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"What a strange place," Agnea said as she and Throné passed a crumbling building. "This is kind of like some of the ruins we've seen in Toto'haha, huh?"
"Considering the ruined temple to Sealtigce in Merry Hills, it isn't so surprising there might be other ruins nearby," Throné replied, ducking to avoid a low-hanging branch. "Although there really isn't much left of them, is there?" She cast a glance farther ahead, and what little remained of the ruins in question were covered in overgrowth, and a forest of red and orange stretched as far as the eye could see.
Agnea chuckled. "According to Giselle, the Shrine of Ul'sterra was restored twenty years ago for the Festival of Grace." She beamed. "And what a dazzling stage that was…!"
"Only because you were on it," Throné said, the words out of her mouth before she could think about them.
Agnea blushed deeply, but her smile remained true.
Throné touched her bare throat; only a few days had passed since Agnea had dazzled the world at the Grand Gala. Agnea could go anywhere now, ascend to join the stars themselves, but still she chose to remain with Throné and the others. Still one as bright as her could smile for Throné, even after seeing the true cost of Throné's freedom. Agnea dashed ahead, almost tripping over a tree root, but she caught herself in time and flashed a smile at Throné. All of Solistia would know her name, and still she chose to do something as frivolous as follow rumors of lost treasure in the Crestlands.
After hearing of such rumors in Merry Hills, the group had made their way toward these ruins and split to cover more ground. A smile tugged at Throné's lips; her thief's instincts said there was unlikely to be any treasure left, and barely enough remained of these buildings to even be called "ruins," but she could still spend this time with Agnea before their journeys ended, and then…
She didn't want to think about the future. Not yet.
"Ah!" Agnea's cry pulled Throné from her thoughts as she suddenly slipped down a steep incline. Her heart in her throat, Throné dashed forward and saw Agnea on the ground, and Agnea's skirt had hiked up, revealing a deep gash on her leg, likely from a sharp rock as she had fallen.
"Agnea!" Throné knelt beside Agnea and examined her injured leg. Immediately she reached into her satchel and began cleaning the wound, as Castti had taught her.
"I didn't expect the ground here to be so uneven." Agnea tried to laugh, but instead let out a low hiss of pain as Throné began cleaning the blood from her wound. "Oh, that stings!"
"It means it's working. That's what Castti would say." Throné gave Agnea a reassuring smile. "Did any of the blood get on your dress?"
Agnea shook her head. Fortunately, her wound wasn't deep, just long, and Throné found herself thankful she'd given into Castti's urging to visit the apothecaries' guild in Conning Creek. At first, with her hands so stained in blood, she hadn't thought herself the right to heal others. Agnea watched closely as Throné cleaned and dressed the wound, and despite the sting of medical herbs, Throné saw a smile tug at her lips.
"Thanks, Throné," she said. "You're really good at this."
"It's just a little something I've picked up," Throné muttered. Maybe if she had learned sooner, she would've been able to save Donnie. "It's not much at all."
"Oh, that's not true! I've seen how hard you work when Castti's teaching you!" Agnea tried to stand, but she groaned painfully and sank back to the ground as Throné gripped her shoulders to help steady her.
"However, I do know enough that you won't be putting any weight on that leg for a bit," Throné said firmly. "We'll wait here for the others."
Agnea laughed awkwardly. "At least this happened after the Grand Gala and not before, right?"
Throné bit her lip. "We should light a fire. It's getting colder, and the smoke will help the others spot us." The Crestlands could get rather cold at night and she hoped she and Agnea would be found before then, but she saw no reason to say that part out loud and worry Agnea.
Thus she worked in silence as she cleared space for a small fire pit, and Agnea simply watched her. As she reached into their supplies for her flint and match, Agnea touched her hand. "Let me light it," she said to Throné. "With a smile, she focused her attention on the fire pit and held out her hand, and as she chanted a familiar spell, a small fire erupted within the pit.
"That's right, you've been learning magic from Osvald," Throné said. Although small, the fire was bright and warm, much like Agnea herself, and again Throné felt a strange stir in her chest.
Agnea nodded. "My magic isn't as strong as his, though…"
"He's also been studying magic far longer than you have, and I've seen how hard you work when you're using magic together," Throné replied, echoing the same words Agnea had spoken to her earlier.
Agnea's smile softened. "Someday I'd like to use more than just wind magic to brighten my dances. Imagine dancing with fire or ice!"
Throné considered it a moment. "It would certainly be beautiful, but dangerous."
"That's what Osvald said too." Yet Agnea laughed again, and drew closer to Throné. "I think your dark magic would be fun too, like dancing with a shadow."
"…I'll think about it," Throné mumbled. It wasn't the first time Agnea had expressed admiration for her dark magic, and still it baffled her. A bright young lady like her, finding the darkness beautiful? But darkness revealed the stars, she had told Throné once.
Silence soon fell over the two of them. They sat together on the ground, beneath a canopy of orange and red, watching the fire crackle before them, and Throné cast an occasional glance at Agnea's bandaged leg. Agnea wouldn't be able to dance for a few days, she realized with a pang. She sighed, and turned her gaze away. It was in these lands she had killed Father and learned of her birth mother, and sometimes when she closed her eyes, she still saw Father's bloody smile. He'd loved a woman once, but she betrayed him and he killed her.
Throné shivered, and Agnea draped her teal shawl around their shoulders. "Is this all right?" she asked, and Throné could only nod. She still longed for Agnea's warmth.
Agnea smiled again, and rested her head against Throné's shoulder. Throné's eyes fell upon Agnea's bright lips and then trailed over her bare, slender throat toward her ample cleavage, and Throné's heart quickened. Despite how bloodstained her hands were, she wanted to kiss Agnea and hold her closely. But what right did a snake like her have to love another? The man who raised her had killed the one he loved. Her birth father had made his own flesh and blood fight to the death. She had spilled her own family's blood. Agnea knew all that, and still smiled for her.
So until their journeys ended, she could indulge in Agnea's warmth a little longer. Thief though she was, she would not dare to hope for more.
"It isn't much longer now, is it?" Agnea said suddenly, breaking the silence. "We'll be heading to Roque Island next, and then…"
Throné reached for Agnea's hand, but then thought better of it. Hikari had a country to run, and Ochette an island to protect. Castti wished to rebuild Eir's Apothecaries. Osvald had a daughter to return to. All of them had a new path to follow. "What do you plan to do when this is all over?" she asked Agnea.
"I think I'll go home and rest a bit. What about you, Throné?"
"I… haven't decided yet."
"Well, there's nothing wrong with that!" Agnea giggled. "You're free now, free to go wherever you wish."
I want to be with you came the unbidden thought to Throné's mind, but she couldn't voice such a selfish desire. She'd seen how much Lostseed had horrified Agnea and Agnea's look of disgust as Claude boasted about forming the Blacksnakes. That same vile blood ran in Throné's own veins. She couldn't tarnish Agnea's dream of stardom. "This freedom… isn't what I expected," she said instead, touching her throat. That poisoned collar lay discarded beside Claude's rotting corpse.
"You are strong," Agnea whispered. "You've no idea how glad I was when you chose to keep traveling with us."
Throné hesitated; she hadn't noticed how blue Agnea's eyes were, despite how Agnea was always watching her. "Being with all of you certainly isn't boring," she replied, perhaps a touch too lightly.
Agnea's smile vanished, and she took Throné's hand into hers. Throné didn't wish to pull away, and Agnea's fingers were warm and soft against her own calloused fingers. "When I was on that stage, facing off against Dolcinaea, I saw you smiling, and that made me so happy."
Throné's fingers from curled around Agnea's; with her hands so stained in blood, she would only dirty that kindness, but she couldn't stop herself. "You don't regret traveling with me?"
"No, of course not!" Agnea exclaimed. "I know it hasn't always been easy, and there's so many people we couldn't save, but being with you is like a dream come true!"
The fire before them crackled, and Throné sighed deeply. When Agnea looked at her like that, she almost dared to hope. What would Pirro and Scaracci think if they could see her now? But the scent of blood was not so easily forgotten. "These hands of mine are good for one thing: stealing lives and possessions."
"If that was true," Agnea said firmly, "you wouldn't have let Castti teach you her apothecary skills, or treat this injury so tenderly." She touched her bandaged leg with her free hand. "I've told you before, you are strong and kind!"
More than anything Throné wanted to give into that kindness, just as she had when Agnea offered to dance for her in Winterbloom or sing for her in Montwise. She was free now. Yet that darkness still lingered, darkness Father, Mother, and Claude hadn't been able to break free of, and Throné had killed them all. "Agnea, I…" she tried to say, and hesitated before starting again. "You know what I've done. I've hurt so many people. I can't expect forgiveness."
Carefully Agnea pressed her hand to Throné's cheek. They were close, brought together by Agnea's shawl draped over their shoulders, and Throné didn't resist Agnea's touch. "Even if no one else forgives you, even if you can't forgive yourself, I'll forgive you." A gentle smile came upon her lips, and she inhaled deeply. "I… I love you, Throné!"
For a moment Throné feared she as only dreaming. To hear those words spoken to her, without mockery or malice - but Agnea was always sincere, the most honest woman Throné knew. She had seen how Agnea watched her, feared it, but seeing Agnea shine at the Grand Gala, her quest for freedom hadn't been for nothing. She took Agnea's face between her hands and kissed her, and Agnea eagerly kissed her back.
A part of her would always be a thief. She knew that, and knew her hands would never be clean. Mother had called her useless and unfeeling. Father had only raised her to kill him. But somehow, Agnea saw something in her worth loving.
Throné pulled Agnea into her arms, and Agnea planted a gentle kiss on Throné's neck, where that poisoned collar used to lay. "You're a strange girl," Throné whispered against Agnea's hair. "But that's why I love you too."
"Even if we go our separate ways for a while," Agnea said carefully as her arms tightened around Throné's, "I know we'll find each other again."
Throné knew how destructive love could be. Father had killed the woman he loved, and Throné had ended his life with her own hands. Mira had grieved for Mother despite all of Mother's cruelty. She loosened Agnea and laid her hand over Agnea's chest, and felt the beating heart beneath.
Agnea smiled and laid a hand over Throné's. "My heart is yours, Throné."
What words Throné could say now, she didn't know. She was never good at this kind of thing. Instead she bent her head to kiss Agnea again, savoring the warmth of those soft lips.
They sat together a while longer, and as the fire burnt low, they heard voices nearby. "Agnea, Throné!" Partitio exclaimed as he and Temenos came into view.
"So this is where our wayward lambs are hiding," Temenos smirked.
"Sorry about that," Agnea replied with an awkward laugh. "I hurt my leg, but Throné patched it up!"
Partitio bent to help Agnea put an arm around his shoulders, and as he and Throné helped her stand, Temenos examined the bandages around her leg. "Nothing hurts too much, I presume?"
"Not as much now," Agnea said with a smile. "Throné's good at this kind of thing!"
Temenos smirked again. "Really now? Well, Castti is an excellent teacher."
"We've all learned from each other," Throné said, thinking of the fire spell Agnea had cast earlier.
To Partitio, Agnea asked, "Did you find any treasure?"
Partitio shook his head. "Nah, it was a bust. But that's just the nature of rumors, ain't it?"
"Well, it was worth a try, and I think it turned out fine." Agnea cast a knowing glance at Throné. "Right, Throné?"
Throné could only smirk as the four of them made their way back to town to rejoin the others.
The dawn was returned to the world, and Agnea held Throné's hand tightly as they headed toward Cropdale. Their journeys were completed, and though there were many they couldn't save - such as Pirro, Crick, Tanzy, and Kazan - to see the dawn again after such a long night was like waking from a dream. Standing in the blush of that dawn, Agnea had never looked more radiant.
Despite everything, after stealing back the dawn itself, Throné could say she had no regrets.
They soon came to the entrance of Cropdale, and Agnea turned to face Throné, a bright smile on her lips. Most of all, Throné loved that smile. "Welcome to Cropdale, Throné!" she exclaimed.
Throné smiled as well. Maybe she would travel the world and beyond, returning with exotic stories to share with Agnea. Maybe she would act as Agnea's bodyguard while Agnea danced from town to town. But for now, she simply wanted to enjoy quiet, peaceful days with her beloved dancer.