Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Navia had never been to a funeral prior to her father's own. 

Mr. Callas had raised his only daughter completely shielded from the ugly truths of the world. Navia’s far too precious, too pure of a heart to be exposed to such things at a young age. Sure, eventually, she’ll come face to face with it one way or another. But in the meantime, while he still had the chance, he did his absolute best to keep his precious little girl from the soul-crushing realities the world has to offer.

And so when Navia, aged twenty-three and a half, attended the very first funeral of her life, a strange feeling bubbled up on her chest. 

She had never felt this out of place before— in here, in this place that’s so melancholic, so grim and not an ounce of any vibrant color in sight. The beautiful bouquet of flowers looped down sadly on the intricately designed vases, as if frowning alongside the mourning crowd. Everyone and everything screamed nothing but grief, and Navia had never felt so confused and hurt. 

She had never met her mother, the charming Clementine Caspar, a woman she was told to have had the sunniest disposition that could melt even the strongest bars of the Meropide jails. She passed before Navia could even wail her first cry, long before the little girl she carried could even memorize her smile. And so, Navia had never been to her funeral either.

Her father would always bring Navia to her mother’s grave. But at the time, little Navia hadn’t really grasped the idea that the very gravestone she had been visiting every few months used to be someone that was loved, someone who held the same smile as hers. 

 And when Navia stares at the small patch of the well-trimmed grassland where her parents’ gravestone lie, she wonders how something as small as that could hold so much life underneath it.

And she wondered the same when she first saw Clementine. 

She was tiny, much tinier than half the other infants in the hospital that night. Her fingernails were no bigger than a grain of rice, and her hands could be fully wrapped around Navia’s mere thumb.  She was small, and yet Navia carried her with such precision and effort that you would think she’s as heavy as the boulders of Mount Esus itself. 

The child gently cooed under Navia’s embrace, her eyes slowly opening up and adjusting to the bright flashing lights of the hospital. And then when she slowly opened her eyes,—there revealed a perfect shade of baby blue, just like hers. 

Navia laughs under struggling breaths. Nothing was funny about that scenario, nor anything remotely entertaining. And yet Navia laughed joyfully, as if her little Clementine had just made the greatest joke of the century without uttering a single word. 

She laughs at Clementine’s button nose. She laughs at the infant’s pouting lips. She laughs at her indigo hair, And she laughs at the pale blue streak that sticks out like a sore thumb among the darks—she laughs and laughs. Because despite everything, Clementine is still hers.

A fact that Navia had tried to ignore for months leading up to her daughter’s birth. It was ridiculous, the things she had to make herself believe just to deny the apparent truth. Perhaps it was some lousy hookup she was too depressed and intoxicated to remember, maybe it was an error in the results and she’s not actually pregnant and during the more desperate nights of denial, Navia started to believe that she must be having some sort of immaculate conception and is carrying the next god of the universe in her belly. And she’d accept any other explanation, anything at all— just not the harsh truth.

But all of those excuses fall flat at the mere sight of Clementine. Her Clementine, with her large blue eyes and furrowed eyebrows. Her Clementine, with her hair and her nose and god, even the way she pouts. Her Clementine, who looked almost nothing like her and everything like the woman she will forever despise.

She used to dream of days like these. Back when they were teens, they’d think of the far future, when everything’s settled and Navia’s of age. She dreams of carrying a child or two—one with her smile and her lover’s hair, the other with her eyes and her beloved’s introverted demeanor. And she’d shower them with love and affection, just like what her father did. 

But tonight, it was a bittersweet moment for Navia. Her Clementine is the most beautiful being she had ever laid her eyes on and that is a fact that she need not to lie about. Even the nurses were in awe as they stole glances at the little girl.But Clementine, gods bless her little heart, is just so reminiscent of her that Navia almost feared that she might not be able to have it in her to fully love her own daughter, and that her own anger and resentment might cloud her devotion and love for her little girl. But Navia was smart, she knew better than to blame an innocent girl, her girl, in a conflict she plays no part in. 

A few hours passed before Navia had truly felt the fatigue and sleeplessness sink into her bones. She had been waiting for Melus and Silver to return after insisting that they tell her of Navia’s birth. And so, much to Navia’s disapproval, the two dashed to the Court to deliver the news to her. Navia yawns as she cradles Clementine, before putting her back to the crib. As much as she would’ve loved to coo over her darling and watch her adoringly for hours on end, her body was giving up on her fast. She hadn’t slept a wink for days, those damn contractions and Clementine’s awfully strong kicks had Navia awake even before she was in labour. And so, despite her best attempts to keep awake, she closed her eyes involuntarily as soon as the little girl’s cries died down as she settled in nicely on her own crib. 

And then she fell asleep, her vision blurring as she thought of Clementine’s bright blue eyes looking at her in wonder, until everything went black.

The last she remembers of her dream was her papa, his smile, so full of life and pride and just so warm that Navia could feel herself tearing up at just the sight of it. And then the golden visions of her father fades to speckles of gold, gold turns to purple and purple to a bright ocean blue once more. It all comes back to her Clementine, and Navia finds peace in that sentiment. 

A gentle voice had awoken Navia a few hours later, who was blinking rapidly as she adjusted to the bright lights of the hospital bed. Seriously, does a hospital room really need this much lighting? 

Navia shakes her head as she slowly sits up. On her peripheral vision she notices it—a figure towering over her child’s crib, a series of hums can be heard coming from this very same figure. The voice was low, gentle and soothing to hear. And Navia almost found herself being lulled back to sleep as she listened in. 

The figure stops, turning around to face Navia, who was still barely awake from her deep sleep, almost thinking for a split second that she had fallen into a decade long coma and was face to face with a grown up version of her little Clementine. 

Amethyst eyes stared at her cerulean blues, and Navia felt fully awake once more. 

“Navia?” She calls out with uncertainty, relief evident in her tone. “How are you feeling?” the woman leaned in closer to help her sit up more comfortably, and Navia was too tired to reject her touches.

A shrug came from Clorinde,evidently nervous and uneasy. “I hope you don’t mind, I told Silver and Melus to fetch some supplies on the way,” She informs her, fixing the cloth that covers her little Clementine’s body gently. “I was about to go do it myself but something came up with the Court and—”

“You came.” Navia breathes out, almost sounding like even she was questioning what she was seeing.

The woman chuckles lightly, as if she finds it ridiculous that Navia would ever think otherwise. Why would Navia even think otherwise anyway. “Of course, why wouldn’t I?” she says in a quiet voice. “You should eat up, get more rest,” She continues as she opens the sealed hospital food and places it in Navia’s lap.

Navia whispers a silent thank you to the woman before taking a spoonful of the meal from her mouth. It had been hours since her last meal and this was exactly what she needed after that long well-deserved sleep. 

“I’m sorry for not coming much earlier.” She spoke, standing up to walk back to the little girl’s crib, Navia was quick to notice her rolled up sleeves where she caught a glimpse of several scars. “The verdict took longer than expected and I couldn’t get out early,” she explains. “I tried to excuse myself so I could go but I was needed there for—“

“ Clorinde,“  Navia stops her firmly, slicing her vegetables with the plastic knife. “It’s fine.” 

Clorinde stares at her for a second, her eyes doe and begging, as if she was reading thoroughly on Navia’s words. 

Navia huffs as she takes her second bite. “I wasn’t expecting you to come anyway, I thought you would’ve ran away by now.” 

Clorinde quickly shook her head. “Navia, I’ll never do such a thing,” she assures. 

“What, run away? You’ve done it to me, what’s stopping you from doing it again?” Navia scoffs, and Clorinde feels her throat dry up.

“Can we not discuss this right now?”Clorinde tells her, focusing her eyes on her daughter. “You should be resting, not stressing out over things that have nothing to do with our child.” 

Maybe it was the lack of sleep, or the pain on her lower area that seemed to sync up with the throbbing on her head that made Navia so easily angry. Something about her words immediately pushed all the wrong buttons of Navia’s mind. All she sees is red once more. 

“Nothing?“ Navia laughs dryly ,placing her food down on the bedside table. “That was her grandfather, Clorinde. You're cradling my daughter with the same hands that killed her grandfather.” 

The duelist’s voice was noticeably louder, but still calm in comparison to Navia. “That’s—that’s enough, Navia.“ she stutters. 

“What, can't be bothered to hear the truth?”she spits out. ”You can’t just say things like that,Clorinde. You can’t just pretend that this has nothing to do with our child.”

Clorinde swallows. “That’s not what I’m doing—“

”But isn’t that what you just said?”

“You’re twisting my words.” 

“No, I’m repeating your words.”

Clorinde grumbles as she faces Navia. “No, listen—”

The sound of the plastic fork falling down and meeting the porcelain tiles of the room reverberated heavily, slicing through their back and forth shoutings. For a second there was silence, neither of them chose to move.

And then Clementine wails, loud and unending, making them both pause. Her timing couldn’t be more perfect, Navia thinks in frustration. With a sigh,she tried to stand up to comfort her, but it seemed Clorinde was ahead of her as she was already lifting the crying little girl with her arms by the time Navia had tried to do so, making subtle shushing sounds as she lay the baby comfortably on her chest.

Navia watched as Clorinde, with a hundred undisputed duels on her belt, who hunts monsters in the night and had met a thousand foes, held a small child with such care and gentleness, her usual scowling face replaced with fondness and love. 

Clementine’s crying died down slowly, her eyes closing back once again to return to her sleep. Clorinde pats the girl’s back repeatedly, coaxing her until she is back to dozing off once more.

And for a minute, Navia ignores everything else and willingly plays pretend that this is the loving family she had always dreamt of— no pain, no fear and no resentment between them. She let this little moment be hers for just a short while, allowing herself to indulge in this makeshift fantasy for now. 

“There there..” Clorinde hums. “Calm now, little girl.” she whispers, loud enough for Navia to hear. 

Navia couldn’t help but stare at her, something about that very scene just warms all the right places in her.

 “Clementine.” she reveals under light breaths. 

Clorinde slowly turns her head to face Navia. “What?“

“I named her Clementine.” she explains.”After mama.”

Clorinde nods in acknowledgement, a smile plastered on her face as she stares at their little girl in awe. “It’s perfect, Clementine.” she laughs, light and buoyant. 

“Darling Clementine.“ She hears her whisper repeatedly, making sure that her daughter hears it. Clorinde gently brushes her daughter’s indigo hair, the same shade of indigo as hers, and then she chuckles lightly as her finger finds itself tangled in one particular strand of hair among the waves of indigo: Clementine had copied her exact same features, down to the strange strand of light blue that even Clorinde herself have no idea how she had in the first place. 

“A perfect name for a perfect girl, hm?” Clorinde hums, glancing over at Navia as she coddles Clementine. 

“Would you like to hold her?” She offers the blonde on the bed, trying to squeeze Navia in their little moments. Although the offer to hold her daughter was tempting, Navia still felt far too tired, so she simply shook her head. 

“I’d let you two have your fun for now.”She answers, eyes glistening as Clorinde continues to coo over their daughter. “Unless her maman’s had enough already.” she jokes.

Clorinde wheezes. “I don’t think that would ever be possible, Navia.” she assures. 

Navia wanted to capture this moment, to keep this peace between them. But the aching in her heart is something that can’t be ignored, her grief and anger for the mother of her own daughter is the barrier that Navia cannot simply just jump over on. 

But she’d think of it, think of Clorinde like this—holding their daughter with such care and love and assurance that no harm will ever come her way. And she’d pretend that this Clorinde was still hers, just like Clementine is theirs. And there was no barrier, no unresolved conflict between them. Inside these four walls of the hospital room, they can pretend to be a happy family of three, and maybe in another universe—they are.

“She has your eyes.” Clorinde notes, a huge smile still plastered on her face as she leans in closer to Clementine, who blinked rapidly in response. 

Navia nods, smiling in appeasement as she tilts her head to the side.“They’re much lighter than mine though.” She willingly plays alongside the woman.

“Quite the puppy eyes she has, doesn’t she?” Navia shakes her head jokingly. ”I suppose that’s one thing we have to be worried about.”

Clorinde laughs lightly in full genuineness,  just like when they were kids, when Navia would make a silly joke to try to lighten up little Clorinde’s mood. Navia loved that little laugh, that slight chuckle that she fell in love with. And Navia wishes, among the things that she hopes Clementine would take from her, she wishes Clementine would have her laugh.

The air in the hospital was tense, yet amidst it all, there was peace. Something that Navia had always longed for after all the things that had happened. Her papa was right— there will always be peace that comes after everything. 

“We have a daughter, Clorinde.” Navia says, the words still sound all to foreign now that she’s saying it all verbally at her. It was heavy to contain, to just be stored inside her heart, and letting it out felt almost liberating, almost relieving. 

Clorinde nods as she watches as Clementine lets out an adorable yawn, closed lids tearing up in drowsiness. “ We do.” she says between tender smiles, so warm and full of mirth and hope. ”We have a daughter.” she dictates rather strongly. 

The silence that follows felt just as painful as a stab directly in the chest, possibly more. And Navia wishes it would just all go away. “You understand what that entails, don’t you?”she questions. “We’ll be bound together, whether either of us want to or not.” There was a slight desperation in her tone, as if hinting at forgiveness, at accountability from Clorinde. 

“I’ll try not to get in your way.” Clorinde assures, resorting back to her monotone voice, which quickly infuriates Navia. “I understand that you need some space, so I’ll give you as much distance as you need.” 

Navia scoffs, how naive is that phrase? “Like that’s going to help.” 

Nothing will help, Navia had learned. She had lost her papa, Spina had lost their only sliver of hope, Navia had lost her best friend, despite right being in front of her, carrying the daughter they share. But the Clorinde in front of her wasn’t really hers anymore, never was. This woman, whose so proudly and gently carrying their child was not the same woman she chose to love and devote herself to before everything that happened, happened. Clorinde had changed, just like everything in Navia’s life after that tragedy. 

Still, she would’ve loved to have Clorinde during that moment. Navia would’ve understood, although she would still probably cry and tell her off. But still, she’d find it in her to forgive, if it meant that she would have someone to confide in. If only Clorinde had faced her that morning, instead of running away and leaving her to mourn. 

It’s all If , If with them, because that’s all that Navia could ever do: To mourn for what could’ve been, what should’ve been had Clorinde not turn her back at her. Had she chosen to hold her hand after that moment, Navia would’ve held her back. She wouldn’t mind if the hands that cradle her would stain her clothes with blood, if that meant she gets to be cradled anyway. 

Clorinde frowns, saddened eyes looping down to stare at her daughter. “I understand that it won’t but,” The duelist looks back at Navia, and Navia could tell that this entire talk was definitely taking a toll on her too, albeit not as obvious as Navia’s. “I suppose we should compromise for now, for Clementine’s sake at least.” 

To compromise, that’s really all they could do. 

”I know.“ Navia tries to force a smile, her eyes still actively ignoring Clorinde’s. “You were right by the way, I’m sorry.” The blonde says,making Clorinde turn her head in confusion.

“About earlier.”She clarifies, and suddenly the air is tense once more.“I agree, let’s keep our personal disputes aside for now, at least, whenever Clem’s with us.” she says in a gentle voice. 

“I..”Clorinde clears her throat, as if there was something she was itching to say, but quickly pushed it all back. “Thank you.” she mumbles, lips pursed as if she was holding herself back from sputtering out something. Navia watched as the duelist remained silent for a short moment, before speaking once more.

“You and Clementine should live in the mansion.” Clorinde tells her abruptly, placing the quiet girl back to the crib, it was evident that she’s eager to change the subject. And as much as Navia wanted to keep pestering her to talk about it, they did just say that they would keep their personal issues aside for now. Clorinde turns her eyes back at Navia as she continues. “It’s closer to the Court, and it's quite spacious.” 

Navia admits that Poisson is probably not the safest place to raise a child right now. The area was greatly damaged by the countless floods that continue to rise every so often. Not to mention the unwavering dangers of assasination that Navia herself had faced multiple times now due to her father’s crime. And she knew that the best and possibly the safest place would be with Clorinde ,in her home in the heart of the Court, at the very same mansion Navia and Clorinde used to have sleepovers in while Petronilla spends her time in the library and letting the girls have all the fun. Not to mention Clorinde alone would be enough to keep them safe, and Navia was well aware that putting too many guards in Poisson on security for Clementine would overwhelm the little girl too much. 

But Navia is a prideful girl, a trait she hopes Clementine would have someday, as it did help her survive this harsh world. Living under Clorinde’s home, playing wife with her supposed ex-best friend and father’s killer is not a pretty news she’d love to see on the Steambird. The public would feast on the news hungrily, just as much as they enjoyed doing so when the news with Callas’ death and Clorinde’s ultimate betrayal came to public light. For months, the Steambird and other news media portrayed their relationship as some doomed, tragic story of star-crossed lovers, or some heartbreaking example of a love unfavored by fate.  

And Navia knows that they would probably froth in the mouth once they discover that there’s something more grave that the two had kept hidden all this time. It would surely be on the frontpage of the Steambird for months longer, wringing the news dry to gather as much exposure and relevance from the public. 

“We’ll be fine in Poisson. I have my people to help me raise her there.” Navia tells her, rubbing one palm with her other thumb as she looks down. “I told you already, I have it all figured out.”The blonde continues. “ I know that It was me that sort of forced you into taking responsibility for Clementine but,” she looks back at Clorinde. “I won’t hold it against you if you decide to simply back out, it won’t be the first time you’d leave anyway.” 

“And I told you I made up my mind, I’ll stay, you didn’t force me into anything.” Clorinde answers with diction, arms crossed as she eyes Navia. “I know your people will be of help, I don’t doubt that at all.” she continues. “But just like you, I only wish to provide what’s best for our daughter—” Navia feels her heart gush out of her ribs at how Clorinde refers to Clementine; it still sounds all too foreign for her.

“So please, do consider it.”

The blonde refuses to back down, knowing that by doing so, the process of getting over what happened between the two of them would only get prolonged. “We’ll manage well in Poisson, Clem and I, thank you very much.” 

Clorinde sits down on the chair next to Clementine’s crib, “I know you would, eventually.” she says. “ But Navia, do consider the fact that Clementine’s a newborn, and you had just given birth.” the duelist mutters. “You two need as much rest and care as you could, and being so close to your work will hinder that. I’m sure the people of Poisson could wait.”

The duelist probably means well, but Navia couldn’t help but to throw a light jab at her, just to see how far Clorinde could go with this persona of hers.“Careful there, Clorinde. You’re starting to sound like you actually care about me.” Navia says sardonically, putting away the empty tray of food next to her. 

“When have I not?” The duelist would mutter in response, low and monotonically. Clorinde quickly shakes her head to change the subject.“Besides, It’s a far walk from the main city, what if Clem gets sick? the hospital’s closer to my home.” the duelist tries to argue. 

“There are doctors in the Fleuve Cendre who’s just as skilled.” Navia bites back. “And if a scenario really requires me to take Clementine to a hospital, I’d gladly run my way here.“ 

“No, Navia—” Clorinde blinks, running out of arguments to throw at Navia, not once did she ever walk out victorious in any of their debates, and it seems this one might be no different. “Look, I already set up a room for her, and you could have my bedroom next to it,I won’t mind. I barely use it anyway, plus I can just take the guest room.” she tells her, hands now fidgeting the band of her gloves.

“I had a designer renovate the mansion for Clem, so you won’t have to worry about baby-proofing it anymore.” Clorinde continues. 

Navia couldn’t help but furrow an eyebrow. “How long have you prepared for this?” There’s no way that Clorinde could’ve prepared that much in such a short amount of time. 

The duelist shrugs. “I told you months ago, I made up my mind to stay and be involved in our daughter’s life.” She explains. “I won’t hold it against you if you decide to go and raise her in Poisson, but do think about my offer for now. “

Wisteria-colored eyes look up at her in candor, and Navia could barely maintain the contact. “Forget me, forget us—just for Clementine’s sake, consider it.”

Forget us.  

The words clung to Navia like the seagrass that contaminates the shallow waters of Fontaine, it repeated in her mind like a mantra. Each syllable was a stab to her chest, each word a ruthless squeeze to her heart. 

It’s unfair . Navia thinks. How incredibly easy it is for Clorinde to hurt her.  

“Perhaps we can settle on an agreement.” Clorinde pitches in after noticing Navia’s silence, snapping the woman out of her trance. “We can make arrangements on who gets to have her on which days. In the meantime however, you and her should stay with me at the mansion, I’ll look after her while you recover.” 

And as much as Navia would like to carry her pride, the offer was too tempting, too good for her to pass on. She does need to recover, and it’ll be impossible if she has to juggle between taking care of her newborn and having to watch over Poisson and the Spina. And this is all for Clementine’s sake, and she made a vow not to involve her daughter in whatever dispute her mothers are tangled in. “Fine.” Navia agrees. “But the moment I recover, we’ll be out of your hair.” 

“Stay for as long as you wish.” Clorinde agrees.

And so,unfortunately for Navia’s so-called pride, she complies. 

True to her word, every inch of Clorinde’s mansion was baby-proofed down to the smallest details. 

Navia remembers the last time she had visited the home, back when her papa was still alive and well, and back when there wasn’t an ounce of tear in their relationship. Putting it that way made it sound like it happened well over years ago, when in fact, it hasn’t even been ten months since then. 

She remembered the swords that Clorinde kept on display in the hallway as she walked on the very same place months later . She remembers being a young little girl skipping around the place,wondering how safe it all was as there was no glass nor any barriers that kept it from being touched by an unsuspecting guest of the mansion. She pitched the problem a few times to Clorinde, who merely shrugged and told her that she doesn’t even have other visitors aside from Navia anyway, so why bother? 

Navia laughs at the memory as she walks down the now empty hallway of the old Marechaussee Manor, no hanged blades and axes in sight, and gone was the two meter tall rusted steel knight figure displayed at the very end of the hall that used to terrify the hell out of Navia when they were kids. 

“The nursery’s to the right, before the stairs, You’d know which is it.” Clorinde had told her earlier that day, she had some affairs to attend to back at the Court and decided to simply hand over the keys to her entire home to Navia, who merely nodded in response. 

Navia laughs as she enters the nursery room where Clementine would be staying. And just as what she expected of a typical child’s room, Clorinde had filled each and every corner of the walls with toys and books and other child essentials. Judging from the abundance of toys alone, Navia could tell that this definitely put a dent on the duelist’s finances. 

The nursery used to be Clorinde’s old room, Navia remembers. Back when they were children, she would host sleepovers in these very same quarters, giggling and joking to each other as they wasted the night away under the comphy sheets. The memory came rushing like rivers of Poisson, flooding Navia’s mind in utter nostalgia and longing for the friendship she used to have. 

And then innocent scenarios shifted its tone to one particular memory—And Navia could feel herself heating up in the face. Realizing that her daughter’s new nursery used to be the very same room they made— no . No ! 

Did Clorinde choose that particular room on purpose? Considering there were tons of other empty rooms that she could’ve chosen aside from this, there was no way that this was a mere coincidence that she had unknowingly assigned her own daughter’s room right exactly where she was conceived in. 

The blonde shakes her head in embarrassment, pulling the box of belongings closer to her face to hide any semblance of discomfiture.

 It must be a coincidence, Navia thinks. Her room’s the second-biggest out of all the quarters, and the biggest one— Petronilla’s old room must’ve been left untouched out of respect hence why she didn’t choose that one, therefore it was all a coincidence, a mere ironic turn of events that Clorinde did not realize at a—

“Mademoiselle, are you alright?” Melus would question, snapping her out of uncontrolled daze. Next to him, Silver carried a sleeping Clementine with care, rocking her slowly. 

”I am.”she reassures, fixing her posture as she clears her throat. 

Clementine quickly catches the familiar sound of her mother’s voice from a distance, and begins to fuss around Silver’s hold.

”Just..” Navia lets out a breath, trying to ease her mind off of things. ”Just reminiscing.”

Silver smiles at her, fondness fills his eyes. ”Ah, just yesterday, I was escorting you here so you could spend the night at Miss Clorinde’s.” he laughs, but Navia could tell there was a hint of sadness in his smile. 

”And now you’re helping my daughter and I settle here.” Navia continues, making the man chuckle as he nods.

”I remember Master Callas pestering me to take you home, but you would always cry and hide behind Miss Clorinde just so I won’t take you.” He adds in a sentimental tone. 

Navia laughs wildly, covering her ears. ”I was such a spoiled little brat, wasn’t I?” she giggles, glancing at the sleeping infant on Silver’s arms. 

”Let’s hope Clem won’t give me the same headache as I did to you and Papa.” she teases. 

Living with Clorinde feels like meeting a whole new person all over again.

Navia had known the woman for years, far longer than she hadn’t actually. She knows Clorinde more than the back of her hand, she memorizes Clorinde like how she memorizes the recipe to her signature macarons, like the lyrics to her favorite song, like her favorite route back home. 

And yet with everyday she spends with the girl, she realizes something new.

For one, not a single person would probably expect that Clorinde, the immovable champion duelist and Candlebearer of Fontaine, would be an absolute sucker for pet names. 

At first, Navia brushed it off as a rare one time thing, a mother being so over the moon at the sight of her dear child. Not like it’s a rare thing after all, even Navia herself admits to such things. Though with Clorinde, it does feel a tad surprising still— The unmoving ruthless champion duelist speaking in a high-pitched baby-like tone as she calls her daughter in different names. Still, it was something that Navia had brushed off at first, thinking that Clorinde was probably going through a weird phase. And then as months pass, it would be a common occurrence for her to hear Clorinde every morning,  in the gentlest voice she has ever heard from her, as she cradles their little girl. 

“Hello there, ma cherie .” Clorinde would mutter, with the brightest smile on her face. “What are you doing up so early?”she questions her little girl. 

And then Clementine, with the same wholehearted grin that’s so reminiscent of Navia’s own that she could feel a strange sense of pride whenever she sees it, would babble endlessly to her mother as a response, and her childly giggles would echo across the nursery room. Clorinde would laugh with her, as if they had an inside joke that Navia still hasn’t caught up with. 

It was apparent how much Clorinde adores the little girl, she dotes on her as if Clementine is the only thing that matters in this world, as if Clorinde was made solely for her, and Clementine knew that, and she loved the attention. The thought brings calmness to Navia, knowing that whatever happens to her, to them, to whatever becomes of their relationship, Clementine will be loved. 

“Maman’s off to work now, bunny .” Clorinde mumbles to her daughter, who furrowed her little eyebrows as if she understood what her mother had meant. The duelist playfully pokes the little girl’s stomach, making Clementine chuckle. “Be a good girl, alright?” she gently coos. The child would let out gabbles, pulling her own legs as Clorinde patted her round belly as a farewell. Clementine frowns, mirroring exactly just how Clorinde often scowls. Seriously, did Navia just give birth to an exact clone of her old friend? 

”Grumpy girl.” Clorinde teased, waving her final goodbye at her daughter, with Clementine still trying to follow her mother’s figure with her eyes as she quietly walked away. 

Navia would watch, in the corner of the room, back leaned to the door and arms crossed. She would watch with a smile, knowing that the scene would forever be engraved in her mind.

Clorinde would give her a nod, a humble smile of acknowledgement before leaving to work once again. The sound of the dreamcatcher's ringing on the entry door was the last remnant of Clorinde’s presence before it too fades to silence. 

And for the rest of the day, it’s just them, in this far too large mansion of Clorinde’s. By the morning, she’d hold Clementine in her arms, sing her all the childhood songs she used to chant with her playmates when she and Clorinde were children. And then when Clementine yawns, a sure sign of her drowsiness, Navia would sit down on the old pale blue sofa by the library, the one she used to see Petronilla would rest in, and Navia would tell her daughter stories of her papa, of Spina, of her own journeys from her youth. And Clementine would laugh at her exaggerated movements and high-pitched voices, reaching out her arms every now and then to try to feel her mother’s warmth in her tiny palms. 

”And then, with the power of persuasion, Bandit Hunter Navia and her crew successfully save the kingdom of Fontu.” Navia would tell her daughter, staring at her in wonder as she observed her mother’s actions. ”I managed to win the game by rolling all Nat-twenties.” she proudly says at her daughter, who merely let out gibberish babbles. 

Navia pouts as she remembers a particular detail of her childhood memory. ”Back then, our old troupe’s game masters would always call me some lousy cheater.” she huffs. “ I knew that they were simply a bunch of sore losers that couldn’t believe my insane luck so I let them complain all they wanted.” she pulls out her tongue mockingly, making Clementine laugh.

Navia continues, now stroking her daughter’s hair, which had now gone a little past her neck.”Your maman didn’t like that though, she thought they were being unfair to me.”

Oceanic-blue eyes meet Navia’s darker ones, it seemed that Clementine was deeply intrigued by her story. ”So she made a whole tabletop troupe just for the two of us—she was the game master and I was her first player. She let me get away with almost everything, as long as I wasn’t really cheating.” she laughs at the memory, remembering her old friend’s little act.

Clementine coos, enjoying her mother’s voice. ”Now that I realize, the troupe was far too small to be called a proper team by Tabletop Standards, so It wouldn’t probably count as one anyway. “She chuckles, rubbing circles around Clementine’s cheeks. “But I suppose neither of us really cared, we never felt like we were missing something. “She hums.”In fact, we were having more fun by ourselves than when we were with our old troupe.” 

Navia confessed under gentle breaths, the air feels extra sentimental that morning. “I suppose in a way, it made your mama realize that life might just be enough even with just the two of you.” she smiles, poking her daughter’s faint dimple by her right cheek, the same one Clorinde has. ”Well, three now since you came, dewdrop.” Clementine giggles at her words. 

“But alas, that’s all in the past now.” she calmly says, making the girl furrow her eyebrows at the sudden change of tone, as if she too, was deeply saddened by the unfortunate turn of events. Navia feels immense guilt at the thought of Clementine, her perfect little girl, not being able to have the family every perfect little child ever needed and deserved. It’s unfair, it’s not even her fault any way, so why should she suffer? 

“You won’t understand it right now, nor perhaps even in a few years.” she tells her child. “Hell, you might not even ever understand at all, and I wouldn’t blame you.“ Navia laughs. ”But whatever becomes of your maman and I’s relationship—” she placed a kiss on Clementine’s forehead, her dried pink lipstick leaving a faint mark on her pale unblemished skin.

“ Remember that we will always love you, darling. And that will never change, hm?” she lightly taps her daughter’s stomach, who smiled cheerfully at her. And if Navia would just squint her eyes in the slightest way, she could see a hint of Clorinde in between that genuine smile of hers, and she feels at ease once more. 

A few minutes would pass before Clementine would finally give in to the temptation of infant-drowsiness and fall right in Navia’s arms amidst her mother’s constant ramblings. Navia would laugh at her daughter’s state, spending the entire morning just watching Clementine’s subtle movements: From her light breathings, her fluttering eyelashes and her habit of mumbling in her sleep. 

Melus and Silver would come by in the afternoon, with a bag full of groceries that Clorinde herself had provided the money for, and sometimes with some documents about Poisson that Navia could work on during her free time. Clementine would be awake by then, energy refilled and ready to wreak havoc once more. They would watch over the little girl as Navia cooks, cleans and rests. She would watch in the corner of her eye, from the kitchen hall, how the two guards would try their best to keep little Clementine entertained for hours until Navia finished her needed work. 

“Ah, ah little Demoiselle, that’s not food.”, Melus would tell Clementine softly, pulling his loose tie away from the little girl’s mouth. Clementine would huff and pout as soon as Melus would take away his tie, and they both sigh, already aware of what’s to come.

“Here it comes.” Silver would exhale, scratching his beard as he tries to come up with a solution. “Give her the tie,Melus.” he would tell the other, who was busy wiping off the traces of saliva in his tie. 

“N-no! it’s dirty.”He interjects, worry plastered in his face as Clementine begins to sob. It wasn’t long before the little girl would be fully red in the face, her little sobs turning into a whole fit of utter rage and uncontrollable tantrum.

Her monster form as Clorinde would refer to it. 

And then on instinct, Navia would walk by, wearing one of Clorinde’s old aprons. And then she crouches down to coo her little girl, who was now full on wailing, as if she was greatly insulted by what Melus had just done, as if the plain black tie he just took from her meant the world to little Clementine.

 “There, there, little blubberbeast .” Navia says between laughs, her hands calmly rubbing on Clementine’s stomach. “You’ve gotten awfully fussy, haven’t you?” she teases her little girl, who grumpily huffs at her. 

Clementine began as a tiny infant, and she still is. But as months passed, she seemed to get chunkier by the minute, earning that particular nickname from her parents. As to who gave her that nickname specifically, Navia’s sure it’s quite obvious by now. 

Clementine’s sobs would slowly die down, with a few hiccups on her last minute of crying until her bright blue eyes had now found its new found target and her smile would carve itself back on her lips once more. Expertly, and with as much effort as a two month old child could, Clementine would take Navia’s fingers with her hands and pull it close to her mouth, nibbling on it like a snack. Navia would let her, as the little girl hadn’t even grown a single tooth yet. 

Silver would laugh. “She’s so much like you, demoiselle.” he tells the blonde, though his eyes remained glued on the little girl. With careful hands, he brushed off the strands of indigo hair covering the girl’s right eye. “Master Callas and I used to panic back then, you’d cry whenever we didn't give you what you wanted.” 

Navia scoffs. “I didn’t know I was that much of a nightmare. Papa always said I was such an angel to watch over.” She lovingly tucks a strand of pale blue behind her daughter’s ear, who was now blinking her eyes rapidly, trying to fight off the lingering sense of afternoon drowsiness.

“He probably just didn’t want to hurt your feelings, I’m afraid.” Silver answers honestly. “I’m sure that if Miss Clementine were to ask you in the future, you would probably lie about it too.” he chuckles. 

“That’s if she hasn’t asked Clorinde first.” Navia would mutter. Clementine lets go of Navia’s finger, now focusing on trying to reach her own toes, but her small stature forbidding her to do so. 

Melus smiles as he leans in closer to them. “I’m glad that you two have reached a civil agreement..I know how hard it is to have to do that, especially with how things turned out.” he chortles, looking at Navia in complete fondness. 

The blonde nods. “I suppose she and I both know that it’ll be rather unfair to involve Clementine into this whole fiasco.” she utters. “She has nothing to do with whatever happened between us. Plus, why would I take away my daughter’s rights to have both of her parents present?Just because I hate her mom to death doesn’t mean she should too.” 

Silver crosses his arms. “You’ve certainly grown up, Demoiselle.” he confidently says. “If Mr. Callas was here, I’m sure he would be proud of the woman you’ve become.” he placed a hand on Navia’s shoulder.

Melus nods alongside him. “You and Miss Clorinde  won’t have to worry, Demoiselle. The Spina and the entirety of Poisson will watch over Miss Clementine alongside you.” 

Navia was never one to show her vulnerability, especially not in front of her people. But their words, their constant encouragement—how could Navia even hold back? 

All of a sudden, she feels something wet on the corner of her eye, letting it fall down slowly across her cheek. Crying was the last thing Navia ever thought of having to do this week, but it certainly was very much needed indeed. Slowly, soft sobs turn into full- on wailing, making even Clementine look up in confusion. Silver would pull her close, allowing Navia to cry like how she used to as a child, whenever her papa would leave for work or whenever she and Clorinde would get into arguments as children. She cries and cries, and neither of the two guards stops her. Navia is a mother now, and a leader, and a woman with a thousand responsibilities on her shoulders. 

But right now, to them, Navia is their little girl. And so, they allow her to cry.

Days fly by rather fast. And when the sun came up one morning in Fontaine, The two had gone to realize just how fast Clementine was growing before their very eyes. 

Clorinde had just gotten home that morning, her night shift in the Court had caused her to miss out on the entirety of the evening yesterday. She entered the home as usual, tired and completely out of it after taking multiple shifts in the Court: from teaching training duelists to offering to take other champion duelists’ shifts for the day just to earn some extra income.  She had used almost all of her savings a few months ago  to ensure Navia’s pregnancy and birth would be well-provided and taken care off properly, it’s the least she could do to the woman who was literally carrying and bringing her child to life so Clorinde didn’t really mind using it all on her. 

And then when Clementine was born, the remnants of her savings were all spent on refurbishing the mansion, renovating every corner of each room to be safe for a child to live in. Not to mention that Clorinde seemed to have a tad bit too much fun cashing out all her checks to buy almost every trendy baby toy, book and clothes available in all of Teyvat that if Clementine were to attempt to go through each one, she’d be a whole teenager by the time she’s finished.  

She placed her hat on the rack, throwing her shoes lazily. Clorinde was never one to be careless with her things, but her energy was really drained off of her for the day.  She can’t wait to go back to sleep, oh how rewarding that must be— to doze off and let her body be submerged in the warm comfort of her sheets. But of course, not before she takes a look at her darling girl, her little Clementine. 

Clorinde made her way to the nursery room, her footsteps as gentle and slow as to not wake up the little girl on the crib. Slowly, she leans in to take a quick peek at her daughter. And her eyes widened at the sight of Clementine, fully awake and laying under her stomach. 

“Darling, what did you—“ she says in disbelief. Clementine giggles at her mother’s expression, a dimple on her cheek popping in and out of sight. The little girl looked at her in wonder, before pushing her body up with her arms and then rolling once more to boast to her maman what she had just done. 

She rolled. Clorinde thinks in fascination. 

She had seen monsters the size of mountains, had experienced magic beyond explanation during her training and had slain a dozen lives in her line of work. But this, her little girl rolling on her stomach and then throwing her limbs in the air is somehow what moved Clorinde the most.

Navia has to see this. She thinks. And although part of her thinks of letting the woman be and get her well-deserved rest for the day, she also knew that Navia would curse her for eternity if Clorinde would deliberately make her miss one of the most important milestones of their daughter’s life.  

“Navia?” She calls out, running towards her bedroom where the blonde peacefully rests. She knocks on the door, despite it being creaked wide open.  Part of it was out of respect, to at least inform Navia of her sudden appearance. The other was simply out of habit, something she had grown accustomed to as a child whenever she would enter Petronilla’s room. 

A whine can be heard from under the sheets, and so Clorinde tried to call again, but was immediately stopped by a groan.

”Clorinde, I’m still tired.”Navia grumbles under the cover,pulling the duvet closer to her body. Clorinde could barely hold her smile at the sight.“I just put Clem to sleep, can I please just get one minute of—“

“She rolled.” Clorinde says under short breaths, direct as to not waste any more of Navia’s time but loud and clear to wake her senses up. 

Navia blinks,rolling back to her side to face the former. The woman squints her eyes as she looks at Clorinde“What?“

“Clem, she rolled over.” The duelist grins, eyes glistening in pride and excitement. To an outsider, she probably looked like a child eager to tell her mother of an artwork she had made in class. 

And with that, Navia’s entire system felt awake once more. She quickly jumps up from her bed, Clorinde’s old nightgown loosely falling on her shoulder as she frantically stands up to join the duelist by the door. The two ran towards the nursery, Navia still half-asleep but was determined to see her daughter’s newfound milestone.

And there she was, resting on her back once more, bright ocean blue eyes looked up at her parents, entertained by their expressions. 

“Come on, abeille , show mama what you did earlier.”Clorinde cheers, voice as gentle as the morning sun. She tapped the infant’s stomach with a finger, ushering her to do something. 

And for a second there was silence, sky-blue and indigo eyes focused deeply on the little girl, who was having the time of her life staring back at her mothers. She giggled and giggled, and then she leaned to her left and moved until—

“She rolled over!“ Navia gasped, hands on her mouth in disbelief. “My baby rolled over!”

“She did.” Clorinde cheers alongside her. In an instant, she scoops Clementine out of her crib, placing her gently in her arms. ”Clemie, you did!” she continues, placing gentle kisses on the little girl’s cheeks. Clementine giggles, trying to join in on her mothers’ excitement despite understanding none of it. 

“Oh Clementine Aurelie !” Navia squeals, leaning closer to Clorinde to plant a kiss on her daughter’s face, who giggled in response. ”My darling girl!” she says between fond laughter, hugging Clementine from Clorinde’s side. The proximity between their bodies was slim and almost non-existent and Clorinde could feel Navia’s soft chest landing and barely touching her bruised forearm, a sudden warmth entered Clorinde’s body. 

How embarrassing it must’ve been, a grown woman with a thousand unquestionable victories to her name, overheating internally at the mere feeling of another woman’s skin, as if it was the first time she had ever felt such a thing before. 

As if the very proof of the physical proclamation of their love wasn’t in front of them, pulling at her hair and demanding for her attention. 

Clorinde clears her throat, looking away in embarrassment. An action that made Navia move back, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“You’re red, Clorinde. “Navia states, and Clorinde had never felt more embarrassed. 

The duelist clears her throat as she adjusts her hold of Clementine.“You were too close, I-I’m sorry.. “ Clorinde confesses, coughing awkwardly as she looks away. 

And then Navia laughs, a wholehearted, unfiltered and painfully recognizable laugh. She laughs at Clorinde, the way she used to whenever she teased her when they were children. Clorinde was never a fan of loud, distracting noises except for Navia’s laugh; she wouldn’t mind if it echoed repeatedly across the room.

“Heavens, Clorinde. Grow up.” Navia rolls her eyes as she lets out the last of her giggles. “ You act as if you haven’t touched a woman in your life.” she teased. Clementine babbled alongside her mother, the long string of drool pooling on her lips didn’t go unnoticed by her mother as Navia skillfully wiped it off clean with her bare hands. “As if you weren’t all over my body eleven month a—”

“Navia.” She scolds, face flushed red. “Please,Clementine might hear you.” The woman quickly covered her daughter’s ears with her hand.  

“She’s two months old, Clorinde.” Navia rolls her eyes. 

Clorinde hushes. “Just stop.” she tells her.

Navia chuckles in response, watching as Clorinde shakes Clementine’s body gently and carefully, mumbling words of endearment to the exhilarated little girl, her tiny fingers wrapping around thick strands of her mother’s dark hair. Navia loves the sight of it all, a sentiment she’ll never be caught alive saying. But she loves it, the sight of her daughter, being loved and adored and spoiled rotten by her mothers. Though Navia worries that it might be a struggle in restraining Clorinde’s habit of spoiling their daughter in the future, she lets it be for now. They’ll cross that bridge when they get there.

For now, Navia will enjoy these little moments. And then she’ll think of it, in the back of her head, she’ll think of the slight possibility, that little sliver of chance that maybe, things will be better for them, for her and Clorinde. And they’ll be comfortable with each other once more, comfortable enough to talk about it, to leave behind the resentments of the past. And then she thinks of giving her a chance, of making the first move and initiating the conversation she so cravely desire just so they can fix everything now.

But then there’s moments that make Navia realize once again that things are simply just not the same anymore. 

She realizes it when Clorinde comes home, and she skips past her, sometimes with just a nod or a short exchange regarding Clementine. She realizes it when they share a rare dinner together, when Clementine’s deep asleep and it leaves them with this ringing, soul-piercing silence that surrounds the entire house. Navia realizes more as the days pass and weeks fly, Clorinde is no longer hers, something she had known from the very start. 

And so Navia stopped hoping, stopped clinging to the slight chance to make things right once and for all. The possibility of Clorinde ever attempting to pluck up her courage and talk to Navia about it all becomes mere wishful thinking. And so, Navia stops hoping. 

Navia decided to focus on the more important things for now—she has a daughter to raise, people to lead and a system to fight against. She juggled between these responsibilities, day and night. Clorinde had fulfilled her end of the bargain of looking after Clementine and providing for the both of them financially while Navia recovered. And even after Navia was well-rested enough to go back to her job as the President of the Spina, Clorinde continued to insist on taking in both Navia and Clementine in her home, an offer that Navia was quick to turn down out of pride. 

They took turns with Clementine. On most days, Navia has her, as the little girl does need Navia more in this particular stage of her life. But Clorinde would still try to visit, offering to take the little girl with her all while the young Spina Heiress focuses on her work. And this cycle continues, until it becomes an eventual routine in their life. After a couple of trial and errors and making countless adjustments for Clementine, they finally reached a perfect arrangement that benefits the both of them, they were in sync—possibly the most they had ever been after the incident. Though their relationship remained as it was the day Clorinde had killed her father, abandoned and left astray as they continued on with their own endeavors. But none of that matters, Navia had realized. They were simply strangers who just happen to share a daughter together, nothing more, nothing less. 

It wasn’t easy to keep Clementine out of the public’s eye, especially with how recent the tragedy of Poisson’s demise was. But fortunately for them, Navia had some connections within the Steambird who helped her out in burying away any semblance of rumors surrounding Clementine. Clorinde had also done her end of the bargain by putting on several disguises whenever she and Clementine would take a stroll in public, blending in with the people on the streets.

However, such secrets can’t simply be kept hidden for long, especially in the realm of their friends. 

Chiori was the first to know of Clementine, as she was the first person Navia had confided in when she found out of her pregnancy. The seamstress wasn’t too fond of the idea at first, she was worried that Navia wouldn’t be able to take in having a child with her ex-friend all while mourning for her father and leading a business. But now that Clementine is born, Chiori doted on the girl greatly and has even offered multiple times to watch over her while Navia works. To this day, Chiori still swears that she’s awful with children— something that Navia greatly doubts whenever she sees how happy Clementine was with her godmother. 

The next to be made aware of Clementine was the Chief Justice himself, but not in the way either of them intended. 

Clementine’s birth records had always been an issue they both knew would have to figure out sooner or later. Neither of them wanted to resort to forgery, nor to use another person’s name and list them as Clementine’s parents, no. Clorinde knows the ins and out of law, and she knows that forging and faking Clementine’s birth records would not only cause massive problems to them, but also to Clementine in the future in case she finds herself being on the other side of the court of law(which Navia hopes will never happen). 

The first person Clorinde resorted to was Wriothesley, a friend she had met after being temporarily stationed in the Fortress of Meropide by the Chief Justice. She had told him of her secret, after mere months of getting to know each other. The man was trustworthy enough, besides, who will he even tell it to? the guy’s stuck in a prison center, Clorinde doubts he has any friends. 

Though there was one single detail that Clorinde had forgotten during that moment: Wriothesley had a very personal connection to the Chief Justice, Monsieur Neuvillette himself. 

Clorinde mentally facepalms herself. Out of all the other connections the one guy she ever told her secret to could ever have, it was with the very man they’ve been trying to pass through unsuspectedly. 

The days following that unfortunate scenario, Clorinde was called into the office of the Chief Justice, shoulders stiffened as she entered the hall.

The office of the Chief Justice had always made Clorinde uneasy. 

And it’s nothing to do with the office’s aesthetics, no. In fact, Clorinde applauds whoever designed this particular space of the court for managing to make it as Neuvillette-esque as one could ever possibly do. Perhaps it’s the tense silence that comes with entering the room, add that to the stoic and strict Chief Justice that awaits you once you enter the office. 

Clorinde knocked once before twisting the knob open, where she was greeted with the usual calm and unbothered look of the Chief Justice sitting on his desk. 

“Ah Miss Clorinde.” He greets, voice monotone as he calls out the woman, who was now walking over to him. “I’m afraid you had just missed Wriothesley, he had to run some errands back at Meropide.” he explains, then carefully placed down his bright blue glass goblet on the plain white saucer. “But I suppose you’re not here for him, hm?”

Clorinde shakes her head. “I–.”She clears her throat as she fixes the dangling vision on her chest the way one would fix their tie, something that became some sort of mannerism to Clorinde whenever she’s nervous. “I’m here to talk about something important with you, Monsieur Neuvillette.” she tells him. 

“Ah yes.” He nods, tilting his head up. “About that..”The Chief Justice awkwardly says. “Before anything, I do wish to apologize on behalf of Wriothesley, I understand that he was in no position to share such information to anyone, even to me.” 

Clorinde nods in acknowledgement. “We did talk about it, there’s nothing to apologize for, Monsieur.” she assures. “I suppose it just caught me off guard, I wasn’t aware of his er… connection with you.” 

“Well we all have our own little secrets, don’t we?”Neuvillette hums, glancing at Clorinde as he says so. “On a different note..” he tries to start the conversation. ”Are congratulations still in order, Miss Clorinde?”it was obvious that he was trying his best attempt at easing off the nervousness out of Clorinde. ”A girl,right?”

The duelist hesitantly nods as a response.”I— Thank you, Monsieur.” She bows. 

Neuvillette raised a hand in acknowledgement, ushering the woman to sit down. ”At ease, please,” he tells her. ”I did not invite you here to reprimand you for not presenting your child’s birth to the court. “He quickly adds. “although that is still a crime, I must remind you.” Clorinde looked down in embarrassment. 

The chief Justice hummed as he placed down his cane on the side of his desk. ”However, given the circumstances of her birth and with you and Miss Caspar’s reputation, I can understand the reasoning behind such actions. Therefore, I will not be punishing either of you for that.” 

Clorinde swallows, confused yet a slight breath of relief enters her system. No legal trouble is all the assurance Clorinde needs.

”I vow to provide every citizen of Fontaine the right to live freely and without prejudice— especially the more vulnerable groups of our nation, such as our youth.” Neuvillette mutters, his words sounding almost like an inaugural speech. ”And though I will never fully understand the feeling of being a parent, I can still sympathize with one’s wish to give their own child the freedom to live as they wish, without the fear of putting them in an unwanted spotlight, in front of hunger-filled eyes of the public.” he reasons. “I for one would not appreciate being thrown into the spotlight unwillingly, what more for an innocent child?”

The man stood up, pulling his drawer carefully and taking a long glossy folder which he handed out to Clorinde with such carefulness that one would think it’s some fragile object that would break at the slightest touch.

”Allow me to help, Miss Clorinde.” Neuvillette offers. ”Think of it not as a favor for you nor for Miss Caspar, but for the daughter you have proudly brought into this world.” he smiles, the first she’s ever seen him do so. “I know that Mr. Callas’ trial certainly put quite the damage in Miss Navia’s trust with the court , but do assure her that this time—the law will not fail your daughter.” 

Clorinde felt like a long thick needle was pulled out of her spine that morning, all worries regarding her daughter’s identity now dissipating in her head. That’s one less thing to worry about, amongst the countless more anyway. 

“Oh, and Miss Clorinde.” Neuvillette calls one last time. “Before you go, I must ask you if Wrio– The Duke , had told you about the job offer?” He sips his goblet gently. 

Clorinde pauses as she holds the folder. “The one with Lady Furina..?”

Neuvillette nods, swirling the cup in his hand. “I hope you sincerely consider the offer, Miss Clorinde,”he requests. “She did specifically request for you, after all.” 

“I’ll think about it.” Clorinde shortly answers. 

“Take your time.” Neuvillette concours. “The job will, admittedly, require more of your time in the court, Miss Clorinde– It might be important to discuss it first with your partner.” 

Clorinde almost choked at the mention of partner, but figured that Neuvillette was probably just being respectful, afraid of labelling her and Navia’s relationship as something specific. Still, those two are far from partners from what Clorinde can see, Navia wouldn’t even look her in the eye anymore. and Clorinde can’t bear to breathe just one more second being alone with Navia. The term partner is far too sweet, too casual to describe the very sour relationship they share right now. 

“I–I will.” Clorinde nervously says, bowing her goodbye at the Chief Justice as she leaves his premises.

It was night by the time Clorinde reached Navia’s home in Poisson, after minutes of carefully walking her way there without being noticed by any familiar villager. With a sigh, Clorinde opened the door, and her eyes lit up at the sight that welcomed her.  Clementine was eleven months by then, already waddling her way towards her mother by the front door, on her hand was Navia’s large hat, gripping it tightly as she ran. 

Clorinde chuckles as she catches sight of her daughter: ever since Clementine’s hair had grown past her forehead, Navia seemed to be having too much fun putting her daughter’s hair in all kinds of different mini pigtails. This time, it seemed that giving her daughter horn like mini-tails on her head was the theme. 

 Navia was abruptly interrupted with her work as she heard the shuffling of the knob and Clementine’s little stomps. She slowly peeks out from the kitchen, removing her greased mittens out of her hands. ”Clorinde.” she calls, her eyes widened in surprise as she finds the woman in the living room. 

” You didn’t tell me you’d be visiting.”she tells her. 

”I was in the neighborhood.” Clorinde answers, crouching down to lift the young girl by her arms. Almost instantly, Clorinde caught a whiff of the familiar lemon scent of her hair, exactly like how Navia smells. 

Navia takes off her apron as she crosses her arms ”I understand the want to see your daughter, and I’m in no way forbidding you but please, do consider telling me first—I don’t appreciate you barging in here whenever you wish.”she tells her. 

”Apologies.”Clorinde merely says, her eyes glued to Clementine. ”Hat,hat!” the little girl cheers, Clorinde quickly obliges and lets her take her hat. ”She’s getting quite heavy.” she notes, adjusting her arms. 

”Please warn me next time, it will be a problem if someone sees you.” The blonde shakes her head, ignoring Clorinde’s words.”You’re not exactly warmly welcomed here in Poisson, in case you forgot.”

Clorinde nods.”I know.” she answers. ”But I do have something to share, hence why I came.” she tells the blonde. Clementine babbles next to her mother, now pulling on her vision with as much force as she could.

 ”Maman…” Clementine chatters, now pinching on the bridge of Clorinde’s nose. 

Clorinde carefully pulls out something from her pocket,and with a smile, she lends out an envelope to Navia. 

“A letter from the Chief Justice?” Navia questions, opening the envelope, her eyebrows remained furrowed. She lightly tore the cover, only to find numerous documents signed and approved by every legal executive of Fontaine. The letter was handwritten by Neuvillette himself, stating that Clementine’s birth records will be kept confidential from the public, and only Navia and Clorinde themselves have the legal right to release it whenever they see fit. Navia puts down the letter, and finally lets out a sigh of relief. 

”How..?”

”Wriothesley, he helped me to get that to Neuvillette.” Clorinde answers. Navia raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar name, so Clorinde quickly added. ”A-a friend from work. He works closely with the court.”

”I see.” Navia nods, reading through the contents. Her fingers subconsciously scanning the embossed letters that make up Clementine’s full name—the highly esteemed Caspar clan name separated by a mere hyphen to Clorinde’s made-up one, the surname Petronilla had given her in a whim one afternoon, after little Clorinde had demanded she get her own birth certificate from the Court. It was right after Navia had found her birth certificate during one of their many secret trips to her father’s office, where she had also discovered her mother’s full name for the first time. Clorinde had mentioned back then how lovely the name was, and from then on, it was a no-brainer to Navia with what she’ll name her future daughter if the universe ever decided to give her one.

”You’re a Fontanian now, bunny.” Clorinde playfully says to her daughter, squishing her cheeks with one hand. ”You get that? Fon-taine, can you say that?”

”Bear!” Clementine exclaims, pointing at the teddy bear she had dropped on the ground. 

”Close enough.”Clorinde jokes, chuckling lightly as she kisses the girl on her ear. 

Navia smiles as she watches the two playfully talk, as if they were speaking on equal levels. She had never realized how good Clorinde is with children, but perhaps it might just be all Clementine’s doing— her charm works like magic to anyone, that not even the stoic Clorinde could resist. 

”Thank you.” Navia mutters, holding the envelope close to her chest. ”To be honest, I was starting to get a bit concerned with how we were going to fix this whole issue with Clem’s records.” she sighs in relief. ”Thank the gods.” 

Clorinde nods in acknowledgement, grabbing her daughter’s hands away from the decorated vision on her chest. ”I didn’t quite expect it either.” she admits. ”I suppose that’s one less thing to worry about Clem for now.”

”It is.” Navia chuckles, staring at her daughter in complete infatuation. ”Do send my thanks to Monsieur Neuvillette and this Mr. Wriothesley man.” she requests at the woman, who simply nods.

Clorinde’s attention was quickly piqued by her daughter as Clementine takes a strong hold of her mother’s earring, making Clorinde wince in pain from the girl’s sudden tugging. ”Ow.” she cries out, taking Clementine’s hand off. ”You’re awfully handsy today, aren’t you?” she teasingly questions her daughter, who laughed idly at her mother.

”It’s late,”Navia says as she stares at the two, hands behind her back. ”You should stay for dinner..I made Casserole.” she offers the woman, who stared at her in surprise. 

There it is again , Navia could already see the hesitation in Clorinde's eyes. It’s clear how uncomfortable the air had become thanks to Navia. 

”I—..”Clorinde clears her throat, uncertainty apparent in her tone. ”Thank you, but I have some matters to attend to.” She respectfully declines, taking her hat back from Clementine before putting her down on the floor to play around, waddling towards Navia’s leg. 

Navia felt like the floor had sunk her body down at Clorinde’s words. No matter how much she tries to patch things up, Clorinde rejects. Navia takes two steps forwards, Clorinde takes three steps back— she avoids her like the plague, like she’s some sort of grave scandal she wouldn’t want to be associated with in any way outside of their own daughter. 

”I’ll visit on Tuesday." Clorinde continues, as if that would make it somehow better. ”I’ll pick her up early in the morning.” 

Navia nods, her feet tightly glued on the floor, preventing her from walking over and pulling Clorinde by the collar and gods —just scream at her to do something, risk something for once. But alas, she seemed to still have that much tact with herself that it prevented her from doing so. 

And besides, she could only do so much— Clorinde’s not her lover, not hers to keep and demand from. and as far as both of them know, they’re not even friends anymore. Just two strangers who simply share a child together. 

”I see. ”Navia replies, much more desperate this time. ”Farewell,Clorinde.”

Clorinde nods. ”Take care, you two.” she says, before twisting the knob of the front door and leaving Navia frozen on her spot. 

The world continues to spin, the pace of time seems to run faster with every waking day. Clementine’s nursery room in Clorinde’s house slowly empties out by the week, her belongings were transferred back to Navia’s home. And so, her mansion was once again empty, far too big, too spacious for one lonely person. 

For a girl as small as Clementine, Clorinde thought, she sure filled that all too large home of hers quite perfectly. 

They were a team when it comes to Clementine, helping each other out in raising their little girl in any way they could. But Navia was smart enough to notice the subtle hesitations in Clorinde’s actions—how she still tries to actively avoid Navia while making sure it doesn’t affect Clementine directly. But Navia was fine with that, she was getting used to it. Their relationship merely exists within the realms of their daughter, and neither of them had ever tried to cross that line. For years, that was what they were used to—and Navia was fine with that.

They shared in the joy of watching Clementine’s every milestones—from her very first words (which Navia sulked about for days as her first words were maman while pointing at Clorinde), her first steps, first haircut, eating solids and up to the time Clementine learns to run around across Poisson on her own. 

And in the blink of an eye, Clementine is three. 

And so marks the years since their fallout, since the tragedy of her father’s death and since the Spina has found itself in a plethora of controversies. But Navia had learned to keep her personal issues aside, to focus on the much bigger things. She can grieve all she wants later. But right now, she has a daughter, a business and a whole village to attend to. 

Navia’s home back in Poisson used to double as the Spina’s main Headquarters, but as Clementine grew, so did the amount of personal items she owned. And so, she had to spend a hefty amount of mora to rebuild one part of the shipwreck in Poisson for her office.  Clorinde had spoiled the girl rotten, buying her countless hats and having tailored custom dresses and coats just to see that particular smile on her little girl’s face. She couldn’t care less about the mora she spent on Clementine, it’s not like she ever had anything she needed to spend on anyway.

“She doesn’t need this many hats, Clorinde. “ Navia scolds as she observes her daughter happily jumping around with her new hat—a tiny yellow beret that Clorinde had bought during one of their many trips to the city yesterday. 

Clorinde smiles as she glances at Clementine’s joyful demeanor. “It’s fine.” she replies nonchalantly, her attention still glued to the happy girl behind Navia.

“You’re spoiling her.” Navia sighs. “And do you know how hard it is to wash each of those hats of hers?” she complains, trying to snap Clorinde out of her dazed out head. “And how did you even find a beret of that size?” 

Clorinde shrugs nonchalantly, as if it was nothing. “I had it tailored.” she explains. “We’ll go to Miss Chiori’s tomorrow—to have her sew some coats for her new hat.” 

“You’re spending too much.” 

The duelist shakes her head. “Not really.“she tells her. “The job with Lady Furina provides a lot of bonus on top of my initial pay.” the duelist explains. “I even started saving up for when she starts college.”

“She’s three.” Navia reminds the woman. 

Clorinde huffs. “Better early than late.” she argues, smiling ear to ear as she watches her daughter run around happily.

“Mama, look!” Clementine would giggle merrily, showing off her new hat with a large crooked grin.

Navia claps in delight, hands clasped together. “So gorgeous, my darling!” she coos, Clorinde showing a thumbs up next to her. 

And it wouldn’t end there for Navia, no. Clorinde wasn’t the only one who would dote on her little girl too much and shower her with everything mora could buy, of course not. Their friends also have to join in, much to Navia’s distress. Everytime Navia would hang out with Chiori during one of her free days, she would always come home with countless bags of mini dresses and little bow ties for Clementine to try on. The little girl’s dressers were so stacked that Navia even had to resort to sacrificing her own drawers just to accommodate Clementine’s. Chevreuse would also pitch in alongside Chiori, handing out new pairs of shoes and bracelets and other items that have absolutely no more space left in Navia’s home. But who was she to reject the gifts? They mean well, Navia knows that much. She just wishes they would tone down a little with their presents. Clementine’s only three, she does not need fifteen different pairs of shoes and a hundred hats. 

However, it didn’t stop there with the extravagant gifts from their friends. On Clorinde’s side, Wriothesley coos over the little girl greatly. He had met the little girl a little over three times now, twice after Clorinde had taken Clementine to the fortress of Meropide upon the little girl’s request and once when he spotted the two by the garden of the court, where Clementine had officially coined the nickname “ Wruncle ” for him. However, due to Navia’s concern regarding Meropide’s lack of hygiene and food safety and not to mention, the danger that lurks around it, Wriothesley began to see the girl less and less. And so, as a way to make up for her, during Clementine’s second birthday, the duke himself came by and visited her birthday party, presenting her with a gift that Navia could only facepalm herself at.

“Puppy!” Clem cheers as Wriothesley carefully places the Chestnut Hunting Hound dog on her arms.

“Thank you Wruncle!” she giggles. The man flashed a proud grin, ruffling the little girl’s hair. 

”He’s a biggun, huh?”Wriothesley snickers. ”You can name him, go on.”he ushers her, crouching down to guide Clementine.

Clementine pats the dog hesitantly, unsure of how the puppy will react. Surprisingly, the little dog quickly wags its tail at Clementine, licking her palm in delight. 

Clementine giggled before facing her wruncle with a grin. “He likes me!” she cheers, making Wriothesley laugh in delight. ”I wanna name him Sebastien! Sebastien!” she cheers, making the dog wag its tail in excitement at her. 

Clorinde would secretly nudge her friend as Wriothesley stands up, whispering questions at him while Clementine was busy cooing over the puppy “You didn’t tell us anything about a dog.” she mutters, low enough for the birthday girl not to hear.

Wriothesley would smile smugly, chuckling. “Well, that wouldn’t be a surprise now, will it?” he proudly says, as if he just made the most clever decision of his life. ”Look, she’s happy, isn’t that what matters?”

Clorinde sighs, shaking her head as she catches a glimpse of Navia’s infuriated face. ”You’re going to have me killed.” she mumbles at him. 

“Not my fault, you said to make her happy.” He smirks. 

It wasn’t a few days until Clorinde had entered the duke’s office and confronted her about gifting Clementine such things. She barged in with a whole rant about how Navia was furious about the huge dog that Wriothesley had casually dropped on a three year old girl’s lap and proceeded to lecture him on having her mothers be informed in advance what present he’ll be handing out to the little girl first from now on. 

After that surprising event, Navia makes it a rule to their friends to never give Clementine a pet as a present anymore, Sebastien was enough of an addition. Wriothesley sulked about it for days at Clorinde, as he was planning to give out more puppies for Clementine’s next birthday. 

“Giddy up.” Clorinde mutters, carrying Clementine on a piggyback as she stands up, Sebastien follows the duo in excitement as they play around the Palais Memoria’s garden hall. 

“I want that, maman!” Clementine points out the bright blue Romaritime flower by the reservoir. Slowly, Clorinde puts down her daughter, allowing her to run on her own towards the object of her affection, watching as Clementine clasps her hands together to ask permission to the Hydro Archon first—a routine she always does right before gently plucking out the flower from its roots. 

“Thank you, Hydro Archon.” she mumbles before taking out the flower gently from its roots.

And although the court forbids the plucking and taking of the garden-grown flowers by the Palais Memoria, Monsieur Neuvillette kindly gave an exception to little Clementine, on one condition that she doesn’t forget to plant a new one for every flower she takes out. 

Clementine loves flowers, something both Navia and Clorinde had noted ever since the girl began to speak. She loves going to gardens on Sundays with Navia, loves choosing what flowers to offer to her grandparents whenever they visit them and she loves strolling around the court, with Clorinde’s hand in hers, pointing out all the Pluie lotuses and Rainbow roses that they see on the way. 

And so, everytime Clorinde visited Poisson to take home a tired and completely knocked out Clementine on her shoulders, Navia had gotten used to seeing a bouquet or two on her hands. She lets it be, with the occasional short scoldings to Clorinde about how she should refrain from buying too much things for Clementine. 

“I wanna eat, Maman.” Clementine tells her mother as they sit down on a nearby bench by the Palais Memoria. Clorinde looks up as soon as she finishes fixing her daughter’s shoes. 

“Your mama prepared you some snacks in your bag, cub .” She answers the girl, reaching out her hand as she stands up to grab the small yellow backpack, Clorinde never understood why Navia would always pack such a heavy bag for one afternoon trip, especially for a girl as small as Clementine.

“Let’s see..there’s some apples here, no skins.”she informs her, Clementine shakes her head. Clorinde continues to fish the bag, squeezing her hand through the piles of extra clothes and stuffed toys.

 Finally, she felt a hard plastic case inside.“Ah..You still have some macarons left from earlier, want some?” Again, the child shakes her head. “A juice box? It’s mango.” Clorinde offers. “Well..what about a sandwich? You can have maman’s.” she offers. “I’ll take out the tomatoes.” she adds, remembering the toddler’s utter disgust for tomatoes.  

“Nooo…”Clementine whines, now pouting as she swings her feet. “Don’t wanna.” she crosses her arms firmly.

Clorinde sighs, realizing that the girl's mood had shifted. She ruffles her head, sitting down next to her daughter, Sebastien resting on her feet. “Well, what do you want?” 

Clementine purses her lips, thinking. “Cake.” she answers.

“No.”Clorinde quickly turns down, making the girl whine louder. “That’s not a healthy snack, Clem.” Clementine groaned in frustration, puffing her cheeks as she tightened her crossed arms. “It’s either the macarons or the sandwich, that’s all.” 

“But I want cake!” she demands, looking away from her mother. 

“ Clementine. ” she calls, a tad more sternly as she hands out the sandwich from her bag, the little girl quickly refuses with a huff.

“No.” The girl answers, huffing. Clorinde was never an impatient person, but by gods was Clementine testing her. 

“Come on, darling.” She tries to console her daughter, much gentler now, but to no avail. “Go away.” She mumbled as she kept her stand sternly. 

Clorinde had learned over the years that not only did Clementine seem to inherit Navia’s irresistible charm and upbeat personality. But ,unfortunately for her, that’s not where the resemblance merely stops. For Clementine seemed to have attained her incredibly stubborn attitude, especially when mad.

“Well, we won’t go home until you eat something.”Clorinde tries to counter. Navia had warned her repeatedly about spoiling Clementine and giving up to her every request, which Clorinde had only realized recently. As much as she would love to give her little girl everything she would ever ask on a whim, Clorinde is smart enough to know the consequences of doing such things to a child. 

“I want cake!” Clementine stubbornly repeats, still not facing her mother. Sebastian tilts his head in confusion, licking off Clementine’s leg to gain her attention. 

Ah, truly her mother’s child.  

Clorinde wanted to laugh at her little daughter’s antics ,mirroring Navia's own when they were kids. She bit the inside of her cheek to contain her chuckles as she figured that she had to play the disciplinarian this time, and had to be serious. “And I said no.” she responds. Clementine glared at her, pouting her lips. 

And for a solid minute or two, it seemed to work. It was apparent that Clementine was starting to give in, glancing at her mother’s side from time to time, checking whether she had changed her mind. Clorinde on the other hand, patiently waited for her daughter to finally give up and just eat her damn snacks so they could go home. 

However, it seemed that Clementine had one final trick up her sleeve. Just as Clorinde thought that she had won their little competition and began to face her again, the duelist had just found herself falling for the oldest trick in the book.

“But I want some cake, maman…” Clementine pouts, bright blue eyes pleading at her mother in full concentration, cheeks puffed as she looks at Clorinde with the puppiest blue eyes she had ever seen. And Clorinde knew that she was in a complete death trap.

The trip to the bakeshop was fortunately uneventful and quick.

Clorinde sighs as she pulls out her wallet to pay for the slice of cake Clementine had requested, along with a cup of coffee for herself. The cashier was taken back upon seeing the infamous Champion Duelist of Fontaine in front of her, ordering a slice of the Lady Furina special limited edition La Lettre a Focalors shortcake. 

The cashier nervously wraps the expensive slice in its intricate blue box, careful as to not damage the decorated icing on top. This was her first order of that particular slice, and it’s deemed as currently the most expensive dish offered in their shop, and thus it’s important that such things must be handled with utmost care. “Ah, just put them in a plastic cup, if that’s alright.” Clorinde requests as she sees the slice, making the cashier furrow her eyebrows in confusion. 

“Pardon?” She questions. 

Clorinde hums. “Just squeeze it in a plastic cup, and a spoon, please.” she tells her. 

“Er–Miss, this is uh..”She nervously stutters, gulping. “..Are you sure?” she says in a lower voice.

The duelist nods. “Can I also get some napkins with that?” 

The cashier blinks repeatedly. “S-sure.” wincing in emotional pain as she squeezes the beautifully made slice into the plastic cup, tears almost prickling down her eyes as she watched as the thousand mora limited edition meal was being crushed inside the cup. 

“H-here.” she hands the woman, who nods nonchalantly as she takes the food. The cashier also handed out a small plastic bag at Clorinde along with the ordered meals. According to her, it came with the slice of cake she had just ordered. Clorinde glanced at the toy-like figurine, eyeing it confusingly.

”It’s Lady Furina, Miss.”The cashier explains. ”Well, a minifigure of Lady Furina.” she adds quickly.

”I see.” Clorinde says in response, putting the toy back in her pocket as she walks over to the table where her daughter was idly sitting on. 

The two, joined by Sebastien, made their way back to the Palais Memoria Garden Hall, where they would spend the remainder of their day together.  

“Cake!” Clementine cheerfully takes the cup from her mother’s hands, quickly taking a spoonful into her mouth. The girl moaned in delight as she tasted the sweetness. “Yum!” She cheers.

Clorinde shakes her head as she carries her daughter up the bench in front of the court, Sebastien quickly jumping next to her. “I will never understand you and your mama’s obsession with sweets.” she mutters, sipping her coffee. 

“Try!” Clementine offers a spoonful at her mother, who respectfully declines as she shakes her head.

“Drink your water after that, hm?” she tells her daughter. Clementine nods at her mother, who was now putting on her disguise hat as she notices the crowd around the bench had begun to multiply now.

“Finish up and we can go now.” She mutters at the girl. 

“Yes maman.” Clementine answers. 

The two, along with little Sebastien, spent a peaceful snack time together under the Fontainian afternoon sun. Clorinde watched in fondness as her daughter lovingly feasted on the sweet pastry, swinging her legs in happiness as she took a bite. 

Finally, Clementine giggles in delight as she finishes her last bite of the cake. ”Finish!” she announces, putting down the plastic cup next to her. Clorinde quickly hands her drink to her, which the girl carefully takes with two full hands. “Careful.” the woman tells her daughter as she guides the drink to the toddler’s mouth. 

“That was sooo yummy..”Clementine giggles, swinging her legs on the bench. Clorinde couldn’t help but smile, her daughter had always been a ball of joy, something she had inherited from Navia. 

“Have you been a good girl,Clem?”Clorinde asked, wiping off a dollop of whipped cream from her daughter’s lips. Clementine repeatedly bobs her head. “You better not be giving your mama a headache, hm?” she jokes.

“No no.” Clementine shakes her head. “Uncle Melus says I’ve been good.” she lets out a thumbs up as she wipes her wetted lips with an elbow. 

Clorinde smiles. “Don’t give mama a hard time,alright? Take good care of her.” She ruffles her daughter’s indigo hair. “Yes maman.” She answers. 

”That’s my girl.”The duelist proudly says, caressing Clementine’s hair as she lays her head on her mother’s side. 

“Maman..” The girl suddenly calls after minutes of silence, Clorinde quickly turns her head down at her.

“Yes, princess?” she gently answers, careful not to make large movements. 

The little girl looked up at her mother in wonder, eyes bright blue as she stared at Clorinde’s lightning purple ones.  “Why can’t you live with us?” 

The question caught Clorinde off-guard, her eyes widened slightly in surprise. “Well, I do visit sometimes, don’t I?” She tries to answer her daughter. However, it was evident that it wasn’t the answer the little girl was hoping for. 

“No, not that.” Clementine shakes her head, her braids swinging repeatedly with the movement of her head. “You don’t sleep with mama and me, and you leave a lot.” she pouts, now looking down on the ground where Sebastien peacefully sleeps. 

Clorinde let out a painful sigh. “I’m sorry, buttercup.” she only says. “I know how much you want the three of us to live together, and I do too.” The duelist consoles her, placing light strokes on her hair. “But right now, it’s just not possible.”

“Is it because you guys are mad with each other?” Clementine innocently asked. 

Clorinde shakes her head, unable to tell the full truth to her daughter. It’s far too complex of a subject, too fresh of a wound for both her and Navia to have to discuss with their still very small child.  “We’re not mad at each other, don’t worry.” she corrects, but there was uncertainty in her voice. “We just..need some time on our own.” 

Clementine moues. “hmm..I don’t really understand.” she admits. Clorinde let out a hand and gently placed them on her daughter’s cheek.

“We’re sorry, bear.” she says as she caresses the girl gently, feeling the guilt fill her chest as she looks at her daughter. 

“Uncle Melus says you guys lived together.” Clementine suddenly blurts out, making Clorinde turn confusingly at her. “Before I was born.”

Clorinde laughs, completely surprised. “What? no, we didn’t.” she clarifies. “We just had sleepovers, like what you and mama do at Fleuve Cendre.” she tries to explain. “She just spent the night at my house, but she never lived there.” 

“You lived together!” Clementine pouts at her, eyebrows furrowed. “No, I remember it too!” she boasted. 

Clorinde chuckles. “You weren’t even born yet at that time, Clem.” she questions. “That’s impossible for you to remember.” the duelist ridged her forehead. 

“I do!I do!” Clementine tries to defend, fist curled in the air.“I was in mama’s belly.” 

The duelist shakes her head as she laughs. Navia did warn her that Clementine’s been too creative with her mind lately, often sprouting nonsensical false memories just for the heck of it. “Impossible, You weren’t even a thought yet.” she grumbles, chuckling as she realizes that Clementine’s conception wasn’t even thought of at all in any way in the first place. 

Clementine huffs, still determined to win her side. “I remember it so!” She fought back. “And,and Papa Callas was there!” she adds. 

Clorinde was surprised at the mention of that particular name. It seems that Navia must’ve told her stories about her late grandfather recently. “You didn’t even meet him!” she confusingly says, crossing her arms. 

“I sooo did.” her daughter answers, cheeks puffered adorably. 

“Oh yeah?” Clorinde challenges. “What did he look like?”

Clementine paused for a minute, caught off guard with her mother’s sudden question. “H-he was this big!” She stretches her arms wide. “And he had a glasses!” 

Clorinde laughs loudly, unable to contain it anymore. “Alright, alright.” she says between wheezes. “ Whatever you say, bunny.” Clementine responded with a grumpy huff, unamused with her mother’s response.

“You don’t believe me!” she whined. Clorinde shakes her head.

“I do,I do.” the woman assures,”You were right, I’m sorry.” she jokes, just to finish their little argument. She had learned after years of being friends with Navia that you will never win an argument against that girl, not even when you’re right. And supposedly, the same could go for Clementine,who is just as stubborn as her mother. 

Clementine grinned cheekily at her mother as she put down her drink. ”When I grow up, I’ll buy you and mama a house there so we could live together.” She points at one building near the court, a staggering three-storey classical house that Clorinde used to confuse with the actual Court when she was younger. 

”We already have a house here.” Clorinde says, smiling at her daughter. ”Remember? You used to live with me.”

Clementine nods. ”But but, there’s only three rooms!” she attempts to pull out three fingers at her mother. ”And we need..”she stops, counting with her hands. ”T-two more!”

Clorinde tilted her head in confusion. ”For what?” she laughs. 

”One for maman and mama..”she puts down one finger, ”One for Clem..”and then another one. ”And then one for Sebastien.” She shows her mother the last finger standing on her hand, which was her middle finger. 

”Put that down, darling.”Clorinde sighs as she stares at her daughter’s middle finger innocently shown directly at her. The duelist smiles at her daughter. ”It’s perfect for the three of us, and Sebastien doesn’t need his own room, he’s a dog.”

”But what about my brother and sister?” she questions just as Clorinde was sipping her coffee. 

Clorinde chokes on her drink, coughing uncontrollably at her words. Her throat is drying up in pain as the strong caffeine chokes her.  ”Y-your what?” she almost shouts. 

”You and mama will make some new babies soon,right?” Clementine playfully shows her fingers in the air,making two walking motions with both her hands using her fingers. ”Aunt Chiori says that when two people love each other very much—”

”No, Clem.“ Clorinde quickly interjects, shaking her head. ”There will be no babies anytime soon.“ she clarifies. 

”Why?” she questions. ”You and mama love each other right?”

The duelist didn’t have it in her heart to deny the statement, Clementine’s still way too young to have her heart shattered with the ugly truth. Besides, it’s not like Clorinde knows the answer either. 

”It’s not that, Clem.” she explains. ”Your mama and I aren’t planning to have another anymore.“ Clementine frowns, greatly disheartened,Clorinde quickly noticed her look and added. ”We have you, and that’s all we need.”

”But when I grow up, you won’t have any babies anymore.” Clementine questions. ”And then you will be lonely.”  she adds. 

Seriously, what did Chiori put in this kid’s head? Clorinde sighs. 

Clorinde shakes her head. ”You’ll always be our baby, Clem, even if you grow up as tall as both of us.“ she replies, lightly pinching Clementine’s cheek. ”Don’t worry about mama and I, we have each other so we won’t be lonely.” she reassures her with a white lie. Clorinde ruffles her daughter’s hair playfully as she adds. ”But still, don’t grow up too fast, alright?”

Clementine giggled, and Clorinde could see the sun setting behind her as she smiled, as if that’s where it was always meant to be— in the background, accompanying her little girl at all times. Fontaine had never looked this beautiful in Clorinde’s eyes, and that must be because of Clementine. ”Silly maman, I can’t stop that.“ she laughs, each sound of laughter bouncing around Clorinde’s brain and echoing alongside the picture of Navia’s smile in her head. 

“She’s getting heavier.” Clorinde chuckles as Navia swings open the door to her home for the woman to enter. Navia had offered to be the one to take Clementine to bed, but the duelist insisted. 

The blonde nods, stroking her daughter’s indigo hair as they enter the girl’s bedroom. Slowly, Clorinde placed down her daughter on the soft bed, pulling out the strands of loose hair out of the little girl’s face. 

”Hope she didn’t give you a hard time.”Navia says, eyes glued on Clementine’s sleeping figure. Clorinde shakes her head as she tucks the penguin-themed sheets on her daughter’s body. 

”Not at all, she was well-behaved actually.” Clorinde answers, but then laughs lightly as she adds. ”Just a bit of a chatterbox, honestly.”

Navia wheezes, trying her best to keep her laughs as quiet as possible. ”I don’t even know where she gets half the things she babbles about.” she says between gentle chuckles, the dim yellow light on Clementine’s minilamp perfectly capturing her radiant smile—warm as the sun indeed.  

And just as carefully they had entered, with a sigh of relief, Navia closed the door as soon as Clorinde had slowly exited the room.

“Thanks for taking her out today.. I know how much of a handful she can be, and you just got out from work and all—” Navia smiles at the woman as she hands her hat back. “Thank you, Clorinde. I really appreciate it, it means a lot to Clem too.” 

Clorinde nods as she puts on her hat. “Navia, it’s fine. Clem’s been a good girl.” she tells her, moving out of the way towards the entrance door.

Navia finds herself staring at the woman in front of her. Clorinde had gotten tall over the years, her well-built figure towering over Navia’s. She remembers how scrawny and tiny Clorinde looked years ago, barely fitting into the duelist uniforms provided by the court. But now, in front of her, her uniform fit the woman like a perfectly sized glove, complimenting the muscles that had built over the years due to the countless duels she fought. 

Navia pauses, her mouth open as if to say something. But her words failed her, she was left unmoving, hesitant to bring up the one thought bubbling in her mind.

“I’ll be going now.” Clorinde says, completely insouciant as opposed to Navia, who felt like she could break at the smallest of touch.

There were a variety of words Navia wanted to say to Clorinde, words that were left unsaid and left lingering on the back of her mind for years. And yet, she was still just as afraid. And so, all she could do is wait, wait for the possibility that Clorinde could be the one to bring it up. That was all she needed from her—and yet, Clorinde refuses. 

Clorinde leaves, but her scent continues to linger on Navia’s living room. Like gunsmoke, and perhaps just as suffocating too. And the longer Navia catches whiff of it, the more her chest tightens. 

She was left on her own once again, without a word uttered. Clorinde had run away again, just as she did  years ago. When Clorinde had taken her father’s life, she left her to mourn on her own while she continued on as if nothing happened. 

She stared at the bouquet of black and yellow flowers Clorinde had left on the table, a complete contrast to the pale blue flowers she had placed on her father’s grave earlier that day.

The storm that struck Fontaine that night was deathly terrifying.

Navia was never one to be terrified of such things, being that she has had her own fair share of destructive floods and booming thunders almost every night in Poisson and thus, she had grown accustomed to it as years came by. However, this night was different for Navia.

She hadn’t showered in days, her clothes were ragged and her hair was a bundled mess. She constantly checked on Clementine, placing light strokes on her daughter’s reddened cheeks as she let out another painful cough. Navia couldn’t stand this, her heart was breaking with every second she saw her daughter in such a state. 

Melus and Silver had gone out to help the people of Poisson amidst the large typhoon that haunts the nation, giving out food packs and flashlights due to the sudden cut off of electricity around the village. And so, Navia was left alone. There was no choice after all, she still needed to look after Poisson. Someone has to, at least. 

The door swung heavily as wet footsteps joined the crackles of thunder. Navia didn’t need to look behind her, there’s only one person that would be brave enough to run her way from the court to Poisson in the middle of a heavy storm. 

”How is she?”Clorinde questions, wet and breathless. She quickly hands the bag of medicine to Navia, who mutters a whisper of thanks before opening the packets herself. Clorinde helped herself to a spare towel near the door, wiping her entire body with the small cloth. 

”Still burning up.” Navia says, voice cracking. She carefully pats Clementine by the stomach, ”Hello,mon petit macaron.” she says gently, ”Can you sit up for mama?” ushering the girl to move and take her medicine. Clementine groans in pain, her reddened cheeks puffing up in agony. 

Clorinde leans closer to check on Clementine’s temperature, clicking her tongue as she feels her burning hot skin. ”You want to eat something, little bear?” she asked, the girl shakes her head. 

“Just sleep.” Clementine mumbles, eyelids half closed, before wailing another dry cough. 

”Swallow this first, then you can sleep.” Navia gently says, placing a tablet on Clementine’s tongue, the girl quickly swallows it as Navia hands her a glass of water. Within seconds, Clementine plopped down back to her bed, her entire body covered in thick layers of sheets. 

Navia sighs as she lets Clementine doze off once more, carrying the tray of untouched cold soup that she had prepared for the girl. ”Let me.“ Clorinde offers, taking the tray from Navia’s hand as they stand up to leave. 

The woman looks down at the tray as she follows Navia, frowning in concern. ”She hasn’t eaten?”

”She’s been like this since this morning, barely touched her breakfast and any of the food I made her.” Navia tells her as they walk carefully outside of the girl’s room.”I gave her some milk, she drank it but then she threw up right after.” 

Clorinde sighs as they close the door to Clementine’s room, but still leaving a few centimeters of gap in case the girl calls. 

”You should’ve taken her to the clinic earlier,Navia.” she mutters as soon as they are near the kitchen, where Navia took the tray from the woman’s hands and placed them on the sink.

Navia nods, opening the faucet to begin washing the bowls.”I know, I just didn’t think it was gonna get this bad.” She reasons, cold water falling down her hands as she says so.”I would’ve taken her the moment she started heating up, but then the storm came and I—we couldn’t leave.” She looked up at the window, the storm still angry as ever, and there was no sign of it stopping anytime soon. 

Clorinde exhales, her hands in her pocket. ”Then you should’ve told me the moment she started getting hot, I would’ve taken her myself.” she tells her. ”If I hadn’t heard from Melus that Clem’s been sick for days, I would’ve never found out otherwise.”

Navia scoffs, stopping her hands that were carefully wiping off the bowl with a sponge. ”Whose fault is that? you barely visit.” she barks back, voice hoarse from the lack of sleep and fatigue. 

The duelist swallows a lump on her throat, looking directly at Navia.”I would’ve come as fast as I could had you told me about her situation.” she answers, voice much louder now. 

Thunder booms in the distance, adding to the immense heartbeat that constantly thumps inside Navia’s chest. 

”Well, I shouldn’t have to be doing that in the first place.” the blonde retorted, swallowing a thick lump on her throat. 

”What is that supposed to mean?” Clorinde scoffs, hands on her hips as she questions Navia.

The plates made a loud clunking sound against the metal sink as Navia dropped it carelessly.”We have a deal, Clorinde. A schedule, a routine—but you kept failing to show up, you kept making my daughter wait for nothing. ” she sneers, bitter and angry. ”And what, you expect me to update you on how she’s doing after weeks of disappearing?” she questions, almost laughing at how ridiculous the duelist was being, putting the blame on her.

”I’ve been busy with the court, I told you that.” Clorinde excuses, staring intently at the woman. ”I said I’d make it up to her once it was all settled.” she answers, frustration building up inside her. ”I’ve been doing this for her, Navia. Do you think I wouldn’t choose Clem over any other thing if this weren’t important?” She questions boldly, then blows out a heavy exhale out of her nostrils. ”I know I hadn’t been spending much time with her but gods—” Clorinde scorns, just as bitterly as Navia. 

”I think it’s unfair to keep me out of the loop here with my own daughter just so you could rub it in my face about how absent I’ve been.”

”Oh don’t be daft.” Navia rolls her eyes at her, rain pouring heavily behind her as the bowls clank with one another. ”You know that’s not what I’m doing, Clorinde.” she tells her. ”See, if you really care about Clem, if you really are as responsible and present as you think you are being—Then I wouldn’t need to write you a letter in the first place, you wouldn’t need to hear from Melus or Silver or anyone because you’d be here and you’d know.”

 Navia screams in sync with the booming of the thunder, in sync with the falling of the tears on her face. ”I don’t care if you're off hunting, or killing another god-knows-who at the court—hell, I don’t even care if you’re lying dead in a ditch somewhere. But the least you could do for Clem is show up when you say you will and not just abandon her.” 

She exclaims, face flushed beet red as she sniffles. ”I barely survived when you did it to me, so please don’t put my daughter in the same situation.” she begs, almost desperately. ”At least have that much tact, for once.“

The rain continues, accompanied with the sound of the twigs of the plants slapping the glass window repeatedly. 

”I’m not going to.”Clorinde reassures, voice now shifted to a lower one, feeling a slight sliver of guilt. ”I’ll stay, I won’t abandon our daughter,Navia.”

Navia looked at her in fury, reddened eyes from the tears she had been holding back. ”Then why leave? What's so important with that damn job that you’d choose it more than your own child?” she questions, desperate to hear something, anything from Clorinde. 

They both stood in silence as the drops of rain began to muffle in Navia’s ears, all she could hear was the silence that came after her words: It was deafening, ear-piercing almost. 

”I..” Clorinde swallows as she looks at Navia, eyes red and sunken, both of them knew that they were tired, far too tired for something as senseless as this argument. The duelist swallows heavily before she inevitably looks away from Navia’s gaze. ”I cannot tell you right now.”

The storm began once again, raindrops fire down at the roof of Navia’s home like little bullets. The blonde laughed dryly. After all that ruse, Clorinde is still so tight-lipped about her life. Even when a desperate woman is in front of her, begging for a reason, for her explanation. Anything, gods, anything just so she could understand her. 

”You’re ridiculous.” Navia scoffs, wiping away her tears as she walks towards the living room. 

Clorinde clicks her tongue. ”I’ll tell you in due time,Navia. But not right now.” She pulled the woman by her arm, but Navia was quick to break free. ”Please, try to understand.”

”And I’m supposed to do what, just trust you?” Navia chuckles, rather bitterly.”Right, that went great for me, didn’t it?” she turns around, shaking her head. 

”Navia.”Clorinde calls out, trying to chase after her. 

”Gods, I’ve had it with you, Clorinde.”The blonde rubs her temples as she scoffs. Clorinde gulps as she looks at Navia, having the audacity to give her that sad kicked puppy look, as if she was the one that was hurting in all of this. Clorinde really knows how to play the victim in these situations, doesn’t she? Navia thinks in anger. 

 ”I’m done with this, just get out.”Navia orders, not bothering to face Clorinde. The duelist tries to walk closer to her, but the blonde quickly pushes her away. She quickly slapped Clorinde’s hands away. ”I’m serious, get the hell out of my house,Clorinde.”

The duelist remained frozen on her spot, doe eyes stared at her in fear. ”But Clem—”

What about me? Navia thinks as she inhales sharply before facing the woman. ”Asshole..” Navia could only curse, completely offended by Clorinde’s lack of concern for her. 

She quickly shakes her head as she feels a strong throb on her temple. Navia exhales heavily. ”Y’know what?Fine, whatever. I’ll send you letters— if that’s what you want, if that’s what’s gonna keep you out of my damn sight.  I’ll keep you updated on how she’s doing, for Clem’s sake.” she says. ”But don’t you show your face again to me, Clorinde.” she hissed.

”Navia.” Clorinde tries to call her. ”Please—”

”I said get out!” Navia shouts. ”Get out and don’t come back to me ever again.” she sneers in fury. 

Clorinde pauses, before looking down in dismay. 

”..I understand.” she says, putting on her hat as she walks past Navia, the loud booming of the thunderstorm accompanied the light sobs of the blonde as soon as Clorinde leaves. 

Clorinde had hurt her countless times, and had left her in ruin that even now, she’s still left to pick up the pieces the duelist had shattered. But Navia never stopped caring for her, as much as she would’ve loved to—her heart could never not concern itself with Clorinde’s wellbeing, she’d almost always find it in her to care for the woman that broke her heart. 

But this time, the aching on her heart seemed to be greater than her love for the woman. Navia could only have so much patience, she had given her as many chances to fix everything again as she could. And yet, Clorinde steps back every single time.

Navia didn’t even dare to look back at the window to watch Clorinde leave, letting the woman be engulfed by the raging storm that struck Fontaine that horrendous night. 

Navia had stopped caring, and maybe that’s for the best. 

Over the years filled with betrayal, pain and anger, Navia had learned not to trust so easily. 

It was rather difficult for Navia, a girl who was raised in a village where she was loved, adored and cared for genuinely. She grew up in a world where she believes everyone deserves a chance to be trusted, to be given the opportunity to prove themselves. The people of Poisson had molded Navia into that person for years, and Navia had learned the hard way that the world isn’t too gentle to people like her. 

Ever since the tragedy of her father’s death, Clorinde’s unspoken betrayal and how Fontaine treated Poisson and the Spina like a horrible contagious disease they should be avoiding at all cost—Navia kept her personal business close to her heart, unable to find it in herself to trust anyone anymore.

But when a blonde traveler came into her life, with his loud and enthusiastic flying companion, Navia slowly opened up once more. He was kind, courageous and incredibly charming. His companion on the other hand, can be quite a handful to some but she wasn’t something that Navia couldn’t handle. She has a ferocious three year old at home that never runs out of energy for days, and overtime, she had learned to get used to it. 

Thanks to her newfound friends, Navia felt as if her father’s case was being brought to light once again, albeit a bit slow and so incredibly tedious that Navia barely had the time to sleep at all. But she was optimistic of the outcome of it all—her papa will get the justice he deserves and Poisson will find its place in Fontaine once more. 

Her relationship with Clorinde remained just as stale as it was that night. Now that she has been actively working against her father’s case, Navia barely had the time to speak to her at all. They would see each other every few days, whenever Clorinde would take their daughter with her and then back to Poisson. But even then, no words were exchanged between them. Especially now that Navia’s been very vocal about the unjust system of Fontaine’s government, the very same system that Clorinde serves as a lapdog to. 

And it’s probably for the better, Navia thinks. The less they talk, the easier it is for Navia to move forward, something she should’ve done well over three years ago. But alas, such things are easier said than done, not when the daughter they share acts as a constant reminder of the love and devotion they once had for one another. 

“I cannot thank you enough for your service, You have no idea how much this all means to me and to the entirety of Poisson.” Navia says to her new comrades, cheeks flushed as she tries hard to hold back the tears she so desperately needs to let out. 

Paimon bounces happily. “No problem, Navia. That’s what friends are for!” she tells her. “And Paimon thinks your papa deserves his justice too.” 

Aether nods. “Just tell us if there’s more we can help with in the meantime.” he offers. “And tell Melus and Silver we said hi.”

“Yeah, where are they anyway? Paimon thought they should be guarding you all the time!” the floating companion butts in. 

“I sent them out for a business meeting with one of Spina’s partner companies.” Navia excuses, purposely avoiding any eye contact with either of them to keep up her facade. In reality, she had sent Melus and Silver to watch over Clementine while she worked with the traveler, something she obviously can’t say to the two. “But I'll tell them that you sent your regards.”

And for a second, Navia thinks of revealing her secret to her new friends. They’ve been working together for the past weeks, tirelessly looking for clues that may hint at her father’s innocence and its connection to the unjust trial that had the infamous magician Lyney guilty for. She thinks of telling the two about Clementine, about her past with a certain duelist. And she’d feel her heart racing, scared of the very real possibility that she might be trusting too much again. And so she’d turn down her idea, leaving it as it is on the back of her mind.

“Anyway, you two had helped plenty, I should be the one to make that offer.” Navia says, hands behind her back as she shyly grins at the two travelers. “If there’s anything you need, feel free to visit me at Poisson. I’ll be glad to help out.” 

Paimon giggles like an excited little child. “Just a couple of macarons will do!”

“Paimon!” Aether stops her. 

Navia laughs, hands wrapped around her stomach as she lets out a gentle wheeze. “Alrighty then, I’ll make sure to have them send some of my macarons to your rooms later.” 

Paimon claps in response, her wings fluttering repeatedly. 

As the three were about to go to the Fleuve Cendre together, Navia felt something fall down her shoulder as she walked. Widened eyes stared in shock as she instinctively catches Aether’s passed out body falling down on her. 

“H-hey!“ Navia exclaims in worry. Paimon loudly screams in shock. “Aether!” she calls. 

Just as Navia puts down her friend’s body by the fountain, a loud mechanical sound interrupts the three. 

“What the—” Navia mumbles as she grabs her gunbrella by her side. She squinted, looking at the figures getting closer and closer to their directions and her eyes widened. 

“Gardemeks?!” Paimon cries out, still pulling on Aether’s clothing to wake him up, but the traveler doesn't budge. 

“My god, there’s a whole army of them.” Navia almost chokes on her own breath. “Paimon, keep an eye on him. I’ll handle this.” She orders, hands preparing to unload her gun as she walks over to fend off the robotic monsters. 

Knowing that she wouldn't be able to hold defense for very long as her body could only withstand so much—Navia acknowledges that her martial abilities had rusted after years of being barred from any kind of intense physical training following the birth of Clementine. Not that she blames her daughter of course. 

Focalors, a little help? Navia squints as she prays mentally, dashing off to one gardemek and slicing her blade through it like softened butter. Within seconds, it plopped right down on the ground like a neglected ragdoll.

“Navia, behind you!” Paimon screams as soon as Navia turns around. The blonde felt a tingling sensation on her nape, as if there was some invisible string tugging on her back and pulling her soul out of her flesh in one quick motion. 

The Gardemek launched at Navia, bashing its entire body right directly at her Claymore mindlessly. Navia tries to fend it off, but the other Gardemek behind her quickly catches sight of her blindspot, now crouching down to hit Navia completely defenseless. 

Lightning cackles in time as Navia somehow managed to dodge a Gardemek's attack. A series of roars of thunder blew repeatedly like a firework show, purple lights blinking in sync with the sound of a blade colliding onto the thick metal body of the automation. 

Navia didn’t have the time to stare and observe the mysterious figure that protected her from behind, not when she could spot a horde of Gardemeks making its way towards them. And without preamble, Navia leans closer to the crowd of robots, letting the other person deal in the frontlines, completely entrusting her friends’ safety in her hands. 

Fighting the Gardemeks came to Navia like instincts, as if something awakened within her once more. She was fearless, clashing her Claymore and swinging it around the crowd of monsters as she reloaded her gunbrella with her other hand. And within minutes, what once stood tall and mighty horde of Gardemeks all fell into the ground helplessly.

Navia huffs as she puts out the last of the smoke from her gun, her back turned at the woman who came by out of the blue. Even from a distance, Navia could still hear the faint breathing coming from the woman as she slashed down the last of the Gardemeks. 

 “Clorinde..” she calls out, voice breathless and shaky as she fixes her stance. She could feel the other woman’s presence, lingering like an age-old wound.“What are you doing here?”

“I was nearby.” The duelist tries to reason, pulling down her hat. Navia was quick to notice the faint glow of her electro vision as her lightning clones disappeared behind her.

“I was patrolling around the area and caught a glimpse of–” the woman quickly stopped as soon as she saw the displeased look on Navia’ face. 

“Bullshit.” Navia calls her out, arms crossed. “Try again.”

Clorinde sighs in defeat, tongue-tied after being caught in her very apparent lie. “ I was following you.” she admits. She then quickly adds, ”But it was to ensure your safe—”

“You mean stalking?” Navia questions in a heartbeat, having enough of Clorinde’s ridiculousness. 

She pulls her hat closer down her face before turning her head to face the two upcoming figures walking towards her. Paimon ran closer to Navia, holding the Traveller by the shoulders, the two companions made their way towards the blonde, who helped them both sit down nicely on the pavement. 

“This is—”Clorinde’s eyes widened as she saw the traveller, but quickly shook her head to change the subject. “You..You shouldn’t be here,Navia.” she scolds, voice low and concerned as she withdraws her blade.

“As should you.” Navia huffs, putting down her gunbrella .”Don’t you know that stalking is a serious crime here in Fontaine?” she rolls her eyes. “I expect you’d already know that, being the law’s lapdog and all.” she threw a jab at her. 

“Who is—” Paimon tries to intervene, but Aether shushes her. 

“Let them be,” he whispers, wincing faintly in pain as he tries to stand up.

Clorinde exhales. “I gave Mr. Callas my word that I will always protect you, whatever happens.” she replies. “And I will not be able to face Clementine had anything happened to you.”

Navia scoffs. “Leave my father’s name out of your mouth, Clorinde. You’re the last person ever deserving to utter his name.” she spits out, brutal and cut-throat. “And don’t bring Clementine into this either. This has nothing to do with her.”

Clorinde looks away, eyes darted down on the ground. “I simply wish to keep you safe.” 

“I can manage very well on my own, thanks.” Navia replies, voice filled with sarcasm and bitterness. “I advise, no— I demand you keep your distance from me. You forget that our connection merely exists within the realms of our daughter.” 

Paimon gasped, turning to Aether. Daughter! she mouths.

Aether nods silently, eyes bulging out of its sockets as he faces Paimon. I know right?! he mouths back in disbelief.

The duelist looks down in defeat, the imaginary lump on her throat growing bigger with every word that Navia spits out. “I understand, I apologize for overstepping my boundaries.”

Navia was the one to look away. “Just go.“

Clorinde swallows. “I will.” she assures. “But Navia,”she calls out, one last time. “Please do tread lightly, for Clementine’s sake at least.” 

Navia scoffs. “If I had wanted your advice, I would’ve said so.” she bites back, the duelist simply nods. 

Paimon placed a hand on her mouth. Poor girl! the fairy companion whispers. Besides her, Aether shakes his head at the revelation unfolding in front of his very eyes. 

And just as fast as she had abruptly appeared, the lightning-quick duelist fled away, leaving Navia and her friends alone. 

“Navia, who was that?!” Paimon questions almost immediately. 

Navia lets out a sigh before flashing back to her usual demeanor. “Oh, that was Clorinde.” The Spina president tried to flash a smile, but it was apparent how fake it was. “ She’s the Champion Duelist of Fontaine.“

“And?” Paimon questions, voice almost demanding.

Navia huffs as she places her gunbrella on her side. “We used to be friends, but that was history now.” she grins.

“Friends?” Aether crosses his arms. “Doesn’t look like that to me.” he lets out an arm. “It looked to me that you two seemed to have far more than what you’re implying.” he questions, Paimon nods.

The blonde woman tries to look away, her ears flushed bright red. “It’s sort of complicated.” she explains, but it was apparent that the two travelers are not satisfied with her words. And so, Navia exhales in defeat. 

“We’re co-parenting, that’s all.” Navia finally reveals. “Think nothing of it, she and I are long over in the past now.” 

“But how did it all lead to that?” Paimon questions. “And you didn’t tell us you have a daughter!”

“It’s a long story.” Navia argues. 

Aether snaps his fingers, his companion agreeing rather fast. “Thankfully, we have the time.” 

Navia glances at the marks of Clorinde’s blade on the ground, the burnt cement sizzling slowly as it takes the shape of the slash. And then she closed her eyes, memories of everything came flooding like Fontainian sea waters.

The question rang in her head like an echo. 

How did it all lead to that?