Archive of Our Own ^beta

Siffrin suddenly stopped as they were walking through the town to reach the inn, and Mirabelle looked back to see what had caught his attention.

“What is it?” she asked, backtracking a few steps to join him. She’d been trying to be more attentive of them, after... everything. It’d been easy for her to brush aside his odd habits as part of being a mischievous/mysterious rouge, and had missed how much he was hurting underneath.

So she was trying to get better! And the others assured her that she was, and that it wasn’t just her who hadn’t noticed. But Mirabelle still doubted whether they were really telling the truth or just trying to spare her feelings.

“A play. Looks like it’s about us.” Siffrin said, pointing to a poster that’d been pinned up outside a store.

The Ticking of the Clock -

A Theatrical Production Featuring the Saviors of Vaugarde!

Her eyes snapped to the poster- it had them on it! Well, not actually them, of course, but the design of the poster had silhouettes that she could easily pick out as each of her new family members.

“Oh, cool.” Isabeau said as he joined them, throwing an arm around Siffrin’s shoulders. “y’wanna go see it?”

The rouge looked considering, and after a few moments gave a hesitant nod. “I... like theater. And I’m curious to see how they’ll depict it. ”

Mirabelle looked back to the poster, thinking. They’d never done an interview describing their adventures or anything- the thought of writing about it in a book had crossed her mind, but the whole thing still felt way too recent to be making a book about! People probably wouldn’t want to be reminded of the time that the country was being slowly frozen, after all.

Except! Someone had ma de a play about it! About them?

Now she was curious. How did people perceive their journey? Their fight against the K ing?

Everything that had happened with Siffrin looping in time hadn’t exactly been publicized- w hat would the ending be like?

Isabeau gave a hearty chuckle at Siffrin’s answer. “Alright Sif! Let’s meet up with M’dame, Nille, and Bonnie back at the I nn then go see it! It l ooks like there’s a showing later today.”

Siffrin ’s eyes softened- they still looked a bit unsure, but it seemed like he was happy? Sometimes it was hard to tell.

“What about you Mira? Want to go?” Isabeau then asked, turning his grin onto her.

She wasn’t exactly sure... Because! It was a play about all of them, so she wanted to know what it was like! But also, it was a play about all of them! And that made her anxious.

But if Isabeau and Siffrin were already going... She clasped her hands together, nodding with a determined expression. “ Yes! L et’s go!”

.o.O.o.

After they’d gotten everything put away at the Inn. T hey were going to be staying here for a week- Nille had only just agreed to go on the road with them, and she wasn’t quite used to the pace the rest of them were setting. Plus, without the imminent end of the world, they could afford to take it easy.

Odile was also curious about the play, and Bonnie wanted to see it, which meant that Petronille was coming too. They’d told her a lot about their journey, but there w ere plenty of things they kept forgetting to bring up.

The family all set off to the theater that afternoon, the rest of them amicably speculating about the play, Nille in particular asking questions about what Bonnie thinks will happen and the preteen refusing to answer with anything but “you’ll see”.

Mirabelle, meanwhile, was wondering if she should get a disguise.

I mean, the play was about them, right? Wouldn’t it cause too much of a stir for the Saviors of Vaugarde to show up to a play about them without warning?

They could go undercover, remaining undetected like in The Cursing of Chateau Castle #53 where Lord Joséphandre donned a performer disguise to in filtrate the Cravat Troupe, and learned that their performances were part of the conspiracy that had caused Pierre-Jacques-Erneste to betray him...

Not that this play would be involved in any conspiracies.

Probably.

But going to a play about yourself without giving a heads-up did seem a little rude!

“Is something wrong, Mira?” Siffrin asked, and she startled suddenly at being addressed.

“WAH! Oh, uh, nothing, I’m just a bit. Nervous? I guess?” She stuttered, before taking a deep breath. In, and out. “Because this play’s supposed to be about us, and all.”

They nodded, and Mirabelle was relieved that she was making sense. “ You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.” he said, giving her an easy out.

She shook her head. “No! I’ve decided that I’m going to see it.” she said, resolve in her voice. “...but maybe we should sit near the back .”

Siffrin nodded with a smile- thank C hange they could be out of the limelight- and continued chatting with the others.

. o.O.o.

The sun was setting by the time they reached the theater. Odile was the one to purchase their tickets- asking the starstruck vendor to keep their presence on the down-low. Seems like Mirabelle wasn’t the only one hoping to avoid a scene tonight.

The family walked inside, found their seats near the back, and Bonnie began distributing the snacks they’d smuggled in.

More people began filtering in, luckily none of which paid them much mind. They discussed what might happen in the play- it was exciting to speculate about how it’d go!

A few minutes later, the lights dimmed, the din of conversation came to a hush, and the music began .

Mirabelle’s heart started to pound as the curtains drew back.

This was it- the play was about to start!

It began on a set that must represent the House of Dormont- it was a bit strange seeing her familiar home represented like that- and an actor wearing large, heavy-looking pieces of armor with a very long wig appearing from the darkness . That must be the King.

She gulped. I t was just a play, and obviously fake, but the sight of the K ing made her nervous all the same.

W ith unnaturally smooth movements, he moved to center stage. Something had been done to make t he actor appear taller, though she couldn’t guess what.

Two more actors then emerged. One was very tall- that must be the Head Housemaiden- and the other was wearing a large bow on her head.

Mirabelle’s eyes widened. It was her! That was supposed to be her! The actor onstage wasn’t wearing her exact clothing, but she could see the resemblance!

She had l onger hair pulled back into a ponytail, and he r dress was sleeveless, small cap e pushed away to show he r shoulders.

That made her feel... weird, for some reason.

It was probably just the weirdness of seeing herself be depicted onstage for the first time, so she brushed the feeling away as the play began in earnest.

The King attacked the House, freezing the Head Housemaiden in time . A figure of the Change God was lowered down from the rafters, light shining down upon the version of herself in the play.

Then, with tears in he r eyes, she proclaimed he r resolve to save Vaugarde and stop t he King, before fleeing offstage as the set was shrouded in darkness- the H ouse being left behind, frozen in time.

It was a... strange thing seeing everything play out like this.

A lot of the events were muddled in her own memory, exact details lost among the stress and panic of escaping as everything froze around her.

And of course, the Change God hadn’t been the one to bless her. B ut th at misconception had more than made its rounds and was widely accepted as fact by this point.

Perhaps she could put that in a book, if she ever did decide to write it....

As the stage stayed dark for a few minutes while the cast prepared the next set, she looked to see how everyone else was doing.

Siffrin’s eye was wide, attention solely focused on the stage before them. He did like theater, didn’t he? Maybe later he’d be able to explain how they’d made the actor for t he King move like that...

Isabeau was watching casually with a contented smile, though occasionally stealing glances at the entranced rouge, caus ing his cheeks to darken.

Bonnie was busying themself with the snacks they’d brought, and Nille was focusing on the play outside of the occasional question to Madame Odile for clarification.

Outside of answering Nille’s questions, Odile was half-paying attention to the play, half to the book she’d brought with her. Mirabelle felt like she should maybe be insulted, but well... they’d already lived this once, so it was probably fine?

The next scene began, switching to an ambiguous wilderness with a few cutout buildings in the background.

Mirabelle’s actor ran onstage, brandishing he r rapier against a sadness. She took it down quickly, before turning to the area around her . “The city of Jouvente... will any of the brave Defenders be willing to help me on my treacherous quest?”

She walked up to several other actors wearing imitations of Defender uniforms, all of whom snubbed her and turned her away. Until someone else approached her first.

Despite the full, fluffy beard, and being at least a head shorter than the one sitting next to her, Mirabelle recognized the actor as Isabeau.

He agreed to join her quest, and after a very... intensely emotional conversation, they set off.

Something in Mira’s gut twisted.

That was... very strange. She’d been so, so very grateful to Isabeau for joining her when all the rest of the Defenders declined, but something about this...

Once again, she brushed it aside. Of course it was weird, seeing such intense emotions be portrayed via a version of herself in front of an audience . There was no need to make a big deal out of it.

The quest continued- Meeting Odile, who’s actor wasn’t nearly old enough to accurately represent her, and Siffrin, who had lightless hair and a far longer, more dramatic cloak. She’d almost forgotten that his hair had been like that when they first met him...

Last to join was Bonnie, who was wearing a sunhat instead of their unique pillow hat, and the one next to her gasped and pointed enthusiastically when their counterpart came onstage.

The weirdness she’d felt from the start of the play had dispersed, giving Mirabelle room to enjoy it in full.

The actors went through the course of their journey- collecting the O rbs, beating Sadnesses, and bonding together as a group.

It came time for them to collect the final orb, which was being guarded by a particularly fierce S cissors-type Sadness that had the party on the ropes.

That wasn’t what actually happened, of course, but Mirabelle still found herself holding her breath as Odile was hit by a strong attack, her counterpart rushing to heal her as Siffrin’s attacks remained ineffective.

It was Isabeau that delivered the final attack- a rush of energy coming to him as he punched the Sadness, and in a burst of craft-made smoke it disappeared without a trace, the final Orb appearing in it’s place.

She needed to ask Siffrin about how all of this worked later.

In the aftermath of the battle Isabeau’s actor was breathing heavily, and her counterpart came up to him, worried about his health.

“Isabeau! Are you alright? That Sadness, it was so strong..” she said, covering her mouth.

He smiled despite appearing fatigued. “It was no problem, Mirabelle. It’s my duty as a Defender to protect you. And also...” He picked up the Orb.

The actor took her hand in his, a soft look coming to his face as he handed her the Orb with his other hand . “I would take any risk, to protect the woman I love.”

A cold stone of dread plunged into Mirabelle’s gut.

Ah.

The scene continued on, disregarding how much that single line had shaken her. The music stayed upbeat and the actors in good spirits, so it was likely going well- but she couldn’t focus on it anymore

That’s what had felt off. The story was setting up a romantic subplot between her and Isabeau.

Normally, she’d love a scene like this. After so long, they’d finally admitted their feelings to each other! They’d g otten together! And now they could go to the House and face t he King as one !

But... Normally, the character proclaiming their love wasn’t supposed to be her .

Mirabelle felt like she was going to be sick.

The big climax was coming up- she should wait to see what woul d happen. How it’d play out without Siffrin looping through time- that’s what she was curious about, right?

But staying here... watching this any longer...

Siffrin sent her a concerned look, which she waved off with an offhand remark of needing to use the restroom.

The rest of the party probably noticed that she got up, but Mirabelle could hardly pay it any mind as she rushed out of the theater as quickly as possible.

. o.O.o.

Once o utside, she was greeted by the cool night air. It was a welcome reprieve from the stifling room she’d just ran out of .

Mirabelle took a deep breath. In, and out. Just like Siffrin did.

That was... not fun. S he hadn’t expected to be so distressed by it.

The conversation she had with Siffrin just before fighting the King- the one she’d resolutely put out of her mind until she had the time to think about it, and that they hadn’t actually followed up on came to mind.

“You don’t need to be with anyone to be happy, after all!”

During that conversation, Siffrin had been very mean. With context she understood that he was dealing with a lot, and not thinking clearly, but their words had still hurt immensely.

But now those words were coming back, pinging around in her mind.

She sighed, beginning to walk along the darkened road.

It was an uncomfortable reminder of an uncomfortable time, and questions about herself that had been lurking below the surface ever since.

Putting aside the fact that Isabeau had confessed to Siffrin, and that the two of them would make a much better choice for romantic subplot, herself being one of the participants was really, really throwing her off.

Mirabelle knew that she was supposed to get bonded at some point- that was an important part of Changing- and had even made strides towards it by looking into possible option s by getting bonding papers .

But she’d never really... thought about it. About what it would be like, to have someone confess to her and be expected to reciprocate.

The idea made her uncomfortable.

She’d walked far enough to come across a bench by the road, and Mirabelle sat down heavily on it, looking up at the night sky.

She really hated being uncomfortable with new things like this. Experiencing new things was an important part of the Change Belief, after all!

B ut for this, she preferred to just be herself.

To just stay the same.

If only in this one way.

“Hello.” a voice broke through her thoughts, and looked up to see Odile approaching with a lopsided grin.

“Ah- Madame! I’m sorry, is something wrong?” she asked as the older woman sat down next to her.

“Nah, I just needed some air. Besides, I could barely see the stage from that distance anyways.” she gesturing to her glasses, opening her book once again. “It’s an interesting play, but theater isn’t really my thing.”

She nodded, feeling much more relieved to know that Odile was here for reasons similar to her own, if significantly less drastic.

They sat in silence for a while, accompanied only by the sounds of the night and the quiet flipping of pages.

After a tim e, Odile spoke up again. “You seemed pretty distressed when you left.”

“Ah- you noticed?” Mirabelle felt embarrassed.

She sent her a glance. “It was a bit hard to miss with how quickly you got out of there- don’t worry, none of the others are on their way.” she said before Mirabelle could start to worry that she’d ruined the experience for everyone by freaking out. “Plus, I don’t think this is the bathroom.”

“Pfft- I forgot I said that.” she said, then sighed. “It was... it got a bit much, I guess.”

Odile nodded, eyes going back to her book. After another minute of silence, she cleared her throat, apprehension clear on her face . “Did it have something to do w ith the confession scene that was happening on when you left ?”

Mirabelle screwed her eyes shut. A nod.

“Do you.... want to talk about it?” She asked, and even with her eyes closed she could practically see the tension in Odile’s frame.

She quickly shook her head.

“Ok. Good. Because I’d be the wrong person to talk to anyways.” Odile said, not missing a beat as she relaxed.

Mirabelle laughed a little at the blunt statement, feeling her own shoulders unwind as well . She didn’t really want to think about this right now, let alone talk about it.

The silence afterwards was awkward, and Mirabelle tried to think of something to say that wouldn’t send the conversation spiraling back into discomfort.

Odile, thankfully, did it before she had to . “Well then, since we’re both here, and Bonnie’s snacks are back with them in the theater, maybe we can look around and see if there’s anything to eat. I’m starving.”

Mirabelle found that she was also a bit hungry- she hadn’t eaten much during the play. And a distraction sounded great right now. “I’d love to, Madame. Do you have any ideas?”

They both got up from the bench, and began walking towards the busier downtown area, more likely to have food available at this hour. “There was a stall selling takoyaki- it’s been ages since I’ve had any...”