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Chapter Text

Navia had never been to a funeral prior to her father's own. 

Mr. Callas had raised his only daughter completely shielded from the ugly truths of the world. Navia’s far too precious, too pure of a heart to be exposed to such things at a young age. Sure, eventually, she’ll come face to face with it one way or another. But in the meantime, while he still had the chance, he did his absolute best to keep his precious little girl from the soul-crushing realities the world has to offer.

And so when Navia, aged twenty-three and a half, attended the very first funeral of her life, a strange feeling bubbled up on her chest. 

She had never felt this out of place before— in here, in this place that’s so melancholic, so grim and not an ounce of any vibrant color in sight. The beautiful bouquet of flowers looped down sadly on the intricately designed vases, as if frowning alongside the mourning crowd. Everyone and everything screamed nothing but grief, and Navia had never felt so confused and hurt. 

She had never met her mother, the ever-so wise and charming Clementine Caspar, a woman she was told to have had the sunniest disposition that could melt even the strongest bars of the Meropide jails. She passed before Navia could even wail her first cry, long before the little girl she carried could even memorize her smile. And so, Navia had never been to her funeral either.

Her father would always bring Navia to her mother’s grave. But at the time, little Navia hadn’t really grasped the idea that the very gravestone she had been visiting every few months used to be someone that was loved, someone who held the same smile as hers. 

 And when Navia stares at the small patch of the well-trimmed grassland where her parents’ gravestone lie, she wonders how something as small as that could hold so much life underneath it.

And she wondered the same when she first saw Clementine. 

She was tiny, much tinier than half the other infants in the hospital that night. Her fingernails were no bigger than a grain of rice, and her hands could be fully wrapped around Navia’s mere thumb.  She was small, and yet Navia carried her with such precision and effort that you would think she’s as heavy as the boulders of Mount Esus itself. 

The child gently cooed under Navia’s embrace, her eyes slowly opening up and adjusting to the bright flashing lights of the hospital. And then when she slowly opened her eyes,—there revealed a perfect shade of baby blue, just like hers. 

Navia laughs under struggling breaths. Nothing was funny about that scenario, nor anything remotely entertaining. And yet Navia laughed joyfully, as if her little Clementine had just made the greatest joke of the century without uttering a single word. 

She laughs at Clementine’s button nose. She laughs at the infant’s pouting lips. She laughs at her indigo hair, And she laughs at the pale blue streak that sticks out like a sore thumb among the darks—she laughs and laughs. Because despite everything, Clementine is still hers . 

A fact that Navia had tried to ignore for months leading up to her daughter’s birth. It was ridiculous, the things she had to make herself believe just to deny the apparent truth. Perhaps it was some lousy hookup she was too depressed and intoxicated to remember, maybe it was an error in the results and she’s not actually pregnant and during the more desperate nights of denial, Navia started to believe that she must be having some sort of immaculate conception and is carrying the next god of the universe in her belly. And she’d accept any other explanation, anything at all— just not the harsh truth.

But all of those excuses fall flat at the mere sight of Clementine. Her Clementine, with her large blue eyes and furrowed eyebrows. Her Clementine, with her hair and her nose and god, even the way she smiles. Her Clementine, who looked almost nothing like her and everything like the woman she will forever despise.

She used to dream of days like these. Back when they were teens, they’d think of the far future, when everything’s settled and Navia’s of age. She dreams of carrying a child or two—one with her smile and her lover’s hair, the other with her eyes and her beloved’s introverted demeanor. And she’d shower them with love and affection, just like what her father did. 

But tonight, it was a bittersweet moment for Navia. Her Clementine is the most beautiful being she had ever laid her eyes on and that is a fact that she need not to lie about. Even the nurses were in awe as they stole glances at the little girl.But Clementine, gods bless her little heart, is just so reminiscent of her that Navia almost feared that she might not be able to have it in her to fully love her own daughter, and that her own anger and resentment might cloud her devotion and love for her little girl. But Navia was smart, she knew better than to blame an innocent girl, her girl, in a conflict she plays no part in. 

A few hours passed before Navia had truly felt the fatigue and sleeplessness sink into her bones. She had been waiting for Melus and Silver to return after insisting that they tell her of Navia’s birth. And so, much to Navia’s disapproval, the two dashed to the Court to deliver the news to her. Navia yawns as she cradles Clementine, before putting her back to the crib. As much as she would’ve loved to coo over her darling and watch her adoringly for hours on end, her body was giving up on her fast. She hadn’t slept a wink for days, those damn contractions and Clementine’s awfully strong kicks had Navia awake even before she was in labour. And so, despite her best attempts to keep awake, she closed her eyes involuntarily as soon as the little girl’s cries died down as she settled in nicely on her own crib. 

And then she fell asleep, her vision blurring as she thought of Clementine’s bright blue eyes looking at her in wonder, until everything went black.

The last she remembers of her dream was her papa, his smile, so full of life and pride and just so warm that Navia could feel herself tearing up at just the sight of it. And then the golden visions of her father fades to speckles of gold, gold turns to purple and purple to a bright ocean blue once more. It all comes back to her Clementine, and Navia finds peace in that sentiment. 

.

A gentle voice had awoken Navia a few hours later, who was blinking rapidly as she adjusted to the bright lights of the hospital bed. Seriously, does a hospital room really need this much lighting? 

Navia shakes her head as she slowly sits up. On her peripheral vision she notices it—a figure towering over her child’s crib, a series of hums can be heard coming from this very same figure. The voice was low, gentle and soothing to hear. And Navia almost found herself being lulled back to sleep as she listened in. 

The figure stops, turning around to face Navia, who was still barely awake from her deep sleep, almost thinking for a split second that she had fallen into a decade long coma and was face to face with a grown up version of her little Clementine. 

Amethyst eyes stared at her cerulean blues, and Navia felt fully awake once more. 

“Navia.” She calls out. “How are you feeling?” the woman leans in closer to help the woman sit up more comfortably, Navia was too tired to reject her touches.

“I hope you don’t mind, I told Silver and Melus to fetch some supplies on the way.” 

“You came.” Navia breathes out, almost sounding like she questioning what she was seeing.

The woman chuckles lightly, as if she finds it ridiculous that Navia would ever think otherwise. “Of course, why wouldn’t I?” she says in a quiet voice. “You should eat up, get more rest.” She continues as she opens the sealed hospital food and places it in Navia’s lap.

Navia whispers a silent thank you to the woman before taking a spoonful of the meal from her mouth. It had been hours since her last meal and this was exactly what she needed after that long well-deserved sleep. 

“I’m sorry for not coming much earlier.” She spoke, standing up to walk back to the little girl’s crib, Navia was quick to notice her rolled up sleeves where she caught a glimpse of several scars. “I—something came up with the court, I couldn’t get out early.” she explains. “I tried to excuse myself so I could go but I was needed there for—“

“ Clorinde .” Navia stops her, slicing her vegetables with the plastic knife. “It’s fine.” 

Clorinde stares at her for a second, her eyes doe and begging, as if she was being careful not to get in Navia’s bad side. Navia huffs as she takes her second bite. “I wasn’t expecting you to come anyway, I thought you would’ve ran away by now.” 

Clorinde quickly shook her head. “Navia, I’ll never do such a thing.” she assures. 

“What, run away? You’ve done it to me, what’s stopping you from doing it again?” Navia scoffs, and Clorinde feels her throat dry up.

“Can we not discuss this right now?”Clorinde tells her, focusing her eyes on her daughter. “You should be resting, not stressing out over things that have nothing to do with our child.” 

Maybe it was the lack of sleep, or the pain on her lower area that seemed to sync up with the throbbing on her head that made Navia so easily angry. Something about her words immediately pushed all the wrong buttons of Navia’s mind. All she sees is red once more. 

“Nothing?“ Navia laughs dryly ,placing her food down on the bedside table. “That was her grandfather, Clorinde. You're cradling my daughter with the same hands that killed her grandfather.” 

The duelist’s voice was noticeably louder, but still calm in comparison to Navia. “That’s—that’s enough, Navia.“ she stutters. 

“What, can't be bothered to hear the truth?”she spits out. ”You can’t just say things like that,Clorinde. You can’t just pretend that this has nothing to do with our child.”

Clorinde swallows. “That’s not what I’m doing—“

”But isn’t that what you just said?”

“You’re twisting my words.” 

“No, I’m repeating your words.”

Clorinde grumbles as she faces Navia. “No, listen—”

The sound of the plastic fork falling down and meeting the porcelain tiles of the room reverberated heavily, slicing through their back and forth shoutings. For a second there was silence, neither of them chose to move.

And then Clementine wails, loud and unending, making them both pause. Her timing couldn’t be more perfect, Navia thinks in frustration. With a sigh,she tried to stand up to comfort her, but it seemed Clorinde was ahead of her as she was already lifting the crying little girl with her arms by the time Navia had tried to do so, making subtle shushing sounds as she lay the baby comfortably on her chest.

Navia watched as Clorinde, with a hundred undisputed duels on her belt, who hunts monsters in the night and had met a thousand foes, held a small child with such care and gentleness, her usual scowling face replaced with fondness and love. 

Clementine’s crying died down slowly, her eyes closing back once again to return to her sleep. Clorinde taps the girl’s back repeatedly, coaxing her until she is back to dozing off once more.

And for a minute, Navia ignores everything else and willingly plays pretend that this is the loving family she had always dreamt of— no pain, no fear and no resentment between them. She let this little moment be hers for just a short while, allowing herself to indulge in this makeshift fantasy for now. 

“There there..” Clorinde hums. “Calm now, little girl.” she whispers, loud enough for Navia to hear. 

Navia couldn’t help but stare at her, something about that very scene just warms all the right places in her.

 “Clementine .” she reveals under light breaths. 

Clorinde slowly turns her head to face Navia. “What?“

“I named her Clementine.” she explains.”After mama.”

Clorinde nods in acknowledgement, a smile plastered on her face as she stares at their little girl in awe. “It’s perfect, Clementine.” she laughs, light and buoyant. 

“Darling Clementine.“ She hears her whisper repeatedly, making sure that her daughter hears it. Clorinde gently brushes her daughter’s indigo hair, the same shade of indigo as hers, and then she chuckles lightly as her finger finds itself tangled in one particular strand of hair among the waves of indigo: Clementine had copied her exact same features, down to the strange strand of light blue that even Clorinde herself have no idea how she had in the first place. 

“A perfect name for a perfect girl, hm?” Clorinde hums, glancing over at Navia as she coddles Clementine. 

“Would you like to hold her?” She offers the blonde on the bed, trying to squeeze Navia in their little moments. Although the offer to hold her daughter was tempting, Navia still felt far too tired, so she simply shook her head. 

“I’d let you two have your fun for now.”She answers, eyes glistening as Clorinde continues to coo over their daughter. “Unless her maman’s had enough already.” she jokes.

Clorinde wheezes. “I don’t think that would ever be possible, Navia.” she assures. 

Navia wanted to capture this moment, to keep this peace between them. But the aching in her heart is something that can’t be ignored, her grief and anger for the mother of her own daughter is the barrier that Navia cannot simply just jump over on. 

But she’d think of it, think of Clorinde like this—holding their daughter with such care and love and assurance that no harm will ever come her way. And she’d pretend that this Clorinde was still hers, just like Clementine is theirs. And there was no barrier, no unresolved conflict between them. Inside these four walls of the hospital room, they can pretend to be a happy family of three, and maybe in another universe—they are.

“She has your eyes.” Clorinde notes, a huge smile still plastered on her face as she leans in closer to Clementine, who blinked rapidly in response. 

Navia nods, smiling in appeasement as she tilts her head to the side.“They’re much lighter than mine though.” She willingly plays alongside the woman. “Quite the puppy eyes she has, doesn’t she?” Navia shakes her head jokingly. ”I suppose that’s one thing we have to be worried about.”

Clorinde laughs lightly in full genuineness,  just like when they were kids, when Navia would make a silly joke to try to lighten up little Clorinde’s mood. Navia loved that little laugh, that slight chuckle that she fell in love with. And Navia wishes, among the things that she hopes Clementine would take from her, she wishes Clementine would have her laugh.

The air in the hospital was tense, yet amidst it all, there was peace. Something that Navia had always longed for after all the things that had happened. Her papa was right— there will always be peace that comes after everything. 

“We have a daughter, Clorinde.” Navia says, the words still sound all to foreign now that she’s saying it all verbally at her. It was heavy to contain, to just be stored inside her heart, and letting it out felt almost liberating, almost relieving. 

Clorinde nods as she watches as Clementine lets out an adorable yawn, closed lids tearing up in drowsiness. “ We do.” she says between tender smiles, so warm and full of mirth and hope. ”We have a daughter.” she dictates rather strongly. 

The silence that follows felt just as painful as a stab directly in the chest, possibly more. And Navia wishes it would just all go away. “You understand what that entails, don’t you?”she questions. “We’ll be bound together, whether either of us want to or not.” So might as well try to patch it up , Navia would’ve liked to add, but figured that would’ve sounded more desperate than it already was.

“I’ll try not to get in your way.” Clorinde assures, resorting back to her monotone voice, it infuriates Navia. “I understand that you need some space, so I’ll give you as much distance as you need.” 

Navia scoffs, how naive is that phrase? “Like that’s going to help.”  Nothing will help, Navia had learned. She had lost her papa, Spina had lost their only sliver of hope, Navia had lost her best friend, despite right being in front of her, carrying the daughter they share. But the Clorinde in front of her wasn’t really hers anymore, never was. This woman, whose so proudly and gently carrying their child was not the same woman she chose to love and devote herself to before everything that happened, happened. Clorinde had changed, just like everything in Navia’s life after that tragedy. 

Still, she would’ve loved to have Clorinde during that moment. Navia would’ve understood, although she would still probably cry and tell her off. But still, she’d find it in her to forgive, if it meant that she would have someone to confide in. If only Clorinde had faced her that morning, instead of running away and leaving her to mourn. 

It’s all If , If with them, because that’s all that Navia could ever do: To mourn for what could’ve been, what should’ve been had Clorinde not turn her back at her. Had she chosen to hold her hand after that moment, Navia would’ve held her back. She wouldn’t mind if the hands that cradle her would stain her clothes with blood, if that meant she gets to be cradled anyway. 

Clorinde frowns, saddened eyes looping down to stare at her daughter. “I understand that it won’t but,” The duelist looks back at Navia, and Navia could tell that this entire talk was definitely taking a toll on her too, albeit not as obvious as Navia’s. “I suppose we should compromise for now, for Clementine’s sake at least.” 

If only that were easy. Navia mentally laughs. 

”I know.“ Navia tries to force a smile, her eyes still actively ignoring Clorinde’s. “You were right by the way, I’m sorry.” The blonde says,making Clorinde turn her head in confusion.

“About earlier.”She clarifies, and suddenly the air is tense once more.“I agree, let’s keep our personal disputes aside for now, at least, whenever Clem’s with us.” she says in a gentle voice. 

“I..”Clorinde clears her throat, as if there was something she was itching to say, but quickly pushed it all back. “Thank you.” she mumbles, lips pursed as if she was holding herself back from sputtering out something. Navia watched as the duelist remained silent for a short moment, before speaking once more.

“You and Clementine should live in the mansion.” Clorinde tells her abruptly, placing the quiet girl back to the crib, it was evident that she’s eager to change the subject. And as much as Navia wanted to keep pestering her to talk about it, they did just say that they would keep their personal issues aside for now. Clorinde turns her eyes back at Navia as she continues. “It’s closer to the Court, and it's quite spacious.” 

Navia admits that Poisson is probably not the safest place to raise a child right now. The area was greatly damaged by the countless floods that continue to rise every so often. Not to mention the unwavering dangers of assasination that Navia herself had faced multiple times now due to her father’s crime. And she knew that the best and possibly the safest place would be with Clorinde ,in her home in the heart of the Court, at the very same mansion Navia and Clorinde used to have sleepovers in while Petronilla spends her time in the library and letting the girls have all the fun. Not to mention Clorinde alone would be enough to keep them safe, and Navia was well aware that putting too many guards in Poisson on security for Clementine would overwhelm the little girl too much. 

But Navia is a prideful girl, a trait she hopes Clementine would have someday, as it did help her survive this harsh world. Living under Clorinde’s home, playing wife with her supposed ex-best friend and father’s killer is not a pretty news she’d love to see on the Steambird. The public would feast on the news hungrily, just as much as they enjoyed doing so when the news with Callas’ death and Clorinde’s ultimate betrayal came to public light. For months, the Steambird and other news media portrayed their relationship as some doomed, tragic story of star-crossed lovers, or some heartbreaking example of a love unfavored by fate.  

And Navia knows that they would probably froth in the mouth once they discover that there’s something more grave that the two had kept hidden all this time. It would surely be on the frontpage of the Steambird for months longer, wringing the news dry to gather as much exposure and relevance from the public. 

“We’ll be fine in Poisson. I have my people to help me raise her there.” Navia tells her, rubbing one palm with her other thumb as she looks down. “I told you already, I have it all figured out.”The blonde continues. “ I know that It was me that sort of forced you into taking responsibility for Clementine but,” she looks back at Clorinde. “I won’t hold it against you if you decide to simply back out, it won’t be the first time you’d leave anyway.” 

“And I told you I made up my mind, I’ll stay, you didn’t force me into anything.” Clorinde answers with diction, arms crossed as she eyes Navia. “I know your people will be of help, I don’t doubt that at all.” she continues. “But just like you, I only wish to provide what’s best for our daughter—” Navia feels her heart gush out of her ribs at how Clorinde refers to Clementine; it still sounds all too foreign for her. “So please, do consider it.”

The blonde refuses to back down, knowing that by doing so, the process of getting over what happened between the two of them would only get prolonged. “We’ll manage well in Poisson, Clem and I, thank you very much.” 

Clorinde sits down on the chair next to Clementine’s crib, “I know you would, eventually.” she says. “ But Navia, do consider the fact that Clementine’s a newborn, and you had just given birth.” the duelist mutters. “You two need as much rest and care as you could, and being so close to your work will hinder that. I’m sure the people of Poisson could wait.”

The duelist probably means well, but Navia couldn’t help but to throw a light jab at her, just to see how far Clorinde could go with this persona of hers.“Careful there, Clorinde. You’re starting to sound like you actually care about me.” Navia says sardonically, putting away the empty tray of food next to her. 

“When have I not?” The duelist would mutter in response, low and monotonically. Clorinde quickly shakes her head to change the subject.“Besides, It’s a far walk from the main city, what if Clem gets sick? the hospital’s closer to my home.” the duelist tries to argue. 

“There are doctors in the Fleuve Cendre who’s just as skilled.” Navia bites back. “And if a scenario really requires me to take Clementine to a hospital, I’d gladly run my way here.“ 

“No, Navia—” Clorinde blinks, running out of arguments to throw at Navia, not once did she ever walk out victorious in any of their debates, and it seems this one might be no different. “Look, I already set up a room for her, and you could have my bedroom next to it,I won’t mind. I barely use it anyway, plus I can just take the guest room.” she tells her, hands now fidgeting the band of her gloves.

“I had a designer renovate the mansion for Clem, so you won’t have to worry about baby-proofing it anymore.” Clorinde continues. 

Navia couldn’t help but furrow an eyebrow. “How long have you prepared for this?” There’s no way that Clorinde could’ve prepared that much in such a short amount of time. 

The duelist shrugs. “I told you months ago, I made up my mind to stay and be involved in our daughter’s life.” She explains. “I won’t hold it against you if you decide to go and raise her in Poisson, but do think about my offer for now. “

Wisteria-colored eyes look up at her in candor, and Navia could barely maintain the contact. “Forget me, forget us—just for Clementine’s sake, consider it.”

Forget us.  

The words clung to Navia like the seagrass that contaminates the shallow waters of Fontaine, it repeated in her mind like a mantra. Each syllable was a stab to her chest, each word a ruthless squeeze to her heart. 

It’s unfair . Navia thinks. How incredibly easy it is for Clorinde to hurt her.  

“Perhaps we can settle on an agreement.” Clorinde pitches in after noticing Navia’s silence, snapping the woman out of her trance. “We can make arrangements on who gets to have her on which days. In the meantime however, you and her should stay with me at the mansion, I’ll look after her while you recover.” 

And as much as Navia would like to carry her pride, the offer was too tempting, too good for her to pass on. She does need to recover, and it’ll be impossible if she has to juggle between taking care of her newborn and having to watch over Poisson and the Spina. And this is all for Clementine’s sake, and she made a vow not to involve her daughter in whatever dispute her mothers are tangled in. “Fine.” Navia agrees. “But the moment I recover, we’ll be out of your hair.” 

“Stay for as long as you wish.” Clorinde agrees.

And so,unfortunately for Navia’s so-called pride, she complies. 

True to her word, every inch of Clorinde’s mansion was baby-proofed down to the smallest details. 

Navia remembers the last time she had visited the home, back when her papa was still alive and well, and back when there wasn’t an ounce of tear in their relationship. Putting it that way made it sound like it happened well over years ago, when in fact, it hasn’t even been ten months since then. 

She remembered the swords that Clorinde kept on display in the hallway as she walked on the very same place months later . She remembers being a young little girl skipping around the place,wondering how safe it all was as there was no glass nor any barriers that kept it from being touched by an unsuspecting guest of the mansion. She pitched the problem a few times to Clorinde, who merely shrugged and told her that she doesn’t even have other visitors aside from Navia anyway, so why bother? 

Navia laughs at the memory as she walks down the now empty hallway of the old Marechaussee Manor, no hanged blades and axes in sight, and gone was the two meter tall rusted steel knight figure displayed at the very end of the hall that used to terrify the hell out of Navia when they were kids. 

“The nursery’s to the right, before the stairs, You’d know which is it.” Clorinde had told her earlier that day, she had some affairs to attend to back at the Court and decided to simply hand over the keys to her entire home to Navia, who merely nodded in response. 

Navia laughs as she enters the nursery room where Clementine would be staying. And just as what she expected of a typical child’s room, Clorinde had filled each and every corner of the walls with toys and books and other child essentials. Judging from the abundance of toys alone, Navia could tell that this definitely put a dent on the duelist’s finances. 

The nursery used to be Clorinde’s old room, Navia remembers. Back when they were children, she would host sleepovers in these very same quarters, giggling and joking to each other as they wasted the night away under the comphy sheets. The memory came rushing like rivers of Poisson, flooding Navia’s mind in utter nostalgia and longing for the friendship she used to have. 

And then innocent scenarios shifted its tone to one particular memory—And Navia could feel herself heating up in the face. Realizing that her daughter’s new nursery used to be the very same room they made— no . No ! 

Did Clorinde choose that particular room on purpose? Considering there were tons of other empty rooms that she could’ve chosen aside from this, there was no way that this was a mere coincidence that she had unknowingly assigned her own daughter’s room right exactly where she was conceived in. 

The blonde shakes her head in embarrassment, pulling the box of belongings closer to her face to hide any semblance of discomfiture.

 It must be a coincidence, Navia thinks. Her room’s the second-biggest out of all the quarters, and the biggest one— Petronilla’s old room must’ve been left untouched out of respect hence why she didn’t choose that one, therefore it was all a coincidence, a mere ironic turn of events that Clorinde did not realize at a—

“Mademoiselle, are you alright?” Melus would question, snapping her out of uncontrolled daze. Next to him, Silver carried a sleeping Clementine with care, rocking her slowly. 

”I am.”she reassures, fixing her posture as she clears her throat. 

Clementine quickly catches the familiar sound of her mother’s voice from a distance, and begins to fuss around Silver’s hold.

”Just..” Navia lets out a breath, trying to ease her mind off of things. ”Just reminiscing.”

Silver smiles at her, fondness fills his eyes. ”Ah, just yesterday, I was escorting you here so you could spend the night at Miss Clorinde’s.” he laughs, but Navia could tell there was a hint of sadness in his smile. 

”And now you’re helping my daughter and I settle here.” Navia continues, making the man chuckle as he nods. ”I remember Master Callas pestering me to take you home, but you would always cry and hide behind Miss Clorinde just so I won’t take you.” 

Navia laughs wildly, covering her ears. ”I was such a spoiled little brat, wasn’t I?” she giggles, glancing at the sleeping infant on Silver’s arms. 

”Let’s hope Clem won’t give me the same headache as I did to you and Papa.” she teases. 

Living with Clorinde feels like meeting a whole new person all over again.

Navia had known the woman for years, far longer than she hadn’t actually. She knows Clorinde more than the back of her hand, she memorizes Clorinde like how she memorizes the recipe to her signature macarons, like the lyrics to her favorite song, like her favorite route back home. 

And yet with everyday she spends with the girl, she realizes something new.

For one, not a single person would probably expect that Clorinde, the immovable champion duelist and Candlebearer of Fontaine, would be an absolute sucker for pet names. 

At first, Navia brushed it off as a rare one time thing, a mother being so over the moon at the sight of her dear child. Not like it’s a rare thing after all, even Navia herself admits to such things. Though with Clorinde, it does feel a tad surprising still— The unmoving ruthless champion duelist speaking in a high-pitched baby-like tone as she calls her daughter in different names. Still, it was something that Navia had brushed off at first, thinking that Clorinde was probably going through a weird phase. And then as months pass, it would be a common occurrence for her to hear Clorinde every morning,  in the gentlest voice she has ever heard from her, as she cradles their little girl. 

“Hello there, ma cherie .” Clorinde would mutter, with the brightest smile on her face. “What are you doing up so early?”she questions her little girl. 

And then Clementine, with the same wholehearted grin that’s so reminiscent of Navia’s own that she could feel a strange sense of pride whenever she sees it, would babble endlessly to her mother as a response, and her childly giggles would echo across the nursery room. Clorinde would laugh with her, as if they had an inside joke that Navia still hasn’t caught up with. 

It was apparent how much Clorinde adores the little girl, she dotes on her as if Clementine is the only thing that matters in this world, as if Clorinde was made solely for her, and Clementine knew that, and she loved the attention. The thought brings calmness to Navia, knowing that whatever happens to her, to them, to whatever becomes of their relationship, Clementine will be loved. 

“Maman’s off to work now, bunny .” Clorinde mumbles to her daughter, who furrowed her little eyebrows as if she understood what her mother had meant. The duelist playfully pokes the little girl’s stomach, making Clementine chuckle. “Be a good girl, alright?” she gently coos. The child would let out gabbles, pulling her own legs as Clorinde tapped her round belly as a farewell. Clementine frowns, mirroring exactly just how Clorinde often scowls. Seriously, did Navia just give birth to an exact clone of her old friend? 

”Grumpy girl.” Clorinde teased, waving her final goodbye at her daughter, with Clementine still trying to follow her mother’s figure with her eyes as she quietly walked away. 

Navia would watch, in the corner of the room, back leaned to the door and arms crossed. She would watch with a smile, knowing that the scene would forever be engraved in her mind. Clorinde would give her a nod, a humble smile of acknowledgement before leaving to work once again. The sound of the dreamcatcher's ringing on the entry door was the last remnant of Clorinde’s presence before it too fades to silence. 

And for the rest of the day, it’s just them, in this far too large mansion of Clorinde’s. By the morning, she’d hold Clementine in her arms, sing her all the childhood songs she used to chant with her playmates when she and Clorinde were children. And then when Clementine yawns, a sure sign of her drowsiness, Navia would sit down on the old pale blue sofa by the library, the one she used to see Petronilla would rest in, and Navia would tell her daughter stories of her papa, of Spina, of her own journeys from her youth. And Clementine would laugh at her exaggerated movements and high-pitched voices, reaching out her arms every now and then to try to feel her mother’s warmth in her tiny palms. 

”And then, with the power of persuasion, Bandit Hunter Navia and her crew successfully save the kingdom of Fontu.” Navia would tell her daughter, staring at her in wonder as she observed her mother’s actions. ”I managed to win the game by rolling all Nat-twenties.” she proudly says at her daughter, who merely let out gibberish babbles. 

Navia pouts as she remembers a particular detail of her childhood memory. ”Back then, our old troupe’s game masters would always call me some lousy cheater.” she huffs. “ I knew that they were simply a bunch of sore losers that couldn’t believe my insane luck so I let them complain all they wanted.” she pulls out her tongue mockingly, making Clementine laugh.

Navia continues, now stroking her daughter’s hair, which had now gone a little past her neck.”Your maman didn’t like that though, she thought they were being unfair to me.” Oceanic-blue eyes meet Navia’s darker ones, it seemed that Clementine was deeply intrigued by her story. ”So she made a whole tabletop troupe just for the two of us—she was the game master and I was her first player. She let me get away with almost everything, as long as I wasn’t really cheating.” she laughs at the memory, remembering her old friend’s little act.

Clementine coos, enjoying her mother’s voice. ”Now that I realize, the troupe was far too small to be called a proper Tabletop team by Tabletop Standards, so It wouldn’t probably count as one anyway. “She chuckles, rubbing circles around Clementine’s cheeks. “But I suppose neither of us really cared, we never felt like we were missing something. “She hums.”In fact, we were having more fun by ourselves than when we were with our old troupe.” 

Navia confessed under gentle breaths, the air feels extra sentimental that morning. “I suppose in a way, it made your mama realize that life might just be enough even with just the two of you.” she smiles, poking her daughter’s faint dimple by her right cheek, the same one Clorinde has. ”Well, three now since you came, dewdrop.” Clementine giggles at her words. 

“But alas, that’s all in the past now.” she calmly says, making the girl furrowed her eyebrows at the sudden change of tone, as if she too, was deeply saddened by the unfortunate turn of events. Navia feels immense guilt at the thought of Clementine, her perfect little girl, not being able to have the family every perfect little child ever needed and deserved. It’s unfair, it’s not even her fault any way, so why should she suffer? 

“You won’t understand it right now, nor perhaps even in a few years.” she tells her child. “Hell, you might not even ever understand, and I wouldn’t blame you.“ Navia laughs. ”But whatever becomes of your maman and I’s relationship—-” she placed a kiss on Clementine’s forehead, her dried pink lipstick leaving a faint mark on her pale unblemished skin. “ Remember that we will always love you, darling. And that will never change, hm?” she lightly taps her daughter’s stomach, who smiled cheerfully at her. And if Navia would just squint her eyes in the slightest way, she could see a hint of Clorinde in between that genuine smile of hers, and she feels at ease once more. 

A few minutes would pass before Clementine would finally give in to the temptation of infant-drowsiness and fall right in Navia’s arms amidst her mother’s constant ramblings. Navia would laugh at her daughter’s state, spending the entire morning just watching Clementine’s subtle movements: From her light breathings, her fluttering eyelashes and her habit of mumbling in her sleep. 

Melus and Silver would come by in the afternoon, with a bag full of groceries that Clorinde herself had provided the money for, and sometimes with some documents about Poisson that Navia could work on during her free time. Clementine would be awake by then, energy refilled and ready to wreak havoc once more. They would watch over the little girl as Navia cooks, cleans and rests. She would watch in the corner of her eye, from the kitchen hall, how the two guards would try their best to keep little Clementine entertained for hours until Navia’s finished her needed work. 

“Ah, ah little Demoiselle, that’s not food.”, Melus would tell Clementine softly, pulling his loose tie away from the little girl’s mouth. Clementine would huff and pout as soon as Melus would take away his tie, and they both sigh, already aware of what’s to come.

“Here it comes.” Silver would exhale, scratching his beard as he tries to come up with a solution. “Give her the tie,Melus.” he would tell the other, who was busy wiping off the traces of saliva in his tie. 

“N-no! it’s dirty.”He interjects, worry plastered in his face as Clementine begins to sob. It wasn’t long before the little girl would be fully red in the face, her little sobs turning into a whole fit of utter rage and uncontrollable tantrum.

Her monster form as Clorinde would refer to it. 

And then on instinct, Navia would walk by, wearing one of Clorinde’s old aprons. And then she crouches down to coo her little girl, who was now full on wailing, as if she was greatly insulted by what Melus had just done, as if the plain black tie he just took from her meant the world to little Clementine.

 “There, there, little blubberbeast .” Navia says between laughs, her hands calmly rubbing on Clementine’s stomach. “You’ve gotten awfully fussy, haven’t you?” she teases her little girl, who grumpily huffs at her. 

Clementine began as a tiny infant, and she still is. But as months passed, she seemed to get chunkier by the minute, earning that particular nickname from her parents. As to who gave her that nickname specifically, Navia’s sure it’s quite obvious by now. 

Clementine’s sobs would slowly die down, with a few hiccups on her last minute of crying until her bright blue eyes had now found its new found target and her smile would carve itself back on her lips once more. Expertly, and with as much effort as a two month old child could, Clementine would take Navia’s fingers with her hands and pull it close to her mouth, nibbling on it like a snack. Navia would let her, as the little girl hadn’t even grown a single tooth yet. 

Silver would laugh. “She’s so much like you, demoiselle.” he tells the blonde, though his eyes remained glued on the little girl. With careful hands, he brushed off the strands of indigo hair covering the girl’s right eye. “Master Callas and I used to panic back then, you’d cry whenever we didn't give you what you wanted.” 

Navia scoffs. “I didn’t know I was that much of a nightmare. Papa always said I was such an angel to watch over.” She lovingly tucks a strand of pale blue behind her daughter’s ear, who was now blinking her eyes rapidly, trying to fight off the lingering sense of afternoon drowsiness.

“He probably just didn’t want to hurt your feelings, I’m afraid.” Silver answers honestly. “I’m sure that if Miss Clementine were to ask you in the future, you would probably lie about it too.” he chuckles. 

“That’s if she hasn’t asked Clorinde first.” Navia would mutter. Clementine lets go of Navia’s finger, now focusing on trying to reach her own toes, but her small stature forbidding her to do so. 

Melus smiles as he leans in closer to them. “I’m glad that you two have reached a civil agreement..I know how hard it is to have to do that, especially with how things turned out.” he chortles, looking at Navia in complete fondness. 

The blonde nods. “I suppose she and I both know that it’ll be rather unfair to involve Clementine into this whole fiasco.” she utters. “She has nothing to do with whatever happened between us. Plus, why would I take away my daughter’s rights to have both of her parents present?Just because I hate her mom to death doesn’t mean she should too.” 

Silver crosses his arms. “You’ve certainly grown up, Demoiselle.” he confidently says. “If Mr. Callas was here, I’m sure he would be proud of the woman you’ve become.” he placed a hand on Navia’s shoulder.

Melus nods alongside him. “You and Miss Clorinde  won’t have to worry, Demoiselle. The Spina and the entirety of Poisson will watch over Miss Clementine alongside you.” 

Navia was never one to show her vulnerability, especially not in front of her people. But their words, their constant encouragement—how could Navia even hold back? 

All of a sudden, she feels something wet on the corner of her eye, letting it fall down slowly across her cheek. Crying was the last thing Navia ever thought of having need to do this week, but it certainly was very much needed indeed. Slowly, soft sobs turn into full- on wailing, making even Clementine look up in confusion. Silver would pull her close, allowing Navia to cry like how she used to as a child, whenever her papa would leave for work or whenever she and Clorinde would get into arguments as children. She cries and cries, and neither of the two guards stops her. Navia is a mother now, and a leader, and a woman with a thousand responsibilities on her shoulders. But right now, to them, Navia is their little girl. And so, they allow her to cry.

Days fly by rather fast. And when the sun came up one morning in Fontaine, The two had gone to realize just how fast Clementine was growing before their very eyes. 

Clorinde had just gotten home that morning, her night shift in the Court had caused her to miss out on the entirety of the evening yesterday. She entered the home as usual, tired and completely out of it after taking multiple shifts in the Court: from teaching training duelists to offering to take other champion duelists’ shifts for the day just to earn some extra income.  She had used almost all of her savings a few months ago  to ensure Navia’s pregnancy and birth would be well-provided and taken care off properly, it’s the least she could do to the woman who was literally carrying and bringing her child to life so Clorinde didn’t really mind using it all on her. 

And then when Clementine was born, the remnants of her savings were all spent on refurbishing the mansion, renovating every corner of each room to be safe for a child to live in. Not to mention that Clorinde seemed to have a tad bit too much fun cashing out all her checks to buy almost every trendy baby toy, book and clothes available in all of Teyvat that if Clementine were to attempt to go through each one, she’d be a whole teenager by the time she’s finished.  

She placed her hat on the rack, throwing her shoes lazily. Clorinde was never one to be careless with her things, but her energy was really drained off of her for the day.  She can’t wait to go back to sleep, oh how rewarding that must be— to doze off and let her body be submerged in the warm comfort of her sheets. But of course, not before she takes a look at her darling girl, her little Clementine. 

Clorinde made her way to the nursery room, her footsteps as gentle and slow as to not wake up the little girl on the crib. Slowly, she leans in to take a quick peek at her daughter. And her eyes widened at the sight of Clementine, fully awake and laying under her stomach. 

“Darling, what did you—“ she says in disbelief. Clementine giggles at her mother’s expression, a dimple on her cheek popping in and out of sight. The little girl looked at her in wonder, before pushing her body up with her arms and then rolling once more to boast to her maman what she had just done. 

She rolled . Clorinde thinks in fascination. 

She had seen monsters the size of mountains, had experienced magic beyond explanation during her training. But this, her little girl rolling on her stomach and then throwing her limbs in the air is what moved Clorinde the most.

Navia has to see this. She thinks. And although part of her thinks of letting the woman be and get her well-deserved rest for the day, she also knew that Navia would curse her for eternity if Clorinde would deliberately make her miss one of the most important milestones of their daughter’s life.  

“Navia?” She calls out, running towards her bedroom where the blonde peacefully rests. She knocks on the door, despite it being creaked wide open.  Part of it was out of respect, to at least inform Navia of her sudden appearance. The other was simply out of habit, something she had grown accustomed to as a child whenever she would enter Petronilla’s room. 

A whine can be heard from under the sheets, and so Clorinde tried to call again, but was immediately stopped by a groan.  Clorinde, I’m still tired.”Navia grumbles under the cover,pulling the duvet closer to her body. Clorinde could barely hold her smile at the sight.“I just put Clem to sleep, can I please just get one minute of—“

“She rolled.” Clorinde says under short breaths, direct as to not waste any more of Navia’s time but loud and clear to wake her senses up. 

Navia blinks,rolling back to her side to face the former. The woman squints her eyes as she looks at Clorinde“What?“

“Clem, she rolled over.” The duelist grins, eyes glistening in pride and excitement. To an outsider, she probably looked like a child eager to tell her mother of an artwork she had made in class. 

And with that, Navia’s entire system felt awake once more. She quickly jumps up from her bed, Clorinde’s old nightgown loosely falling on her shoulder as she frantically stands up to join the duelist by the door. The two ran towards the nursery, Navia still half-asleep but was determined to see her daughter’s newfound milestone.

And there she was, resting on her back once more, bright ocean blue eyes looked up at her parents, entertained by their expressions. 

“Come on, abeille , show mama what you did earlier.”Clorinde cheers, voice as gentle as the morning sun. She tapped the infant’s stomach with a finger, ushering her to do something. 

And for a second there was silence, sky-blue and indigo eyes focused deeply on the little girl, who was having the time of her life staring back at her mothers. She giggled and giggled, and then she leaned to her left and moved until—

“She rolled over!“ Navia gasped, hands on her mouth in disbelief. “My baby rolled over!”

“She did.” Clorinde cheers alongside her. In an instant, she scoops Clementine out of her crib, placing her gently in her arms. ”Clemie, you did!” she continues, placing gentle kisses on the little girl’s cheeks. Clementine giggles, trying to join in on her mothers’ excitement despite understanding none of it. 

“Oh Clementine Aurelie !” Navia squeals, leaning closer to Clorinde to plant a kiss on her daughter’s face, who giggled in response. ”My darling girl!” she says between fond laughter, hugging Clementine from Clorinde’s side. The proximity between their bodies was slim and almost non-existent and Clorinde could feel Navia’s soft chest landing and barely touching her bruised forearm, a sudden warmth entered Clorinde’s body. 

How embarrassing it must’ve been, a grown woman with a thousand unquestionable victories to her name, overheating internally at the mere feeling of another woman’s skin, as if it was the first time she had ever felt such a thing before. 

As if the very proof of the physical proclamation of their love wasn’t in front of them, pulling at her hair and demanding for her attention. 

Clorinde clears her throat, looking away in embarrassment. An action that made Navia move back, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“You’re red, Clorinde. “Navia states, and Clorinde had never felt more embarrassed. 

The duelist clears her throat as she adjusts her hold of Clementine.“You were too close, I-I’m sorry.. “ Clorinde confesses, coughing awkwardly as she looks away. 

And then Navia laughs, a wholehearted, unfiltered and painfully recognizable laugh. She laughs at Clorinde, the way she used to whenever she teased her when they were children. Clorinde was never a fan of loud, distracting noises except for Navia’s laugh; she wouldn’t mind if it echoed repeatedly across the room.

“Heavens, Clorinde. Grow up.” Navia rolls her eyes as she lets out the last of her giggles. “ You act as if you haven’t touched a woman in your life.” she teased. Clementine babbled alongside her mother, the long string of drool pooling on her lips didn’t go unnoticed by her mother as Navia skillfully wiped it off clean with her bare hands. “As if you weren’t all over my body eleven month a—”

“Navia.” She scolds, face flushed red. “Please,Clementine might hear you.” The woman quickly covered her daughter’s ears with her hand.  

“She’s two months old, Clorinde.” Navia rolls her eyes. 

Clorinde hushes. “Just stop.” she tells her.

Navia chuckles in response, watching as Clorinde shakes Clementine’s body gently and carefully, mumbling words of endearment to the exhilarated little girl, her tiny fingers wrapping around thick strands of her mother’s dark hair. Navia loves the sight of it all, a sentiment she’ll never be caught alive saying. But she loves it, the sight of her daughter, being loved and adored and spoiled rotten by her mothers. Though Navia worries that it might be a struggle in restraining Clorinde’s habit of spoiling their daughter in the future, she lets it be for now. They’ll cross that bridge when they get there.

For now, Navia will enjoy these little moments. And then she’ll think of it, in the back of her head, she’ll think of the slight possibility, that little sliver of chance that maybe, things will be better for them, for her and Clorinde. And they’ll be comfortable with each other once more, comfortable enough to talk about it, to leave behind the resentments of the past. And then she thinks of giving her a chance, of making the first move and initiating the conversation she so cravely desire just so they can fix everything now.

But then there’s moments that make Navia realize once again that things are simply just not the same anymore. 

She realizes it when Clorinde comes home, and she skips past her, sometimes with just a nod or a short exchange regarding Clementine. She realizes it when they share a rare dinner together, when Clementine’s deep asleep and it leaves them with this ringing, soul-piercing silence that surrounds the entire house. Navia realizes more as the days pass and weeks fly, Clorinde is no longer hers, something she had known from the very start. 

And so Navia stopped hoping, stopped clinging to the slight chance to make things right once and for all. The possibility of Clorinde ever attempting to pluck up her courage and talk to Navia about it all becomes mere wishful thinking. And so, Navia stops hoping. 

Navia decided to focus on the more important things for now—she has a daughter to raise, people to lead and a system to fight against. She juggled between these responsibilities, day and night. Clorinde had fulfilled her end of the bargain of looking after Clementine and providing for the both of them financially while Navia recovered. And even after Navia was well-rested enough to go back to her job as the President of the Spina, Clorinde continued to insist on taking in both Navia and Clementine in her home, an offer that Navia was quick to turn down out of pride. 

They took turns with Clementine. On most days, Navia has her, as the little girl does need Navia more in this particular stage of her life. But Clorinde would still try to visit, offering to take the little girl with her all while the young Spina Heiress focuses on her work. And this cycle continues, until it becomes an eventual routine in their life. After a couple of trial and errors and making countless adjustments for Clementine, they finally reached a perfect arrangement that benefits the both of them, they were in sync—possibly the most they had ever been after the incident. Though their relationship remained as it was the day Clorinde had killed her father, abandoned and left astray as they continued on with their own endeavors. But none of that matters, Navia had realized. They were simply strangers who just happen to share a daughter together, nothing more, nothing less. 

It wasn’t easy to keep Clementine out of the public’s eye, especially with how recent the tragedy of Poisson’s demise was. But fortunately for them, Navia had some connections within the Steambird who helped her out in burying away any semblance of rumors surrounding Clementine. Clorinde had also done her end of the bargain by putting on several disguises whenever she and Clementine would take a stroll in public, blending in with the people on the streets.

However, such secrets can’t simply be kept hidden for long, especially in the realm of their friends. 

Chiori was the first to know of Clementine, as she was the first person Navia had confided in when she found out of her pregnancy. The seamstress wasn’t too fond of the idea at first, she was worried that Navia wouldn’t be able to take in having a child with her ex-friend all while mourning for her father and leading a business. But now that Clementine is born, Chiori doted on the girl greatly and has even offered multiple times to watch over her while Navia works. To this day, Chiori still swears that she’s awful with children— something that Navia greatly doubts whenever she sees how happy Clementine was with her godmother. 

The next to be made aware of Clementine was the Chief Justice himself, but not in the way either of them intended. 

Clementine’s birth records had always been an issue they both knew would have to figure out sooner or later. Neither of them wanted to resort to forgery, nor to use another person’s name and list them as Clementine’s parents, no. Clorinde knows the ins and out of law, and she knows that forging and faking Clementine’s birth records would not only cause massive problems to them, but also to Clementine in the future in case she finds herself being on the other side of the court of law(which Navia hopes will never happen). 

The first person Clorinde resorted to was Wriothesley, a friend she had met after being temporarily stationed in the Fortress of Meropide by the Chief Justice. She had told him of her secret, after mere months of getting to know each other. The man was trustworthy enough, besides, who will he even tell it to? the guy’s stuck in a prison center, Clorinde doubts he has any friends. 

Though there was one single detail that Clorinde had forgotten during that moment: Wriothesley had a very personal connection to the Chief Justice, Monsieur Neuvillette himself. 

Clorinde mentally facepalms herself. Out of all the other connections the one guy she ever told her secret to could ever have, it was with the very man they’ve been trying to pass through unsuspectedly. 

The days following that unfortunate scenario, Clorinde was called into the office of the Chief Justice, shoulders stiffened as she entered the hall.

The office of the Chief Justice had always made Clorinde uneasy. 

And it’s nothing to do with the office’s aesthetics, no. In fact, Clorinde applauds whoever designed this particular space of the court for managing to make it as Neuvillette-esque as one could ever possibly do. Perhaps it’s the tense silence that comes with entering the room, add that to the stoic and strict Chief Justice that awaits you once you enter the office. 

Clorinde knocked once before twisting the knob open, where she was greeted with the usual calm and unbothered look of the Chief Justice sitting on his desk. 

“Ah Miss Clorinde.” He greets, voice monotone as he calls out the woman, who was now walking over to him. “I’m afraid you had just missed Wriothesley, he had to run some errands back at Meropide.” he explains, then carefully placed down his bright blue glass goblet on the plain white saucer. “But I suppose you’re not here for him, hm?”

Clorinde shakes her head. “I–.”She clears her throat as she fixes the dangling vision on her chest the way one would fix their tie, something that became some sort of mannerism to Clorinde whenever she’s nervous. “I’m here to talk about something important with you, Monsieur Neuvillette.” she tells him. 

“Ah yes.” He nods, tilting his head up. “About that..”The Chief Justice awkwardly says. “Before anything, I do wish to apologize on behalf of Wriothesley, I understand that he was in no position to share such information to anyone, even to me.” 

Clorinde nods in acknowledgement. “We did talk about it, there’s nothing to apologize for, Monsieur.” she assures. “I suppose it just caught me off guard, I wasn’t aware of his er… connection with you.” 

“Well we all have our own little secrets, don’t we?”Neuvillette hums, glancing at Clorinde as he says so. “On a different note..” he tries to start the conversation. ”Are congratulations still in order, Miss Clorinde?”it was obvious that he was trying his best attempt at easing off the nervousness out of Clorinde. ”A girl,right?”

The duelist hesitantly nods as a response.”I— Thank you, Monsieur.” She bows. 

Neuvillette raised a hand in acknowledgement, ushering the woman to sit down. ”At ease, please,” he tells her. ”I did not invite you here to reprimand you for not presenting your child’s birth to the court. “He quickly adds. “although that is still a crime, I must remind you.” Clorinde looked down in embarrassment. 

The chief Justice hummed as he placed down his cane on the side of his desk. ”However, given the circumstances of her birth and with you and Miss Caspar’s reputation, I can understand the reasoning behind such actions. Therefore, I will not be punishing either of you for that.” 

Clorinde swallows, confused yet a slight breath of relief enters her system. No legal trouble is all the assurance Clorinde needs.

”I vow to provide every citizen of Fontaine the right to live freely and without prejudice— especially the more vulnerable groups of our nation, such as our youth.” Neuvillette mutters, his words sounding almost like an inaugural speech. ”And though I will never fully understand the feeling of being a parent, I can still sympathize with one’s wish to give their own child the freedom to  live as they wish, without the fear of putting them in an unwanted spotlight, in front of hunger-filled eyes of the public.” he reasons. “I for one would not appreciate being thrown into the spotlight unwillingly, what more for an innocent child?”

The man stood up, pulling his drawer carefully and taking a long glossy folder which he handed out to Clorinde with such carefulness that one would think it’s some fragile object that would break at the slightest touch.

”Allow me to help, Miss Clorinde.” Neuvillette offers. ”Think of it not as a favor for you nor for Miss Caspar, but for the daughter you have proudly brought into this world.” he smiles, the first she’s ever seen him do so. “I know that Mr. Callas’ trial certainly put quite the damage in Miss Navia’s trust with the court , but do assure her that this time—the law will not fail your daughter.” 

Clorinde felt like a long thick needle was pulled out of her spine that morning, all worries regarding her daughter’s identity now dissipating in her head. That’s one less thing to worry about, amongst the countless more anyway. 

“Oh, and Miss Clorinde.” Neuvillette calls one last time. “Before you go, I must ask you if Wrio– The Duke , had told you about the job offer?” He sips his goblet gently. 

Clorinde pauses as she holds the folder. “The one with Lady Furina..?”

Neuvillette nods, swirling the cup in his hand. “I hope you sincerely consider the offer, Miss Clorinde,”he requests. “She did specifically request for you, after all.” 

“I’ll think about it.” Clorinde shortly answers. 

“Take your time.” Neuvillette concours. “The job will, admittedly, require more of your time in the court, Miss Clorinde– It might be important to discuss it first with your partner.” 

Clorinde almost choked at the mention of partner, but figured that Neuvillette was probably just being respectful, afraid of labelling her and Navia’s relationship as something specific. Still, those two are far from partners from what Clorinde can see, Navia wouldn’t even look her in the eye anymore. and Clorinde can’t bear to breathe just one more second being alone with Navia. The term partner is far too sweet, too casual to describe the very sour relationship they share right now. 

“I–I will.” Clorinde nervously says, bowing her goodbye at the Chief Justice as she leaves his premises.

It was night by the time Clorinde reached Navia’s home in Poisson, after minutes of carefully walking her way there without being noticed by any familiar villager. With a sigh, Clorinde opened the door, and her eyes lit up at the sight that welcomed her.  Clementine was eleven months by then, already waddling her way towards her mother by the front door, on her hand was Navia’s large hat, gripping it tightly as she ran. 

Clorinde chuckles as she catches sight of her daughter: ever since Clementine’s hair had grown past her forehead, Navia seemed to be having too much fun putting her daughter’s hair in all kinds of different mini pigtails. This time, it seemed that giving her daughter horn like mini-tails on her head was the theme. 

 Navia was abruptly interrupted with her work as she heard the shuffling of the knob and Clementine’s little stomps. She slowly peeks out from the kitchen, removing her greased mittens out of her hands. ”Clorinde.” she calls, her eyes widened in surprise as she finds the woman in the living room. 

” You didn’t tell me you’d be visiting.”she tells her. 

”I was in the neighborhood.” Clorinde answers, crouching down to lift the young girl by her arms. Almost instantly, Clorinde caught a whiff of the familiar lemon scent of her hair, exactly like how Navia smells. 

Navia takes off her apron as she crosses her arms ”I understand the want to see your daughter, and I’m in no way forbidding you but please, do consider telling me first—I don’t appreciate you barging in here whenever you wish.”she tells her. 

”Apologies.”Clorinde merely says, her eyes glued to Clementine. ”Hat,hat!” the little girl cheers, Clorinde quickly obliges and lets her take her hat. ”She’s getting quite heavy.” she notes, adjusting her arms. 

”Please warn me next time, it will be a problem if someone sees you.” The blonde shakes her head, ignoring Clorinde’s words. ”You’re not exactly warmly welcomed here in Poisson, in case you forgot.”

Clorinde nods.”I know.” she answers. ”But I do have something to share, hence why I came.” she tells the blonde. Clementine babbles next to her mother, now pulling on her vision with as much force as she could.

 ”Maman…” Clementine chatters, now pinching on the bridge of Clorinde’s nose. 

Clorinde carefully pulls out something from her pocket,and with a smile, she lends out an envelope to Navia. 

“A letter from the Chief Justice?” Navia questions, opening the envelope, her eyebrows remained furrowed. She lightly tore the cover, only to find numerous documents signed and approved by every legal executive of Fontaine. The letter was handwritten by Neuvillette himself, stating that Clementine’s birth records will be kept confidential from the public, and only Navia and Clorinde themselves have the legal right to release it whenever they see fit. Navia puts down the letter, and finally lets out a sigh of relief. 

”How..?”

”Wriothesley, he helped me to get that to Neuvillette.” Clorinde answers. Navia raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar name, so Clorinde quickly added. ”A-a friend from work. He works closely with the court.”

”I see.” Navia nods, reading through the contents. Her fingers subconsciously scanning the embossed letters that make up Clementine’s full name—the highly esteemed Caspar clan name separated by a mere hyphen to Clorinde’s made-up one, the surname Petronilla had given her in a whim one afternoon, after little Clorinde had demanded she get her own birth certificate from the Court. It was right after Navia had found her birth certificate during one of their many secret trips to her father’s office, where she had also discovered her mother’s full name for the first time. Clorinde had mentioned back then how lovely the name was, and from then on, it was a no-brainer to Navia with what she’ll name her future daughter if the universe ever decided to give her one.

”You’re a Fontanian now, bunny.” Clorinde playfully says to her daughter, squishing her cheeks with one hand. ”You get that? Fon-taine, can you say that?”

”Bear!” Clementine exclaims, pointing at the teddy bear she had dropped on the ground. 

”Close enough.”Clorinde jokes, chuckling lightly as she kisses the girl on her ear. 

Navia smiles as she watches the two playfully talk, as if they were speaking on equal levels. She had never realized how good Clorinde is with children, but perhaps it might just be all Clementine’s doing— her charm works like magic to anyone, that not even the stoic Clorinde could resist. 

”Thank you.” Navia mutters, holding the envelope close to her chest. ”To be honest, I was starting to get a bit concerned with how we were going to fix this whole issue with Clem’s records.” she sighs in relief. ”Thank the gods.” 

Clorinde nods in acknowledgement, grabbing her daughter’s hands away from the decorated vision on her chest. ”I didn’t quite expect it either.” she admits. ”I suppose that’s one less thing to worry about Clem for now.”

”It is.” Navia chuckles, staring at her daughter in complete infatuation. ”Do send my thanks to Monsieur Neuvillette and this Mr. Wriothesley man.” she requests at the woman, who simply nods.

Clorinde’s attention was quickly piqued by her daughter as Clementine takes a strong hold of her mother’s earring, making Clorinde wince in pain from the girl’s sudden tugging. ”Ow.” she cries out, taking Clementine’s hand off. ”You’re awfully handsy today, aren’t you?” she teasingly questions her daughter, who laughed idly at her mother.

”It’s late,”Navia says as she stares at the two, hands behind her back. ”You should stay for dinner..I made Casserole.” she offers the woman, who stared at her in surprise. 

There it is agan , Navia could already see the hesitation on Clorinde’s eyes. It’s clear how uncomfortable the air had become thanks to Navia. 

”I—..”Clorinde clears her throat, uncertainty apparent in her tone. ”Thank you, but I have some matters to attend to.” She respectfully declines, taking her hat back from Clementine before putting her down on the floor to play around, waddling towards Navia’s leg. 

Navia felt like the floor had sunk her body down at Clorinde’s words. No matter how much she tries to patch things up, Clorinde rejects. Navia takes two steps forwards, Clorinde takes three steps back— she avoids her like the plague, like she’s some sort of grave scandal she wouldn’t want to be associated with in any way outside of their own daughter. 

”I’ll visit on tuesday.” Clorinde continues, as if that would make it somehow better. ”I’ll pick her up early in the morning.” 

Navia nods, her feet tightly glued on the floor, preventing her from walking over and pulling Clorinde by the collar and gods —just scream at her to do something, risk something for once. But alas, she seemed to still have that much tact with herself that it prevented her from doing so. 

And besides, she could only do so much— Clorinde’s not her lover, not hers to keep and demand from. and as far as both of them know, they’re not even friends anymore. Just two strangers who simply share a child together. 

”I see. ”Navia replies, much more desperate this time. ”Farewell,Clorinde.”

Clorinde nods. ”Take care, you two.” she says, before twisting the knob of the front door and leaving Navia frozen on her spot. 

The world continues to spin, the pace of time seems to run faster with every waking day. Clementine’s nursery room in Clorinde’s house slowly empties out by the week, her belongings were transferred back to Navia’s home. And so, her mansion was once again empty, far too big, too spacious for one lonely person. 

For a girl as small as Clementine, Clorinde thought, she sure filled that all too large home of hers quite perfectly. 

They were a team when it comes to Clementine, helping each other out in raising their little girl in any way they could. But Navia was smart enough to notice the subtle hesitations in Clorinde’s actions—how she still tries to actively avoid Navia while making sure it doesn’t affect Clementine directly. But Navia was fine with that, she was getting used to it. Their relationship merely exists within the realms of their daughter, and neither of them had ever tried to cross that line. For years, that was what they were used to—and Navia was fine with that.

They shared in the joy of watching Clementine’s every milestones—from her very first words (which Navia sulked about for days as her first words were maman while pointing at Clorinde), her first steps, first haircut, eating solids and up to the time Clementine learns to run around across Poisson on her own. 

And in the blink of an eye, Clementine is three. 

And so marks the years since their fallout, since the tragedy of her father’s death and since the Spina has found itself in a plethora of controversies. But Navia had learned to keep her personal issues aside, to focus on the much bigger things. She can grieve all she wants later. But right now, she has a daughter, a business and a whole village to attend to. 

Navia’s home back in Poisson used to double as the Spina’s main Headquarters, but as Clementine grew, so did the amount of personal items she owned. And so, she had to spend a hefty amount of mora to rebuild one part of the shipwreck in Poisson for her office.  Clorinde had spoiled the girl rotten, buying her countless hats and having tailored custom dresses and coats just to see that particular smile on her little girl’s face. She couldn’t care less about the mora she spent on Clementine, it’s not like she ever had anything she needed to spend on anyway.

“She doesn’t need this many hats, Clorinde. “ Navia scolds as she observes her daughter happily jumping around with her new hat—a tiny yellow beret that Clorinde had bought during one of their many trips to the city yesterday. 

Clorinde smiles as she glances at Clementine’s joyful demeanor. “It’s fine.” she replies nonchalantly, her attention still glued to the happy girl behind Navia.

“You’re spoiling her.” Navia sighs. “And do you know how hard it is to wash each of those hats of hers?” she complains, trying to snap Clorinde out of her dazed out head. “And how did you even find a beret of that size?” 

Clorinde shrugs nonchalantly, as if it was nothing. “I had it tailored.” she explains. “We’ll go to Miss Chiori’s tomorrow—to have her sew some coats for her new hat.” 

“You’re spending too much.” 

The duelist shakes her head. “Not really.“she tells her. “The job with Lady Furina provides a lot of bonus on top of my initial pay.” the duelist explains. “I even started saving up for when she starts college.”

“She’s three.” Navia reminds the woman. 

Clorinde huffs. “Better early than late.” she argues, smiling ear to ear as she watches her daughter run around happily.

“Mama, look!” Clementine would giggle merrily, showing off her new hat with a large crooked grin.

Navia claps in delight, hands clasped together. “So gorgeous, my darling!” she coos, Clorinde showing a thumbs up next to her. 

And it wouldn’t end there for Navia, no. Clorinde wasn’t the only one who would dote on her little girl too much and shower her with everything mora could buy, of course not. Their friends also have to join in, much to Navia’s distress. Everytime Navia would hang out with Chiori during one of her free days, she would always come home with countless bags of mini dresses and little bow ties for Clementine to try on. The little girl’s dressers were so stacked that Navia even had to resort to sacrificing her own drawers just to accommodate Clementine’s. Chevreuse would also pitch in alongside Chiori, handing out new pairs of shoes and bracelets and other items that have absolutely no more space left in Navia’s home. But who was she to reject the gifts? They mean well, Navia knows that much. She just wishes they would tone down a little with their presents. Clementine’s only three, she does not need fifteen different pairs of shoes and a hundred hats. 

However, it didn’t stop there with the extravagant gifts from their friends. On Clorinde’s side, Wriothesley coos over the little girl greatly. He had met the little girl a little over three times now, twice after Clorinde had taken Clementine to the fortress of Meropide upon the little girl’s request and once when he spotted the two by the garden of the court, where Clementine had officially coined the nickname “ Wruncle ” for him. However, due to Navia’s concern regarding Meropide’s lack of hygiene and food safety and not to mention, the danger that lurks around it, Wriothesley began to see the girl less and less. And so, as a way to make up for her, during Clementine’s second birthday, the duke himself came by and visited her birthday party, presenting her with a gift that Navia could only facepalm herself at.

“Puppy!” Clem cheers as Wriothesley carefully places the Saint Bernard dog on her arms.

“Thank you Wruncle!” she giggles. The man flashed a proud grin, ruffling the little girl’s hair. 

”He’s a biggun, huh?”Wriothesley snickers. ”You can name him, go on.”he ushers her, crouching down to guide Clementine.

Clementine pats the dog hesitantly, unsure of how the puppy will react. Surprisingly, the little dog quickly wags its tail at Clementine, licking her palm in delight. 

Clementine giggled before facing her wruncle with a grin. “He likes me!” she cheers, making Wriothesley laugh in delight. ”I wanna name him Sebastien!Sebastien!” she cheers, making the dog wag its tail in excitement at her. 

Clorinde would secretly nudge her friend as Wriothesley stands up, whispering questions at him while Clementine was busy cooing over the puppy “You didn’t tell us anything about a dog.” she mutters, low enough for the birthday girl not to hear.

Wriothesley would smile smugly, chuckling. “Well, that wouldn’t be a surprise now, will it?” he proudly says, as if he just made the most clever decision of his life. ”Look, she’s happy, isn’t that what matters?”

Clorinde sighs, shaking her head as she catches a glimpse of Navia’s infuriated face. ”You’re going to have me killed.” she mumbles at him. 

“Not my fault, you said to make her happy.” He smirks. 

It wasn’t a few days until Clorinde had entered the duke’s office and confronted her about gifting Clementine such things. She barged in with a whole rant about how Navia was furious about the huge dog that Wriothesley had casually dropped on a three year old girl’s lap and proceeded to lecture him on having her mothers be informed in advance what present he’ll be handing out to the little girl first from now on. 

After that surprising event, Navia makes it a rule to their friends to never give Clementine a pet as a present anymore, Sebastien was enough of an addition. Wriothesley sulked about it for days at Clorinde, as he was planning to give out more puppies for Clementine’s next birthday. 

“Giddy up.” Clorinde mutters, carrying Clementine on a p iggyback as she stands up, Sebastien follows the duo in excitement as they play around the Palais Memoria’s garden hall. 

“I want that, maman!” Clementine points out the bright blue Romaritime flower by the reservoir. Slowly, Clorinde puts down her daughter, allowing her to run on her own towards the object of her affection, watching as Clementine clasps her hands together to ask permission to the Hydro Archon first—a routine she always does right before gently plucking out the flower from its roots. 

“Thank you, Hydro Archon.” she mumbles before taking out the flower gently from its roots.

And although the court forbids the plucking and taking of the garden-grown flowers by the Palais Memoria, Monsieur Neuvillette kindly gave an exception to little Clementine, on one condition that she doesn’t forget to plant a new one for every flower she takes out. 

Clementine loves flowers, something both Navia and Clorinde had noted ever since the girl began to speak. She loves going to gardens on Sundays with Navia, loves choosing what flowers to offer to her grandparents whenever they visit them and she loves strolling around the court, with Clorinde’s hand in hers, pointing out all the Pluie lotuses and Rainbow roses that they see on the way. 

And so, everytime Clorinde visited Poisson to take home a tired and completely knocked out Clementine on her shoulders, Navia had gotten used to seeing a bouquet or two on her hands. She lets it be, with the occasional short scoldings to Clorinde about how she should refrain from buying too much things for Clementine. 

“I wanna eat, Maman.” Clementine tells her mother as they sit down on a nearby bench by the Palais Memoria. Clorinde looks up as soon as she finishes fixing her daughter’s shoes. 

“Your mama prepared you some snacks in your bag, cub .” She answers the girl, reaching out her hand as she stands up to grab the small yellow backpack, Clorinde never understood why Navia would always pack such a heavy bag for one afternoon trip, especially for a girl as small as Clementine. “Let’s see..there’s some apples here, no skins.”she informs her, Clementine shakes her head. Clorinde continues to fish the bag, squeezing her hand through the piles of extra clothes and stuffed toys.

 Finally, she felt a hard plastic case inside.“Ah..You still have some macarons left from earlier, want some?” Again, the child shakes her head. “A juice box? It’s mango.” Clorinde offers. “Well..what about a sandwich? You can have maman’s.” she offers. “I’ll take out the tomatoes.” she adds, remembering the toddler’s utter disgust for tomatoes.  

“Nooo…”Clementine whines, now pouting as she swings her feet. “Don’t wanna.” she crosses her arms firmly.

Clorinde sighs, realizing that the girl's mood had shifted. She ruffles her head, sitting down next to her daughter, Sebastien resting on her feet. “Well, what do you want?” 

Clementine purses her lips, thinking. “Cake.” she answers.

“No.”Clorinde quickly turns down, making the girl whine louder. “That’s not a healthy snack, Clem.” Clementine groaned in frustration, puffing her cheeks as she tightened her crossed arms. “It’s either the macarons or the sandwich, that’s all.” 

“But I want cake!” she demands, looking away from her mother. 

“ Clementine. ” she calls, a tad more sternly as she handed out the sandwich from her bag. 

“No.” The girl answers, huffing. Clorinde was never an impatient person, but by gods was Clementine testing her. 

“Come on, darling.” She tries to console her daughter, much gentler now, but to no avail. “Go away.” the girl mumbled as she remained unmoving. 

Clorinde had learned over the years that not only did Clementine seem to inherit Navia’s irresistible charm and upbeat personality, but,unfortunately for her, also her incredibly stubborn attitude, especially when mad.

“Well, we won’t go home until you eat something.”Clorinde tries to counter. Navia had warned her repeatedly about spoiling Clementine and giving up to her every request, which Clorinde had only realized recently. As much as she would love to give her little girl everything she would ever ask on a whim, Clorinde is smart enough to know the consequences of doing such things to a child. 

“I want cake!” Clementine stubbornly repeats, still not facing her mother. Sebastian tilts his head in confusion, licking off Clementine’s leg to gain her attention. 

Ah, truly her mother’s child.  

Clorinde wanted to laugh at her little daughter’s antics ,mirroring Navia's own when they were kids. She bit the inside of her cheek to contain her chuckles as she figured that she had to play the disciplinarian this time, and had to be serious. “And I said no.” she responds. Clementine glared at her, pouting her lips. 

And for a solid minute or two, it seemed to work. It was apparent that Clementine was starting to give in, glancing at her mother’s side from time to time, checking whether she had changed her mind. Clorinde on the other hand, patiently waited for her daughter to finally give up and just eat her damn snacks so they could go home. 

However, it seemed that Clementine had one final trick up her sleeve. Just as Clorinde thought that she had won their little competition and began to face her again, the duelist had just found herself falling for the oldest trick in the book.

“But I want some cake, maman…” Clementine pouts, bright blue eyes pleading at her mother in full concentration, cheeks puffed as she looks at Clorinde with the puppiest blue eyes she had ever seen. And Clorinde knew that she was in a complete death trap.

The trip to the bakeshop was fortunately uneventful and quick.

Clorinde sighs as she pulls out her wallet to pay for the slice of cake Clementine had requested, along with a cup of coffee for herself. The cashier was taken back upon seeing the infamous Champion Duelist of Fontaine in front of her, ordering a slice of the Lady Furina special limited edition La Lettre a Focalors shortcake. 

The cashier nervously wraps the expensive slice in its intricate blue box, careful as to not damage the decorated icing on top. This was her first order of that particular slice, and it’s deemed as currently the most expensive dish offered in their shop, and thus it’s important that such things must be handled with utmost care. “Ah, just put them in a plastic cup, if that’s alright.” Clorinde requests as she sees the slice, making the cashier furrow her eyebrows in confusion. 

“Pardon?” She questions. 

Clorinde hums. “Just squeeze it in a plastic cup, and a spoon, please.” she tells her. 

“Er–Miss, this is uh..”She nervously stutters, gulping. “..Are you sure?” she says in a lower voice.

The duelist nods. “Can I also get some napkins with that?” 

The cashier blinks repeatedly. “S-sure.” wincing in emotional pain as she squeezes the beautifully made slice into the plastic cup, tears almost prickling down her eyes as she watched as the thousand mora limited edition meal was being crushed inside the cup. 

“H-here.” she hands the woman, who nods nonchalantly as she takes the food. The cashier also handed out a small plastic bag at Clorinde along with the ordered meals. According to her, it came with the slice of cake she had just ordered. Clorinde glanced at the toy-like figurine, eyeing it confusingly.

”It’s Lady Furina, Miss.”The cashier explains. ”Well, a minifigure of Lady Furina.” she adds quickly.

”I see.” Clorinde says in response, putting the toy back in her pocket as she walks over to the table where her daughter was idly sitting on. 

The two, joined by Sebastien, made their way back to the Palais Memoria Garden Hall, where they would spend the remainder of their day together.  

“Cake!” Clementine cheerfully takes the cup from her mother’s hands, quickly taking a spoonful into her mouth. The girl moaned in delight as she tasted the sweetness. “Yum!” She cheers.

Clorinde shakes her head as she carries her daughter up the bench in front of the court, Sebastien quickly jumping next to her. “I will never understand you and your mama’s obsession with sweets.” she mutters, sipping her coffee. 

“Try!” Clementine offers a spoonful at her mother, who respectfully declines as she shakes her head.

“Drink your water after that, hm?” she tells her daughter. Clementine nods at her mother, who was now putting on her disguise hat as she notices the crowd around the bench had begun to multiply now.

“Finish up and we can go now.” She mutters at the girl. 

“Yes maman.” Clementine answers. 

The two, along with little Sebastien, spent a peaceful snack time together under the Fontainian afternoon sun. Clorinde watched in fondness as her daughter lovingly feasts on the sweet pastry, swinging her legs in happiness as she takes a bite. 

Finally, Clementine giggles in delight as she finishes her last bite of the cake. ”Finish!” she announces, putting down the plastic cup next to her. Clorinde quickly hands her drink to her, which the girl carefully takes with two full hands. “Careful.” the woman tells her daughter as she guides the drink to the toddler’s mouth. 

“That was sooo yummy..”Clementine giggles, swinging her legs on the bench. Clorinde couldn’t help but smile, her daughter had always been a ball of joy, something she had inherited from Navia. 

“Have you been a good girl,Clem?”Clorinde asked, wiping off a dollop of whipped cream from her daughter’s lips. Clementine repeatedly bobs her head. “You better not be giving your mama a headache, hm?” she jokes.

“No no.” Clementine shakes her head. “Uncle Melus says I’ve been good.” she lets out a thumbs up as she wipes her wetted lips with an elbow. 

Clorinde smiles. “Don’t give mama a hard time,alright? Take good care of her.” She ruffles her daughter’s indigo hair. “Yes maman.” She answers. 

”That’s my girl.”The duelist proudly says, caressing Clementine’s hair as she lays her head on her mother’s side. 

“Maman..” The girl suddenly calls after minutes of silence, Clorinde quickly turns her head down at her.

“Yes, princess?” she gently answers, careful not to make large movements. 

The little girl looked up at her mother in wonder, eyes bright blue as she stares at Clorinde’s lightning purple ones.  “Why can’t you live with us?” 

The question caught Clorinde off-guard, her eyes widened slightly in surprise. “Well, I do visit sometimes, don’t I?” She tries to answer her daughter. However, it was evident that it wasn’t the answer the little girl was hoping for. 

“No, not that.” Clementine shakes her head, her braids swinging repeatedly with the movement of her head. “You don’t sleep with mama and me, and you leave a lot.” she pouts, now looking down on the ground where Sebastien peacefully sleeps. 

Clorinde let out a painful sigh. “I’m sorry, buttercup.” she only says. “I know how much you want the three of us to live together, and I do too.” The duelist consoles her, placing light strokes on her hair. “But right now, it’s just not possible.”

“Is it because you guys are mad with each other?” Clementine innocently asked. 

Clorinde shakes her head, unable to tell the full truth to her daughter. It’s far too complex of a subject, too fresh of a wound for both her and Navia to have to discuss with their still very small child.  “We’re not mad with each other,darling.” she corrects, but there was uncertainty on her voice. “We just..need some time on our own.” 

Clementine moues. “hmm..I don’t really understand.” she admits. Clorinde let out a hand and gently placed them on her daughter’s cheek. “We’re sorry, bear.” she says as she caresses the girl gently, feeling the guilt fill her chest as she looks at her daughter. 

“Uncle Melus says you guys lived together.” Clementine suddenly blurts out, making Clorinde turn confusingly at her. “Before I was born.”

Clorinde laughs, completely surprised. “What? no, we didn’t.” she clarifies. “We just had sleepovers, like what you and mama do at Fleuve Cendre.” she tries to explain. “She just spent the night at my house, but she never lived there.” 

“You lived together!” Clementine pouts at her, eyebrows furrowed. “No, I remember it too!” she boasted. 

Clorinde chuckles. “You weren’t even born yet at that time, cupcake.” she questions. “That’s impossible for you to remember.” the duelist ridged her forehead. 

“I do!I do!” Clementine tries to defend, fist curled in the air.“I was in mama’s belly.” 

The duelist shakes her head as she laughs. Navia did warn her that Clementine’s been too creative with her mind lately, often sprouting nonsensical false memories just for the heck of it. “Impossible, You weren’t even a thought yet.” she grumbles, chuckling as she realizes that Clementine’s conception wasn’t even thought of at all any way. 

Clementine huffs, still determined to win her side. “I remember it so!” She fought back. “And,and Papa Callas was there!” she adds. 

Clorinde was surprised at the mention of that particular name. “You didn’t even meet him!” she confusingly says, crossing her arms. 

“I sooo did.” her daughter answers. 

“Oh yeah?” Clorinde challenges. “What did he look like?”

Clementine paused for a minute, caught off guard with her mother’s sudden question. “H-he was this big!” She stretches her arms wide. “And he had a glasses!” 

Clorinde laughs loudly, unable to contain it anymore. “Alright, alright.” she says between wheezes. “ Whatever you say, bunny.” Clementine responded with a grumpy huff, unamused with her mother’s response.

“You don’t believe me!” she whined. Clorinde shakes her head. “I do,I do.” the woman assures,”You were right, I’m sorry.” she jokes, just to finish their little argument. She had learned after years of being friends with Navia that you will never win an argument against that girl, not even when you’re right. And supposedly, the same could go for Clementine,whose just as stubborn as her mother. 

Clementine grinned cheekily at her mother as she puts down her drink. ”When I grow up, I’ll buy you and mama a house there so we could live together.” She points at one building near the court, a staggering three-storey classical house that Clorinde used to confuse with the actual Court when she was younger. 

”We already have a house here.” Clorinde says, smiling at her daughter. ”Remember? You used to live with me.”

Clementine nods. ”But but, there’s only three rooms!” she attempts to pull out three fingers at her mother. ”And we need..”she stops, counting with her hands. ”T-two more!”

Clorinde tilted her head in confusion. ”For what?” she laughs. 

”One for maman and mama..”she puts down one finger, ”One for Clem..”and then another one. ”And then one for Sebastien.” She shows her mother the last finger standing on her hand, which was her middle finger. 

”Put that down, darling.”Clorinde sighs as she stares at her daughter’s middle finger innocently shown directly at her. The duelist smiles at her daughter. ”It’s perfect for the three of us, and Sebastien doesn’t need his own room, he’s a dog.”

”But what about my brother and sister?” she questions just as Clorinde was sipping her coffee. 

Clorinde chokes on her drink, coughing uncontrollably at her words. Her throat is drying up in pain as the strong caffeine chokes her.  ”Y-your what?” she almost shouts. 

”You and mama will make some new babies soon,right?” Clementine playfully shows her fingers in the air,making two walking motions with both her hands using her fingers. ”Aunt Chiori says that when two people love each other very much—”

”No, Clem.“ Clorinde quickly interjects, shaking her head. ”There will be no babies anytime soon.“ she clarifies. 

”Why?” she questions. ”You and mama love each other right?”

The duelist didn’t have it in her heart to deny the statement, Clementine’s still way too young to have her heart shattered with the ugly truth. Besides, it’s not like Clorinde knows the answer either. 

”It’s not that, Clem.” she explains. ”Your mama and I aren’t planning to have another anymore.“ Clementine frowns, greatly disheartened,Clorinde quickly noticed her look and added. ”We have you, and that’s all we need.”

”But when I grow up, you won’t have any babies anymore.” Clementine questions. ”So make more, that’s what people do when they love each other.”  she adds. 

Seriously, what did Chiori put in this kid’s head? Clorinde sighs. 

Clorinde shakes her head. ”You’ll always be our baby, Clem, even if you grow up as tall as mama and I.“ she replies, lightly pinching Clementine’s cheek. ”But still, don’t grow up too fast, alright?”

Clementine giggled, and Clorinde could see the sun setting behind her as she smiled. Fontaine had never looked this beautiful in Clorinde’s eyes. ”Silly maman, I can’t stop that.“ she laughs, each sound of laughter bouncing around Clorinde’s brain and echoing alongside the picture of Navia’s smile in her head. 

“She’s getting heavier.” Clorinde chuckles as Navia swings open the door to her home for the wonan to enter. Navia had offered to be the one to take Clementine to bed, but the duelist insisted. 

The blonde nods, stroking her daughter’s indigo hair as they enter the girl’s bedroom. Slowly, Clorinde placed down her daughter on the soft bed, pulling out the strands of loose hair out of the little girl’s face. 

”Hope she didn’t give you a hard time.”Navia says, eyes glued on Clementine’s sleeping figure. Clorinde shakes her head as she tucks the penguin-themed sheets on her daughter’s body. 

”Not at all, she was well-behaved actually.” Clorinde answers, but then laughs lightly as she adds. ”Just a bit of a chatterbox, honestly.”

Navia wheezes, trying her best to keep her laughs as quiet as possible. ”I don’t even know where she gets half the things she babbles about.” she says between gentle chuckles, the dim yellow light on Clementine’s minilamp perfectly capturing her radiant smile—warm as the sun indeed.  

And just as carefully they had entered, with a sigh of relief, Navia closed the door as soon as Clorinde had slowly exited the room.

“Thanks for taking her out today.. I know how much of a handful she can be, and you just got out from work and all—” Navia smiles at the woman as she hands her hat back. “Thank you, Clorinde. I really appreciate it, it means a lot to Clem too.” 

Clorinde nods as she puts on her hat. “Navia, it’s fine. Clem’s been a good girl.” she tells her, moving out of the way towards the entrance door.

Navia finds herself staring at the woman in front of her. Clorinde had gotten tall over the years, her well-built figure towering over Navia’s. She remembers how scrawny and tiny Clorinde looked years ago, barely fitting into the duelist uniforms provided by the court. But now, in front of her, her uniform fit the woman like a perfectly sized glove, complimenting the muscles that had built over the years due to the countless duels she fought. 

Navia pauses, her mouth open as if to say something. But her words failed her, she was left unmoving, hesitant to bring up the one thought bubbling in her mind.

“I’ll be going now.” Clorinde says, completely insouciant as opposed to Navia, who felt like she could break at the smallest of touch.

There were a variety of words Navia wanted to say to Clorinde, words that were left unsaid and left lingering on the back of her mind for years. And yet, she was still just as afraid. And so, all she could do is wait, wait for the possibility that Clorinde could be the one to bring it up. That was all she needed from her—and yet, Clorinde refuses. 

Clorinde leaves, but her scent continues to linger on Navia’s living room. Like gunsmoke, and perhaps just as suffocating too. And the longer Navia catches whiff of it, the more her chest tightens. 

She was left on her own once again, without a word uttered. Clorinde had ran away again, just as she did  years ago. When Clorinde had taken her father’s life, she left her to mourn on her own while she continued on as if nothing happened. She did it again, on the very same day, three years later. 

She stared at the bouquet of black and yellow flowers Clorinde had left on the table, a complete contrast to the pale blue flowers she had placed on her father’s grave earlier that day.

The storm that struck Fontaine that night was deathly terrifying.

Navia was never one to be terrified of such things, being that she has had her own fair share of destructive floods and booming thunders almost every night in Poisson and thus, she had grown accustomed to it as years came by. However, this night was different for Navia.

She hadn’t showered in days, her clothes were ragged and her hair was a bundled mess. She constantly checked on Clementine, placing light strokes on her daughter’s reddened cheeks as she let out another painful cough. Navia couldn’t stand this, her heart was breaking with every second she saw her daughter in such a state. 

Melus and Silver had gone out to help the people of Poisson amidst the large typhoon that haunts the nation, giving out food packs and flashlights due to the sudden cut off of electricity around the village. And so, Navia was left alone. There was no choice after all, she still needed to look after Poisson. Someone has to, at least. 

The door swung heavily as wet footsteps joined the crackles of thunder. Navia didn’t need to look behind her, there’s only one person that would be brave enough to run her way from the court to Poisson in the middle of a heavy storm. 

”How is she?”Clorinde questions, wet and breathless. She quickly hands the bag of medicine to Navia, who mutters a whisper of thanks before opening the packets herself. Clorinde helped herself to a spare towel near the door, wiping her entire body with the small cloth. 

”Still burning up.” Navia says, voice cracking. She carefully taps Clementine by the stomach, ”sit up, mon petit macaron.” she says gently, ushering the girl to sit and take her medicine. Clementine groans in pain, her reddened cheeks puffing up in agony. 

Clorinde leans closer to check on Clementine’s temperature, clicking her tongue as she feels her burning hot skin. ”You want to eat something, bear ?” she asked, the girl shakes her head. 

“Just sleep.” Clementine mumbles, eyelids half closed. 

”Swallow this first, then you can sleep.” Navia gently says, placing a tablet on Clementine’s tongue, the girl quickly swallows it as Navia hands her a glass of water. Within seconds, Clementine plopped down back to her bed, her entire body covered in thick layers of sheets. 

Navia sighs as she lets Clementine doze off once more, carrying the tray of untouched cold soup that she had prepared for the girl. ”Let me.“ Clorinde offers, taking the tray from Navia’s hand as they stand up to leave. 

The woman looks down at the tray as she follows Navia, frowning in concern. ”She hasn’t eaten?”

”She’s been like this since this morning, barely touched her breakfast and any of the food I made her.” Navia tells her as they walk carefully outside of the girl’s room.”I gave her some milk, she drank it but then she threw up right after.” 

Clorinde sighs as they close the door to Clementine’s room, but still leaving a few centimeters of gap in case the girl calls. 

”You should’ve taken her to the clinic earlier,Navia.” she mutters as soon as they are near the kitchen, where Navia took the tray from the woman’s hands and placed them on the sink.

Navia nods, opening the faucet to begin washing the bowls.”I know, I just didn’t think it was gonna get this bad.” She reasons, cold water falling down her hands as she says so.”I would’ve taken her the moment she started heating up, but then the storm came and I—we couldn’t leave.” She looked up at the window, the storm still angry as ever, and there was no sign of it stopping anytime soon. 

Clorinde exhales, her hands in her pocket. ”Then you should’ve told me the moment she started getting hot, I would’ve taken her myself.” she tells her. ”If I hadn’t heard from Melus that Clem’s been sick for days, I would’ve never found out otherwise.”

Navia scoffs, stopping her hands that were carefully wiping off the bowl with a sponge. ”Whose fault is that? you barely visit.” she barks back, voice hoarse from the lack of sleep and fatigue. 

The duelist swallows a lump on her throat, looking directly at Navia.”I would’ve come as fast as I could had you told me about her situation.” she answers, voice much louder now. 

Thunder booms in the distance, adding to the immense heartbeat that constantly thumps inside Navia’s chest. 

”Well, I shouldn’t have to be doing that in the first place.” the blonde retorted, swallowing a thick lump on her throat. 

”What is that supposed to mean?” Clorinde scoffs, hands on her hips as she questions Navia.

The plates made a loud clunking sound against the metal sink as Navia dropped it carelessly.”We have a deal, Clorinde. A schedule, a routine—but you kept failing to show up, you kept making my daughter wait for nothing. ” she sneers, bitter and angry. ”And what, you expect me to update you on how she’s doing after weeks of disappearing?” she questions, almost laughing at how ridiculous the duelist was being, putting the blame on her.

”I’ve been busy with the court, I told you that.” Clorinde excuses, staring intently at the woman. ”I said I’d make it up to her once it was all settled.” she answers, frustration building up inside her. ”I’ve been doing this for her, Navia. I know I hadn’t been spending much time with her but gods—” Clorinde scorns, just as bitterly as Navia. ”I think it’s unfair to keep me out of the loop here with my own daughter just so you could rub it in my face about how absent I’ve been.”

Navia glares at her, rain pouring heavily behind her as the bowls clank with one another.  ”That’s not what I’m doing, Clorinde.” she tells her. ”If you really care about Clem—I wouldn’t need to write you a letter, you wouldn’t need to hear from Melus or Silver or anyone because you’d be here and you’d know.” Navia screams in sync with the booming of the thunder, in sync with the falling of the tears on her face. ”I don’t care if you're off hunting, or killing another god-knows-who at the court—hell, I don’t even care if you’re lying dead in a ditch somewhere. But the least you could do for Clem is show up when you say you will and not just abandon her.” 

Navia exclaims, face flushed beet red as she sniffles. ”I barely survived when you did it to me, so please don’t put my daughter in the same situation.” she begs, almost desperately. ”At least have that much tact, for once.“

The rain continues, accompanied with the sound of the twigs of the plants slapping the glass window repeatedly. 

”I’m not going to.”Clorinde reassures, voice now shifted to a lower one, feeling a slight sliver of guilt. ”I’ll stay, I won’t abandon our daughter,Navia.”

Navia looked at her in fury, reddened eyes from the tears she had been holding back. ”Then why leave? What's so important with that damn job that you’d choose it more than your own child?” she questions, desperate to hear something, anything from Clorinde. 

They both stood in silence as the drops of rain began to muffle in Navia’s ears, all she could hear was the silence that came after her words: It was deafening, ear-piercing almost. 

Clorinde swallows as she looks at Navia, eyes red and sunken, both of them knew that they were tired, far too tired for something as senseless as this argument. The duelist swallows heavily before she inevitably looks away from Navia’s gaze. ”I cannot tell you right now.”

The storm began once again, raindrops fire down at the roof of Navia’s home like little bullets. The blonde laughed dryly. After all that ruse, Clorinde is still so tight-lipped about her life. Even when a desperate woman is in front of her, begging for a reason, for her explanation. Anything, gods, anything just so she could understand her. 

”You’re ridiculous.” Navia scoffs, wiping away her tears as she walks towards the living room. 

Clorinde clicks her tongue. ”I’ll tell you in due time,Navia. But not right now.” She pulled the woman by her arm, but Navia was quick to break free. ”Please, try to understand.”

”And I’m supposed to do what, just trust you?” Navia chuckles. ”Right, that went great for me, didn’t it?” she turns around, shaking her head. 

”Navia.”Clorinde calls out. 

”Gods, I’ve had it with you, Clorinde.”The blonde rubs her temples as she scoffs. The duelist gulps as she looks at Navia, having the audacity to give her that sad kicked puppy look, as if she was the one that was hurting in all of this. 

 ”You know what? just get out.”Navia orders, not bothering to face Clorinde. The duelist tries to walk closer to her, but the blonde quickly pushes her away. She quickly slapped Clorinde’s hands away. ”Get the hell out,Clorinde.”

The duelist remained frozen on her spot, doe eyes stared at her in fear. ”But Clem—”

What about me? Navia thinks as she inhales sharply before facing the woman. ”Asshole..” Navia could only curse, completely offended by Clorinde’s lack of concern for her. 

She quickly shakes her head as she feels a strong throb on her temple. Navia exhales heavily. ”Y’know what?Fine, whatever. I’ll send you letters— if that’s what you want, if that’s what’s gonna keep you out of my damn sight.  I’ll keep you updated on how she’s doing, for Clem’s sake.” she says. ”But don’t you show your face again to me, Clorinde.” she hissed.

”Navia.” Clorinde tries to call her. ”Please—”

”I said get out!” Navia shouts. ”Get out and don’t come back to me ever again.”

Clorinde pauses, before looking down in dismay. 

”..I understand.” she says, putting on her hat as she walks past Navia, the loud booming of the thunderstorm accompanied the light sobs of the blonde as soon as Clorinde leaves. 

Clorinde had hurt her countless times, and had left her in ruin that even now, she’s still left to pick up the pieces the duelist had shattered. But Navia never stopped caring for her, as much as she would’ve loved to—her heart could never not concern itself with Clorinde’s wellbeing, she’d almost always find it in her to care for the woman that broke her heart. 

But this time, the aching on her heart seemed to be greater than her love for the woman. Navia could only have so much patience, she had given her as many chances to fix everything again as she could. And yet, Clorinde steps back every single time.

Navia didn’t even dare to look back at the window to watch Clorinde leave, letting the woman be engulfed by the raging storm that struck Fontaine that horrendous night. 

Navia had stopped caring, and maybe that’s for the best. 

Over the years filled with betrayal, pain and anger, Navia had learned not to trust so easily. 

It was rather difficult for Navia, a girl who was raised in a village where she was loved, adored and cared for genuinely. She grew up in a world where she believes everyone deserves a chance to be trusted, to be given the opportunity to prove themselves. The people of Poisson had molded Navia into that person for years, and Navia had learned the hard way that the world isn’t too gentle to people like her. 

Ever since the tragedy of her father’s death, Clorinde’s unspoken betrayal and how Fontaine treated Poisson and the Spina like a horrible contagious disease they should be avoiding at all cost—Navia kept her personal business close to her heart, unable to find it in herself to trust anyone anymore.

But when a blonde traveler came into her life, with his loud and enthusiastic flying companion, Navia slowly opened up once more. He was kind, courageous and incredibly charming. His companion on the other hand, can be quite a handful to some but she wasn’t something that Navia couldn’t handle. She has a ferocious three year old at home that never runs out of energy for days, and overtime, she had learned to get used to it. 

Thanks to her newfound friends, Navia felt as if her father’s case was being brought to light once again, albeit a bit slow and so incredibly tedious that Navia barely had the time to sleep at all. But she was optimistic of the outcome of it all—her papa will get the justice he deserves and Poisson will find its place in Fontaine once more. 

Her relationship with Clorinde remained just as stale as it was that night. Now that she has been actively working against her father’s case, Navia barely had the time to speak to her at all. They would see each other every few days, whenever Clorinde would take their daughter with her and then back to Poisson. But even then, no words were exchanged between them. Especially now that Navia’s been very vocal about the unjust system of Fontaine’s government, the very same system that Clorinde serves as a lapdog to. 

And it’s probably for the better, Navia thinks. The less they talk, the easier it is for Navia to move forward, something she should’ve done well over three years ago. But alas, such things are easier said than done, not when the daughter they share acts as a constant reminder of the love and devotion they once had for one another. 

“I cannot thank you enough for your service, You have no idea how much this all means to me and to the entirety of Poisson.” Navia says to her new comrades, cheeks flushed as she tries hard to hold back the tears she so desperately needs to let out. 

Paimon bounces happily. “No problem, Navia. That’s what friends are for!” she tells her. “And Paimon thinks your papa deserves his justice too.” 

Aether nods. “Just tell us if there’s more we can help with in the meantime.” he offers. “And tell Melus and Silver we said hi.”

“Yeah, where are they anyway? Paimon thought they should be guarding you all the time!” the floating companion butts in. 

“I sent them out for a business meeting with one of Spina’s partner companies.” Navia excuses, purposely avoiding any eye contact with either of them to keep up her facade. In reality, she had sent Melus and Silver to watch over Clementine while she worked with the traveler, something she obviously can’t say to the two. “But I'll tell them that you sent your regards.”

And for a second, Navia thinks of revealing her secret to the two. They’ve been working together for the past weeks, tirelessly looking for clues that may hint at her father’s innocence and its connection to the unjust trial that had the infamous magician Lyney guilty for. She thinks of telling the two about Clementine, about her past with a certain duelist. And she’d feel her heart racing, scared of the very real possibility that she might be trusting too much again. And so she’d turn down her idea, leaving it as it is on the back of her mind.

“Anyway, you two had helped plenty, I should be the one to make that offer.” Navia says, hands behind her back as she shyly grins at the two travelers. “If there’s anything you need, feel free to visit me at Poisson. I’ll be glad to help out.” 

Paimon giggles like an excited little child. “Just a couple of macarons will do!”

“Paimon!” Aether stops her. 

Navia laughs, hands wrapped around her stomach as she lets out a gentle wheeze. “Alrighty then, I’ll make sure to have them send some of my macarons to your rooms later.” 

Paimon claps in response, her wings fluttering repeatedly. 

As the three were about to go to the Fleuvre Cendre together, Navia felt something fall down her shoulder as she walked. Widened eyes stared in shock as she instinctively catches Aether’s passed out body falling down on her. 

“H-hey!“ Navia exclaims in worry. Paimon loudly screams in shock. “Aether!” she calls. 

Just as Navia puts down her friend’s body by the fountain, a loud mechanical sound interrupts the three. 

“What the—” Navia mumbles as she grabs her gunbrella by her side. She squinted, looking at the figures getting closer and closer to their directions and her eyes widened. 

“Gardemeks?!” Paimon cries out, still pulling on Aether’s clothing to wake him up, but the traveler doesn't budge. 

“My god, there’s a whole army of them.” Navia almost chokes on her own breath. “Paimon, keep an eye on him. I’ll handle this.” She orders, hands preparing to unload her gun as she walks over to fend off the robotic monsters. 

Knowing that she wouldn't be able to hold defense for very long as her body could only withstand so much—Navia acknowledges that her martial abilities had rusted after years of being fired from any kind of intense physical training following the birth of Clementine.

Focalors, a little help? Navia squints as she prays mentally, dashing off to one gardemek and slicing her blade through it like softened butter. Within seconds, it plopped right down on the ground like a neglected ragdoll.

“Navia, behind you!” Paimon screams as soon as Navia turns around. The blonde felt a tingling sensation on her nape, as if there was some invisible string tugging on her back and pulling her soul out of her flesh in one quick motion. 

The Gardemek launched at Navia, bashing its entire body right directly at her Claymore mindlessly. Navia tries to fend it off, but the other Gardemek behind her quickly catches sight of her blindspot, now crouching down to hit Navia completely defenseless. 

Lightning cackles in time as Navia somehow managed to dodge Gardemek's attack. A series of roars of thunder blew repeatedly like a firework show, purple lights blinking in sync with the sound of a blade colliding onto the thick metal body of the automation. 

Navia didn’t have the time to stare and observe the mysterious figure that protected her from behind, not when she could spot a horde of Gardemeks making its way towards them. And without preamble, Navia leans closer to the crowd of robots, letting the other person deal in the frontlines, completely entrusting her friends’ safety in her hands. 

Fighting the Gardemeks came to Navia like instincts, as if something awakened within her once more. She was fearless, clashing her Claymore and swinging it around the crowd of monsters as she reloaded her gunbrella with her other hand. And within minutes, what once stood tall and mighty horde of Gardemeks all fell into the ground helplessly.

Navia huffs as she puts out the last of the smoke from her gun, her back turned at the woman who came by out of the blue. Even from a distance, Navia could still hear the faint breathing coming from the woman as she slashed down the last of the Gardemeks. 

 “Clorinde..” she calls out, voice breathless and shaky. “What are you doing here?”

“I was nearby.” The duelist tries to reason, pulling down her hat. Navia was quick to notice the faint glow of her electro vision as her lightning clones disappeared behind her. “I was patrolling around the area and caught glimpse of-” the woman quickly stopped as soon as she saw the displeased look on Navia’ face. 

“Bullshit.” Navia calls her out, arms crossed. “Try again.”

Clorinde sighs in defeat, tongue-tied after being caught in her very apparent lie. “ I was following you.” she admits. 

“You mean stalking?” Navia questions, before turning her head to face the two upcoming figures walking towards her. Paimon ran closer to Navia, holding the Traveller by the shoulders, the two companions made their way towards the blonde, who helped them both sit down nicely on the pavement. 

“This is-”Clorinde’s eyes widened as she saw the traveller, but quickly shook her head to change the subject. “You-You shouldn’t be here,Navia.” she scolds, voice low and concerned as she withdraws her blade.

“As should you.” Navia huffs, putting down her gunbrella . “Don’t you know that stalking is a serious crime here in Fontaine?” she rolls her eyes. “I expect you’d already know that, being the law’s lapdog and all.” she threw a jab at her. 

“Who is—” Paimon tries to intervene, but Aether shushes her. 

“Let them be,” he whispers, wincing faintly in pain as he tries to stand up.

Clorinde exhales. “I gave Mr. Callas my word that I will always protect you, whatever happens.” she replies. “And I will not be able to face Clementine had anything happened to you.”

Navia scoffs. “Leave my father’s name out of your mouth, Clorinde. You’re the last person ever deserving to utter his name.” she spits out, brutal and cut-throat. “And don’t bring Clementine into this either. This has nothing to do with her.”

Clorinde looks away, eyes darted down on the ground. “I simply wish to keep you safe.” 

“I can manage very well on my own, thanks.” Navia replies, voice filled with sarcasm and bitterness. “I advise, no— I demand you keep your distance from me. You forget that our connection merely exists within the realms of our daughter.” 

Paimon gasped, turning to Aether. Daughter! she mouths.

Aether nods silently, eyes bulging out of its sockets as he faces Paimon. I know right?! he mouths back in disbelief.

The duelist looks down in defeat, the imaginary lump on her throat growing bigger with every word that Navia spits out. “I understand, I apologize for overstepping my boundaries.”

Navia was the one to look away. “Just go.“

Clorinde swallows. “I will.” she assures. “But Navia,”she calls out, one last time. “Please do tread lightly, for Clementine’s sake at least.” 

Navia scoffs. “If I had wanted your advice, I would’ve said so.” she bites back, the duelist simply nods. 

Paimon placed a hand on her mouth. Poor girl! the fairy companion whispers. Besides her, Aether shakes his head at the revelation unfolding in front of his very eyes. 

And Just as fast as she had abruptly appeared, the lightning-quick duelist fled away, leaving Navia and her friends alone. 

“Navia, who was that?!” Paimon questions almost immediately. 

Navia lets out a sigh before flashing back to her usual demeanor. “Oh, that was Clorinde.” The Spina president tried to flash a smile, but it was apparent how fake it was. “ She’s the Champion Duelist of Fontaine.“

“And?” Paimon questions, voice almost demanding.

Navia huffs as she places her gunbrella on her side. “We used to be friends, but that was history now.” she grins.

“Friends?” Aether crosses his arms. “Doesn’t look like that to me.” he lets out an arm. “It looked to me that you two seemed to have far more than what you’re implying.” he questions, Paimon nods.

The blonde woman tries to look away, her ears flushed bright red. “It’s sort of complicated.” she explains, but it was apparent that the two travelers are not satisfied with her words. And so, Navia exhales in defeat. 

“We’re co-parenting, that’s all.” Navia finally reveals. “Think nothing of it, she and I are long over in the past now.” 

“But how did it all lead to that?” Paimon questions. “And you didn’t tell us you have a daughter!”

“It’s a long story.” Navia argues. 

Aether snaps his fingers, his companion agreeing rather fast. “Thankfully, we have the time.” 

Navia glances at the marks of Clorinde’s blade on the ground, the burnt cement sizzling slowly as it takes the shape of the slash. And then she closed her eyes, memories of everything came flooding like Fontainian sea waters.

The question rang in her head like an echo. 

How did it all lead to that? 

Chapter Text

The higher of a rank Clorinde climbs, the less familiar her scent becomes. 

It infuriated Navia, to the point that she would force Clorinde out of her clothing and make her squeeze into one of her shirts whenever they hang out. The smell of the different perfumes on her felt like poison to Navia, like a slow, agonizing torture that only she suffers from.

She had told her father about this, and how it seemed to bother her quite too much. Callas would laugh at her, placing a gentle hand on her daughter’s head. He would explain to Navia that Clorinde is a busy person, and sometimes, he explains, she wishes to lighten up and so, she fulfills her ‘personal’ needs.

Navia wasn’t stupid, she knew what Callas had meant. She’s a grown woman who can very well understand the not-so subtle connotations of her father’s words. 

Part of her thinks of forgetting all about it, to rid herself of the potential awkwardness that they might have once Clorinde notices the subtle hesitation and awkward gestures Navia makes. She knew that opening this can of worms to Clorinde would end up being embarrassingly uncomfortable. 

But part of her wishes to ponder on it further, to question and demand explanations from Clorinde herself. Part of it stems from concern, from worry for her old friend who had been pretending to be fine in front of Navia. But the other part stemmed from simply hormones—years of neglected sexual curiosities finally finding the opportunity to present itself once more. 

Navia was never one to be swooned by mere post-teenage instincts. but this was something she can’t seem to simply shake off. Perhaps it’s because it’s Clorinde, someone that Navia had long realized that she couldn’t ever resist. 

And so, when Clorinde visited her home by the foot of the ship that resides in the heart of Poisson. Navia was quick to come up with ideas as to how she’ll pitch the lingering issue to Clorinde with as little awkwardness as possible.

Clorinde sighs as she plops her entire body down Navia’s bed, as if it was her own. Considering how much she had been dozing off there for years, it might as well just be. 

Navia stares at her curiously: ocean blue eyes analyzing each and every subtle expression and gestures that Clorinde makes, which was not a lot, really. 

”There’s this new recruit that was introduced to us this morning, and you won’t believe how tiny she is.” Clorinde begins to say, raising her arms up in the air as if she was tossing an imaginary ball up the bedroom ceiling. ”Her name’s Chevreuse, I believe. She’s barely of age from what I’ve heard.” she continues. 

Navia only heard gibberish. Her mind clouded in wonder and curiosity—the urge to do whatever it is she has been thinking in the back of her mind controlled her entire system like some parasite that has taken over her brain. 

Nimble hands made their way to Clorinde’s legs,the other woman unbothered with her light touches. The training duelist continues to ramble about the new little trainee of their corps, and, for the nth time, how incredibly small she was. 

”You know I heard rumors that she’s some highly ranked officer’s daughter or some—hmpf!” Clorinde’s words were cut-short when Navia jumps on her body without any preamble, plopping her entire weight on Clorinde’s torso. The blonde leans closer, inhaling every bit of scent that lingers on Clorinde’s collar. 

“You smell like something else again.” Navia notes, burying her head in the crook of Clorinde’s exposed neck. 

“I-I do?” Clorinde stutters, face red and burning up. “I can change real quick, give me a mi—”A loud gasp exited the dark-haired woman’s lips as Navia lunges in closer, her hands finding its way under Clorinde’s stomach.

”You can just ask me y’know?” Navia mumbles, pouting her lips at the woman. ”You could’ve asked me, and I would’ve helped.”

”H-help with wha—?“she stutters,”Navia, what’s with you all of a sudden?” Clorinde questions, her body stiff as a brick as Navia continues to lie on top of her. ”What are you talking about?” she nervously laughs, her fingers carefully placing atop of the blonde’s head to soothe her.

”This.” Navia hums, she nudges at Clorinde’s crotch with one leg, light enough to not cause any painful effects but hard enough to give Clorinde a clue.

“I don’t—” She stumbles on her words rather pathetically. It wasn’t until the mental gears on Clorinde head finally churned and pieced the clues together that the young girl had realized what Navia meant. “Oh.” 

Red would not be enough to describe the exact shade of color that covered Clorinde’s entire face that evening, she froze on her spot, sporting a huge flush on her entire head. 

“I’m not some dumb girl you know.” Navia scoffs, laying her head on Clorinde’s chest. She could hear the loud thumping of the woman’s heart and how it seemed to sync almost perfectly with her own. “I know about your little endeavors, Clorinde.” she whispers. “I hate it.”

She felt Clorinde breathe heavily, her hand on Navia’s head moving gently. It brought a sense of relief to her now that she understood Navia’s concern, still, she remained flustered. “I—I’m sorry if it bothers you.”she confesses. “I try not to make it obvious so as to not worry you but—” she gulps. “I didn’t know that it’s already affecting you., I’ll try to make it less obvious if that’s what you want, or something.”

Silence fell in the room, with only Clorinde’s loud beating heart being the only noise that filled Navia’s ears. And as the blonde tries to open her mouth to speak, her entire body shakes.

Navia lets out a loud chuckle, something akin to a maniacal laughter. It was almost mocking, almost too genuine that it caught Clorinde by utter surprise. 

“Navia?” She furrowed an eyebrow, lifting her head to meet the girl’s eyes.

“You idiot.” Navia says between laughters, her voice cracking as she lets out more cackles. “Gods, this was way different than I expected.” she wheezes, wiping off the laughing tears that had built up on the sides of her eyes. 

“You’re awfully dense, you know?”Navia giggles, pushing Clorinde’s body to lay her head back on the pillow once more. 

“I am?” Clorinde tilts her head in confusion. But before she could continue speaking, Navia quickly sat down, straddling the woman. 

“It’s not that I don’t want you to make it less obvious that you’ve been sleeping around with strangers, Clorinde.” Navia reveals, and Clorinde blushes once more at her very vulgar and direct words. “It’s that I don’t want you to sleep around with anyone else at all.” she confesses, blue eyes stare down at Clorinde as if she’s about to eat her up whole. Considering the weird sexual tension that fills the room right now, she might as well just do that. ”You get that?”

Clorinde gulps. ”I don’t—

Navia leans in. holding Clorinde’s cheeks with her hands. “Let me help you.” soft fingers intertwined itself with Clorinde’s calloused ones. “Use me.”

Clorinde’s eyes widened in horrified shock. 

“Y—you..”Clorinde swallows heavily, eyes bulging out of its socket. “No.”she says between stutters.

“No?” Navia pouts. 

“No, I don’t want to just use you Navia.” Clorinde interjects in a high-pitched voice. “That’ll be awfully selfish of me, to have to use my friend just to fulfill my personal needs.” She reasons. “I’ll deal with this on my own, don’t worry.”

“You don’t understand, you peanut.” Navia huffs. “You’re not being selfish by doing that, I’m the one whose offering.” she tells her. “Look, I won’t hold it against you if you do choose to reject my proposition but just think about it,alright?” she continues. “Sleeping with your known friend is generally much safer than just going under the sheets with random people you meet at nightclubs.” she says in one breath, lips puckered in frustration. ”Plus, You’re about to be a champion duelist, an esteemed name in Fontaine— so you shouldn’t be too careless.” 

Navia continues to  explain,determined to convince her friend.. “Besides, it’s just sex. Nothing will change between us, we’ll still be friends.” 

Clorinde pauses, pupils blown completely out of proportion as she watches Navia ramble while straddling her as if it was nothing. “You say it as if it's that casual.” she mutters. 

”It depends, do you want something more than just casual?” Navia questions, almost teasingly. 

Clorinde shrugged her shoulders, admitting her cluelessness amidst it all.  

“We’ll figure it out as we go.” Navia suggests, admitting her lack of knowledge in this regard as well. “So, do you want it?” She leaned closer, until their faces were mere inches apart from one another.

“Do you?” Clorinde deflects, eyes glued directly on Navia’s pupils, watching as it dilates and shrinks back repeatedly. 

Finally, Clorinde seemed to catch on with Navia’s far too neglected desire and began to trace her fingers along the woman’s leg, which was hooked tightly around her. 

Navia bit her lip, looking down at Clorinde’s fingers on her skin.. “Isn’t it obvious?” she scoffs. 

Clorinde hums calmly. ”I’m gonna need you to say it,Navia.” She demands, pausing at a particular part of her thigh, mere inches away from right where Navia wants her to be. “Spell it out, tell me.”

The blonde laughs devilishly. “Use me, Clorinde.” she whispers, tracing the patterns of Clorinde’s ear. “I’m yours to devour.” 

And so, with a heavy exhale, Clorinde complies.

True to her word, nothing of their relationship changed even with the apparent addition of being each other’s personal bed-warmers. Navia remained as bubbly, clingy and gravely supportive of Clorinde as she made her way up the corporal ladder of Fontaine. and Clorinde remained as overly protective and coddling of Navia. Though Navia couldn’t help but notice just how awfully touchy Clorinde has been lately with her— always insisting that they hold hands, having a particular fondness in hugging her from the back and sometimes, placing light kisses whenever they finish their little session. 

They’ve been doing that particular routine for almost a year now, and neither of them seemed to want to put an end to it.

Navia would die if it were all to end, and it was apparent that Clorinde definitely feels the same. 

“Look at you, so handsome.” Navia jokes as she watches Clorinde from behind, observing as the woman tries out her Court-provided Duelist uniform, which unfortunately looked a tad bit bigger than what Clorinde had initially expected. She was resting comfortably on Clorinde’s bed, wearing one of her old shirts as she watched the woman from a distance. 

“Should I have it tailored?” Clorinde asked, staring down at herself in the mirror.

Navia shrugs. “It doesn’t look bad, Clorinde.” she tells her. “Besides, you’ll definitely grow into those, just a few more fighting and training and all that excess space will be filled with muscle in no time.”

Clorinde laughs. “You think so?” 

The blonde nods, legs raised up as she lies down by Clorinde’s bed, laying flat on her stomach. ”You look perfect,mon chevalier.” she teases seductively. “Makes me just wanna eat you up right now.” the woman adds.

The duelist glares at her jokingly, ears red in embarrassment.  “Hey, no funny business for today.” she scolds, signalling at the calendar behind Navia, where several dates have been crossed red with an exclamation point next to it. 

The blonde groans, rolling on her back.“You’re no fun.”

“I’m careful, just like how you should be.” Clorinde answers, fixing the collar of her uniform.

”We’ll be safe.” Navia assures, looking at Clorinde pleadingly. ”Don’t tell me you don’t trust your own skills when it comes to pulling—”

 “Quiet now.” Clorinde says, blushing. Navia laughed amusingly at her expression. 

“20 is not a good age for kids.” The young duelist continues, fixing her collar.“Maybe in the future, lovebug.” she teased, ruffling Navia’s hair. 

Navia scoffs, amused by Clorinde’s nonchalance.“You don’t mind the idea of having kids with me, then?” she asked Clorinde, who was now tugging on her cuff sleeves. 

“That’s something I’d rather discuss in the future.” Clorinde admittedly says. “Now help me fix this button up.” she ushers. 

Navia was 22 when the Spina began to meet its inevitable demise.

She remembered being 22, young and energetic and full of raging hormones that she never got to release as a teen. She remembered staying all night with Clorinde, eating junk meals and having sex all day long until one of them dozes off. She remembered how calming it all was, far too calming that it did make Navia question it all for a moment. 

It’s been a year since the two of them had begun their own little rendezvous— and neither wishes to stop anytime soon. Their bodies had gotten used to each other’s warmth that Navia rather pathetically admits that she’ll go insane if it were all to end.

Overtime, their little game had become somewhat of a routine for the both of them: Navia would wake up, go help her father with the Spina until he finally takes notice of her daughter’s efforts and allow her to spend the day with Clorinde to destress, where she’ll be wasting the nights away being bent in ways she had never thought was physically possible. 

Don’t get her wrong, Clorinde is a gentle soul, even during intimacy. Navia knows that Clorinde tends to hold back, it’s apparent with how hesitant she had always been during their first few times, always waiting for Navia to tell her what to do as if it’s some task instead of literal sex with her best friend. But as months pass and they both learn their boundaries and preferences, Clorinde slowly but surely takes charge— although the gentleness is still present in her actions. 

But just one simple go-signal from Navia to let her do whatever she wants and that woman would switch up like some sleeper agent at her words. If the inside of Clorinde’s head could be heard whenever that happens, one could probably hear gears churning in rhythm as the duelist’s entire persona quickly changes. 

Navia groans as she hears the sound of rustling papers by her side. With a slight squint of her eyes, she tries to slowly adjust to the unfamiliar light until finally, she catches a glimpse of what’s happening.

“You have a date planned or something?” Navia says hoarsely, voice still cracking from having just woken up. She yawns as she carelessly stretches out her arms, the sheets that cover her bare body falling rather gracefully down her chest. 

Clorinde glances at her, on her hand was the small teal-colored teacup that Navia had given her when they were teenagers. It’s amazing how well Clorinde had preserved it after all these years. Especially considering the fact that it was one of her first amateur works, and she hadn’t even learned glazing yet then. 

Clorinde smiles at her before staring back at the paper. “We didn’t write down your no-no zone days for this month.” she points at the calendar: clean, unwrinkled and not a single red ink blotted anywhere. 

Navia squints her eyes to read the calendar before groaning and plopping her head on the bed. ”Oh, riiiight.” she whines as she facepalms herself. “Must’ve slipped off our minds.” Navia mutters. “We haven’t done it in a while, so that must be why.” 

Clorinde nodded, head tilted as she faced the blonde. “You think we’re safe?” 

Navia laughs rather nonchalantly, she was way too calm in comparison to Clorinde. “It’s just once, tons of people have unprotected sex all the time.” she reassures her.

“Except it wasn’t once.” Clorinde had pointed out in a matter-of-factly tone. “We did it yesterday as soon as you got here, and then after dinner we did it in the kitchen. And then in the bathroom when you—” 

“Alright,alright. I get it, we did it about a hundred times.” she rolls her eyes, groaning in annoyance as she grabs a pillow to cover her head. 

“Twelve, actually. ” Clorinde corrects, whether it was to inform the former or to simply piss her off. 

“Of course you’d keep tally.” Navia huffs, putting out the pillow out of her face. ”Nerd.” she mumbles. 

The duelist laughs, shaking her head. She watched as Navia lazily stood up from the bed, dragging her feet on the cold hardwood floors of her room. “Are you heading back?” she begins to ask, sipping her last drop of tea.

”Uh-huh.”Navia hums as she fishes out a shirt from Clorinde’s spare drawer. “I need to help Papa with something.” she tells her. “Plus, Melus and Silver are probably worried sick.” 

“Give Mr. Callas my regards then.” Clorinde smiles, standing up to help Navia out with finding clothes. 

“How kind.” Navia teased, taking the shirt Clorinde handed to her. A sly smile formed on the blonde’s lips as she glanced at the duelist. “As if you weren’t pumping little heirs inside his daughter just last ni—” Clorinde quickly covered Navia’s mouth with her bare palm, saving herself of the embarrassment that’s about to spill out from the woman’s lips, making Navia chuckle. 

“We should do something about that mouth, don’t you think?” Clorinde clicks her tongue as she slowly removes her palm from the woman’s lips, face sporting a light pink blush. 

“You already did last night.” Navia lets out a laugh, now putting on a long black skirt that goes past her knees. “Need to go, or else Papa might barge in here looking for me.” she informs her, giving Clorinde a quick peck on the cheek. “Come by later?” She pleads, stroking the woman’s cheek with her palm. 

Clorinde leaned her face closer to Navia’s palm, holding the woman lightly by the wrist. Navia couldn’t help but melt at the sight of Clorinde, in her puppiest amethyst eyes, looking up at her as if begging for something. But alas, Navia needs to restrain herself from falling for that look again, or else she’ll never get out of Clorinde’s house with a pair of working legs.

 “I need to train, I’m in charge of the duels for next week.” Clorinde pouts. ”Maybe another time?”

Navia exhales as she looks away.”Ugh, you and that damn training..” she rolls her eyes. 

Clorinde chuckles as she takes Navia’s hand. ”Come on, bunny.” she teases lovingly.  ”I’ll make it up to you next week.” she promises. 

Navia pouts. ”You better.”

The young duelist laughs, waving her hand off at the woman. ”Now go, Master Callas’ probably waiting for you.”

When Navia returned to Poisson that morning, the air felt incredibly heavy.

Worried eyes scanned the entire area, looking for someone, anyone to tell her what the hell happened. Why were they all staring at Navia in sympathy, why are there guards roaming and leaving the Spina Headquarter and most importantly, where the hell is her father?

”Demoiselle.” A voice calls out, and Navia could easily recognize the worried tone on Silver’s words. His eyes were sunken deep, his hair was a disheveled mess and Navia’s eyes widened in horror as she noticed the spot of blood on her perfectly white undershirt. 

”Silver—”Navia says in concern, choking on her words. Silver quickly holds the woman by the hand, dragging her inside the office. Navia could feel the man’s cold skin on hers, he was clearly shaking. 

”What—What’s happening?” She questions in panic, watching as Silver frantically shuts the door to the office, sweat beading down the sides of his head. He was completely distressed, something that Navia had never seen from him before. 

”Where’s Papa?” she asked. ”Silver, where is he? What’s going on?”

Silver lets out a painful exhale. ”Demoiselle, Master Callas was taken this morning by the gardes.” he informs the girl, breathing heavily as he says so. ”H-he said not to let you know a-and that he’ll handle it but—”he gulps. ”All of a sudden we just heard guards entering Poisson.” The man tried to breathe through his nose, evidence of his attempt to not cry in front of the girl was now at plain sight, he was holding back the fear that filled his mind at that moment.  ”A-and Master Callas still hasn’t returned and—”

”Silver, Silver!“ Navia tries to calm him, her eyes prickling with tears. ”Tell me where they took Papa!” she cries out. 

“He’s been arrested by the Court, Demoiselle.” Silver confesses. “For the murder of Master Jacques.”

“Wait, you just found out about your Papa’s arrest the day you were with Miss Clorinde?” Paimon questions. “Does that mean she didn’t know she would be fighting against your Papa that same week?”

Navia nods, putting down her cup of coffee as they idly sit in front of Cafe Lutece, which the owner was kind enough to allow them to spend time there despite it being closing time already. “The court required rookie duelists to partake in at least three duels for their first year.” She notes.

“And that time, Clorinde was falling behind with some of the other rookies who were already on their fourth and fifth duels by then. So she had to accept the job and went for it blindly.” 

Aether shakes his head in disbelief. “She unknowingly accepted a duel she didn’t know would ever happen—it seemed Miss Clorinde didn’t really choose to battle your father, nor did she have any choice to reject the duel.” He states at the woman, who merely listens to her. 

“I know, which is why I never really found it in myself to hate her, as much as everyone wanted me to.” Navia answers honestly, staring down at the piping hot coffee by the table. “I knew that when Clorinde had found out, she probably tried to back out a few times.” She adds. “Melus did tell me that it was Papa who insisted that she battles him, much to everyone’s confusion.” 

Paimon scratches her head. “Wait, if you don’t hate Miss Clorinde for duelling your Papa, then why did your relationship go south?” She questions. “And Paimon’s curious as to how did you find out about your daughter amidst all of this!” 

Aether clicks his tongue. “Paimon, you’re too nosy.” he teases.

“Paimon’s just curious!” the fairy companion swears frantically. “But you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, Navia!” 

The blonde laughs lightly, smiling at her two friends. “It’s quite alright, partners.” she assures. “I was planning to tell you everything anyway.”

The initial date for Master Callas’ duel was postponed that month. 

A storm had coveted the land of Fontaine for days, leading to uncontrollable large floods that made almost every road unwalkable to the public. In urgency, Monsieur Neuvillette had signed a memorandum postponing any activities within the court of Fontaine for at least a month to give ample time for workers to rebuild any damages caused by the dangerous typhoon, out of fear that the safety of Fontainians may be put at risk.

Though that did not mean that Callas would be free to walk back home to Poisson. In the meantime, he was detained inside the Opera Epiclese temporary jail quarters, with only a limited amount of visitation rights handed to him to avoid the ongoing trial from being further affected by unverified findings and information discovered during this postponed period.

Still, it gave Navia and the entirety of Poisson to work on their own defense as to how they’ll be able to take the blame off of her father. She knew that Callas was innocent, and that there was someone else that should be reprimanded for the murder of Mr. Jacques. Someone was planning on destroying Spina and Poisson through Callas, and Navia was determined to find out who it was.

It had been two weeks since she last saw Clorinde, as the court forbade any involved government figure to make any form of contact with the defendant or any of their families to avoid any conflict of interest from ever occurring. Plus, allowing such a thing could risk the possibility of any confidential information to be shared prematurely without the Chief Justice’s consent.

”The court hereby reschedules the trial of Callas Caspar to be conducted in two months following the postponement of all court activities in Fontaine.” A Palais Memoria staff reads in front of the crowd. Behind him, Lady Furina looked rather bored, resting her head on her palm as she listened in.

After the announcement was made, the crowds began to mumble amongst themselves, shuffling around their chairs to stand up and leave. Navia remained frozen, looking at her father from afar, who merely smiled at him warmly as he was escorted back to his jail. 

As Navia turned around with a sigh, her eyes quickly took notice of a familiar figure walking away from a distance: She was purple all over, and Navia could feel her heart jumping out of her chest.

“Clorinde!” she calls out, running towards her as she squeezes through the crowds of people.

Clorinde seemed to notice her right away, but for some reason, decided to look away and didn’t even bother to smile at Navia. 

“You..”Navia says under shaky breaths, catching as much air as she could as she finally made her way to the woman. “I haven’t seen you in a while.” she says.

Clorinde nods, looking down at Navia.

Navia swallows. “You haven’t visited.” 

Clorinde bobs her head slowly. “The court forbids any interaction between government figures and—-”

“Oh, please. As if that ever stopped us.” Navia huffs, placing her hands on her hips.She chuckles, “We’ve always been good at sneaking out, y’know?” 

Nothing. Not even a light chuckle, nor a flash of smile. Clorinde remained unemotional. This was the closest they’ve ever been this week, yet Navia can very well sense the jarring distance between them still— Clorinde is close to her, just as she has been needing. Yet, Navia thinks, something about it all feels rather off. 

“Hey..” Navia looked at her confusingly, giving Clorinde an unsure smile. “What’s with you?”

Clorinde looks down at her slowly, pain evident on her eyes. Navia could very well see that she had been crying, it was apparent from how swollen her eyes were. With a gasp, Navia reached out her palm to soothe the woman. “Clori–”

“I think we should stop seeing each other, Navia.” She dictates monotonically, pulling Navia’s hand away. 

Navia’s eyes widened. “What?” she questions, her heart beating rapidly. The crowd behind them, separated by mere sections of columns, were all muted in Navia’s ears. All she could hear was her own heart, banging against her chest so much that her entire body stiffened in pain. 

“This..”Clorinde begins, throat dry and hoarse.“This situation will only continue to get worse from here, especially for you.” She continues,still looking down. “Y-you should stay away from me, for your own good.” 

“What are you talking about?” Navia scoffs. “What’s with you?” She tries to hold onto her arm once more, but Clorinde quickly pulls away. 

Tears finally began to form in Navia’s eyes, she was hurt by Clorinde’s sudden actions. The idea that Clorinde, the one person Navia had ever longed to hold after everything, pushing her away amidst it all— right when she needed her the most.  “Is it because of the Spina?” she questions. “Are you embarrassed to be associated with this whole scandal?”

Clorinde shakes her head. “No.” she says merely. 

“Then what?” She questions, now full on screaming. But Clorinde didn’t budge, not even a single flinch of a finger, not even a faint breath. And so, Navia snaps. “Tell me, goddamnit!” 

Finally, that seemed to awaken Clorinde. “Navia—”

But before she could speak, before they could finish this whole argument, the bells of the Opera Epiclese rang repeatedly from behind them, signalling that the trial is about to resume. Navia turns around confusingly, the trial shouldn’t be resuming until an hour more, so there must be a new finding within the trial that resulted in an abrupt proceeding much earlier than initially scheduled.

“The Trial of Callas Caspar will not be continuing further. “It was Monsieur Neuvillete who spoke, his voice stern and loud. On his hand was an unrolled parchment, a blot of still-wet ink seeping through from behind the paper. 

People began to talk amongst themselves, just as confused as Navia herself. She looks at her father who was now on the stage, eyes focused blank at Neuvillette as if he was anticipating something he would say.

Finally, the Chief Justice continues. “Mr. Caspar has now chosen to fight for his innocence through a duel.” he announces.

What? Navia froze in utter shock. Confusion turned to horrified surprise, to fear and pain and more emotions that Navia clearly does not have the remaining mental strength to navigate through. 

But what made it worse was what followed Monsieur Neuvillette’s words. Behind Navia, the sound of heels clicking as Clorinde walks past her echoed lightly on the ground, she watched in horror as Clorinde slowly unsheathed her sword from her side, walking over to where her father was standing.

“Clorinde?” Navia calls out, eyes bulging out of her skull as she follows the duelist’s movement. 

The woman paused for a second. And Navia, for a minute, hoped to any god, archons, just any god out there that this was all a misunderstanding, and that whatever thought was scrambling on her head was wrong and simply just a mistake.

Because none of this makes sense: her father was smart, surely he wouldn’t just mindlessly get in a duel instead of just fighting for his innocence. And Clorinde, gods, Clorinde.. 

Surely, she wouldn’t, right? 

 However, all semblance of hope was diminished as soon as Navia observed Clorinde’s blade, observing how the polished metal faintly reflected the frail and hopeless figure of Callas Caspar in front of the trained duelist. She gently lifted the blade in the air, with ease. 

”I, Clorinde Petrichor, Bringer of Justice, accept your duel.” She mutters. 

Callas walks closer, nodding. It was apparent that he was avoiding his daughter’s gaze, perhaps afraid of what might happen if he did so. ”And I, Callas Caspar—” He forcefully faces Clorinde, but the fear in his eyes was evident, far too evident for him to mask under that brave facade. ”Shall prove my innocence with my blade.”

Navia closed her prickly eyes, knowing that whatever comes out of this godforsaken duel will inevitably change the course of her entire life. 

”That was..” Aether breathed heavily, unsure of what to make of the story Navia had just laid out. ”A lot.” he shook his head in disbelief, before turning to his companion.

”Wait, Paimon, are you crying?” He questioned. The floating fairy quickly shook her head as she sniffled. 

”Paimon’s not!” she defended, rather eagerly. ”It’s just— Paimon didn’t expect that Navia went through so much!”

Aether nods. ”Yeah, you’re always so bubbly and happy, we’d never thought you’d have so many problems in your life.”

Navia chuckles lightly. “Well, I don’t like to see them as problems, more like setbacks maybe.” She cheerfully says. “Plus, everything I went through, all those tears and pain, I’d gladly experience them again, if it all leads to Clementine.”

”Oh, that’s right!”Paimon snickers. ”Paimon’s excited to see your daughter,Navia!” she giggles. ”I wonder if she looks just like you.”

Navia shakes her head jokingly. ”Not even a little bit.” she mutters between laughter, lifting her cup of tea in her hand. “Believe me, anybody that has seen her questioned me if she really is mine.”

Aether chuckles. ”On that topic, I am curious as to how you guys managed to fit her into this whole fiasco—surely, that must’ve been so complicated to work through.” 

The Spina heiress looks up at the dark sky, where the full moon watches over them three. She pictures Clementine, who was probably dozing off by now after hours of draining the energies off of both Melus and Silver.

”It was.” Navia answers, finally turning back to meet her friend’s gaze. ”I’m just glad that we’re past that now, and that we managed to compromise for our daughter’s sake.”

The inevitable duel of Callas Caspar was only days away. 

It had been two months since Callas had accepted a duel against the Champion Duelist, two months since Navia had last caught sight of Clorinde. But not that it bothered her anyway, she has much more important things to ponder on. 

The news of Callas’ sudden request to duel spread like wildfire in Fontaine. People were intrigued, some horrified and worried for the man’s undeniable death that will come off the duel. After all, what chances does the old, puny Callas Caspar have against a young esteemed duelist like Clorinde? 

Though that was only a mere fraction of the people. The rest treated the news as some sort of entertainment, as if it was some fictional play that has no real consequences, played by mere actors who are definitely not at stake. 

Well, they could never truly understand it, could they? It’s not their lives that are at stake after all. It’s Callas Caspar’s, the man who willingly held his blade instead of serving prison time. It’s the people of Poisson’s, who were left broken and dismayed and without a leader to find solace in. It’s Navia’s, who will not only lose her father and mentor, but also her best friend.

And the mother of her child. 

”Fuck.” Navia cursed under her breath, seeing the written note left by the Fleuve Cendre’s local physician. She bit her inner cheek, hands shaking as she repeatedly read through the text. 

She had her suspicions for days now, and thus she decided to seek the truth regarding it. She went to a local doctor by the Marcotte Region, who first confirmed it. And then went to a melusine nurse by the Court, who gave her exactly the same thing. And now she sought a trusted doctor in her village, only to get the same answer every time. 

”Miss Navia, this is the third time we’ve checked.” She told the blonde. ”There seems to be no denying it, you are indeed three months pregnant.” she sighs, reaching out a hand to comfort Navia.

”Don’t worry, Demoiselle. I’ll keep this a secret for now.. until you’re ready.”

Navia looked out the window, the rain had begun to set once more. 

Navia patiently waited outside the Duelist headquarters, noticing the watchful eyes that silently judged her as they walked past the blonde. She ignored them, just like how she ignores the looks and whispers of the people around her every time, engaging with them only proved to cause more harm than good, Navia had learned.

”Navia..”A voice calls out. monotone yet confused but still somehow gentle, almost soothing to Navia’s ears. 

Navia had also learned that the affairs of the heart can never be truly disobeyed. It will linger for as long as it wishes, and the best that Navia could only do is to hide it. Suppressing it never worked, only the passing of time can ever really get rid of it. 

At least that’s what she keeps telling herself, just so she won’t feel any ounce of anger on herself for still feeling any fragment of love to Clorinde. 

”Finally.” Navia rolls her eyes. ”Your boss said you’d be out by 2.” she mumbles, crossing her arms. 

Clorinde takes off her hat to fix her hair, her concerned face shifting to a blank one. ”You shouldn’t be here.” she tells the woman sternly. ”I must go, I have an errand to run.”

”Give me a minute, Clorinde.” Navia insisted. 

”For what reason?” Clorinde questioned, putting her hat back on. She glanced at her surroundings, noticing that they were the only ones there. ”We shouldn’t be seen with each other, you ought to know that.”

”Trust me, I don’t want to see you either.”Navia scorns bitterly, arms crossed with her back leaning towards one column of the corridor hall. 

Clorinde’s eyebrows noticeably furrow slightly, almost surprised by the blonde’s response, or possibly hurt. ”Then, wha—”

”I’m late.” Navia says directly, and without any hesitation in her voice. 

And then there was silence—cold, unwavering silence that surrounded them in this barren hallway. 

Clorinde’s eyes widened, and that was the first expression other than the usual blank face that Navia had seen of her in weeks. The duelist sounded like she just choked on her own breath. ”Are you..?”

Navia nodded nonchalantly. ”I went to different specialists just to confirm.” she tells her. ”I am pregnant.” 

Clorinde’s eyebrows remained furrowed, her eyes wide and her mouth agape. The news clearly shook her to the core, and Navia admits that this was not the best way to drop such revelations, but figured that someone as wretched as Clorinde doesn’t really deserve anything more. 

Navia huffs, her breath making a faint cold fog. ”And in case that thick head of yours still hasn’t gotten it— it’s yours.”

”H-how long..how long have you known?” The duelist questioned. 

”A month or so,”Navia explains. ”I had my suspicions for months, but I waited to confirm it first.” 

Silence, exactly what Navia hates the most.  

”I’m keeping it,Clorinde.” she adds, making Clorinde look up. 

”I see.”Clorinde nods. ”How would you like to move forward with this?” she questions, and it only infuriated Navia more.

”I shall provide all the financial needs you and the child may require from now o—”

”I don’t need your damn money,Clorinde.” Navia sternly says. ”Gods, do you really think I’m that easy?You think I’m here to ask for a couple of mora from you?”

”No, not at all.“Clorinde tries to clarify, shaking her head. ”I just want to help.”

”Well, I don’t care about your money, you can shove all that mora up your ass for all I care.” Navia barks back. ”Asshole.” she whispers, tears prickling in her eyes. 

”Navia.” Clorinde calls again.

”No, you don’t get to talk anymore.” Navia cuts her off.. ”From now on, whatever we had, whatever you and I felt—it’s all done now. Our relationship will now only exist within the realms of this child. That is, if you wish to be involved anyway.” she tells the duelist. ”But you and I, we’re only strangers now, since that’s what you wanted,right?”

Clorinde opened her mouth, but closed it back once more. ”I understand.” she shortly says. 

Navia hated this, hated her. This nonchalance act of hers was starting to make every inch of Navia’s body burn in frustration and anger. How could Clorinde do that? just act so calm and unbothered as if she didn’t just throw away a decade long relationship and possibly, even leave Navia orphaned. Clorinde shouldn’t be able to do that, she shouldn’t be able to just not care. 

Angrily, Navia sniffled a sob as she walked past Clorinde, leaving her frozen in her spot. 

”Gah, that story’s taken a very very dark turn.”Aether massaged his temple. ”Why did I even think that there was some peaceful conversation between you guys about it?”

Paimon grabbed another tissue as she flew over to Navia, giving her a hug. “Oh poor Navia! that must’ve hurted a lot!”

Navia sighs, smiling as she caresses Paimon’s back. ”I suppose that wraps up our story for tonight, hm?” she tells the two, who were wiping off the remnants of tears on their faces. “You two are way overdue for a nap, how about an escort to Fleuve Cendre by yours truly?”

“You don’t have to.” Aether shakes his head. ”You should rest some,Navia.” 

The blonde puts on her hat as she stands up. ”Oh no bother! I’m on my way there anyway.” she informs them. ”I’ll be picking up Clementine there before going to Poisson.”

”Oh oh!” Paimon cheers. ”Will we get to see the little bugger?” she excitedly exclaims. Aether stood up beside her, streching his arms. 

”Yep, hopefully she’s asleep by now.” Navia says as they walk away from the table. “I don’t think I have any energy left on me if she’s still awake..” she sighs. 

”I can’t wait to see her.” Aether happily says. “Paimon too!”his companion cheers. 

The sounds of their laughter echoed throughout the empty city as their figures disappeared. From afar, behind the large stacks of bushes by the reservoir of the court was a woman leaning idly against the wall, her eyes observing the blonde woman’s faded figure. 

Clorinde looks up at the sky as soon as the three disappear, eyes closed as she recounts the story Navia had told earlier. 

Chapter Text

It’s fair to say that someone like Clorinde is undeserving of someone like Navia. 

And that has always been the case for as long as the two had been intertwined. Clorinde’s far too dark, too cold and boring to ever be deserving of being as much as to breathe in the same air with the personification of the sun herself— with Navia herself. And perhaps that’s just how it’s meant to be. 

And she should’ve just respected that. 

After all, the world has always been wired that way, even from the very start. 

Clorinde was born just a month after Navia, for the moon is destined to forever chase after the sun, only to miss her by a very thin margin every time. And Clorinde, the moon, should simply just live with that. 

But Clorinde had learned to find solace with that so-called curse: She had lived to only chase after Navia, never to walk alongside her. Clorinde had learned her role: As Navia grins and giggles to the rest of the world, Clorinde can only ever picture that smile as she stands behind her, watching her shoulders lightly shake as she laughs. 

And to any sane person that would’ve been torture, and Clorinde do admit that it does indeed feel like one. But she had learned over the years to never challenge the natural order of things, to stay in your supposed lane and to not cross the invisible line.

She had learned from her parents, who seemed to have flown too close to the sun and were blinded with the ideals of a perfect life, only to realize that such life was far too much of a luxury for people like them. And by the time they had realized the harsh reality, they had already bought an innocent being into the cruel world. She had learned from Petronilla, who took little Clorinde in her care, despite being raised as nothing but a weapon, as a protector of justice and peace in Fontaine, never as the provider that young Clorinde had always needed. And that very change in role had caused her own demise, her need to protect the girl she had grown fond of had blinded her, causing her to lose sight of what her initial purpose in the world was: to kill, never to cradle.

And frankly, she should’ve learned by now, with Navia, with their unborn child. The most sensible thing to do is to stay away, to learn her role in this cruel world. By forcing herself to be someone she’s clearly not meant to be—to be a mother, then she’s simply luring herself to an inevitable trap. It never ends well, Clorinde should know that by now. Just like with her parents, who were never meant to be parents at all, and just like Petronilla, who was never meant to take a little child under her care. Things are made a certain way for a reason. Knights don’t get to become rooks no matter what strategy you play. Birds don’t become butterflies no matter how much they try to mimic the way they flap their wings, and Clorinde can never be a person deserving of being loved even if she badly wants so. That’s just the rules. 

So when Navia came to her that one afternoon, her entire worldview shifted. 

None of what she said was part of her plan, part of any possibility she had tried to think of in advance. Clorinde could barely hold on to the script as it is when she saw how angry and hurt and just oh so desperate Navia was—and now, there was another variable to consider. Something that Clorinde hadn’t thought of. 

Everything was supposed to be in place, just like what she had planned months ago. Before Navia screamed at her face to get lost, before the people of Poisson threw hateful gazes at her and before the schedule of Callas’ duel was only days away. 

The thought of Callas snapped Clorinde back to reality, back to the agonizing present she’s living in right now. In front of her, stacks of folders regarding Callas’ case filled her once clean desk. She had spent her entire days following the encounter with Navia investigating Callas’ true involvement in the crime. However, no matter what angle Clorinde looks at it from, Clorinde could no longer deny that Callas is definitely fighting a very impossible battle with the law.

Clorinde sighs, eyeing the remnants of smoke leaving her marble ashtray by the desk. She was never one to make a habit of smoking, but as the days became much more stressful and almost impossible to bear, she had found herself resorting to such things. 

Navia would’ve scolded her for that. 

She traced the markings of the Caspar Clan stamped under Callas’ written statement, her fingers carefully and slowly gliding through the slightly protruded symbol on the paper. And her mind wanders back to Callas once more. 

She remembered it all like yesterday: Callas knocking on her doorstep by the office of the Palais Memoria. Clorinde had just started her shift that night, as it was the only schedule she could take where she never had to interact with any of the Caspars at all. It was the law that public officials such as Clorinde can never meddle with affairs that overlap with her personal life.And Clorinde, afraid of causing any unwanted issues with Navia and Callas, remained faithful to this rule.

Callas invited himself inside Clorinde’s office, joking idly about how useless the security in the Palais was as he had managed to sneak in smoothly. He sat down by the sofa, smiling as he offered a seat next to Clorinde. Clorinde however, remained stiffly unemotional. She knew better than to be swayed by the older man’s attempts at making light of the situation they were in. 

”I’ll brew you some tea.” Clorinde mutters as Callas comfortably plops himself on her office sofa, the same one where she had been sleeping in the past few days. The old man made a small hum as an answer. 

The sound of the boiling water being poured down at the teacup on Clorinde’s desk was oddly comforting. It almost reminded her of the slight pitter-patter of the water outside the Caspar’s home, remnants of the rain-water from the previous night’s storm falling down on the makeshift gutter outside of Navia’s old bedroom window back when Clorinde would stay the night at Navia’s. 

”You love my daughter, don’t you, Clorinde?” Callas suddenly asked without any prior preamble,making the duelist stiffened in surprise. Clorinde’s grip on her teacup tightened, her jaw stiffening as if she was holding herself back from saying anything. 

Callas laughed as he noticed her movements, and how tightly she clenched on the handle of the porcelain cup. ”Oh at ease, you.”He assures, voice slightly muffled by the unkempt bush of blonde right above his lips . ”I’m not here to tell you to stay away from her, not at all.” he clarifies, as if that would make Clorinde any less uncomfortable.”I just wish to know.”

Clorinde took a deep breath, looking down at her now lukewarm drink before handing the warmer one to Callas. ”I-I do. very much so.” she confessed under heavy breaths. The words she uttered were far too much of an understatement to describe how she truly feels for the young woman, but it seemed Callas understood Clorinde fully. 

He smiles at her, and for a second, Clorinde could see the obvious traces of Navia in him. And perhaps that’s what makes Navia the more beautiful: the fact that she’s a mosaic of two lovers patched up together in one—she’s love itself in its human form.

 A complete contrast to Clorinde, who was conceived in the heat of the moment, from a temporary infatuation between two fools who mistook it for love. Adding more to the list of reasons as to why Clorinde is truly undeserving of someone like Navia, and the list only continues to grow longer. 

”I’ve always known that you’d be the one to protect my little girl forever.” He begins to speak, exhaling lightly. The dim light coming from the wall lamp beside him perfectly captured the mellowness within his words. ”I’m glad that she has you, Clorinde. I truly am.” 

Clorinde blushed crimson red all over, It’s not like Callas often speaks like this to Clorinde, to anyone at all. He had always been a man of a few words. So for him to be this vulnerable, to be this raw and full with his words, this must be coming from something. Perhaps it’s fear for what’s to come, or simply that the current situation had the man being a victim of extreme sentimentality. 

”She can be a bit of a headache sometimes, well, more often than not,” Callas jokes, scratching his beard as he chuckles. ”But I hope you do bear with her, she is a nice girl. But I’m sure you already know that.”

”She is.”Clorinde agrees, her breathing much more controlled than usual. And then Clorinde swallows a light lump on her throat before speaking once more. ”May I ask where all this is coming from, Master Callas?” she leaned closer to him, amethyst eyes glancing at the man’s bright blue one, the same shade Navia has. And Clorinde wonders if she’ll ever get to see those crystal blues looking at her again after this is all over. ”Are you perhaps worried about the trial?”

The man merely shakes his head, and Clorinde could never tell what his true emotions were at the time. ”Not about the trial, not even at all.” he assures, waving his right hand off nonchalantly

”You’ll be okay, you’ll get through this, no?” Clorinde cheers him up, a smile forced on her face. “This is all simply a misunderstanding, I know you.” the young duelist adds, a smile beginning to form on her lips. 

And for a minute, silence filled the room. The papers on Clorinde’s desk rustled lightly as it was faintly brushed over by the cool air from the window. And Clorinde could almost doze off at the peace, well until Callas began to speak.

”I’m dying.” he confessed, the cool air thinning out as he did so. 

Clorinde turned to him slowly, horrified. ”What?”

Callas takes a sharp inhale, before letting it drop heavily and in time with the continuous rustling of the papers by the desk. ”Earlier this year, I was told that I’ve been suffering from a heart disease, a fatal one.” he reveals to the younger woman, who had her eyes bulging out of its sockets at the revelation. ”The doctors said that I’ll be lucky if I even make it next year.” 

Clorinde’s entire world crumbled down like sand at his confession. Her mind scrambled every thought, every emotion and let it run amok inside her head. She was confused, and horrified, and scared for Navia’s sake. 

Especially for Navia’s sake. 

The one thought that filled Clorinde’s mind left her lips unprecedented. ”Does Navia..?”

Callas shakes his head, hands on his still hips. ”I don’t have the heart to tell her, at least not yet..her old man’s too much of a coward, hm?” he dryly laughs. 

”She..she should know, at least.” Clorinde suggests, her throat drying up from the shock and the fear of how it might break Navia. “After this trial, you should tell her everything so you two can work through it an—”

”I’m not planning to make it out of this trial alive, Clorinde.” The man says under heavy breaths, his voice dry and hoarse, like feet being dragged lazily on the cold ground. ”I do not wish to prolong my fated death any longer.” 

”What are..”Clorinde gulps. ”What are you implying?”

”Do this old man a favor, child.”Callas stood up, towering over Clorinde’s stiffened figure. 

He bravely faced her, pain evident in his eyes. ”I wish for you to battle me in a duel.”Callas speaks out. ”And end my suffering so I could at least die with pride.” 

And all hell broke loose after that.

”N-no!” Clorinde stood up, completely shook by the older man’s words. ”I can’t do that—No.”

”Clorinde.” Callas calms her down. 

”No, this is a mistake, you’re making a mistake.” she grits her teeth, the sound of it clashing onto each other almost made her cringe. ”This will destroy Navia, you know that. There’s a better way to do this, one that won’t hurt her.”

”As opposed to what? letting her watch me slowly rot in prison?” This time, it was Callas who fought back, eyebrows furrowed. He really looks so much like Navia in that light.  ”Don’t you think that will hurt her more? Isn’t ending it all quick the most ethical choice we have?”

”The ethical choice is to stay alive, Master Callas.” The duelist argues, all semblance of gentleness and respect lost in her diction. 

”You think I wouldn’t go with that if it were a choice?” Callas questioned, voice much louder now. ”Face it, all evidence points to me, no matter how hard I try to prove my innocence.” he continues to argue, forcing down his choice at Clorinde. ”It’s better for Navia, for Poisson, if I were just to die in honor, rather than give them the false hope that I might return to Poisson alive again.”

Clorinde inhales sharply, fist clenched as she tries to somber up her words. ”Navia will hate me!” she cries out, lips quivering as she does so. ”She’ll forever resent me if I do that.”

Callas paused for a moment, looking at the girl in front of her. 

His gaze softened, as if what was in front of him wasn’t the unmoving Champion Duelist of Fontaine, but rather the frail little girl who came up to him one afternoon and vowed to protect his daughter forever. 

And here he thought that he would never see that side of Clorinde again, and that it died the night Petronilla left and never came back.

The man breathed out and then nodded. ”She might.” he agrees, honest and raw. ”But she’ll also learn to forgive you. Believe me, that girl’s love for you outweighs any grief, any anger and resentment she might develop for you.” He assures her, placing a gentle hand on Clorinde’s shaking shoulder. 

Clorinde looks up at Callas, giving him the same face she had when he assured her once that Petronilla would come back.

But this time, Callas wanted Clorinde to know that this one is for certain, and she should trust Callas for the last time. 

”As long as you keep holding her tight, Navia will always find it in her to hold you back again.” 

Clorinde knew that she had made the wrong decision by obeying Callas’ wishes. 

She knew from the start, but couldn’t really do anything about it anyway. 

Because deep inside, she knew that Callas made perfect sense: He was dying, and dying in honor, dying for your innocence and pride is much better than slowly dying in a prison where you clearly don’t belong. And Clorinde knew that she was the perfect person to execute such wishes, because no other duelist, no other person on Fontaine understood Callas’ wishes as much as she did. Because barring the differences in their upbringing, in the way they present themselves—Callas is just like Clorinde, one could even say that they were simply two sides of the same coin, both fighting with the same will in mind. 

Their shared love for Navia is what drives them both to continue on. They share the same passion and eagerness to protect the young girl. And just like Clorinde, Callas too is willing to play the villain in Navia’s life, the one she would forever question as to why he did what he did, if that means that she won’t have to go through anything worse anymore after that. 

But when Navia came to her, with a news so shocking it rocked her entire world to its very core—Clorinde’s hold on her blade began to lose its grip. 

She had never wanted kids, nor did she ever dream of having one. The idea was far too unrealistic for someone like Clorinde, it held no place in her status as a duelist. 

But as with other things that Navia touches, Clorinde learns to slowly love it. Every time Navia would run around with the children of Poisson, every time a citizen would lovingly allow Navia to carry their infant for a short while, and every time she watched Navia breath during those intense nights under the moon, that’s where Clorinde’s mind begins to slowly accept that it might not be so bad after all. 

”Aren’t you gonna say anything?” Navia questions, bursting the bubble off of Clorinde’s head. 

Clorinde clears her throat, biting her inner cheek just to fight off the very heavy urge to just hug Navia right then and there, to just give up this whole facade she had been putting on the past months and just tell her how happy she was. But Clorinde didn’t, instead she chose to wear it continually.

And she hoped to the gods that it was worth it. 

Navia scoffs, rolling her eyes. ”Archons, you’re hopeless.” she snarls. 

”Navia.” She finally speaks, but that was all she could utter. 

She hears the mumbled curse leaving Navia’s lips, her eyebrows furrowed almost permanently as she placed both hands on her hips. It took a while for Clorinde to notice that Navia wasn’t wearing her corset this time, possibly because of the pregnancy. 

The thought made Clorinde shudder once more. Never in her life had she ever felt this unsure of her emotions before. Clorinde was usually composed, usually well-tamed and never like this, never this stupidly unsure of what comes next.

”I won’t forbid you if you choose to be a part of this child’s life, that would be awfully selfish of me to do so.”Navia begins to say, her lower lip swollen from all the biting just to prevent herself from breaking down in front of Clorinde. ”But do me a favor Clorinde: if you really love me, or our child..” she swallows dryly. ”Please, just stop this madness once and for all.“

Clorinde wanted to nod, and to just leave everything behind and just hold Navia. But she was too much of a coward to risk it, and was too much of a mindless tool to break her vow as a weapon of Justice. Clorinde chooses Fontaine, she chooses to keep Callas’ honor, she chooses everything but Navia. For the first time, she turns her back at Navia, she chooses to become the villain for now, hoping that she would soon understand. 

”I have given my word to Master Callas that I will continue with his wishes.” Clorinde says in an unemotional tone, further fuelling the anger instilled within Navia. ”It is my duty as a champion duelist to respect his request of—”

The sound of Navia’s palm hitting Clorinde’s cheek rang in the duelist’s ears uncomfortably. For a split second, her facade was broken, and her eyes widened at the other woman’s surprising action. 

”To hell with your duty, what about me?!” Navia cries out, tears pooling down her cheeks as she lets out those words. ”Have you ever thought of respecting my feelings?” her words stabbed straight like knives on Clorinde’s chest, each syllable made her breathing much more painful. ”Did you even fucking love me at all,Clorinde? or was I just another warm mouth to you?” 

No answer, not a nod, not even a single shrug nor a mindless hum from the duelist. She remained stale, unmoving and without any emotions attached to her as if she’s simply a lifeless vessel now—exactly how she was honed to be in the first place.

”You truly are rotten, gods.” Navia scoffed, eyes now blood red. ”I..I don’t even recognize you anymore.” 

And with that, Navia turns her back at Clorinde and leaves her alone. But this time, the moon doesn’t chase after the sun. It never ends well, Clorinde should’ve known that already. 

”We should talk.” Clorinde barges inside Callas’ jail cell that night following her encounter with Navia. Her hair was a disheveled mess, her usually neat uniform was merely half-buttoned and her entire body reeked of cigarettes and cheap-grade alcohol. 

The woman’s unusual appearance gave Callas a shock, making him furrow his eyebrows at the girl as he turned around from the mirror by the sink. ”Eager to fight me, aren’t you?” Callas jokes as he fixes himself on the mirror, not bothering to turn around anyway.

 He noticed how Clorinde’s face darkened, unamused with his antics. And so, Callas sighs. ”Oh lighten up, you.”he sneers jokingly. ”You’re beginning to look like Petronilla with that attitude.” 

At the mention of Petronilla, Clorinde almost flinched. She hasn’t heard him mention her old master’s name in years, not since the day she disappeared one night on her tenth birthday. Callas was deflecting, Clorinde could easily tell, he was putting on a facade and hoping Clorinde would play along with him. 

”I cannot continue with your plan, Master Callas.” Clorinde confessed, closing the gate to the man’s chambers, thankfully there were no guards on duty that night. With a sigh, she stares directly at Callas once more.”I—There has to be another way.”

”I’m afraid there isn’t.” Callas argues, grabbing a razor from a dusty wooden shelf. ”I told you that already.” He casually says, shaving away a tuft of hair on the side of his cheek.  

Clorinde walked closer to the man, the clicking of her heels against the cemented ground grinding faintly. ”Navia..” she gulps. She knew it wasn’t her place to say this, but figured that she had to do anything just to stop Callas from continuing on with this wretched plan.

”Navia’s pregnant.” 

The whole room was quiet, and Clorinde could see the surprised look on Callas’ face, and how he carelessly drops the razor on the rusted sink of the chamber. His mouth was opened, his thick eyebrows raised up as he tried to decipher what Clorinde had just said, and then shockingly, it quickly  shifted to a calmer one. 

”Goodness, I didn’t think it would be so soon,” he wheezed, before turning to Clorinde with a prideful smile. She was quick to notice how thin Callas had gotten in just a few weeks, signalling that the disease must be worsening his health further along with the stress brought by the situation.

He truly was dying quickly, Clorinde could tell.

”Ah, I didn’t know you have it in you.” He laughs, repeatedly patting Clorinde’s shoulder. And Clorinde couldn’t help but hear Navia in the way he chuckles. ”My,my, what a surprise truly.” Callas continues to say as he grabs the razor back to wash it.

Clorinde knits her brows, confused by his antics. He was far too calm, far from what Clorinde expected at all. Surely, this must shake some sense into him now,right? 

”Are you terrified, child? well, that’s to be expected..” Callas casually says as he leans closer to the mirror to shave another segment of his beard. ”I remember being there, It is a different kind of anxiety, isn’t it?” he chuckles as he lightly taps the razor on. marble of the sink. And then there was a gentle silence that followed as Clorinde didn't respond. 

There was something so kind, so comforting in his tone that made Clorinde’s body soften. Something Clorinde had been needing to hear all this time. Callas talked as if he wasn’t in a literal death row right now, as if he wasn’t just about to leave a whole community, a whole legacy, a whole daughter to grieve alone. He smiles casually, like how a father would at receiving such a news. 

Perhaps in another life, in a better situation, she would’ve delivered the news in a better way. And they would’ve bonded over a bottle of cheap Poisson-grade wine with Melus and Silver about it, and Clorinde might not be as scared as she is for the future right now.

Callas has always been someone that she looked up to, someone she has ever had that’s closest to a father figure. And if the thought of losing him was hurting Clorinde, what more to Navia, his own daughter? 

”It’s not about me.” Clorinde shakes her head. ” We can’t move forward with this, not when there’s too much on Navia’s plate already as it is.” 

”I’m afraid I can’t do that..” Callas sternly says. ”I told you already.” he still insists, always as thick-headed as he was. 

She hated this, hated him. Clorinde loathed the sight of Callas being so casually calm, as if this wasn’t a literal life-or-death situation for all of them, as if this was something they could simply look back on and joke about a few years later. He might not even make it to witness his own grandchild, for god’s sake. So what in the name of Celestia is he acting so casually about? 

Clorinde bites her lip as she walks towards Callas, no longer having the patience to play gently with him. And with an aggressive pull, he tugs on the man’s collar, forcing him to face her. ”Don’t you care for your daughter? for the grandchild you’ll have?” She cries at him, pulling at his clothes strongly and not bothering whether it was hurting Callas at all. ”Are you really that selfish, Callas?!”

Callas faced her bravely, but his face remained gentle. And that infuriated Clorinde more.  ”Oh you really are a spitting image of her.” he simply laughs lightly, ignoring her previous words. 

Clorinde’s grip on his collar loosened, until her fingers finally let go of the fabric. Her whole body remained frozen in the spot, unable to utter anything else.

Callas sat down next to the makeshift vanity of the chambers, placing the razor back on the webbed shelf next to the sink. With a gentle smile, he begins to speak.”Have I told you how I lost my eye, Clorinde?”

Clorinde shook her head, slowly sitting down on his bed. The fingers on both her hands intertwined with each other, filling the gap between her knuckles snuggly. 

“Twenty-three years ago, Clementine and I had Navia.” he confesses, voice dry. ”She was born a month earlier than normal, so naturally we were unprepared.” Callas laughs at the memory, as if it was all playing back in his mind like a film. ”As soon as we rushed into the hospital that day, it was just chaos after chaos at that moment—doctors were scrambling to help out Clementine, who was bleeding profusely at that point, and the cries I heard from her then still rang to my ears to this day.” 

Clorinde felt a heavy weight on her chest, the possibility of Navia ever going through that same torture was starting to become a lifelong fear for her. She could only imagine how truly chaotic and painful that must’ve been like at that moment. 

Callas looks down on the ground, his smile barely clinging onto his face. ”And then another problem rose at that moment: The doctors had found out that the baby was actively suffocating inside Clementine, her own umbilical cord choking her with every second she remained inside.” He continues. ”However, the doctors couldn’t perform an emergency surgery to get her out of her without the risk of Clementine bleeding to death, as she was already losing a lot of blood by that point.”

Clorinde looks up at Callas, who seemed to have given up in trying to force that smile he wore earlier. His entire face was now gloomy, as if he was grieving once again for his wife.

Though Clorinde believes that he never probably stopped grieving at all. 

”One of the doctors pulled me in during that time, and asked me to make a decision quickly.” He begins to speak again. ”He told me that they could only save one, and that if I ever choose to save Clementine, she’d have to be given extensive care for the rest of her life.” He exhales. ”And I wouldn’t be opposed to that, I’d gladly take care of her without any questions.”

”Why didn’t you choose her, then?” Clorinde asked. ”I mean, I- I’m glad you decided to save Navia but..” she stumbles embarrassingly on her words. ”It must’ve been hard to not choose your wife.”

”It is.” Callas answers truthfully. ”But in the back of my mind I knew, I knew that I would’ve killed both had I chosen Clementine that time.” he tells her. ”If I had chosen Clementine—and gods, did I badly want to,” he laughs.”I could’ve had my wife, and I didn’t have to spend my life mourning for the woman I vowed to spend my remaining seconds with.”

He faced Clorinde with an honest look, it was still as gentle as he had always looked, but there was something melancholic in his eyes that Clorinde could easily see. ”In the end, I chose Navia, I chose our daughter to be saved. And I had to watch the doctors try their best and ultimately fail to save my wife from bleeding to death.”

And then Callas’ face shifted to a brighter one, a complete contrast to what he had just shown mere minutes ago. ”A day after that, Petronilla caught news of Clementine’s death. And what happened at the hospital.” 

The mention of Petronilla made Clorinde uncomfortable. To this day, she’s still unsure of what to truly feel for her old guardian. On one hand, she’s forever grateful for the woman, but the other part of her still clings onto the resentment, to the betrayal she felt after being left alone on her birthday as a child. 

”Y’know what that hag did as soon as she found out? she busted my eye to the point that it made a large crack along my skull.” He laughed maniacally, like it was some mere joke. ”I was left blinded in one eye because of that, and I believe she would’ve done the same on my other eye had someone not stopped her that day.” 

Clorinde finally smiled at the story, the image of a furious Petronilla was something she had never even thought of before. She could barely crack a chuckle out of her back then, so this was all new to Clorinde. 

”She questioned my choice, and told me how stupid I am for choosing our daughter over my wife, over my beloved Clementine.“ Callas says. ”And she would’ve been right, I was selfish. But what I did wasn’t mindless, I stand by that to this day.” He admits. ”Because I know that prolonging the inevitable will cause more harm than it does good.” He tells her. 

”I know that If I chose Clementine, I would’ve hurted her more.” Callas bites his lip. ”The doctors said that she will never be the same again, and I know that Clementine wouldn’t want to be someone that had to be taken care of at every second.” The older man continues.

”And if she were to remain ill, I would’ve taken care of her, I would’ve dropped everything just to make sure she gets better. But then again, she would also have to carry the grief of losing our child, and that would’ve killed her anyway.” he laughs dryly.

 “Won’t that hurt Poisson more,no? the false hope, the slight sliver of chance that maybe things might be fine once more, only for it to diminish just when everyone’s finally all comfortable and snuggled nicely.” He fixed his tie nicely. “I’d rather pull the nail out of their wounds as swiftly than to let it rot on their skins, because that would’ve been more dangerous,no?” he smiles. “And if I’m the villain for doing that, then what if so?”

”So I ask you this Clorinde,” he faces her. ”What choice is there left for me?” he questions. ”Won’t prolonging the inevitable be more painful?” He looks out the window. ”Call me selfish all you want, have a different duelist assigned to me if you really can’t do it—” he swallows.

”but I’ve made my choice.” He says once more. ”And so should you.”

Clorinde looks down on the floor, her mind wandering back to Navia again. All she could ever think about was her, and how painful this must be all to Navia right now.

Clorinde blinks, finally standing up to make a decision.

Prolonging Navia’s pain would only worsen the wound, and so Clorinde decides to proceed with her plan.

A decision she would eventually regret for years to come. 

Clorinde sits down idly by the garden of the Palais Memoria when she feels a sharp object on her pocket, snapping her out of the daze she was in for the past minute or so. With careful hands, she fished out the object from her uniform pocket and took it out with ease, only to find a familiar figurine in her hand.

Clorinde stares at the figurine, her lips opening slightly to let out a defeated sigh as she thinks of Clementine. The mere thought of her little daughter brought her back to reality, realizing just how much difficult this must be all to Navia these past few years— grieving over her father, carrying a whole community on her back, raising Clementine, and then having to deal with Clorinde’s selfish decisions to cut her off. Her experience in those three years was enough to probably break a sane man. 

”Y’know, I still don’t think they’ve captured my likeness that well.” A voice interrupts. The duelist looks up, surprised to see that she was not alone in this secluded area of the Palais. 

She was blue, but not in a melancholic blue as Clorinde was. She was majestically blue, her entire figure looked like an exact embodiment of Fontaine as a whole, as if she was some poster girl for the nation. 

In a way, she probably is. Clorinde thinks. 

”Lady Furina.” The duelist calls, breathily. ”What are you doing here?”

The archon let out a sly smile, hands resting behind her back snugly as she tilted her head. ”Oh,just getting some fresh air. Without all the wandering eyes, I suppose.” she explains in her thin, high-pitched tone. 

”How about you, handsome duelist?” She stares at her intently, as if deciphering whatever it was that was bugging the normally unfazed duelist.”A mora for your thoughts?”

Clorinde lets out a dry laugh, or at least, a poor attempt at one. ”Nothing to be concerned about, Lady Furina.” she shakes her head. ”It’s rather unsafe for a highly-regarded figure like you to walk around in public unguarded, you know.”

”Well, fortunately for me, my guard’s here.” The Archon winks playfully, sitting at the empty spot right next to Clorinde. 

”I didn’t know you were a fan.” Furina jokes, placing her fingers near her mouth to stifle a laugh. The words made Clorinde raise an eyebrow, shaking her head at the Archon’s actions. 

”N-no, uh..” Clorinde clears her throat, adjusting her posture as she does so. ”Don’t be mistaken.It’s not mine.”

”Oh, I know. I was just joking.” The Archon giggles, shaking her head. Finding a stiff and confused Clorinde entertaining.  ”Lighten up, you.” she reminds her.

And then she continues to peer inside Clorinde’s head as she begins to question her. ”Now, is someone in your circle perhaps a fan of mine, then?” she asked. ”I’d be glad to sign that for you, you know.” 

The duelist waves her hand off. ”It won’t be necessary, but I appreciate the offer.” she lets out a short laugh. 

Silence followed suit after Clorinde’s words. The leaves lightly rustled behind them, being swayed mellowly by the gentle winds breezing through. Clorinde looked up at one of the larger trees by the Palais, her eyes scanning a particular perch where three birds were happily resting together, the smallest one snuggled comfortably between the two towering birds. 

She couldn’t help but smile at the sight, marvelled at how much more beautiful the world seemed to look in Clorinde’s eyes because of Clementine. Every little thing in the world seems to remind her of her little girl, and that changed her perception of the world somehow. 

”You look like you have a lot on your mind, hm?” Furina snickers, swaying her feet playfully in the air. Clorinde was quickly reminded of Clementine’s very similar habit of doing so. 

”Just..a few worries, is all.” Clorinde answers. ”Personal worries, that is.” she quickly adds. 

Furina nods at her. ”I see.” she tells her. ”You really are different from how you present yourself on the court, Miss Clorinde.” 

Her response made Clorinde turn in confusion.”How so?”

”You’re far less unemotional than how the public paints you as.” She chuckles, but it was not in a teasing way. ”I often hear from everyone how unmoving you are, whether that be in or outside of work.”Furina explains to her. ”But it seems like the rest of the world just hasn't seen this side of you—so concerned,so human.” 

The words made Clorinde pause, an epiphany hitting her to her very core at that moment. 

Ah, Clorinde remembers. She is still human after all. 

Perhaps the years of not being by Navia’s side had made her forget that, causing her to be so immersed in the role of being a mere punisher, of a lifeless weapon of justice. She had only allowed herself to be vulnerable in front of Clementine, and maybe that’s why she feels her best self with her. 

So why can’t she do the same with Navia?

”You should embrace it more, you know.” Furina smiles at her. ”Not everyone could have the luxury of being unapologetically human.” There was something in her words that seemed to hint at something, like a personal struggle within her that Clorinde couldn’t yet decipher. 

Clorinde looks down at the figurine on her hand. ”I see.” she answers her. 

Furina smiles, standing up from the bench as she gently fixes her hat. ”Well, my time’s up, I’m afraid.” she sighs, one hand on her hips as she faces Clorinde. ”It was nice having this moment with you, handsome duelist.”

Clorinde nods in acknowledgement, finally finding it in herself to smile. 

”I shall go now, so do take care of yourself, hm?” The Archon reminds her. ”You should try being vulnerable more often, dear. It’s no weakness after all.” 

Before Furina could leave, Clorinde quickly opened her mouth to speak. “Lady Furina, wait.” she gently calls out.

The Archon hums, one eyebrow perched up higher than the other as she turns around.

With a smile, Clorinde hands the figurine to the woman. ”My daughter’s a big fan of yours, actually. Would you sign this for her?”