Yoko stared quietly outside the window as the early sunlight streamed inside the bedroom. A blanket was draped over her shoulders, hiding the bandages that were wrapped around her injury. She could feel the pain from the wound every time she took in a breath. The golden chaplet that rested on her head seemed to glimmer almost weakly, mirroring her blank, dreary expression. A visible display of fatigue surrounded her lone figure. If someone were to see her at that moment, they would be looking at a tired girl bestowed with a responsibility she couldn't bear to withstand instead of an astute, esteemed royal who normally never showed her weakness. Yoko Agnis rex Castagne, after all, was someone with a firm exterior. Even with the problems surrounding her ascent to the throne, she had maintained a calm resolve in her appearance. The only one who always seemed to interrupt her pace was Jul, and only Jul. Towards other matters, Yoko never wavered.
There was a knock from the door. She jolted in surprise as a voice echoed from the other side. "Princess. They are here."
Yoko cleared her throat, trying to control her tone and not make herself sound as weak as she felt.
"Come in," she commanded.
The knob turned and a castle maid stepped inside, followed by the two people she had requested before her presence.
Chell Necrovitte was looking at her with her unusual stare, eyes impossibly silver and cold. Once again, Yoko was struck at how more of a doll and less of a human The Snow Witch, always seemed to look. This was her first impression of her when they met the other day, and until now it continued to last. A glance was enough to tell that the girl before her wasn't normal, other than the obvious signs: the color of her eyes, the whiteness of her hair, the paleness of her skin. Chell simply radiated an aura that whispered of a quiet, powerful force behind her otherwise frail appearance. And Yoko knew this was true. She was a Vitte after all—a member of an old Witchfolk family deemed untouchable in terms of power. However, Chell's circumstance was different. Although Yoko did not know the full story, she had heard the unsettling rumors regarding her bloodline. A rumor that Yoko would rather not bring up in a conversation.
Behind stood her mysterious companion, Noct. Though Yoko knew less of him than she did with Chell, a feeling told her that he wasn't such a bad person. Thought sometimes, in the short time that they had been together, Yoko would notice a quick, strange glint in his eyes that made her think otherwise. Yoko glanced at him. When their gazes met, he offered a small polite bow.
The castle maid lowered her head and quietly left the room, leaving the three of them alone. Once the door closed, Yoko gestured to the nearby stool beside the bed.
"Please, sit down."
Chell nodded, moving to settle herself onto the seat. Noct, on the other hand, decided to remain standing beside the door, leaning his back comfortably on the wall as he crossed his arms.
A few moments of silence passed, an unspeakable tension floating around them. Only the sound of life beyond the open windows was heard. Then, Yoko spoke.
"... I'd like to formally thank both of you for coming here," she began. "I'm sure you both have a lot of questions you want to ask. I'd like to answer them before anything else."
She looked between Chell and Noct, waiting for them to say something. It was finally the witch who did, asking the question that Yoko had least wanted to answer.
"Yoko..." The Snow Witch uttered quietly. "... What happened?"
The princess look down instinctively at the bandages on her shoulder and clutched the blankets closer. She winced, accidentally adding too much strain to her injured side. However, she refused to meet their eyes, convinced that her voice would betray her if she did.
"I was attacked," she said through clenched teeth. "In the middle of the night."
"By whom?"
Yoko's voice caught in her throat as the memory of last night flashed before her head: the figure of a girl shrouded in the semi-darkness, holding aloft a knife tinged with blood. "... Jul. It was Jul."
A quietness rested over them. The princess quickly shook her head. "—But it wasn't her fault. I know Jul. We've been together for years. She would never do that. That wasn't her... Something was wrong with her. With the way she looked. She seemed... different."
"Different?" Noct said aloud from the other side of the room, sounding confused. When both Chell and Yoko turned to look at him, he seemed to realize that he had suddenly joined in the conversation. He rubbed his neck nervously. "Ah, sorry, princess... That was rude of me."
"No, it's alright." Yoko dismissed him with a shake of the head. "... And... yes. Different. The light in her eyes—it was like she was in a daze. As if she was seeing something that wasn't there. When I screamed, it was like she had just woken up and realized what she did. It was as if someone... someone else was—"
"Controlling her," Chell finished.
Yoko looked at The Snow Witch. It was an idea that she did not want to acknowledge. Yet, that was the only way to explain what had happened. Very slowly, she nodded.
"So you are saying..." Noct murmured quietly, "That Jul was being controlled by a witch."
"... Yes."
Both of them turned to look at Chell, who bore no reaction to what she had just heard. The Snow Witch continued to sit there with without any sign of discomfort or alarm. This alone made Yoko sure of her conviction. Just as she was about to say something, Noct interjected first. "No. It's impossible for the little miss to be the culprit. I was there with her the moment you were attacked. We were speaking to each other. If she had been casting a spell, I would have known."
Yoko smiled weakly. "No. You don't need to worry. From the start, I did not suspect you two. Why would I allowed myself to talk with you here in private if I thought there was a chance that you would finish the deed? I know the rumors from Uldard were false. I also know that Chell is not someone who would wish to involve herself within politics and power. And besides, she is a Vitte... Please, rest assured."
She looked again at Chell in the eyes and nodded. Chell made a small nod as well.
"So that means..." Noct trailed off, his tone implying that he did not want to be the one to finish the thought.
"... There's another witch... a powerful one... who wishes you... dead," The Snow Witch continued, every sentence seeming to bear a heavy weight.
Yoko inhaled. "Yes."
"But why?" Noct asked.
"My uncle," Yoko breathed out quietly, certainly. "Basil. I am sure it's because of him. He's been wanting to become the next king, yearning for the throne since the night my mother died. Since I am next in line and he is second, he only needs to eliminate me. My father... he has been growing weaker by the day from a sickness. He cannot even get out of bed anymore. It won't be long now before he leaves this world. Basil wants the throne to himself, he's been planning behind my back. Half of the Council already supports him."
"Hold up. So this... is like some kind of royal feud?"
"Yes, I'm afraid so."
"... Oh."
Yoko pursed her lips. "Please worry not. I do not intend to involve you. This kingdom's problem belong to ours alone. I am not brazen enough to impose upon my guests. I... called you here for a different reason."
They were silent, waiting for her to proceed. The Snow Witch's eyes were trained on hers, intense and searching. Yoko breathed in, wincing from the pain.
"There is something... I would like to share to you." The princess whispered quietly. "It's a story from long ago, one that had been forcefully hidden. This might have been the start of this entire royal feud... and the reason behind my people's hate. Please... would you listen to this, and to my final say?"
Neither of the two said anything. Yoko took this as a silent agreement.
She began.
"I met Jul when I was seven. Her mother was the head of the royal apothecary. She was a witch, a brilliant healer and one of the best in the kingdom. A lot of healers used to respect her and study under her as an apprentice. She worked here in the castle. Every time she came, she would bring her child, Jul. And that was how we became friends.
Jul, you see, was like her mother. She was a witch. Yet unlike her mother, she was more powerful. Even at a young age, Jul was unlike any other witch. I used to be in awe of her skills. She would jump from roof to roof, cradled by nature's breath. She could summon small whirlwinds that made the leaves in the garden dance. She could lift up objects from far away, using the very air as an extension of her arm. It wasn't too long before I learned that Jul was a Blessed Child, someone born with the Blessing of the Wind."
She stopped, noticing how Chell seemed to have jolted after hearing that last sentence. However, the girl said nothing. Yoko continued.
"My mother, the Queen... she was a witch as well. Unlike her, I did not receive her gift. And unlike Jul, my mother was a weak witch. She had no particular affinity, and was only able to do basic spells. But my mother... she was hungry for power. She was proud, and vain. I never held any affection for her as a parent. She never tried to act as one. I believe she hated me. You see, my father wanted an heir. A son. But instead, I was born a girl. Not only that, but something had gone wrong during my birth, something that caused my mother to never conceive another child..."
Her voice turned more quiet. A bird fluttered across the window. "... My father was overjoyed with me, but my mother was ashamed. I believe she was seen as a failure among the nobles. You see, my father married her not as a choice but as a political arrangement. They did not love each other, I believe. Fearing that she would be replaced, she began shutting herself off in her room... at least that was what I heard the maids and butlers murmur. Whenever I saw her in the castle, she would ignore me or look at me with spite. But I did not care. My father's love was enough, and I had Jul. If my mother loathed me, then be it.
"However... it never occurred to me that she would do the thing that she had done." Yoko stopped, clenching her fists as she recalled the memory that had tormented her for so long. "One day... I was talking to an apprentice of Jul's mother, about the Witchfolk. We were walking down the corridor, I remember. I mentioned to that person that Jul was a child who had the Blessing of the Wind, and that she was a powerful witch. I did not know that my mother had been listening to us from the side. I remember her appearing as if out of nowhere, grabbing my arm, asking me to repeat what I had just said. For a child who barely talked to her own parent, it terrified me, the way she looked, the way she held me painfully. I had never had a proper conversation with her before, yet now she was screeching to me with an insane look, demanding I answer. Her voice must have carried throughout the entire castle, because my father and his soldiers arrived at the sound of her screams and separated us. I remember the hungry gleam in her eyes. My mother, I found out only later, had slowly been sinking into insanity....
"I only knew too late about why she wanted to know about Jul and why the information of her being a Blessed Child interested her. I believe you're aware of Blessed Children... you are one yourself, after all, isn't that right?" Yoko looked at Chell.
The Snow Witch blinked. Then, she made a small, reluctant nod.
"Then..." Yoko trailed of quietly, almost turning into a whisper. "You... must know the effects of... eating the heart of a Blessed Child?"
There was a glassy look reflected in Chell's gaze. She parted her thin lips, answering softly. "... They say... it can grant immense power... and cure any sickness..."
Yoko nodded.
"Yes. Indeed. And my mother wholeheartedly believed that information."
Noct spoke from his corner, trailing off a thought. "Then did she...?"
The princess of Gisnell looked down at her covers, unable to meet their eyes out of shame for what her bloodline had caused. "That night... My mother, the proud queen, left the castle in the midst of a storm. I... I saw her leave. I was heading to my room, when I encountered her again in the corridor. I remember being confused, and afraid once more. This fear was the reason why I never took a second's thought about why she was wearing a cloak and where she was headed in the night. She ignored me, and frankly, I felt relieved. It never crossed my mind to tell my father that I had seen her, or to the maids. She normally never left her room after nightfall."
She inhaled, bracing herself to tell the rest of the story. "... It was my fault. I caused the tragedy to occur. She went to their house—Jul's house, and tried to take her heart, to kill her. Jul... she saw her mother die before her very eyes. And when my mother tried to stab her, she fought back with her own power, and ended up killing her."
A grim silence descended. Yoko's voice was quiet now, as though she was afraid of raising her voice and letting someone else hear them, despite there not being anyone else in the room.
"The neighbors found her in the morning. Jul had been standing there, bloodied and frozen. She had been staring at the corpse of the queen throughout the night, they said. They informed the castle, and I went as quick as I could. Even when I arrived, she just looked blankly at me.
"Of course, the truth was never put to light. No one could ever know that the queen had tried to murder a child, and that she had been killed in the process. My father tried to cover up her death by claiming her to die of a disease and commanding those who witnessed to be quiet... but rumors spread, and the noblemen became suspicious. They had heard another version of her death, one that involved an attempted murder..."
Yoko stopped. She raised her head and looked once more outside the window, at the distant sky.
"Jul wasn't the same anymore after that. The happy, energetic Jul I knew had disappeared. I could understand. At seven years, she had killed someone. Someone she loved had died before her. Since her mother had not any relatives, she was alone in this world, an orphan. And the worst part was that the real events of that night had to be hidden. She and her mother were never given justice, and she was forbidden to speak of the truth. Jul had nowhere to go and no one to turn to.
"To atone for my sin, I invited her to live in the castle. We grew up together in these walls, like sisters. Slowly, through the years, she began to regain her previous self. She started smiling more, laughing more. And seeing her like this eased my conscience. Jul is, after all, my first and only friend. Someone I trust more than any other. And that is why I allow her to do as she pleases and why I would never forgive myself if anything happened to her. If... this feud for the throne might prove dangerous enough to threaten her life, then I don't want to involve her again. Never again."
Yoko Agnis rex Castagne straightened her back, ignoring the pain from her wound and facing The Snow Witch with a look of deep resolve.
"I know this may sound unreasonable and brazen, and that I probably have no right to ask this of you but... I will ask all the same. If anything happens to me... if it seems like the situation has become grim, I want you to take her with you and flee this kingdom. Please. Jul deserves so much more than this. I know she can become someone great. These walls merely serve as a shackle to her abilities. Although... Although I cannot undo my sins, I can still try to atone." She reached out and held Chell's bandaged hands within hers. The Snow Witch flinched in surprise, attempting to pull away. However, Yoko held them in place.
"If anything happens to myself, she will not be safe. Basil will never allow her in the palace. If the situation arises, I want you to run away and take her with you. As the princess of Gisnell and as a friend... Please, look after Jul for me and take her somewhere safe."
She finished speaking, pressing her lips together. Chell stared at her. With the light of the morning sun illuminating their figures, Yoko thought about how incredibly delicate and otherworldly The Snow Witch looked in that moment. The paleness of her skin and the silver of her eyes seem to turn almost translucent. She was almost closer to a wraith than she was to a human. But Yoko could feel her hands beneath the bandages, firm and solid.
The Snow Witch turned to look at Noct, who caught her gaze. A silent understanding passed between them, a message that Yoko could not interpret. The young man sighed, shrugging slightly. Chell faced Yoko once more. She blinked.
"I'm not sure... if I can be able to do... what you want me to do..." she said quietly. "But... I'll try."
A wave of relief washed over her. Some of the burden that she carried on her shoulders seemed to have lifted, because Yoko could feel her lungs seem lighter in her ribs. The princess inhaled sharply, losing the ability to speak for a moment. She thought about what to say, pouring out all her gratitude into the two words that she felt would best be used.
"... Thank you, Chell."
----> thank you for reading!