Deep in the dead of night, across the vast, empty expanse of snow, two small and unassuming figures pressed forward against the howling gale and the blinding blizzard, making their way toward the dark estate ahead.
Venturing out into a lamp-less night choked by blowing snow was practically a death sentence, yet for these two travelers, the brutal weather proved to be little more than a minor hurdle.
"Hearing you say you hadn't come back in all these years, I honestly thought you'd end up wandering in circles and losing your way," Jeanne said, casting a sideways glance at Enya. "I never imagined you wouldn't even need me to guide you straight to the doorstep."
Along the entire trek, Enya had navigated the blinding snowstorm purely through her own intuition and familiarity with the terrain, never once requiring Jeanne's assistance. In truth, if the Saintess had possessed a slightly firmer backbone, she could easily have slipped away under cover of night to visit her sister long before tonight.
"Even if I've been away for several years, my memories haven't faded to the point of uselessness," Enya replied with a soft, reminiscent sigh, quickening her pace as the familiar silhouette of her old home loomed ahead. "Besides, I spent far more years living within these walls than I ever did locked away in the Vine-Bear Court."
She paused, turning her head with a curious expression. "Though, I must ask... are you certain this is your first time here? You seem far more knowledgeable about these hidden paths and alleyways than I am. It's as though you've lived around here for years."
Jeanne chuckled, pulling her golden hair back from her face against the whipping wind. "Let's just call it a special knack of mine. Explaining the mechanics of it would take too long—just assume that whenever I need geographical intel, I have a way of pulling it up instantly."
"Is that some sort of divine blessing tied to your position as a Saintess?" Enya guessed.
"Something like that," Jeanne answered vaguely. "Whether anyone else shares this gift, I couldn't say. But I certainly have it."
"Well, that is genuinely astonishing," Enya murmured with an appreciative smile, dropping the subject.
If given the choice, she wouldn't mind possessing such an ability herself. At the very least, it would ensure she never made a misstep or walked blindly into danger. Yet, even though her own local deity had never granted her such extraordinary gifts, the Saintess felt no crack in her faith—only a quiet, enduring acceptance.
Before long, the two arrived before the towering stone perimeter walls of the Silverash Clan estate. Gazing up at the imposing barrier, Enya felt a sudden wave of helplessness. How on earth was she supposed to get inside?
In the old days, at least two of the side gates of this castle-like manor would be left unlatched even at night to accommodate late arrivals and traveling merchants. But with Enciodes and the patriarch absent, the estate had battened down the hatches, locked its defenses tight, and retreated into a state of armed paranoia. Even Enya had no idea how to breach the fortified gates unnoticed.
"What should I do... Should I try knocking?" Enya whispered nervously. "I only hope the guard out front is still old Sidis..."
She reached out toward the heavy iron-reinforced wood, half-resolved to knock—after all, having come all this way, turning back empty-handed was out of the question.
"Leave it to me. Hold on tight!" Jeanne whispered.
Before Enya could process the warning, Jeanne swept her off her feet, scooping her up bridal-style in a single fluid motion. With a sudden, explosive flexing of her legs, Jeanne leapt effortlessly into the air, defying every known law of physics as she vaulted straight over the towering perimeter wall.
"Eep—!"
Caught entirely off guard by the sudden aerial maneuver, Enya let out a startled gasp, instinctively clutching at Jeanne's shoulders as the ground dropped away beneath them.
Right at that moment, the thick, heavy cloud cover parted just enough for the pale, luminous light of the twin moons to flood the snowy courtyard below. Framed against the midnight sky, Enya looked up and found herself momentarily spellbound.
The bright moonlight washed over Jeanne, catching the loose strands of golden hair that danced wildly in the freezing wind. Bathed in the ethereal silver glow, the warrior looked less like a mortal traveler and more like a nocturnal elf spirit descended from the winter stars.
"Hey, time to snap out of it! What are you staring at?" Jeanne asked softly as her boots touched down lightly against the snowy flagstones, preparing to set the Saintess back on her feet. She noticed the Feline woman staring at her in a daze.
"N—nothing! Let's hurry inside!" Enya stammered, a violent blush instantly blooming across her cheeks. Snapping back to reality, she hastily turned her face away in embarrassment.
Suppressing a quiet, amused smile at the Saintess's flustered reaction, Jeanne led the way. Utilizing her uncanny knack for navigating the estate's architecture, she quickly guided Enya through the labyrinthine courtyards until they reached the specific wing housing young Ensia's chambers.
They scaled the sloping timber roof to reach the upper floor, where they found a single window left wide open among a neat row of tightly shuttered panes.
Leaving a window open wide on a freezing winter night was an exercise in pure misery; the biting draft sweeping into the room would easily make the air inside feel colder than the blizzard raging outside.
Yet, having received the Doctor's vague tip that her sister might arrive tonight, Ensia had spent the entire evening waiting by the window, refusing to latch it shut lest her sister struggle to enter. Relying on her robust physical conditioning as an infected operator, she had simply endured the freezing draft.
Just as a flicker of doubt began to creep into her mind—wondering if the message had been a false alarm—a familiar, beloved figure dropped lightly from the roof ledge onto the sill, stepping directly into the warm firelight.
"Sister!" Ensia cried out, her voice cracking with overwhelming emotion as she lunged forward and threw her arms around the visitor she hadn't seen in years.
Enya caught her eagerly, burying her face in her sister's silver hair as tears finally broke free. The two sisters held onto each other tightly in the center of the room, pouring years of unspoken longing and quiet sorrow into a fierce, unbroken embrace.
"You really need to take better care of yourself," Enya scolded gently, though her own voice trembled as she pulled back to check on the younger girl. "Why on earth would you leave the window wide open on a night like this? I haven't forgotten where your room is. And with your Oripathy acting up, you simply cannot afford to catch a chill—"
"I know, I know! My immune system is fine," Ensia beamed, her eyes shining with unshed tears as she gripped her sister's coat, terrified that if she let go, the elder sibling might vanish like a dream. "If it weren't for everything happening right now, I bet I could climb all the way up the Peak and back down twice over!"
Hearing that familiar, stubborn chatter, Enya let out a watery laugh, pulling the younger girl back into a warm hug to ensure she was truly there.
"Oh, right—there's someone else..." Enya suddenly remembered that Jeanne was still waiting outside in the freezing cold. She turned back toward the window, intending to invite the Saint-turned-bodyguard inside.
However, the window frame was completely empty. The heavy wooden shutters outside were firmly closed, and a faint, muffled scrape of footsteps on the snowy roof tiles indicated that Jeanne had tactfully withdrawn to give the sisters their privacy.
Meanwhile, out on the snow-dusted rooftop, Jeanne sat with her back resting against the stone chimney, staring up at the distant, glittering constellations.
"Aren't you going to pop in? That reunion looks warm enough to cure frostbite," a soft voice murmured from the shadows beside her.
Kjera materialized out of the swirling snow flurries, settling gracefully onto the ridge of the roof next to her.
"That's a private family reunion. What business do I have crashing it?" Jeanne replied casually, unbothered by the biting cold soaking through her clothes. "If I barged in right now, I'd just be an awkward third wheel."
"That's fair," Kjera nodded softly, turning her gaze toward the glowing window below. "It has been far too long since those two were able to sit together like this. The machinations of this country have stolen so much from them."
The ancient deity let out a quiet sigh, pulling her cloak tighter around her shoulders. Then, she turned her head slightly to look at the warrior beside her.
"Tell me, Jeanne... if I were to suddenly reveal my true identity to that child down there, do you think she would resent me?"
Jeanne blinked, surprised by the sudden vulnerability in the local goddess's voice. "Resent you? For what?"
"For standing by and watching all these years without intervening," Kjera confessed, her gaze dropping to the snow-covered tiles. "I've watched over Kjerag through every generational shift, knowing the sorrows, the cold, and the isolation my people endure. Yet I rarely step in. If Enya knew I was right beside her all along, yet never lifted a finger to shield her family from these political storms... would she hate me for it?"
Jeanne looked at the divine avatar for a long moment before offering a reassuring smile.
"You're asking the wrong person, but I can tell you this much for certain," Jeanne said gently. "Enya isn't the type to hold bitterness in her heart. If she learned the truth, she wouldn't feel anger—she'd likely thank you just for keeping quiet vigil over her and her sister all these years. After all, she is remarkably kind-hearted."