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It’s strange, just standing here like this. You’re supposed to be rushing to defeat the King like Lord Joséphandre, your trusty and indispensable companions in tow.
You cringe internally. That’s not how you see them at all. They’re more like… family to you now. Isabeau and Odile and Siffrin (even if he’s a bit distant sometimes) and Bonnie. You wish they all felt the same way, but that’s just wishful thinking, isn’t it? If… WHEN (don’t consider the alternative Mirabelle) you defeat the King, everyone will go back home and you’ll be left alone to go on your Pilgrimage or find a partner or whatever it is a counterfeit savior is supposed to do.
But that’s not important. What is important is making sure everyone is in the best shape they can be for the fight against the King. So when Siffrin asked if all of you would look at the stars with them in Euphrasie’s… what did she call it? Observatory? You agreed, even if it seemed a bit silly. It seemed really important to them. Plus, they did help Odile do her tutorial for you, which was more helpful than you’d care to admit.
So here you all are, staring at countless points of light through the biggest window in the House. Change, you’ll never know what it is they see in those lights.
You hear Siffrin’s cloak rustle to your left. You turn and face him. He’s smiling. This… stargazing? Is that the word? Session seems to have done Siffrin some good. If it puts them more at ease, then it’s a good thing you did this.
But they look so unbelievably tired. You hadn’t noticed before, but that look in their eye…
Siffrin reaches for his belt and says, “Thank you, everyone.”
That smile doesn’t leave his face, so why does he look so sad, so utterly defeated?
Siffrin unsheathes their dagger and raises it to their neck.
Wait, what are they—
And slice.
Siffrin crumples to the floor, his blood already painting a dark gash down his cloak. It's almost like he's done this before.
Why? You're frozen in place.
Isabeau pushes past you, tears streaming down his face. He drops to the floor almost as fast as Siffrin did. They're already unconscious. He cradles them in his arms, begging for them to wake up.
You should be crying too. You're frozen in place.
Odile rushes to Siffrin's side. She's asking Isabeau for some scissors. Her voice is steady, but she looks terrified. She has to yell at him to get him to respond.
You should be doing something, anything. You're frozen in place.
Bonnie runs past you, yelling something in anger. You can't understand them through the sobbing. They fall to the floor at Siffrin's feet.
They shouldn't have to see this. You're frozen in place.
"Mirabelle. Mirabelle!"
Odile is looking up at you. There are tears in her eyes. You've never seen her cry before.
"I can't stop the bleeding. I can't help him. Heal him. Please. Please Mirabelle."
There's desperation in her voice. There's a strip of fabric from her coat wrapped around Siffrin's neck. It's soaked through with blood. Oh Change. She's cut two of her fingers off. What was she trying to do?
You can move again. You kneel next to Siffrin and gently nudge Isabeau aside. He's still in shock. You unravel Odile's makeshift bandage as quickly as you can without disturbing the wound. Change. They've severed their carotid artery. They knew what they were doing. At this point you have a few seconds at most. And even if you can heal this wound, they've already lost so much blood.
You have to try. You have to save them. You look at Siffrin's face. His already bright face is almost completely darkless now. You hold you hands over the still-bleeding wound and Craft the strongest healing spell you can. It'll take a lot out of you, but you don't care. You have to save him.
It's too late. Siffrin is gone.
You kneel there, hands still on their neck, and start to cry. This is all your fault. You were supposed to keep everyone safe. You must have missed something. There had to have been signs.
Your mind goes back to right after Siffrin lost his eye. He told you he was the happiest he could remember being. You should have said something. You should have talked to him. You could have prevented this. But you didn't. And now he's gone. Forever.
How are you supposed to save Vaugarde if you can't even save your family?
Everything smells of... caramel?
It's the day before you fight the king, and that fact is heavy in your mind. It's probably the same for everyone else. So you'll do something special tonight to get everyone's mind off it for a bit. You'll have a sleepover (as long as everyone wants to of course).
You decided you'd tell Siffrin, and if he liked the idea you'd ask him to tell everyone. You wrote a reminder note in case he forgets and everything.
So you need to go wake him up.
As you approach the bridge leading out of Dormont, you notice Siffrin walking towards you. Wonderful! They're already awake! You're glad you don't have to wake them up, it always feels like you're intruding.
You smile at them. "Siffrin! You're up!"
Siffrin smiles back. "Hey Mira, have you thought about doing a sleepover tonight?"