"Sorry I snapped at you yesterday." Lyney clapped his hands together and bowed his head to his sister. "How can I make it up to you?"
"Hmm, did you give her a flower?" Lynette asked in a monotone.
Arlecchino paused in the hall and approached the half-open door to the trio's bedroom. The brother and sister were sitting on the edges of their beds, facing each other.
Lyney snapped his fingers and a lumidouce bell appeared in his palm. "How many would you like, dear sister?"
"I want shellfish for dinner," Lynette declared.
Lyney laughed and made the flower disappear. "I thought you might say that." Lynette rolled her eyes, but her tail curled happily. One of her ears twitched and she looked up to see Arlecchino standing just outside the door.
"Ah, Father!" She swiftly stood at attention, Lyney only a second behind her. "Can we be of service?"
Arlecchino entered the room and gazed down at her children. "What were you discussing?"
"Nothing important." Lyney smiled.
"He and his girlfriend had a fight," Lynette supplied.
Lyney puffed out his cheeks at her in annoyance. "She's not my-"
"Come with me Lyney. I need to speak to you." Arlecchino cut him off. She turned and gestured for the young man to follow.
They walked down the hall toward Arlecchino's office. Sunlight filtered through the trees outside the windows and dappled the wood floor with warm shadows. Birds sang and the distant noise of general city life hummed all around. Most of the children were out and about, taking advantage of the pleasant summer day. It was a prime time for Lyney and Lynette to be performing street magic to advertise their shows. I won't talk for long, Arlecchino resolved.
"Is something wrong, Father?" Lyney asked nervously.
Arlecchino went around her imposing desk to sit in her chair. She rested her elbows on the hard surface and looked at Lyney over steepled fingers. "Tell me about the traveler."
"Oh, that's all?" Lyney exhaled in relief. "A couple days ago we got into an argument. But everything's fixed now, don't worry. I was just apologizing to Lynette for being moody."
"What was the argument about?"
"She missed an outing we had planned because she was working in the Fortress of Meropide. Something about a prison gang with needles and hats…" He trailed off uncertainly. "Whatever it was, they resolved it. Apparently, the duke asked for her help." Lyney rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "I got a little jealous."
"I see." Arlecchino knew her children weren't overly fond of the duke. Personally, she had several problems with the man but held an underlying appreciation for his effectiveness as a prison warden. Not everyone could spot Fatui spies so easily. Arlecchino had also dug into his sentencing and found his crimes to be understandable, if not respectable. But that was neither here nor there. "You said you made up with the traveler?"
"Yes. We've arranged to spend some time together after my show tonight."
Arlecchino leaned back into her chair and rested her arms on her lap. "Good. She's fond of you, so I will be disappointed if you lose her affections."
Lyney's face reddened, a rare sight for the normally composed magician. "I- well, I'm fond of her too."
"As long as you don't forget your family," Arlecchino said in a level voice.
"Of course, Father." Lyney nodded. He hesitated for a moment. "Do you think I'll have to choose at some point?"
Arlecchino raised an eyebrow. "Not at this time, no. Our interests aligned before the flood and currently she seems more interested in adventuring than reigniting past feuds. However, if things do go awry, I don't expect you to think of it as a choice."
Lyney swallowed and nodded once more. "I understand."
"You may go now, Lyney." Arlecchino glanced out one of her windows at the summer sky. "I don't want you and Lynette to waste too much of the day inside. Oh, and when you see the traveler, try to get a better picture of what happened in Meropide. I'm curious." Lyney bowed and turned to leave but Arlecchino stopped him as an impulsive thought crossed her mind. "Lyney, how did you apologize to the traveler?"
"I presented her with a bouquet of a dozen rainbow roses and professed how utterly foolish I was." Lyney tipped his hat and winked. "She didn't hold out long."
"I see. Thank you. That will be all." Lyney slipped out of her office, and she was left in silence. Arlecchino drummed her pointed fingernails on her desk. Flowers, she mused. What sort of flowers might Furina like?
--
Three days later, Arlecchino sat behind her desk once again, forcing herself to read and comprehend the report in front of her. It mystified her why Pantalone couldn't inject even a mote of emotion into his writing. Granted, a title like "Inflation's Effects on Loans from the Northland Bank" didn't warrant much excitement on the best of days, but Arlecchino dearly needed something to grip her attention.
I hope she liked the Romaritime flowers, Arlecchino's unbidden thoughts bubbled to the surface. She clenched her fist, pressing her sharp nails into the palm of her hand. The small pain grounded her. Anxiety was for the undisciplined. Not the knave. Still, it was annoying how shaky her plan turned out to be. She would meet Furina that evening, and she was woefully unprepared.
Picking flowers had been the easy part. Writing a letter to be delivered with the bouquet was a task on par with finding the hydro archon's gnosis. Apologizing was the courteous thing to do- a matter of course. However, a simple polite note felt like too little. Arlecchino wanted Furina to understand what she had intended with her impromptu visit. She also wanted to keep the prospect of meeting again on the table, if Furina was willing.
The largest problem was the ever-present question: Why am I doing this? The answer had proven elusive in the week since their late-night meeting and felt further out of reach than ever when she tried to put it into words. Arlecchino had expressed her thanks for Furina's sacrifice. It could end there. So why, why, WHY, do I want to see her again?
Arlecchino had run through all the potential answers. Contact with Furina was of little use to the Fatui anymore. She was not the archon, so that was strike one. She possessed five centuries of experience, but not in anything particularly helpful. Indeed, Arlecchino hoped Furina might be able to give away some state secrets, but she had shockingly little involvement in the Palais Mermonia. Her acting skills would make her an excellent operative, but the odds of her accepting that position were slim to none now that she was seeing success in advising theatre productions. Worst of all, Furina was surrounded by powerful people who would protect her. Interacting with her brought far too much risk and very little reward.
Nevertheless, Arlecchino wanted to talk to Furina. She wanted to feed Furina cake and tell her how important she was until she believed it. Logically it made no sense! A woman's self-esteem had no bearing on anything Arlecchino was working toward. So why did she send off a carefully chosen bouquet of flowers? Why did her thoughts wander during her work? Why did she care how Furina thought of her? Why did she lie awake at night, thinking of the millions of things she should have said differently while Furina was crying? It was vexing, to say the least.
Arlecchino at last decided to write a very brief apology with an offer to make it up to Furina over desserts at the Hotel Debord, the implication being she could apologize with more verbosity in person. It was procrastination, something Arlecchino hated, but she needed the time to think. A day later, Furina sent a letter confirming her attendance. Now the hour fast approached but no spark of inspiration had graced the knave's mind.
The clock on her wall chimed and Arlecchino tossed the papers onto her desk. She had read the same page at least three times without any of the words sticking. She observed the twilight sky beyond the glass of her windows. Stars were just beginning to twinkle in the night sky, high above the lights of the city. There was still plenty of time before she needed to get ready, but… Better safe than sorry, she decided.
Two hours later, Arlecchino slid into her seat in the upper story of the Hotel Debord. Before her lay a child's dream and a parent's nightmare. The table was filled with all manner of sweet treats. Candied fruits, puddings, macaroons, meringues, and the crown jewel, two slices of the exclusive cake Arlecchino had brought to her diplomatic meetings while Furina masqueraded as the archon. Truthfully, just looking at the spread made the knave's teeth hurt. She wouldn't be eating much of it.
"Wine, Ma'am?" a waiter asked.
"I prefer sir." Arlecchino shooed him away impatiently. "And no wine until my companion has arrived." The luxurious restaurant was filled with the gentle sounds of polite conversation and clinking silverware. Bright chandeliers didn't leave a single corner unlit. Aromas of a hundred different dishes mingled in the air, creating a grand tapestry of culinary scents. Arlecchino surveyed the sweets once more, wondering if she should order something more nutritious for herself. Then a familiar blue hat caught the corner of her vision as it bobbed up the stairs and Arlecchino cleared her mind.
"Good evening, Knave," Furina said as she approached. Her tone was cool and neutral.
Arlecchino smiled and stood to greet her. "Good evening, Furina. Thank you for coming."
They sat down and the waiter returned to pour a glass of wine for each of them before drifting away. Furina inspected the many desserts with apathy. She opted for the slice of cake in front of her and took a delicate bite. "You do not strike me as the type to send flowers," she said after swallowing.
"It's a strategy I haven't tried before," Arlecchino replied. "But the results are satisfactory."
"Are they?" Furina gave the knave a questioning look.
"You're sitting in front of me," she pointed out. "That was my goal."
Furina frowned and stabbed into her cake with her fork. "Yes, you have me here. So, what is it you would like to say? You were very vague in your letter."
"You're angry."
"How observant," Furina scoffed. "And why, pray tell, do you think that is the case, Knave?"
Arlecchino crossed one leg over the other and clasped her hands in her lap. "Furina, I'm sorry for coming to your apartment unannounced and requesting that-"
"No! Stop." Furina swiped her fork through the air emphatically. "I don't want to hear you apologize if you don't understand what you're apologizing for." Arlecchino blinked at her. "You think I'm upset about you talking to me? Or cooking me food? Or- or seeing me cry?" She shook her head. "No. I'm upset because you came back into my life to begin with!"
Arlecchino's mouth dried. "You would have preferred I stayed away entirely?"
"At the very least I wish you were still a psychopath who wanted to kill me!" Furina exclaimed. "Because now you're so- I don't know why you would- With the crepes and the flowers and-" She dropped her fork and held her head in her hands, her light blue hair curling around her fingers. "You can't just waltz in and change everything," she murmured, squeezing her eyes shut.
Arlecchino shifted in her seat. This is not going how I thought it would, she thought. Still, I finally understand her thought process. She took a long sip of wine and a deep breath before beginning, choosing every word carefully. "Furina, I was cruel to you before I knew your secret. Though I did it all with the intention of hurting who I believed to be the hydro archon, I hurt you instead. My learning the truth doesn't heal the wounds I inflicted. I'm sorry for- for not seeing that."
Furina peered at the knave through her fingers. "Why did you come see me that night, Knave?"
"Sincerely, I wanted to tell you how grateful I was for everything you went through," Arlecchino answered.
"But why did you come?" Furina repeated. "Why not send one of your people. Or a letter. Why did it have to be you?"
There it is, Arlecchino sighed. Why did I do this? It was the end of the line. She needed to answer. Furina needed to hear an answer. But Arlecchino didn't know what was going to come out of her mouth if she opened it. There were so many thoughts all tangled together in her head, the final product might be incomprehensible. It was… frightening.
"Knave."
Arlecchino downed the rest of her wine and met Furina's deep blue eyes. "Furina, you acted a part for five hundred years, and you never slipped once. Focalors never told you when it would end, but you committed regardless. You never wavered even when I nearly killed you, or when the Poisson disaster happened, or when all of Fontaine turned against you. You willingly put your hand into primordial sea water even though you knew you were only human. And because of all that, because of you, Fontaine was saved."
Furina moved her hands to cover her eyes once again as Arlecchino continued. "Once the Iudex revealed all of this to me, I was astonished. I cannot imagine anyone going through what you did, even less when considering how people treated you at the end. You took the weight of the nation on your shoulders and smiled the whole time. Now you're just Furina, not Focalors, but that's who you've always been, and you've barely been thanked by anyone."
"But what impresses me more than anything is how you continue to live after the fact. Those five hundred years were simply the prologue to your true life. It only took a month of being properly yourself before you received a vision. You aren't the person you are today because you played the part of Focalors, but rather in spite of it. So, I came to you in person that night, because I couldn't trust anyone else to communicate how absolutely incredible I think you are. And even then… I did it poorly."
Arlecchino let out a long breath and sank into her chair. So it was this easy all along. She almost laughed. It was like a single thread was pulled and the giant knot in her mind came undone. She admired Furina. Arlecchino handed out her respect to a scant few people. Her admiration, on the other hand, had previously been reserved solely for the Tsaritsa. Now Furina took her place there, perhaps even a little higher than the archon. After all, the sacrifices of a god paled in comparison to a mortal's.
Across from Arlecchino, small water droplets sparkled in the light as they fell from behind Furina's hands, pattering onto the table and the half-eaten slice of cake. Her shoulders shook as she silently sobbed. Normally when Arlecchino reduced people to tears, she took a savage sort of pleasure in breaking them down. When her children cried, she impatiently made them stop. Faced with Furina's tears for a second time, she just felt hollow inside.
"Furina, don't cry," she said softly.
Furina rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands, interrupting but not stopping the flow of tears. "How can you expect me not to when you say all those wonderful things?" she choked out. "No one has ever- In all five hundred years no one has-" A sob overwhelmed her, even as she smiled through it.
A waitress approached, glancing back and forth between the two women in concern. Arlecchino waved her off. "Furina, calm down," she said. "There's still cake that needs eating." Furina nodded and wiped her nose with her sleeve. She tried to compose herself, but a shudder ran up her body and her eyes erupted in fresh tears.
Arlecchino took her cloth napkin and reached across the table in an effort to dry Furina's face. As soon as her hand got close, Furina's eyes flashed with terror. She jerked backward into her seat, sending it scraping back several inches. All the blood drained from her face. She clutched her arms around herself as her chest heaved in and out. "I'm- I'm sorry," she whispered, staring up at the knave who was still leaning over the table, frozen. "I didn't- I'm sorry."
"No, it's not your fault." Arlecchino clenched her jaw. I should have known. She slowly sat back down. "Take deep breaths. Focus on the cake in front of you." Arlecchino always thought it sad how often she handled panic attacks amidst her children. So many of them came from difficult backgrounds. To think I inflicted it this time, she sighed. "Deep breaths. This will pass."
Furina did as she was told, and her frantic gasps slowly calmed. The people at the tables nearby were craning their necks to see the commotion and Arlecchino shot each of them a contemptuous glare, which had the intended effect of making them mind their business.
"At least I stopped crying, right?" Furina said weakly, forcing a small laugh.
Arlecchino gazed at her in a painful mix of remorse and guilt. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Furina nodded and took a large bite of her cake as if to prove it. Yet her hands still trembled ever so slightly. Liar.
"Furina, I've said what I came here to say. I will not be offended if you want to leave."
"I'm fine!" Furina insisted. "Besides, I can't leave without giving you an answer."
Arlechino furrowed her brow. "To what?"
"I accept your apology… and thank you for the things you said." Furina's smile was shaky but full of conviction. Her eyes were still red, her hair was messed up, and tears were still drying on her cheeks, but in that moment she looked beautiful. Radiant. Perfect. I want to see her smile every day, Arlecchino decided.
Wait, hold on, she caught herself. That's beyond irrational. Just what sort of plans was her subconscious making? Every day?! Then again… it wasn't necessarily an impossible task. Certainly, right now it would be, but maybe in the future? I could settle for once a week. Arlecchino abruptly imposed a harsh blockade on that corner of her mind, halting everything. Figuring out what all of those thoughts meant was not a task she looked forward to. Best to ignore them as long as possible.
She cleared her throat. "I'm grateful for your patience."
"Yes, you are lucky I'm a magnanimous individual, Knave," Furina laughed. Color was creeping back into her cheeks. She finished the final bite of her cake and looked furtively across the table at Arlecchino's untouched slice. "But for your penance, I will require a small offering."
"Oh?" Arlecchino gestured at the wide array of sugary dishes. "Then I'll give you all of these and only keep this one small piece of cake for myself."
Furina pouted. "Your gifts are many, but that which I desire is what you treasure most."
Arlecchino crossed her arms and spoke teasingly. "I'm afraid I can't part with my treasure without receiving something of equal value in return."
"How about the eternal gratitude of one Furina de Fontaine?" Furina fluttered her eyelashes. "Why, such a gift is priceless!"
"I can't swindle you out of a priceless gift. It wouldn't be fair."
"What do you want then?" Furina grumbled, her act falling away in her impatience.
Arlecchino pursed her lips. "Promise to see me again sometime in the future."
Furina fell silent. Her eyes flicked about Arlecchino's face, trying to perceive her intent. Furina was conflicted, that was plain enough to see. The cake was forgotten as painful memories welled up within her. But there was also a glimmer of something else, something more optimistic, and perhaps even hopeful.
"I asked Clorinde, but she's busy. And Neuvillette and the traveler don't have visions to begin with…" Furina looked down at the table. "Maybe you could help me make mine work?"
Arlecchino nodded, a smile gracing her face. "That can be arranged."
--
"Father, you look happy," Freminet observed in his characteristic soft voice as Arlecchino entered the House of the Hearth later that night. He hugged his penguin mek, Pers, against his chest.
"Freminet, why are you still awake?" the knave asked, her smile turning to a curious expression. He gestured behind him to the dark workshop. The scent of metal still lingered in the air. He must have just finished.
"Did something good happen?" Freminet asked, lifting Pers up to cover his mouth and nose. Only his freckles and big, blue-grey eyes peeked over the top.
"I suppose you could say that." Arlecchino patted his head affectionately. "I got something that I wanted very badly."
"I'm glad, Father."
"Me too. Go to bed now, Freminet. Sleep is important."