A/N: Homophobia, racism, S@, 

She helped Roche back into the house and set her down on one of the chairs. Roche stared at the grain of the wooden table sullenly, tracing patterns with her fingers.

Tigris swallowed down a wave of raging protectiveness as she watched her maid. She'd been sneaking up on her brothers with a stick to smack them when Roche's shout had split the air.

Now, the princess couldn't get the image of Roche laying prone beneath that witch of a woman, desperation and defeat carved into every line of her normally sweet face.

Elena burst back through the doors, her face flushed. She stormed over to Roche, her normally kind features twisted with anguish.

"I told you not to leave the house! The chief somehow knows you were out!" Elena snapped. Roche blinked at her mother wearily.

"Mama, it was Mallory. She found me." the words were flat. Elena's fury crumbled almost instantly. She glanced at the royals and Roche sighed, "It's alright, Mama. They were there. I took them outside. It was my fault." Roche's throat bobbed with a swallow, her voice cracking, "I'm sorry."

"Oh no," Elena swooped forward, hugging Roche close to her chest. Roche stayed there, limp in her mother's embrace. Tigris' heart shattered in her chest. Beside her, Finn watched just as helplessly.

"Mama, we need to go. The chief will take it out on you if we stay any longer." Roche said simply, patting her mother's arm. Tigris' chest burned.

"No he won't." she announced, tilting her chin up. "You, Elena, will be rewarded for your service to the crown. Once we get back to the city, my father will know of your sacrifice and selflessness. The chief will not be able to challenge such a gift."

Elena's eyes rounded. She let out a disbelieving huff. "My lady, I assure you it was no sacrifice. I don't need a reward."

Tigris waved off the concern. "You've done much for us. Both you and your daughter have risked yourselves for us. I refuse to let that go unrewarded."

Elena's eyes welled up. She laughed, and Tigris couldn't help but notice how much that sounded like her daughter. She fell to her knees, but Finn rushed forward to help her up.

"You don't have to do that," he assured her warmly, eyes sparkling. Roche smiled faintly, rising to her feet with a wobble. She managed to lower herself to her mother's level and wrap her in a hug. And despite the hollow look in the maid's eyes, she held her mother warmly.

"You'll be okay, Mama. You can trust these nobles." The unwavering faith in Roche's voice warmed Tigris' chest.

Elena hugged her daughter back. Tigris swallowed away the melancholy mix of envy and joy that twisted her heart. After what felt like an eternity, Aodh walked through the door and the mother and daughter duo split apart.

"The chief has been briefed on the new arrangements." Aodh announced, his eyes scanning the scene. He avoided Roche's curious gaze. "He'll stay away from you and your home."

Elena nodded, brushing a strand of her daughter's hair, her fingers lingering. She stood, meeting Tigris' gaze with teary brown eyes. "I don't know how to repay this kindness."

"You don't need to." Tigris assured her, "This is nothing more than you deserve."

Elena hesitated for a moment, then she was crossing the distance between them. Before Tigris could react, Elena's arms wrapped around her. She smelled of earth and candles, her calloused hands warm and sure with the motherly embrace.

Tigris hadn't been hugged this way in many years.

Tears rose in her throat before she gathered her senses and forced them back.

"Thank you, Princess Tigris," Elena whispered softly, "I see why my daughter insists on serving you."

Tigris had never felt such warmth in her life. As if she sensed it, Roche smiled at Tigris from behind her mother, some of the emptiness fading from her eyes.

-------

"Thank you for your help, Mama." Roche said from atop her horse. Her injured leg was pressed tightly to the horses' flank, bound stiff. Elena leaned up on her toes, giving her daughter's cheek a fond pat.

"It was nothing, love. I should be thanking you."

Roche smiled faintly. She glanced at Tigris before stiltedly murmuring, "You've been very brave. I should have realised it much sooner."

Elena smiled. "I'll carry that with me while you're gone."

Roche nodded, squaring her shoulders. Tigris nodded.

"Next stop, the Faultless City." she glanced at Roche's splinted leg, "Let's make the Council of Seven pay."

Elena flinched suddenly, like the words were a slap. She narrowed her eyes. "The Council of Seven?" her gaze darted to Roche, "Is that who you're fighting?"

"Do you know them?" Aodh asked, gauging the woman's sudden stillness. Elena pursed her lips, darting into the rickety house. She reemerged a moment later, holding up an aged scroll.

"I used to live in the city with Verita. Before I left, I managed to bring a few old scrolls with me, a few of the ones Verita thought she'd never need. They were thought of as prophecies once." Elena handed the scroll to her daughter, who had gone terribly pale, "I never thought they'd be needed again but..."

"The Council of Seven rises in the darkest of nights, the shadow to the candle of the ruler of the city of no sin. The Ala watches over them all, shielding the flame. The embers sputter in the hands of the traitor, the city fades to ashes, flame extinguished." Roche read aloud. She lowered the page. "Do you have anything else like this, Mama?"

"No," Elena shook her head, "The rest was just books. You've read them all."

"Why would Verita give you such a scroll?" Tigris asked. Elena shrugged.

"It was a favourite of Roche's father. I could never figure out why, but it let me remember him."

Roche's eyes turned as wide as saucers. "My fa-"

"Roche," Elena's voice was gentle but stern, "You must go."

Roche looked like she wanted to press, but she nodded anyway. "I'll write to you."

"You'd better."

Their horses cantered off towards the forest, towards home. Tigris stared at the scroll gripped tightly between Roche's fingers.

"A prophecy?" she spluttered once they were safely in the shroud of the forest, "Those aren't real!"

"It could be." Finn suggested, his eyes practically glowing as he glanced at Roche. Tigris snorted.

"This isn't one of your stories, Finn!"

"Yet it somehow mentioned the Council of Seven before we knew of them," Aodh murmured thoughtfully. His hand drifted to his newly crafted sword that Elena had managed to get for him. He ran his fingers down the hilt, like it was a comfort. "That can't be a coincidence."

"But it's useless." Tigris pointed out, "It's cryptic as hell."

"Not quite." Tigris spun to find Roche staring at the unrolled document again. Her eyes narrowed, "'The ruler of the city of no sin.' That must be one of you royals. The Council is the shadow to the city. The darkness to the city's light."

"Great, so they're bad news for the kingdom. What else is new?" Aodh snarked. Finn brought his horse next to Roche's, scanning the document.

"What on earth is an Ala?" he asked.

Tigris had no clue. She rolled her eyes. "So all we can figure out from this scroll is that the Council of Seven means to harm the city?"

"And that someone will help them." Finn pointed out, reading, "The embers sputter in the hands of the traitor."

Tigris chewed her lip. "It could be anyone. Obsessing over it won't change anything. Besides, this could all be a huge coincidence."

The others fell silent with thought. Tigris could tell none of them believed her words.

If she was honest, neither did she.

-------

"We should reach the city in two days. We made good progress today." Tigris told her brothers over the fire. Roche was hobbling around, serving stew and filling waterskins dutifully. Just looking at her made Tigris wince, her skin tingling as her eyes traced the pattern of cuts and bruises that had yellowed the maid's skin. Still, Roche didn't complain. She was quiet.

Too quiet.

Finn cleared his throat. "It's late. We should probably get some rest."

Aodh nodded, moving to prepare their bedrolls. Tigris rose to her feet as well, but Finn passed by her and pushed her back down gently. He leaned close to her ear. "Can you check on Roche?"

"Why me?" Tigris hissed. Finn frowned.

"Because she trusts you the most," he hesitated, "I don't know if she'd want to talk to me about what happened."

Tigris snuck a glance at Roche again. Her eyes were hollow. Finn squeezed Tigris' shoulder and retreated to his bedroll.

"Not tired, princess?" Roche asked. Tigris shook her head.

"Come here."

Roche dutifully trudged over. She could walk without her crutch now, but she was still limping noticeably. Tigris waited for the girl to lower herself to the ground. Tigris waited for her to say something, anything, but Roche seemed content to sit in silence.

"I never got to truly thank you for what you did at the cliff." Tigris said into the silence. Roche flashed her half a smile, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"Don't mention it. You protected my mother, I think we're even." Roche replied quietly. She fidgeted with a small twig. Roche's silence seemed to engulf them both. "And you saved me from Mallory. I guess I should be thanking you." Roche added after a moment, dragging her eyes up to meet Tigris'. The raw pain in her gaze stole Tigris' breath.

"I didn't realise how bad it was for Irulians in the Faultless Kingdom." Tigris murmured, rubbing her collarbone. Roche's eyes flickered.

"Yeah, well, it doesn't even compare to what those from Shulta go through. Or the Tselts. But yeah, it sucks for everyone." Roche paused before she laughed mirthlessly, "It wasn't that bad, once. Mallory wasn't all that bad."

Tigris nearly fell off her log. "How can you say that after what she did?"

"That was today." Roche replied softly, gazing into the fire. She threw her twig in. "Mal... Mallory wasn't so bad once. She actually used to be my best friend."

"Her?" Tigris repeated dubiously. Roche snorted at her disbelief, and a hint of warmth filled her gaze. Her smile was softer as she looked back at Tigris.

"Hard to believe, huh? She's my opposite in every way. Strong, loud, and the chief's daughter. But her father was the only other person with some books in the village. She met me in the forest and we'd share stories." Roche's eyes turned wistful, "I never liked speaking with the other children, so Mallory would help. She knew exactly what I was thinking and feeling. When the other children thought I was too silent or chatty, she was always there to play instead. We spent ages in the forest together." Roche rubbed her neck. "I wasn't the most conventional child, I suppose. That scared everyone. Everyone but Mal."

Tigris had never heard so many words coming out of her quiet maid's mouth.

Roche shrugged nonchalantly, but the movement was too stiff to be casual. "As you can tell, we grew apart."

"What-" Tigris cut herself off, shaking her head. Roche was clearly reticent about the whole ordeal. She shouldn't press for info. Instead, Tigris replied, "I'm sorry. Truly. That shouldn't have happened to you, not in this kingdom."

Roche tilted her head contemplatively, smiling faintly. "You can't control Mallory. Believe me, many people have tried."

"She's in this kingdom. She should have abided by the laws, she shouldn't have hurt you." Tigris argued.

Roche's lips thinned. "You don't know what she did."

"I heard enough to guess." Tigris muttered. Roche shook her head.

"For the longest time, Mallory and I were just best friends, at least in my eyes. One day, she kissed me by the river, thinking that we both wanted more." Roche's cheeks pinkened, "I didn't see her that way, and it didn't go over well with her. For once, we weren't on the same page. Mal was terrified I'd tell someone that she'd kissed me. It would wreck both her and her father's reputations."

Tigris' blood simmered. "So she decided to lie instead."

Roche nodded. "By then, Mal's fear had turned to hate. She and the chief crafted a story where I... forced her to kiss me." Roche choked on the words, looking away, "It wasn't so bad. The village never really liked me anyway, so their hatred was nothing new. I still loved Mal like a sister, so I was willing to stick to the lie to protect her. But the chief wanted something more drastic to ensure there wasn't a doubt. That no one would ever believe anything I had to say."

There was so much wrong with those words that Tigris wasn't sure what to think. Roche fiddled with the ends of her hair. Tigris sucked in a calming breath.

"He cut your hair?"

"In public," Roche agreed, her voice distant, "In the part of Irulia my mother is from, long hair is a sign of respect and beauty. So the chief decided to take that. To show them that even amongst my kin, I was a disgrace."

She said it so matter of factly that Tigris wasn't sure whether she should be enraged or devastated on the maid's behalf. Tigris bit her lip before she could say something rash. Instead, she turned to Roche fully, waiting for the girl to meet her eyes.

Roche's eyes were wide and fearful, like she expected Tigris to share those beliefs.

Her expression felt like a punch to the gut.

"Now I wish I hit Mallory a bit harder with that rock." Tigris muttered fiercely, her voice low. Roche laughed, and it chased away some of the dark emotions hanging over them. Her face softened with her mirth.

"Thanks, princess. I appreciate that."

Tigris nodded. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry anyone in this kingdom even fathomed the idea of doing that to you."

Roche shrugged. "The hair thing bothered my mother more than me. I kind of like having short hair. It's been way easier to get ready in the mornings."

"I assume so," Tigris replied teasingly, "Considering that you look like you just roll out of bed with that hair every morning!"

"Hey!"

Roche shot Tigris a mock annoyed look. They locked eyes for an instant before they both burst into laughter. Roche eased herself up to her feet, looking freer than she had since Brikui.

"You should probably get some rest," Roche said, a faint smile flickering across her lips. Tigris nodded, fighting a yawn. She stood, her back popping as she did so. Just before she could lay in her bedroll, Roche's voice pierced the air again,

"Oh, and Tigris?"

Tigris turned to find Roche grinning at her openly, eyes dancing.

"Thank you. For everything."

A/N: A little bit of Roche backstory for you all! What do you think? As always, I love to see any comments or criticism you might have :) Happy reading, everyone!