Under the light of innumerable chandeliers, Kain von Daphnel rested a hand on her shoulder. "Try to have a little fun, kiddo."
A young Judith rolled her eyes. She hadn't yet grown out her hair, vying instead for a short pixie cut. The legend of the Hero had yet to take root, leaving her a nobody in the sea of nobility. As much of a nobody as a Daphnel could be, at least. "It's a party, of course I will," she brushed off.
Her father laughed, deeply, drawing a few glances. "Right, right. My mistake. Find me if you need me and stay out of trouble." He walked away to mingle with the others of his station.
A ball in Derdriu meant that everyone important was there. Silas von Riegan was celebrating yet another birthday, one high enough that Judith couldn't be bothered to remember. Something about fifty? Or maybe sixty? She couldn't say. Ancient, as far as her young mind was concerned.
Most everyone her age at the celebration danced, focused on wooing and creating political alliances. There, Judith was an outlier. Kain didn't particularly care to force her into anything. Where most fathers pushed their daughters to marry, he told her to enjoy events such as these.
Which wasn't the easiest when so many of the other noble vipers were looking for every advantage they could get. Leander, heir to Gloucester, especially.
So, resigned to a night of irritation, Judith allowed herself to move through the motions. Her dance card was full, a clever little idea for all the noble schemers to carve out a chance to speak with everyone they could. Why bother enjoying to dance when instead they could plot for three to five minutes? Hatch a plan one dance, spring it in a waltz an hour later.
As the moon rose and stars became the sky's freckles, Judith found herself without a moment's respite. Well, that wasn't true. A (very) young Holst Goneril showed up to whisk her away from Gloucester's unwanted advances. Such a cheery boy, not understanding that propriety demanded she follow her dance card.
Not that Judith cared. His impropriety was her boon. Or more like his ignorance.
Unable to resist tousling his hair, she said, "You've got some moves, boy."
Holst preened. "Thank you!"
Cute kid. "Run along now," she said. Then, thinking better, she leaned down to him. "If you see Gloucester trying to talk to me, come save me again, okay?"
The boy grinned conspiratorially. "Yes, ma'am!" She smiled, wondering if she should find Balthus, wherever he was. Good kids, both of them, thick as thieves.
He scampered off and she was given a moment's reprieve before someone cleared their throat behind her.
"Alister," Judith greeted, turning. "Come to whisk me away next?"
His hair looked good braided. Hell, he was dressed to the nines in blacks and blues. Not the worst dance partner she'd have tonight. "Well, living up to Holst is going to be a challenge, for sure."
She laughed, letting him put an arm around her as their waltz began. He held her chastely. She liked that. No illusions that this would mean anything.
"Enjoying the evening so far?" Alister asked, smiling softly.
"It's just another dance," Judith said. "The food is good, though."
His eyes twinkled. "No expense spared for a Riegan birthday. I'll poach their chef, if I can."
"Now that," Judith giggled, "is the kind of subterfuge I can get behind."
Alister laughed. "Judith, out of the countless nobles and important people here today, I dare say you are the most unique."
"Oh?" she prompted.
"You speak your mind," Alister said, moving them deftly through the other couples. My, he was quite talented. "Not much of that in the Alliance, unfortunately. Plenty of plots, schemes, and taxes. No one really says anything."
"Careful, my father might hear," she teased.
"Ha!" Alister chuckled. "I do hope he takes the open seat at the Roundtable. He'd certainly shake things up." He leaned in, as if to whisper sweet nothings in her ear. "Far better than Beauregard Gloucester, no?"
"My, and here I suspected you had your eyes set on the Roundtable?" she said, curious.
"In time, in time," he said, smiling. "With Sylvia taking the Ordelia seat, they won't want another my age. Youth is too radical, in their eyes."
Judith nodded. "Just wait for our favorite Gloucester to kick the bucket."
"Unless he's replaced by Leander," Alister said. "The man's insufferable."
The song ended. Alister bent down and kissed Judith's hand. "Thank you, Lady Daphnel, for being such a breath of fresh air on this night."
"With words like that, I'm sure you'll live up to those ambitions of yours," she teased.
He smirked handsomely. "Oh, trust me, I intend to. No matter what."
She watched him walk away, only to glance when she felt someone stand at her side. A young woman, probably close to her age. "He's rather handsome, no?" she said, doing nothing to hide how she looked at him.
"Not my type," Judith answered. The woman here, now she was her type. Curves in all the right places, a golden dress with exposed shoulders and a fair amount of toned back showing? The woman was a warrior, a fighter. Long brown hair, so dark you'd think it was black, that had the slightest curl to it and complemented her emerald eyes, two gemstones that stood out more than the rest of the night's jewelry. "Pardon," Judith said, remembering to speak. "I don't think we've had the pleasure?"
"Tiana von Riegan," she introduced. "We've crossed paths here and there, I think. But I do think this is the first time we've the pleasure of speaking."
"Judith von Daphnel," she introduced. "May I have this dance?" Was Tiana on her dance card? Judith found she didn't care.
"Ah, Kain's daughter. I hope your sense of humor is better than his," Tiana said, ignoring Judith's hands that made to take the lead. Tiana quite literally pulled Judith into the next song, leading.
Not that she minded at all.
"I like to think I inherited the good qualities of the family," Judith said. "Or at least not my father's hairline." Tiana laughed. Goddess, it was a lovely sound.
"I'm surprised you asked me to dance," Judith continued. "I don't think you're on my dance card?"
"Neither was Holst," Tiana said. "I took you for someone who was rather blasé about it all. And, to tell you the truth," she leaned in and Judith could smell her perfume, "if I have to deal with another marriage proposal from Leander, I'll puke."
"Another?"
"Dear Goddess, he's asked me three times. I barely know the man!" Her voice lowered, imitating the man. "'Oh, Tiana! I saw your bout in the tourney last spring! The way you used a rapier, it was inspiring, like poetry with a blade!'"
"He said that?" she asked, cringing.
"Eh, probably. I don't pay much attention when he talks, much to my father's chagrin," Tiana admitted. "Too much pomp, too much circumstance of birth. Would it kill him to just be, I don't know, interesting?"
"You should tell him you only wed proven warriors," Judith suggested. "When I told him that, he tried to train with a lance. It was a sight to behold."
Tiana's eyes widened. "You actually said that to him?"
Judith blushed. "Maybe."
"I want every detail," Tiana said, the moment cementing what would become their friendship.
Her chest throbbed, the flesh beginning to flake off in like a burnt crisp. Goddess damn her for never learning White magic. Could she even have used it on herself? Did it even work that way?
Hacking a ragged cough, she looked up and saw more soldiers being dropped in from the sky. Maybe one of them could get her out of her or at least bring her a healer.
She stumbled forward, glancing to her right. Ice seized her heart as she saw Lorenz being knocked to the ground by an imperial.
Judith,
Thank the Goddess you're alive. I don't actually know if this will arrive before I do—as soon as I heard the siege broke, I prepared to leave. It made father mad, but what doesn't these days?
Goddess, Judith. These past months, I've been trying to keep my mind off what could happen to you. Holed up in that castle with so few soldiers? I can't even fathom how you survived. I sent letters, but I imagine none arrived.
I heard about Kain, too.
I'm sorry. If there's anything I can do to take any of the burden of your new duties from you, don't hesitate to ask. I'm here in any capacity you need me.
I'll cut it short here, every moment I write this is one less on the road. I refuse to let you be alone right now for any longer than necessary.
Your friend,
Tiana
She was too slow like this, too weak. One arm wrapped around her chest, just trying to keep her insides inside.
The rapier had to go. It left her grasp with barely a thought. Such a light piece of metal, too heavy in her wounded hands.
Another cough. How much stone dust had she swallowed? Goddess, she'd kill someone for a drink of water. Or a stiff drink.
The imperial woman advanced on the fallen Lorenz, standing over him like a reaper come to call.
The letter is neatly folded in Judith's desk, tucked away to never be sent. Every so often, she takes it out of its place and reads it.
Tiana,
You are the most important person in my life. Every trial, every hardship, you've been there. I cannot think of a better person I've met. I think I've known it ever since we danced together, those years ago.
It's just one of many reasons I'm in love with you. Words aren't my forte, but the days we're apart are agony.
The letter continues, though words are scratched out. Poetry is drafted in the margins only to be crossed out later. Paragraphs are smithed countless times only to be tossed aside, dissatisfied. It is a work in progress, one Judith spends less and less time on as the days go by.
Atop her desk, another letter sits.
Judith,
Remember that man I told you about? The one who visited with the Almyran dignitaries?
I'm running away to Almyra with him. We were wedded in secret the morning I write this. We have so little time before we leave. Silas found Javad and I and went berserk. I barely had time to speak to Godfrey, and he's my brother! But not seeing you before I leave is what pains me most.
I'll see you again, but I'm afraid it might not be for a while. I've enclosed something to remember me by for the time being. The picture is from a painter I'm rather fond of from Derdriu. I think it captures me well and will serve you well.
With love,
Tiana
Aside the letter is a locket, open to reveal an illustration of Tiana von Riegan, smiling. Leaning on the desk, staring at the locket, Judith weeps.
Had she a knife? Had she anything? Anything at all?
Just her hands. Weapons of their own right, but she hadn't practiced hand-to-hand in years. Another mistake for her to rectify should she make it out.
"Don't worry, I'll send Aegir to meet you soon."
Judith tackled the woman.
My dear Judith,
Our child was born. We named him Khalid. He has my eyes, to Javad's delight.
I know visiting us is unrealistic, but I do hope you get to see him before he's all grown up. Javad and I decided to name you godmother to him. You've always been an important part of our lives, distant as we might be from Fódlan.
When you write back, tell me how you are, please. Your last few letters haven't said much about you.
I worry about you, Judith.
Tiana
"Go!" she screamed at Lorenz.
Together they tumbled to the ground, she was on top of her. Her elbow smashed against the imperial's windpipe, holding steady against her throat. If she kept this up, the woman would choke out. "Kid, go!" she yelled when Lorenz hadn't moved.
She didn't see the knife.
"So you're Judith von Daphnel?"
Dear Goddess, he looked so much like her as he stood before her in her personal chambers. Judith searched for words as she looked upon Khalid for the first time.
"Yes," she ended up saying. "I'm your godmother."
Khalid nodded, unperturbed. No reaction to it at all. It hurt, deserve it as she might. Taking nearly eighteen years to see him had its cost.
She'd tell herself it was because she was busy, but it was fear. Fear at seeing Tiana with someone else. Seeing her be happy.
"I need you to tell me about Silas," he said, down to business. "I've met him, briefly, but any information you have would be beneficial. My mother told me I could trust whatever you say."
"Khalid—"
He held up a hand, commanding. "It's Claude, while I'm here." He didn't look altogether pleased with that.
Judith pulled up two chairs and took one. "Pardon, it's just…it's good to see you, Claude. Good to meet you."
"My mother only ever had the best to say about you," he said, quietly, watching her. "She really looked up to you, Judith."
The smile she gave back was pained and strained, holding back emotions that rarely bubbled to the surface anymore. "I think I was the lucky one to know her."
Claude nodded, satisfied. "Now, Silas? We can do introductions between us later, I don't want to keep him waiting."
"You're smart, boy." His eyes narrowed. Oh, so he didn't like being called that. Good to know. "I'll tell it to you straight—Silas is going to hate you. What Tiana did, what your mother did, it changed him a lot. Losing Godfrey didn't help either."
A ghost of a smile was all she received. "Huh, just like home."
Being stabbed was something she was intimately familiar with. Her entire body was littered with memories of wounds, from scars to phantom pains.
A knife in the side was nothing. Her weight shifted, pressing harder down onto the woman's throat.
The knife left her body and Judith felt every inch of steel leaving her. Goddess, she'd lost so much blood.
The woman tried to shout something. Her arm moved.
She saw the knife this time, but far too late.
"Judith," he greeted with a wide smile. "About time we got you out of Daphnel and back here."
"So strapped for players in your games that you call upon ol' me?" Judith chuckled, shaking his hand and pulling him into a firm embrace. "I don't know whether to curse you or be flattered."
His eyes lit up, her eyes. "Judith, I'll have you know that people line up to be a part of my schemes."
"Sure, boy, sure."
Rolling his eyes, he sat down at the head of the long table in his war room. "I want to bring you into the fold, Judith. I've got a plan for the Alliance and I need your help."
"Straight to the chase, huh? After my heart. But by fold, you mean all those classmates of yours?" Judith asked. "I've heard some skepticism from the other nobles about all them. Bunch of kids, fresh out of the battle at Garreg Mach, ready to lead a nation. They're calling you all idealistic."
"I fail to see the insult in there." Claude smirked. "We just see the world for what it could be."
"I'll admit, you have my attention," Judith said, reclining in her chair. "Let's hear it."
"I want to join the nations of Leicester and Almyra together," Claude said, gauging her response.
She paused. "Huh."
"I am the Sovereign Duke now, as well as an heir to Almyra's throne," Claude said. "The hate, the racism, the animosity between both countries, I want to end that."
"Tall order," Judith commented.
"That's why I need you. Why I need everyone I can get," Claude said, determined. "I don't want any more kids to grow up like me. Hell, I was a lucky one. So many children of both worlds grow up and suffer worse. I was royalty, I had some defense. Others? Not so much." He grit his teeth. "No more."
Judith nodded. "Alright, I'm in."
He blinked. "Wait, just like that? I thought I'd have to convince you."
Shrugging, she said, "Why not? Kid, you're something special. I ain't just saying that because I'm fond of your mother. You've barely been Duke a year and already you're pushing the kinds of proposals that have Leander shitting his bed. I figured it was something along these lines, but you're more ambitious that I thought."
He grinned. "That so?"
"Tiana'd be proud of you for this, for what you're doing." She fiddled with the locket around her neck. "Woman never backed down when it came to what she wanted. It's good she passed that onto you."
Claude preened and Judith smiled, looking at the boy—no, man—who was something of a son to her. Perhaps could have been, if things were different.
"I'm proud of you too," Judith said. "Don't know if I've told you that or not, but I am. You came here with nothing but a Crest, and look at you now."
He blushed. "I—thanks, Judith."
She pushed the complex emotions aside that reared their head and stood up. "Alright, let's introduce me to all your other friends. Let me make sure you're hanging with a good crowd, so I can put your mother's mind at ease."
Claude raised an eyebrow, both of them knowing that Tiana and Judith didn't write each other as much as they used to.
But he didn't mention it.
"NO!"
A leg connected with her chest, where the massive burn was. It didn't even hurt. Hell, nothing hurt. It all just passed from her body.
She remembered hitting the stone—yes, that's what she lay on now, wasn't it?
Her throat, she needed to clear her throat. Was she choking? What was that? Her weak fingers touched the knife lodged in there.
Oh.
Tiana, she tried to call out. Tiana, my love, where are you? Tiana? I'm scared. I'm terrified. The light, where is the light going? It's all dark, I can't see anything.
"Judith!"
That voice, she knew that voice. Tiana? No, or was it? Tiana, where are you?
"Judith!"
She blinked, or thought she did. It was all so dark, so cold. The sounds of the battle, where were there? Had there even been a battle?
No, she refused to back down. She forced her eyes to work. A man leaned over her, panting, crying, Lorenz. Yes, that was Lorenz. Not Tiana.
Don't cry, she wanted to reassure him, like a mother to a son. A mother she never got to be. Tiana.
He opened his mouth again as if to shout something. Her name? Tiana's? Where was the locket? She needed to see her, one last time. She waved a hand, trying to reach her neck. Something grabbed her hand, holding it.
No, she tried again for the locket. No more, no more regrets. She couldn't get her hand loose for it. Where was it? She had to see her, tell her how much Claude looked like her.
Claude. She had to tell Claude. Had to make him understand.
Lorenz, she tried to speak. Tell him he was a son to me. Tell him to live with no regrets.
Yes, those were good last words. Judith retreated, letting the darkness hold her dear. For a moment, it almost felt warm, like Tiana's embrace.
Goddess, how long had it been since she'd felt one of those.
She should say something to Tiana, she should tell her. Tell her she loved her, even after all these years.
Tiana, she tried to say, but Judith was already dead.
Author Notes: Oh yeah, so this chapter fucking broke my heart to write. God dammit, I'm seriously not having a good time with this one. Judith is one of my most favorite characters. Ahhhhhh.
Editing Notes:
7/26/2021: Minor grammar adjustments. Fixed italics error.
1/7/2022: Minor grammar adjustments.