Chapter 12: Grandmother and Granddaughter Go Undercover (Literally)

What a peculiar dream... thought Bel, the pleasant heat of the bathwater permeating her fatigued body as she conversed with the girl before her.

She'd been seconds away from being caught by her pursuers when the light swallowed her. When she'd opened her eyes again, she was in a strange building, whose spacious chambers and stately interior resembled those of a castle. Bewildered by the sudden change in environment, her survival instincts had kicked in and she'd scrambled to find a place to hide. In the days that followed, she'd lived like a scavenger, staying out of sight during the day and cautiously venturing out at night.

Looking back... I wish I didn't spend so much time hiding. It was a bit of a waste...

Had she known it was all a dream, she would have walked around a little more. At the very least, she would have scrounged around for some more food; being hungry for so many days had been terribly unpleasant.

I might have met Mother Anne sooner that way too... And also...

She looked at the girl who'd introduced herself as Mia Luna Tearmoon. It was the name of her grandmother — a name that had commanded unwavering respect in life and wistful regret in death from everyone Bel had known. There was an undeniable resemblance in their features, but...

"The grandmother you always respected... She won't let it."

...Unlike Bel's, her voice was charged with a soft but steady confidence that manifested in the form of a gentle, reassuring smile. There was a quiet power in that smile that touched Bel's heart, and she felt herself inadvertently gravitating toward its enchanting pull.

Ahh... So this is... the Great Sage of the Empire...

Upon encountering Bel, she'd offered her cookies without a hint of reluctance or aversion. When Bel had refused, she'd half-tricked her into eating them anyway. Then, as if food alone seemed to her an insufficient display of generosity, she'd even brought Bel here for a bath.

The grandmother I always respected... is everything I hoped she'd be. Warm... Kind... Dependable... I wish I could have met her earlier. That way, we would have had more time to talk...

At first, the dream had seemed a little scary. But now it had become a wonderful dream, and she was having so much fun. To her surprise, she felt happy — so happy that for the first time in a very, very long while, since the death of Anne and Elise, in fact, she found herself laughing. That was the day when fun had faded from her world. When she'd forgotten how to laugh.

Maybe it's because... I never let go of my pride in my name... Because I held onto it until the very end... And as a final reward, I'm allowed to have this beautiful dream...

A final reward...

Indeed, Bel was acutely aware that her fate was already sealed. Once captured, a girl of imperial blood like her would not be suffered to live. She'd meet a terrible end at the guillotine. Perhaps that would be mercy compared to what unthinkable horrors awaited her on her path to impending doom. The thought sent a dreadful chill through her, and she shuddered despite the heat.

If possible, I'd like to stay in this world for a little longer...

This was such a wonderful place, filled with warmth and kindness. The people she cherished were still alive, and they welcomed her with open arms. She wished with all her heart that she could remain here forever, in the embrace of a world where she was allowed to be happy. Sadly, fate seemed to have no ears for her desperate plea, and her view — along with all the joy and wonders of the world inhabiting it — started to blur.

Her dream was ending.

It was, she knew, the nature of dreams. Lovely as they were, they would end. No one could stay in a dream forever, no matter how much they wanted to.

Grandmother... I'm glad I got to meet you.

With that, her consciousness faded, and the world melted away into a white, steamy haze.

"Ah..."

When she woke up, Bel realized she'd been crying. She quickly rubbed the tears away from her eyes. The dream was over. What awaited her now was what little remained of her cold and brutal life. Having fallen into the hands of her captors, her situation was desperate. Hopeless, really. Resistance was clearly futile. But even so... She prepared herself to struggle. They weren't going to take her without a fight.

The bed she was lying on, however, couldn't care less how determined she was to oppose its soft, fluffy embrace. It exerted its hold on her unimpeded, downy craters cradling her body like fetters, robbing her of the ability to defy its—

She blinked her eyes open. Something about the string of metaphors that floated through her mind like some sort of metaphysical narration just didn't make any sense. She looked down her chest to find herself in clothes she neither recognized nor remembered putting on herself. They were of exquisite make and delightfully soft to the touch. A faint but pleasing aroma of flowers drifted from the fabric.

What... happened?

"Ah, good. You're awake."

A girl sat down at the foot of her bed and peered at her. The predawn moonlight streamed in through a window and danced off her argent hair.

"My, what seems to be the matter?" she asked as she leaned over and gently brushed away a tear from the corner of Bel's eye. "You're quite the crybaby, aren't you?"

Bel's lips quivered a little. Was that really her? It couldn't be. Was she seeing a ghost?

"G-Grandmoth—"

"Miss Mia! For the love of the moon, would you just call me Miss Mia already?!" protested her decidedly corporeal grandmother.

How rude! Here I am waiting for her to wake up, and when she finally does, that's the first thing to come out of her mouth?

With her arms crossed, she gave Bel a stern look before huffing out an exasperated breath and lying down on the bed beside her.

"Um, where's Mother Anne?"

"The cafeteria is going to start its morning preparations soon, so she went down to ask them to make an extra portion for you. It's still a little early to be up and about though, so we can get a bit more rest here."

"Huh? Here? In the same bed with Gran— erm, you?" she asked with timid uncertainty as she shrank away. "I-I wouldn't dare do that..."

"Well, I can't exactly just make a bed appear out of thin air, can I? It'll take some time to get another one in here for you. I mean, I guess you can use Anne's in the meantime, but..."

Bel followed Mia's gaze and looked at the other bed in the room.

"Hm?" She frowned. "But weren't you sleeping in that one earlier?"

"...Nope. Definitely not."

For some reason, Mia didn't look at her when she said that.

"Anyway, enough about the beds already. I have some questions for you, but first..."

Mia proceeded to pull the blanket up over their heads, forming an intimate space where they could speak in private. Under the cover of, well, the cover, she snuggled closer to Bel and said, "All right, now we can talk. So tell me, Bel, what in the moons happened to you? I don't want to sound mean, but when I first found you, you didn't exactly look very... imperial."

From the rags she'd worn for clothes to her unkempt hair, left untrimmed for who knows how long, to her haggard appearance, none of it would befit even a girl of lesser nobility, never mind the imperial family. She'd looked like a downright street urchin.

"The Tearmoon Empire... and the imperial family... What happened to them? What happened to my children?"

Bel's answer came in the form of a long silence. Eventually, she said in a soft whisper, "There... is no Tearmoon Empire anymore."