Chapter Text
Bonnie was getting really annoyed (and worried). Ever since Frin had to go through the everyday school he had been different. It’s been over two weeks since they beat the King and everyone was tiptoeing around the subject of the timeloop thing but it was obvious that Frin’s behavior was affecting everyone! No one was talking and everyone was upset and Frin wouldn’t even talk to Za, Belle, or Dile!
With a huff, Bonnie slumped down onto a root of the favor tree that was good for sitting on.
They knew that bad things were hard to work through but Frin hadn’t even told anyone how they got their throat hurted before he passed out from craft eggs-ost-ion! And even though they’ve woken up a lot since then and re-cuv-erd more, he still won’t tell anyone what happened!
Maybe if Bonnie could wish something really hard they could help Frin get better, or know enough to make Frin more comfortable.
Bonnie knows how to wish right because one time, Za found one of those headachy books Siffrin said he could read now in the secret library Loop showed them. Za brought the bad book with him when he and Bonnie were visiting Frin in the healer’s room one time. After seeing the book, Frin mentioned how he made their wish at the favor tree, but it seemed kinda like they were reciting something, his eye went kinda distant and they got all weird…
“Frin, Za got you one of those weird headachy books!” Bonnie announced. Frin looked all weird and soft at Za.
“Thanks Isa.” Frin mumbled with a grateful smile.
Frin had been reading a headache book from the Dormont library, sup-oh-sid-lee some trans-lay-shun of a romance book about curses and castles that Belle liked, but had finished it fast, making bed rest boring for Frin again.
He had requested another headache book only a few days ago, and despite there being a clear lack of headache books in Dormont and the House, already Za had found a new one like a sap. However, once Frin actually read the title of the headache book it seemed like they put on a fake face and act.
“You make your wish, and breathe it into the leaf you like best… and fold the leaf over to keep your wish safe.” Frin paused, looking a little like he wasn’t really there in the room anymore. Their facial expressions shifted as if he was reacting to something that wasn’t there. “It just… makes sense?…You choose a leaf, to represent yourself. You breathe your wish into it… To make a link between you and whatever you’re wishing to…”
Za looked curious but also kind of worried about Frin. “So, a link between you and the Tree?”
“No, the Universe? I think?” Frin ree-spond-ed. Another weird pause. “You repeat your wish three times… Six could work, I think, or seven, or thirteen.”
“So, whatever number?” Za wonders. The question seems hes-tant, as if Za was making sure Frin was still there. Frin sometimes seems to talk to nobody like this and everyone else gets worried when it happens so it’s probably a bad thing. The healer said it’s probably just cuz they’re sick but to keep an eye on Frin as he re-cuv-ers cuz it might be traw-ma or PTSD.
“And then you fold the wish into the leaf, to tether the link between you and the wish. Touching it.” Frin suddenly looks a little panicked for some reason. “If you just look at the Tree and clap and say stuff aloud, why would the wish know where to go?”
Then there was another really long pause. Za’s face got more upset the longer they went quiet. Za tried getting their attention but Frin still seemed to be reacting to nothing and was ignoring Za. “I wished for croissants to be eradicated.” Frin finally said with a smirk.
Bonnie scrunched their nose. “No you didn’t Frin, you told us you wished to stay with us. Also, if that was your wish, it would be really crabbing bad and stupid! I like croissants!” Za gasps halfheartedly when Bonnie says crab, dramatically clutching his chest in disapproval.
Before Za can scold them on their language, Bonnie’s words seemed to snap Frin out of being here but gone, because he seemed really surprised after Bonnie said that. Za seemed ree-leaved, and later thanked Bonnie after Frin fell back asleep.
“I… don’t know what to do when he gets like this, I feel almost frozen and whatever I try doesn’t seem to snap them out of it. I think I’m accidentally repeating past Isabeau so much that it might make things worse?” Za says embarrassed-ly.
“Then just try something else.” Bonnie points out obviously. “Duh. You can’t help Frin if you only repeat the same things that don’t work!”
Za gives a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. “Thanks Bonbon. I’m trying, but I should probably try harder to out predict what already happened in the loops so I can avoid it better. I’ll work on it and make new plans to help if Sif gets like this again. Also, please don’t repeat what you said earlier in front of your sister when we see her, we’ll seem like we were bad influences.”
Bonnie smirked. “What? You mean ‘crab’?”
Za panicked. “Right! Like that!”
Bonnie stuck his tongue out. “Crab.”
“Bonnie!” Za groaned.
Okay, so Bonnie needs to find a good leaf that rep-ree-zents themself if they want to wish right. They look really hard at all the leaves before taking a good one that they can reach. Hmm… Frin said that 3, 6, 7, or 13 is a good number of times to repeat a wish.
Bonnie thinks that 13 is considered a not lucky number for some reason they can’t remember so they shouldn’t repeat it that many times just in case it turns the wish bad. 3 is the smallest number, so it might not be big enough to carry the wish. Bonnie decides to repeat the wish 7 times cuz it’s the second biggest number so the wish will be strong but not unlucky.
Frin’s been really different lately. Everyone is really worried about them, and no one is saying anything, and Frin is almost healed from the craft tiredness but they aren’t actually better! Bonnie wishes that they and their family could see what happened to him so they could help Frin. They want to be able to help. If they all know, Frin won’t even have to say anything (cuz he never does anyway) and then they can be happy and tell lame jokes again.
Bonnie murmurs his wish into the leaf again and again, seven times in a row to make sure the wish isn’t mis-under-stood, before folding the leaf up to make sure it stays there. To make sure the wish is sent right, Bonnie holds the leaf up to his mouth and blows it away, watching it get carried away through the wind to whatever wish granter it will go to.
They really hope this will help them help Frin.
Mirabelle, Isabeau, Odile, and Boniface are standing together in an empty, lightless void. The void, though infinitely lightless, is dimly lit around where they stand. They were not there a moment before, but they are now.
Odile is squinting in the darkness. She tries to look around but is unable to see any farther than three feet away from her. “Where the Gems are we? How did we get here?”
Mirabelle’s heart is racing in anticipation. “I once read a book that started Just! Like!! This!!!” She proclaims excitedly. “Alright, who’s been talking to a dark and mysterious stranger with claws who secretly wants to whisk them away!?”
“Not me!!!” Isabeau replied energetically, pouting. “Although does Sif trapping us all in a time loop so they can stay with us count as ‘whisking us away’?”
“Possibly??? Though, the real question right now is whether the mysterious stranger brought us here to rip us apart and sacrifice our limbs to a dark god or if they fell in love with one of us and want to kill the rest of our friends so we can be alone together forever and make it so they’re the only one who’s allowed to interact with and love the love interest ever.” Mirabelle pondered. Despite the low visibility, Mirabelle could feel Odile’s judgemental stare, and cowered under its weight. “B-But I’m sure that’s not actually what happened and we were abducted for some other, not life threatening reason!”
Odile sighed. “No matter the reason for our abduction, how did this happen? This place is very abnormal, even during Siffrin’s breakdown the House was not so lightless as wherever we are presently.” She lifted her arm experimentally. “It also appears to somehow have a different gravity to it.”
“Hey, speaking of Sif, where are they? Did whoever took us not take them here with us?” Isabeau nervously pointed out. Everyone looked around, but Siffrin was indeed missing.
“Is Frin going to be okay..?” Bonnie asked nervously, although also a little guiltily.
“They’re likely still in the healer’s room, Boniface. If he was not taken with us in the initial abduction, it is unlikely that they will also be taken as the risk will be higher due to people being alert because of our disappearances. He’s likely safer than us at the moment.” Odile reassured them. She didn’t bring up the other awful possibilities since there was no evidence of anything and therefore no need for speculation yet, especially not in front of the kid.
“That’s right, I’m sure the kidnappers were too afraid of Euphrasie to kidnap Siffrin from bedrest under her watch!” Mirabelle encouraged. Bonnie pondered this for a few moments before nodding, expression unreadable.
“Indeed…” Odile seemed to notice something off in some of the others’ behavior. “Boniface, would you happen to know why we’re in this situation?” Odile stared them down, catching on to their visible guilt.
Bonnie kept their focus on the floor, fidgeting, until they broke. “…ImadeawishFrin’swaybutIdidn’trealizethiswouldhappen…”
“…You made a wish ‘Frin’s way’.” Odile deadpanned. “After their wish to stay together with their friends turned into a torturous time loop. And just how did you discover their method of wishing?”
Isabeau winced before explaining in Bonnie’s stead. “Sif had a flashback to a moment when they were explaining wishcraft in the timeloops while they were still more out of it from craft exhaustion. I had brought him one of the books I found in the secret library written in the forgotten language but apparently it was related to wishcraft so it triggered a flashback before I could react. Bonnie was there too so they heard the whole explanation.”
Odile was not impressed. “I see. And how does that relate to your part in getting us into this mess?”
Isabeau was sweating. “I… also made a wish.”
“What did you both wish for?” Mirabelle wondered. “And why did it bring us here?”
“I don’t know,” Isabeau shrugged. “I don’t see how this could be related to…” Isabeau then notices a mirror floating in front of them. It had just suddenly appeared in the blink of an eye. Hesitantly, he touches the mirror.
The glass of the mirror is suddenly entirely lightless, not reflecting anything but showing something else. The mirror then reveals Siffrin lying in the grass of the meadow by Dormont. He’s just woken up from a nap, looking to the sky before closing their eye once more.
“Sif…?” Isabeau murmurs.
“Is Frin trapped?” Bonnie questioned.
Isabeau shook his head, “No, I think this is just like one of those crafted mirrors that takes pictures. I didn’t think crafted mirrors were that advanced yet… I’m guessing this can record video because of the wishcraft.”
“Hmm…” Odile appears to be pondering something. Mirabelle bites her lip.
Suddenly, Mirabelle’s voice echoes around the family in the void. “—Frin! Siffrin!” Mirabelle looms over the Siffrin on the mirror. “…Siffrin?” Siffrin opens his eye.
“But that? Never happened?? I didn’t wake Siffrin up from their nap that day, they were already awake when I came to wake them. How can it record something that didn’t happen?” Mirabelle wondered.
“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! We have to be ready for tomorrow… So we can finally face against the King!” Mirror Mirabelle continued cheerily. Siffrin closed their eye again.
“This probably did happen, just during Siffrin’s time loops,” Odile mentioned, “I suppose I should have known that your wishes would involve them. Everyone has been curious about it.”
Mirror-Belle winces. “…You’re still half asleep, aren’t you?” Siffrin makes a grumbling noise.
“He’s so adorable…” Isabeau quietly squeals. Odile rolls her eyes but nods. Mira nods too although she’s looking at the screen kind of weirdly.
“Hm… Okay, then…You can sleep for a little longer, but not too long! Come to the village when you're ready, okay?” Mirror-Belle goes back up to the village. Siffrin yawns until their jaw cracks.
All of the adults collectively wince in sympathy.
After another 30 seconds, Siffrin jumps up and starts moving casually towards the village.
Everyone is so focused on watching the mirror that they don’t notice the figure quickly approaching them until someone grabs Bonnie from behind.
Everyone startles, readying their craft, as the figure pulls Bonnie behind them, until…
“…‘Nille?” Bonnie speaks hopefully, hesitantly, with awe.
“Hey, Kid.” Petronille reaches down, pulls off Bonnie’s hat, ruffles their hair, and gives them a fierce hug before resuming her guarding stance between Bonnie and the other saviors. “I’m so glad you didn’t get frozen, but you never should have been brought to fight the King.” She glares at the others wrathfully, hands in fists.
“Siffrin! You’re up!” Mirror-Belle’s voice suddenly rings out happily in contrast to the tense saviors and Petronille in the void.
“Hey Mira.” The Siffrin on the mirror greets Mirror-Belle at the bridge in Dormont.
Bonnie seemed conflicted and upset, hugging Petronille tightly but also trying to convince her to stop. “They didn’t even let me fight the King, they just gave me baby jobs, you don’t have to fight them!”
Mirabelle and Isabeau were trying to panickedly de-escalate Petronille before the situation went from bad to worse. Odile occasionally cuts in with calm, reasonable explanations and remarks to also attempt to calm Petronille down. Petronille wasn’t budging. Siffrin and MirrorBelle discuss the quality of his nap.
…
Unbeknownst to anyone in the void, a lone star began shining in the distance.