheless, he's radiant in front of his people.

Bicolour eyes bright, his beard is curated, his hair is sleek and shiny, he smells of orchids and his baggy robe swirls with the occasional gist of wind.

The crowd claps and cheers happily, many are holding dark green or aqua candles, some torches and big paper cod hats.

Lizzie takes a step forward, smiling the best she can.

“I am thankful for your generous Emperor, my host and brother, and the time we've spent together and the days still left in mine and my entourage’s stay. The festivities will be memorable, as will your beautiful faces!” She declares, waving at the crowds and kids.

More cheering, and then Jimmy is clapping and in front of the stage the people leave an empty circle, where now Flick and Norman each hold a flower (a blue orchid and a pink peony). They're waiting in the center of the circle.

Jimmy turns his face to Lizzie with a grin, “It's customary here that one dances with their closest family member” he says and offers her a hand, “So, sister, will you accompany me to start off the dance?”

Everyone looks eager, so Lizzie takes his hand and they both descend down the podium and take the flowers from the cat courtiers, both tuck theirs behind their ears, safe in their voluminous hair.

Lizzie and Jimmy hook their arms together, and so do the cat courtiers and the other nobles around them.

They music starts, a funky and happy beat, folk join in, and all start laughing and hopping in circles to the music, feet beating on the gravel and dirt as they dance.

It's inevitable that in the dance, the two Sovereigns swirl to change companions, grabbing onto the next closest dancers.

Jimmy hooks his arm and hand around Tango, and Lizzie does the same with Gem.

“That was magnificent!” the fawn exclaims, dancing happily with her.

“Yes! And fun!” Lizzie says, and laughs as they twirl and hop together.

It's like the air itself glows, particles of light scattered above their heads and in-between the crowds, as music dulcifies the anxiety of the past days.

Lizzie finally spots a few familiar faces in the crowd.

She sees Cleo dancing and talking with Martyn, laughing even, and Pearl hooking her arm with Sir Sausage, smiling and talking.

They look okay, Lizzie's glad.

A valley passes by, offering wine cups, which both take.

"It'll never be as good my Empire's, but this wine is actually pretty good" Gem smiles, sipping on it with short breath.

Lizzie giggles and down the cup, giving it back, "I cannot wait to waist your wine, Gem".

The music reprises, another similar beat, thumping feet and clapping hands.

They probably dance for twenty more minutes before Lizzie has to stop and take a breather, and preferably find something to eat.

Gem accompanies her to the buffet tables, where every type of food can be found, in the range of fish or meat or vegetables and dairy.

Lizzie is given amarena ice cream by a nice old lady, and Gem asks for a vanilla and chocolate cone.

“My feet are gonna kill me tomorrow” Gem cries out.
She's shifted form so she could wear sandals, but all the moving and stomping will absolutely hurt her heels.

“I could use a nap, honestly” Lizzie sighs around a spoonful of ice-cream.

“What? Tired already? What a bummer!” a voice rises from behind them, and both turn to see Cleo and Martyn walking towards them, arms still linked together.

Cleo laughs, "Good evening, Your Highness" they smile, soft. They seem relieved.

"Have you tried the wine?" She asks, to both, but her eyes are glued to the Cleo's sparkling face. Their dress is dark teal, and their hair is fluffy around their face, fashioned in waves. Their black lips purse then reveal a tooth gap, smile unsure.

"Only a cup. I'm sure Martyn will drink more, though"

"Oh, I will!" Martyn exclaims, laughing from the chest.

Lizzie's eyes linger on Cleo's face maybe a little more than acceptable. She's tired, anyway.

Lizzie laughs, maybe s bit weakly "It would be worth the headache tomorrow, it's very good".

“Hello! Hello! Hi, Lizzie!” another voice joins them, Sausage, walking side by side with Pearl, who looks a bit pale and tired herself.

“Saus!” Lizzie cheers, hugging him.

“Ohh, sure, hug him, not me” Pearl jokes, feigning annoyance, ear flickering and tail wagging.

“Pearly I could hug you whenever I wanted” Lizzie laughs, but actually goes to hug the wolf. Endearingly, Pearl hugs back tight, her tail wagging faster.

“We've missed you, nugget” she whispers in Lizzie's hair.

“Oh jeez, we're here too!” Martyn laughs.

“You want a hug, too?” Lizzie asks, letting go and turning with a grin.

The blond blinks and shakes his hands in the air, “No, no thank you, actually, I'm good!”, eliciting a few laughs.

“It's great to have you here, though. Wasn't expecting such esteemed guests” Lizzie smiles, genuinely happy.

“Well, Jimmy really wanted us to pass by for the celebration, after it's done I'll be going north to Scott's” Martyn explains.

“Yeah, boy really wanted a memorable birthday. I wonder what he'll do for his 1000th, probably invite ALL the Emperors.” Sausage laughs, arms curls behind his back.

“He actually might” Lizzie laughs.

A few more minute did banter and catching up pass.

A nearby bell tolls, signifies two in the morning.

"I'm afraid that's my cue to leave, gentlemen. We will see each other tomorrow, though. Good night" Lizzie bows and take a step back.

"I will be going, too" Gem excuses herself, "Me, as well" Pearl continues, "Drink and eat for us more, boys. Goodnight" Cleo waves and walks side by side with the other three.

"Goodnight!" Sausage waves, dark cloak swirling with the movement.

"Bye!" Martyn exclaims.

The two turn to reach the Emperor and his people.

"You're alive. We were worried" Cleo breaks the silent walk to the cabins.

"Yeah, mate. Tomorrow... Will you tell us?" Pearl asks, softly, holding up her dress with fine hands, frills and swirls of cloth pretty, sparkling with light green.

"Tomorrow, probably, yes. Right now I just need to sleep" Lizzie laments, finally reaching her own.

"Goodnight Lizzie, if you need anything, we'll be next door" Gem reminds her softly and bows.

"Thank you.... For worrying as well, and goodnight" Lizzie smiles softly to all three then turns around to let herself in.

She's left alone, she changes quickly into something comfier and slips into bed.

Lizzie's dreams are blurry and evocative, but despite all the times she wakes up, she can't recall anything.
She sleeps for many hours.