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[3 months before the Tricolor Tourney]
Cass had crossed the Tricolor border enough times to know exactly when she has left home.
There’s always something about that border. Cass swears the air smells different once she crossed into Tricolor. Calm in a way that made Cass itchy, like she needed to brace for impact.
The road between the Coalition and Tricolor was wide and well-maintained, the stones smoothed by years of use. Fields rolled out on either side as she approached the castle.
No horns sounded. No checkpoint halted them. Their nations were friendly to each other.
When she rode past the farmers in their fields. They waved at her.
Cass awkwardly waved back. Then she pulls the hood of her cloak over her pink hair.
“I don’t get why they do this. I’m just visiting.” She muttered, glancing back at the Coalition standard fluttering behind her.
Her aide shrugged from his saddle. “They know who you are.”
Cass grimaced. “I know.”
While she was probably the most lowkey leader on Island Two, she was still quite a public face to her nation. And those closest to it, like Tricolor.
She didn’t like it. Fame was a kind of vulnerability. You couldn’t stab an idea, but you could absolutely stab a person.
Cass dismounted at the castle gates. She rolled her shoulders, straightened her cloak, and did her best to look like she belonged here as much as she did anywhere else.
You’re a leader. Jophiel’s equal. She reminded herself. There's no need to feel like a little kid asking for advice.
The doors opened for her without ceremony.
------------------------
The inside of Tricolor’s castle was just as she remembered.
Sunlight poured in through tall windows, catching on the polished stone floors and the woven tapestries on the walls. People scuttled around, carrying business. Carrying linens. Jopheil had her own army just to keep the castle running.
Cass knew the dance. She weaved through the people easily.
Cass was halfway down the main corridor when she collided with a body that definitely had not been there a second earlier. Someone not part of the choreography.
“Oh shit, sorry-”
They both stumbled. Cass caught herself instinctively, taking a step back and looking up.
And she found herself staring at a white-haired stranger.
He was tall, much taller than her. He dressed simply enough that she couldn’t place where he was from. No insignia, no armor.
Pale white skin. Grey eyes. She’s never seen anyone like him.
He blinked, then grinned at her. “Hey.”
Cass immediately went on guard. He had a disarming smile too.
Her mind ticked through the possibilities in a split-second. Ran through her mental inventory of Tricolor faces she recognized. Council members. Color captains. The queen’s usual orbit.
He wasn’t in it.
“Do you usually haunt hallways, or am I interrupting a very boring coup?” Cass said.
He rubs the back of his head. In a way some people might find charming. “I got lost.”
“In Tricolor Castle?”
“Yeah. It’s bigger than it looks.”
“And you are…?” She prompted coolly. The boy doesn’t miss her annoyed tone.
“A problem, apparently." He laughed.
He doesn’t know who she is, Cass realizes with a start. Which means he isn’t from Tricolor. For some reason that makes her relax a bit. She never liked all the pomp and circumstance from her being a leader.
“You… don’t seem to know what you’re doing here.” She asks, slowly.
“Hey, Jophiel said I could stay.” Jophiel. Not the Queen.
Cass folded her arms. “I’ve been here dozens of times, and I’ve never seen you around.”
“I promise, I’m just a guest.” He raises his hands in surrender. He was taking this way too easy. And she still didn’t know who this guy was.
She shook her head. “Well, guest. You are in my way.”
He laughed outright at that, loud and unbothered, like he hadn’t learned yet that castles echoed. “Sorry.” He steps aside.
She walks past him, her guard following her.
“Good luck with the queen!” He called after her, cheerful.
She did not dignify that with a response, but she did, annoyingly, smile.
--------------------------
Jophiel was seated at her desk when Cass was announced, writing something slowly across parchment.
Her golden hair fell loose over her shoulders. In the bright sun, Cass could see the beginnings of wrinkles upon her eyes.
The room smelled faintly of ink and herbs. Sunlight pooled around her, illuminating the red seal resting near her hand. Cass found herself staring without meaning to. The insignia was unmistakable.
Westhelm. Island One.
Jophiel looked up, her expression softening immediately.
“Cass.” She said warmly.
Cass straightened on reflex. “Your Majesty.”
Jophiel sighed, fond rather than reproachful. “Cass, c'mon. We’ve discussed this.”
Cass grinned despite herself. “Old habits die hard.”
Jophiel rose, crossing the room to pull her into a brief embrace. She was warm, steady, slow. Cass knew she would never be able to achieve such grace.
“You’re earlier than expected,” Jophiel noted.
“I ride fast when I’m nervous.”
“Nervous? Then we’ll start with tea.”
They settled near the windows, Jophiel preparing the pot herself. Cass watched the ritual, half in admiration, half in envy. Everything about Jophiel felt intentional. Measured. As though chaos simply didn’t cling to her the way it did to everyone else.
Her gaze drifted back to the desk. To the letter.
“That seal.” Cass said carefully. “Island One?”
Jophiel just smiled lightly. “Yes. Emperor Schpood wrote me.”
“Why?”
“....Marriage.” Jophiel finally admitted after a beat, sounding a little embarrassed at the fact.
Cass choked on her tea. But she did her best to recover quickly. Cass scrubbed a hand over her face.
“I didn’t even know you were… into him. Congratulations?”
Schpood. Jophiel. Married. What would that even look like? What would that do to Island Two-
“I’m not, Cass.” Jophiel stopped her gently, half a laugh in her voice. Cass was speaking aloud. “Maybe not that way. But perhaps the politics demands I be.”
That answer sat heavy between them.
Cass hesitated, then asked quietly. “Do you want to?”
A childish question. Cass knows marriage was a valid way to gain allies. She just… never expected it to happen so soon. To a friend even.
Jophiel met her gaze, eyes kind but sad. “I think you and I both know that is not a question leaders are allowed to ask.”
Cass swallowed, unsettled in a way she couldn’t quite articulate.
Jophiel noticed the look on her face. “He’s become a friend to me, Cass. He’s a good man. A good leader. Most of what you know is… a theater he puts up.”
Cass had known, abstractly, that power always cost something. But seeing the cost laid so plainly on someone she admired, someone she looked to for guidance… made it feel suddenly, painfully real.
They drank in silence for a moment.
Then Cass straightened, finally remembering what she came here for. “Jophiel, the Coalition has decided to back your choice for Island Two’s mediator.”
Jophiel’s attention sharpened. “You’re certain?”
“Yes.” Cass said firmly. “If you trust them, so do we.”
Jophiel smiled. Something about her shifted, she seemed more excited all of a sudden. “Then I think it’s time you met him.”
Cass frowned. “Met who?”
“My old friend, Saparata.” Jophiel said. “He’s been staying here on vacation.”
Cass’s brow furrowed. A vacation in Tricolor? In the castle?
“…You don’t mean that hallway guy, do you?” She said warily.
The door opened. “Hey.” Came a familiar voice. “There were two of us in that hallway.”
Cass groaned. “Oh no.”
Curse her big mouth. Did she just make an enemy of someone important?
The stranger leaned casually against the doorframe, entirely unapologetic. Jophiel’s expression softened at once. “Cass. This is Saparata.”
Cass sighs, she sets her tea down on the table. “We’ve met. Bumped into him in the hall. Literally.”
Saparata winced. “Ouch.”
Jophiel hid a smile behind her hand. “He is currently the Head of Cavalry for Luminara. Saparata, this is Cass. Leader of the Coalition.”
Cass stared at him anew, recalibrating. That explained the build. The quiet confidence. How he walked through Tricolor Castle like he owned the place... nah, that part was still weird to her. Saparata’s eyes widened upon realizing who she was too.
“And…” Jophiel continued, “if all goes as planned, he will soon be the mediator of Island Two.”
Saparata shifted, suddenly very aware of himself. “That’s- uh… tentative.”
Cass cocks her head, regarding the young boy. Almost too young, most people would think. But if Cass was someone not to be underestimated, then neither was Saparata. Cass would need him on her side.
“You didn’t mention that part in the hallway.” She teased him.
“I didn’t know you were important!” He shot back, flustered.
Both Jophiel and Cass laughed softly.
Before Cass could respond, the door opened again.
Seraphim, Tricolor’s second in command, entered with like a blade being sheathed. Quiet and dangerous. Her young face was stern.
“Jophiel.” She said evenly.
She didn’t call Jophiel by her title either, Cass noticed. What an interesting pair, these two.
Her gaze flicked to Cass, then to Saparata. Something unreadable passed through her expression. “You’re both here.”
“Yes,” Jophiel said. “We were just-”
“The Commonwealth is moving troops again.” Seraphim interrupted. “Pushing on our southern border.”
Cass’s posture tightened. “We’ve seen it too.” The Commonwealth had been pressuring both of their nations. Trying to get extra resources. Extra lands. What for, Cass had no idea. But she didn’t like it.
Seraphim nodded. “Then you understand why waiting is dangerous.”
“We will not strike first.” Jophiel said.
Seraphim inhaled sharply. “With all respect due respect, my queen, they’ve been doing this for months. We can’t just let them push us around.”
“And we will not answer their theft with blood.”
Seraphim’s composure cracked. Her blue and red eyes flickering with anger. “We’ve been doing nothing about it.” She said lowly.
“I am asking you to trust me. We can discuss this with the Commonwealth civilly.”
Cass realized why this conversation felt off to her. Because it sounded more like a mother and a daughter having an argument, rather than two equals discussing their nation.
She almost felt sorry for Seraphim.
When Seraphim meets Cass’s eyes, there was something almost… hopeful there. A pleading look, as if she were weighing Cass already, praying she might tip the scales.
Ah, Cass thought. So that’s the play.
For half a second, Cass considered it. The Coalition had no love for the Commonwealth either. Cass felt the familiar pull of the momentum, her hands itched for a fight.
But this wasn’t her table. This was the difference between being a leader and an idealist. She had to know when to play her cards. Instead, she smiled. And turned deliberately toward Jophiel.
“That’s a heavy thing to drop on a room.” Cass said, voice still easy, still friendly. “Feels wrong to answer before the Queen does.”
It was deferral. Perhaps even cowardice. And Cass watched Seraphim register it, that flicker of irritation never leaving her eyes.
“Would you like to join us for tea, Seraphim? There’s plenty-” Jophiel tried to offer.
“No, thank you.” Seraphim said stiffly. “I’ll relay your orders to the guard.”
Seraphim bowed quickly and left. The silence afterward was heavy.
Saparata let out the breath he was holding. “She’s… passionate.” He tried.
Saparata hadn’t seen much of her since the kidnapping ,but he had to guess her years in Tricolor still didn’t let her relax one bit. Looks like 3Below’s plan wasn’t all that it cracked up to be.
Cass snorted. “That’s one word for it.”
Jophiel watched the door for a long moment. “Don't think of her too harshly.” She said softly. “3Below trusted me. I’m trying my best with her… as I am with you.” She added, glancing at Saparata in amusement.
He looked away, suddenly embarrassed. “You make it sound like we’re children.”
“You are.” Jophiel said fondly. Her eyes glittered when she said, “All of you are.”
“Hey, I think I could be considered a proper adult here.”
The conversation ambled on like that. They discussed Luminara. Their ambitions, their growing influence. And Jophiel mentioned 3Below’s newest appointment. His esquire. Fresh blood. And politically untested yet.
“Fluixon, right?” Cass said easily, rolling the name like. Testing it in her mouth. “Heard he’s got ideals. Dangerous thing, that.”
She didn’t miss the way Saparata nearly choked on air.
Cass’s grin widened, just a fraction.
“Someone important to you, Saps?” Cass teased him again. She doesn’t miss the blush growing on his face either. Nor the giggles from the normally stoic queen.
Outside, clouds drifted across the sun, shadows passing briefly over Tricolor’s stones. Cass didn’t yet know how much blood would stain them.
But for now there was tea, and peace.
And the fragile, dangerous belief that Tricolor’s wisdom would still be enough to keep those things.
---------------------------
[The Tricolor Tourney - Day 1]
The banners were hung upon the walls.
Cass scanned them as she walked along the edge of the Tricolor amphitheater, arms crossed. The Annual Tourney of Tricolor. The banners were placed so no one nation quite dominated the skyline.
A show of unity. But the leaders all knew what it was. Just a show.
Cass had seen several tourneys already. She’d be lying if she said it wasn’t her favorite part of the year. Watching the promising new blood. Knowing it cultivated the next generation of leaders.
Jophiel stood alone inside the royal box, overseeing preparations. Cass made her way up the steps.
“Still hosting the island’s most entertaining blood sport.” Cass said, tone light. “I swear, every year I expect you to cancel it on moral grounds.”
Jophiel smiled faintly. “And disappoint half the island?
Below them, competitors sparred in pairs. While it was with wooden weapons now, it would be steel later. A quick practice before the rounds truly began.
Cass’s eyes tracked the movement, looking for anyone of talent. Jophiel wouldn't mind if she did some recruitment, right?
She spotted him almost immediately. He was hard to miss, dressed in all white.
Saparata moved like a madman. The previously cheerful boy she had met, had melted away into a stone-cold warrior. How interesting.
He disarmed his opponent just seconds later, and stepped back before any onlookers could properly cheer.
Cass exhaled through her nose. Impressive. And humble too apparently.
“Head of Cavalry.” She muttered. “I can see it now.”
Jophiel followed her gaze. “He didn’t want to compete.” She notes lightly.
Cass replied. “Again, we leaders don’t really get a choice.”
“He’s an idiot. With talent like that he should be joining every year.” A voice from behind Cass called out.
Cass jumped.
Seraphim appeared from the shadows. Her footsteps were so light, neither she nor Jophiel heard her approach. Her dark leathers were covered in sand. She had just come from the spar herself.
“The Commonwealth delegation arrives tomorrow, Jophiel.” Seraphim said. “They’ve requested front-row seating.”
“And?” Cass asked. She had another agenda, didn’t she?
“And this would be an excellent opportunity...” Seraphim continued smoothy. “to remind them that our nations do not bend easily.”
Jophiel didn’t respond right away. Her blue eyes looked down, looking almost disappointed.
Cass glanced sideways and saw the moment play out again, almost painfully familiar: Seraphim pushing Jophiel. Jophiel refusing to acknowledge.
Then Jophiel placed a hand lightly on Seraphim’s arm, in a placating gesture. “Not yet. Soon, I promise.”
Seraphim didn’t pull away. But she didn’t soften either.
“Very well.” She said, voice tight. “Tricolor defers to your wisdom once again.”
She left without another word.
Cass watched her go, unease curling low in her gut. Jophiel did too. Cass couldn’t get a read on her face. Still as perfect as ever. But she could definitely read Seraphim.
“That girl.” Cass said quietly. “She’s probably decided what to do on her own, hasn't she?”
Jophiel closed her eyes for a moment. “She believes she’s protecting Tricolor.”
Cass grimaced. “Protection. I think every war in history started with that idea in mind.”
.
.
.
Below, a cheer rose. Louder this time.
Cass’s attention snapped back to the arena just in time to see Saparata step forward again, facing a new opponent. The cheers came from some boys hanging off of the stands. Luminara guards.
Then movement.
A young man brisk-walked past them, breaking off from the group. Dark-haired. Sharp purple eyes. He walked alongside 3Below, who he spoke animatedly to. Gesturing wildly, passion barely contained.
He looked just like Seraphim did, when she tried to convince Jophiel of something. Cass squinted to see him better.
“That Fluixon?” She asked. She vaguely remembered him in 3Below's court when they visited.
Jophiel nodded.
“Ambitious.” Cass noted. Her initial suspicions were correct. “Bright. He is dangerous.” She appraised. She would look forward to playing the game with him.
As if sensing someone’s gaze, Fluixon looked up.
Though he missed the mark. Because for a split second, his eyes locked with Saparata’s.
Cass saw the way Saparata faltered. Distracted, for that breathless moment. Enough for his opponent to press in.
Fluixon’s eyes widened.
Luckily, Saparata dodged at the last second, though clearly caught off guard.
Then he disarmed the other man with more force than necessary, sending him sprawling.
The audience erupted into modest cheers. Cass watched Fluixon smirk, then begrudgingly clap for Saparata too.
Cass let out a low whistle. “You didn't tell me there was a romance involved. Now that is something I'll be looking out for.”
Jophiel didn’t smile.
Cass leaned forward against the stone railing, humor fading as she followed Jophiel's gaze.
She saw it now. The youth Island Two had cultivated. That Jophiel, and 3Below had gathered around them.
Saparata, forced to fight for duty.
And those other two, Seraphim and Fluixon, fighting even when no one asked them to.
Cass laughed softly, dark and humorless.
“Ish.” she said. “You guys are raising a generation that’s going to tear this island apart.”
Jophiel just looked at her. For a split second, Cass felt like she was looking at someone… much older. Like she was seeing a different version of the girl.
For once, Jophiel actually looked... tired. Cass doesn’t think she ever let anyone see her like that. That’s when Cass knows she’s crossed a line. Her big mouth making a run for it again.
So she wasn’t a robot, after all.
“I hope they learn another way.” Jophiel whispers, staring down at Saparata and Fluixon. “But if that’s how it goes again, at least it will be entertaining.”
Cass doesn’t fully understand what it is she’s looking at. But she will learn quickly, as she always does.
“...Just promise me one thing, Cass,” Jophiel added.
“What’s that?”
“If history starts calling this a tragedy....” Jophiel said, eyes sharp. “...Don’t let them pretend it was ever a surprise.”
Below them, the competitors fought on. Bright, loud, and hungry.
And Cass, for the first time, wondered not who would win, but who would still be standing when it was over.
------------------
[The day of the Conspiracy’s trap]
Cass found out about Jophiel’s death first.
She was the first.
Through a sight that burned itself into her memory.
Cass had been riding along the Coalition border, taking the early patrols.The guards’ shouts were the first warning. Cass’s pulse hit triple-time before she even saw the body.
Her horse skidded to a stop, hooves throwing up dirt. Cass leapt down, boots landing hard on the cold earth, heart hammering in her chest.
And then she saw her.
Seraphim. Who was once a weapon that was calm, silent and efficient, was now running for her life towards her nation with all of that burned away. It left behind a scared, young girl.
And just behind her, lay Jophiel’s still form sprawled on the ground.
The queen was stretched out just beyond the Tricolor border, crown displaced, robes torn and soaked wine-dark. Seraphim stumbled, with a knife still wet in her hands. Her stiff face now torn up in fear and guilt.
Her guards were too quick on the uptake. One shot an arrow straight into Seraphim’s chest. And the girl went down into a heap on the road.
“Hold your fire!” Cass screamed. Before they hurt her further. She had no plans to spare Seraphim, but she needed answers.
Cass ran, past the border guards who had acted before she could intervene. She landed on top of Seraphim like it still mattered.
The girl was half dead already. Bleeding out from an arrow that pierced directly through her heart.
The one time her guards had actually been competent. Seraphim's blue and red eyes shook in fear.
Cass froze upon seeing her. Grief-stricken, then it turned into molten rage.
“Seraphim.” She said, voice trembling but loud enough to carry. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Why did you do this?”
The assassin didn’t flinch. Didn’t speak. Her breath ragged. Her eyes were empty, determinedly locked on something far away. Or perhaps nothing at all.
Cass shook her shoulders. “Answer me!”
Cass’s mind raced. Why here? Why now? Why Jophiel?
Why Jophiel? The answer was obvious. She was the figurehead, the very gravity of Island Two. Anything that mattered in this place revolved around Jophiel. The real question was… who needed her gone?
Cass shouted at Seraphim again, half in fury, half in despair, but it was too late. Seraphim went slack, silent to the end, leaving nothing but the echo of betrayal and a body that may have once been loyal.
Cass dropped the girl. Then got up and ran again, sprinting down the road, until she collapsed on her knees beside Jophiel now.
Her hands trembling over the fallen queen’s chest. She pressed them against the damp robes, as if willing warmth back into the lifeless frame. Jophiel’s eyes remained closed.
“No.” she whispered, voice breaking. “No, you can’t… you can’t leave us like this. You-”
The words caught in her throat. Her mind spun, searching, blaming, questioning. Why would Seraphim do this? Did she want to take over Tricolor?
Cass forced herself to think more clearly. No. She must have known she would be chased down. There was a higher order, Was this the Commonwealth? Someone in Luminara?
.
.
.
With Jophiel gone, who would take the power vaccuum she leaves behind?
Oh, Cass knew it wouldn’t be easy to figure out. It would take strategy, patience, allies she could trust, and an eye sharper than any blade Seraphim or her unseen conspiracy had wielded.
A conspiracy that was still around. Someone was next. It could be anyone. It could be all of them.
Cass rose slowly, looking down at the blood, at the horror.
Jophiel, now sullied. The queen who never let anyone see her broken. See her tired. Cass's hands itched again, to do something, anything to make this better for her friend.
Cass took off her own cloak and lay it over Jophiel’s body, covering her entirely. No one else should have to see this.
You will forever remain as perfect as the day you left us, Jophiel.
And Cass made a vow. With her fist clenched into her robes and holding down a scream. There would be time for screaming later, when she finally catches the son of a bitch.
Whoever did this to you, they will not get away with it.