A/N: Izetta the Last Witch + trigender. Threat of genderqueer-based violence.
My computer crashed...5x over the past week? I lost count. Been trying to post this for forever and ALSO reply to all the lovely comments from you lovelies. ^^ I'll get to it as soon as tech lets me. xoxo
With Arms Spread Wide
Finé spread her arms.
"Stop," she commanded the crowd. Even at eleven, she had that kind of voice.
Behind her, Izetta still hadn't lifted their head. Crouching, they fisted the tails of their shirt and made painful little noises as tears dripped into the dirt.
The people in front of Finé hadn't backed off.
"This child is one those. You're too young to know. Small lady, please. Move."
Bold, talking to her so. Did the woman not know who she was? Ortfiné von Eylstadt put on all the imperial glory her small body could hold.
"You will leave this girl alone. Walk away now and I will forget your insolence."
She'd heard her parents say things like that many times. It always got people scared and bowing.
Not this time.
Someone tried to get around her, and when Finé spread her arms wider, someone else grabbed her wrist and yanked her to the side, sending her tumbling to the dirt.
"No!" she screamed, but it wasn't for her, for the pain that slid through her hip, for the dirt on her dress for which she'd get an earful.
The people surrounded the little red-haired child and someone kicked out, though they didn't actually hit Izetta—clearly they were still uncomfortable with hurting a child. Not that that said a great deal for their humanity at this point.
Izetta wore a makeshift set of trousers. Finé had the idea that that wouldn't usually be part of the villagers' anger—sometimes women went around in trousers, and it wasn't a big deal—but all the other weirdnesses compounded with those baggy, misshapen clothes got into their heads and spelled WRONG.
Izetta and Finé were too young for anyone to tell their sex. Still children. Yet adults thought that sort of thing was important to know anyway. So they looked at the barrettes in Izetta's hair and decided they must be a girl. But they burped like a boy and curtseyed like a girl. They used whichever loo was closest. They had painted three of their fingernails black, which didn't fit any gender type.
Izetta was just 'weird' to the villagers. To Finé, they were wonderful.
Finé was still prying herself off the muddy ground, her hipbone and cheek smarting from the impact. Izetta hadn't moved except to curl tighter in on themself.
Finé saw it just before it happened.
"No, please!" she shouted. "Don't!"
But the person who had kicked dust at Izetta kicked again—and caught Izetta in the side.
Izetta went down like a struck dog: a squeal and then silence. Sprawling, one of their hands landed next to someone's boot and Finé's heart shot into her throat as she saw that boot come down on Izetta's fingers.
They didn't crush them, just tapped, but it was menacing enough.
"Get out of here," the one who had kicked Izetta hissed. "We won't touch a child, but you need to leave and never come back."
Wouldn't touch a child. Hah.
Limping and gasping at the surprising pain in her hip, Finé pushed between them and nearly fell on Izetta, arms spread wide again, facing the crowd.
"Don't kick her again!" she yelled. She knew her royal nature was gone, but that didn't matter. She was desperate.
One of the women gasped and reached a hand toward her. When Finé flinched, the woman drew back, but Finé realized the woman hadn't been about to hit her. Instead, the woman's gaze was on her cheek, where Finé felt a strange, smooth heat.
The moment had broken some of the tension in the others, who backed up a step. Finé grabbed the advantage by turning around, halling Izetta up by their arm, and pushing them toward the woods.
"Go," she insisted.
Izetta's face was red and swollen from tears. There was a mark on their neck from earlier.
Finé wanted to arrest everyone.
But she settled for turning back around, keeping her arms wide, and backing into the woods, glare trained on the villagers who watched her in shocked silence.
Her last glimpse of them before they disappeared into the foliage showed them all still frozen.
She and Izetta stumbled through the underbrush—it wasn't thick, but they were both unsteady. They kept walking, though, farther, away.
"Where are you hurt?" Finé panted as they came at last to the pond where they'd first met. It was safe here. Nobody knew about this place.
Izetta spread their hands over their ribs without speaking.
Appreciating the three dark fingernails—there were sparkles on them, Finé now saw, like stars in the night—Finé carefully tried to move Izetta's hands. They resisted, stepping back from her with worry and fear in their eyes.
"Izetta…"
Izetta's hands came away, but not to show their ribs. They reached up and before Finé could do anything had touched her face.
"You're b-bleeding," Izetta whispered.
Finé started.
"Oh no. I can't come home like this. How bad is it?"
Izetta spread their fingers over the wound, smearing the blood across Finé's cheek. Then there was warmth, and a feeling of light, and the pain was gone.
"Better," Izetta said. "You're all better."
They blushed and pull their hands away. Finé saw a flash of red on their fingers.
"Thank you."
Finé caught their wrist.
"Now you."
"I can't do that to myse—"
"No," Finé said. "Not with magic. For me to check and see. May I?"
As Finé's fingers hovered at the edge of Izetta's shirt, they looked scared. But they nodded.
Finé lifted the garment just enough to see redness covering Izetta's ribs. She pressed carefully, getting a moan of pain from Izetta, but Finé finished her inspection and sighed in relief.
"Nothing is broken."
"Thank you, Goddess," Izetta whispered.
"But it'll bruise painfully." Finé glanced around. "Let's get in the cool water. That will help with swelling."
Izetta's fear returned in a blink.
"I c-can't swim," they stuttered.
"I'll hold you."
"But I… You mean—not wearing any clothes?"
Finé shrugged. "I'm taking my skirt off at least. Your body naturally tries to float, but clothes get heavy and pull you down."
As Finé stripped out of her outer dress and petticoats, Izetta's eyes went wide, then they looked to the side.
"But I'm...I'm not...I thought you thought…"
As Izetta stuttered on, Finé decided she might as well strip down the rest of the way. It wasn't like it was weird. Servants washed her daily.
Bravely, Finé dipped her toes in the pond and found it wasn't too chilly.
"Oo, this is very refreshing," she enthused, sliding into the water. When she glanced back at the bank, Izetta had their hands over their eyes.
"Are you in?"
"Yes," Finé laughed.
Izetta pried their hands away from their eyes, blushing.
"You got naked!" they squeaked in reprimand.
"It's nicer this way."
"I won't do that," Izetta said stubbornly. "I'm keeping my smallclothes on."
"That's fine. You don't have to do things like me."
As Izetta daintily took off their trousers and jacket, they said, "Girls and boys aren't supposed to bathe with each other."
"But you're not a boy."
Izetta looked up sharply.
"You're not a girl, either," Finé said.
"What am I?" Izetta asked, and Finé could tell Izetta wasn't asking because they were unsure, but because they wanted to know Finé's answer.
"You're you," Finé said simply.
"I'm both," Izetta said. "And neither, all at once."
Treading water, Finé tilted her head.
"What's that called?"
"I don't know," Izetta mumbled. "My grandmother calls it the third gender. She says I'm all three. She says that's called trigender."
Trigender. Finé tucked the word away in the precious place in her heart.
Down to shorts and a linen undershirt, Izetta took a tentative step toward the water.
"What's your body, then?" Finé asked curiously.
Years later, she would be mortified she asked. But she was too young to know it was disrespectful, and she was at the age where body parts were a curious thing. And it did clear things up for them in adulthood later, Finé already knowing what was underneath the trousers and skirts Izetta switched between. So that when they curled up in bed, they didn't have to figure out how to ask all the questions…
Those many nights together. Many, many nights. And after the war, every night. Finé went all or nothing in the things she loved, and with Izetta it was all. Always.
Luckily at this time Izetta was too young—and too familiar with Finé—to find the question impertinent.
"Clit," they stammered out.
"Okay," Finé said. "Are you coming in?"
"You don't think I'm a girl?" Izetta asked.
"No. You said you're triple…tri…." Finé pretended not to know. Trigender.
"Yes," Izetta said without correcting her. "But they thought…"
"I don't care what they thought," Finé said, a little harshly. "I'm not them."
Izetta beamed.
As the sunlight streamed down, Finé floated up on her back, feeling the water lapping at her skin. A rustle and then she heard Izetta splash in to join her, gasping and squeaking at the cold.
"You'll adapt to it, silly," Finé laughed, rolling over.
Tentative, Izetta stepped deeper in as Finé watched them. When they held out a hand to her, trusting, warmth spread through her chest. Izetta trusted her.
And Finé trusted them, too. Despite the fact that three servants saw her nude everyday, Finé knew getting naked with someone meant you trusted them not to hurt you. She knew she could trust her life to Izetta.
The red bruises on Izetta's side made Finé's heart hurt, but nothing could overcome her enthusiasm now that they were safe. Grabbing Izetta's hand, Finé pulled them deeper into the water until it was past their waists, Izetta shrieking and clinging to her arm.
"It's okay," Finé laughed. "I'm going to teach you to float."
"I can float," Izetta said austerely. And suddenly they rose out of the water to lie in the air, waving their arms in awkward swimming gestures.
Finé watched in awe.
"Can you teach me magic?" she asked.
"No," Izetta admitted, floating back down and latching back onto Finé's shoulder as they re-entered the water. "But I can take you up there with me."
"Can we around the forest together?" Finé asked excitedly. "After we wash?"
"Yes," Izetta grinned. "Of course."
Beaming, Finé splashed them, Izetta shrieking happily and retaliating. They teased and chased each other until they were soaked, then Finé taught Izetta the basics of swimming. By the time they were done, gleefully exhausted, Izetta pulled her into a hug.
"Thank you, my lady," they whispered. "You're my hero."
There, foreheads touching, Finé sighed and felt for the first time like a normal child: not a princess, not a lady, not even a girl. Just a person.
"Come on," Izetta said with a grin. "Let's fly."
Finé's favorite words for years to come.
A/N: I've had this idea since I first watched ItLW. They're the sweetest pair.