“Come on, General. It’s already all set up, just say the word, and this whole thing will be over before the end of the day.” Irene was leaning on a wall of sandbags, looking out from the elevated terrace over the uniform rows of tents that stretched the length of their camp. The siege had been long and fruitless; for a kingdom that had sworn off steam technology, Castle Doma had so far proven to be impenetrable.

But while she may be cold, Irene wasn’t heartless.

She turned her icy stare on the Court Wizard as he came up behind her. “For the last time, we’re doing this my way.”

The Court Wizard made a derisive noise. “Your kill count is far below the Witch’s. Don’t you think you have a little catching up to do~?” he taunted.

She suddenly grabbed him by his ruffled collar, yanking him down to her level. “Don’t. Talk. About. Her.”

He pried her hands off his collar and straightened. “Sheesh, a little touchy, aren’t we?” He smoothed his outfit and cleared his throat. “Aren’t we the same, the three of us?” He gestured out at the exhausted soldiers as they went about their duties in twos and fours. “We’re so much more than these rodents.”

“She’s nothing like you!” Irene growled, then took a breath, trying to calm her anger. He was always like this, always trying to find a way to get under her skin. He was too good at it.

“Oh, she’s exactly like me, now!” And there was his whooping laugh that never failed to make her skin crawl. “… And you?” he continued to tease.

Irene seethed as she glared up at him.

“Why don’t you just accept your fate?” he cooed. “You’re a monster, just like me, and I think it’s time you started acting like it,” he emphasized with a fist raised in the air. “I want to see that glacial exterior of yours break, Ice Princess.”

He snapped his fingers and one of the attending officers came up to them. “Yes, sir?”

“Give the order. Doma will be ours within 24 hours.”

Irene knocked the Court Wizard to the side with a sweep of her arm. “Stand down. You take orders from me, not this clown.” She glared up at the Wizard and without breaking eye contact, she growled out her command: “Clear the camp. We’re pulling back to the Phantom Forest to wait for reinforcements.”

But the officer only shifted his weight and looked over at the Court Wizard, whose face split into a manic grin as he too continued to hold Irene’s gaze. “Why are you still here?" the Wizard lilted. "You heard me. Dump it in and get it over with! Uwee hee hee!”

“Yes, sir!”

Irene looked at the officer in shock as he trotted off. “What-?”

“Oh, perhaps I neglected to mention this before, but the Emperor noticed it was taking you an awfully long time to resolve the little soiree here at Doma, so he decided to give me command of this particular campaign~” And the Court Wizard reached into his silk shirt to pull out a royal decree, complete with the Emperor’s official seal.

He held it up so she could see it for herself, but the Court Wizard suddenly found himself with only half of a royal decree in his hands, as Irene had sliced it in two with a single motion as she drew her sabre.

“Tell them to stand down,” she whispered as she rested the tip of her blade against the ruffles at the base of his neck. “Tell them. NOW. There are children in that castle!”

“And since when do you care about children?" he grinned wickedly. "No, no, General. You see, nothing can beat the sweet music of hundreds of voices screaming in unison~!” And his eyes nearly disappeared in his mirthful expression as he put a gloved hand to his ear, as if anticipating the sound.

But the sound Irene heard was the crunch of gravel behind her as two soldiers suddenly grabbed each of her arms and held her fast. “Release me! I order you to let me go!” she cried as they struggled to keep her still.

The Court Wizard nodded at the soldiers. “Good timing, boys. You all saw it, didn’t you? This mad woman drew her sword on her superior!” Irene made to lunge at him at the word ‘superior’, but the soldiers were much larger and stronger than she.

“Put her in detention, and keep her under watch. If she gives you any trouble,” he grinned gleefully, “you have my permission to knock some sense into her.”

And the soldiers carried her away while she screamed and thrashed in their grip.

“LEETEUK…!!!”

+++

“Irene?”

“What?”

“... Nothing,” Seulgi shyly declined, as they approached the large metal doors to exit the empty factory. She took her hat off of her head and wrung it out to cover up her awkward silence. Irene had clearly been lost in thought, and in a moment of misplaced bravery, Seulgi had thought to ask her about it. But the fencer was probably just thinking about tactics, or some other such militaristic endeavor.

That would be easier, anyway, right?

Seulgi may be inexperienced with all these nuanced political dealings in their world, but she felt like she at least understood people, and hadn’t missed the strangely delicate way the other Returners had been dancing around Irene. It was like they were afraid of breaking her, which was a thought that was at such odds with the impression Seulgi had of Irene that she could have laughed. And she probably would have, if it weren’t for the dark expression the smaller girl was wearing, as she walked along on the other side of Boko.

She pulled her still-sodden hat down on her head, and rested her hand on Boko’s back. She much preferred the expression Irene had been wearing when they were up at the helm of their ship, looking at the stars together.

She curled her fingers in hesitation, then carefully, slowly reached out for Irene’s hand where it, too, lay at rest on Boko’s soft feathers.

Their fingers brushed just as Yeri so thankfully interrupted her thoughts, and Seulgi retreated.

“Where’s Junghwa, anyway?” Yeri asked Hani as the green-haired girl escorted them back to their ship. “Is she stranded in some Imperial-controlled port, too?”

Hani rested the weight of her large wrench against her shoulder as they filed out of the factory and into the ubiquitous rain. “No, she’s up in the mountains of Narshe, training.”

“Training…?” Yeri asked dubiously. “In Narshe?” Narshe was a mining town situated up in the highest latitudes of the Northern Continent, and wasn’t exactly known for its gurus.

Hani shrugged and uselessly wiped rainwater from her brow. A reflex. “Business has been slow, so the Boss let her go when she asked. Are you going to sail down to Jidoor?” she asked, changing the subject. “It should be safe to dock there, since the Empire doesn’t want to cause a scene in the city with its most prominent investors.”

“We’ll be much safer there than here,” Joy agreed, watching the dark alleys as they passed on their way back to the harbor.

Yeri scoffed at Joy's caution. “No one’s going to try anything with us around. We’re top dog around here,” she boasted, and Joy gave her a look.

“We? Does that mean you’re coming back to the gang?” Hani asked. She reached over and gave the blonde’s purple bandanna a little tug.

Yeri scrunched up her face in a pout as she fixed her hair. “I’ll think about it. I’m kind of busy lately, if you couldn’t already tell.” But now that she had seen the turn the Slam Shuffle Gang had begun to take, she really was considering it. “Doing good deeds is kind of addicting, though. I feel like I’d miss it,” she added with a grin.

Hani made a nauseated noise. “You’ve changed.”

But she hadn’t. Not really, Hani knew. Yeri had just made better friends; these were her true colors.

“There’s always room in the Returners for more,” Joy posited, subtly limping as she caught up to them.

Hani smiled up at her with a shrewd expression. “I think the title of hero suits you guys better than it would us.”

“Doesn’t quite bring in the ladies,” Yeri translated, enjoying the way Hani’s serious expression warped into wrathfulness as the green-haired girl caught her in a chokehold.

Yeri had missed them.

But her fond reminiscences were suddenly interrupted by a strange, high-pitched screech from Joy.

“What? What is it?” Seulgi said, freeing her sword from her belt. She saw Irene doing the same, quietly scanning their surroundings. Hani hefted her wrench in a sure grip, but it was Yeri who finally spotted the object of Joy’s distress.

Or rather, her intense delight.

“Joy, no…!” Yeri said in a frightened voice.

“Joy yes,” the queen replied willfully as she suddenly broke off from the group at a quick limp.

“Where is she going?” Seulgi asked as she began to lower her blade. She watched the redhead disappear inside a shop, it’s dilapidated storefront revealing little about its specialization. That is, until she noticed the gleam of something large and silver through its filmed glass display windows.

Yeri paled and raced after Joy. “Wait…!”

“What are they getting all worked up over?” Seulgi tried again, still not getting any answers. Hani shrugged, and Irene maintained a vigilance while they were stopped in the middle of the street.

There was a few moments of nothing but the sound of the drizzling rain tap tapping on their hats and heads until from deep within the shop they heard a loud, mechanical roar.

Brrr… BRRRrrrr… BRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!! And the sound of shrill cackling from the Queen of Figaro.

“Oh,” Hani said, nonplussed.

Seulgi turned frightened eyes on the green-haired girl. “Oh?!” She glanced back and saw that even Irene had a wary look on her face as she stared apprehensively at the store.

Seulgi turned her gaze back on the shop just in time to see Joy emerge with a large piece of machinery in her hands. It was like a metal box with handles, and jutting out from it was a long, narrow attachment that looked like it had blades or spikes of some sort surrounding it…?

“What’s that?” Seulgi asked as she saw a mortified, and slightly irritated Yeri following behind her.

“It’s a chainsaw,” Joy answered in a manic tone of voice as she held the machine up high above her head gleefully.

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR….!!!!!!!!!!

“How much did you spend on-”

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!

“You know what? Forget I asked.”

+++

Hani helped them prepare to embark on their journey to Jidoor and then waited down on the docks for them to leave. It was barely a full day’s sail to the affluent city, and even then that was only because of a large cape blocking their path. The two townships were even closer by land.

“You don’t have any business to take care of down south?” Yeri asked.

Hani ruffled the younger girl’s hair. “No, Elly needs me here, especially now that Hyelin’s back,” she said with a grin.

“You know… after we find Captain Moonbyul, we’re going to head to Vector,” Yeri said hesitatingly.

“Say hello to the Boss for me, then, if you see her,” Hani replied nonchalantly.

Yeri was silent as the rest of the Returners filed up the gangplank. Hani reached out a hand again and gave Yeri’s purple bandanna one last tug.

“Hey, cheer up, kiddo. We’ll see each other again.”

Yeri looked up at her doubtfully. “You think so?” She had spent so many months running from her old life that she hadn’t quite realized how much she missed it until they had run into Hyelin.

“Probably,” the green-haired girl answered with a wink. After a moment, her playful expression fell. “If not, we’ll take care of Saeron for you, okay?”

Yeri closed her eyes briefly. “Thanks.”

“Try to have fun at the opera, hmm?” Hani added bracingly.

“... Yeah.”

Hani pulled her into one final hug and then pushed her towards the gangplank. She waved them off, and Yeri watched her from the deck until the port of Zozo was lost in the curtain of rain.

+++

Joy was busy playing with her new toy, and Yeri had insisted on taking a turn at the helm, so that left Irene and Seulgi to awkwardly make themselves busy about the ship. Irene wanted to help settle Boko down in the hold, but Seulgi seemed pretty content to take care of him by herself. Irene made to go topside when Seulgi suddenly called out to her.

“You haven’t flown before, but have you ever been to the opera?”

Irene paused with her boot on the bottom step leading up to the trapdoor, debating on how much of an answer she wanted to give. Did she really want to get pulled into another conversation with Seulgi? Did she want to hear another unexpectedly charming story from the ranch hand? She was giving this way too much thought - energy that would be better spent preparing for landfall at Jidoor and the march to the Opera House on the peninsula.

“I’ve been invited, but I’ve never gone.” The Emperor used to have his own box at the Opera House. The fact that he may still have one had crossed her mind, and she was beginning to formulate an assassination attempt accordingly, but as far as having ever wanted to go see an opera for herself? She had never seen the point.

Aside from the occasional war epic, most of the stories told under that baroque roof were things she would never be able to relate to: tales of love and passion, quests of righteousness and the valiance of humanity. Things that had been ground out of her through years of military drills, brutal campaigns, and the bitter climb to the top of the Imperial Army’s ranks.

“That’s more than me,” Seulgi admitted, and Irene pinched the bridge of her nose, realizing she had been brooding again.

“Mobliz is very far away from Jidoor,” Irene said in a rare attempt to be conversational. The two locations were literally on opposite sides of the Northern Continent from each other. She realized after a moment that perhaps that wasn’t the easiest thing for someone like Seulgi to think about just now, but Seulgi surprised her by smiling.

“It really is. I never thought in a million years I’d come all the way out here. And you too, huh, Boko?”

“Kweh.”

“He really likes you, you know?” Seulgi added as she watched the big yellow bird affectionately.

“And why shouldn’t he?” Irene asked suspiciously. She wasn’t mean to him, and Shiva knew they had been spending enough time together recently.

Seulgi laughed. “I don’t know, it’s just nice I guess. I like to think he’s a pretty good judge of character,” Seulgi said with a glance back at Irene. And Irene wasn’t sure she appreciated that smile Seulgi was giving her.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Irene grumbled. “It’s a bird.” And despite her better judgement she came up beside Seulgi and let Boko gently headbutt her outstretched hand.

“I don’t know,” Seulgi lilted. “He’s pretty smart. I bet he’d like to see an opera, huh, big guy?”

“Not dressed like that,” Irene scoffed quietly.

Seulgi looked over at Irene in surprise, but quickly tried to hide it behind a cough. Did… Irene just make a joke? But she took that moment to look down at her own work clothes that she’d been wearing now for the past couple weeks and despaired.

“I’m not sure I’ll pass either,” she said forlornly. “You look nice, of course, but I don’t think they’ll let me in like this.” And Seulgi wiggled her toes through her worn sandals.

Irene did her best to ignore the compliment. She was really only dressed in the form-fitting clothes she usually wore under her uniform: the long forest-green coat of an Imperial General with all of its medals and pins denoting her victories and accomplishments.

It was now at the bottom of Barren Falls.

“I’m sure Joy’s already considered stopping in Jidoor to do a little shopping before we head to the Opera House,” Irene quietly complained. This detour was becoming quite troublesome.

And Seulgi laughed again. “Shopping in Jidoor for clothes to wear at the opera. Me. Kang Seulgi.” In what reality…

And Irene felt the hint of a smile finally pull at her features. There was something annoyingly charming about Seulgi, and it wasn’t just her quaint country girl mannerisms. Where Irene met every obstacle on their journey with brute force, Seulgi just seemed to be willing to go along with all of their strange plans, no matter which direction they took. Either she was very careless, or entirely too trusting.

Or both.

But Irene was starting to feel like maybe Joy had been right about her after all. Maybe they did need someone like Seulgi around. A little twinkle of starlight in her midnight sky.

Irene frowned.

How stupid.