Chione and Aidos stood in silence for a few seconds after the Provost left.
“Boss,” Aidos finally said, her brows furrowed and her pale golden eyes disoriented, “What the heck was that?”
“I don’t know and I don’t care,” Chione replied, then gave Aidos a little pat on the shoulder. “But good job not calling him a ‘human,’ I’ll let you retire a few extra hours early today.”
“Really!? Thank you Bo—“
“‘Your Royal Highness.’”
“Thank you Your Royal Highness!”
“Oh, and I didn’t give Soteria permission to eat while working. Tell her she’ll be covering those hours for you.”
Sparkling with vengeful glee, Aidos saluted her and barked, “Yes, Princess! I’ll send your new friend over right away so you two can talk in private!”
The knight rushed off down the hall, excited to gloat at Soteria, and soon sent Euphy to replace her.
Seeing the girl approach, Chione resisted the urge to nervously fix her clothes and feigned calm.
Last night had been dark and chaotic, so this was the first time Chione was getting a good look at her. Euphy was shorter than she’d thought, but those bright leaf-green eyes of hers looked just as she remembered. Her long pink hair had been tied back with a yellow ribbon, and her tan, freckled skin was a similar shade to Chione’s own. Unlike the full-length formal clothes she’d had on yesterday, this morning she was wearing shorter light blue robes that were old and worn. Despite this, the fabric was high quality, and they’d been well tailored and kept in good repair.
Unfortunately, from the furious expression on her face to the stiffness in her gait, Euphy looked more like she was marching into battle than coming to say hello.
Chione wasn’t sure how to feel about that. On one hand, she was used to Soteria and Aidos’ terrifying mugs, so she guessed there was a chance that Euphy only looked angry. However, she didn’t know enough about her to tell, and if she tried peeking at her mana for a hint that bright blessing of hers might make Chione seem like she was glaring, and she didn’t want to risk that.
“Good morning,” Chione offered along with a pleasant smile as Euphy came to a stop.
She now stood a little further away than the Provost had, but in contrast to his calm demeanor, her fists were balled at her sides and she kept her eyes on the floor.
Even worse, she didn’t reply.
Chione’s heart beat a little faster. Maybe Euphy hadn’t heard her? Or maybe Euphy was close with the Provost, and thought Chione had been rude to him? Whatever was going on, the air between them didn’t feel right, so Chione tried again to break the silence.
“It’s good to see you again.”
Euphy flinched at this, then glanced at Chione briefly before scowling back at the floor and mumbling, “O-oh… yeah… you, too…”
Euphy had been so fiery and talkative last night, even going up against a prince, but now she wouldn’t even greet her. Realizing this, Chione felt a rush of panic, and the aplomb she was faking faltered.
Euphy couldn’t really be that upset with her, could she?
Chione clasped her hands behind her back to hide the claws that slid out unintentionally, and frantically tried to think of what to do. Initially she’d planned on just honestly apologizing, but she couldn’t risk letting Euphy stay angry, even if it was justified.
Changing tactics, Chione cast her eyes down and said softly, “Um… I wanted to apologize for last night.”
“W-what? You do?” Euphy asked, finally willing to look at Chione, her green eyes wide with surprise.
Chione nodded, and continued in a small voice, “Yes… I’m sorry, I should have stopped my fiancé before he could attack you, I just… I really had no idea he’d be willing to stoop so low…”
If she had, she would have taken the initiative to muzzle him herself.
“Ah! N-no! Why are you apologizing for him!?” Euphy protested, putting her hands up as though this could stop her, “That’s his responsibility, not yours!”
“Oh… Then you must be upset because my spell nearly hit you…” Chione said, drooping her shoulders and putting a slight quaver in her voice as she continued, “It’s my fault, if I hadn’t been so careless—”
“Hold on! I’m not upset!” Euphy said, and took a few hesitant steps closer, “Well, not at you, anyway!”
Chione took a quick peek and happily noted the horrified expression on Euphy’s face.
Starting out an apology by taking responsibility for something that wasn’t actually her fault was a trick she’d learned watching her mother handle her father. If the person receiving it was reasonable, they’d refuse the unnecessary apology, and that primed them to downplay the severity of what the perpetrator admitted to next.
Unwilling to back down now that she seemed to have gained the advantage, Chione gazed at Euphy pitifully and, recalling how effective crying had been last night, stimulated her tear ducts just enough to moisten and redden her eyes.
To her delight, this made Euphy puff up like a frightened cat. All earlier tension apparently forgotten, Euphy immediately closed the rest of the distance between them and reached out to awkwardly pat Chione on the shoulder as she said, “Oh, hey, don’t look like that! It’s okay, really… uh, actually, I’m the one who should be apologizing!”
“What do you mean?” Chione asked, widening her eyes while careful to keep any tears from actually falling.
It wouldn’t do to oversell things.
If she was being honest, Chione didn’t really enjoy the ‘sweet and pitiful’ act she had to put on, but by now it was second nature. At some point in her childhood, people began assuming she kept her eyes down all the time and stayed away from others because she was shy and timid, having been bullied into submission by her paranoid and superstitious stepmother. As this conclusion made her detractors look cruel and unreasonable, she’d been taking advantage of it ever since.
The truth, which was that she’d discovered the more she made eye contact with people the faster she scared them away, was something better kept to herself.
“I—I wanted to apologize for eavesdropping on you, and, um, butting into something that wasn’t my business!” Euphy said, wincing and looking away like she was afraid of Chione’s reaction.
Chione, who’d stopped caring about any of that the moment she officially decided to drag Euphrosyne into her orbit, just made an appropriately concerned facial expression and reassured her, “You really don’t need to. I know your intentions were good.”
“But… but I definitely pissed off your fiancé way more than I needed to… I think I just made everything worse…”
“How could you say that? If you hadn’t stepped in, I don’t know what might have happened.”
Pausing, Chione thought of the scars on Aidos and Soteria’s bodies.
Alright, so she had some idea of what might have happened, but it was better for everyone involved that it hadn’t.
“Really, stop apologizing,” Chione ordered and, just to see if she could get away with it, sheathed her claws and grabbed Euphy’s gloved hands. Clasping them in hers, she continued, “You saved me last night, and that’s the end of it.”
“You really think so? I—I thought I was doing the right thing at the time, but then everything got so out of hand that I… I was really afraid you’d be mad at me,” Euphrosyne muttered, a blush spreading across her cheeks.
She didn’t pull away, so in the spirit of being given an inch and taking a mile Chione dragged her into one of the chairs and sat down next to her.
“Of course, in fact… just now, the Provost was telling me he’d need a little time before he could speak with us, and I was hoping to use it to thank you properly. If there’s any way I can repay you, anything at all, I hope you’ll tell me.”
This just made Euphy blush harder, until the tips of her ears seemed to steam through her hair, and she fidgeted all over like she wasn’t sure what to do with her body.
Chione had to hold back a laugh.
Really, how could this girl be so cute? Her angry little face made her look so tough, but it turned out she was just shy, and something about that contrast made Chione want to bite into her like a pastry.
“That’s, um, that’s not necessary… I did what anyone would have done,” Euphy mumbled, trying to shrink away in her chair.
“That’s not true,” Chione insisted and, unwilling to let this adorable snail escape back into her shell just yet, leaned closer and caught her eyes, saying, “Euphy… you already know who I am, don’t you?”
With a guilty expression, Euphy nodded.
“I may not be much compared to my siblings, but I can still reward someone who risked their life and reputation to help me.”
“I didn’t—that’s not what I meant—”
“How about this? Let’s just start with names—you can call me Chione,” she offered, generously releasing Euphy’s hands so the girl had a chance to calm down. “And you’re Euphrosyne of Kos, aren’t you?”
Surprised, Euphy nodded, her pink hair swishing across her shoulders.
“Oh! You already know who I am, too? I mean, I guessed you might, since I ran into your brother last night, but… thank goodness, I really wasn’t sure how to introduce myself…”
Hearing Euphy mention her brother felt like someone had thrown a bucket of cold water over her, and Chione’s smile nearly cracked like the window had earlier.
“You… met my brother last night?” Chione asked, too startled to think deeply about what else Euphy had said. “Why? Where?”
“Yes, on the veranda near the maze… I’m not sure what he wanted to talk about, but he was being rude so I told him to go fu—um, I bid him farewell and went to walk in the garden instead.”
Wow.
She really wished she’d seen that.
She bet he’d thrown a fit.
“I apologize, my brother can be a handful. That said, please don’t feel like you need to censor yourself or worry about etiquette around me. I really don’t care about any of that.”
“Oh! Okay, you’re… you’re sure?”
Chione nodded, and Euphy let out a sigh of relief, relaxing almost instantly.
Wait, was etiquette part of why this girl had been so nervous?
Ah, right… there really were a lot of rules that could get a commoner in trouble, talking to someone like Chione.
Hmm, maybe that annoying, sickly man actually had a point.
“My brother didn’t threaten you, did he?”
“Um… I’m not sure? I couldn’t hear him.”
Chione nodded, still wondering why the hell had Laertes approached Euphy in the first place.
And for that matter, what was it with this girl and offending princes? She was so shy she could barely speak this morning, but she’d pissed off two very powerful people last night and didn't seem very worried about it?
Either Euphy was mistaken about just how much divinity could protect her, or something else was going on.
“Euphy, that reminds me—I’m not sure why you’re here this morning, but I came because I was hoping to speak to the President—or, the Provost I suppose—before Damon could. I plan to take responsibility for the fight, and let them know you only acted on my orders.”
“Huh? Why would you do that? I mean, it really wasn't your fault at all, and won’t that make things hard for you?”
“Yes, but wouldn’t it be an even bigger problem for you?” Chione argued, secretly pleased that Euphy grasped the gravity of Chione’s noble sacrifice so quickly. “What about your scholarship and your enrollment here? Even if you have a divine blessing, if Damon or someone from my family tries to blame you for the fight, you’ll suffer.”
“Oh… oh, I was so nervous about talking to you again that I forgot all about that,” Euphy said, paling in fear as her eyes grew distant.
“Don’t worry, I won’t let them bully you,” Chione generously reassured her.
“Actually… You know what? I’d like to see them try!” Euphy suddenly declared, putting her fists up and blazing at Chione with renewed vigor, “If those jerks want to fuck us over something like this, I’ll just quit! I’m sick of their bullshit anyway!”
… Huh?
“Seriously, if they’re not going to support us when some dog prince attacks us, what good are they anyway?” Euphy went on, righteous fury in her eyes as she grabbed Chione’s hands. “They can just handle the damn Calamity themselves!”
Chione felt like she’d missed some vital piece of information, but thinking back, she couldn’t figure out what it was.
“Pardon… who exactly are you referring to?”
“What? The Temple, of course! Oh, and… I guess your family too, huh?” Euphy said, dropping Chione’s hands.
Then she tilted her head and squinted like she wasn’t too sure about the last part as she continued, “Um, I’m not sure how much though… I know your family isn’t supposed to interfere with Saint stuff, but I don’t think they have to directly support us unless they want to…?”
“You’re working for the Saint?”
“Huh?” Euphy blinked back, confused, and pointed at herself saying, “Well, yes, of course, because I’m also a Saint? I mean, I don’t know the other Saint very well, but I assume we’ll be working together eventually…”
???
Chione smiled as she tried to wrap her mind around this.
Maybe her ears were broken?
“You’re a Saint?”
“Y-yeah…? I thought you knew?”
…
What?
No, hold on.
What!?
“I mean, um, I only gave you my nickname last night, but you already knew my full name… And your brother recognized who I was, so I assumed you knew if he knew…”
“I see. My mistake,” Chione said, her voice unnaturally calm and her smile frozen on her face.
Euphy couldn’t be lying, because fibbing about that sort of thing when she had a divine blessing from the Dread Lady was just asking for Her wrath.
Yet, the last Chione had heard, Calliope was still alive, and Euphy seemed to think so as well, so…
They’d just gotten bonus Saint, then?
And that new Saint was Euphy?
Alright. Sure. Why not?
“Shit, you’re not upset, are you…? I really thought you knew, otherwise I would have broken it more gently!” Euphy said, waving her hands at Chione, “Ahh, and don’t worry, everybody freaks out about the Calamity when they find out, but we’ve survived five of them so it’ll probably be okay!”
Euphy was watching her with concern, but Chione couldn’t pay attention to that.
Right. If there was a new Saint, that must mean there was a new disaster coming...
She hadn’t even begun to fucking think about that.
“Actually, speaking of the Calamity, there is something else I wanted to talk to you about… umm, would it be better to just rip off the whole bandaid now, haha…?”
Wait… Was the Calamity why Euphy had approached her in the first place?
Chione closed her eyes and curled her hands into fists, sinking her nails into the soft flesh of her palms in an attempt to repress the bitterness that welled up in her heart.
Thanks to the Empress and her prophecy, for every person who thought Chione was normal, another sincerely believed she was a monster sent to destroy her family from within like some celestial cuckoo.
Even her own brothers and sisters bought into it.
It really wasn’t fair. She knew her existence was unnatural, she’d always suspected her birth might have consequences, but shouldn’t the effort she made still count? She’d always done her best not to hurt people who weren’t a threat, she’d never killed anyone who hadn’t tried to kill her first, and yet…
For most of her life, it was as though half the world was holding its breath, waiting for her to do something horrible.
She couldn’t pretend it hadn’t affected her, because it had, but she’d always believed that it didn’t matter even if the prophecy was somehow true. To fulfill that destiny, surely she’d have to choose to do something, so she could always just refuse.
But now, recalling the spell she’d let slip last night, she wondered if she’d been thinking about the prophecy all wrong.
What if choice was exactly the thing she was destined to lose? If her struggle to contain her magic only got worse and worse from here on out, how many people was she capable of hurting?
What if, what if…
Her ears began to ring faintly again, and a familiar pain throbbed over her heart.
Then a benevolent warmth blossomed between her eyes. From there it flooded through her body, and with it came a feeling that everything would be alright, that no matter what was happening she wasn’t alone because someone kind was watching over her, that she was safe, that she could rest.
Gradually those feelings faded, and so too did the ringing and the pain, so she opened her eyes and stared at Euphy in bewilderment.
The girl's hand was still hovering in the air, a faint golden light flickering out at her fingertips. She lowered it hesitantly, her expression guilty as she said, “Sorry… I probably should have asked first.”
“Oh,” Chione said, and raised her hand to her forehead. There was a spot there where Euphy’s fingers had pressed against her a moment before, and she imagined she could still feel that touch lingering.
“It was just a blessing of peace,” Euphy explained, “You seemed a little upset.”
Right. A blessing, that’s what it was.
She’d felt it before, she’d received it once from Saint Calliope, but that was the only time.
Her mother kept her away from healers and priests as much as possible, since they were the ones most likely to notice a spirit in hiding.
“Um, Chione… you really don’t have to be one of the heroes if you don’t want to.”
What?
Once again, she was missing something.
That seemed to be happening a lot with Euphy.
“I know it can feel a little overwhelming to be chosen by the Goddess, but being a hero really is a burden, so I understand if you’re not comfortable doing it.”
“Wait—are you saying the Goddess chose me? As one of your heroes?” Chione asked, pointing at herself. “You… you’re sure you’re not confusing me for Laertes?”
“What? No, of course it’s not him! If it was, I really would quit, the [DLC] be damned,” Euphy muttered darkly. Then she brightened and added, “But yes, I’m super sure it’s you, you’re the only First Crown Princess Chione out there!”
“But… but what about the prophecy…? You’re sure the Calamity isn’t because of…?”
She snapped her mouth shut and looked down, afraid if she said the rest out loud that Euphy might tell her it was.
Euphy stared at her in confusion for a few seconds, then her light green eyes widened in shock as understanding finally hit her.
“Wait—you’re not talking about that ‘disaster star’ bullshit, are you? No, the Calamity has nothing to do with that! Princess…” Euphy paused, then sat up straight and said in a solemn voice like she was giving a lecture. “All Seers are scammers, you shouldn’t buy into them.”
“Really? But, if you’re a Saint, shouldn’t you have seen things yourself?”
That Saints were born with visions of the future was considered a state secret, but as one of the imperial children, Chione had been educated about the Saint’s function in relation to her family in far more detail than most.
“Yeah, and that’s one of the reasons I know it’s bullshit,” Euphy said, a fierce gleam in her green eyes as she slammed her fist into her palm, “Chione, there is no one set future! And the moment you know about a future or tell someone else about it, you’ve already changed it! That’s why prophecies have to be vague, it’s the only way they can seem believable.”
“Aaahh…”
Chione slumped in on herself and put her head in her hands.
Even if she hadn’t totally bought into it, that fucking prophecy had been haunting her for over a decade. To have someone come along and casually chuck it in the garbage was as amazing as it was disorienting, and Chione was so overwhelmed that she couldn’t get her thoughts in order.
She hadn’t needed Euphy’s help last night, but this… she’d really needed this.
“Anyway, that Seer’s metaphor is crap. How can you be a star of disaster? Everyone knows spirits come from the moon,” Euphy scoffed.
…
So she knew about that too!?
Chione stared blankly down at the cold stone floor and couldn’t help but find it peculiarly attractive. For some reason the idea of laying flat on it face down for a few hours while she digested all of these startling revelations was very appealing.
“And even if a star could come here, its heat would wipe us out before it got close enough to collide with our planet,” Euphy continued with a frown, her brows deeply creased as thought she was seriously giving this a lot of thought.
Chione slowly sat back up.
For some reason, the only thing she could think to say in response to any of what had just happened was, “I… don’t think the Seer meant an actual star, more like… a falling star.”
She lifted a finger and helpfully mimed a little star falling from the sky.
“What, like a meteorite?”
The Empire’s hope for the future gasped and slapped her own forehead, exclaiming, “Holy shit! Why didn’t I think of that? That makes way more sense! I mean, it doesn’t actually, because then you’d be a space rock—but even then, that’d be covered by the Chorus or the Maiden, not the Eight or the Mother, right? I mean, I guess technically a moon rock could get here, but something would have to throw it, like an impact from another meteor, but we probably would have noticed if that happened… ohhh, unless it was a super long time ago, but in that case, why only make a prophecy now? Probably just to mess with you, right? Seriously, someone must be making a lot of money scamming your stepmother… ha, though I guess she could be in on it too?”
“But Euphy, you… you don’t mind the fact that I’m a spirit?” she asked, genuinely hesitant.
“Huh? Of course not, why would I?” Euphy asked, tilting her head to the side like a confused animal, “Spirits are people too, just, you know, glowier. Ah, don’t worry though, I know it’s a secret, I won’t talk about it with anyone who doesn’t already know, I promise!”
Euphy mimed zipping her lips while Chione just nodded, feeling numb.
“Um, that reminds me… you still haven’t given me an answer to the hero thing? Do you want more time to think it over?”
“No, I’ll do it,” Chione replied immediately, her voice firm.
“What, really?” Euphy said, glowing with happiness.
Still dazed, Chione absently confirmed, “Of course. It’s my honor to support the Young Saint. Consider my strength yours.”
“Oh! Chione!” Euphy covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes shining with tearful joy, “Thankyouthankyouthankyou! You’re the first hero I’ve approached, and I was so scared I’d upset you and you’d say no that I thought I was going to pass out but you didn’t say no you said yes!!!”
“I’m the first…?”
“Yeah!” Euphy nodded, lowering her hands and revealing a dazzling smile as she said, “I recruited my first hero and got a new friend all in one day! It’s all thanks to you, Chione!”
And we’re already friends…?
Chione bit the inside of her cheek until it bled, unsure if she wanted to laugh or cry or both.
All her life she’d thought the stars were aligned against her, but apparently she’d been wrong? Just like that, fate turned around and smiled on her so suddenly that it made her dizzy.
No wonder she’d thought Euphy might be different, of course a Saint would be different! Of course she wouldn’t be as selfish, easily frightened, and weak-willed as everyone else!
Thank you Lady, thank you Mother, thank you Eight, for sending Euphy to me, she prayed with a fervor she’d never felt before.
Here it was, the thing she’d always wanted, and the Goddess had practically gift wrapped it for her.
Chione reached for Euphy’s hands and took them in her own. Squeezing them, she felt the hard yet delicate metacarpals shifting under the girl’s skin, felt the soft meat of her palms, felt the subtle warmth that seeped through her gloves.
It was nice.
So nice that she never wanted to let go.
“Euphy,” Chione said with a smile full of promise, her blood red eyes curving with joy, “Words can’t convey how grateful I am that I’ve met you.”