“Over the years, there was a lot of assassination attempt too, for both Cybele and Attis. Both of them would often narrowly escape what would've been their deaths, either because someone else happened to pass by or they got lucky. My grandmother said, at the time, there were jokes about how the afterlife was grossed out by their frequent displays of love that it wanted them to pass on as late as possible.

  Cybele, of course, was far from pleased that her life was constantly in danger. She started taking a more active role in fighting back against those who wanted to annex or destroy the city, but Sappho kept pushing back and said the council could deal with it. It strained their relationship a lot because Cybele hated not being able to do anything with her power. And then, the plague came. It arrived without warning, and my great-grandmother was among the first to be infected. The timing of it was really sad too because Cybele was supposed to marry Attis during that time. Cybele did all she could to save people from the plague, but nothing worked, and my great-grandmother died.

  A few days after that, the mayor brought in a mage from a faraway country to solve the problem. Everyone was angry when the mage said the only way to get rid of the plague was to kill Cybele. However, as more and more people died, they agreed to it. My grandmother and her sisters pleaded that there had to be another way, especially Cybele and Syrinx. They swore that there must be another way because the plague was caused by someone.”

  “Those countries are really hellbent on either taking or destroying the city, huh?”

  “Most believed those countries were responsible, but the mage asserted that it was impossible and that it was a natural phenomenon. Although, even if there were other solutions, the city might’ve been wiped out by the time it was found, so the plan to sacrifice Cybele was still carried out.”

  “What did Attis and Sappho do during that time?”

  “Attis didn’t hold any real power in the city’s politics, so he couldn’t do anything. As for Sappho, Cybele did ask her for help, but she said that it was beyond her power to change the council’s and the mayor’s mind. My grandmother said she didn’t seem to worry at all that Cybele was going to die, and that she even looked like she was glad. Though, my grandmother admitted that she never liked Sappho because she kept hogging Cybele when they were young. It might just be her bias. So, Cybele's execution date was set, and, despite the protests, she was killed. My grandmother didn’t see what happened that day because she didn’t want to watch her sister die in front of her, so she only heard what happened. She couldn’t believe it when she heard Attis transformed into a deathless spirit after Cybele cursed him."

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “Because both of them were madly in love?”

  “Exactly. In fact, Cybele seemed to have already come to terms with her death when my grandmother spoke to her a day before her death. But, it was possible that Cybele was hiding her pain and resentment. After all, my grandmother said Attis did promise to take care of her until they die of old age, so it’s not that surprising to me. My grandmother had to visit her old family home and see Attis standing in front of the piano Cybele was supposed to play her wedding song with to believe it.”

  “So-”

  “The way to break the Onyx Knight’s curse is to play that song? S’that it?” Findir leaned forward.

  “My grandmother and her sisters were convinced that's the way after consulting many mages to try and break the curse on him. It’s the reason why my grandmother forbade us to sell the music sheets that she saved from her old family home. No one will be able to break his curse otherwise. Buttt, there’s a bit of a problem-”

  “Wait.” Ryder snapped his finger. “Sorry to interrupt, but what about Sappho? What happened to her?”

  “Ah, uh, she disappeared the day before Cybele’s sacrifice and never appeared again.”

  “What? That’s… Huh.”

  “Was she… perchance… a spy?” Findir proposed cautiously.

  Ryder widened his eyes.

  “My grandmother and her sisters… did suspect that to be the case. It would explain why she kept undermining Cybele’s authority, appeared to be uncaring when she failed to convince the mayor to find another way, and disappeared the day before the army came so quickly after Cybele died. My grandmother would often curse her name and hoped that she was executed for the failure of the invasion, instead of living a good life for her hard work as a spy.”

  “That’d be the foulest thing indeed if she was rewarded for her betrayal. T’is a shame her whereabouts are unknown.”

  “...I see.” The rider brushed his chin with furrowed eyebrows.

  “Ya seem unconvinced, Ryder.”

  “I… feel like there has to be more to Sappho. I mean, she had a great relationship with Cybele, and she spent so much time with her, so much so that your grandmother disliked her for it. Hell, she probably changed the city’s name to honor their family for her. Something else must’ve happened that changed their relationship.”

  “People change. T’is be the way sometimes, as sad as it may be.”

  “Still…”

  “I-I’m sorry, Mr. Ryder. That’s all my grandmother told me. I-I wish I could know what happened too.”

  “It’s fine, it’s fine. Anyway, what were you saying earlier? What was the problem?”

  “T-The problem is that, while my grandmother and her sisters knew which song it was, they… didn’t know which sheet had that song.”

  “Eh?”