1Disclaimer: Don't own and never will
AN: I saw the idea for femmslash February on a discord for another fandom and decided to run it for WITCH. So, for the next month, I intend to try posting a new fic every day for this event.
Miranda was not, by her own admission, a romantic.
A pragmatist? Certainly. Pragmatists lived in the real world and actually solved far more problems than reckless ideologues. They got what they wanted. They made the world go round.
A killer? If that was what it took, so be it. More than one unfortunate would be rebel or rebel spy or ally had been assassinated at her hand, be it a knife to the throat or a poisoned cup or unfortunate engineered accident. She could probably drown in all the blood she had shed for Prince Phobos and she was almost certainly going to spill a good deal more.
It wasn't Phobos who had killed her family after all.
A cold-blooded manipulator who played with the emotions of others and those around her? She was practically proud of how good she was at that. It was what she had needed to do, so she did it without hesitation. Her betrayals barely bothered her, no matter who it was and the chaos she had sown in her wake was simply the sign of a job well done.
In short, there was no reason whatsoever to think that her latest assignment was any different.
It was a simple one, one that practically ran itself really. Get close to the princess. Keep her distracted, keep her busy and away from the truth until Phobos was ready. Then, when the time was right, lead her to her death. It was a little cold blooded, but nothing Miranda had never done before. And definitely not the sort of thing to keep her awake late into the night, worrying about the stains on her soul or the fates of those she betrayed or other stupid sentimental nonsense like that.
Sentiments like that in her line of work got you killed.
And yet, Miranda found herself staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep.
She tossed and turned in her bed, trying to shake the persistent nagging sensation in her stomach. The one that kept whispering to her that this was wrong, that everything about this assignment was wrong.
'Stop it!' she scolded herself. She was being ridiculous and she knew it. If Phobos fell, the best she could hope for was a prison cell for the rest of her supernaturally long life. Assuming that Miranda didn't have an unfortunate 'accident' of course. She knew she had made her fair share of enemies who wouldn't be above such things. Or perhaps a life spent on the run, unable to ever return home, hoping to avoid recognition. Or she might simply be executed for her crimes. Treason (and Miranda was under no illusions that helping Prince Phobos kill his sister was treason.) still carried the death penalty on Meridian and for a shapeshifter like Miranda, it was being eaten alive by baby mudslugs.
The thought alone made her shudder slightly with fear.
Still the nagging sensation continued, pulling at her emotions and dragging her mind back to the overwhelming sense of wrongness with what she was doing.
She growled as her mind pulled her back to the young princess, her pretty grey-blue eyes lighting up with happiness when she saw Miranda every day. Her hopeful, naive hopes and dreams and the way that she actually made you believe that they were possible. The feeling of sheer hope she inspired for a better tomorrow in those around her, even in a cynical realist like Miranda. It was...unexpected. Unlike her brother, Elyon led by a natural charm that came effortlessly. People gravitated towards her.
Miranda turned in her bed once more, but this only served to remind her of Elyon and her gentle touch, her reassuring words whenever Miranda had nightmares about her long gone family. She actually the first person Miranda had actually told the entire story to, much to Miranda's surprise.
Somehow, the innocent young princess, the Light of Meridian and heir to the throne had managed to charm her way past Miranda's hardened emotional armour. And when Miranda had shed her first genuine tears as a result, Elyon had been there with comforting words, stroking Miranda's hair gently.
Miranda grimaced and turned in her bed once more. It was little wonder that everyone loved her. That Miranda had fallen in love with her.
Miranda sat up sharply at that thought, her heart racing at the realisation. Love!? Love was for naive fools and children and sappy romance novels. For a practiced deceiver like Miranda, love was simply another way to manipulate someone. A weakness to be avoided, especially when failure could easily result in death.
Miranda groaned. There was no denying it now that she had finally acknowledged her feelings.
To make matters worse, she knew that Elyon felt the same way. She had seduced the young princess as a way of distracting her. A way of keeping her from paying too much attention to her brother's deceptions and deceits until it was too late. And sweet, naive young Elyon had been so distraught, so swept up with everything that had happened in the past few weeks that she readily embraced Miranda. Seducing her in such a vulnerable state had been child's play and more importantly, it had worked. Elyon had been so blissfully happy that she never stopped to question what Phobos and Lord Cedric were telling her.
In short, a perfect success. The princess was distracted enough that she didn't want her former friends to save her. Distracted from the real threat, from the plans and schemes of her brother and Lord Cedric. She trusted them far more than they deserved as they plotted to drain her of her powers and her life.
Miranda grimaced. She wanted to save Elyon, but how? There was nobody to ask about this conundrum. And certainly nobody to turn to. The rebellion wouldn't trust her if she went to them. Some of them would kill her given the chance. Approaching them for help would be pointless and merely sign her death warrant. And if Phobos or Cedric found out...she would almost certainly be wishing for the merciful release of death long before it actually happened.
The Guardians probably wouldn't kill her, but she doubted that they would trust her any more than the rebels did.
With a sigh, she threw herself back onto her bed. She was the fool who had fallen in love with a girl she was supposed to be leading to her death. And now she was thinking of doing something unbelievably stupid to save her. If she could ever figure out how.
Suddenly Miranda sat up sharply. The rebellion would probably fail to save Elyon, even if she did somehow persuade them of the truth. But...SHE was ideally placed to save the princess when the time came.
It was a stupid, stupid idea. Practically insane really, but she had to try. It might be the only way.
With a sigh, she threw herself back into her bed. She had a rescue to plan!