It had been a year since both of your lives had changed. Drastically. A year since the previous knave had fallen to Arlecchinos hand at just seventeen years of life. A year since you had last seen her, she had sent you away that night, told you to use the opportunity to be free. She hadn't been sure if she'd survive it, sending you out from your old life in the orphanage to live for the both of you, if that would've been her final night.

It had been radio silence ever since. No idea what the other was doing. If they were okay. A whole life in which she had taken over the house of the hearth, at the age of barely being 18. An age where most people would just start their life.

but reunion wasn't as far as it may seem. The tsaritsa herself had ordered a lot of the fatui to her zapolyarny palace. Growing up under fatui training for years didn't exclude you, it was years of experience and loyalty to her. You had arrived some time earlier, walking through the garden to catch some air and pass time until you spotted someone else. A woman with the features so unmistakenly resembling the ones that Peruere had held. Her hair had just grown, her clothes making her position clear instead of being simple enough to survive days in the orphanage.

She turned around soon enough, as if she was feeling the stares of yours on her back. Her eyes widened as she looked back at you, the same eyes that held so much determination to get you to safety that night. It seemed as if time stood still in the garden, only the sound of the cold wind going through the leaves of the trees making a sound.

It was no doubt anyone but Peruere, the girl you had grown up side to side with. The one who would've sacrificed her own life to put an end to the old knave. She just stared at you for a moment before making her way over to you. It felt like she had grown into a completely different person in the span of just one year. More mature, her eyes duller than they once were.