Chapter Text
(Those Sadnesses were easy!)
(No, seriously! For the Dormont House, the House where the King is supposed to be, you’d have assumed the Sadnesses here would be a lot tougher, even just at the entrance!)
(You take a deep breath in, and out.)
(Against your better judgement, you stop and look at the locked door ahead of you. You’re fairly sure this isn’t something you normally do, but you can’t remember the last time you actually had to deal with any traps! It’s probably fine to take a short break, Mira looks like she might pass out.)
"Door’s locked."
> "You guys want to sit down while I find the key?"
"Hey Mira, you okay?"
(The words feel odd on your tongue, you can’t get over how odd everything feels, like an awkward tilt has been put on everything– )
(Mirabelle interrupts your decline.)
"Oh!! Y-Yes I would like that. We... probably should have eaten more before coming in."
(She looks behind her to the rest of your party, expectantly.)
"Well, I suppose we could take a minute to breathe, especially after that little tutorial. Are you certain you’re feeling alright, Isabeau?"
(Odile steps off to the side, Bonnie taking the hint as a look of focus and determination paints itself onto their face.)
"Oh, OOOH. YEAH!! I DO HAVE SOME!!-"
(They’re quick to pull their pack off, hands rummaging through the contents as they pull out some leftovers wrapped up in a ball of napkins, shoving the handful towards Mira as they do.)
(You can’t help but feel your mouth pull into a slight smile, you spin on your heels into a not-quite-speed-walk, burying your face into your collar as you duck into one of the siderooms.)
(Oh! There’s something there, glowing by the far wall, the dust in this room seems… disturbed? There it is again, another ~weird~ thing you noticed. You’re too good at this.)
[ YOU GOT THE CIRCLE KEY ]
(Circles inside of Circles inside of Circles... you should ask Mira about this after you all defeat the king! She looks so much calmer now that she’s taken a moment to sit and breathe.)
(You practically skip back to the group– this was a mistake, that is a ROCK! On the ground! Where your foot is meant to go! It slides under your shoe and practically throws you forward! Think quick-)
> (Save it with a roll!)
(Accept your fate)
(Scream heroically!)
(You! Tuck! Into! The! Dive!)
(You don’t exactly like doing rolls, no, scratch that, you really don’t like doing rolls, your hat flies off your head, your cloak gets tangled up as you throw your arms out to push yourself over, chin down–)
"CRAB!!"
"SIF!!??!?"
"Gems!-”
"SIFFRIN?!"
(Your body spins, you feel your centre of gravity spin and strangle around you, everything is falling, you feel the ground across your shoulders and down your back in the ““controlled”” tumble you performed.)
(You land with a quiet thump.)
(Ow)
(That went as well as you expected.)
(Oh, they’re all staring at you, you feel the absent weight of your hat on your head to hide under.)
> "Found the key"
"I think I’m on a roll with this stuff"
"Ow."
(They’re just staring at you, still. Stars, that didn’t feel great.)
"... Frin."
(Bonnie finally breaks the silence, you flinch ever so slightly, you hope they didn’t notice– of course they noticed it.)
> "Yeah, Bonnie?"
"WHAT WAS THAT?!"
(They point! At you! Laughing!! Not the worst outcome for this but it hurts nonetheless.)
"Boniface, we shouldn’t laugh at Siffrin’s acrobatic display..."
(Odile... hides her face behind her book, it isn’t enough, you can hear the smile in her voice)
(it only gets worse from here. You can’t even push yourself up properly, your heel scratches at the frozen ground rather loudly, splaying your leg way off to the side, drawing out more laughter from your friends.)
Mirabelle practically chokes on her food, covering her mouth with her hands, breathing through her nose, body shaking with barely-audible laughter.
(Isabeau... your big, funny friend, your comedy partner, partner in crime. He has, in this moment, betrayed you. His hands slapping against his legs as he curls in on himself.)
"HAHAHA!! Slipfrin!!!!"
"Slipfrin!!"
"Ha, Slipfrin.."
"Slipfrin..!"
(You retract your statement from earlier. This is absolutely the worst possible outcome for this, hands down, unmatched. They will never let you live this down.)
(You don’t even have your hat to hide under.)
(STARS YOU DON’T HAVE YOUR HAT TO HIDE UNDER–)
(You try-not-to -scramble back to where you fell, trying your best not to limp too much from your sore hip, it feels painfully obvious, your leg didn’t move enough- you close your eyes while hobbling towards your wide-brimmed hat.)
(If Isa was the first to notice, he certainly just made it known.)
"Oh- Crab, Sif– You alright there bud?"
(His voice quieter than before, you definitely didn’t do enough to play it off, oh well, can’t rewrite the past.)
(You kneel down to grab your hat, pinching the top of the brim before rising, back to your audience as you adjust your grasp. You shake it once, twice, and carefully place it back onto your head. Adjusting it just slightly as you turn back to face your friends.)
(You don’t remember what this expression is called, but they’re all still looking at you, you want to hide under your hat but that would just make it worse. Time for plan B.)
> "Yeah, I’m fine."
(They all look at you, not the right thing to say not the right thing to say –)
(Mirabelle stares at you with a determined expression.)
"Siffrin. You’re hurt, let me heal you."
(She gestures in front of her, part of the circle they were all eating in, but still in front of her. You try not to hobble on your way over to her.)
(You, scoot down, half-using Isa as support to sit down easily and half comforting both him and yourself. His expression changes and he looks away, you can’t help but smile slightly. He’s just so nice.)
(Oh, right, Mira, she wants to heal you. You keep your hand on Isa’s shoulder for a bit longer than necessary, sighing quietly when you let him go. You shift on the floor to face Mira some more, feeling her craft prickle against your skin, scratching at you like a cat tongue. The tense rawness in your leg dissolves into the rest of your body painlessly, leaving a faint fruity smell around you...)
(You breathe in, and out.)
(You can hear her breathing, it’s not unlike your own post-fight ritual, just a bit shorter and shallower . You reach out and... poke her hand.)
> "... Poke."
(You smile at her, she stares at you, before smiling back with a slight giggle.)
"You should eat something too, Siffrin! We can’t just–"
(Bonnie cuts her off mid sentence, by shoving an egg sandwich in your face. They look at you expectantly.)
> "Thank you, snack leader!"
(They hmph triumphantly as you take the breakfast sandwich, toasted bread, a fried egg and sliced meat.)
(You take a bite of it.)
(The egg melts into your mouth, the toast has just enough give and the meat gives it some richness.)
(You smile.)
(You know, in this moment, you will win.)
(You take another, larger bite out of the sandwich, egg yolk staining at the corners of your mouth, chewing and swallowing quickly. You’ve always been hungry, Bonnie’s cooking always fills you. You’re happy to be with them.)
"Sif! Our little hamster! Your face is covered in egg."
(Isa’s smiling at you, like he’s about to laugh, you just blink. Hamster? You-)
(You feel the egg around your mouth, you’re about to bury your face into your collar– No! No, that would make a mess!)
(Embarrassed, you use the napkin Bonnie wrapped it with to wipe your lips off, and carefully finish your sandwich. Finally, your face is egg free.)
"Hamster?"
> (Say nothing.)
(You hide in your oversized collar and look up at your friends, before finally standing up. You stretch with a single audible pop from your leg, and sigh.)
(Isa picks up on your readiness.)
"Everyone ready?"
> "Yeah!"
"Not quite"
(Odile and Mirabelle murmur in agreement, Bonnie just nods enthusiastically, packing away their supplies as Isa helps Odile up. You look over at Mira and nod simply at her.)
(You watch as they all pack up and file in behind you, the key clicks into place easily as you twist–)
(There is a brilliant flash, dazing you for a second. You shake your head clear and look around, back where you came in from, is a glowing... star?)
> "What the-"
(Bonnie cuts you off, looking slightly agitated.)
"What? What! Why are we stopping? We gotta beat the King!!"
> "So none of you..."
(You backtrack from the door, letting it slowly swing open as you move to investigate the star, you hear a slight gasp behind you as you scoot past your friends.)
(There it is... a weird, floating star in front of you. You reach out and touch it–)
(You feel weird, but everything feels... better!)
> "A good omen."
(Mira practically jumps at that, you can hear the joy in her voice.)
"Oh! Oh! Was it–"
"We don’t have time for this, can we please keep going?"
(Odile silences her quickly, you feel a little bad for her, but Odile is right.)
(No matter, back to the front, Mira seemed fixated on the corridor ahead, it seems perfectly fine.)
(One foot in front of the other, you’ve gotten your footing again, no more tripping, focus, Siffrin, you have a King to defeat.)
> "Everything okay through here, Mira?"
(You turn your head back to look at her, looking at her from the corner of your eye.)
"W-Well, um. I recognize this corridor?"
(Behind her, You spot Odile looking up from her book with some curiosity as she continues.)
"The um, Head Housemaiden warned us about it, she said it was the “Death C-Corridor”!! S-So, um."
"Oh that sounds bad!"
"So, what you mean to say is that, with the King being here, some traps might be activated, correct?"
(Odile seems to be on point, but, Traps? Traps?!?)
> (Traps?!) "Sounds like a job for me!"
(Traps?!) "Seems like you should know where the activation switch is."
(What’s the worst that could happen?) "What’s the worst that could happen?"
(Isa practically jumps in place with enthusiasm, you can hear Odile chuckle slightly behind him.)
"Protect us, Trap master!"
"W-Well, yes that sounds correct."
(You smile, before turning back to face the “Death Corridor” with confidence. Six pillars, six obvious places to put a trigger. This should be blindingly easy.)
(You walk brazenly, looking from the floor to the wall to the pillar, right side first, you don’t see anything here... There is nothing here.)
(You stop at the first pillar, there is nothing of note, no worn or loose bricks, no hidden switches or pressure plates around it. Next to the broken pillar, you look at it, this would be the obvious place to put the trigger, you stare at it! It’s broken! Everything is loose, everything is worn and broken, stars, the ground is littered with debris too, it’s not here either.)
(Next pillar, nothing here, you can hear Mira behind you gasp, whining quietly as Bonnie laughs somewhat loudly, Odile shushing them as you move on.)
(Oh, something’s here, yeah. NOTHING . There isn’t a trigger for any trap in here, nothing! You wave dismissively while returning to the group.)
> "See? Nothing to be afraid of"
(Mira’s expression hardens.)
"B-But there has to be! Something! This is the death corridor, there has to be something! It could be weight sensitive! O-Or time- we should go- NO! We should wait first–"
(You poke her on the nose, finger to face, you boop her.)
> "I checked, there aren't any traps."
"Boop."
"You’re right..."
(Odile stands herself up without Isa’s offered help, he pouts quietly.)
"Mirabelle, Siffrin’s right, they’ve already been everywhere in this room and we’ve been waiting for quite a while. If we should trust them at any point, it should be now."
(Mira continues to stare at you, dumbstruck before carefully pushing your finger away with her own.)
"B-But..."
(You take a step back, raising your arms as you walk towards the exit, spinning around.)
> "See?"
(You stop- not in time, you lose your footing on a pebble again, sending it shooting across the room, but you’re ready this time, and you avoid falling over.)
> "AH–"
(Stars.. You almost didn’t have that.)
> "... I’m okay!"
(You hear Mirabelle’s breath hitch for a second, Odile suppresses a laugh with her book. Isa doesn’t bother.)
> "But seriously, Mira. Look."
(You look down at the ground, looking for any more loose stones or rocks, or anything really.)
> "Everything’s-"
(They see it before you, you can’t make each of them out, as time itself seems, to. Slo w.)
" SIF LOOK OUT! "
(The ground, is darker now. Shaded from above. You. Don’t have. Time ti m e t i m e y o u h a v e
Y O U H A V E T O M O V E
You feel weightless, reality isn’t moving, you can barely move your head as you throw your entire body to the side, your leg collapsing under you as you push off to the left and your moving your getting out of the way there is A BOULDER COMING DOWN WHERE YOUR HEAD WAS IT WAS GOING TO CRUSH YOU OH STARS ALMOST DIED – )
(There is a thunderous crash, the world shakes around you and your friends, you can hear them screaming, your name, fear, blasphemy all the same. You made it. Out. Of. The way. You’re on the ground, your body thrown in a spin by your instinct to look up, you can’t see the ceiling above it, but you see a giant rock. Where you were standing.)
(Stars, that was close.)
(You push yourself up–)
(You can’t. Move.)
(You can’t feel your legs.)
(You look. Down.)
(The pain hits you all at once.)
(Before, you felt nothing, distinctly nothing, you weren’t sure if it was shock, but now, you definitely feel it.)
(You can’t. Move anything. You- everything feels slow again.)
(You can’t think. Nothing is real, you’re still in the clocktower, or the meadows, dreaming.)
(You do the only thing you can.)
> (Scream.)