Chapter Text
The zip on the duffle bag was the only thing that broke the silence, but it was enough to make Emira jump, eyes looking around paranoid.
Sighing minutely when she found no one, the greenette takes the bag containing as little as she could carry and pulls it onto her arm, turning towards the window-
-and finding a face identical to hers standing just behind her, shown in the dull reflection on the window in her new room.
The singular dim glow illuminating the room, a simple light spell that Emira knew Luz was fond of, cast harsh shadows that hid most of the room from view.
"...hi, Ed."
"Emira... where are you going to go?"
She looks away, frowning.
"Anywhere that isn't here."
Edric flinches minutely, hurt in his eyes.
"Why?"
Why are you leaving us behind? Why are you leaving me behind?
Why didn't you tell me?
"Mother needs someone to marry the heir to the throne," Emira offers with a tight smile, gold eyes pained. "It may as well be someone who loves him."
"Em-"
"Ed, don't. I'm doing this for you, for Mittens... For Hunter."
This was the first time either of them had spoken his name since the announcement.
"...and?"
"And... and for me."
Silence fell for a few short seconds.
"Did you know?" Edric asks abruptly.
Know what? Emira wanted to ask, but she knew exactly what.
"...yeah. I knew."
"Why didn't you-"
"We had a deal. I wouldn't tell you so long as he eventually found a way to tell you. He was... he was going to tell you at the sleepover."
"Then...?"
"Then Emperor Belos found out."
And wasn't that just wonderful? The man who'd saved them all from their old ways (Emira doubted that more by the day, but what could she do?) was the one who'd hurt their friend so badly for so long that Hunter hadn't even seen wrong with it until he'd met Luz.
Then again, that girl had a habit of turning everyone's lives around and pushing their problems right out the door.
A golden light in a shadow-shrouded world, paying a perfect tribute to her name.
They look at each other.
They look one last time at their living reflection, their perfect opposite.
All questions asked, answered, and final.
"...I'll miss you, sis," Ed whispers, words breaking the still early morning silence.
Emira nods, feeling tears pool in her eyes as she blinks them away.
The window latch clicks. The burning smell of fresh rain blows through the opening, and then Emira Blight was gone.
And 16-year-old Em's fate was left to the winds of chance.
At the same time, Hunter Archer(-Cazador-Clawthorne) was trying to find his way out of his own glorified jail cell.
And in a stroke of sheer luck, he'd found a loose tile in the ceiling.
(Although the intricate design led to it being more of a simple fresco, in all honesty.)
And according to his mental blueprints, if he went through here, he would be led directly into the guard's breakroom.
A place that was seldom entered by anyone past nine until half-past five the next morning.
It was currently 12:08 am.
Carefully working the tile out of its place, Hunter slowly slides it up and winces when it grinds against the surrounding stone with more force than subtle.
Pulling himself up through the hole, he gently hushes Rascal's frantic chirping and takes a few seconds to realise that he did it.
Holy shit, he did it.
...also wow, no wonder Luz managed to break in here so often when it was so easy to break out.
Heading over to the open window, Hunter takes Rascal's staff and prepares to fly.
"Is he going to be okay? Are they feeding him? Oh gosh, what'll they do to him!? We JUST got him out of his mindset, what if he-?"
Luz watches her nearly-parents pace the kitchen, both worrying themselves to death over Hunter's wellbeing.
She'd be lying if she wasn't concerned too, hell, even Lilith looked anxious, and King was sitting sadly on Hunter's favourite chair while clutching Francois.
Even Hooty was more depressed than usual.
The usually loud and exuberant bird-worm was drooping, curling around Lilith's chair with the saddest expression she's ever seen him wear.
A knock resounds on the door.
They all look up, wide-eyed.
Could it- is it-?
The door swings open.