“The Calian Brigade is one of the most influential regiments that served under the First Nautican Union. These were soldiers trained in the art of elvish guerilla warfare and traditional formation doctrines. Their effectiveness was demonstrated in the ‘Battle for Mount Star’s Eye’. When skirmishers harassed demon formations and their sturdy bastion held their ground on the mountainside, allowing the lighter units to continue harassing the demonic forces in a battle that lasted two days. ”

- Professor Terrance Ehrlich, Arterian Academy of Strategy, “Lecture on: Adapting Tactics and Controlling Your Enemy”

Aster. Second Floor. Now.

The message echoed inside Sophia’s head and she grunted. The gall of this girl. I tried to reach her for the past ten minutes and she’s just silent. Fuck, I guess something did happen. Frustrated, she ran her hand through her hair.

Elaria looked up, the two sharing a quick nod of understanding.

“I think the assassin got Sophie knocked out or something. She just gave me a location.” Sophia relayed the information.

“What a worthless cur. To have hurt Sophie like this.” Elaria narrowed her eyes, “We should go at once.”

“Nu-uh. As much as that would be helpful. Someone still needs to watch over her.” Sophia hurriedly protested, “And you know that the two of you are the most capable ones around.”

Elaria sneered at her but didn’t reply. Raylani just giving Sophia a silent nod.

On the bed, Aryana groaned and clawed at something incorporeal, likely some form of a nightmare. The poor girl had been caught off guard by whatever Sophie had gotten involved in. There were little signs of things going wrong besides for her starting to sweat profusely. But when Sophie’s warning came in, Sophia made the decision to tell the clothes and get Yana to temporarily halt the bond.

Sophia had never seen it happen, neither did Elaria or Raylani. They too, found themselves stunned when the girl suddenly doubled over and writhed with a look of horrific agony. Only to immediately fall into perhaps the most painful yet peaceful looking slumber Sophia had ever seen.

Only then did Yana reveal more about the process. Because whatever caused the bond was deeply entrenched, without the proper preparations and rituals in place like in the deeps, the consequences of a forceful severing could be dire. As such, her best course of action was to limit Aryana’s bodily functions to the bare minimum needed to survive. Therefore, a nightmare filled sleep was perhaps the only way to go. To cut her body off from the connection with Sophie without causing any more potential damage.

That left the three of them and the somewhat distraught faerie to keep an eye on things. Though Sophia was certain that either of the two were more than a match for both her and Sophie combined. Elaria walked with a confidence that betrayed the fact that she had a plethora of skills and powers hidden beneath a bardic smile. Raylani was a professional gladiatrice and assassin. Based on the way she acted, Sophia had little doubt about her skills either.

With a grunt, Sophia looked at Sophie’s sword, wondering if she should bring a weapon just in case. Maybe useful. Potentially risky. Many guards. Disappointed at her own analysis, she looked away. No weapons.

She huffed and pushed herself up from the chair, sharing one last glance with her sister and the dark elf. The two offered reassuring glances, they will play their parts. Up to me to help Sophie once more. May the mistress of shadows hide my passing.

Opting to disguise herself somewhat. She silently asked Aryana for forgiveness and borrowed a reddish green cloak from her wardrobe. She then removed her hair tie and let her hair drop, afraid that someone might mistake her bun for Sophie’s hair style. Seeing what she was doing, Elaria held up her scarf and Sophia gratefully accepted.

Taking a small glance at the mirror showed herself looking more like some generic elven student than her usual attire. This transformation will do for now. With little else stopping her, she moved to the door and stepped out of Sophie’s room. On the move, but what the hells am I supposed to even be looking for?

Sophia shivered at the sight ahead of her. Simply walking to Aster Park had been a pain, the massive crowd and regiment of guardians now posted in the area made her life even harder. Alongside the standard academy guardians present, she also noted the presence of mercenaries adorned with arm bands depicting a raven, though also clad in guardian armor.

The soldiers had practically fortified the perimeter of the park building with students inside being protected. And curious onlookers separated by another cordon of the raven banded troopers that kept everyone else far away. A few temple guardsmen and Astralian templars also assisted in crowd control, controlling the flow of visitors passing through the area as well as church goers. Damn, quite a crowd today.

Trying to remain inconspicuous, she circled the park, finding almost every potential entryway surrounded by guardians. Damn. Whatever went down between Sophie and the assassin must’ve been pretty intense.

With this many guards, there was little chance she could simply sneak in. For although the Academy’s mostly flat and expansive land offered a feeling of freedom. It also meant the guards could easily see people sneaking around. She needed a different way in.

Sensing the palpable fear in the atmosphere, she drew up a plan with only a small prayer on her lips. Forgive me for this. Soldiering past her own doubts, she wriggled her way into the middle of the crowd, obtaining a few angry murmurs but not too much resistance. Knowing that time was of the essence before people got bored of looking, she readied her voice and prepared to point upwards.

“On the roof! I see something! We need to hide!” Sophia shouted, wincing with every word.

The panic took a brief second to set in, then utter bedlam as students scattered in every direction. The guardians were now too busy scanning the rooftops to properly hold back the entirety of the crowd. Likely also not wanting to contribute to any casualties by leaving students outside, a small gap in the defensive cordon opened up as panicking students flooded into Aster and the church. Sophia squeezed herself alongside the crowd, managing to look as panicked as she could as she dashed indoors.

Her troubles did not end however, for there were at least forty odd guardians watching all the approaches on the interior. Likely even more vigilantly now that she had called a false alert. But she was in, and she took a moment to scout out her surroundings. The interior of Aster was a place of spacious corridors and copious amounts of greenery. It would’ve been a nice place to meditate were it not for the hundreds of panicking students. In the courtyard outside, she saw the remains of a stage and the knocked over chairs. Where the princess must’ve been speaking, damn. Looks like a small possibly medium sized event. Certainly not as chaotic as… well all this shit.

She sighed, taking a moment to find all the areas she could slink to unnoticed when she came upon another troublesome sight. All the stairs had guardians watching them, one pair on the bottom, and another pair halfway. It meant getting up to the second floor would be an even more difficult task. Dammit Sophie, couldn’t you just knock the guy’s shit down like, a floor?

With a grunt, she pulled herself together and mingled with the crowd. Scooting this way and that in an attempt to find a possible opening. Her eyes caught a glimpse of something behind a shadow and she double backed to find an open doorway to a classroom. Two guardians stood outside but as the crowd washed by them, she dipped inside, just below arm level. I swear there was a balcony when I saw this side of the building outside.

Her advance was abruptly halted by the glint of a dagger pointed directly at her nose. Shit. Of course there’d be one in the room.

“Who the hells are you?” A guardian looked down at her.

“Err…” Sophia mumbled. Stars, what do I say? I didn’t think I’d get caught. Shadows help me.

“Sophie?” An incredulous voice gasped before taking a more stern tone, “It’s alright sergeant, she’s the one who warned me. I wouldn’t forget the voice of someone this onerous.”

The dagger withdrew, but the guardian kept his eye on her.

Past him, two noble ladies peaked curiously over at her. The more regal but perhaps disheveled of the two, Sophia recognised from Sophie’s memories as Princess Lucinia of Trax. The other, frowning, almost suspicious of her, was Lady Olivia. Behind them, there was a bed where a wounded girl lay recuperating, but no name was forthcoming though there was a sense of familiarness that came from her.

“Why are you here?” The princess asked.

“I…” Sophia summoned up the best impression of Sophie she could muster, “I apologize, but I need your help.” She dipped her head in a polite bow. Yesh, it feels so wrong trying to imitate her.

“Help? Now? Well? What is it?” The princess looked almost annoyed.

Sophia wanted to say she just needed access to the balcony. But with the guardian here, that seemed like a far less possible prospect. She tried to signal with her eyes to the princess about her issue but the girl remained oblivious. Lady Olivia however noticed a lot more, and the girl seemed to be debating whether to mention it or not.

Sophia looked at the lady pleadingly as Sophie might do, and the lady sighed. Lady Olivia tapped Lucinia’s shoulder and whispered a few words into the princess’s ears. Whatever she had been told, Lucinia did not look amused.

“Sergeant, we can handle her from here. You may leave us temporarily.” The princess spoke up.

The guardian saluted but looked at the princess, his gaze asking if the girl was currently being threatened. Lucinia just softly shook her head and the sergeant left the room, though his gaze never left Sophia.

After the door closed behind him, Sophia could feel the air in the room immediately chilled. At least I’m in.

“So?” Lucinia demanded, he tone sharpening. But Sophia already knew the unspoken question.

“I’m Sophia, Sophie’s twin. Real creative, I know.” Sophia answered.

“What the hells? A twin?! And why the hells are you here? Sneaking in to finish the job?”

“I already said I needed help, didn’t I?”

“Sure you do. But for what, is the real question.” Lucinia placed her hand on her hips.

Sophia held up both her hands to reassure the two, though they didn’t look convinced.

“Look, first off, did Sophie even tell you she had a twin?”

“Of course not.” Lucinia snapped.

“Well she does, and a sister as well. Before you ask, no. We didn’t know beforehand either. Sophia is my name, Elaria is the sister.”

“And how exactly does any of this help?” Snippy, I see. But fair enough, she did almost get killed.

“She wants me to look for clues upstairs. In the room where she fought the assassin.”

“Upstairs where she… ahh, it makes sense now. So it was her making the racket. What oddly fortuitous timing though…” Lucinia mused.

“Truth is, one of our friends felt something was off. The whole thing with Evaline, the saintess?”

The princess nodded in acknowledgement.

“Right. So we thought one of the nobles might be going after Evaline and Sophie being Sophie, decided to take it upon herself to do guard duty from afar.”

“And?”

“Guess it turned out the assassin was after you instead of Evaline. Though that does beg the question…” Sophia looked down at the figure currently resting.

“That confirms it, you’re definitely not Sophie.” Lady Olivia tutted, “She would’ve at least recognised one of her own. That’s Princess Samantha Edelin.” Samantha Edelin… oh shit, that’s the royal family.

Sophia’s expression of surprise made Olivia display a smirk, though one tainted with sadness.

“My brother wanted to hold a rally for peace. Convinced her to represent the Carradorian voices, given the war and all. Well…” Lucinia sighed, “We’re here now.”

“What Lucy is trying to say is, this is a disaster.” Olivia added.

“Gee, thanks for the support.” Lucinia growled, “But back to the matter at hand, you. Why exactly are you here for the second floor? The guardians will take care of it. And why do you need our help?”

“That’s the thing. I don’t know why exactly I’m here, only that Sophie told me to come here. As for why I need you? Well… I can’t exactly walk up the stairs. There’s a balcony outside this room and I planned to just… you know, climb up.” Sophia half heartedly shrugged.

“Climb up? The gall…” Lucinia sighed, “And where exactly is Sophie anyway?”

“Hurt. Decently so. She didn’t say much besides ‘Aster. Second floor. Now.’ so I figured she’d left something important up there.”

“Hurt?” Lucinia’s expression seemed to shift a little.

“She’s an idiot. Didn’t get the chance to ask. But my guess? She tried to bull rush the assassin and got dinked along the way. It’s what she would do. Hells, it’s what she always does. She’s healing up in the church right now.” Stars, I hope she’s in the church, I’d look like a pretty big fucking liar if she isn’t.

“She… hmpf. The fool. Though I shall make certain to convey my thanks. Doubt Samantha would be too pleased though.” Lucinia murmured mostly to herself before letting out a dry chuckle.

“Don’t mind Lucy, she’s going through a lot. So why are you going anyways?” Olivia drew Sophia’s attention to her.

“Cause Sophie told me too.”

“But why not the guards?”

“Guess she thinks its more important for me to find something than the guardians.”

“How curious.” Olivia frowned, narrowing her eyes to examine Sophia more closely, “You look the same yet different.”

‘It’s who I am.” Sophia nodded.

“Lot more mystery here, that much I can tell." She chuckled, "Well then.” Olivia turned to the princess, who currently seemed to be deep in thought piecing together the pieces of what happened tonight. Without asking, she helped Sophia unlock the patio window to the balcony. “Up you go, good luck.”

“T-that’s it?” Sophia let out a surprised noise.

“Second thoughts?”

“No? I just-”

“Better get moving before Lucy gets antsy.” Olivia smirked.

“Thanks.”

Trading a quick wave, Sophia hopped onto the balcony railing and reached up. With a precise jump, she latched onto a tile on the second floor and pulled herself up. Having found a little foothold, she tried the nearest window only to find it was locked shut. Fuck, if I break it that’d be too much noise. Looking around, she shimmed her way across the ledges, calling upon the shadows to shield her from prying eyes of anyone below. She was running out of time.

Sophia found the experience almost as if she was crossing the ridgeline to the dwarven wayfort once again. Her heart started to pound with excitement and a brief glimmer of glee in her eyes at this adventurous act. Making a gamble, she made her way to a window covered by a small awning overhead. Grabbing onto it, she tried to use her foot to force the window open.

“The hells was that noise?” Someone asked from below.

Wasting no time, she kicked once, the force pushing the window open but also making a fair bit of noise.

“The hells? Did you hear that?”

“From above?”

“From above!”

Before they could spot her, she threw herself into the room. But they knew something had happened on one of the upper floors. Her own plan had come back to roost. Dammit, I just had to shout that there was someone on the upper floors earlier. Now they’ll definitely think the assassin is lurking around.

Hurriedly unlocking the door to her room. She snuck into the hallway and tried to map the most likely spots she needed to search. Given where the chairs and rally was, she’d assume it would be a room overlooking the park. That’s still… fifty rooms? Then she remembered the few things she did see on the way to the princess’s room. Blood stains on the stairs near the entrance. Close by there, overlooking the interior. Ah, that corridor.

As she scuttled over, she found to her relief, signs of mild chaos. Well, then. Peaking into the first room, she found books and shelves but nothing much. Though noticeably there were table legs that had been forcefully snapped off its recipient table. Hmm, interesting. Little splotches of blood outside led the way to a room where a more contained splatter happened against a wall. Bingo.

Making sure no guards were around, she crept inside and found a room with countless tables overturned and more blood on the ground. Okay, we’re here. Now what the hells was I supposed to find, Sophie?

She looked first to the window. Ajar, table scrapes near it, kicked table probably. Her eyes followed the trail. Sophie hit or dodged, knife mark on floor, non fatal regardless, stupid charge. She pictured what her sister would do. Bone headed charge, grapple. Initial advantage caused by surprise, maybe a hit? Maybe two? Then she saw some blood. Small wound? Maybe big? Advantage lost.

More blood, but this time scattered atop a table. No, sprayed on. Sophie gets a hit in. So injured the guy. Sophia stood where he might’ve been and tried to picture how the blood could’ve landed. Torso or neck. But if neck… should’ve been dead? Torso wound maybe. So I’m looking for a patch or trinket.

Her eyes then started scouring the floors on the closet half of the room. Finding nothing near, she tried imagining what Sophie might’ve had in her hand. A fuck ton of nothing or a knife. If cut… her eyes edged towards the walls, scanning in the little crawl spaces until she saw something reflect from the moonlight coming through the window. There we go.

Reaching an arm into the corner, she froze. Footsteps in the hallway echoed as metal boots made their way up the stairs. Fuck of all the times they start searching. Her hands felt the moist metal and wrapped around it, pulling the object out into full view. Well fuck me, it was a necklace. Guess she didn’t kill the guy though. But with a knife to the neck? Unless… ew… did she… bite him? Bleh.

Balking at the idea of engaging with the guardians. She searched for ways out and only found two. Sprint back to the original room and likely start a chase. Or jumping out the window, then also likely starting a chase. Sophia sighed, with increasing panic at her horrid choices she clambered to the window and grunted. All the guards below will see me but… I need to have excuses ready.

Taking in deep breaths, she cringed at the sight of the ground being further than she would’ve liked. Here goes. Spying a pillar, she leapt like a deranged howler monkey and tried to latch onto the pillar to slow her descent. She slammed face first against it, her nose nearly breaking under the impact. Ow! Damn! If this was Sophie, she’d be knocked out to the hells below right now. Thanking the Mistress of Shadows for the slight boost to her agility compared to her twin, Sophia then slowly shimmed down the pillar.

To her disbelief, not one had seen her. Or at least none of the guardians did and anyone who noticed hadn’t alerted them yet. Not willing to leave her good fortune for granted, she quickly scurried past a flower bed and followed it until she was back near the steps leading up to Aster. Rubbing her face with a little dirt and ruffling her outfit, she then staggered up much to the horror of the nearby guardians who began to raise their weapons at her.

“Is it safe?” She tried to meekly ask.

Perhaps relieved that she seemed to be just a panicked student, they quickly ushered her inside and directed her to the makeshift infirmary. A few commented on her dishevelled appearance but most students just minded their own affairs. The guardian sergeant was nowhere to be seen but two guardians did still man the doorway. Seeing her they helped her get in where she reunited with the princess and her attendant. Both of whom looked mildly horrified by how she now looked.

“You’re… back…” Lucinia acknowledged with some hesitation, "Did you find anything?"

Wiping off some dirt and scruff, Sophia just held out the still bloodstained necklace to them.

“Sophie did leave something after all.”