Hey! This story is basically just a bunch of scenes put together, and it's sort of an odd story. I got the idea from the song Rondo of the Sun and Moon (Taiyou to Tsuki no Rondo), too many games of Crusader Kings, and a smidgen of The Leopard by Giuseppe di Lampedusa (which is an awesome book about the Risorgimento in the 1800s!). I might write an actual (and longer) Rondo of the Sun and Moon story someday, but uh, here's this. I hope you enjoy!

"Do you believe in reincarnation?" Lily asked.

Megurine Luka's face was impassive. She sat across from the queen, a quiet, disciplined statue. "No."

Masuda Lily raised her eyebrows in acknowledgment before she sipped from her cup of tea. "I do. It's like a great cycle, isn't it? Birth, life, death, then birth again. It's a comforting idea."

Luka's brow furrowed. "Why did you ask me this all of a sudden?"

Lily shrugged and put the cup down. "I was thinking. Do you remember the war?"

"The war was a long time ago," said Luka. She had been a child then, watching her father ride out to battle on the side of the Masudas against the ruling Kagamines.

Lily frowned and leaned back in her chair. "It wasn't too long ago. I still remember Len and Rin."

Luka had, in truth, never met them. The Megurines and Kagamines had never seen eye to eye. "They're gone now."

"Yes," Lily whispered. "They're gone now."

-xxx-

"Again."

The dirt filled Luka's mouth. She was staring at the crushed grass, fingers empty. Her practice sword was lying a few feet away. Her muscles ached, and she was beginning to feel the bruises on her body sting. Then, she felt the stiff practice sword hit her backside and she gasped in pain.

"I said, again."

It wasn't worth staying on the ground any longer. Painfully, wincing as she felt the bruises complain, Luka got up to her feet. She half-stumbled over to her sword and snatched it up from the ground. Then, she turned to face the master at arms again, taking pains to retain her proper posture, rearranging her expression so that it was neutral, expressionless.

"It's not worth it," Luki laughed from the sidelines where he stood watching. "You should just give up, Luka."

Luka gritted her teeth and stood straighter. She raised her sword to the ready position, as she had been taught. The master at arms regarded her silently before he attacked, a swift forward lunge. Luka quickly parried it with a circular movement of the wrist, keeping in mind distance as she backed up. Never get too close. She ignored the complaints of her body, the weariness, and focused only on making the most economical movements.

"Why aren't you attacking?" Luki shouted. "You're just running away!"

Shut up, Luka thought at him, but her brother's mocking laughter followed her. The master at arms pressed his assault, and Luka took a step back, breaths fast as she tried to keep up with the increased tempo of the bout. Each parry seemed to send shockwaves down her arm. The last one was not a parry at all – the master at arm's blow wrenched the sword from her hand with the force of it, and before Luka knew it, the tip of the practice sword was at her throat.

Luki burst into new hysterics. He was bent over double, laughing like he had never seen anything so funny before. Luka felt tears threaten behind her eyes, and she fought them back. Megurines never cried. Megurines were dignified and strong, and Luka had to be strong too.

It was with a weary sigh when the master at arms stepped back. "I see that I won't get anything more from you today," he said, before he turned his attention to Luki. "Luki. Your turn." He gestured at the fallen sword, and grinning Luki walked over and picked it up.

"Watch how it's done," said Luki as he raised his sword, and Luka watched as the rings of swords clashing echoed in the training yard.

She couldn't understand it. How was it so easy for Luki? He treated fighting like playing, a wide smile on his face as he fought. He moved like water. The match went on for far longer than Luka's, though in the end, the master at arms apparently tired of it, swiftly disarming Luki and sending the sword spiraling out of his hand.

"You're too confident," he said. "Too many holes are open in your defense."

Luki laughed. "I'll fix them next time."

-xxx-

"Ah, Megurine Luka!" Gumi cried as she spread her arms in welcome. "I am honored that you decided to grace my realm with your presence."

Luka frowned. "I come here every day." It was one of her duties as the captain of the Queen's guard, after all. One had to be ever alert to threats against the kingdom, and Gumi was the spymaster.

"And I am more and more honored with each visit. Please, take a seat." Gumi began to clear away the heaps of paper on her desk, moving them to the side. They were so chaotically spread out that Luka wondered how Gumi could get anything done.

"Is there anything new?" Luka asked as she sat.

"Every day has something new," said Gumi. "But let's begin with something light. The Hatsunes' third daughter - Miku - is finishing her studies with the Shions in the Blue Kingdom. She will be staying here, for some time."

Luka nodded absently. It was not uncommon for whatever students the Shions had to make a stop at the Yellow Kingdom before going home, since the two were in relatively close proximity. "Well, that's hardly surprising."

"No," said Gumi, her voice suddenly becoming lower. She glanced at the door, securely closed, before leaning forward on the desk. "The surprising part is this. I have received a report from one of my sources from Morado."

Luka's brows furrowed. "Morado?" A major port town, under Gakupo's jurisdiction. "What is happening there? That's so far away."

Gumi cleared her throat and began to shift through the papers on her desk. "An innkeeper reported to me that a pair of twins, male and female, arrived at the town. That isn't too unusual, but the twins are blonde, with the blue eyes of the Kagamines. A sailor said they returned on a metal ship, but I suspect he was seeing things. Metal ships are impossible."

"The Kagamines are...alive?" Luka said, slowly. She ignored the metal ship - a boatman's sea dream - and calculated in her head. The fall of the Kagamines was...fourteen years ago. The twins, if they survived, would be sixteen now. "But...but that's impossible. There is nothing beyond the sea. No one who went out too far ever returned."

Gumi smiled. "Who knows? Perhaps they stayed on their little boat for fourteen years. The scales of fish could have covered their ship and made it seem metal."

"That is impossible," said Luka.

"Them somehow finding another land beyond the sea is equally impossible," said Gumi with a shrug. "Them being alive in the first place is impossible. The Masudas are usually...thorough, in their actions."

Luka stared down at her hands. The Kagamines were alive - but that couldn't be. It could only be a misidentification. However, Luka was careful. As the captain of the guard, sworn to protect the Queen, she had to look into every possibility. If the Kagamines were indeed alive, doubtless they would want to take the throne.

"We could always arrange an assassination," Gumi said.

Luka shot Gumi a glare. "We don't know if these are the Kagamines yet," she said. "I will not have you killing innocents on guesses from innkeepers and delusions of sailors."

Gumi laughed. "So honorable! What would you have me do, then?"

"Watch them," said Luka. "Is that all?"

"I suppose that is all of interest," said Gumi. "At any rate, the Kagamines arriving and Miku coming to our Yellow Kingdom...it all matches up rather well, don't you think?"

Luka's eyes narrowed. "What?"

"The Hatsunes weren't happy with the Masudas taking the throne," Gumi said. "They were close with the Kagamines for generations."

Luka shook her head, but Gumi's suspicions were usually on the mark. No matter how improbable it seemed, she had to consider it. Saying nothing, Luka turned and left Gumi's cluttered room, thoughts churning in her head.

-xxx-

When Hatsune Miku arrived, Luka disliked her. Her ways were odd, after having lived so long in the Blue Kingdom, and her arrival coincided with the rumors, growing day by day, more and more numerous, of the Kagamines.

Miku was a cheerful, outgoing girl. Her smile was like a beam of light, the day's breaking dawn. Her laughter could be heard in the halls of the old castle as she made friends with everyone. Once, Luka had even walked in on her trying to learn how to shoe a horse from the stablemaster, a man known only as Big Al.

Luka avoided her as much as possible. There was something off about Miku, she felt. She was too happy, too innocent, in these troubled times.

"You're so suspicious, Luka," Lily would tease her, laughing. "Do you truly believe that Miku is plotting against me with the Kagamines? We don't even know if those twins really are the Kagamines yet! I pity them. It must be hell, trying to get by with spies following them everywhere."

"I am the captain of the Queen's guard, Your Grace," Luka would reply. "It is my duty to be suspicious. And they do fit the description."

Lily would smile. "True. But many people do. Don't you think you should have a little more fun with your life? You're still young. It's too early for you to be acting the stern captain."

-xxx-

"It must be difficult," said Miku, her voice clear and sweet in the fading summer, "being captain of the guard."

Luka focused on the road ahead. She had been walking around the grounds when Miku had suddenly appeared from nowhere and, completely against Luka's will, joined her. "It is my duty to serve the Queen," Luka said. "As such, I have no complaints."

Miku laughed. "So serious! Well, your brother is the same. How is he faring?"

Luki was, in fact, currently deeply entangled in his own romantic intrigues and ignoring the upkeep of the demesne - something that Luka found deeply distressing. She had no desire to tell Miku of this, however. "He is well," said Luka. "In good health."

Miku's grin was radiant. For a moment, in the sunlight, she looked beautiful - the Hatsunes were always good looking. "That is good to hear. Times have been troubled after the fall of the Kagamines."

Those words, pronounced so casually, immediately sent a thrum of tension through Luka's body. "Troubled?"

Miku shrugged, gracefully. Luka tried not to notice the way the light played with her hair. "Well, every period of transition has its problems. Of course, the Megurines stay steadfast despite that. Your family has always been close to the Masudas, is that not so?"

"I would think," said Luka, "that my position as the captain of the guard should give no question of my loyalty to the queen."

"Ah," said Miku, and she smiled. "Forgive me. I did not mean to question it. I was only commenting on how admirable it is to observe such loyalty in these troubled times."

"Loyalty is one of our house words, Hatsune."

"Such formality, Megurine," Miku playfully replied. "I thought we had a better relationship than that."

Luka felt her dislike solidify into a hard ball in her gut. "Our relationship has always been this formal."

"Oh?" said Miku, softly.

-xxx-

The Masudas ruled now. Her father had come back from the war a different man. When Luka ran out to meet him, he had smiled and hugged her, but his face was drawn and pale. Though there was a feast, her father only drank, and he only spoke quietly to Luka's mother.

"Why isn't he happy?" Luka asked, staring at him. He won, right? The war was over too. It made no sense.

Luki shrugged. "I don't know. He could just be tired. It was a long battle."

It was. The war against the Kagamines had stretched on for a year - a long, cold year of worrying, sending out messages that were never responded to. The Masudas were in power now. Luka couldn't imagine it.

"They say that all the Kagamines are dead," Luki said, his voice lowering to a whisper. "They say that the queen had tried to escape, taking her children with her, over the seas."

Luka's eyes widened. "But there's nothing beyond the seas," she said. "There's the islands, but they couldn't have run there, the Masudas are from the islands. Beyond that, there's nothing...right?"

"Yeah," said Luki, his normally cheery eyes dark. "There's nothing out there but water."

Luka sat and stared at her soup. Her stomach churned as she tried to imagine it - the queen desperate and scared, her children - there had only been two, a pair of twins, she was so young - crying as the boat rocked against the crashing, turbulent waves. It was a hopeless journey. There was nothing out there. Luka swallowed. And...all the other Kagamines were dead. How could that have happened? Try as she might, she couldn't see it. An entire family, wiped out. It was awful; barbaric, even.

"That's horrible," Luka whispered.

Luki shrugged as he stared at his food. "That's life."

-xxx-

"Tell me," said Miku, "do you believe in love at first sight?"

"No," said Luka, but her voice was shaking and she sounded not at all like the serious and honorable captain of the guard. She was aware, too aware, of the heat of Miku's body, the softness of Miku's hair. She was so close. Luka tried to cast her mind back, tried to trace what got her in this situation, but there was nothing but a jumbled mess and Miku's blue eyes, clear and enticing. Luka couldn't think, not with Miku so near. The ball of dislike rolled around Luka's stomach, but maybe the dislike wasn't dislike at all. Maybe it was something else, because Luka was sure that if you disliked someone, you wouldn't...you wouldn't...

Miku laughed, distracting Luka from her thoughts. She placed a hand on Luka's cheek. Miku's fingers were warm. "I do."

Luka wanted to step away. She wanted to be anywhere but here, trapped between Miku and the wall. Her arms were limp and useless. Her throat was dry. Her heart was a pounding beat keeping time with her own erratic breaths. The scent of fruits and flowers, the formal fragrance of roses, a hint of orange blossom, rose from Miku and that terrified Luka more than anything else. Luka's eyes fixed on the silver moon on Miku's necklace, glinting in the light.

In her mind's eye, the gardens of the Megurines flashed, brought on by the floral scent of Miku's perfume, and Luka shivered, her thoughts as slippery as minnows. She couldn't...she shouldn't..

"You're so cold," Miku murmured, and she brought her lips to Luka's.

-xxx-

"I see that you have been enjoying the attentions of Hatsune Miku," said Gumi when Luka next saw her.

Luka paled. She had been certain that no one had seen. Besides, Miku and Luka rarely communicated in public. "How did you..."

Gumi laughed. "Please, Luka. No one else in here uses that particular blend of scents for their perfume."

Luka felt her cheeks flush, but she fought the urge to smell herself for any lingering traces of Miku. She had to keep her dignity intact. "I am...not here to discuss Hatsune Miku," she said.

"Really? You discuss her with me all the time. She has been your favorite subject lately. Are you sure?"

Luka frowned. Gumi was always like this, but Lily liked her and so Luka had to put up with her teases. "I am sure. I wish to know if you know about the Kagamines."

"Ah," said Gumi. "The Kagamines. They have been very quiet...which is suspicious in and of itself. After all, the Masudas did usurp the throne in a...contentious manner."

"The Kagamines want it back," Luka muttered. "I'm sure of it. They aren't in Morado anymore, then?"

"My sources said they left...and they haven't appeared anywhere else. Nothing, from any town," Gumi shook her head. "Be careful, Luka. Try not to be too distracted. You're blind enough as it is."

-xxx-

"Do you know anything about the Kagamines?" Luka asked one day, after many days. She feared the answer - knowledge of the Hatsunes' historically close relationship with the Kagamines ran around in her head. However, when Luka was young, she hadn't heard anything about Miku back then. Maybe Miku was one of the few Hatsunes who didn't support the Kagamines, but maybe she was, and if she was, then...Luka didn't want to think about it.

Miku looked at her and smiled. "Why would I know anything about them? I thought the Masudas killed them all." She said the words lightly, despite its serious content. "That war was a long time ago, wasn't it? We were only children then."

So Miku didn't know about the living twins, still out there. Luka felt the relief crash over her, so palpably present, and without knowing she pulled Miku into an embrace from behind. Miku gave out a light gasp of surprise, and Luka buried her nose in Miku's hair. The sweet scent of flowers and fruit surrounded them.

-xxx-

A soldier had died in the gardens of the Megurines.

The stench of his rotting flesh mixed with the varied scents of the flowers, disguised. Visitors had sniffed the air and smiled at the beauty of it all, the almost overwhelming mix of smells from all over the world. When the body was discovered, it was discovered by Luka, who had gone exploring in the garden that day, heart light as the air. She would be seeing Lily, the new princess and her best friend, soon, and she was getting better at her studies and her swordsmanship. Her father even said that Luka might grow up to be on the Queen's guard someday.

Humming to herself, Luka climbed up trees, nimble as a squirrel, and ate its fruits happily, feeling the sweet burst of juice in her mouth. Fingers sticky, she picked flowers, careful not to touch the rare ones. Hiyama had drilled into her head which fruits were good to eat, which flowers were allowed to pick.

Knee-deep in leaves and plants and life, Luka did not realize anything was wrong until she stepped into a cloud of insects and flies.

Luka did not scream. She was a daughter of the Megurines, and the Megurines had their dignity. Her shoe had sunk into the rotting flesh of a dead man, soft and giving, blood crusted on his shirt and his mouth gaping, wriggling maggots within the darkness, the stench of the dead stronger now but still disguised by the sweet smells of the garden, but Luka did not scream.

-xxx-

"We've heard nothing about the Kagamines for months," Lily huffed. "Gumi can be wrong, Luka. She has been wrong before. Really, they could have just been a normal pair of twins. It's been months."

"Taking thrones is a process that is longer than a month," said Luka.

Lily laughed. "You're so serious. What happened to the girl I knew in my youth?"

The soldier in the garden, the rotting, cloying smell of sweet fruits and flowers, flashed in Luka's eyes, hung in her nostrils. "We are no longer children, Your Grace."

Lily's smile flickered. "Joy can last beyond childhood, Luka."

-xxx-

"You're so serious," Miku said. "You should smile more. Do you want to walk with me? We can see the stars. It is almost time for them to come out."

"I have to wake early tomorrow," Luka said, but there was no force behind her words and she was already following Miku even as her mouth put up the token protest.

"Come on," said Miku. "You could use the relaxation." Laughing, her hair almost glowing in the moonlight, Miku pulled Luka to her by the sleeves of her uniform and hugged her tight. "I love you, Luka."

Luka's heart thumped painfully in her chest. For some reason, Miku's words were enough to drive her nearly to tears, but the Megurines never cried, so Luka only blinked rapidly against the darkening night sky. There was a bright falling object up there, moving fast among the lights of the stars. Luka opened her mouth to reply to those words, but for some reason, the three words Miku had said so easily, so carelessly, could not come out of her mouth. They stuck in Luka's throat, stubbornly. Luka hoped that her hugging back was enough. It probably wasn't. But Miku knew how Luka felt, right?

"Look," said Miku, pointing. "A shooting star. Quick, make a wish!"

Luka did so. It was a quiet one, a simple one that she folded away into her heart.

"What did you wish for?" Miku asked, childishly happy as she turned to Luka with a smile. "I wished for something too."

Luka felt the muscles around her mouth move in an unfamiliar movement. "I'm not supposed to say what I wished for," said Luka. "Otherwise, it won't come true."

"Right," Miku said, and laughed. "See, I told you you'd look beautiful if you smile."

Luka touched her lips uncertainly, and still laughing Miku took Luka's hand away and pressed her lips against her own.

-xxx-

The Kagamines arrived in a storm of fire, and Luka was running, stumbling, half-blind through the smoke and haze. It was filling up her lungs, and Luka's heart was beating fast, fast, fast. She couldn't find Miku. Her sword slapped against her thigh, useless against the hideous machines of metal the Kagamines brought with them, the technological contraptions of the mysterious lands from where they had escaped to.

Not even Gumi's knowledge stretched that far. They had never known that beyond the churning, frothing waves of the ocean, a land unlike their own had existed. It was a desperate, suicidal journey the Kagamines undertook. The Kagamine queen had hoped against hope, charted the stars to save the last of the Kagamines, and now the twins were here to take back what was theirs.

"Miku!" Luka shouted, her throat feeling scraped raw. "Miku!" She threw open doors, not caring which, and coughed heavily into her coat, eyes desperately searching empty rooms. No matter where she looked, she could not find her.

It had begun like any other day, proceeded like any other day. Thanks to Miku, Luka had been smiling more often, was often seen around the castle talking with others, warmer and friendlier. Both Gumi and Lily remarked on the change, Gumi with laughing teases and Lily with sly innuendo. At lunch, life seemed as though it would carry on the way it always did. Miku was a little distracted, but she would be like that sometimes and Luka thought nothing of it.

But in the middle of a hearty lunch Lily had stopped eating. Her face became a deathly pale. She had felt her throat, and tried to speak. Nothing came out. When Luka went to Lily's side, Lily was dead.

Luka barely had any time to react, to think, to speculate as to how this could have happened, how the poisoned food could possibly have made its way through all the taste testers, before the fires began, set all around the castle. There was screaming in the air, panic, and Luka's thoughts became even more jumbled. Despite that, Luka was certain of one thing. Somehow, they had been betrayed, and not just by one person. By multiple, all in the castle, nursing their grudges against the Masudas.

Luka knew that her duty as the captain of the Queen's guard would be to facilitate the escape of the castle and battle against the invading forces, but her mind was a muddled mess of fire. All she wanted was to find Miku and make sure she was safe. It may have been a sin to ignore her duties, a spit at the ideals of honor and loyalty that the Megurines held so dear, but for once, Luka didn't care. She failed her Queen, but she would not fail Miku, because Miku was-

"Stop," said Gumi as Luka ran blindly past, grabbing her by her arm. Luka turned, faced serious green eyes. "You won't find Miku. Not here."

"She escaped from the castle, then?" Luka asked, chest filling with a wild hope.

Gumi looked at her for a long moment, and then closed her eyes. She let go of Luka's sleeve. "She escaped from the castle, but Luka, I need to tell you, Miku is..."

But Gumi was speaking to air. Luka had gone.

-xxx-

She found her in the ruined gardens.

The plants were dead now, scorched by fire, blackened husks of ash that crumbled when Luka walked past. Some embers still remained here and there, feeding greedily off the dying, scorched earth. There was no smell but the smell of smoke and fire.

Miku was there in the center of it all, standing, blue eyes thoughtful as she examined a delicate flower in her hand, its petals a startling white against the blackened garden. Luka approached her. Gravel crunched under her shoes, mixed with the once life-giving soil.

"Miku?" Luka said. "It's...not safe here. The Kagamines are-"

"I know," Miku interrupted. Her eyes were still focused on the tiny flower. "Look at this. Amazing, isn't it? It survived the fires."

"Miku," Luka began, but there was a click and before Luka knew it, Miku was pointing a handgun at her, but this gun was unlike any Luka had seen before. It was all metal, reflecting gleefully the orange fires in the distance. Not like the flintlocks Luka knew. This one was sleeker. Staring down the barrel, Luka opened her mouth, but could make no sound. Her mind felt as though it was jammed. She could think of nothing, see nothing but the barrel of the foreign gun.

"Don't come closer," Miku said, and that was when Luka's mind kicked back into gear. Today, earlier, Miku had been helping...she was close with the kitchen staff, she was close with everyone in the castle due to her outgoing and friendly nature. The gun was metal, but then again, the sailor did say, so long ago, that the Kagamines arrived in a metal ship. Impossible, impossible, but it was happening. Ice began to creep up Luka's spine, a horrible chill that made her shiver, that sapped the strength from her bones. She felt as though she was falling, even though she was on solid ground.

"You..." Luka said, slowly, eyes widening. "You were helping in the kitchens today, you..."

Miku's lips twitched upward in a smile. "It took you long enough."

It was pointless to draw her sword. Miku could shoot her and kill her before Luka could get it out, anyways. And Luka felt too weak to pull a sword now. Before she knew it, she fell to the burnt ground on both knees, eyes wide as she stared at Miku. Gone was the happy, laughing girl she knew. Before her was someone else, someone Luka did not know at all, a stranger to her. How could she have been with Miku for so long, and not know her at all?

Luka trembled. Her heart was teetering on the edge of some great fall. All of a sudden she remembered her master at arms disarming her so many times, so long ago. Luka had trained hard to get better, pushed herself so that she could live up to the Megurine name, but in the end, she had failed. She failed her family, she failed her duty, and she failed her best friend, lying dead in the dining hall. Luka spent so many hours training, and for what? For this? To stare down the barrel of a foreign gun, pointed at her head by the one she loved?

Megurines did not cry, Luka told herself, She felt wetness slide down her cheeks, but Megurines did not cry.

"I don't..." Luka said, her voice cracking humiliatingly. Her heart was ripping itself apart. She wanted to hate Miku for this, but she couldn't. Even the gun pointing at her was beloved. Shaking, Luka bowed her head. "Are you going to kill me?" She asked the question like a child would. All of a sudden she was back in the Megurine gardens, full of life, eating the sweet fruits and sniffing the flowers, but a dead man was there in that corrupt garden. The flowers were feeding off of him, in the end. The fruit had grown, nourished by his decaying body.

"No," said Miku, and she swiftly knelt down to Luka's level. She placed her hands on her shoulders. "Look at me, Luka."

Reluctantly, Luka raised her eyes and looked at Miku. She could not bring herself to speak.

"I won't hurt you," said Miku. "But...you should go. It's over for you, now."

"Was it all just a game to you?" Luka asked. "Did you seduce me just to distract me from...from this?"

Miku lowered her eyes. "I...in the beginning..." she said, the words sounding as though they were being wrenched from her, one by one, and hearing them was all the confirmation Luka needed. She had been played, like a fool. The great and honorable Megurine Luka, brought down like this, like a stupid, foolish, idiotic girl. She could almost laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. Their relationship had never been alive from the beginning. It was a flower that had bloomed deceased and rotting; Luka had just been too blind to see it, all this time.

"I see," said Luka dryly. "Well then. Congratulations on your victory, Hatsune. You and the Daughter of Evil, a pretty couple-"

"Don't call Rin that," Miku said, harshly. "She's not evil. She's my friend."

She killed my friend, Luka wanted to say. You killed my friend.

Instead, Luka laughed a laugh that bordered on hysteria. It was as though all the emotions she had tried to push back were rushing out now, a river of spite and sarcasm. "Oh! You must forgive me. I suppose she would be Queen Kagamine now. How rude I must have been. What am I now then? An exile?"

Miku was staring at her, but Luka didn't care. She only continued on, her voice overly, obscenely loud in the ruined garden. "I was Lily's closest friend. What would our new, merciful queen do to me, I wonder? Throw me in the dungeons? Or to the torturers? Would she just execute me, a good show for her tea?"

"Stop," said Miku, shaking. "Stop talking. Please."

"No!" Luka shouted, anger filling her heart, the gaping wound of betrayal fueling it. "You did this! Why would you? I...I trusted you, I loved you!" Strange how now, when it no longer mattered, Luka could say those three words, but she didn't wonder, or realize she did. "But it was all just a lie, you were just using me and-" Luka cut off. Miku was hugging her tightly, so tightly Luka could barely breathe.

"It wasn't a lie," Miku was saying, voice thick. Luka could feel Miku's tears wet her shoulder. "It wasn't, I promise."

In Miku's embrace, Luka could almost forget it, but it just hurt too much, and Luka was tired, so tired. She couldn't even hug back, her arms hanging limply by her sides as she trembled. Megurines never cried, but Luka was crying now, deep sobs that shook her entire body as Miku held her tight.

"I love you," Miku whispered as she rubbed Luka's back. "I'm sorry. I wish...I wish I could forget the past, but I can't. I can't forgive the Masudas for what they did to my friends...and...and for what they did to me."

Luka closed her eyes, weariness settling into her bones. Slowly, the sobs abated.

"Please say something," Miku said, her voice quiet and low in the crackling, wartorn wasteland.

"I love you too," said Luka, softly. She just wanted to forget. She wanted to forget everything. None of this ever happened. All there was was Miku, and Miku hugging her, and they were together in a beautiful garden with no secrets, but instead they were in the charred remains of one, and the Queen was dead. There was no way they could escape the past.

Luka opened her eyes, up at the night sky. Over their heads flew a shooting star.

Something in that brought to mind Lily, and Lily laughing as she asked Luka about reincarnation. Birth, life, death, then birth again. An endless cycle, revolution about revolution. At the time, Luka had dismissed the idea, but there was something hopeful in it. If it was true, Lily would be reborn. Luka would too, and Miku, and everyone. There would be more than one chance.

Staring up at the star, Luka made another wish, small and secret as all her wishes were, and folded it away in her heart. She could feel Miku's head buried in her shoulder, so Miku did not see. It was gone now, anyways, and there was nothing but silence in the garden.

"Do you believe in reincarnation?" Luka asked.