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“MIORINE!”
Guel burst through the doorway, fire in his eyes and force in his steps, only to find his target in front of the vast window on the other side of the room, staring out into the verdant academy fields below. If she noticed his entrance, she gave no indication of it, simply continuing to stand there perfectly still. “Miorine,” Guel repeated, no longer a yell but still pointed. “That wasn’t what we agreed to out there!”
Silence. And then, “The plan unfolded exactly as we discussed.” Her tone was unreadable.
“But Suletta wasn’t supposed to know that you sabotaged the Aerial!” Guel answered immediately. “You weren’t supposed to go to her and…and…!” He had to stop himself then as the memories came back…as the sound of Suletta’s voice, so frightened and desperate, called out in his mind. His fists clenched instinctively. “…you didn’t have to be so cruel.”
Miorine’s answer came much quicker this time. “There was no kind way of doing what we did.”
The words were far sharper this time as well, and their sting made Guel’s shoulders sag. His eyes fell to the ground. “…that doesn’t mean you had to torment her like that….” For a moment, he felt anger give way to regret, but then the memory of Suletta’s wide, tearful eyes flashed back to him, and the fire roared back alive. He took another forceful step toward Miorine, staring her down even as the only thing she continued to show him was the cool silver of her hair. “You told me we were doing this to protect her! So why…” Another step. “Why did you go out of your way to hurt her like that?”
Still Miorine did not turn to face him. Still she did not react in any way. It sent a surge through Guel’s whole body, and before he could stop himself, his hands were on her shoulders. “ANSWER ME!”
And then, at last, she moved. She whirled around, knocking Guel’s hands away. Her gaze locked on his, and he could see her face clearly now. Her expression was cold and brittle, but the red rims of Miorine’s eyes betrayed her. “How did you think this was going to end?” she asked him in a harsh whisper. “The wicked queen is slain, and the princess rides off happily ever after with her gallant knight?” She scoffed. “Fairy tales are for children.”
Guel looked down at the small young girl before him. “And what are you?”
Miorine gave him a hard shove, enough that the delicate curls of her bangs fell askew. “Isn’t it obvious?” she asked, and Guel almost thought there was a tremble in her voice. “No matter how hard I tried to run away from it, no matter how much I tried to deny it,” Her glare could have burned through steel, but her brows furrowed and her lip quivered. “…I am my father’s daughter.”
“What does that-“
“Prospera told me,” Miorine cut him off, “about the Vanadis Incident. About how my father-” Her shoulders shook; there was no mistaking the tremble in her voice now. -about how that miserable bastard father of mine had everyone aboard that station slaughtered. Including Suletta’s father.” She now took a step toward Guel, her presence imposing despite his having nearly a whole foot on her. “Do you understand? My family is drenched in the blood of hers.”
And for just a moment, Guel was back on Earth…surrounded by bodies. Just as he had done in the Darilbalde‘s cockpit, though, he clenched his fists and his teeth, pushing those memories…that place…back down. “You can’t…” he managed to speak, “you can’t really think Suletta would blame you for that….”
“Of course I don’t!” Miorine snapped back. “I can practically hear her now.” She wrapped her arms in her hands, holding tight. “‘Oh Ms. Miorine, it’s alright; that happened so long ago, and you weren’t even there, so we can just move forward together. It’ll be OK.’”
And in spite of everything, Guel had to smile; that really did sound like Suletta….
“She-” Miorine’s voice was so very small now, “she’s so annoying like that. Seeing the best in everyone, in everything.” She lowered her head, hiding her eyes from Guel just as he saw them begin to tense. “And, for just a little while…she made me want to see it too. She made me-for the first time in my life she made me feel…”
“…brave,” Guel finished for her when she couldn’t.
The young girl gave a light nod. “But…” she whispered, “that’s why I had to do this. It’s why I had to make sure she knew.” Her head sank just a little lower. “No matter how much I wanted to…keep her…I had to have the courage to face her, one last time.”
“’Last time’?” Guel repeated, blinking a bit as he processed those words. “Miorine…!”
“It doesn’t matter if she blames me or not. It doesn’t matter what I feel. What matters is that Suletta needs to be free of everything that would destroy her. Prospera, Aerial, the Duels…” She finally whipped her head back up to look Guel in the eye. “…and me.”
Her expression remained firm; a casual glance would see only the rigid ice that Miorine always showed the rest of the world. But truly looking at her, Guel knew. There was no mistaking the dampness around her cheeks. He considered saying something…anything. Standing there, though, feeling the weight behind those cloudy eyes gazing back at him, it was clear. There was nothing left to say.
Except….
“Then I suppose…we can only hope Suletta will be able to keep moving forward by herself….”
After Miorine let out a low breath, the room fell into silence again. Guel took the chance to straighten his posture, to re-focus his thoughts and feelings. Miorine in turn tucked the unsettled bangs in her hair back into place before returning her gaze to the window behind her. “…you should go,” she said, quickly settling back into that unreadable voice from before. “We both need to start work on making this…merger…official.”
Guel wondered for a moment if she meant their businesses or their marriage, but ultimately knew that, as far as Miorine was concerned, there really wasn’t any difference. “…I suppose so,” he said.
He lingered only a few moments more before opening the door back up, far more gently this time, and taking one step out into the hallway. “…take care of yourself, Miorine,” he said, and then, finally, he was gone.
Miorine was alone at last.