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Jophiel’s been getting fewer letters from Schpood recently. Of course, trading letters was difficult, what with the raging storm potentially washing thousands of things off-course, but… usually Schpood’s letters found their way to her in the end.
The letters had been the only thing she’d been looking forward to recently. She was terrified to leave the safety of her kingdom, what with Seraphim’s recent attempt on her life, and with Saparata’s meeting having turned deadly (he wasn’t guilty, she knew it in her heart, but nobody else believed him).
She stared out across her balcony, arms resting on the banister and her head tucked between them. The waves lapped at the shores of her kingdom, and in the distance, she saw the storm rumbling- shrouding the other side in darkness. Her most trusted guards stood by the door to her balcony, constantly vigilant for any attempts on her life. She never got any time alone recently anymore.
She lifted her head and stretched her arms out, ready to head back inside and lay down, when she spotted something. A vague shadow through the dense clouds of the storm. Her brows furrowed and she watched attentively, trying to make out its shape. It was far too large to be a single person, and no way could a single person survive the storm.
The guards perked up as well, turning to watch the shadow transform into an identifiable shape. A massive boat pierced through the dark clouds, and immediately her guards were on edge, one even preparing to go warn the others. She grabbed their wrist, though.
“We don’t know if they’re a threat,” she reminded, her heart pounding against her chest. As it drew closer to the shore, she saw it- black fading to red and a splash of gold in the centre of it, several flags raised high across the boat. Her breath hitched in her throat.
It was Westhelm.
“It’s Westhelm.” She echoed, “It’s Westhelm!”
She stood up straight and rushed past her guards, through her room and out into the tall hallways of her castle. She could hear shouting behind her- no doubt her guards warning her of dangers and to wait up- but she didn’t care. Westhelm was finally coming to Tricolour- Schpood was finally coming to Tricolour.
A laugh bubbled in her throat as she raced through the hallways, dodging past her poor servants who weren’t expecting the queen to excitedly run past. The guards ended up catching up to her but were no longer trying to stop her, just wanting to ensure her safety when she went outside to greet Westhelm.
As soon as she was outside her castle, she weaved past citizens, some of which were starting to catch onto the excitement and others having already spotted the flags of Westhelm. Soon, a crowd was following after her, excited murmurs spreading through the crowd- some were quiet and doubtful, but most were happy to meet Jophiel’s soon-to-be wife.
She finally reached the beach, ignoring the way the sand snuck into her shoes and clung to the bottom of her dress. She waited by the docks with her hands held to her chest, as if trying to calm her racing heart. The boat drew closer and she could start to make out individual people on it, her eyes eagerly scanning for Schpood amongst the hundreds of workers.
A hand curled around her shoulder and she quickly glanced over at the guard, who murmured to her, “something feels off.”
She gently shrugged off their hand and gave a warm, reassuring smile. “Calm down, it’s just Westhelm. We’ve already established an alliance with them.”
The guard stared at her, before stepping back, resting their hand on the hilt of their blade cautiously. Soon enough, the boat came to a stop and the workers began moving about, preparing to open the hatch. Everyone watched with bated breath as it released, and soon enough, an armoured figure stepped out onto the shore.
Her brows furrowed slightly and her guards stepped forward, surrounding her, but the figure strode forward. As they got closer, she spotted dried blood coating their armour, and her heart began to race for another reason.
But then, they lifted their helmet off, and- oh, it was Schpood. She looked… exhausted, to put it simply. Her eyebags were heavy, her hair and stubble had grown out from lack of care, and a few fresh scars littered her face. She was beautiful, despite how tired she looked.
Schpood soon came up to her and collapsed by her feet, clutching at the ends of her dress. She frowned slightly, opening her mouth, but Schpood spoke first.
“Jophiel,” she breathed. “Can you forgive me?”
“...For what?” She whispered back, ready to accept in a heartbeat. Schpood was her darling, they’d been apart for so many years, separated by the storm and only knowing each other through letters. She wanted to crouch down to Schpood’s level, curl her hand through her hair and whisper sweet reassurances-
“I won. Yggdrasil is mine. Every nation is under my thumb. Project Schpood was a… was a success.”
Silence buzzed in the air, heavy and strained. Jophiel stared down at Schpood, looking at the faint tremor in her hands, the dried blood caked under her nails. For a moment, Jophiel was sure her heart had stopped beating, that Seraphim had successfully managed to assassinate her and that this had all been a strange limbo.
“...Project Schpood?” Her voice was quiet and careful. “Schpood, I- what did you do?”
Schpood shuddered, like hearing the nerves in Jophiel’s voice was enough to make the guilt crash down upon her.
“I took over Yggdrasil. I wanted to make sure none of them would ever try to hurt you. I saw your letter about Seraphim and I just-” She clenched her teeth together, exhaling sharply. “I can’t let anyone hurt you again. Especially not my own island.”
It was like Jophiel’s entire body was dunked into freezing water, her body stiff and her blood going cold. Her mouth went dry as she choked on whatever instinctual response was bubbling up in her throat.
The beach was silent except for the crashing of waves against the shore, but even they seemed muted, like the world itself was holding its breath, awaiting Jophiel’s response. Everybody had been anticipating Schpood, and how their marriage would bring reassurance to both islands.
None expected that Schpood would have already dealt with Yggdrasil, especially in such a violent and oppressive way.
“I…” Jophiel’s attempt at speaking cut through the deafening silence, and like a bell tolling, it snapped everyone out of their daze. Citizens began shouting, some hiding their children behind their backs while others reached for weapons.
Her guards, of course, sprung into action as well. Two of them roughly yanked Schpood away from her, and for a brief moment, she felt Schpood’s grip tighten on her dress in a mix of fear and desperation. The rest of her guards aimed their weapons at Schpood, from her neck to her gut, ensuring no escape.
None of Schpood’s citizens or even guards stepped forward to defend her, and somehow that made Jophiel’s heart hurt the most- because it was confirmation. They only followed her because it was that, or death. They just watched with a quiet acceptance.
“Take her to… to the prison,” Jophiel finally decided, her voice scratchy. “I’ve got to call a meeting with the others.”
She turned on her heel, refusing to look back at everyone- her citizens, her guards, Schpood- she had been far too vulnerable already, she needed to be the queen her people could rely on. The queen that the rest of Pandora could rely on.
A brief thought flickered across her mind as she stalked off- what would Saparata do?