Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Well, this was it. The last day before the final battle with the King. You…don’t know how to feel. Or more accurately, you don’t know how you’re supposed to feel, because currently you’re a bit overwhelmed with needing to save your country tomorrow. Being the “chosen one” is a lot more stressful than those books you love make it out to be.

And normally that’s fine, because you could always distract yourself with something before. Get help, find the orbs, help any survivors, learn new Craft skills, plan fun nights for your friends, but…but the thought of the looming fight has taken most of the space in your head ever since you arrived in Dormont sometime in the evening yesterday.

Since this is the last time you and your party might sleep together as a group, and since tomorrow is such a big day, you think maybe you should plan something nice for the others. Just in case something bad happens tomorrow that you don’t want to go into detail about right now! And, and! As a thank you! For all their help, and for sticking with you throughout your journey. You look around town to hopefully get some inspiration for idea…

And then it hits you.

A sleepover! The clocktower only has three beds, sure, but they’re all in the same room! And, and! You haven’t had one for a few weeks, since you’ve all been sleeping in separate tents through the long journey back to town. It’s perfect! You should tell everyone! Once you…remember where they are. Okay, make a mental checklist! And probably a real one! Just in case you need one of them for later.

Odile said she’d get supplies in the shop, and you haven’t seen her since, so it’s safe to assume she’s still there.

Bonnie went east to look for extra ingredients as the recently appointed Snack Leader, a role which they were taking very seriously.

You recommended Isabeau to wish for something at the Favor Three if he wanted, but you haven’t seen him either. Judging by how indecisive he usually is, he’s probably still trying to think of a good wish.

Siffrin is…actually, you haven’t seen them since they told you they were going to take a nap a few hours ago. And they…still haven’t come back. Huh. You should probably wake them up. And tell him about your sleepover idea!

“Siffrin!” You yell as you make your way to the meadow. The rogue in question is laying in the middle of the field, peacefully lying on his back with his limbs splayed out. You feel a bit bad waking them up, but…if they sleep all afternoon, then they won’t be tired at night, and he’ll be tired in the House and you’ll take too long to get to the King and-

No, don’t think bad thoughts. Think about the sleepover! Your friends! Coming so far with them! There, feeling better already!

“Siffrin!” You yell out again, trying not to be too loud, and lean over him. “Siffrin?”

He stirs, opening his eye groggily. There we go!

“Good morning! Well, more like good afternoon, I guess…Were you taking a nap? That’s just like you…Only you could sleep peacefully at a time like this, hehe! I guess that’s smart…we better get some rest while we can!” You say sincerely, since you can’t even dream of napping right now. Siffrin, in turn, lets out a tired mumble. You let him sleep for a bit longer, then tell him to meet up with you soon.

You rush back into town and wait at the base of the Change God’s statue, hands in your pockets, when you feel a cluster of familiar papers. Oh. Those. Well, they could be a good distraction while you wait for nighttime to roll around, you suppose. Less stressful than saving a whole country at least. But then again, you could…maybe ask Siffrin to tell the others instead? You should probably go back to ask them to-

Oh, they’re here already! That’s convenient! “Siffrin! You’re up!”

“Hey Mira.”

“Hey Siffrin! Hehehe!” With mutual greetings exchanged, you ask how their sleep was. He says it was a 9 out of 10. Oh. Because you woke him up so abruptly. You panic for a second, only to realize he was just teasing you, classic Siffrin style.

“Next time I promise I’ll let you sleep in! So we can get the elusive ten out of ten score!” You promise, before finally remembering. Crab, you didn’t tell him about the sleepover because he was too sleepy! But since you wanted to ask for his help anyway…better to knock out two birds with one stone, you suppose.

“Um, I have an idea for tonight…” You begin, clasping your hands together. “This will be the night before we go fight the King, so I felt like we could make it special somehow…So, I was thinking, how about a sleepover? Let’s all eat good food together! Sleep in the same room! Maybe tell stories! It would be nice, wouldn’t it?”

You feel more confident in the idea the more you explain, but then…

“…Okay?” Says Siffrin, unsure, accidentally shattering your dreams into a million pieces. On no, you lost him. It was a stupid idea, wasn’t it? Thinking about it…yeah, besides the shared space, it’s what you’ve been doing every day, hasn’t it? You apologize and try to change the topic, but your friend quickly backpedals, much more awake now. Ah. You recognize this, you do it all the time when you say something stupid and try to make up for it before the other person gets upset with you.

Siffrin tries very hard to sound enthused, so you ask for his help, which they seem more than happy to provide. You thank him and tell him he should go ask for a favor at the Favor Tree, even if they don’t practice the Change belief like you, Isa and Bonnie. Thinking about it, you…hadn’t asked for anything yet either, being too stuck in your own head for most of the day.

“A-actually, Siffrin?” You turn to him before he heads out on his side quest. “Would you…mind if we went to the Favor Tree together? I could, um, show you how to do it! If you’re curious, that is.”

It’s unorthodox. Usually people wish for things in privacy, or with their partner at best, but Siffrin doesn’t know much about the Change belief! And he sometimes asks about it! And…and maybe it’s a little selfish, but you wouldn’t mind trying to teach him about it while you still can.

…

What you didn’t expect, is for Siffrin to teach you something instead.

“What…do you mean you don’t do it like that?” You ask after Siffrin looked at you weird and told you that he wouldn’t have wished like that. He looks at you like you just said something so fundamentally wrong, like one plus one is three. Like it’s so obvious that you, and the whole of Vauguard have been wishing at Favor Trees all wrong for your whole lives.

“Can you…show me how you do it?” You ask again, and that seems to brighten them up a bit. The thought excites you too, it’d be nice getting to know a bit about Siffrin’s culture! Especially since they barely told you anything about it…Oh well! Better before the end of the world than never!

“Yes! Okay so, you need a leaf first!”

“A…leaf?” You ask. “Does it have to be, like, a specific leaf?”

“No, just whichever one you like most!”

“Oh, okay!” You clasp your hands happily, looking on the ground, picking up a nice, round leaf. It’s small, a little frail perhaps, but still very pretty. “What next?” You smile at him. He smiles back.

“Alright. Then you breathe your wish into the leaf three times.” Siffrin instructs.

Ah, and here comes the hard part. What to wish for. Well, not really hard, you know you want Vauguard to be saved. You want to save your country, your friends, live up to everyone’s expectations, but that’s so many things to wish for! So…you just need to pick one.

Well you already wished to save the country with the Vauguardian method, so you should probably wish for something else, otherwise it might go to waste. So you think, then glance at Siffrin, and…you think back on your journey.

You haven’t known them long, but despite how mysterious they are all the time, you really grew to like Siffrin. Sure, they tease you a bunch, and their puns are awful, but he’s well-intentioned, and he stuck by you ever since they saved you from that Sadness way back when. He said he wanted to go back to travelling, and since you plan to go on your own pilgrimage after this anyway, you think it would be nice to have a friend to travel the country with! You want to get to know them better, learn about their country more! You want to stay with them!

You repeat your wish three times into the leaf like Siffrin instructed, feeling a little silly about this new method he taught you. But you suppose screaming your hearts desire into the air isn’t any less silly than this.

Siffrin tells you to fold your leaf and let it go, so you do, thanking him for the help and letting him get back to telling the others about the sleepover. As for you…

You still have some annoying papers you need to deal with.

Chapter Text

The night before the end of the world, you all meet up at the Clocktower for the sleepover as planned. Bonnie cooked more samosas that you could eat, despite Siffrin’s best efforts to try and devour every single one. You two are almost the same size, so you don’t really understand how they can eat so much all the time. You finish the dinner with a heartfelt speech, thanking your friends for sticking by your side throughout your adventure.

You’re so overwhelmed you even cry a little, even though you really shouldn’t lose your composure now of all times. Isabeau and Bonnie join you in a group hug, and after chatting a little longer you all go to bed. Isabeau shares a bed with Siffrin, like whenever you had to sleep in tents. You only had three, so they usually had to share.

Bonnie likes sleeping next to you, they say it feels safe. Which is good! They should feel safe! You’re happy the kid feels safe with you. It makes you feel, even just for a fleeting moment, like you’re actually good at this protecting stuff. Like you’re dependable, and not a constant liability.

Odile, as usual, is sleeping in her own bed. As she puts it, “you kids would keep me up all night since none of you sleep like normal people”, which was…accurate. Bonnie squirmed a lot in their sleep, Siffrin tended to spread out a lot and Isabeau was way too big for Odile to share with.

You take a glance around the room, Bonnie already dozing off next to you. You snuggle into your blanket and close your eyes to join them in sweet slumber, when all of a sudden…

Gasp! Whispering!

So late at night!

Keeping you up!

And tonight, of all nights!

How rude!

Before you can act, Bonnie does what any child their age would. They throw their pillow with such impressive force and accuracy that it makes a loud thump noise when it hits Isabeau square in the face.

“SOME PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP!” They whisper-yell at the mumbling pair, pointing an accusatory finger in their direction.

“YEAH ISABEAU!” You add, teaming up with Bonnie, scolding the boys. “SOME PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP! CLOSE YOUR MOUTH AND SLEEP!”

“YOU CLOSE YOUR MOUTH, HOUSEMAIDEN! YOU’RE GONNA WAKE UP MADAME ODILE!” Isabeau argues, and while he does make a good point, how dare he tell you to close your mouth?! He opened his first! But before either of you can say anything else, a new voice interrupts.

“I’m already up.” UH OH! You woke Madame Odile! Everyone holds their breath while she continues, slowly. You all turn to face your oldest party member with dread.

“And if the noise continues, I will stand up. You do not want to know what will happen if I stand up.”

That’s not a threat. You know this, and so do the others. It’s a promise.

“S-sorry…” “Sorry m’dame…” “Sorry.” You, Isabeau and Bonnie say, almost in unison. Siffrin doesn’t apologize, but to be fair they haven’t spoken since you started arguing.

You say your good nights and all go to sleep. Despite the earlier fiasco, you can’t help but fall asleep feeling content. Change, you’re going to miss these sleepovers.

…

The next morning you head to the House of Change. It’s different than you remember. Spiky extensions protrude from each floor on both sides of the building, splitting from a large central tower like branches from a tree. There’s not a single remnant of the friendly, Change God-shaped building you all but grew up in.

Taking a shaky breath as you fish out your orb from the pocket of your dress, you note the change in the atmosphere. This place used to be so bright, warm and full of life. Now it’s a cold, intimidating shell of its former self looming over you and your party.

Entering the House, you come across a Sadness within a minute of walking. You panic for a moment, you should have expected this! Of course there’d be Sadnesses in the House! This is the first place the King froze! And obviously he wouldn’t just wait to fight you in an empty building, why didn’t you prepare for this, stupid!?

“Oh myyy, should we go over strategy again~?” Siffrin teases, and you huff response because he’s teasing you again! But…it might be good to get a refresher. You haven’t run into many Sadnesses in a while, and the ones you did find were usually weak enough to beat in a round or two. So, you shakily thank Siffrin, and the tutorial commences!

Overall, it wasn’t that bad, you and your party dispatch all three Sadnesses with relative ease. Next up is an empty hall with two side rooms and a locked door. It turns out the left path is full of items, and one bell pendant Siffrin finds that goes ding-ding! The right path holds the key to progress, so after explaining the significance of circles to the Change belief to Siffrin, you all head into the next room.

Then your stomach drops, eyes widening in recognition.

“W-WAIT!” You yell, startling the others. Right. You should probably explain yourself.

“Sorry for screaming, Sorry, sorry! I uhm, I uhh…” Right, compose yourself, Mirabelle. You can’t explain, let alone make it to the King if you’re falling apart already. Keep it together!

“I…don’t know if this is relevant, but…I um, I recognize this corridor.”

“Oh?” Asks Odile, and it’s hard to tell if she’s curious or just concerned about that outburst. Probably a bit of both. You continue anyway. They have to know, it’s crucial information you think!

“I recognize it…The Head Housemaiden used to warn us about it…I think- I think she called it the “Death Corridor”!” You clasp your hands to emphasize how serious this is. You trust the Head Housemaiden, so if she called it that, there must have been a reason for it! Right! Yes! So, so you should all be worried and extra careful!

“Oh that sounds bad!” Says Isabeau, looking completely unbothered!

“So, so um-” Before you can try to explain further, Odile interrupts you.

“The House is supposed to be a safe building, but with the King here, some traps might be activated…Is that what you mean?” She says, taking the words right out of your mouth. Or brain in this case, because while you definitely thought all that, it was very hard to articulate, okay! You’re really glad Odile is so good at reading people. Especially you.

“A job for me then.” Siffrin announces, maybe a bit too confidently for your liking.

You’re too worried to cheer him on like the others do, praying to the Change God to please please please, let him be okay and not die in the Death Corridor! You watch as he walks around the room, inspecting every pillar while you hold your breath, keeping your hands over your chest. Part of you knows he’ll be fine, traps are their area after all. But another, much larger part of you can’t stop thinking about all the “what if”-s that could go wrong.

After five minutes or so, they come back to assure you that everything’s fine and there’s no trap.

But…but he must be wrong! He must be! It’s called the “Death Corridor” for crab’s sake!! You suggest the trap might be on a timer, but Odile shuts your idea down by pointing out that you’ve been here a while. Then you argue that there might be a pressure plate somewhere, only for Isabeau to point out that Siffrin’s been walking quite literally all around the room.

You admit, that soothes you enough to agree to continue on.

“See, Mira?” Siffrin walks ahead, standing in the middle of the room with their trademark smirk. “Everything’s fine!”

But before any of you can even blink, you spot a boulder

falling.

You watch…

…as it lan ds…

…wit h  a sick eni ng  Cr unch.

“SIFFRIN!!” You scream, tears already streaming down your face. No no no no no nononoNONONONONONO!!! He- he’s g-

You feel…

                        …a tug…

                                                …on your stomach.

Loop 1

Suddenly you’re yanked backwards by an invisible force, so strong it knocks you off your feet and lands you in…grass?

You feel tears forming in your eyes again already, but you look around and you

You’re…in Dormont. Unfrozen, lively just as it was yesterday. Exactly as it was yesterday.

You feel like screaming, but you’re in public, so you hold it in, only allowing a few quiet sobs to escape your throat. Your head is spinning, your stomach hurts but you’re not hungry, you feel like you were dreaming but you were standing up, and it felt so, so real!

You’re in Dormont, you know this. But you- but you can’t be! You feel the grass between your fingers, feel the breeze in the air, hear the piou-pious of the birds, but that’s, that’s impossible! You were in the House, you know, you KNOW you were in the House! You were in the House, and you got past the Sadnesses and got through the first door and you got to the Death Corridor and-

And

And you…failed. You failed! You crabbing failed your mission! Three crabbing steps into the House and one of your friends was crushed because you were naïve enough to think you were safe! Because you thought you got this! And it blew up in your face in the most spectacular way possible like everything does!

You can hardly breathe, your head hurts, you feel like you’re having an anxiety attack except this feeling is much, much worse, because, because you saw-

[Oh wow, spiraling already? That was fast! Tell you what, I’ll explain everything if come to the Favor Tree, alright? See you soon, stardust~!]

There’s a voice

In your head

And it’s not yours.

It snaps you out of your own head. You’re glad for that much at least. You need to move your body manually for a couple of seconds, shaking as you dust off your dress and adjust your bow.

A distraction. That’s what you need right now. You can put the harder to process feelings away while you deal with the voice. Just one thing at a time. No harm in that, right?

…

“H-hey Isab-beau.” You greet when you get to the Favor Tree, still shaking a little. And being his wonderful self, of course he notices. Though it’s not like you’re a very good actor, either.

“Hey Mi…ra? Is everything okay? You look a bit, well, shaken up.”

“YUP!” You answer, a bit too loudly and way too quick. “Y-yeah, everything’s g-good! I just, uhm, I…Just w-worried about tomorrow, you know?” You say instead of the truth. Because where would you even start with the truth?! Even you don’t know what’s going on! Plus, he’ll be worried either way. He should be worried about your usual anxiety issues instead of whatever the crab might be happening.

“Aah, I getchu.” Isabeau nods thoughtfully, arms crossed. “Tomorrow’s the big fight and all. Lots of stress, lots of people to save and all that. Well, I’ll leave you to it…IF you promise me you’ll try to relax today. Sounds fair?”

“Mhm!” You nod furiously, waving him goodbye as he leaves you alone with the tree, but not before making you double promise to take care of yourself.

You’re…not actually sure what to do now. The voice didn’t tell you anything other than to come here, so…you call out.

“H-hello? Voice in my head? I-I’m here! What…do I do now?” You ask, looking around, because you have no other ideas.

As if to answer your call, a bright light blinds you for a moment when you fix your gaze back on the Favor Tree. And when you open them again, you are met

With a stranger.

Chapter Text

There’s…a person sitting under the Favor Tree, staring at you. Well, person might be a stretch? Maybe?! You’re not really sure?!?

In your defense, okay- in your defense! They don’t have a head! Kind of? They have a spiky glowy head and a pair of crescent eyes, but no other facial features. The rest of their tall body is as lightless as it gets, with lots of little dots covering it all around. Their shoulders are spiky and there’s a big, four-pronged shape in the middle of their chest. It feels familiar, but you can’t quite grasp it in your mind. You…don’t see any clothes on them, but then again, it doesn’t exactly look like skin, either.

“…Hello? Housemaiden?” The stoic stranger speaks up without warning, making you yelp in surprise.

“AAH! S-sorry! I-I’m sorry, hello! I- I uhm…Uhh…” You make eye contact, only now realizing that you’ve been staring at their body in complete silence for like a minute! Which is pretty weird! You should probably apologize for that too, but before you can do so they speak up again. And they sound…very different.

“Ooooh myyyy, struck speechless at the sight of me, aren’t you~?” Their eyes arch upwards as if they were smirking, coyly covering where their mouth should be with their hand. “You’re so cute, moonlight~!”

“……E-excuse me?” Is all you can ask, tilting your head in confusion. Are they…teasing you? But, but what for? You just met! And wait, do they know who you are? They talk like they do, but you’re pretty sure you’d remember meeting a glowing stranger. And what’s with that weird nickname?? “Do you, uhm…do you know w-who I am?”

“Of course I do!” They chirp happily, even though their crescent eyes never stop staring at you. It’s a little uncomfortable, if you’re being honest. “You’re…Mirabelle! Housemaiden blessed by the Change God, on a mission to save her country! Cute, anxious, oh-so-fun to tease~! You’re not exactly who I was expecting…but hey, as long as someone’s looping, I’m sure I can still be of use!”

“You- huh? Wait what did-”

 “Patience, I’ll explain in a moment! But I know about you, about your party, about the loops, about your papers, about-” Okay, nope, this is getting too personal.

“C-CAN YOU STOP FOR A SECOND?!” You yell despite yourself. You didn’t mean to be this loud, but the stranger looks unbothered. They speak up again, their tone much more even now, though still joking around.

“Oh stars, no need to yell! Let’s take a deep breath in, and out, okay? Breathe with me in…” They instruct. You feel dizzy and you’re still confused and scared and feeling awful, but you’ve seen Siffrin do the same breathing thing when they’re on edge too, so it’s probably helpful. You breathe in.

“…And out.”

You breathe out.

It helped.

“Alright! So, curious who I am, right~?” They say before you can even open your mouth. Not that that’s a hard guess, really. Your confusion and mild panic were written all over your face not twenty seconds ago. You nod anyway, waiting for them to introduce themselves. You would too, but…you have a feeling that won’t be necessary.

“Hmm, let’s see…let’s go wiiiith…” They say, drawing out the last word while you wait, leaning in a little.

“Loop! Your ally Loop, here to help you with the loops! Easy to remember, right?” …Huh. Did they name themselves just now? Convenient.

“As for pronouns, you made address me with the royal-…Wait, that doesn’t work anymore.” Loop cuts themselves off mid-sentence, lost in thought for a moment. But just for a moment, before they just shrug and continue anyway. “Eh, they/them is fine then. I bet you didn’t know how to address me before anyway, so it should be easier for everyone.”

“O-okay?” You say uncertainly, just so they know you’re paying attention. It’s pretty hard not to, but you’re so used to reassuring people that you were listening, sometimes it just happens on reflex alone.

“Anyway moonlight, I’m here to help! So ask me anything, and I’ll answer as best as I can!” They say, but…oop, yeah, there’s the dizziness again. Now that things slowed down a little, and you’re not being bombarded with new information every second, you take some time to think about Loop and everything they said.

And it…still makes no sense. It’s been…it’s been roughly an hour or so, you think. Since Siffrin d-…since you failed in the House. Since then, you found yourself back in Dormont, heard a new voice in your head, met up with the voice who turned out to be a shiny person, said person knew way too much about you, learned about something called ‘looping’, then-

Wait, looping. It’s what your new…acquaintance named themselves after. And they called whatever is happening to you a loop! So…it makes sense, doesn’t it? To ask about that.

“Hey uhm, Loop? What…Y-you said I was ‘looping’? What um, what does that mean?” You ask, their shiny face lighting up. Or you think it does at least?? It’s really hard to tell.

“Oh right! That’s pretty crucial info to know, isn’t it~? I think you should take a seat though, unless you want to pass out~.” They warn, but their face does that ‘coy smile’ thing again, you think. Either way, you sit down on a root opposite of where Loop is sitting, wringing your hands. They waste no time getting to the point.

“So! You’re stuck in a time loop! Fun! When you, or apparently one of your companions, die, you’ll be sent right back here! Isn’t that neat~?”

Their joking tone and flippant attitude does nothing to lessen the impact of the massive bomb they just dropped on you without hesitation. At least you followed their advice, because otherwise you surely would have had the wind knocked out of you for the second time today.

“I’M WHAT?!” You yell so loud, even Loop winces. “S-sorry, sorry, I-I’m sorry! It just…A-are you sure? Like, that shouldn’t uhm, be possible?? M-maybe I uh- I just had a bad d-dream and didn’t actually-”

“Didn’t what? See you friend go splat five minutes into the House~?” Loop interrupts, their smiling eyes piercing through you. You hate how lightly they’re taking everything.

“Wh- WHY DO- HOW DO YOU-?!”

“I told you, moonlight~ I know aaaall about you! Even your mistakes~!” They giggle. You don’t find this funny at all.

You. Okay, you’re not stupid, you know it wasn’t a dream. It can’t have been, it was- it felt too real! You heard it, you felt the pain, you know you entered the house…but…but you didn’t, did you? Not yet, not again. You’re in Dormont again, talking to whatever Loop is, and…Isabeau was in the same spot as yesterday, too. Or…today? Oh boy, that will be fun to unpack on top of everything else.

You haven’t checked yet, but the others…if Odile is shopping, and Bonnie is in the garden, and Siffrin is napping, you might be-

“WAIT, SIFFRIN!!” You stand up, suddenly, lightheaded. You seemed to have startled Loop too, maybe a little too much, so you should probably apologize, but- but you-

You could still hear that horrible sound earlier, and while you were hoping, begging it wasn’t real, that they were still alive and breathing, you were too scared to confirm it. Because if you checked, and he wasn’t there, or he wasn’t breathing, then it would have become real. And then…well, you’re at least glad you don’t have to think about what you would have done then.

But! But but but! If you really are back in time, if someone else knows about this and confirmed it for you, then Siffrin, then they’re still- well they should still be alive! Why didn’t you think about this sooner?! Change, you’re a horrible friend!

You go to wake him up but Loop calls out to you.

“Awww, where are you going, moonlight? Don’t you have a ton of other questions? Can’t your little Traveler wait~?” Ah. They ask, back to teasing you again. You don’t have time for this.

“No! I have to check, I need to make sure! If I’m really…looping in t-time, which I can deal with later, then- then I need to make sure Siffrin isn’t…you know!” You explain, and for the briefest moment, you think you spot relief, resentment and sadness in their expression all at once. It’s gone as soon as it came though.

“Hmph. Well, if you want to be rude and run off on me like that, be my guest!” They huff and pout, crossing their arms and looking away dramatically. Then they glance back at you, and you can actually picture the wry smile on their face now. “But remember, I’m here to help. If you need anything, and you will, you know where to find me moonlight~!”

“Umm…Thank you.” You nod with your serious face on, holding your hands close to your chest. After a couple steps however, a thought wriggles its way inside your head. An uncomfortable thought, one that makes what you’re about to do a hundred times more stressful. It makes your insides squirm, so you turn back to Loop. There’s…one more thing you have to ask them.

“L-loop?” They’re watching you expectantly, sitting upright.

“Yeeeeeeeees, moonlight~? Did you have a question for me after all~?” Ugh. They’re being so annoyingly smug about it. But…you do, actually. You breathe in, and out, then get it out of your head and put the worrying thought into words.

“Will- will Siffrin, um…or well, any of them. Will they uhh…remember? What happened in the D-death Corridor, I mean?” You clarify, holding your breath for the answer. Because- because if they do, if Siffrin remembers the boulder, remembers being crushed, remembers your failure to warm them properly…

“Good question, moonlight~! But no, they shouldn’t remember anything.” Oh. OH. OH THANK CHANGE! That’s…very comforting, actually. You have no idea what it would be like to remember your own death, let alone such a brutal one!

You deflate, some of the tension leaving your body, and wow! You’re way more stressed out than you realized! But that can wait!! Wake Siffrin first, be anxious later!!

“Well…unless you tell them, of course.” Loop continues, catching you off guard.

“What?”

“Okay, they won’t REMEMBER remember! But! You can still tell them about the loops, you know. Nothing’s preventing you from telling your Traveler what happened before, if that’s what you were worrying your silly little head about~”

That’s the EXACT OPPOSITE of what you were worried about!! You don’t- you don’t want Siffrin to remember dying!! Or that...

You don’t want them to remember that it was your fault, either. You should’ve trusted the Head Housemaiden and been more careful.

“…Okay. Thank you, Loop. I’ll…think about that.” You won’t.

You simply wave goodbye to Loop and run off towards the field.

…

“Siffrin! Siffrin? Sif- SIFFRIN!!” You call out like before, spotting them napping in the same, stretched out position they were in before. You rush over to him, kneeling over him so fast you almost slide on the grass. Casting a shadow over his still body, you want to…Change, you want to do so many things.

You want to grab their shoulders and pull them into the tightest hug they ever had.

But they don’t like touch.

You want to shake them awake and tell them how worried you are.

But you would just worry them too.

You want to scold them for being so reckless, and apologize for getting them killed.

But that would definitely confuse and worry them even more.

You want to-

Oh. Would you look at that. You’re crying again. Come on Mirabelle, don’t break down now! They could wake up at any moment and see you sobbing over their very much alive body! And then they’ll think you’re weird! So stop it!

Wiping the tears from your eyes and breathing in, then out, you smile down at your friend. You make sure to wake him up gentler than last time. It would be nice to get the elusive ten out of ten score this time. The thought lightens your mood a smidge.

“Mmngh…Mira? Ev’ryth’n okay?” Siffrin slurs out, and you couldn’t be happier to hear their groggy voice. You can’t stop yourself from smiling, feeling a huge weight lift off your chest.

“Oh, y-yeah! Everything’s okay! I’m just…glad you’re relaxed enough to take a nap on such an important day.” That’s similar enough to what you said the first time, right? Yeah. You have that same conversation again, making sure to tell him about the sleepover again. Maybe it’s selfish, but you desperately want some quality time with your friends right now.

Once he’s up and about, on their quest to tell your party about the sleepover, your face falls. Right, you should probably figure out how to proceed. Loop said you can tell your party about the loops, but…but you really don’t want to. It would be hard to explain, and even if you could, you would have to do it every time! And you probably just…shouldn’t to begin with, right? Why worry them with something they can’t even remember? Besides, you’re…you’re the chosen one.

That title didn’t mean anything to you before. Mostly because it was all just a big, fat lie about where your blessing really came from. But now…now you really do have a power! You don’t know where it’s from, but- but you have it! You can rewind time. Turn back the clock! Make sure you succeed!

Make sure you save your country, be the hero everyone expects you to be. How can you not, after all? You have a blessing now, a real one! Now all you have to do is make sure to keep your party safe, make sure what happened to Siffrin doesn’t happen again! You know what to watch out for now, you got this!

Yeah, you got this, Mirabelle.

You got this!

…

Now come on, you have a sleepover to attend soon!

Chapter Text

The sleepover proceeded almost the exact same way as it did yesterday. Or…or was it today? Maybe yestoday? Ugh, reliving the same day again made telling the time confusing! But spending that time with everyone again was nice! It went by a little quicker than you remember, but it’s probably just your imagination! You try to retell your previous speech, but it was so improvised, and it came from the heart, so you barely remember any of it. Something similar should be fine though! It’s not like the others will know the difference.

Bonnie’s samosas still taste incredible though, you’re glad you could have more of them! Once dinner’s over, you go to bed again, but this time you try to pay attention to any whispering in the room. You’re kind of curious how long Isabeau and Siffrin were chatting before you and Bonnie noticed.

For a good two minutes, apparently. You glance over to Bonnie, who seems to be realizing where all the hush-hush is coming from, then you get an idea.

Grabbing your own pillow, you hurl it at Isabeau just like Bonnie did last time. It felt good! You understand Bonnie a little better now.

.

.

.

You’re at the House again next morning. You don’t even notice, but you’re suddenly faced with the same Sadness as before. You…don’t really need the reassurance anymore, so you could just stay quiet to save time. Or tell everyone to get ready for a fight. You know, like a leader would.

But

You don’t want to.

“Aah! A S-Sadness!” You cry out. You don’t know what you said before, but it doesn’t matter. You don’t have to act the EXACT same every time, right?

“Mira? Are you okay?” Isabeau asks, more confused than concerned.

“Y-yes! Just, uhm…o-okay we’ve fought Sadnesses before. I j-just, uhm…W-well…i-it’s been a while, so uhh-”

“Oh myyy~ Do we need to go over strategy again~?” Siffrin interjects, and you’re really glad he did. You forgot what a terrible liar you are under pressure. You should probably work on that if you want to avoid worrying the others.

“D-don’t tease me, Siffrin!! B-but uhm…that would be nice, yes.”

Madame walks you all through her patented “Odile Combat Tutorial” once more, and you can’t help giggling as she calls on the rogue over and over again. You even appreciate Isabeau’s theatrics more when he gets knocked out, now that you know he’ll be fine. You even clap a little after you win, and he bows in response.

Once you get to the Death Corridor again however, you freeze. Isabeau bumps into you, and even Siffrin notices you all fell behind.

“What’s up, Mira?” The Defender asks, and you hold yourself back from just shouting “No, nothing is okay, Siffrin got crushed here last time!”, but you don’t. Time for some on-the-spot lying practice.

“Oh, uhm- yeah! Y-yeah, but uh, I just remembered! About th-this corridor!” You start, getting everyone’s attention again.

“I uh…I remember hearing the other Housemaidens calling it the ‘D-Death Corridor’! So we should, uhm, check for traps!”

“Smart, smart.” Isabeau nods in agreement, and Siffrin perks up just like last time.

“Traps, huh? A job for me then.”

“It IS your job.” Madame Odile adds, and he goes to check the pillars again.

First pillar. Nothing.

Second pillar. Nothing.

Third pillar. Nothing.

Fourth pillar. Nothing again.

Fifth pillar. Still nothing.

Final pillar. Crabbing nothing!

You…don’t understand. Where is it? Where is it?! There’s a trap here! You know it, you SAW it! Siffrin got CRUSHED under it! You look around frantically, searching for a button or a switch or SOMETHING, because there HAS to be something! There has to be a-

A pillar. The middle pillar on the right, to be more accurate. It’s…glowing? Well, shimmering is more accurate, you think, but…but then it has to be there, right? The light of the torches in the corridor reflects on the middle right pillar, as if it were made of glass instead of stone, and you’re sure that whatever mechanism the boulder is wired to, it has to be on that pillar.

“All done. No traps here!” You hear Siffrin speak up with that same easy smile as last time, snapping you out of your thoughts. Nonono, you took too long, he’s standing in the center again! You will yourself to move before the rock drops.

“See Mira? Everything’s-”

“NO, WAIT!” You quickly pull Siffrin out of the way, staring at the ceiling. No trap door opens. No rock falls. The corridor is as still as it was five minutes ago.

“Belle? Everything okay?” Bonnie asks, and you catch the rest of the party staring at you with a hint of concern in their eyes, the rogue especially. Uh-oh!

“Y-yes! Everything’s fine! I just, uhm, well I…” Come on, Mirabelle, think! Just make something up so they don’t start to ask questions!

You clasp your hands together and steady yourself. “I just remembered something again! Something super important!! I uhm…saw the schematics for the t-trap this room once? I think…I think the switch for the trap is on that pillar somewhere!” You say, pointing at the crumbling pillar on the right side of the corridor.

“Are you sure?” Siffrin asks. “I checked already, there’s nothing there.”

“Yeah, Mira! I mean, I’ll trust you if you’re sure sure, but do you really think Sif would’ve missed that? They’re our trapmaster!” Adds Isabeau.

“Ouch, the betrayal! It’s like a knife in my heart! Mirabelle, doubting me! How will I ever recover~!” The rogue teases. You’re less amused by it this time.

“Oh no, i-it’s not that I don’t trust your skills!” You quickly clarify. “It’s just, uhm- I read about it once! So- so I think you should check again! Just to be safe!”

“While I really wish we could just get a move on already…Mirabelle does know the House better then any of us. Besides, looking over one pillar shouldn’t take as long. Right, Siffrin?” Madame Odile chimes in.

“Alright, heard you loud and clear!” Siffrin sticks his tongue out and does a little salute, going to look over the pillar again. You can see his amused smirk as he looks over the crumbling pillar again, sure that they won’t find anything anyway, before his eyes go wide. “……Oh.”

“Oh?” Madame asks, already wearing her classic ‘I told you so’ face. You hear a click, then the boulder crashes down in the middle of the room like last time, making everybody jump. But this time, there’s nobody under it. Good.

“So, uhm…in my defense, it was very well hidden.” Siffrin pokes his head out from behind the rock with a nervous smile. You and the others get back into formation and finally move on from the Death Corridor. Progress!

“What was that about Mirabelle doubting your abilities, Siffrin?” Madame speaks up while you all walk, earning a huff from the rogue as he pulls his hat over his face.

“Hehe, it’s okay Siffrin! I just want to make sure we get to the King in one piece!” You say, some of the tension leaving your shoulders.

You fight a few Sadnesses before you’re derailed again.

“Floating water!” Bonnie points at some floating water in the middle of the hallway. Huh. You…don’t think that’s normal.

“Floating water.” Isabeau reaffirms.

“Fascinating. Does anyone know what it is?” Madame asks, opening her notebook. Everybody shakes their head, before Bonnie perks up again.

“OH! Oh I know!” They wave their tiny hand in the air until Madame Odile points her pen at them. “I heard about it from the people in Dormont! They call those ‘Tears!’ If you touch one you’ll be frozen in time, that’s what they told me. There were a few outside the village too!”

‘Tears’. Interesting. It’s probably the King’s doing, to stop you in your tracks. And if that’s the case, there’s probably way more around the House. You all back away and continue on, not wanting to be frozen in time.

.

.

.

There’s a whole row of tears, blocking your way from a room. You guess it’s important, otherwise the King wouldn’t have blocked your path to it.

“O-OH! Thanks S-Sif! I should probably watch where I’m going, heh.” Isabeau thanks the rogue, who caught him before he could walk into one, then looks around. “So…now where do we go?”

“Well, there was another hallway we could try. Or turn back and go right at the crossroads, we haven’t explored that path yet either.” Suggests Madame Odile, and you catch a few directions in her notebook while she has it open. That’s…smart, actually, what with how the King twisted your House’s layout. At least you’ll know who to ask if you end up lost in the winding corridors.

While the others try to decide on where to go next, you find yourself staring at the Tears. You could…you could try to pass through it. You’re immune to Time Craft, after all. But are the Tears even classified as Time Craft? They should be. You haven’t seen any before now, so you have no idea how they work, but if the Head Housemaiden’s blessing works as intended, it should let you just walk right through it. Right?

And besides, you can go back, can’t you? Loop said you loop when you or your party members die, it’s not like you can’t experiment with that! You either waltz right through them, or just loop back to yesterday! It might be annoying to get this far again, but you wouldn’t mind. You’re not too far into the House anyway, it wouldn’t be too much of a setback.

But…but hold on, would you even die if you’re frozen? Would it let you loop, or would it override your strange looping powers somehow, leaving you stuck forever?

Wait…how do your powers even work? Why are you only thinking about it NOW?? Change, you’re so stupid, why didn’t you figure it out sooner, or talk to Loop more yesterday?? You had the time! Why do you take every blessing you have for granted, why can’t you just plan ahead, why-

There’s a hand on your shoulder.

“-ra? Mira, umm…you good? You’ve just been staring at the Tears for a bit now.”

Isabea. You breathe in, and out, clearing your head. Okay, you can worry about the practical applications of your powers later. Now you have a mission. And you should get that mission over with as quickly as possible…

“Uhm, everyone?” You call out, and your friends turn to you with a quizzical look. “I was thinking…m-maybe I can just…go through and check the room on the other side?”

That suggestion alone turns everyone from curious to concerned. Well, except Madame Odile, who eyes you cautiously. She takes a guess before you can even continue.

“It’s because of your immunity to Time Craft, right?” You nod. She deflates a bit, humming to herself, much to your dismay. Crab. And now she’s writing in her notebook while she talks. Double Crab! That means she’ll have to be convinced before she’s on board with the plan, which is a very tall order.

“Hmm. It would make sense for the Tears to have no effect on you, based on how your blessing worked so far. But I’m not sure we should be testing your power at such a pivotal moment.”

She makes sense. You know this, and normally you would be very strongly inclined to agree with her. But some part of your brain, an insatiable curiosity keeps nagging at the back of your skull. Before you can start to overthink again, you turn back towards the Tears while Madame is talking.

“So I think we should try our other options before we do anything…Mirabelle?” She looks up from her notebook, squinting her eyes in suspicion. She knows what you’re about to do. So, against your better judgement, you shut your eyes and run.

“BELLE!” “MIRA!” “MIRA, DON’T-!” the others reach out to try and pull you back, but they’re too late. You’re already on the other side of the Tear barrier.

You’re…on the other side. You’re on the other side! You made it! You turn back towards the others with a big smile on your face, because you did it! You feel giddy. Haha! Take that, King!

“Ooooh Change…Miraaaa! Warn us when you do something like this next time?? Please??” Isabeau exhales, but he seems as excited as you.

“WOOHOO! Go Belle!” Bonnie simply cheers after a moment of stunned silence.

“Huh. Nice job, Mira!” Siffrin gives you a casual thumbs up, as if they knew you were going to succeed.

Odile…isn’t cheering.

“Uh…M’dame?” Isabeau ask her, but she’s not answering.

She’s just

staring

at your feet.

You look down, a little confused, but then you start to feel it. Bone-chilling cold.

An overwhelming stillness creeps up your leg, spreading faster every passing second, and when the realization hits you your stomach suddenly drops.

No, that…but the curse, it shouldn’t affect you! You’re not…you can’t be frozen, you should be FINE! You’re supposed to be unaffected!

You glance up at the others, and you can tell they noticed as well. Your stomach is cold.

Bonnie somehow even more still than you are, and Siffrin is just staring at you wide-eyed. You can’t feel your arms anymore.

Madame Odile seems both sad and pained, while Isabeau is visibly distraught. Your face is freezing.

You give the others a shaky smile, icy hands clasped in front of your chest. And as you float in the infinite nothingness of dreamless sleep

You feel           a tug               on your stomach.

After a relaxing float in the abyss, you open your eyes back in Dormont. The familiar pull doesn’t knock you off your feet this time, but you still need to take some deep breaths to steady yourself. In, and out, in, and out.

Well, that could have gone better, but at least you figured some things out! One, you’re not immune to Tears like you are to regular Time Craft, which is…definitely strange. And two, you should probably learn as much about your powers as you can before tomorrow. You don’t want to have to experiment too much while you’re in the House.

…You decide to go talk to Loop about what you learned.