((a/n Short chapter, sorry!))

They had both been named after their mother, Queen Sooyoung, though that hadn’t been the original intention. After Joy had been born and their mother died from the strain, their father, the King of Figaro, had tried to hold his wife in his heart a little bit longer by naming their youngest daughter after her as well, though he rarely called Joy as such.

Seven years her senior, her older sister had always been known as Crown Princess Sooyoung, while she herself had simply been known as Princess Joy. It was only at official functions that she was called by her full title, the crier announcing them as the Pride and Joy of Figaro. It had been cute when they were little kids, but as the years wore on, their patience with their superfluous titles had waned, while the weight that they bore increased.

“It’s dangerous down here for a child,” the King gently scolded, as he caught Joy yet again rummaging around in his tools. They were down in the basements of Castle Figaro, where the large machines that could move the castle beneath the sands of the desert were being constructed. The team of royal engineers couldn’t chase her through the maze of pipes and massive turbines, and had resorted to calling her father to come collect her. “Why can’t you be more like your sister? Just because she’s the heir doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to be a little more ladylike yourself.” He scooped up the unruly princess as she fussed and carried her back up to the main floor of the castle.

“Matron, come get little Joy and clean her up, please,” he asked, passing off the ornery child to the nurse. “She’s been in the basement again and is covered in grease…”

“... Yes, your Highness, I’ll… take care of this right away,” the matron replied as she gingerly accepted Joy.

“Eeeew, what stinks?” Sooyoung asked as she pranced around the corner and ran into the two adults with Joy.

“Your sister,” the King replied tiredly. “Sooyoung, after Joy’s bath can you take her to play in your room, so she doesn’t get into anymore trouble?”

“Yes, sir,” Sooyoung grumbled sourly. She and Joy couldn’t have been more different in their interests. She knew Joy was going to want to try taking apart her piano, or make fun of her singing, and was liable to make a general mess of her room. But the King knew that they were actually more similar than his eldest gave them credit for. They were both willful young ladies, strong enough to inherit the throne when their time came.

And the Gestahlian Empire made certain that time came sooner rather than later.

+++

Joy had been looking all over the castle for Sooyoung, holding her latest creation behind her back in anticipation of running into her. She had spent all night and most of the day designing, etching, and casting it, wanting to get it just right for her sister’s birthday: a solid gold coin with the Crown Princess’s face on one side, and Joy’s on the other.

As she approached the family’s wing, she noticed a strange amount of activity in the halls. Butlers and other attendants were rushing to and fro, and there was a tense, hushed atmosphere that immediately put her on edge.

She noticed one maid rush by with a arm full of silk sheets, and Joy was horrified to see large splotches of blood discoloring the fabric.

“Princess!” the matron called to her, coming up to Joy quickly, and Joy shied away from her touch. The matron never called her so formally before, and it made her even more wary than the sight of the blood. “Please, Princess Joy, come away with me; things are a little-”

“Where’s Sooyoung?” Joy asked in a voice that demanded an answer. “Where’s my father?”

The matron looked at her sympathetically, and Joy could see she was very troubled by something. “I’ll take you to your sister.”

The matron led Joy away from the family wing, down through the castle to the conservatory, from which they could already hear the somber of a piano echoing down the hall. The matron knocked at the large wooden door, but there was no answer - only the relentless progress of Sooyoung’s mournful etude.

Joy slipped inside alone, and saw the birthday girl by herself in the finely furnished room. Velvet curtains had been drawn aside to allow the clear desert sun to stream in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, bathing the room in warmth and light. It was quite a contrast to the sorrowful melody Sooyoung was playing, and her accompanying stormy expression.

“Sooyoung?” Joy called as she approached, pocketing her gift.

“What do you want?” Sooyoung asked tonelessly as she continued to play.

Joy paused, but then walked up to the piano and stood beside it, drawn to the way the hammers rhythmically struck the strings with every keystroke. “Is something wrong with father?”

Sooyoung was silent for a long moment, until she finally came to the conclusion of her song. “... Yes.”

“Is he dying?”

“Yes.”

Joy felt a sudden weakness in her legs, and crouched there beside the piano. She hugged her knees to her chest, finally overcome with the all of the frightening and nervous energy she had felt near the King’s personal chambers. She cried.

Sooyoung felt tears welling up in her own eyes, listening to her younger sister’s sobs. She pulled shut the piano key cover and knelt down by Joy’s side, putting an arm around her shoulders.

“Why?” Joy croaked.

“I don’t know,” Sooyoung answered in a shaky voice. “They said it’s poison.”

“Why father?” Joy asked again. “What’s going to happen to us?”

But Sooyoung knew what was going to happen to them. She was 23 today, and Joy was 16. They were both technically old enough to ascend to the throne without contest. She held Joy closer to herself and they stayed like that until Joy had exhausted herself crying.

As dusk settled over Castle Figaro, the two girls wandered back to the family wing, where the frantic activity had slowed to anxious pacing. They sat together at the head of the stairs, still holding onto each other while they waited. There were hushed whisperings of “all we can do,” and “make him comfortable” while the staff tried their best to step around the two princesses.

+++

Joy woke to the sound of Sooyoung quietly humming and her hair. She must have fallen asleep at some point, and Sooyoung had let her lay up against her, while she used the wall for support.

“Hey,” Sooyoung murmured to her as Joy shifted upright.

“Any news?” Joy mumbled groggily.

Sooyoung shook her head, but the matron slowly walked towards them. Her posture was stiff, and she had her hands clasped in front of herself to keep them from trembling, but the girls could clearly see tears in her eyes.

She paused a few feet away and looked about the stairwell. The tower they were standing in was walled in large, well-fitted stone bricks - a cold compliment to all of the warmer wood paneling of the family chambers down the hall. Mounted across from the landing on the far wall was the Figaro family crest, and she averted her gaze, unable to meet the princesses’ eyes nor face the dwindling royal line. She remembered being a nurse to the late Queen Sooyoung, and now she was the matron of these two precious girls. How many more family deaths could her old heart bear?

“S… Crown Princess Sooyoung-” she began but Sooyoung unexpectedly cut her off.

“Don’t.”

“But Princess,” the matron tried again.

“Don’t!”

And Joy was surprised by the raw pain in her sister’s voice.

“I don’t want to hear it!”

“Princess, please.”

“Don’t call me that!” Sooyoung cried, and she suddenly stood and ran down the stairs.

The matron was so startled, Joy saw a tear race down her cheek before she regained her composure. She slowly got up and put a hand on the matron’s.

“Is my father dead?”

And the matron lifted her chin and nodded after Sooyoung. “Yes, Princess. And it was his wish that Crown Princess Sooyoung would ascend the throne, and that you would become her chief advisor.”

Joy blinked. An advisor? Her?

The matron could see the confusion on her face. “He knows you have a good heart, Princess. He trusts that you two can protect the kingdom.”

And Joy swallowed past the lump forming in . Protect the kingdom. Because the King really was dead.

“But the Crown Princess will need to be coronated soon. The Empire of Gestahl is looking for weaknesses in its neighbors and we cannot afford to wait. I’m sorry.”

Joy nodded, not trusting her voice just yet. She withdrew her hand and slowly started down the stairs after Sooyoung.

+++

She found her sister up on top of the highest tower in the castle. Their castle. The winter nights in the desert were especially cold, but neither of the girls felt it. Joy took a moment to take in the view of Sooyoung gazing out over the battlements, illuminated by the full moon’s light as it reflected off the leagues of endless sand that stretched out in every direction. It was her kingdom now, that she was looking at. And Joy was looking at her queen.

“Sooyoung,” Joy quietly called to her as she approached.

“I heard the servants talking,” Sooyoung said hoarsely. “They said it was the Empire. That they poisoned father.”

Joy wished she was naive enough to believe otherwise, but it fit too well with the current political climate.

“War’s coming,” Sooyoung continued. “But Joy… How can I be queen?” Joy came up to her quickly, hearing her sister’s voice quaver. “Why did he have to die?” And now it was Joy’s turn to comfort Sooyoung as she cried on Joy’s shoulder.

“I never wanted to be the heir,” she sobbed. “But I’m the eldest. It’s not fair, Joy. It’s just not fair…”

Joy her hair, and held her tightly, looking up at the few stars that weren’t blotted out by the brilliant light of the moon.

“What if I became the queen, then?” Joy quietly suggested. She felt Sooyoung’s shuddering form still in her arms.

“No, Joy. I could never do that to you,” she protested, pulling away from Joy.

“What would you do if you weren’t queen?” Joy suddenly asked.

“What?”

“What if we ran away from here? What if we just... forgot this place? What would you do?” Joy prompted, a small, willful smile playing on her lips.

Sooyoung gave a short laugh as she wiped her eyes. “Run away…” she scoffed. But then she looked out again at the long, undulating dunes of the desert. “I’d play music. Or sing. Can you imagine it?” she asked, as she stepped up to the battlements. “Maybe act, too. I’d join a troupe!”

Joy was happy to hear her laugh, even if it was simply at the absurdity of the idea. Sooyoung had a talent and passion for music, just as she herself had a passion for engineering. “Maybe I’d go to Narshe, and work on their trains in the mines,” she suggested wistfully. She tried to put her heart into her words, but the moment was already passing, and the reality of their situations was beginning to settle back in.

But she couldn’t stand to see her sister cry again like that. She didn’t want Sooyoung to have to bury her dreams because of their father’s murder.

“Let’s flip for it.”

“What?” Sooyoung asked in surprise.

“We’ll flip for it. One of us stays, and one of us goes. No regrets,” Joy said decisively. She fished in her pocket for Sooyoung’s birthday present, that double-headed gold coin she had forged only hours ago.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Joy,” Sooyoung protested, though Joy could clearly see the temptation in her eyes as she watched Joy give the coin a test flip.

“We’re both old enough to be queen, Sooyoung. We don’t both have to stay. If it’s heads, you win. You can go, got it?”

Sooyoung silently regarded her for a long moment, and Joy came up to stand beside her at the edge of the tower. “Fine. It’s a deal," the elder Sooyoung agreed. "If it’s heads… I’ll go, and you’ll be queen.”

“No regrets,” Joy added with a smirk.

“No regrets,” Sooyoung confirmed, finally sharing in that playful expression.

“Okay, here we go…!” And Joy flipped the coin high in the air, where it reflected the moonlight in flashes with every rotation.

As she caught the coin and slapped it on the back of her hand, preparing to reveal the pre-determined result, she felt a strange sense of satisfaction wash over her. She could weather the burden of being the Queen of Figaro if it meant letting her sister go to fulfill her dreams, wherever they may take her. It would be worth it if Sooyoung could be happy.

She took her hand away and showed Sooyoung the result.

“Well, would you look at that.”

+++

That was five years ago.