Newly Broke Heroine! [Book One Complete, Cozy Fantasy Adventure]

Fiona had always wanted to see the inside of a police station, just to say she had.

She never expected she'd be visiting someone in one, though. Her small group of friends wasn't that crazy.

Except for Bianca. Or Varith. She furrowed her brow, and tapped at one long ear gently. How did someone reconcile with that, having two distinct identities? Varith was barely recognizable from the Bianca she knew. Not even on the matter of appearance.

It was almost like Varith was a concentration of the parts of Bianca that she tried so hard to keep at bay, so she could live her life more fully.

The unsettled pit in her stomach reminded her that she had it easy. When she came to Cepalune, she could still see the parts of her that made her, her. Varith…not so much. Except for the grey-blue eyes.

"Hey, thanks for getting this set up," Fiona called out gently to the person waiting in the seat adjacent to her, inside the visitor center of the Fiefdalian penitentiary. Beside her was Doug, who had insisted he come along for…morale support. She was glad to have him along. And maybe, because Doug had realized that this meeting was going to hurt.

The person beside her sighed softly, adjusted her dark hair, and clicked her relay absentmindedly. Fiona took notice of it and got her attention with a wave of her hand. "Lucy, you're more anxious than I."

"I know," the future successor to Greybeard sighed, adjusted her dark outfit, and bundled herself up. "I think the fire elementals are on break right now. It's freezing in here."

"We have wood stoves and indoor heating, you know," Fiona stated dryly. "Sheesh, how'd this world get by without magic?"

Doug grunted softly. "You soft skins were lucky. We dragons were one of the first here. We warded off or ate most of the nastiest things. Except for the eldritch monstrosities seven thousand years ago. There are things even dragons won't tangle with, without help."

Lucy peered at the kobold and reached over Fiona to poke him on the snout, giggling softly. "You are so cute in this form! All dragons need a huggable form!"

"Oh great! Not you, too!" Doug groaned. "Swiftheart, you're infecting this world with that…that cheery, zany attitude of yours. I can feel it crawling on my scales! It's going to infect me next."

"You love it, Doug," Fiona grinned, utterly unapologetic. The moment was short-lived, as the guard called them up.

The darkly tanned young man adjusted his helmet and frowned when he looked at his datapad, then fiddled with his display. "Hey, what's with the frown? You need to turn it upside down," Fiona teased.

"Has…anyone told you how we detain people?" he asked.

"I've been under the impression that the building is filled with anti-magic wards that keep marks from activating. Well, most of them," Fiona offered in a moment of forward thinking. She had looked it up a couple of times out of curiosity, when she hammered bandits to submission with the Bahn hammer.

"Well, yes, we activated the ward per normal, and…uh…something happened to our new detainee. And I am not sure we can keep them locked up." The guard tapped his foot nervously

Fiona narrowed her eyes. "Look, Varith doesn't have diplomatic immunity, he's in a mess of doo-doo here and in Vale. He also needs some help of a different sort, but that's a different story."

"You mean, 'she'."

Fiona blinked. "Okay, she. Wait, what does that mean? I want to make sure I'm on the same page."

That look of dread took her composure first when the guard pointed to the observation room door. "I've prepared a small room for you to talk. But, I'll be honest? I think Greybeard will cut them a break. No disrespect meant to you, Princess Lucy."

"Just Lucy, please. The day I take that throne, is the day our darling darkling needs to wear a sweater," she replied unhappily.

Fiona still didn't know how to feel about this situation. Varith could have caused serious damage to Fiefdala and her friends. But Varith wasn't the person she remembered, either. The guard led them to the unassuming steel-lined door and opened it politely for her after tapping a ward stone against the silvery metal plating by the door. "Take your time in there, there's no rush."

Fiona felt a cold numbness in her hands. She had no idea what she was going to say. She had no idea what she should feel. The logic side of her brain was currently stuck on a blue screen. Lucy held her hand gently to get her attention.

"Fiona, you can just–"

"No, I have to do this. I can't kick this can down the road. There's…some loose ends that need to be tied." Taking a deep breath, she walked in the door, unprepared and emotionally unbalanced as all hell.

What she saw--or, who she saw, stopped her mid-stride, and Doug almost collided with her. "Fi, what is the–" he started to call out, then stopped, and stared.

"Yes, you can gawk a little. I realize how this must appear."

Fiona almost lost it right then. Something had changed since the last time she'd seen Varith. Because the person in front of her wasn't Varith.

It was someone shorter, a little more round-cheeked and less intimidating. Someone with dark hair and grey-blue eyes. This person…shouldn't be here.

It was Bianca.

"Do I…" Fiona trailed off, her hands slack at her side. "What do…is that you? Not a trick, not an illusion?"

"It's me. I'm Bianca. Or, I always have been, and I've just been living in denial." She wore the same clothes as Varith, though they had adjusted to match her shorter and more feminine form. "Come on in, guys. I think there are a few things we need to talk about."

Fiona barely managed to get into her chair before she fell onto the floor, and the chair wobbled from the motion. Lucy grabbed the back of the chair and held Fiona steady. "Fi, we'll be right outside, okay?"

"Yeah. Can we get a few minutes alone?" Bianca asked, tilting her head to the door.

"But…how?" Fiona asked, barely above a whisper. The person she thought was gone…wasn't.

The guard cleared his throat. "Well…her mark has a rather unusual power. It is her, correct?" Bianca tilted her head before the guard continued. "Her mark has a…duality type. It's probably better if you hear it from her. I've been instructed not to relay any information out of this room."

Fiona watched the guard walk to the door, and they were alone. Bianca, sitting calmly, composed, dark haired…and for the first time in a long time, not looking sad. Her demeanor was much calmer. Fiona missed this side of Bianca. She remembered seeing both sides of her. The side she loved…

And the other side that she'd tried to help. After the door clicked shut, she spent a good five seconds working up the courage to speak.

Fiona latched onto the first thoughts she'd had when she came to Cepalune. "I thought everyone on Earth was gone." Her voice wasn't supposed to choke up like this. It wasn't supposed to lack strength and determination. Or that limitless energy she always carried.

Bianca winced, then turned to look at the window briefly, before returning her gaze to her. "A not unreasonable assumption. Things weren't going well, Fi. Those last minutes have the impact of a lifetime. Or two, even."

Bianca hung her head low and let out a frustrated sigh. "You know, I had prepared something in my head for so long. That if I ever saw you again, I'd bring down all my anger and wrath against you, for being so selfish that you wanted to die a martyr. And you got your wish."

Fiona shuddered at that terrible accusation. "I didn't go into a pitched battle to die. I went into a pitched battle so others could live. So I could do one thing right in my entire life. Except…we both somehow ended up here. I was yanked away by someone looking out for me. You…you sound like you were brought here to be used."

Bianca didn't respond. She just glanced down at the bare wooden table. "You're not wrong. I'm not even sure who they were that brought me here. I was just a pawn. Presumably, to stop you."

The silence between them itched Fiona's ears. "Bianca…why are you…well, a woman now?"

She tapped her fingers gently on the table. Fiona saw she'd been biting them again. "My mark is a curse, Fiona. That's what it is. It's a dose of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in magic form. I finally let go of it, after you talked me down, in the mines."

"What do you mean it's a curse? Is it related to…"

"My bipolar condition?" Bianca finished the statement that Fiona didn't want to. She didn't wait for her to respond. "Yeah, I think it is. They say no two marks are alike. Two soldiers can have vastly different powers, but serve similar functions. One carries a portable shield, the other has skin that hardens like iron. Radically different, but same function. Mine…"

She trailed off, and gazed at her mark. Fiona couldn't see it, for the moment. You had to want to show it for someone to see it, in most cases. "I'm calm, collected…happy, when I'm like this, Fiona. I can think clearly. When a slaver tried to collar me after being dumped in Vale after less than a day..."

She clenched her fist. "Varith came along for the ride. He had power, but complete insecurity, irrationality, and anger. The parts of me you saw at my worst. And I couldn't let go of him. I didn't want to. Because I felt strong, for the first time."

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Fiona listened in silence, trying to absorb all of this. "So, you stayed that way, for…months?"

Bianca nodded, though her fingers trembled lightly. "I spent so long as Varith–as this person who wanted to achieve great things, with power to boot, it felt like…like one of my bad spells. You know the ones. When I'd break things. When I got angry with you, over your zaniness at the store, and crazy decisions you wouldn't consult me on."

"Bianca…I made some bad decisions. I made a lot of them at the end, actually. You were angry with me because I did stupid things, not because of any condition."

"And?" Bianca asked, an eyebrow raised.

"And… we hurt each other." She exhaled sharply, shaking her head. She needed to get these words out. "Bianca, I gave you a hundred excuses. I said goodbye to you fifteen minutes before Stompy McDragon face obliterated me. But I never told you I was sorry. Not in a meaningful way."

She tried to get a read on Bianca's reaction, but she was stony-faced, just like her normal calm spells. "What I'm trying to say is, Bianca…I'm sorry I torpedoed our relationship. I'm sorry I never pushed harder to help you conquer the side of yourself you don't like. If I had listened to...well, anyone who warned me I was circling the maelstrom...maybe we'd be having a much different discussion now."

Bianca didn't say anything, but, Fiona saw her expression break, just for a moment. A faint smile, even.

She let out a shaky breath, shaking her head. "But I'm not gonna apologize for storming off on a last defiant stand to blow up a building and take down a giant monster. That one was my contribution to…well, everyone. I think it was the one thing I did right."

"Uh…Actually?"

Fiona's ears went straight up. "What?"

"There were people…fighting that thing, after," Bianca said slowly. "Fiona, I saw a dragon come out of the sky and blast it with shards of crystals that burst outward with intense light. I saw people in mechanized armor jumping across the debris, fighting against it. A whole team of women in shining armor and wing-tipped helmets, fighting their way through the horde. I didn't get a chance to see how it played out, though. The ravenous horde was descending on me, and I think someone yanked me at the last second, before they reached me. You did something. Whether it was enough, I don't know. All I know is that I never saw the horde reach me. There was a flash of white…Then I woke up on the beach outside of Vale, naked."

"That sounds…familiar," Fiona muttered. "I landed in a cornfield. Did you get a look at your savior?"

"No. But I ran into Glados quite quickly. Evil bitch. Manipulating me like that…" she trailed off softly, before laughing softly. "You know the part I still can't get over? You. Mowing down dozens of those monsters and wounding that giant elder dragon. I'd have given you about five seconds against those things."

"Hundreds, I think. I lost count. And, there was a piece of rebar lodged in my torso at the end. I was bleeding out. But, it turns out? I'm not as hard-headed as a tanker truck." Fiona snarked. Bianca laughed softly.

"Yeah, I guess so. But, somehow, it turned out okay for at least one of us." Bianca shifted her gaze to the window. "Your friends are outside?"

"Yeah. Doug is…a new friend. Lucy is heir apparent, but you already know of her," Fiona replied. "Bianca, I hate saying it, but…you might be here a while."

She didn't flinch at that. "That honestly might be for the best. I hurt people. I need to face that. But at least I had a goal that was...Something I thought was right." She waved a hand to the window. "Vale deserves better. And I was trying to do it, with nothing else to guide my life. But…I failed, Fiona. I failed horribly. Right idea, wrong execution."

"You were manipulated. And they played you against yourself." Fiona remembered that hatred from Varith in the foundry. "Surely you can–"

"No. I don't want to go back to being that other person. Even if I lack power because of it. Because guess what? I didn't change a damn thing in Vale. Well, the contracts were a nice change, but they'll revert them."

Bianca shook her head. "In six months, they'll have undone everything I tried to build up. They fought me every step of the way. And I tried to push too far. Varith was…he didn't have that persuasive charm and cunning to win people over.

"He's still a part of you. He's not partitioned." Fiona pressed her fingers on the table, gently grazing hers. "That's the part you have to face. I'm still trying to face down my own mistakes and regrets. And it's hard, Bianca."

Bianca ran her fingers over hers. "Do you still love me, Fi? Even I did terrible things to others, and you?"

Fiona thought her words through carefully, clasping her hand in hers, her voice catching in her throat. This next part…it hurt, even before she said the words. But they needed to be said, so she could close a door…but at least, leave it unlocked.

"No, I don't think we'd do ourselves any favors if we tried that path again," she answered, her voice wavering. She forced back the tears by clenching her jaw for a few seconds. "But I don't hate you, either, Bianca. I spent eight months mourning my past life, and coming to terms with the fact that it was over. It's done. No matter what happened on Earth…maybe it was time to leave it behind. Not the culture part, not the memories…but clinging to it, like if I tried to hold it tightly enough, it would come back."

Bianca's eyes darkened at that, and her gaze dropped to the table. "Just like that? You're just dropping me? You're not even going to try?"

Fiona's thoughts went to the polymorphed dragon in the other room, then to all her friends she'd met along the way in the past several months. There were so many good influences that she hadn't known she needed.

Greg. Bonnie. Darla. Granny. And most recently, Doug.

She smiled faintly. "Well, you tried to kill me, so picking up where we left off is a bit of a stretch, Bianca. That said, I had something else in mind." Bianca rolled her eyes in response, but eventually nodded in agreement, before Fiona had to break out the elven glare of doom.

"Okay, I was in a mood and pissed at you. That's fair. Glados whispering that you were the doom bringer didn't help matters," she added with a growl.

Now the elven glare of doom got a workout, and Bianca sighed. "Okay, I'm sorry! Maybe trashing one kingdom's economy to undermine a bunch of contract houses didn't justify my actions. Or burning down a dragon's forgery forge."

"Just because we were engaged for three years and had a cat, doesn't mean you get a pass for trying to turn me into a burnt ginger," Fiona said sternly. "I might take your apology at face value if I see some real proof you mean it."

Bianca wore a haggard look. "And how's that, Fi? Pretty sure Greybeard won't let this slide."

"I'll deal with him. He owes me a massive favor as it were." Fiona folded her arms, leaning back in her chair. "I'm thinking something along the lines of rehabilitating you. I'll try to get you cozy with this other side of you, and maybe you can embrace the best of both sides of you.

"I'm not giving up on you, Bianca. Despite us being terrible for each other for varying reasons, I'm not about to just let you sit in prison for eternity. I think there's…a few strings I can pull. But it's going to come with a lot of conditions."

Bianca's eyes lit up. "I tried to burn you and your friends down, and you want me to get…what, magical therapy? I don't even have a word for what it's like to swap to the less fair gender. Or how to express myself as if that guy is also a part of me. Also I felt this tendency to be an utter dick to authority and the slavers, every chance I got. Not sure if that's the influence of the mark, or my loathing of anything related to oppression and control."

Fiona blanched at that. "Oh, I think you need a revolving door of therapy to work out some issues. Your Bipolar got a magical upgrade to bipersonal disorder. And I'm not even trying to make a joke about it, I know it sucked on those bad days, back then. I mean…do you want me to refer to Varith as another person?"

Bianca shrugged softly, tapping on the table with a chipped nail anxiously. "I think I need to unpack some stuff for a while, Fi. As a favor to me? Just refer to me as Bianca when I'm like this, and…when I'm not…call me Varith. I still don't see you getting me out of detention for a long time, and Vale will change hands before I get back there. Ugh…what a mess," she grumbled. "Not that they weren't all eager to see me go."

"You did technically capture Glados as an act of redemption and to mend fences with Fiefdala," Fiona suggested coyly, a smirk emerging on her lips.

"I see that impish smile of yours. Oh, boy. You know, I don't think even you can talk your way out of this mess I caused."

"We'll see about that." Fiona rose from the chair, knowing that she'd said what she needed to say. "Bianca, we'll talk again soon, okay? But you are going to have to be on your best behavior. I mean, everyone knows Varith is the guy from Vale that everyone hates. But…I don't think many people know Bianca exists, who is on no one's radar, whatsoever."

She regarded the idea for a moment, with her face going from disgust, to amused, then back again. "As I am, right now? I have no powers from my mark. But I'm cool, calm, and collected. On the other hand, Ex-king in the slammer has crazy powers and is a little unstable. That side of me doesn't seem quite as appealing as it used to be."

Bianca sighed, buried her head in her hands on the table, and let out an audible groan. "Fine, let me think it over, Fi." She gazed at her almost longingly. "Can I say this, before you go? You look cute as an elf."

Fiona shied away to keep Bianca from seeing her smile. "Oh no, you won't charm me twice that way."

"You're right. Pestering you in the store to sell my art every day until you caved was rather interesting way we met," Bianca commented with a smirk. She gestured to the door. "And I'm guessing one of those two in the other room has some…exclusivity?"

Fiona felt her cheeks get heated. "W-well, I mean…um…"

"Oh, Fates, if it isn't that cutie who is heir to the throne, tell me it's not the kobold!" Bianca laughed. "Boy, Fi, you know how to pick 'em, don't you?"

The burning in her cheeks intensified into a small wildfire. "S-shut up, or I'll let you wallow in this decidedly high-rent detention center for a spell longer."

Bianca laughed harder. "Oh my Fates, I'll have to be on my best behavior to see how this plays out. That might be worth the price of admission, darling."

She did stop laughing, and her cool calmness returned. "But can we get one last hug, serious talk? Because I'm gonna need one to last for a while."

Fiona smiled faintly as she hugged her former love. "I can do that."

And for a few seconds…Fiona debated whether she wanted to let go or not. The part they don't tell you about being summoned…is what you'll feel if you find someone to connect back to.

She hoped the old woman—or the remnant of Feo'thari–had made the right choice, bringing her to Cepalune. And maybe, Bianca, too.

But, it was time to leave. Fiona parted from her, and tapped at the door. "Hey, Fi?" Bianca called out, her hands folded together, and looking...hopeful.

"Yeah?"

"It's good seeing you again, hon. You've got friends around you that seem to have been a good influence on you." A single tear rolled down Bianca's cheek, and she rubbed it away with one hand. "Don't let a second life go to waste. Live and love, yeah?"

Fiona fought through the clenching feeling in her throat. "I will. And we'll see each other outside of here, soon enough."

A few minutes later, she walked calmly down the access hall, with Lucy and Doug beside her. "Are you going to be okay, Fi?" Lucy asked, her voice a notch above a whisper.

She gave the question a good thought. "I closed a door today, Lucy. It was not easy. Things are still a mess right now. For various reasons."

Lucy nodded beside her, their steps echoing across the green tile floor. "Yep, exes will do that to you. Even if they aren't flung halfway across the universe. Being a prospective queen? Everyone wants a piece, and most of them are not boyfriend material," she sighed. "The last guy thought I'd just be a ticket to the throne after a few weeks of self-centered courtship. But you know what did him in? He had no clue about the five-course meals, the six different utensils, three cups, two plates, and what order to use them in at a formal dinner. Dad just about jumped across the table to try and strangle him. The one time my dad did me a favor, terrifying a boyfriend." She bit her lip, hiding a laugh at that memory.

"That was bad boyfriend material?" Fiona laughed. "My ex was part of an interkingdom incident. I'm pretty sure no one will let me live that down."

"Everyone Fiona meets turns as crazy as her," Doug grumbled. "It's like an infection. Fionitis–hey, mind the horns!" he protested as she playfully patted his head.

"I'm in a crap mood, Doug. Let's go hit McFly's place before we head home. I need a good dose of comfort food after that talk." Fiona noted Doug smiling when he thought she wasn't looking.

"Yeah, and no talking about Barry when we're there," Lucy added, grasping with her fingers at the air, and her face contorted in fury. "He is so dead when I get my hands on him, and Dad might wring his neck if I don't."

"Oof. You know what? Even as bad as today is, Barry's still having a worse day than me," Fiona commented. "First, noodles. Then, how to make five hundred million gold coins appear in Fiefdala's coffers, on account of Evil Barbie. I need to go and change some fortunes."

Doug could not stop laughing after she said that, even as the exit door closed behind them. "You keep this up, Fiona, you'll be the eternally broke heroine!"

"Shut up, this third act of my life hasn't even gotten started, terror lizard." She sighed softly while he continued to howl with laughter.

He probably wasn't wrong on that account.