Archive of Our Own

It had been six months since the group had beaten the king. Time had passed for the most part. Siffrin was still healing mentally and physically from the time loops. It was a long journey, but it was going well.

Things had been going well for the rest of the group too. Bonnie had reunited with their sister Petronille. It wasn’t an easy transition.

She still was wary of the group, even if she was grateful for the group taking care of Bonnie. It took a few months for the tension to die and a further month to convince her to travel with them. Which is how the group found themselves in this strange situation.

Bonnie held up a flyer they had found in town. “Check it out! Check it out!”

A crafted drawing of a house of change decorated the paper. Above it read Les Sauveurs Du Temps. Underneath it listed the address of the local theater and the actors.

“Is this a play?” Petronille asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s not just any play! Look!” They pointed to another part of the flyer.

A true story of the saviors of Vaugarde.

Petronille laughed. “Well ain’t that something!”

Odile took the paper from them and looked it over. Her expression dropped as she read it.

“Gems alive, they made a play about us?” She muttered.

“Was your adventure really that exciting? I don’t think people want to see a play where nothing happens.” Petronille scoffed at the idea.

“Well it was more exciting than that.” Isabeau glanced back at Siffrin. “Are you fine with seeing this?”

He twiddled his thumbs. Eyes drifted towards the ground.

The group hadn’t told a soul about what happened during the final leg of the journey. Nille didn’t even know the whole story.

So the odds of a time loop in the play were slim.

He glanced back at the others. “Yeah… we should see it. They’ll probably get everything wrong.”

It didn’t take long for the small group to find the theater in the center of town. It wasn’t too crowded.

“I can’t believe you convinced us to see this.” Odile sat behind Isa, Mira, and Siffrin. Bonnie and Nille sat next to her.

“At least we got good seats, most people would kill for these seats.” Siffrin beamed.

It was a nightmare trying to keep the ticket taker from giving them the tickets for free. Mirabelle didn’t like the attention she got from being a savior and preferred to pay where she could. It took some time but they finally compromised on getting seats in the first two rows at a discounted price.

“How true to life do you think this will be?” Mirabelle mused.

“Doubt it’s anything like our adventure.” Siffrin shrugged. “Knowing how these things go they’ll probably gloss over the boring parts and skip a few things… hopefully a lot of certain things.”

“No forever school?” Bonnie asked.

“No forever school.” Siffrin nodded sagely.

The torches lighting the theater dimmed. Music from the small orchestra swelled. The stage was crafted to look like the inside of House of Change. A couple extras mingled around dressed up like housemaidians.

A loud boom soon echoed onto the stage. The extras fled in terror. Enter the villain of the story.

The actor playing the king stepped forward onto the stage. The big armor was almost one to one accurate with the King’s armor, though the stars on the gauntlets were weirdly shaped. They stood tall and imposing, like the real deal. A hand stretched out towards the audience, who jeered the oppressive figure.

“This world… the very nature of change… it disgusts me…” he turned towards another actor that had stepped onto the stage. “Wouldn’t you agree?”

The new actor wore a long flowing darkless dress that sparkled under the spotlight. The wig they wore was ridiculous. With it nearly touching the floor, the actor would trip over it if they stepped the wrong way.

“No, I would never agree to this. This world needs change to survive. To thrive. All you are doing is denying the people their freedom. Don’t you see how you’re hurting them.” Euphrasie’s actor waved their hands wildly, emphasizing towards the audience.

The king held out a hand, gently caressing their face. “I don’t care what the people want…. A king is a tyrant. A fool who only cares for themselves.” He turned back to the audience. “Besides, there is none that can oppose my power…. I am INVINCIBLE!!!” The king laughed.

The lighting shifted, casting a dark shade over the stage that spread from the king. It resembled the time craft he used. It spread up the walls, stalking around Euphrasie, like a shark smelling blood. She took a step back, but the curse caught her in place. The shade crawled up her dress. She laughed in defiance.

“You fool, there is one who will vanquish you.” Eupharsie shouted as the last of the time craft swallowed her.

“Who! Who could possibly resist my power!” The king shouted. The stage grew dark. The sound shuffling of feet echoed as the actors and stagehands shifted around the stage.

“Is that how it really went down?” Isa whispered.

“No… there wasn’t enough time. The King rushed in and froze everything.” Mirabelle shifted in her seat. “I’m sure that if Euphrasie had that much to chat with the king then she would have blessed more people besides me.”

“And it sounds like she isn’t the one blessing you in this story.” Siffrin added.

“And that.” Mirabelle pouted.

Mist poured onto the stage. A spotlight shone onto the lone actor. She wore a long puffy dress with a rope-like belt around her waist. A dark shawl covered her shoulders adorned with two brooches. They were concentric circles with small teardrops hanging from them. Their hair was kinky and adorned with a small cute bow.

It was the spitting image of Mirabelle.

In the audience, Mirabelle’s eyes sparkled. “Oh, look at her!”

Isa gasped as well. “She looks just like you. It’s amazing. They even got your brooches right down to the teardrops.”

“They even go ding ding when she walks.” Siffrin added.

Mirabelle giggled. “Ding! Ding!”

“Ding! Ding!” Isabeau added.

A handful of popcorn hit the three of them in the back of the head.

“Shut up! Some of us are trying to watch the show.” Nille snapped.

“Yeah! Shut up!” Bonnie shouted as well.

“Oh… what am I to do?” Mirabelle’s actor walked along the stage, looking forlorn. “The king has struck. The house will be frozen. And soon all of Vaugarde will be frozen in time.”

She clasped her hands together. “Please… won’t someone help us?”

“DID SOMEONE SAY HELP?” A platform raised in the center of the stage. At first no one was there. A cloth swooshed from the darkness, revealing a cloaked actor. The cloak glowed with an ethereal light. Their face was obscured by a lightless scrim, but a pair of eyes glowed under the hood.

Mirabelle gasped. Her eyes lit up as a few grateful tears fell from her eyes. “The change god? You’ve come to help us?”

“Yes! I can’t have my country fall to stagnation. We need to change. To live. To grow. “ the change god waved his hands. “Now be blessed!”

The mist swirled around her. A flash of light shone brightly.

“You met the change god?” Nille gaped her mouth in awe.

Mirabelle shifted uncomfortably and stared at the floor. “Well… no, that wasn’t how it happened. The change god never showed up at any point in our journey.”

Siffrin held his tongue for now. They didn’t want to think about the loops. Or about how the Change God was amused by their suffering.

Were they truly only a plaything to the gods?

“Oh, that’s lame.” Nille muttered, crossing her arms. “Not like the change god does anything for us, but it still would have been cool.”

“It is a play, they’re allowed to take some liberties.” Isabeau shrugged.

“I feel different somehow.” The actor stared at her hands before looking up to the change god.

“I have given you power!” They waved their arms. “Now the king can’t freeze you.”

“Thank you.”

“Yeah no problem. Now go into the world and gather the orbs. They will grant you full power. The ability to defeat the king.”

The group’s faces fell flat. Mira slumped back down in her chair and sighed.

“What?” Isabeau muttered, clicking his tongue in disapproval.

“What? What’s wrong now?” Petronille glanced between all of them.

“The orbs weren’t there to grant us power. They opened the door to the house of change.” Mirabelle shook her head in disappointment. “Everyone knows that, how could they mess up something so small, but so important?”

“So they were keys?” She asked.

“Basically.”

The light went dim as the mist vanished. When the light returned Mirabelle stood face to face with the king. She drew her rapier ready to strike. The audience cheered. The king only laughed.

“Do you truly think you can defeat me?” The king pointed. “Many have tried… none succeeded… what makes you think you’re different?”

“I have something on my side. Something you can’t beat!”

“Well, we shall see about that.”

The lights swirled around Mirabelle, tainting the set with that dark shade. But no matter what the king did, the shade would not touch Mirabelle.

“What is this!” The king shouted, taking a step back. “My power…. It cannot touch you!”

“I told you that you can’t beat me! Now take this!” She struck the king, he didn't even flinch.

“Even if you resist my power, you still cannot beat me. My power comes from a stronger source you can’t hope to overcome.” He struck Mirabelle, sending her to the floor. “If I can’t freeze you, then perish!”

The king raised his hand, but a bright light blinded him. “What is this?”

Mirabelle took the moment of distraction to run. The king gave chase, but he was too slow to catch her.

“Run, little savior run. You can’t hope to defeat me. This country will freeze!”

“I can’t do this on my own. I need help.”

The stage went dark once more as the stagehands moved the props. The lights went up on a cityscape. Some extras talked about the current events.

“Did you hear about the king?”

“The one that’s freezing the land.”

“Yeah, some small towns are already frozen in place. The people are stuck in time like statues.”

“Oh no, I hope it doesn’t happen here.”

“Don’t worry there’s someone blessed by the change god themself who will defeat him. They can’t be frozen and they’re on a mission to save us.”

On cue Mirabelle walked onto the scene. Her hands clasped, expression forlorn. The extras on stage waved or pointed, whispering that she was a savior. She sadly waved back.

“Oh woe is me. The defenders will not help. This country will be frozen if I can’t do anything to help. But who will help me? Am I to do this on my own.”

“Wait!”

A new actor stepped onto the scene. He wore a darkless long sleeved shirt with a lightless sweater on top and striped pants. For some reason they swapped out his brass knuckles for a sword.

Siffrin chuckled. “Well he certainly is handsome.”

Isabeau’s face went dark. A small shrill noise escaped his lips. “SIF!”

“What? It's true!” Siffrin stuck out his tongue.

“You can’t say things like that, I have a sensitive soul.”

“Ugh, get a room.” Petronille threw another handful of popcorn at them.

On the stage Isabeau took Mira’s hand.

“It was cruel of the defenders to reject your plea for help.”

“I understand though. The weight of saving the country is too great for most people. But their job is to defend, so why can’t they help?”

“They are scared. Fear does weird things to people.” Isa bowed to Mirabelle. “But please, if you will have me, I will gladly stay by your side and protect you on your journey.”

He offered a hand to her.

Mirabelle smiled and took his hand. “I will gladly accept your offer.”

Isabeau raised her hand and gently kissed it.

The music swelled romantically as the two actors gazed into each other’s eyes.

Various awws came from the audience surrounding the group. The saviors cringed in their seats.

“Well… that’s certainly a turn...” Odile muttered. She rubbed a temple, a headache creeping on her. If they were taking this many liberties in their story, she dreaded her eventual appearance in the story.

Shock rooted Isabeau and Mirabelle to their seats.

“Are they…” the words were stuck in her throat. She nervously played with her brooches.

“I think they are.” Isabeau’s jaw had fallen into his chest.

Meanwhile Siffrin laughed between them like someone had told the funniest joke.

“It’s not funny!” Mira snapped.

“Sorry… sorry…” Siffrin wiped a tear from his eye. “I just can’t believe someone would try to pair the two of you up.”

“It’s ridiculous.” Mirabelle crossed her arms and huffed.

“Preposterous.” Isa agreed.

“Aww… I think you two look cute together.” Petronille teased.

A couple more scenes had played. They had gotten two of the five orbs they needed to collect. A small budding romance grew between the two leads. Mirabelle kept her head buried in her hands, waiting for this to be over with.

The two of them soon found themselves at a roadblock. A house of change towered above them. The door was frozen solid. It wasn’t opening anytime soon.

Mirabelle held Isabeau’s hand as they stared at the door before them. “This is a tough puzzle.”

“Yeah, I don’t think we can solve this on our own.” Isabeau scratched his chin.

“You whippersnappers really can’t figure this out.”

And now enter Odile. She wore a dark shirt under a lighter jacket. Square glasses adorned her face, though she didn’t have the gems Odile had hanging off her own.

But the actor they picked was super old, almost ancient. She leaned against a cane and looked at the two with a look of disgust.

Odile clenched her fists. Petronille was about to open her mouth to comment on how old she was, but was cut off by a glare from Odile.

“Not… one… word…” Her tone sharpened with disgust.

Petronille shut her mouth.

Odile’s actor rolled her eyes at the other two actors. “You need to use a craft on the symbol that beats the symbol it’s representing.” Indeed the door had symbols for each craft etched into the stone. “Everyone knows that.”

Isabeau rubbed the back of his neck. “Wow, don’t think we could have figured this out on our own.”

“Of course you wouldn’t. Today’s youth do not have any respect for craft.”

“So…” Petronille started.

“No… it wasn’t anything like that.” Isabeau rubbed his temples.

“What are you two doing here anyway?” She pointed at the two. “The world’s getting frozen. Shouldn’t you two lovebirds be at home, embracing and waiting for the end.”

“We can’t.” Isabeau muttered.

“You heard of the saviors… that’s us. We need to find the orbs to save the country.”

Odile stared at the two, eyes darting back and forth between them. “You two are the saviors.”

Mirabelle nodded. “Yes! We are!”

“You two are practically toddlers. You can’t possibly save the country on your own.” She crossed her arms. “You need someone intelligent leading you.”

Mirabelle clapped her hands together and gasped. “You mean you’ll join us?”

“Yes, besides… “ she sighed. “Knowing the fate of the world in the hands of such toddlers would give me an ulcer.”

Odile barked out a laugh. “That is exactly what I would have said.”

“Heh! You got told!” Bonnie said with a laugh.

The scene changed once more, moving the group into a forest scene. A couple stagehands carried trees to simulate them walking on a path. A figure slipped between the trees, but it was too quick to make out.

“Now that we have the chosen one, a fighter, and a smart one, our little group feels more complete.” Mirabelle said as she walked in place.

A creature made of cloth sails lurked between the trees. The actors hadn’t noticed yet.

“I don’t know, I feel like something is missing from our group.”

A growl rang out, alerting the trio to the presence of the monster. A giant sadness twisted and slithered like a giant snake. It was held up by three ropes from the strange hands above. It locked onto the trio.

Mirabelle screamed and hid behind Isabeau who stood in front of the other two, creating a small barrier.

In the audience, Mirabelle tightened her grip on her skirt. Her eyebrows furrowed as she shook in anger. “How could they do this to me?” She snapped.

“Huh?” Isabeau tilted his head at her.

“In the beginning they made me such a fighter, now they have me cowering behind over a stupid sadness.” She crossed her arms and shrunk into herself. It was all she could do to keep herself from leaping to her feet and shouting how out of a character it was.

But before she could complain further, another figure leapt into action. He was small, but powerful. They jumped around the sadness, slashing like crazy. The fight flowed like a well coordinated dance. Blow traded for blow, until the beast fell. It folded to the ground like paper. Stagehands dragged it off stage.

The rogue dusted off his hands and turned to others. “Hey.” He wore a darkless cloak with a matching hat. Their hair was dyed black, identical to how Siffrin’s had been back then. Black gloves covered their hands. They even wore heels.

Siffrin shrunk in his seat. “I think they made you look worse, just to make me look cooler.”

Mira let out a noise of annoyance. “I suppose they did. But why? It just makes me look incompetent as a savior.”

“That was amazing!” Mirabelle’s actor cheered, eyes sparkling.

“Oh it was nothing!” The rogue winked cutely.

“I don’t think any of us have the same moves like that.” Isabeau muttered.

“Seems a little too convenient.” Odile muttered, but no one seemed to notice or comment.

“What’s your name?” Mirabelle asked.

“I am…” the rogue moved their arms with a flair. “Siffrin.”

In the audience, Odile snickered. “Well at least they kept your weird mannerisms.”

Siffrin melted into his chair. “What? I don’t act like that.”

Isabeau snickered. “Sorry Sif, but you kind of do.”

“Need we discuss how you make a show of sneaking around.” Odile teased.

“Or how you scream when you bump into countertops.”

Siffrin buried himself deep into his cloak. “Nya…”

“Nya.” The rest chimed in unison.

Mirabelle didn’t mind the rogue’s flair for the dramatics. She clapped her hands. “We’re the saviors.”

Siffrin tilted their head. “So you’re the ones going after the king? I heard rumors about the country being frozen. But I haven’t seen it myself.”

“How have you missed it?” Odile snapped.

Siffrin shrugged and rubbed the back of his head. “I usually stick to the forest.”

“Well either way, would you like to help us? We could use someone with your skills on our team.”

“Now how can I say no to that? It would be my pleasure to join you.”

Siffrin only slumped more in his seat, internally cringing at the memory of them joining.

“Didn’t you run when we asked?” Mirabelle teased. A small noise of embarrassment left his lips.

“Yes he did, we had to chase him down for a day.” Odile smirked, recalling the memory. Siffrin buried his face in his cloak like a turtle. “We found him up a tree like a scared cat. We had to coax him down with treats.”

“Bonnie huffed. “I can’t believe I used to think you were cool.”

Another noise of embarrassment slipped from his lips. “My reputation, gone.”

The play continued on but it did not get any better. It barely showed them saving Bonnie and skipped Siffrin losing his eye. They reduced collecting the last orbs to a montage.

Finally, the group made it to Dormant. They gathered in the clock tower going over the strategy for overcoming the King. Mirabelle looks uncomfortable as the others discuss how this might turn out. Finally she stands.

“Mirabelle, is everything alright?” Isabeau asks getting up to stand closer to her.

“We’ve been traveling together all this time. I know it hasn’t been easy. We’ve all been through some tough times, but tomorrow we will face the king.”

She paced the stage, looking between each actor. Each wanted to say something. Isabeau reached a hand out to her, desperate to touch her, to comfort her. But no words would form. Siffrin shifted his weight from foot to foot. Bonnie and Odile looked like they wanted to be anywhere besides there.

“I want to protect all of you. But… I don’t think I can anymore. The king will freeze us, maybe we’ll survive. Maybe we won’t. If you want to leave… I don’t blame any of you for leaving.”

Odile scoffed. “It’s a little late for that. Sorry, but you’re stuck with us.”

Isabeau finally stepped forward and took Mira’s hand. “Mira…”

“Isa…” She took his other hand and held it close. A spotlight shone on the two. The music swelled.

“Don’t listen to Odile. Don’t listen to anyone else.” He put a hand to her cheek and caressed it. “I know it hasn’t been a hard few months, but we’ve gotten through it… together. All of us.”

He gestured to the rest of the group. Each pumped their fists, or nodded solemnly.

“We’ll follow you to the ends of the earth.” Siffrin said, smiling brightly.

“Thank you.” Mirabelle beamed. “All of you, I don't know what I’d do without you. Especially you, Isa.”

She leaned in closer. Isabeau held her close. “Mirabelle…” She looked up at him.

“I love you.” He leaned close and kissed her.

Mirabelle buried her head in her hand. “Oh change, why?” She whispered over and over.

Siffrin curled into himself, face contorted as he tried to keep himself from bursting out laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of it all.

“Ha! So you two love each other now.” Petronille teased.

“It’s nothing like that.” Isabeau raised his hands defensively.

Petronille made exaggerated kissy faces as Isabeau.

The two continued to argue and Mirabelle tried to focus on that instead. Siffrin held her hand and smiled a small reassuring smile. She smiled back.

Maybe the rest of the play would be fine.

But the rest of the play only got worse. After a while it blurred together. A darkless noise of events played one after the other.

The travel through the house, fights with sadnesses, even the final fight with the king all blurred into each other. To Mirabelle’s horror it ended with her and Isabeau getting together. The rest of the group broke off like their friendship meant nothing. She kept her head buried in her hands, whispering “why?” over and over again.

The torches illuminated the theater once more. The crowd of people slowly shuffled out. A murmur of muffled voices echoed, discussing the play and how it went. One by one, they fell silent until all that was left was the saviors.

“That was it? Frin didn’t even go all big and attack us.” Bonnie broke the silence.

“What?” Petronille stared at the group, mouth agape.

“Nothing…” Siffrin muttered, looking away from the rest of the group.

“I can’t believe they did that.” Mirabelle finally lowered her hands.

“It was all wrong, every last bit.” Odile stretched as she stood up.

“At least the snacks were good.” Bonnie muttered as they got up. The three of them shuffled out. Siffrin, Isabeau, and Mirabelle sat alone in the theater.

“Let us never speak of this play again.” Siffrin chimed.

“Agreed.”