Sunset ^beta

—i. lights

"You were great up there, kid," Gil said as he and Agnea sat on the edge of the stage. The tavern patrons had already left, and Agnea's newest traveling companion Throné said she would wait for Agnea outside and walk with her back to the inn while the others of their group had already gone on ahead.

Agnea laughed. "You were really good too! Everyone loved your piano playing!"

"Guess there's still some life left in these fingers of mine." Gil chuckled weakly as stretched his arms. "You're a strange one, coming out all the way to these backstreets, but I'm glad you did."

"Me too! I've met so many wonderful people here!"

Gil's expression grew grave. "That lady in purple - Throné, was it? Watch out for her, though."

"Huh?" Agnea exclaimed, staring at Gil. "But why?"

"Have you ever heard of the Blacksnakes?"

Agnea shook her head.

"The Blacksnakes are a group of thieves that control these backstreets. They don't bother me too much as long as I pay them protection money, but they're dangerous. They don't just steal possessions."

"But what does that have to do with Throné?"

Gil motioned toward his throat. "That necklace she's wearing? It's a symbol of the Blacksnakes. Rumor has it they're loaded with poison, but I don't know how true that is."

"P-Poison?" Agnea repeated, shocked.

"Like I said, it's just a rumor." Gil laid a hand on Agnea's shoulder. "I don't mean to scare you. Still, be careful, okay?"

Agnea bit her lip. Was Throné's necklace really filled with poison? Agnea had thought it lovely, a deep violet and adorned with a simple yet elegant gem. Yet Throné had said she was on the hunt for two individuals, and the way she dispatched those two thugs tormenting a puppy told Agnea she knew how to wield that dagger strapped to her thigh. Bu she'd smiled so tenderly as she fed that puppy strawberries and called it her friend. She also hadn't hesitated to help Agnea confront that arrogant theater manager and repair Gil's tavern. "I think Throné is a good person," she said at last. "Just… in a difficult situation, maybe?"

"You really are trusting, aren't you?" Gil laughed, but it wasn't unkind. "Well, you already travel with an odd bunch, so what's one more?"

"The more the merrier!" Agnea chirped. She'd met the merchant Partitio first, and then the exiled prince Hikari and amnesic apothecary Castti, and when they sailed to Toto'haha, the beasting hunter Ochette joined their group. She smiled; if she'd been alone, she probably wouldn't have had the courage to enter these backstreets and meet Gil and Throné.

Her chest tightened at the thought of Throné; she'd never seen such a beautiful and elegant woman.

"I think it's time to call it a night," Gil said as he hopped off the stage, and he held out his hand to help Agnea down too. "We'll be sure to see you off nice and early tomorrow."

Agnea smiled. "Thank you, Gil, for everything."

Gil escorted Agnea to the entrance of the tavern, and she bid him farewell as she headed outside alone, and waiting for her was Throné as expected. What was unexpected, however, was the sliver of shadow dancing around Throné's hand, and it curled around her arm like a snake. Agnea could only stare, transfixed; was that dark magic? She'd heard stories of such magic, but to see it with her own eyes…

Throné noticed Agnea staring and made the shadow vanish, and the mist it left behind seemed to sparkle like a gem. "Agnea," she said carefully, interrupting Agnea's path of thought.

There were many things Agnea could've asked Throné; about the Blacksnakes, about that dark necklace and if it really was filled with poison, more about the two individuals she was hunting. (And she had specifically said "hunting" and not "searching.") Instead, Agnea exclaimed, "That was really beautiful!"

Throné raised an eyebrow. "You mean my dark magic."

"So that was your magic." Agnea drew a little closer to Throné, and tried not to stare at her necklace. Instead, however, her gaze fell to Throné's ample cleavage, and quickly she forced her eyes to the ground and hoped Throné didn't notice. "I've never seen dark magic before."

"I can't say I'm surprised."

Agnea tensed; Throné's tone was both scathing and mournful. "Cropdale really is different from New Delsta."

Throné touched her necklace - or was it a collar? Agnea could no longer be certain. It fit tightly around her slender throat, and the idea of it being filled with poison made Agnea sick to the pit of her stomach. "Newcomers like you are always drawn to the dazzling lights, but I've lived here all my life," Throné said tensely. "I know too well the shadows cast by those lights."

"The brightest lights cast the deepest shadows," Agnea muttered. She glanced up at the night sky, but could barely make out the stars because of the streetlights. She couldn't see much beyond Gil's tavern either, these backstreets caught in the shadows of the towering buildings. When Gil first led her to the backstreets, she'd been shocked by the squalor and apathy, a contrast with the heart of the city. An impoverished orphanage, rival brothels, and a suspicious casino, all hidden away in the shadows.

"Yes, I suppose you could say that." To Agnea's surprise, Throné smiled faintly. "But you breathed new life into that tavern, and I'm sure someday it'll count for something. It's a small thing, but seeing you dance on that stage felt… hopeful, I think."

"Hopeful…" Agnea repeated softly. When she witnessed Dolcinaea dancing on that dazzling stage in the theater, she had felt as if was seeing the stars themselves for the first time, and her heart still raced just remembering that sight. "I think I still have a long way to go, though."

"Is that so? You've certainly started strong." Throné cast a glance at Gil's tavern behind them. "Though, you really are too trusting, following a strange man to these backstreets. But if anyone could find the one decent person in these parts, I'm not surprised it was you."

Agnea could not help but laugh, remembering what Gil had told her about Throné earlier.

Throné scowled. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing," Agnea replied, grinning. "You're kind too, aren't you?"

"Tch." Throné clicked her tongue, turning her face away.

"And, um, thanks for helping me confront that theater manager and repairing Gil's tavern!" Agnea added quickly.

Throné waved her hand. "We should head back to the inn now. The others are waiting." She held out her hand for Agnea. "And stay close to me. These streets can be especially dangerous at night."

For a moment Agnea simply stared at Throné's offered hand, and then gripped it with more force than probably necessary, and she felt her blush deepen. Throné's palm was calloused, but also warm. "I finally realize what your magic reminded me of," Agnea said softly. "A quiet night, the kind that gives us stars."

"…You're a strange girl," Throné mumbled, and maybe it was just the glow from the streetlights, but there seemed a faint blush on her cheeks too, and her fingers curled protectively around Agnea's.

Agnea still had many questions for Throné, but she would be patient. Their journeys together were just beginning, so there was no need to rush.

—ii. shadows

The scholar Osvald and cleric Temenos soon joined their group, and little by little, over the course of their journeys together, Throné shared more of herself with Agnea, and by the final days of their travels, Agnea could almost put her feelings into words. However, then the sun didn't rise.

In Flamechurch, after relighting the Sacred Flame, the eight of them gathered in the inn to rest a bit. How many days it had been, Agnea couldn't tell. Without the dawn, traveling from Hinoeuma to the Wildlands and now to the Crestlands felt like a blur, and at each altar horrible truths awaited.

Agnea shivered. She could still hear the screams of Tanzy burning to death while Mindt - no, Arcanette - simply watched. She glanced out a nearby window, and although that poison violet haze no longer lingered, the stars still weren't visible.

"Agnea?" came Hikari's voice beside her. "How are you feeling?"

She chewed her lip. Hikari had dark circles beneath his eyes, and she couldn't blame him. In the Tranquil Grotto, he had learned of Kazan's true feelings and goals. "…I don't know," she answered at last.

"Forgive me, that was a foolish question." Hikari sighed deeply. "If you had asked me that same question, I would not know how to answer either."

Despite herself, Agnea managed a small laugh. Again she looked out the window, at the near-empty night sky, and a sudden chill came over her. "It feels like the ground is crumbling away beneath us. We've traveled so far together, but it's like I still don't understand anything at all…"

"Are you frightened?" Hikari asked gently.

Agnea inhaled deeply, hesitating a moment. "Yes."

"I am as well." Hikari laid a comforting hand on Agnea's shoulder. "But remember - you have friends and allies who will stand by you. Trust in us as we trust in you, and all will be well."

She could not help but smile; despite what they had witnessed in the Tranquil Grotto, Hikari still had faith in those he considered friends. She was grateful for that, and admired his strength and resolve. "Thanks, Hikari."

Soon Hikari left to join Osvald and Ochette in conversation and Agnea headed outside the inn, hoping for some fresh air. With Arcanette gone and the Sacred Flame relit, no more shadowy beasts attacked the village. ("Candles lit by the Sacred Flame have a powerful warding effect," Temenos had reassured her), so she tried not to be frightened at the sight of the starless sky. A half-moon was barely visible, granting some light, at least.

Pulling her shawl tighter around her shoulders, she climbed down a set of steps and passed by the entrance. When first she and the others had met Temenos, he'd been fending off an attack by a cultist, and after he joined them, Mindt had asked the group to take care of him. She had seemed so kind, with a gentle smile.

However, Agnea recalled the words of Tanzy's discarded journal, of a grief so powerful to deny the world a dawn. How many people had suffered because of the Moonshade Order's twisted sense of morality and judgment?

She spotted Throné at the edge of the village, on a cliff overlooking the lower level. Ori's journals in the Fellsun Ruins said either Claude or the one who killed him was meant to be a vessel of Vide. But Throné was nothing like that monstrous man. "Throné," she said carefully as she approached.

Throné turned, and Agnea's gaze fell upon her bare throat. "Agnea," she greeted with a nod. "Couldn't sleep either, hm?"

"It's… hard to sleep when you can't tell what time it is."

"True enough." Throné sat upon the grass and patted the ground beside her. "Come sit with me."

Agnea did so, and the warmth of Throné's body so close to hers was welcomed. Silence soon fell between them, but Agnea didn't mind. Over the course of their journeys together, she had grown to appreciate Throné's quietness. She stole a glance at Throné, seeing how Throné's skin seemed to shimmer in the faint moonlight. Throné had begun to smile again after everything that happened in Lostseed, and the longing in her gaze as she watched Agnea at the Grand Gala had been a sight to behold. Agnea's eyes trailed downward, toward Throné's hands folded neatly in her lap, hands both graceful and deadly. As their journeys had drawn to a close, Agnea had believed Throné would never need to stain her hands with blood again.

But then the sun didn't rise, and this unnatural darkness had stolen the stars.

The people of Lostseed had lost all hope. Claude had smiled as Throné plunged her dagger into his chest, uncaring of all he pain and suffering he had left behind in his desire for a glorious death. Tanzy had lost herself in grief for her husband, giving all of herself to a woman who promised her a world without dawn. Agnea shut her eyes a moment; she couldn't say she wasn't glad Claude was gone, but she barely even knew Tanzy, so was it right for her to grieve? But again she heard Tanzy's anguished screams as she burned to death.

"Even the goddess has her eye on you." Tanzy had said that at the Grand Gala, after Agnea's performance. Even then, had Arcanette been mocking Agnea? As a mere dancer, what hope she could do for a place as hopeless as Lostseed, or stand against a doomsday cult like the Moonshade Order? On this endless night, was there any light to be found?

"Agnea?" Throné's voice cut through Agnea's dark thoughts. "You're shaking."

"I'm… scared," Agnea forced out, and no longer could she hold back her tears. "It's so dark, and…" She sobbed, wincing at how childish she sounded. "I know I said we can do anything we set our minds to, but… I'm still so scared! What if... what if the sun never does rise again…?"

Throné said nothing at first, only drawing Agnea into her arms, and Agnea cried into her shoulder. She held Agnea gently and protectively, and her hands stroked Agnea's hair with a tender touch. Agnea might've been embarrassed acting so pathetically in front of Throné, but the tears wouldn't stop, and for a moment she felt Throné's lips against her hair. Maybe she was being selfish, but it wasn't fair that Throné had finally won her freedom only for the dawn to not rise. A small group of people, no matter how much they had suffered, didn't have the right to play executioner for everyone else.

"I understand your fear," Throné whispered, "and it's true it may be difficult to make the sun itself rise again. But I've come too far to just allow some group that believes because they suffered, no one else is allowed to be happy, to do as they please. We all have."

Eventually Agnea's tears dried and she rested her head in Throné's lap. Throné's hand on her hair was comforting and careful, and before them lay darkness gently illuminated by the half-moon. Several times they had driven away this unnatural darkness, a violet too much like Trousseau's poison rain, but still it lurked at the edges of their vision. Agnea bit her lip; but would relighting the final Sacred Flame in Toto'haha be enough to drive away this endless night for good?

A soft breeze touched Agnea's cheek, and she saw in Throné's other hand ribbons of pure shadow. She reached out her hand for Throné's, and the strands of darkness curled around her fingers like rings, and they were as cool and smooth as gems. A smile tugged at Agnea's lips, and the shadow rings dissolved into a gentle, almost sparkling mist. "How beautiful…" she breathed.

"You called my dark magic beautiful once before," Throné said. "Do you remember?"

"Oh, yes! In New Delsta, shortly after we met!"

"No one had ever called my dark magic beautiful before. Like a quiet night that gives us the stars - those were your words, I believe."

Agnea's cheeks flushed. She hadn't expected Throné to remember that. "When we were traveling, I felt stronger with you, even at night. As long as you were with me, I had no reason to be scared."

Throné drew her fingers along Agnea's scalp, sending shivers down Agnea's spine. "I've lived in the shadows all my life, so the sun can be blinding, I think. But watching you shine, I don't care if I burn up, as long as I'm free."

"I won't let you burn," Agnea said firmly. "After all, wouldn't the sun get lonely without the moon?"

"Are you comparing me to the moon?" Throné chuckled darkly. "You know, the moon only shines because of the sun."

"Is that so? Then I don't mind sharing my light with you, Throné."

Throné's hand on Agnea's hair stilled, and lying on her side and facing away as she was, Agnea couldn't see Throné's expression. Yet the tension in her chest eased as she heard Throné let out another low chuckle, and she couldn't help but laugh as well. This sense of longing had grown stronger the longer they traveled together, and maybe it wasn't so hopeless after all.

"Do you feel better?" Throné asked at last, twirling a strand of Agnea's hair around her finger.

"A little, I think." Agnea sighed. "I just want the true night back, with the stars and moon, and not this…" She hesitated a moment, mulling over her words, and she thought of the shadowy darkness that had consumed Harvey, Kaldena, Trousseau, and others. "This kind of darkness consumes everything in its path, and it feels so sad and hateful."

"If I was alone, even if I managed to make it to Lostseed, I might've been consumed by that darkness too," Throné said, and her hand on Agnea's hair trembled a little. "But I had you and the others. When I was finally free, even though it reeked of blood, you still smiled for me."

Agnea sat up and touched Throné's cheek. "You smile for me every time I dance, so it's the least I can do for you."

Throné cast a glance at the half-moon above them. "We've already gotten the moon back," she murmured, drawing closer to Agnea, "but for you, I'll steal back the stars and sun too. I'm still a thief - I take what I want." She smirked, a heated, alluring smile, and Agnea welcomed her kiss.

As they kissed, Agnea felt the embrace of a soft shadow, and her chest pressed to Throné's, she could no longer tell their heartbeats apart. She deepened the kiss, wrapping her arms tightly around Throné, and Throné's warmth assured her this was no dream.

When they parted, Throné's faint blush was beautiful in the moonlight. "My beautiful star…" she whispered, her breath warm on Agnea's lips.

Agnea clasped Throné's hand between hers. "We'll make the sun rise again, I promise!"

"Of course," Throné said with a knowing smile, and she bent to kiss Agnea again.