"Let justice be done, though the world perish."

• Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I

The soft, barely audible whisper of the hourglass draining its sand into the ornate lower bulb was somehow the loudest thing in the room. Nothing stirred outside, the world in these early hours of the morning dead and buried, awaiting the coming morning that it might rise again. A man, well past his sixtieth year yet somehow appearing even older, watched the last dregs of sand enter the base of the hourglass with a glum, tired expression on his face.

His name was Silver Prosper. And as of the new sun rising over the horizon, he had been director of Canterlonia Bank for the past seventeen years.

Before his directorship, he had studied closely under the former director, his father, from when he had been a boy. Decades devoted to learning the intricacies of his trade, the precise mathematical models and economic terminology that demarcated the profession. Yet all too quickly, he had come to realise this game had one simple rule. The best way to ensure a profit would always be to destroy the competition. To corner the market - and stake it as his own.

It was this part of himself, the ruthless, cunning, shark-like part, that was forced to admire the prescience of Moon Spirit. The Old Duke had not yet breathed his last before his brother's contingency had found its way into his hand, a hastily-scribbled letter requesting he pledge his support, along with his considerable influence. At first, he hadn't given the matter a second thought. Moon Spirit was one of his closest friends, a man of towering intellect whose judgement he trusted more than his own. What was there to consider?

And yet, the smell of ash, the wails of the unfortunates, and the orange glow of the corpse fires, still visible even in the rising morning sun, had forced that consideration on him. For the other part of him, the one most concerned with self-preservation, was very much having second thoughts. The final straw had come when, in the dead of night, another letter had arrived by courier's hand.

Signed and sealed by Moon Spirit personally, the contents went beyond mere suggestion. They laid out a clear pathway to treason, a pathway Silver Prosper had a nasty feeling might well end at a hangman's noose. The events of the past few hours had proven beyond any doubt that both Moon Spirit and Steel Shield had little to no authority over the city, or the guard.

And yet, in front of him laid the possibility of deliverance. He had more than he needed to not just prove a conspiracy, but to smash it right open and name the ringleaders. He was certain that, should he present his evidence to the Duke, all would be forgiven. After all, he had done nothing wrong. Perhaps he had been hasty in choosing his friends, but in the end, the Duke would see where his true allegiances laid.

Almost involuntarily, his arm reached out and grasped a tightly-bound roll of paper and a pen. He paused for a few moments, allowing his well-trained mind to compose his feelings before ink struck the parchment and he began to write.

The sun rose lazily over the city skyline, casting warm orange rays of morning light through the open window that spilled onto the bed and caused the two lovers to stir in discomfort. The broader of the two figures was the first to rise, groaning and squinting in the harsh light. His head slowly turned sideways and his heart clenched as he stared down at the young woman lying next to him. His heart leapt in his chest as memories of the past night came rushing back to him.

Almost seconds later, Adagio's eyes flickered open, as if alerted by some extrasensory power that she was being watched. Struggling upright, she stared back as a cold, awkward silence fell between the pair of them. Time seemed to slow, then wind to a stop completely as both struggled to conceive of some way to break the ice.

It was Solar Spirit who spoke first, turning his head away with an air of embarrassment as he did so.

"I'm sorry. This was a mistake."

"Was it?" Adagio murmured, before stretching her arms out and letting out a yawn. "Rediscovered your virtue now you've had your fun? I didn't think you were the type to treat a girl like that."

Solar Spirit flushed red with a mixture of indignation and anger, and began to splutter a protestation - only for his voice to cut abruptly short as he caught sight of the broad, mocking grin on the Siren's face.

"Very funny."

"Aw, don't worry. I don't kiss and tell." Something mischievous danced in Adagio's eyes as she rolled over to clutch the Duke's arm. "And you? Will you be bragging about your exploits with your new surgeon to everybody as soon as I'm out of earshot?" Her eyes fluttered in mock anxiety as she stared up at him, but her small smirk belied her true feelings.

"I doubt it." The Duke chuckled hoarsely, his arm wrapping itself around her shoulder once again as some of his confidence returned. "The last thing I need is - "

A soft yet urgent knocking at the door silenced him and caused both of them to jump. Sitting bolt upright in bed, Solar Spirit leaned over and grasped a handful of clothes before shouting out a response.

"One minute!"

His eyes darted around the room before settling on a large, wide closet. Grabbing Adagio's arm, he shook her and pointed towards it with a meaningful stare. Rolling her eyes, she rose, took another few seconds to stretch properly, then lazily ambled over and climbed inside, just as the Duke pulled on the last of his clothing.

The closet swung shut mere seconds before the Duke opened the door, discovering - to his mercy - that the unexpected visitor wasn't his uncle. Instead, one of his maids hovered awkwardly in the doorway, clutching something so tightly in her grip that her knuckles whitened around it. Solar Spirit felt his stomach turn as he realized how easily his and Adagio's voices must have carried through the thin wooden door.

"Your Grace." She didn't quite look him in the eye as she spoke. Her arm stretched out, and he saw the object in her grasp was a roll of sealed paper. "This arrived for you earlier this morning." As he reached out and pulled it from her hand, he turned it over and frowned at the thick wax seal he didn't quite recognize.

"Thank you."

The maid nodded, then hesitated as if planning on saying more. Apparently thinking better of it, she turned and strode away. Solar Spirit grimaced as he shut the door. Prising the wax seal from the letter, he unrolled the parchment and ran his eyes down the letter, barely even looking up as Adagio toppled out of the closet beside him. His eyes slowly widened and his grip on the sheet tightened until tiny tears began to form along the edge.

"What?" Sensing the sudden shift in the Duke's mood, Adagio cautiously approached, her eyes scanning the letter, which was shaking in his grip, rendering the tiny, cramped writing on it unreadable. "Who's it from?"

"Silver Prosper." His voice was low and deadly, trembling with a mixture of shock and rage. "The director of the city's bank."

"...and?" Adagio pressed. "What does it say?"

"Excuse me." Solar Spirit ran his eyes down the letter one last time, before he roughly rolled it up into a scroll and folded it into his pocket. "I have to... to arrange a meeting. I'll - I'll talk to you another time."

"What - "

But he didn't even wait for Adagio to finish her blurted protest before he was gone, sweeping from the room without so much as a glance behind him. Hissing in frustration, the Siren grasped her robes and pulled them over her head, muttering murderously to herself as she did so.

"Okay, just - oh! - no, it's quite all right, you can't help yourself - here, just... sit down, that's it."

Sonata grimaced as she did her best to wipe the vomit the poor unfortunate she had been treating off her robes. Sighing, she kneeled in closer to inspect her charge further, gently lifting his shirt to expose his chest. The angry red boils and foul, festering wounds caused her heart to sink further as she realized there would be no saving this patient.

Swallowing her emotions, she smiled shakily as she looked into his anxious eyes.

"Not too bad. Just rest up and take it easy, and you've got a good chance of pulling through."

Anxiety melted away into repose and relief as the afflicted grasped her hand and murmured raspy gratitudes. Sonata's smile tightened slightly as she gently pried her hand free and turned away, unable to look into the damned's eyes for even another second. Around her, various doctors wrapped in thick cloaks and beaked masks were administering help to the seemingly endless throng of suffering souls that dotted the camp. Though she had her reservations about the medical talents of many of them, she was nonetheless relieved that she had been able to convince as many as she had to assist her. The city doctors were not widely known for their charity.

Beside her, Aria was busy sponging chlorinated water into the sores of another patient, a young girl who Sonata had been relieved to find would most likely live. All in all, she supposed she should be grateful her sister had agreed - albeit grumpily - to help Sonata in her humanitarian mission, though her temper could perhaps do with some adjustment.

"Hold still, for fuck's sake!" Her voice was a venomous snarl, utterly indifferent to the girl's whimpers of pain. "If you don't stop struggling, I'm going to bite off your fingers, do you hear me?!"

Her foul mood wasn't aided by the remoteness of the leper colony from the city - or, indeed, any of the comforts of civilization. Those who had been driven from the city walls had formed a small camp a few miles from their home, eking out a pitiful existence. Those who had not yet succumbed to the infection had begun to grapple with starvation, and what little water they had been able to find had been filthy and polluted.

Rising to her feet, she began to pace through the rows of suffering unfortunates, eyes scanning around for any who might need further attention. Tomorrow, she decided, she would return with as much food and fresh water as she could muster. Supplies for tents, to give shelter and dignity. A priest, to comfort the sick and administer the final rites of the dying. Fuel and tools to build a pit for cremation of the dead...

So caught up she was in her own planning, she barely heard or registered the thumping of hooves on the cold, hard ground until they were sending tremors through the floor beneath her feet, jerking her out of her mental stupor and sending her spinning around. Towering above her were five horses, ridden by stern-faced guardsmen who each wore armour imprinted with the city's unmistakable coat of arms.

One of them - the only one unmasked, a middle-aged man with a short, greying beard - rode forwards and cleared his throat as he gazed at the suffering around him.

"Who is the ringleader of..." he gestured at the surroundings in general. "...this?"

Sonata bristled at the brusque tone, and squared her shoulders as she pulled herself up to full height, hoping that the piercing glare she fixed the guard with was visible behind her mask.

"Me."

That seemed to surprise him, but his briefly thrown attention quickly refocused.

"These lepers have been expelled from the city limits for all our safety, and to allow nature to take her due course. We cannot have you or your men providing them with aid. You are all to return to the city - immediately."

Sonata felt her blood begin to boil in her veins. "Not a chance."

"This is not a request - "

"Or what?" Sonata cut him off. "What are you going to do, kill us all?" Her arms extended outwards in a gesture of defiance, now shifting her gaze from one guard to the other, each of whom broke her gaze in turn. When not a single one of them replied, she scoffed in contempt. "We're helping these people, like the city should have done in the first place. Go home and tell your officer if he wants us gone, he can come and put us down himself."

She turned and strode away. The guards exchanged incredulous looks, but not a single one reached for his scabbard.

The great brass knocker came crashing down on the solid oak door with a thunderous pounding noise. A minute passed in silence, until, just as the visitor was reaching out to knock a second time, it creaked open a fraction and an anxious eye poked out from between the crack. Hands on his hips, Solar Spirit raised an eyebrow and saw the eye widen in return.

"Your Grace!" Upon recognition, the door swung fully open. To the Duke's surprise, Silver Prosper himself stood there, clutching a wad of paper so tightly in his hand it looked as though he might tear a hole right through it. "My apologies - please, come in, come in..."

"Thank you." Solar Spirit stepped inside, pulling back his great fur hood and sliding his coat off his shoulders. "I apologize for showing up unannounced, but I would much rather we conducted our conversation behind closed doors. I'm sure you understand."

"Not at all, your Grace." Silver Prosper muttered, pulling open a random set of drawers and stuffing the parchment inside without a second thought. The silence of the grand old house, the unlit candles lining the walls, and the thin layer of dust coating every untracked surface told Solar Spirit more than he needed to know.

"I take it we are... alone."

"Of course." Silver Prosper nodded, as if desperate to impress. "I sent my servants out and told the rest of the household to find some way to stay home."

"Then we can talk freely." In one swift movement, Solar Spirit withdrew a sheet of paper from within his cloak and held up up in the air. Even in the moody, grim light of the unlit hallway, there was no chance Silver Prosper could have mistaken the letter he had penned himself only a few hours prior. He swallowed the lump rising in his throat and nodded quickly, a new veneer of sweat beginning to shine on his forehead.

"I... your Grace, you must understand, I never meant anything but the best - "

"Did you?"

"Y-your uncle, I trusted his judgement absolutely. I never once imagined... never once even dreamed..."

Solar Spirit rolled his eyes, then fixed his burning gaze once more upon the shivering wretch in front of him.

"Spare me. If you wish to make amends, you can begin by telling me who in my city is plotting against me, and what hand you played in this outrage. Anything less would be a waste of my time."

"Of c-course!" Silver Prosper nodded obediently and beckoned him into a small room, a tastefully ornate cavern with a hand-carved wooden desk in the middle. Taking a few moments to rustle around inside, Silver Prosper produced a small bundle of bound paper, which he shook in the air with an uneasy attempt at a smile.

"Here. Every single letter I ever received regarding the plot - that is, our plot - "

He flinched as Solar Spirit strode forwards and snatched the bound paper from his hands with a sneer.

"Good. Pray it serves me well, and I might... overlook your transgressions."

"Y-yes, your Grace." He hesitated. "Y-your uncle intended only the very best, you know - "

But he was too late; the Duke was already gone with a thunderous slam of the front door.

"Well, well. It's true, then. Charity. You really have hit rock bottom."

Sonata glanced upwards, shielding her eyes from the glaring sun that was quickly blotted out by the figure of a young woman on horseback, grinning lazily down at her through deep purple eyes. She sighed and returned to treating her patient, much to Adagio's obvious annoyance.

"I'm surprised you came all the way out here, Adagio. I wouldn't have expected you to bother."

"Oh come on. It's not like I'm totally heartless. Mostly, maybe..."

"Did you just come out here to sneer?" Sonata finished her stitching and shot an glare at her sister as she rose to her feet. "Because I've got a lot of work to do and I don't have - "

"Calm down, Sonata." Adagio raised a hand in a gesture of acknowledgement. "I'm here to help."

Sonata's eyes narrowed in a mixture of suspicion and shock. "What?"

"I said, I'm here to help. You know, you're not the only one who can play doctor. Just point me where I need to be, and - "

"Didn't you just say charity was beneath you?"

"Charity, sure. But I don't mind helping out my darling little sister, even if she could be a little more appreciative about it. Besides, there's not much need for doctors in the city any more, ever since they turfed all of..." She gestured around her "...these out." Her wide smile faltered, then dropped away. "All right, fine. I wanted to... ugh... apologize."

"You what to what?"

"Don't make me say it twice." Adagio dismounted her steed in a swift movement, her boots striking against the frozen ground with a thud. "Look, after all we've been through, it seems stupid to let some little argument get between us. If these - " Once again, she gestured at the suffering masses surrounding them " - mean so much to you, then I'm happy to help."

Despite every nerve in Sonata's body screaming at her to refuse Adagio's offer of help, there was nothing but sincerity behind her older sister's eyes. Sighing, she threw her shoulders back before reaching down and picking up a sponge and a bucket of something with a powerful chemical smell.

"Sure. Go find yourself some poor bastard and see what you can do."

The young man in front of Solar Spirit knelt with a mixture of pride, triumph, surprise and confusion on his face. Today had started much as any other, bellowing orders and inspecting equipment, before he had been approached abruptly by two of the Duke's personal bodyguard and informed unceremoniously that the Duke had promoted him to Captain of the city's guardsmen. Even now, with the honour officially hanging on his shoulders, he could hardly believe it.

"Rise."

The Duke almost sounded bored. The Captain rose shakily, hardly daring to look Solar Spirit in the eye.

"I'm sure you have plenty of questions. Rest assured, I am happy to provide answers. Your first one, presumably, being why Steel Shield has not been present for your investiture."

"I..." The Captain hesitated, as if unsure whether it was his place to ask. "I mean... I have."

"The previous Captain is not here because he has failed in his duties. He has failed to uphold the oath he swore when he took his post - his oath to my father..." the Duke's hand clenched momentarily into a fist. "An oath to me. Do you understand?"

"Of - of course, your Grace."

"And do you know what the penalty is for treason?"

"Yes, your Grace."

Solar Spirit's eyes burned into the bowed head before him. Though there was nothing about the new Captain that suggested even a hint of conspiracy or intrigue, he could never be too careful. Had he more time, he would have preferred to carefully vet and select a better candidate - but how much time did he have? It was that question, that burning anxiety within him, that spurred him to a decision.

"Here." His hand stretched out from under his cloak, revealing a tightly-bound shaft of papers and parchments covered in a thick, cramped writing. "This is a list of co-conspirators - those who plotted to deprive me of my rightful place on the seat of power. Every single one of them has been implicated by the evidence in these letters."

The Captain reached out with an ever-so unsteady hand and accepted the papers, eyes running down the frontmost page which contained a list of wanted suspects. His eyes flickered slightly at the sight of Moon Spirit's name, but by now he knew better than to ask foolish questions.

"Well. What are you waiting for?" There was no humour in the Duke's voice. "Go. Take your men and arrest them all. Bring them to the city keep and lock them up securely. There will be a trial tomorrow at dawn. Oh, and..." The Duke allowed the words to play in the air for a few moments before he continued. "Do make sure they don't escape, Captain. Neither of us knows how long this list of traitors truly is, but rest assured you will find yourself sharing a gallows with them if you fail me now."

The Captain's throat was too dry to possibly muster a response, but the look of fear in his eyes was enough. Smiling, the Duke raised a hand and gestured for him to rise. Stepping away, the Captain turned on his feet and all but ran out of the palace hallway, the last, lingering image burned into his mind being the boring, all-seeing eyes of the young Duke that would not flicker.

To Sonata's surprise, and despite her constant surveillance of Adagio, her older sister worked conscientiously and compassionately - at least, as compassionately as she was capable of being. With a tight, fixed smile and overly-honeyed words, she moved from one wastrel to another, cleaning, suturing and binding with surprising grace.

The day passed lazily, the fierce sun only seeming to swell as it approached the horizon by the time that the last of the infected were seen to and appropriately medicated. Wiping a thin layer of sweat, grime and swatted insects from her brow, Sonata collapsed under the blissful shade of a gnarled oak tree. The sound of thudding boots next to her caused her eyes to flicker open, filling her vision with the figure of her oldest sister.

"Room for two down there?"

Sonata shrugged and jerked her head in the direction of the space next to her.

"Sure."

Adagio gently lowered herself next to Sonata and let out a deep sigh. Reaching into a small leather bag that hung by her waist, she removed two metal cups and a short, fat bottle of a deep red fluid.

"Hey, how about something to celebrate? You did a lot of good today."

Sonata tried her best to fix her sister with a stern glare, only to break out into a stupid grin instead.

"What happened to me being an out-of-control drunkard?"

"Well, since you've been so mature and well-behaved today..."

Sonata reached out and took one of the cups, eyes shining as she watched it slowly fill with wine. One sip was enough to flood her veins with warmth, still the tremor in her limbs and lift the unbearable weight she somehow hadn't noticed before off her shoulders. Turning her head back to Adagio, who was staring at the scarlet pool in her own hands pensively, she chewed her bottom lip.

"Adagio, why - did you really come all the way out here just for me?"

"Sure." Adagio continued to stare at her cup, not touching a drop. "Why else?"

"What about... you know, helping people? Helping them?"

Adagio snorted with laughter as she took her first sip. "Helping them? Please."

"It really doesn't matter to you if they live or die?" Sonata couldn't help but hide the disappointment in her voice, and Adagio clearly noticed, because she lowered her cup and started straight into her sister's eyes when she spoke next.

"Sonata, look at this." Her hand slipped under her shirt and retrieved her Life Crystal, glowing bright red even in the vermillion light of the dying sun. "You know what this thing means?"

Sonata said nothing, so Adagio continued. "It means we can live forever. Not a hundred years, not a thousand, not a million. Forever. Half of the humans in this camp will be dead tomorrow, and all of them will be dead in fifty years, but us? We won't have aged a day."

"Hate them? No, not really. I don't especially want to see them come to any harm. But they're insects. They're stupid, short-thinking mammals who don't know what's best for them. Think about how many lives you've saved today, and just remember the only reason you were even allowed to save those lives in the first place is because they thought you had the right genitals. That's what we're dealing with here."

She tilted her cup away and allowed the contents to drain onto the ground.

"I admit, we've been here longer than I expected. Perhaps I'm being too harsh. I suppose we could only live amongst them for so long before someone became attached. So I'm going to make you a deal."

"Oh yeah?" Sonata narrowed her eyes. "What deal?"

"I'll back down. Me and Aria will let you call the shots on this one. But I'm only doing this because I want you to understand, really understand, what I'm trying to tell you." She reached out a hand. "Deal?"

Something about Adagio's proposition caused Sonata's skin to crawl, but she was also fully aware Adagio was offering her exactly what she had wanted. How could she refuse?

"All right." Her hand reached out and shook Adagio's. "Deal."

The city's streets were eerily empty even for the dead of night when the trio of women on horseback strode past the gates. As they passed the great stone portcullis, a handful of guards held a torch to their heads, studying them closely before waving them through.

Too tired to even discuss what the cause might be, the sisters collapsed into their beds the moment they returned home and fell into three deep, identical, immovable slumbers.

Sleep dragged them deeper and deeper, sinking them further and further into the ocean of their dreams. It wasn't until the roar of the crowd outside was loud enough to physically shake the trinkets on their walls that they were torn from their rest.

Crowding around the rough hole in the wall that served them as a window, they took in the sight of an enormous procession filling the streets, almost like a carnival - except that the bloodthirsty cries of the crowd below them were anything but festive in tone.

Minutes later, three robed doctors slipped from a doorway and melted into the crowd, following the flow of the parade. They continued pushing firmly but gently through the throng, not stopping until they finally arrived at the cause of the carnage.

Dozens of crudely-erected gallows littered the main city square. Most of them were spent, with long ropes dangling from their arches and ending with a different victim, but one, at the centre, was not yet spent. Atop it stood two defiant figures, one staring at the crowd beneath him with sorrow, the other with burning hatred. A hooded executioner stepped forward, clutching a thin sheet of parchment from which he read off the names and crimes of the condemned.

"Finally - Steel Shield, former Captain of the Guard, and Moon Spirit, former advisor to the Duke! Both of you have been found guilty of masterminding a treasonous plot against this city and against the Duke. The penalty is death!"

The crowd below them roared and jeered their approval. Sonata's eyes widened, and she turned to Adagio with a look of horror that was invisible beneath her suffocating ceramic mask.

"The accused are invited to issue any final statements they wish recorded."

The gallows groaned and creaked in the wind, seeming almost absurdly under occupied by the two solitary figures who remained. Around them, the bodies of their fellow conspirators swayed gruesomely in the breeze. Steel Shield stepped forward and thrust his chest out.

"I 'ave nothing to say."

"Are you certain?"

"Aye."

The executioner turned to stare at the final accused. Despite his clothing of filthy rags and demeaning chains, Moon Spirit managed to find some quiet, furious dignity in his position as he stared defiantly at the hangman.

"Do you have any final words?"

A breeze flowed past the execution stand, sending the hairs on every attendee's necks standing straight upright. Moon Spirit allowed the moment to pass, then, in disgust, spat on the ground.

"None."

There was a clanging sound and the unmistakable splintering of wooden gears, and then, a moment of weightlessness as each defendant fell down, down, down, into oblivion. Then a great snap as the rope was pulled taught, before a moment of sobering, eerie silence.

Two of the sirens stared at the scene unfolding before them with cool indifference. The third gazed upon it in masked horror, her hands curling tightly into fists beside her.

Author's Note

Fuckin' finally, amirite?

Life gets busy; I'm afraid this was never too high on my radar to get an update. I only hope that can change from now on; I really want to give this story the work it deserves.