"The Winter Lull:

With the arrival of winter and snow, the Traxian advance across all fronts have slowed as both sides fortify in anticipation for a renewal of hostilities in the spring. While most the the Abenstadtian countryside has been ravaged by conflict; a continuous supply of goods through the alliance’s supply routes, has helped keep the Grand Duchy from falling into Imperial hands."

- Forward Pont! New Years Edition, “Third Page Story”

The siblings had been practically interrogating Yana about this mysterious bond that Sophie had inflicted upon Aryana. Yana was more than happy to try and help towards the creation of a solution that allowed her to permanently sever the bond between the lovers. Although Sophie remained interested in their discussion, she could tell that Ary seemed strangely against the idea of this separation. Choosing to express her displeasure by immersing herself examining the gadgets around the room. Hiding her feelings from the others by appearing disinterested. But why? Isn’t this a good thing? For both of us?

Still, Sophie couldn’t help but find the theory proposed by the siblings to hold at least some merit worth considering. For as far as everyone knew, the duo hadn’t had prolonged separation at long distances, nor had they tried channeling that lingering energy into other objects, such as a mana battery. In theory, it would either snap the bond or disrupt it in a similar fashion to Yana’s magic, or prove that there is something far greater at work that is manipulating Ary’s mana output.

Yana even added her opinion that the mana transfer to another source would likely fail, as the bond is more intrinsic and guttural in nature. However, the distance theory might hold some weight considering the bond did fade a little during their time in the deep. Though Sophie could tell Yana carefully danced around saying that Sophie’s own fall with the giant spider had merely caused Ary’s demise, a fact that dashed any hopefulness within Sophie with a wave of guilt. Worse, both Sophie and Ary did agree on one thing regarding the solution, being separated would be painful emotionally, if not physically.

Oi, dummy. Sophia rudely pierced her mind.

Eh? The fuck? Sophie replied in kind.

Where are you? We got our placements and everything.

We’re in Runegarde, where the siblings are.

Huh, guess it’s time to meet the family.

Hey! Let me at least ask them first! Sophie protested.

Go ahead if you want, I’m sure they’ll be more than thrilled to study the mysterious twin and sister. Sophia teased.

Sophie accidentally rolled her eyes, bringing the actual conversation in the room to a pause.

“Sophie?” Maylesa asked, “Something the matter?”

“Ahh, err, sorry for interrupting. But, I was wondering if it’s okay to invite my siblings and the dark elf here.” Sophie sheepishly asked.

The siblings looked at each other before Yana quickly fluttered up, her arms crossed with a resolute no.

“Without establishing relations, bring her not to this dwarven bastion!” Yana declared.

Sophie froze, blinking for a moment before she processed what the faerie had said. Of course! We don’t even know if any of the dwarves here know about the dark elves, but if some do come from kingdoms that do… I guess it’d be problematic. Huh, sharp eyes for a faerie.

“Why not?” Maylesa asked, the siblings evidently on the verge of agreeing before being interrupted.

“A history of two peoples, blood spilled filled to the highest steeple.” Yana spoke.

“Then why… why not somewhere more neutral?” Sophie hastily suggested, sensing the general disbanding of the more focused mood just moments ago.

“Indeed, that might be fine. But where? The library?” Thalnor queried.

“How about…” Sophie tried to rack her brain.

“Our room!” Ary beamed triumphantly, finally joining in. A little too eager there.

Yana looked relieved, the siblings seemed intrigued at witnessing their abode. Ary was pleased and therefore Sophie could also relax a little.

Change of plans, meet us in front of Rosewood Hall. Sophie told her counterpart.

“How will they know where to find us?” Maylesa asked, “Was this pre-arranged?”

“Telepathy.” Sophie pointed to her head, the siblings shooting her a blank expression “I’ll explain on the way.”

She tried her best to conceal the smirk at finally successfully baffling the siblings so completely that she caught sight of their shocked expressions. She turned away and revelled in her minor victory, just happy at shattering the often far too composed elves. Teasing friends does feel quite...fun.

It must’ve been an odd sight for any passing student to witness. Two identical looking half-elves save for their hairstyle. A human girl looked intrigued that the world existed, next to a ‘new race’ of elf standing with the most stoic of expressions. Two normal elves, perhaps recognizable as part of the illustrious Calnodel family, stood alongside them. With a strange redhead that had a light spell floating above her head. Even the two door guardians seemed to regard them strangely. Then again, if Sophie weren’t a part of this, she might also think some bizarre diplomatic delegation had come to tour the academy. Heh.

Thankfully, the eclectic group remained mostly subdued as they proceeded into the building, registering their student cards at the front desk before moving up to where the duo’s room was. R322, our room. Entering it, both Ary and Sophie immediately perked up, the familiar sense of ‘home’ of sorts flooding back at once. It was a safe place, a warm place, their place, at least for their time at the academy.

She recognized the light purplish blue wallpaper, the two cubby beds with their privacy curtains still open. The oval table in the middle was a little dusty from their time away from the academy, and much to Sophie’s embarrassment, her previous semester’s coursework and papers were scattered all across her desk. Sophia let out a stifled giggled at her distress, while Ary just judged her as any proper roommate should. Freed at last, Yana fluttered about the place, the faerie zipping between every nook and cranny as she tried to discern all the little intricacies about the room. Elaria and the siblings seemed pleased by the general state of things, though Sophie noticed her sister also judging how messy her parts of the room were compared to Ary’s. Raylani meanwhile, seemed to finally relax despite being on edge the whole day.

“Fascinating. Your room is both so alike yet so different to ours.” Maylesa hummed.

“Oh?” Sophie made a noise.

“Indeed. Smaller overall room size, same beds though.” Thalnor agreed.

“Huh, cool. Different designs though I’m guessing.”

“Oh yes, quite different indeed.” The elf nodded, “Ours is much more earthy and vibrant.”

“More green, right?” Sophia chimed in.

“Very much so. Oh! Right! Pardon our manners, but now that we’re here, are we allowed to ask more questions regarding the 'dakr elf', your void magics and just well... how everyone came to be?” Thalnor quickly changed the subject, his words earning Maylesa’s immediate attention as well.

Elaria chuckled, “My, my, spilling secrets already are we, Sophie?”

“Oh! Pardon us!” Maylesa joined the conversation and bowed, “Maylesa and Thalnor Calnodel, pardon us for not introducing ourselves earlier.”

“Ahahah, it’s quite already.” Elaria giggled, shooting Sophie a small wink, “Elaria Kastiane, at your service. My compatriot, whom I believe you’re both quite interested in, is Raylani Nelas.”

“Mm.” Raylani grunted, suddenly realizing she’s in the company of pure blooded elves.

Oh dear, I didn’t think about that compilation. Sophie almost made a noise. Still, at least she’s trying to stay composed.

“A pleasure!”

“A pleasure, truly!”

The siblings echoed.

“Please. No need to be so formal around us. You’re Sophie and Aryana’s friends. You can relax a little.” Elaria smiled.

This seemed to confuse the two elves and they just looked to the duo for support.

“Are we too formal? Is this not how we always act?” Maylesa asked.

Sophie had to hold back a laugh, but thankfully Ary stepped up.

“They are always like this.” Ary beamed.

“O-oh! My apologies.” Elaria sheepishly dipped her head.

“It is fine. You are, perhaps, as much of a mystery to us as we are to you.” The siblings nodded.

“Well, well, then feel free to ask whatever your heart desires. I can field most questions, provided you’re not poking too deep.” Elaria warned.

The three of them settled down around the table, sitting in prim and proper poses that reflected their, what Sophie assumed, new found respect for each other. Raylani stood by the doorway, her eyes mostly focused on her mistress, protective and perhaps also a little wary of the elven siblings. Sophia had unhelpfully flopped onto what was Sophie’s bed, letting out a relaxed sigh as her counterpart just laid there. That meant Sophie had to flop down upon Ary’s bed, a move which immediately prompted the redhead to join her, making it increasingly difficult for the two to resist cuddling in front of their companions. Yana, true to the faerie’s curious nature, was busy examining the furnishing, before occasionally darting over to the window to watch people walking by below.

Sophie was content to let the others get to know each other. Finding it amusing when the siblings would question things directly, even managing to fluster Sophia when they if she could feel everything Sophie felt, including those more intimate moments with Ary. Admittedly, that question flustered Sophie and Ary as well, but being half snuggled to each other, they just let out embarrassed giggles and were happy they weren’t the ones looking directly at the siblings. She did manage to learn that the Calnodel’s were actually an extensive family, Elaria having broached the subject to which, with little hesitation the siblings detailed their intricate and at times overly expansive lineage. Theirs, it turns out, was one of the famed ones within Arteria, but within the city itself, there were two sub houses, and then beyond the city and scattered across the land and back in Adonar, there were almost two dozen other branches of the family.

While Raylani remained mostly aloof, she did ‘speak’ with the siblings, mostly through Elaria. Thankfully, they seemed pretty understanding after Elaria explained what Raylani had told her about elven and dark elven history, the factoid only igniting more interest in the strange elf within the siblings. They’d be a good match for Yana, no, hells, they are a good match for Yana in terms of curiosity.

Ary sprang back to life when the conversation slowly veered towards Tristan and the Frostwinders, even Sophie jumping in to participate as Sophia initiated the subject. The siblings vaguely remembered them but had nothing substantial to add in terms of their presence on campus. Only knowing that Tristan and his previous associate, Daniel, were popular amongst the upperclassmen. The room did collectively agree to keep an eye out if the Frostwinders were up to something regarding Aryana, much to the girl’s relief. Though Sophie noticed how the idea of this fact finding mission seemed to intrigue Raylani the most.

“Ohhh!” Sophia excitedly exclaimed, slamming her hands on the table and startling everyone. “I bet you two might find this fascinating.” She addressed the siblings.

“Oh?” Thalnor replied.

“Yeah! I almost completely forgot to mention-”

Knock, knock.

“Hello? Sophie? Are you there? It’s me.” A familiar voice called out from the hallway, cutting off her counterpart. Eva?

“Eh? Eva?” Where the words Sophia stole from her mouth, her counterpart flashing her a sly wink. Much to the amusement of everyone else in the room and Sophie’s horror.

Sophia opened the door and there she was, Eva. The girl wrapped Sophia into a hug and Sophie felt slightly cheated, her counterpart stealing the initial outburst of affection meant for her. Then Eva’s eyes searched for Aryana only to see the room was filled with people, her gaze then landed on Sophie and a very confused frown appeared on Eva’s face. Before she could react, Raylani shuffled slightly from her post and Eva looked over, having not noticed the dark elf until now.

“Gah!” Eva yelped, perhaps surprised or genuinely frightened.

That brought the room to a soft laugh. Even Sophie chuckled a little.

“Sophie? Sophie! Sophie?” Eva peeled away to look at the two Sophie’s and the rest of the cast. Dozens of questions appeared on her face.

“Sorry. Just wanted to steal a hug. I’m Sophie’s twin, Sophia. You’ve met Ary before.” Sophia pointed to the redhead currently half nuzzling Sophie. “That’s Elaria, our sister, Sophie and mine. That’s Raylani. Those two are Maylesa and Thalnor, which you might’ve heard her talk about before. Nice to meet you.” Sophia grinned.

Eva spent a moment taking it all in, “Huh?!”

“I still don’t get it.” Eva huffed in disbelief, “None of this makes any sense.”

“Which part? I can-” Sophia tried to speak.

“Allow me.” Elaria cut her off, “The Maste made me. Shadow God helped make Sophie’s clone. I found this one. Those two are friends. That’s Aryana.”

At that, even Eva snickered a little, “Okay, fair enough. That’s the general gist I caught from your explanation anyway.” Eva showed Sophia a little mercy. “Also hi everyone, I’m Eva, nice to meet you all.”

“I’m hurt you didn’t recognise me right away.” Sophie chimed in with a joking pout.

“Sorry!” Eva let out a soft wail and bounded over to wrap Sophie in a hug. “My bad!”

“Eheheh, forgiven!” Sophie declared with a giggle. Behind her, Ary feigned her own pout before beaming at Eva who retuned the pleasant smile.

“Next time. Just know that Sophie wears her hair in a ponytail. Mine is a bun.” Sophia gave her two a thumbs up.

“Pfft, I’ll make sure to awkwardly stare at your heads until I figure it out next time.” Eva grinned.

As the hour went on, Eva slowly got to know everyone, jumping from person to person. Seeing this, Sophie felt a small sense of accomplishment. For once, everything was neatly tying itself together and fitting in. Everyone seemed pleasant enough with each other’s company and it really felt like she had a group of people around. Though she had no doubt Eva would be mortified before immediately admonishing her for the recklessness she had displayed if she ever shared the story of the deeps with her. Well, maybe I’ll keep to an abridged version. Might be safer that way.

Sophie felt happy watching her mistress work to win everyone’s approval. In fact, Sophie guessed that everyone within this room at least respected everyone else. It was a small demonstration of solidarity, but it was solidarity nonetheless. What was more surprising to Sophie was how readily Eva had dropped the fact that she was a saintess out in the open. Usually she’s a bit more reluctant, I wonder what changed? Freddie maybe?

Though the announcement itself made little fanfare considering that everyone already knew or had an idea of the fact. The siblings were the ones most excited by this newly discovered openness, taking the advantage to ask countless questions about the ‘other world’. They prodded mostly about technologies and in particular about batteries, only for Eva to sheepishly admit that she didn’t know too much about mechanical or scientific subjects, much to the siblings' disappointment. Yet, although she seemed happy, Sophie was still uneasy about Eva.

“Hey, Eva.” Sophie called out.

“Yeah, Soph?” Eva looked over nonchalantly.

“How’d you know I was back?”

“Oh that! Oh right! I completely forgot! My mind must’ve slipped when I saw there were two of you.” Eva chuckled, “But right, it’s because I saw some light and the little peson flying around the window. I was like ‘what the heck is that? Sophie must be back.’”

“Ah! So you see her too?” Sophie gestured to Yana, who now watched Eva intently from atop Ary once more.

“Oh! Was I not supposed to?” Eva now unabashedly stared back at the faerie, the subject finally having been brought up.

“What? No, no, nothing like that. Usually, people with less connection to mana tend to see her as a mote of light, like a spell. But since you’re an outlander, I suppose there shouldn’t have been any doubt.” Sophie explained.

“It is a little bit like cheating. What’s it anyway? A fairy?”

“It-”

“I am not an it! Something more flattering would fit!” Yana blustered, taking off from her roost.

“Oh, the fairy speaks.” Eva stared at the faerie.

"Of course I can speak! I am not...err... meek!"

“Yup! She can talk! She’s a fae, called Yana.” Ary chimed in, much to Yana’s approval.

“Fascinating. Then-”

“Sorry for interrupting, Eva.” Sophie cut Eva off.

“No worries?” Eva seemed a little surprised, “You sound like this is important. So by all means, go ahead.”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Go for… it?” Eva hesitantly agreed.

“What happened?” Sophie asked directly.

“Pardon?” Eva made a shocked expression.

“What’s wrong, Eva? Whatever it is, I’m here to help.” Sophie reached over.

Whatever other side chatter had been happening in the room fell silent. All eyes were now on them.

“What… Do you mean? Everything is fine?” Eva nervously chuckled.

“Eva…” Sophie sighed, “You’re sharing outworlder facts so readily. I’m happy that you’re chummy with my new siblings and friends, but it’s way more… involved than you usually are. There’s just usually more caution involved and that’s not counting how long you hugged Sophia for, or how long you were planning to continue.”

“Can’t I just have missed you.” Eva murmured, her face grimacing with every word.

“But even before, when we met after I got kidnapped. We hugged for a minute, maybe minutes. The moment Sophia opened the door, you looked about ready to stay there for days.” Sophie spoke.

Eva looked more distraught and all the joy was sucked out of her face. Worried that she pushed too hard, Sophie moved closer to give Eva a few gentle pats, stroking her hair the same way they did back at the estate whenever Eva got into trouble without her.

“If it’s because of Freddie, I’ll beat him up. If it’s the Duke… well that’s a little harder but I’ll try!” Sophie reassured her.

Eva let out a pained laugh, and just shook her head. “No. Freddie loves me and I love him.”

“Then you father? I’ll go home and fuck everyone up, even Hilda." Sophie growled, "Especially Hilda.”

“Heh. Wouldn't that be the sight? I doubt Hilda would stand a chance." Eva giggled. "No. The dickhead King of Melton announced what you did in Melton to our court. Came to our little Saints Day feast for ‘diplomatic reasons’. Since it happened during the war, they branded me as aiding and abetting a dissident and banished me for a year.” Eva stated dryly, “You’re branded a full traitor. There’s no going back home for you.” Eva’s voice dropped to a whisper, “I’m sorry.”

There was silence in the room. Those who knew were shocked. The siblings at least, kept quiet based on everyone else’s reactions. Yana continued fluttering but adopted the same mannerisms as the elves. Well... at least that explains why Eva's a little weird today, damn.