Miranda

Tents patched with dyed leaves flapped gently in the cool breeze; the heaviness in her heart lifted as the ropes that bound her wrists were cut. She was finally free, walking past the tents with Razor as guards escorted them. A scream ripped through the air, it was Vilkas, bruised and bloodied. An elderly man had lodged a spear into his stomach, while an elderly woman still held hers tightly. They must have been the parents of the people Vilkas executed.

"An eye for an eye, huh." Razor crossed her arms, and Miranda turned her face away. It was wrong of him to murder those people, and she thought this would be justice. And yet, it still felt wrong. "Let's go." Razor pulled her away by the wrist, and she followed swiftly. Moments later, another shriek of pain pierced through the air.

Diane smiled as they approached, then ran up to hug her. "I am sorry you had to do this. It was my fault." Her heart raced, she had put Diane in a terrible position to save her life. Though she wished Diane hadn't done it... she was relieved. "Thank you." A tear escaped her eyes.

"It wasn't your fault." Diane hugged her, Miranda inhaled deeply before letting her go. Razor simply nodded to Diane, and they walked away. Emrys rested his back against a tree, arms crossed as his gaze trailed their every step. The days she spent with him were brief but meaningful, there was so much more she wished to learn about his people.

"Fate crossed but not intertwined." Miranda stopped in her tracks, the others glanced one another before looking at her. Not understanding what he had said. She motioned with her head and they left them alone, he approached, eyes staring intently as he stood before her. "When the time comes, please, leave the fighting." A wry smile escaped her, if only it was still her father who ruled the Empire, he would have taken the path of diplomacy.

"How I wish it wouldn't come to that." She shook her head, "Thank you, I hope our paths cross in better circumstances." She bowed her head low, "Until then." She turned her back and walked away, heart racing as she felt his gaze on her back.

The battleground stretched before her, she covered her nose as the smell of blood and death invaded her senses. Her stomach twisted. Broken weapons and armor littered the ground, bloodied and charred corpses everywhere, crows pecking at the remains. She was too weak to save herself, how could she save anyone? Her jaw tightened. To have her birthright stolen from her was something she thought light enough if it meant peace, but still her people died.

"Who are you, Eilhart?" Diane turned, cold blue eyes locked onto her.

Miranda slowed into a stop, heart racing. "What do you mean?"

"You speak their language, but you're not one of them."

"I-" Her chest tightened, inhaling deeply as hands clenched into fists.

"Tell me the truth, you owe me that much." Diane's voice was low, controlled. But she could sense the fury behind it.

She swallowed the lump in her throat, "They spoke the Divine language, I don't know-"

"Divine language?" A slight rise in her tone, face a mix of confusion and disbelief. If not anger. "You're royalty?"

"Shit. We were right. I ca-" Diane silenced Razor with a raise of a hand.

"Are you who I think you are?" Diane's voice grew harsh.

Sweats broke out of Miranda's forehead, every muscle in her body tensed but she held her gaze. "I am..." There was no lie she could come up with, not one that would hold under scrutiny. She let out a sigh, "The missing princess."

Diane shook her head with a scoff. "I don't believe this, you-"

"They killed everyone, it was better that I disappeared." Her voice broke. "I couldn't bear it, I-" Miranda hung her head low, the rage she had buried burned stronger than ever. "Even now I am too weak to protect anyone, too weak to avenge my own family."

"Did you even try?" Her eyes were teary, Diane was right. She did not even put up a fight, when her uncle usurped the throne she did not even stay to watch it fall. "People were fighting for you, searching. My father attempted to rescue you!" A frustrated laugh escaped Diane. "If you showed up, he never would've fallen for that ruse."

"I am sorry."

Diane turned her face away, retreating as she took a step to approach. "It doesn't matter, we're Blackguards now." She closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. "We should return to the Citadel."

Diane

The storage hall beneath the barracks was cold and dim, lit only by torches that flickered against stone walls. Ponytail sat atop one of the barrels; Ironball sat cross-legged on the ground. Splithair walked in, and Prettyface closed in behind her, coughing from the dust that hung in the air. "The coast is clear." Razor leaned her shoulder against the wall as she stepped into the light.

"Is it just me, or does this gang feel different?" Splithair placed both hands on her hips. "I thought we're close, and suddenly ...it's like we're all strangers again."

"Is that why we're here? Because the vibe felt different?" Diane sighed, turning to look at Prettyface, dark circles had formed under her eyes. Her heart ached, it was wrong of her to lash out and yet, she was too proud to apologize.

Ponytail scoffed before staring at her, "We came across a curious sight during the battle, Vilkas frozen in ice." Her jaw tightened, heart beating slightly faster. "Do you have anything to say about that?"

"What is there to say?" She stared back, unsure what his game was. If she was a suspect, the Archon would have done something, but her head is still on her shoulders.

"We falsified the truth on our first mission together, and I can smell a lie when I hear one." He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. "You don't trust us with the truth?"

"I saved them both, that is the truth."

"And I saved your ass." He pressed his voice in a whisper, "I killed them Diane, every witness. So tell me, what happened that day?"

"You don't have to tell us." Ironball's voice was low, disappointed.

"Fuck you mean?" Ponytail protested, fist slamming against the wall "They need to tell us the truth, if we don't trust each other. We should stop being a team."

"I agree with him, just this once." Splithair rested her back against the wall, arms crossed. "Better talk before I start flashing."

"It was my fault." They turned to Prettyface, "I got captured, and I made the bargain." Prettyface turned her face away, "And I am not an Eilhart. I am a Silverlight."

"What bargain?" Ponytail stared intently at her, brow raised.

"We give them Vilkas and they let us go." Prettyface inhaled deeply, letting out a long exhale. "The best way was to..."

"I led us into a trap." Diane cut her off, Prettyface was too soft. She'd crack under the blame. "There's a reason I put you two at the backline."

"Fuck that." Ponytail dropped down the barrel, and she met his stare. "You didn't think to tell us? We could've died back there."

"Your place in the formation granted you the best chance of survival, and you survived." She held his stare, and faint red hues flared in his eyes.

"It's not about survival Diane, it's about trust." Splithair stepped between them, face closed up to her. "We never wanted you as Captain, but we grew to respect you as one. And you decided to blindside us?" Her voice rose. "Shit. We even killed witnesses, and you can't even find it in you to trust us?"

"Diane was just protecting me." They turned their attention to Prettyface, "Forgive me, for not trusting people I dared to call friends." She bowed her head low, "I was the princess."

"Princess?" Ponytail scoffed.

They turned to Ironball, he had smacked his forehead with his palm. "Unbelievable." He shook his head, moved in to hold Prettyface's hands in his. "Is this true? Are you...our missing princess?" She nodded softly, "Fate works in mysterious ways, I did not fail my mission after all." Diane's brows furrowed. "We were tricked into rescuing a fake, a ploy to unravel who secretly opposed the Divine but here I am."

"Wait. A rescue mission?" Diane stepped up, and Ironball looked up to meet her gaze. "The fake princess imprisoned at Stalwart Garrison?" He nodded, "Everyone was killed. Even Godlikes...how are you alive?"

"Betrayal." He hung his head low, "I named the person who sent us." His voice was full of regrets, and Diane's eyes flared in icy hues, frost spread through her veins as the air around her cracked. "Captain?" He took a step back, jaw dropping.

"You...betrayed my father?" For a heartbeat, she couldn't breathe. Her father was caught because of a rat.

"Diane Isengrim?" Diane slammed out a frost, sending him crashing against the wall, frozen from the neck down. "I had no choice, they knew where my family lived." Her jaw tightened, "Kill me. I deserve it." He closed his eyes.

"Enough." Prettyface face stood before him, eyes glowing in silvery hues. "It's all in the past, we're all friends here."

"Look who finally stood up." Prettyface's expression hardened, "A little late, don't you think?"

"Everyone calm down." Razor took the center, arms out as if she could stop them. "We've all done things we regret." She stared back, "You were both loyalists, both bargained for your family's life, you shared the same pain...just different circumstances." Diane's chest tightened. Her team had turned against her. She should've expected it.

"If Miranda's the princess, can't she give us all our amnesty?" They stared at Splithair, "What?" She placed her hands on her hips with a smile. "I don't know why you are all mad about the past, our future is right here. We make Miranda the Divine, problem solved."

Diane laughed, it sounded all too easy, too simple. "You think they'd just crown her Divine?" She stared at Prettyface, jaw tight. "If she claimed her birthright years ago, maybe. Now most of the loyalists are gone. The Empire is firmly in her uncle's hands."

"An Emperor falls, a Divine rises." Razor said softly, turning to look at Prettyface. "If a Divine falls... then you rise in his place." Razor placed a hand on her hips.

"Fuck. This is one messed up gang." Ponytail shook his head, "You making killing the Divine sound easy."

"Better than slaving away as a Blackguard." Ironball's face had turned pale, white mists escaping his mouth with each word. "I am starting to doubt they'd ever give us our amnesty."

Splithair wrapped an arm around Prettyface's neck, pulling her in. "The North will attack us any moment now, we could use the chaos to escape. It's madness." Splithair admitted, "But it's our only chance."

A spear of ice formed in Diane's hand, they weren't strangers bound by uniform, but by sins. "Can I beat the crap out of him at least? Blow off some steam." She melted the ice pinning Ironball, and he toppled forward like a dropped statue, hitting the floor facefirst.

"I'll take it...no hard feelings."

Ponytail rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Then what's the plan? Are we killing a Divine now?" He sounded scared of his own words. What are her options? Their amnesties kept being dangled before them but will it ever be given? If she remains a Blackguard, could she forgive herself for killing them?

The bells rang thrice, it was their warning signal, the Northern clans had attacked them. Stay and defend the Citadel? Or escape with this ragtag band of misfits? "We'll have to make it out of here first." Diane exhaled, cold mist spilling from her lips. "One problem at a time." They can never kill the Divine, but she cannot kill them either. They were her...friends.