“Forged by the primordial fires of the furnace of creation, Nautican naval warships tend to be significantly better protected than most of their counterparts, barring dwarven ironclads or elven arcane slingers. Because of this, Nautican naval expertise includes the attempting of manoeuvres that normal warships are unlikely to be able to perform consistently when considering the potential stain on their hulls. This in turn, means that Nautican fleets are best employed as offensive tools best used to pry open enemy defences for breakthroughs, rather than sitting in defensive positions where their strengths are left mostly down to their survivability.” ”

- Fmr. Sea Lord Veronique Batten, Arterian Academy of Naval Studies, “The Nautican Fleet And Fleet Composition”

Sophie found herself somewhat amazed at the strange turn of events. What had originally been planned as a get together with Alodie to catch up had accidentally involved Miraevie as well. But then, seeing that the party had expanded, Ary had also invited her friends Fana and Aubrey. Though they had only been passing acquaintances to Sophie, considering they were Ary’s friends, she was determined to leave a better impression than she had previously.

It had been a pleasant if somewhat calm tea party as they all chatted and caught up with each other. The duo, of course, obfuscated as much as they needed to still present a cohesive narrative without revealing their ‘journey’ to Ostia involved meeting Gods and dwarves. The rest of them had mostly spent Saints Day and the new year break with family and friends. Though in Fana’s case, they came to visit Arteria instead. To see the ‘Heart of the Continent’.

“Delicacies from home, lovely things.” Fana pulled out a small box and unwrapped it, revealing a pile of thin nut covered biscuits and some white candy that also had little nuts and things in it.

“Oh, I love these.” Aubrey said, her eyes twinkling.

“What are they?” Ary asked.

“Oh, nougat and pistachio brittle. Try some.” Fana answered as she began handing everyone some.

Sophie sniffed the brittle, finding hints of sugariness and some floral notes behind it. Curious, Sophie wasted no time and bit into it, earning herself a satisfying crunch as sweetness filled her mouth. Combined with the crunchiness of the pistachios and floral almost refreshing notes amidst the sweetness, it was a decadent little treat. Delighted by the unique taste, she set the rest aside and plopped the oddly cut white candy into her mouth. Unlike the first, this one carried a more subtle sweetness, its notes more mellow and calm. It was however, significantly chewier than the brittle even with the nuts inside it adding some texture.

Aubrey and Alodie both ate with looks of recognition in their faces, while Miraevie seemed to be remaining more analytical, the elf taking the tiniest bites and sampling the flavours. To her mild annoyance, Fana was closely watching for Ary’s reactions, the redhead appearing more than delighted with the treats. Why do I feel... so uneasy? Fana sees her as a little sister almost, but still.

Sophie watched as Ary broke off some of her brittle and ripped some chunks of nougat. As if summoned by some mysterious power, Yana fluttered over from the window and greedily snatched up her share. The faerie licked both items, found them satisfying and carried them back to her perch on the window where she toyed with some snow soldiers dancing on the outside of the window.

Sophie couldn’t help but glance around the room. She was amused at how everyone seemed shocked or amazed that Yana had acquired her meal. The duo had briefly explained to the newcomers about the faerie’s presence, swearing them to secrecy. But evidently, seeing was believing even if it meant for them, food was disappearing into a small ball of light. Miraevie was the only one who seemed unfazed, though she observed the faerie’s behaviour carefully.

“Yummy.” Ary beamed at Fana.

The girl in question nodded like a wise sage passing on her secrets. “Right? I missed these too, ever since I moved here.”

“Her parents send them by post, sometimes. Delicately preserved by some ice magic. Fancy, right?” Aubrey teased.

“Aubrey!” Fana pouted.

“It’s fine! My parents sometimes send me stuff too!” Alodie chimed in, “Though mostly clothes or books.”

“Oooh, from Ostia?” Aubrey turned to the girl.

“Yeah!”

“I heard you guys set a lot of trends for the basin, is that true?”

“Ah? I… don’t know? Maybe? You’d have to ask my big brother, he’s the one involved in trading and the clothing industry.”

“Wait, wait, what do you mean, involved in the clothing industry?”

“Well, errrr, he’s the one who does all the fashion stuff in the family. I just help run an inn so I don’t really keep up.” Alodie shyly smiled.

“What? You run an inn?!” Aubrey let out an exaggerated gasped, “We’re in the midst of business people.” She turned to Fana, who just rolled her eyes. "Ohhh and remember the elves we met last semester?"

Sophie, you busy? A voice in her head sullied the enjoyment of the moment.

Sophie reluctantly tore herself away from her friends and Ary’s friends finding common ground to reply. Maybe? I am in the middle of something. You sound a bit bothered, can’t handle student life? It’s only been a week.

Hah hah, very funny, leave the sarcastic remarks to me. Fuck, what I meant to tell you was there’s a problem. Sophia announced.

What is it? Sophie asked.

It’s your other lady, Eva. Seems what she told the king got through. Bunch of kids from Carrador are bothering her, Traxians too, though I think the Imperials are-

Where are you?

Rude. In front of Grats Hall, the guardians are already separating the crowds and-

I’m on my way, Sophie sighed.

Hey, at least let me finish describing things. Sophia complained.

You can tell me when I’m walking, for now, don’t distract me. Sophie replied and closed her eyes. She drew in a deep breath and emptied her mind.

“Sophie?” Ary’s voice pierced the din and Sophie’s eyes fluttered open once more, “What’s wrong?”

Seeing the care and concern in Ary’s eyes made Sophie relax a little, the half elf just sighing before looking dejectedly towards the window. “Eva’s in trouble, apparently. Getting herself mobbed.”

“Oh? Oh no!” Ary let out a small squeak.

“Huh? Who’s Eva?” Fana asked, her expression crinkling into a frown.

“My mistress.” Sophie replied instinctively.

“Your mistress?”

“Ahh! Sorry, I meant my mistress when I served under House Rosengart. Lady Evaline Rosengart.” Sophie hurriedly added, watching the girl’s frown deepen.

“And how exactly do you know she’s in trouble…?” Fana narrowed her eyes.

“Was it Sophia?” Ary chimed in.

Sophie nodded.

“Sophia is her twin, they’re telepathic.” Ary clarified.

“Huh?” Came the collective reply from all but Alodie, the Ostian just watching things unfold curiously.

“Telepathy… it isn’t a thing. Right? And you have a twin?” MIraevie skeptically looked at Sophie.

“Ary and Alodie… can explain everything. I’ll try to come back as soon as possible.” Sophie lowered her head apologetically.

As the last bootlace was tied, Sophie quickly threw on her coat and awkwardly waved goodbye, receiving a few awkward waves in return.

“Stay safe!” Alodie chipped in.

“Shouldn’t be a problem? I’ll try. Sophie half heartedly grinned.

“You better!” Ary added, the redhead carefully assessing Sophie.

At this Sophie could only smile back. I mean, it shouldn’t be a problem, right? Just some angry students. With a growing sense of dread, she closed the door behind her and hurriedly rushed down the stairs, nearly colliding with a stray student along the way. And I was hoping for a calm semester, Sophie grumbled. What the hells did you do, Eva?

If there ever was a scene of controlled chaos, then Sophie suspected that Grats Hall would be it. A large crowd had formed outside the training fields of the hall and around half a company of guardians clad in half plate and wielding large shields separated the rowdy students into three sections. Though a fourth circle was now slowly surrounding the area, where more and more students were peeking in to see what the commotion was about.

Standing around the edge of the walls were Suzuki and three other saints that Sophie vaguely recognized. They were protected by a line of a dozen guardians who had interlocked their shields to form an impenetrable metal wall. In front of the line was Eva’s haggard form trying to assuage the crowd of something, protected only by two guardians.

Across from her, Traxian students and Carradorian students were pointing fingers and shouting. Both at her and at each other. Between them, a few scattered guardians kept the peace, preventing any fisticuffs or any additional agitation.

The closer Sophie got, the better she could make out the insults being traded. The more she understood, the sadder she got. From the Carradorian students, they were chanting ‘traitor’ at Eva, the act alone depressing and enraging Sophie at the same time. The Traxians meanwhile, were calling her a ‘fake saintess’ or accusing the Carradorians of breaching some treaty.

“Sophie, over here!” Sophia called out.

Following her twin’s voice, Sophie found her counterpart sitting on a bench behind tree cover. Sophie joined her and the two spent a moment peering past the trees at continiously growing crowd. Dammit, Eva. What the hells are you trying to do? Just get out of there.

“How bad is it?” Sophie asked.

“Depends on your perspective.” Sophia grunted, “It’s been… about twenty minutes, give or take. They started really screaming about ten ago.”

“Ten, twenty, wait… you’ve been here that long?”

“Something like that. I saw Eva over there getting questioned and decided to stick around. Figured I’d see something interesting. Called you over as soon as it started escalating.”

“Huh.” Sophie frowned.

“Hey, don’t look at me like that. I’m you but not you. If I just jumped in and pulled some shit on my own, everyone would think it was you. What then?”

Sophie winced and just nodded. Fair enough.

“Besides, I’ve been keeping an eye on her haven’t I? The guardians are keeping the peace so far. But aside from memories, Eva’s all new to me. She is your mistress after all.” Sophia finished with an inflection in her voice that made Sophie growl.

Gauging her reaction and seeing no follow up, Sophia just rolled her eyes and motioned at the crowd, “If you must know. I figured it’d be better that you put a target on your own back rather than me intervening and having it land on yours!” Sophia snickered, “And it’s not like there’s any trouble over there. Not yet, anyways.”

“Not yet?” Sophie queried.

“Mhmm.” Sophia nodded, “I mean, you don’t seriously think that a bunch of spoiled brats who just started yelling at someone will just give up there, right? Especially now that the Traxians are getting involved.”

“How troublesome.” Sophie growled.

“So? What’s brewing in that little brain of yours? Any fun plans? Because I know the first one that comes to mind.” Sophia giggled.

“I’m not just pushing through the crowd..” Sophie sighed dejectedly, holding up a finger to silence her counterpart, “And before you say it, yes, you know me well. And yes, I absolutely considered it.”

Sophia looked overly smug upon hearing Sophie’s admission and the half elf briefly regretted acknowledging it. With an annoyed grunt she turned her attention back to Eva’s situation. Her mistress was still yelling something at the Carradorians and they only seemed to be heating up. Already a little miffed by Sophia, she stood up and cracked her joints, bracing herself for some pain to come.

Seeing this, Sophia’s eyes widened and she tugged at Sophie’s sleeve.

“Hey, you’re not really planning on starting a brawl are you?” Sophia’s somewhat bewildered expression bringing a tingle of joy to Sophie.

“I’m not daft. The guardians would flatten me and I’d be expelled at best.” Sophie chuckled.

“Then what are we doing?”

“We?” Sophie looked over.'

"I'm here already, aren't I?"

"Fair enough."

"So? What's the plan?"

“The plan was, I go in and drag Eva away. I expect her to maybe thrash a little and maybe get punched by someone in the crowd.”

“By the shadows below.” Sophia swore, “You really are an idiot.”

“What? You got a better plan?” Sophie bristled.

“Yeah. It’s called catching her attention and having her come to us. You know, so we don’t have to push past people and potentially get smacked by a guardian?”

“And how do you intend to do that?”

“Well, she loves you like family. I suspect if she sees you she’ll be worried and if you make a fuss she’ll try to placate you in some fashion. I hope…”

“That’s it? And you’re saying my plan is bad? What if she just doesn’t see me?”

“Well…” Her counterpart shrugged, “Haven’t gotten that far yet. I basically still think a lot like you do. It’s hard to not just want to barge in.”

“Heh.”

“Heh.”

The two shared a dry laugh.

Sophia then reluctantly stood up to join Sophie, heaving her body around and feigning tiredness by staggering about the place. Sophie mimed kicking her counterpart and Sophia quickly straightened up. So cause trouble and draw her away… or the crowd. Easier said than done.

“Oh yeah?! I’m a traitor?! I just wanted to live my own life and help the kingdom too! Didn’t want to be a goddam puppet! Just fuck off Walter.” Eva roared at the lead Carradorian student, earning her a loud jeer from the crowd.

Sophie winced hearing her mistress’s anger, sighing deeply as she realised Eva was unlikely to back down. Dammit, Eva. You need to calm down a little. Sophie bit her lip as she tried to think of a plan. Eva was lost in her own fight, having a shouting match between herself and the Carradorian students. The Traxians were thankfully more of a threat to the other students than they were to Eva. A small mercy, at least.

Trying to get Eva’s attention seemed more difficult than she had anticipated. She and Sophia were stuck in the crowd of students seemingly spectating this bizarre display. But between them and the main group, a small ring of guardians had already formed a perimeter for crowd control. While barging through students was a bad but possible idea, the thought of trying to muscle her way past the Academy’s armed guards seemed like a less than ideal option. For both her health and her academic studies.

Yet she found herself running out of time, the situation deteriorating faster than she had expected. The crowds were getting unruly, the deadlock making people more antsy as the shouting matches led nowhere. Sophie could see the guardians tense up, their shields held just that much firmer in case of a clash. They wouldn’t wield lethal weaponry against the students, but Sophie preferred to not get hit regardless.

“You betrayed our trust, our people, for what? To hide a fugitive of the state?!” Someone yelled.

“She was just an orphan before that! They only called her a traitor now because people like you are too scared to even imagine, that in your shrivelled up husk of a brain, that an elf could serve our kingdom just as well as anyone else!” Eva yelled back.

“It’s not about that! It’s about the principle! You hid something from the whole kingdom! And apparently your sainthood status too!”

“False saint!”

“Traitor!”

A few more voices joined the chorus.

“Oh yeah? That’s why I announced it in the first place. Fuck you ungrateful swines!” Eva snapped.

Another flurry of retorts and insults were traded between the two parties and Sophie suddenly felt so very exhausted. Dammit, Eva. Don't get so worked up.

Letting out a concerned click of her tongue, she motioned for Sophia to be ready in case things went wrong. Her counterpart just smiled slyly and tapped where her scabbards usually were. Sophie knew that Sophia wasn’t stupid enough to use such weapons within the Academy grounds. But a part of her still worried nonetheless. No backing down now.

“Eva!” She called out.

No one cared or heard her, the crowds voices and mass drowning out her words.

“Eva!” She shouted even louder.

But it was to no avail as Eva didn’t even seem to register it. Looking over towards her counterpart, she felt her frustration build as Sophia just smirked at her failure. Sophia then mimed being a soldier, much to Sophie’s consternation.

Then Sophie paused, her eyes flickering from Sophia to Eva and the guardians. Of course. The one thing she could always hear even in a crowd. Sophie snapped her fingers in glee at her own genius.

Summoning what willpower and skill she had within her, she tried picturing the angriest lecture that Eva had ever received from either the Duke or Duchess Rosengart. The memories alone making Sophie shudder as she felt the residual fear she had felt back then simply standing at Eva’s side. Puffing out her chest, she pushed past a few students to appear in front of the first ring of guardians. The soldiers eyed her warily but made no move if she didn’t advance further. About a good of a chance as I'm getting.

Sophie sucked in a deep breath and let it out, bracing herself for the cringe and attention she was about to draw to herself. Coughing a few times to make sure she was prepared, she stood up straight and pretended to be the most regal of characters that she could be. With one last breath, she closed her eyes.

“Evaline Rosengart!” She bellowed out with an indignant tone, just as the Duchess might, “What are you doing?! Behave yourself at once!”

She could see the exact moment Eva heard her command, the older girl freezing slightly as her features changed from fury to confusion. Seizing what little willpower she had left, Sophie took advantage and continued.

“Get over here at once! You troublesome lout!” She barked her orders.

To her surprise, Eva did identify her this time, the older girl’s eyes widening in surprise and embarrassment at Sophie’s arrival. Okay, got her attention. Now how do we get her out of this mess?