Chapter Text
It is well known that there are a great many things that could be seen as weaknesses, as enemies to the fae, iron being the most notable one.
However, Loop believes that they have found a new enemy, a truly formidable villain in their story. One that has brought many to their knees. A foe that they were staring at, feeling weak as things dragged on. unchanging.
A blank page.
Now there’s something to be said about the fact that it wasn’t just the fae that faced this enemy nay it was a foe that didn’t care if its target was human or fae. How truly devious.
Bravely Loop picks up their pen placing it on the page. Step one complete. Amazing. There is now a dark spot growing on the otherwise pristine page. Truly a novel way to waste time.
They could've sat there forever, their defeat all but certain if there wasn't someone leaning against them suddenly, looking up they saw their Stardust grinning down at them.
“Having fun?”
“Not one bit.”
Their Stardust hummed as they pulled the pen out of Loop's hand, “Then stop.”
Loop made a grab for the pen as Siffrin held it away from them, “Easy for you to say. You're fine with the idea of some idiot bard being the one to tell the story of the party who defeated the king!”
“Still mad about how that one bard told it?”
“It was a garbage retelling! Truly awful. As a clearly much more competent bard, the duty falls to me!”
Siffrin grinned, “Because he paired you with Isa?”
Loop growled, “There were more glaring holes than just that! He didn't get a single thing right! The man wrote the king as a sympathetic puppy who froze himself time because ‘he saw the error in his ways’ instead of our dear housemaiden dealing the blow! How do you get it that wrong!”
Siffrin snorted, “By being ‘so impressively dense that he could be used as a blunt weapon’ to quote a much better bard.”
Pretending not to preen at the sarcastic praise the fae simply held out their hand towards Siffrin, “Give me back the pen Stardust.”
“Hmm,” Siffrin placed his hands behind his back then showed off his empty hands, “What pen?”
They got up walking towards their Siffrin as menacingly as possible, “Give it back.”
Siffrin simply smiled and stepped out of Loop's reach and the bard followed. Trying to grab back the pen in the brief moments in which the coveted object was in eyesight.
This continued in such a manner to constitute more of a dance instead of a proper chase. Eventually Siffrin decided to pull them even further into the direction of a dance by holding Loop's hands and twirling them around.
No writing was getting done, this statement would still be true if Loop wasn't interrupted.
They would just feel much worse about it.
This nonsense continued until Siffrin pulled them into a hug and suddenly said, “Bonbon made some food.”
“Stardust… were you sent to tell me there was food then preceded to not tell me anything?”
“I volunteered, actually.”
“Volunteered to waste my time instead of telling me about food.”
Siffrin kisses them on the cheek, shutting Loop up for a moment. “I wanted to spend time with you.”
Stars… Loop wanted to quip back or say anything in response to Siffrin being so sickeningly sweet, but they were unbelievably tongue tied. Irritating that this was the case a month later after… stopping the king.
Siffrin kisses their other cheek, “I also just wanted to kiss you without Bonbon gagging and calling us gross.”
This got a laugh out of Loop. “We do need to cut down public displays of affection a bit-”
“We aren't that bad!”
“Stardust…”
“We aren't!”
“That's a lie.” Even if the fae weren't predisposed to be able to tell when one was lying, Loop would be able to see through the blatant lie.
The fact of the matter is that the pair were unbelievably clingy before any romance was in the picture anyway, so it has only gotten worse despite Loop's best efforts to tone it down for Isabeau's sake if nothing else.
… He seems to have taken Siffrin's rejection in stride, that doesn't mean Loop wanted to brag about being the one Siffrin chose.
Well…
A horrible part of them did want to do just that, but they actively refuse to feed that part of them. For the sake of friendship. And also because being a sore winner wasn't a good look.
They pulled enough stunts like that in the loops anyway.
…
They decided to once again not think about the loops at all!
There's more pressing matters anyway.
“I guess I'll go grab a plate and bring it back here. More convenient that way…”
“Loop…”
They pulled themself away from Siffrin's arms and tossed out the page ruined by their careless use of ink. “I'd still be taking a break! I just really need to get started on-”
Siffrin grabbed their arm forcing Loop to look at them, “Stars! Loop you've been practically locked up in this room doing nothing for days!”
Loop looked back at their piles of paper, “I guess that will stay true until I actually get something done.”
“Can't it wait?”
“I don't see why it should wait. I don't need to eat or really sleep so what else should I do with my time?”
“Maybe… just put it on pause for a few days?”
Loop pulled themself out of his grasp and started sorting the paper, mostly as an excuse to not look at him.
“Why do you want me to stop so badly?” They muttered under their breath, not sure they wanted an answer.
“That doesn't matter.”
“Do you think I can't write it?”
“Of course I think you can.”
“Then why?”
“Loop-”
They huffed then started looking for a replacement pen since Siffrin clearly wasn't going to give back their old one. “Well then Stardust I think you should mind you own-”
“Do you even remember what happened before the loops?” Siffrin snapped at them.
The question stopped them in their tracks and they slowly turned around to face Siffrin who to his credit immediately looked regretful.
…
“Do you?” Loop said softly, staring at their Stardust.
It was a simple question. One the pair would do anything to avoid answering. Neither had a great memory even if Loop could essentially trick themself into remembering key information by using the rules they exist by.
The answer was no. Plain and simple.
At least minds are tricky, a memory can be jogged, what is lost can be recovered. It's hard to do so alone however and the pair hasn't been talking about the loops more than necessary.
This could ever well be the first time one of them has brought it up willingly to the other whilst alone.
Both because the subject is an open wound still and well… their feelings are out in the open now, talking isn't always what the pair find an interesting activity depending on their mood.
… Even if it was embarrassing to admit that most of their time alone was just… quietly being in the same area as each other, maybe laying on top of each other, maybe kissing. Mostly the former honestly.
…
“Loop I'm sorry, I just… I don't want you to be locked up and struggling to do anything… you haven't had a meal with us since the first night we arrived in Bambouche everyone is starting to get worried…”
Loop sighed before slipping on a smile and clapping their hands, “And interrupt the bonding time with Bumblebee's sister? Really Stardust you know how much they missed her during the journey and-”
“Loop… Bonnie was asking for you to join us. Don't give me that blinding nonsense.”
…
Was there anything they could say to get out of this? Out of…
Stars…
There was a reason why they don't spend time with Bonnie's sister. One that was quite rude because it wasn't anything she did.
How could they possibly explain themself without seeming unbelievably paranoid? It wasn't even Pétronille right, it was a friend of hers? A friend who told Bonnie how evil the fae are… But… Stars! They don't know that for a fact! Their memory is so bad that they could forget a conversation that just barely happened!
Bonnie stopped believing in anything like that, any loop where that view was challenged slightly, typical of a kid who has a strong sense of internal justice. But that's Bonnie, who knows Loop, who likes them and cares for them.
If Nille does hold a grudge against the fae for any reason Loop's mere presence will not be enough to change her mind. So Loop is simply not going to try especially when Odile and Isabeau had already done so much work to convince her to travel with them.
… Were they awful? Awful for hoping that she'd say no? Siffrin would probably hate that… He'd been getting along with Nille great once the party got here…
And if she did say no Bonnie would probably also not come, it makes sense for them to stay with their sister…
…
It's best not to say anything, better to throw themselves at a project instead of interacting with… someone who honestly seems really nice.
They…
They still don't really know how they feel about the fae as one of them. Would they be able to dislike someone who has concerns about the fae? How unfair would that be?
“Loop? You've been staring at a wall for the past few minutes…”
Oops…
“Sorry…” They mumbled under their breath looking at the floor instead.
“Okay that's it.”
Loop looked up just in time for Siffrin to come up to them just before they picked Loop up bridal style to Loop's utter embarrassment. “Stardust what-”
“We're going downstairs to join everyone else for dinner.” Siffrin says cheerfully as he carries Loop out of the room.
“Agh, Stardust you little-”
The annoying prick, also known as Siffrin kisses them, unfortunately leading Loop to be quiet as Siffrin carries them down the stairs.
***
Loop sat next to Mirabelle for dinner trying their best to ignore how relieved their party seemed to be that they were actually joining for dinner. Nille just seemed mildly surprised and started chatting to Siffrin about something or other, probably fishing again.
“How are you feeling Loop?” Mirabelle asks in a whisper clearly not wanting to cause a scene.
… How are they feeling? It's been around month since they beat the king for the final time, they've continued to be with everyone, everything should be fine.
Yet here they are, not fine. Nervous over something that might happen.
… They really should stop being in their own head. Nothing good comes of it.
They should just… relax.
How… do people do that?
Are they just broken? Is that why it's so impossible for them?
“Why do you ask Plum?” They ask which really they should've known better because Mirabelle immediately frowned, she knew how Loop worked.
She knew Loop was trying to avoid answering truthfully.
“Loop…”
Ah stars, what can they say that's truthful but….
But…
“It's hard to explain… but I will tell you later when we're alone.” Loop says, deciding then and there that they'll at least try to explain. At least to Mirabelle.
They need to get better at being honest, or at least straight forward with what is going on. They were rewarded for this small effort with Mirabelle brightening up considerably. She nodded before going back to eating her food.
… They also start eating, allowing themself to not think and just listen to everyone chatting. It was nice. All they need to do is allow themself to enjoy it.
They can do… that.
There was a knock at the door and Nille stood up, quickly making her way to the door, just to deflate when she opened the door. They guess she was hoping for someone other than the delivery girl. Loop stared at said delivery girl for a bit too long before Nille took the letter with a curt thank you and closed the door.
… They saw that girl a lot after getting to town. Of course that makes sense, she has a job that means she'll be running around a lot. Still… she sticks in their mind.
Mostly because they know she… watches them. As a ‘savior of Vaugarde’ and a fairly prolific bard, Loop was used to attention. Enough so that they could tell that there was a difference between ‘savior’ attention and ‘bard’ attention. And this was neither of them.
… The problem is that they have no idea what type of attention it was. Even though it feels… so familiar…
“Is that letter from Sissy?” Bonnie asks, making a grab for the letter before Nille holds it out of their reach.
“One, yes, two, you know she asked for you to stop calling her that kid.” She says, a smile creeping back into her face as she plays keep away with her little sibling.
… Sissy? That sounds familiar. Even if they only heard it in one loop…
“What does it say?” Bonnie says ignoring Petronille's previous statement and still grabbing for the letter.
Nille opens the letter and starts reading it, smile fading as she reads on.
“She has another commission, so she won't be back for at least a month. Again.” She said strangely hollow, before placing the letter on a growing stack of similar letters.
“Oh. Is it for that mean lady again?” Bonnie asks, patting Nille's elbow in sympathy.
She nods, patting Bonnie on their head.
“A commission for what exactly?” Odile asks.
All at once Nille seemed to realize that there were other people in her home and seemed to look a bit embarrassed. “A painting, my friend Narcisse is a painter. And she's already done… 24 paintings of this… one woman.”
Isabeau let out a low whistle, “That's a lot!”
“Yeah…” She ran her fingers through her hair, “Even when she is here she locks herself up in her house to continue to paint… Hey, it seems like she has that in common with Loop! Could just be how artists are.” She laughed a bit awkwardly, “Maybe they'd get along!”
Oh no, why did the focus have to be on them? What do they even say to that?
Bonnie piped up before Loop could think of anything, “Only after Sissy apool-a-gees to Loop.”
… Wait-
Nille blinks, “Apologize? For what? Have they met before?”
“No just-”
There was another knock at the door.
Nille went to answer it once again minus the hurry she was in the first time. Opening the door to someone vaguely familiar.
Loop took a minute to recognize who it was, Mirabelle did not.
“Claude??” Mirabelle says in pure confusion as her roommate walked in.
Claude wasn't someone Loop knew, at least not very well, but still… she seemed a lot less… frazzled last time they met. She looked a bit like she managed to run here from Dormont, which was impossible for many reasons. Either way she walked in ignoring Nille’s annoyed muttering and immediately went to Mirabelle.
“Hi! So there’s a situation, I personally don’t think you should worry about it but, Euphie said you should be told in person instead of hearing rumors about it.”
“What?” Mira says, clearly worrying even if she was told not to do just that. “What is going on?”
“Well, it’s something that sounds really bad but! I promise that I can handle it this this time.”
“This time..?” Loop muttered looking between Mirabelle and Claude.
“Yeah! I wasn’t helpful at all last time but like-”
“Just say what is going on.” Odile says already losing patience.
Claude looks over to her sheepishly rubbing the back of her neck, “I just didn’t want my dear roommate to freak out is all…”
Everyone glances at Mirabelle who, again, was looking very nervous.
Well that plan failed, Loop thought as they gently took her hand before she could start biting her nails. She squeezed Loop's hand in response.
“Probably would've been better to just rip off the bandage, instead of well…” Isabeau says not unkindly.
Claude sighed, looking away from everyone before saying, “The king disappeared.”