“Like rough hewn rocks on a mountain’s edge,


    Battered and worn.


    Blown by the wind and pelted by rains,


    Yet against all weathering it still stands fast


    The pains of the past can never truly pass.”


    - Tamallyn Kasir, Travelling Bard, “Poem Performed At The Stalwart Lion, Melton”


    <hr><hr>


    “I’m surprised that you were able to talk to the Primus of Arteria and still treated it as any other conversation.” Lucinia tutted.


    Sophie found Elaria cheerily shrugging, her sister somehow able to always be both serious yet absolutely carefree at the same time. Raylani remained as impassive as always while Sophia was strangely more accepting of everything given her encounter with the Primus. For a moment, Sophie felt a tinge of regret at having missed the meeting.


    “Because it was. And despite the… disdain he viewed the incident with, we did learn more about what happened with how they see Sophie and everything.” Elaria calmly answered.


    “I’m not questioning if that information is a good thing or a bad thing. Just wondering if knowing that House Visprays and Mikantos are managing the Braveskull incident would help us and the upcoming conference.” The princess sighed.


    “Well… I’ll admit, not initially the most helpful of things. But… it does help answer one of the other questions that still haunt us.”


    “That being?” Lucinia groaned.


    “Who attacked us. Or rather, who attacked you, and then us.”


    That brought Elaria some time. Lucinia paused before she responded, a more contemplative look settling in as she frowned at the bard. She looked towards Sophia, who simply pointed back at Elaria. The princess pinched nose and shook the stupor off of her and motioned for Elaria to continue.


    “The Braveskulls are a horrible company, no doubts about that. But I don’t think they did it.” Elaria began.


    “Then who?” Lady Olivia’s voice perked up.


    Despite everything happening, the noble refused to simply leave the princess’s side. Holding firm to her position until the last minute. Sophie just hoped that such a decision wouldn’t backfire.


    “I suspected House Visprays at first as they handle the majority of exotic arms supplies including trade between Arterian and Imperial merchants, but that’d be too obvious, though doubtless still possible.” Elaria informed them.


    “And House Mikantos is the one then?” Lucinia asked.


    “Not quite, but yes. House Mikantos is also trying to muscle in on the arms market, hence their connection to the Braveskulls. So any attempt to steer us away from conflict is a threat to their collective interests.”


    “I’m hearing a but.”


    “Indeed. I don’t think any of them would give a shit about some Academy sponsored peace conference. It’s student na?veté at work, in their opinion.”


    Lucinia frowned, her lips pursed, but she did not retort.


    “So why? That is the question. And I think the answer then comes to who they are connected with. Your people, the empire. I believe their contacts in Traxia proposed a mutually beneficial plan.”


    Lucinia looked to Lady Olivia, the girl also stiffening up. Elaria had hit upon dangerous accusations, but both were equally invested in hearing out the conclusion. Sophie, too, was curious. She had remembered the day of the attempted assassination well, it led to a friend getting hurt and that was something she could not abide by. Though her desire for vengeance had all but disappeared in the face of the Braveskulls and their heinous crimes. The mention of it now reignited her disdain for the whole affair.


    “I’m sorry, Lady Lucinia, but I think you were meant to die that day because your people wanted you dead. Braveskulls and Mikantos were obviously guilty as well, but it was an imperial plot through and through.”


    “And they would simply leave such clear evidence like the dagger behind?”


    “I mean, it did throw us off the trail, didn’t it? Too absurd.”


    “What? And now it suddenly makes sense?” Lucinia got more defensive.


    “Not exactly. What did, however, was remembering about this conference. You are to make this a noteworthy event despite your imminent disownment by the emperor.”


    Sophie watched how Lucinia winced at this mention. Even now, the princess couldn’t quite believe everything that had occurred. But she just waved for Elaria to continue.


    “I don’t know if you read it from the papers a few weeks ago, but the Traxians were at our borders though never quite penetrating deeply enough to be a threat.”


    The group nodded, having recalled when the Braveskulls had first been announced to return to the city. Sophie balled her hand into a fist. They still have to answer for their crimes, plot or not.


    “They retreated, ultimately.” Lady Olivia spoke up.


    “Correct. They did. But what if the plan was that they didn’t? For a conflict to start that would greatly benefit the merchant houses?”


    Olivia’s face paled, “Then my lady…”


    “Princess Lucinia was already on bad terms with her family in that regard. But she is of imperial birth. A loss of that magnitude…”


    “War.” Lucinia finished for the both of them, “If I died that’d be more than adequate justification for war.”


    “Correct.”


    “And the dagger was an accident anyway. If Sophie hadn’t been there to fight the assassin, it wouldn’t have been left behind… hells.” Lucinia swore, “So it was an Imperial assassin after all. Fucking hell, that’s how this all started, stars above.”


    The princess furiously scratched at her head in disbelief. Yet Sophie could see that she had understood everything. With each passing second, the picture was getting cleear and the princess looked more and more distressed.


    “I believe the course of events goes something like this.” Elaria cleared her throat when everyone seemed to calm down a little, “First, some Imperial official or another figured out what you were planning, a peace protest or whatever. Given that they would know you’re on bad terms with your family, they reached out with a deal to the merchant houses.”


    She paused. Giving the princess time to process this information. Lucinia had slumped into her seat, less defeated and more just resigned. Given Lady Olivia’s tense expression, Sophie surmised that neither of the Traxians quite liked this conclusion very much much.


    “Seeing an opportunity to advance their own interests, either Visprays or Mikantos worked alongside the Braveskulls to try and take you out. Of course, the rather mercenary nature of the Braveskulls led them to, thankfully for us, very little back-up plans in the name of saving costs. That’s why the second attempt against the lot of us felt so much more… amateur, rushed. The first assassin was from your empire. The rest are likely their own.” Elaria concluded.


    “Stars above.” Lucinia muttered, “That means I’m supposed to die? Me? Goddess. Impossible.”


    “My lady…”


    Sophie took a heavy breath. If what Elaria concluded was true, that meant the conference was a trap, though that much Lucinia already knew. The princess was prepared to be disowned after all.


    “I don’t think the minister’s meeting is a trap.” Sophie spoke up.


    Her voice drew everyone’s attention to her.


    “It’s too late to kill you now. That’s why they’re disowning you. It’s just formality.”


    Lucinia scowled at her, looking ready to fight. But then she hung her head low and nodded.


    “Yeah. Sounds about right.” She whispered.


    “Whatever the case. If you’re planning to make the soiree you’re hosting with the minister memorable. Just make sure you stay safe. While I agree with Sophie’s assessment, there’s no telling what else might be planned for you.” Elaria offered her own advice.


    “I know.” Lucinia grunted.


    A dour mood settled over the room. The path forward was just that much clearer, but that much more difficult. Lucinia was up against her own people, and to fight against them as such a small group was certainly a hopeless fight. As for the Braveskulls and their crimes, this new information meant that they were up against not just the trading company, but even one of the bigger merchant houses.


    An uphill battle for all of us, Sophie sighed.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Lucinia stood up, the princess wearing a mask of determination as she glanced at everyone in the room.


    “I do not know if helping me would put you and yours on a Traxian watchlist. So-”


    “Enough. We’ve been with you from the start. And they’ve hurt us too.” Sophie declared.


    Though she had done so unilaterally, none of her sisters seemed to disagree, nor did Raylani. A quiet agreement had been reached by House Kastiane.


    The princess looked at her and the others, her regal gaze slowly exchanged for a more human one.


    “Thank you. I know I haven’t been the kindest to you or your kind but… for what it’s worth, I appreciate it.”


    “Takes a hopeless idiot to know another.” Elaria motioned between Sophie and the princess.


    Sophie ignored it for a brief moment until she realized that Elaria had just insinuated that she was an idiot.


    “Hey.” She protested.


    Lucinia for her part, just arched an eyebrow but didn’t comment. Lady Olivia on the other hand was more amused than anything, holding back a giggle of her own.


    “You’re the one diving headfirst into danger, Sophie.” Elaria teased, “Just make sure not to overextend, yeah?”


    “Yeah, yeah.” Sophie grumbled.


    “Well then. Now that we’re all on the same page. Let’s tackle the conference. And then we can help you with the Braveskull problem.” Olivia tried to redirect the group.


    A small chuckle echoed from the others. But Sophie saw that Lucinia wasn’t laughing. The princess was almost sad, sorrowful. Right. She plans to let Olivia go. I wonder just how aware the lady is.


    “Good. Performance wise, I think it’s rather obvious that I’m relying on you, Lady Kastiane… err, Lady Elaria Kastiane.” Lucinia added after looking at both Sophie and Sophia. Heh.


    “Sure.” Elaria chuckled, “I’ll be there.”


    She unfurled a scroll from her desk. Now that the meeting had moved to official planning for the event, Sophie was a little glad that Mila and the others were still busy. It meant that whatever happened, they wouldn’t get caught up in it. Only those of us in this room. Less people get hurt if things go wrong.


    The group gathered to look over the floor plan of the venue. It was the Scholar’s Rest Inn just outside of the Academy port. Ostensibly neutral ground. It seemed large enough. Though Sophie shuddered to think just what cost Lucinia had fronted to reserve the space.


    “Sophie will serve as the head server, stars help us all.” Lucinia rolled her eyes, “As will two additional staff of which I will find a way to requisition trustworthy individuals.”


    “Hey. I can do my part.” Sophie shot back.


    “I have no doubt. But well? That is another question. I need people who can do it well. More importantly, if what Elaria is worried about comes to pass, you’ll also be one of only two armed individuals on the main floor with me. So sloppy is fine as long as you’re combat ready.”


    “You can count on my sword arm.”


    “I know. And know that it’ll be yet another debt I owe you.”


    “Hmpf.”


    The princess then pointed to the second floor. But before she moved on, for the first time in a while, she smiled at Sophie, genuinely so. Not letting anything slip, she regained her composure soon enough, leaving Sophie to wonder if she had seen a hallucination.


    “Here. Sophia will act as our eyes and ears, monitoring the main floor while keeping in the shadows. Should keep the confusion between you two to a minimum and as your sisters vouch for your skills in stealth, I’ll assume that this means you’ll be able to identify anything suspicious.”


    Sophie’s counterpart nodded, offering only a lukewarm grunt.


    The princess’s hand then extended towards the entire venue.


    “So far, aside from you two. Security on the inside involves Lady Miraeve’s household guard and a mercenary from the guild. Whilst outside we’ll have the Academy Guardians doing their normal jobs, I suppose.”


    “And the minister’s retinue?” Elaria asked.


    “At least a half dozen professional knights. Maybe one or two Eagle Watchers, the empire’s elite. With him should also be at least one or two scribes and assistants, nothing major. But the odds will still be against us in a fight.” We need to even the odds.


    “That’s not very reassuring.” Elaria quipped.


    “It’s not meant to be.”


    “What if I could get some help?” Sophie piped up.


    “I thought you and I were in agreement that we shouldn’t get anyone else involved unless absolutely necessary. We’re already got your ex-saintess and inquisitorial friend helping us” Lucinia turned on her.


    But if we get them dragged into this, it’ll be hells to drag them back out.


    Yet the group remained quiet, waiting to hear her contribution to the plan.


    “I know. But I don’t want those two ending up on an Imperial watchlist if I can help it.”


    “Getting cold feet?”


    Sophie emphatically shook her head, “No. Of course not. Like Ela said, we don’t know what exactly the imperial plans for this are. I’m just worried it’ll get the other two involved in something that won’t leave their records.”


    “So what then?”


    Sophie ruminated for a moment before an idea struck her. A force equalizer.


    “I… I have someone I want to try and ask to see if they could help. I think they’d be willing to do it. Two people, rather.” Sophie suggested vaguely.


    “Sir Taurox and Arnold’s group?” Sophia questioned with a tired smirk, “I can read your mind, remember?”


    Sophie wilted a little. She had momentary lapses of concentration, feeling too relaxed around her own sisters.


    “Right.” She affirmed, “Sir Taurox is venerable, and could lend a good voice to our cause. And I’m sure him being a minotaur would be a good deterrent against anyone thinking to act rashly.”


    “This, Arnold’s group?” Lucinia questioned.


    “Adventurers. Runebound''s the name. But they… they’ll get the job done. I trust them that much. And I don’t mind getting him in trouble.”


    This raised a few eyebrows in the room. All except Sophia, her counterpart knew. There wasn’t much she could hide from her, after all.


    “If you say so. Think you can manage it in a week?” Lucinia cut through the awkward silence.


    “I’ll try.” Sophie nodded, her mind growing more resolute by the second.


    The problem was she had no idea where Sir Taurox was, nor the exact whereabouts of Runebound. For the latter, she could at least ask the guild or check the Mermaid’s Twist. For the former, that was the main problem.


    But he’s serving probation with the rangers, isn’t he? So the borders, but where?


    As the others discussed more intricacies surrounding the conference, Sophie ended up on a curious line of thought. The rangers were ostensibly part of Arteria’s security arm but worked for border security, much like Clover Legion who only maintained a reduced presence inside the city itself. Well, now they’re more out in force, but still. She wondered if they would know where Sir Taurox was or at least point.


    Ah! Of course, I can ask for Captain Urden. I know he’s honorable, at least. He could help me find out about Taurox. And if the templar is too far away… she almost groaned out loud, I guess I did suggest Arnold, though I worry what conditions he might impose upon me if I ask. Still better than getting the other two involved, I suppose.


    “... for now, that’ll do. Any questions?” Lucinia asked.


    Sophie looked around to find stern faces all seemingly nodding in agreement. She joined them.


    “Good. Then let’s get to work, people.” The princess dismissed them.


    As the group began dispersing, Sophie felt a hand clasp her shoulder and pull her aside in the hallway outside the princess’s room. Sophia shot Elaria and Raylani a glance and the two bid their farewells to the duo.


    The two quietly stared at each other for a moment until Sophia seemed certain that no one else was around before letting out a tired sigh.


    “Sophia?” Sophie whispered, wondering what was happening.


    “I know what you’re thinking. As for me, I just feel like… hmmm… everyone keeps tiptoeing around me. You too.” Her sister growled.


    “Sorry.” Sophie let out a soft noise.


    “It doesn’t matter. But what does is that I don’t want to sit on my ass staring at a map all day while everyone actually contributes.”


    “But you’re-”


    “But nothing. You’d hate it too. I know you,” She chuckled darkly, “Head first into everything no matter what. Imagine if Lucy simply told you to sit this one out, you’d be upset too, no?”


    “Y-yeah. But I’d understand why. I’m not exactly who I was before. I can’t just…”


    “Step away? Me neither. Especially after what happened.”


    Sophie winced as her sister’s words cut deep. The scars had never left, only hidden temporarily. It was both a grim reminder but also her sister’s trump card. A debt that Sophie told herself needed to be paid.


    “So what is it?” Sophie asked, “What do you want?”


    “You’re going to the city to ask about Taurox and Runebound tomorrow, aren’t you?”


    Sophie nodded.


    “Let me tag along.” Sophia demanded.


    “But Elaria and Raylani…”


    “As if those two need protecting. You know as well as I do that they’re probably the most capable amongst us, even compared to you.”


    Sophie judged it to be true. And she was both proud of them, and a little ashamed at such an honest assessment.


    “And besides…” Sophia stopped as her forceful expression grew more somber, a tiredness now appearing where once ferocity was, “If everyone’s going around saying that we’re sisters, properly so. Shouldn’t we get to know each other better?”


    “But can’t you already read my mind half the time?”


    Sophia snickered and let Sophie go, a more childish look in her eye, “I mean as people. Do you like chocolates? Of course you do, because I’m you and I like chocolates too. But what about if you’re just walking to a place, what do you think? What catches your eye? We’ve both become just that little bit different already, haven’t we?”


    “I suppose.” Sophie whispered.


    A deep regret ensnared her heart. The weight of Sophia’s words finding impact far deeper than her counterpart had likely expected. For Sophie felt blank when she tried to recall the times they’d genuinely spent together. That despite being a clone, they have had plenty of time to spend developing separately, but after the deep, have hardly been together at all. Not only did she feel a pang of failure as a friend, but even more so as a sister. Elaria too… we’ve barely spent time just by ourselves, huh.


    “I’m… I’m sorry.” Sophie whispered once more.


    This time Sophia didn’t dismiss her, but a soft smile appeared instead. “I know. Would just rather live normally for a bit, maybe do something important too. Trust me, I’ve thought about this stuff too.”


    The two shared a giggle.


    “I suppose you would have if you were me. Heh.”


    “Heh, Quite so.”


    Sophie fidgeted with her ponytail before clicking her tongue definitively and nodded at her sister, “Fine. Tomorrow. Let’s take a walk around town and get some chores done? Ask people, maybe buy a present or something for Ary?”


    “Finally, a plan." Sophia groaned mockingly before pausing and looking into her eyes, "Thanks, Sophie.”


    The two shared a strangely similar smile before making their way out of the building in silence. Sophie felt a sense of relief at the situation. Despite all the hurdles she passed and will have to pass, it felt good to have spoken with Sophia, properly so after everything that had happened. Not only that, but if things go to plan, then she’d have far more time to set things right come the morrow. Or at least to just get to know her. And that, she judged, was something lone overdue. If there''s anyone that should be beside her helping her, it should be me.