Six months passed like a breeze. Not a warm one, though.
The Harbingers succeeded in their goal. All seven Archon Gnoses now belonged to the Tsaritsa. The rest of the Harbingers were now presented before her. The First Harbinger, Pierro, presented to her Majesty the final Gnosis, hand-picked himself.
Along the way, the Harbinger who was previously enamored by you succeeded in his own personal goal, of making Snezhnaya the pinnacle of all economic trades.
There was nobody in the world who could go against the Fatui without experiencing grave consequences.
Truth be told, you had front row seats to the chaos that lay in the Fatui's path. The Tsaritsa allowed you to stay in the palace as long as you stayed in your room when asked and you avoided the Harbingers.
The Tsaritsa knew how fragile your mental was. After all, she was the one who reset your memories. If you and Pantalone got close enough, she had no idea how your mental would react. And she certainly didn't want to find out.
You were sitting at a table in the library, your hand over your wrist, listening to the droning of your teacher. Your index finger gently tapped against your wrist and you stared off in the distance, clearly uninterested in what he was talking about. But your teacher didn't mind. After all, he was getting paid to talk about things he liked. It didn't matter to him if you actually listened.
"Do you know what the Harbingers do?" you finally asked, your curiosity too strong. "The Tsaritsa always makes sure I stay away from them."
Your teacher stopped dead in his tracks. Of course, the Tsaritsa figured you would've asked eventually.
"Of course I know what the Harbingers do. Why do you ask?"
"I've never met them."
"And you live here?" your teacher narrowed his eyes. "Alright. Well, the Harbingers are basically the strongest members of the Fatui. There are eleven total, and they are ranked based on strength. The one that leads them is Pierro, or The Jester."
"Can I meet-"
"No."
You pouted, placing your chin on the table. Your teacher sighed and continued talking about the lesson.
"Sir," a Fatui agent interrupted the lesson. "Her Majesty, the Tsaritsa, requests that Y/N be taken back to their room. The Harbingers are coming for another meeting."
A thought crossed your mind.
What if you just... didn't go back to your room?
Yeah. What if you didn't? The Tsaritsa couldn't hide you forever, right?
A smile came to your face and you promptly stood up, your hands planted against the table. You looked at the Fatui agent for a brief second before bolting out of the library, running down the stairs of the palace. The first floor was usually off limits, too. You usually could only catch a few passing glances at it since you were usually escorted by two or three agents at a time.
Everything looked different from the bottom. The room looked brighter, with the lights from the top beaming down.
"Y/N!"
You turned to the side and saw a man standing at the other end of the foyer. He wore a long, white coat that had a fluffy, black fur collar.
"Hi," you said quietly, staring at him in awe. "Have we met before? You seem oddly familiar," you put your hands behind your back, holding them tightly.
"Y-you don't remember me?" The man got closer to you, frowning. He looked like he was on the verge of tears.
"No. I don't, I'm sorry," you tilted your head. "What's your name?"
The answer seemed to come to you before the man even said anything.
In your fragile mind, you knew instantly who this man was once he got close enough to you. Your mind went straight to the night you had gotten drunk, the night you spent in his room.
The realization seemed to come as a shock, your hand flying to your mouth. The Harbinger, who you used to work so closely with, took your hand and moved it away from your lips, quickly bending down to cover them with his. His other hand went to your head, his fingers getting lost in your hair.
"Little one," the Harbinger whispered, moving away from you. "I've missed you."
"Lulu," you smiled, bringing your arms up around his neck.
