This is a completely different story than my first one, and some of you might be asking why I'm releasing another story right after I have just posted my first one. Well, what can I say, I love writing.
This is a unique Touhou story with two main self insert. Please note the fantasy genre that is indicated on the summary, as it will be the main influence of the whole story. This story is also inspired by several existing Role Playing Games like Brave Frontier, Dragon Quest and much more.
Please give this story a chance, hope that you will enjoy this.
"Princess, stay close."
"Um… alright, Carter."
Carter Valentino is not having a great day. He is tired, irritated, hurt, low on magic and most of all, fatigued. He has to suppress the strong urge to wince with every step he takes to walk. The fact that he is in full gear; plate armor protecting him from head to toe, makes the feeling of pain even more unbearable. He'd take them off in an instance, but there's really no telling when he will use them again, so he might as well wear it. He leads a young, smaller girl by her right hand, guiding her through the path of this eerie forest that they are walking in currently.
Carter cannot tell how or when did they end up here, but he is convinced that it has something to do with magic. Yes, magic. Though the practice is only known personally to a few, it most certainly exists. When he was still a young trainee soldier, barely a knight, much less the princess's personal guard, he was required to delve into the matter. The arcane arts are something he is glad to have delved into, as it has saved his life more than once. Magic is primarily used to cast spells. Spells come in different kinds. There is a fireball spell, an offensive spell that allows the user to cast a fireball for lethal combat. There is also a healing spell, allowing the user to heal physical injuries.
"Carter… where are we…?" the murmuring of the young girl comes out as scared.
Carter can't blame her. This forest is eerily haunting, though it is still morning, he can barely make out the trees. If his senses prove him right, then he's also detecting magic from this place. Why would a forest have magic? That makes no sense…
"Princess Katharina, I do not know. I am as clueless as you are." Carter tries to deliver his words softly. "But do not worry princess, I will protect you, it is my duty as your knight…" he pauses. "And… friend."
Through the visor of his metal helmet, he can see Katharina looking up to him with a small smile. He can't help but smile in return, even though she can't see it.
He is twenty five years old, and Katharina is sixteen. He'd known her ever since she was five, and during that time, he is already a knight. The youngest person to have ever made it into knighthood. Katharina Troy Espada is the rightful heir to the Kingdom of Burganlicht. She is the heir to the throne, the next Queen, daughter to Karliah Mercia Espada… but seeing their current fate of being stranded in a place that is not even home, Carter doubts that she will ever claim the throne. Regardless, he still has to protect her. He swore an oath that binds his life, sword and everything to be used for her the safety of her life.
Katharina's late mother, Karliah, was the nicest woman he'd ever known. Him being an orphan with no real family, she was the first to have ever shown him kindness. When he attempted to swipe the purse of the guard next to her, she called her men to stand their weapons down, sparing him from a rightful death. From that moment, he knew that his life was no longer his, but for her. Unfortunately… Empress Karliah passed away, her death caused by an assassin's dagger. Ever since then, Karliah has shut herself off from the rest of the castle, not opening up her room's doors for the maids to come in and change her clothes, not even accepting supper. Her uncle, the Duke of Burganlicht, was crowned as a temporary King to the Kingdom. The Duke is a kind man; he tried everything that he could in order to make his niece forget the grief of loss.
When he made it into knighthood, his very first order was to act as Katharina's guard as well as her caretaker. It seems weird, for a fourteen year old teen to be in charge of the princess who was only five during that time. Their first meeting was not something grand, in fact, it was a disaster. Katharina threatened to stab herself with a knife that she had sneaked out from the kitchen if her uncle would not leave her alone. Carter knew his job, and he acted. He roughly disarmed the knife from the girl's hand, but the he got careless and the knife was plunged right into his shoulder. Katharina, being younger at that time, was not very accepting with the sight of blood; much less the one shed by her.
Luckily, the stab was nothing and he healed in no time. When he returned to his post as Katharina's guard, the princess approached him, handed him a bouquet of yellow chrysanthemums, with her face melting into tears. She cried like a child, not that she wasn't one in the first place, but it was pretty shocking for Carter too. Not knowing what to do, he hugged her, momentarily forgetting his position as a mere knight while she is in fact the princess of the Kingdom. From there, their relationship grew closer, and the wall between them was crushed.
Katharina means the whole world to him, maybe even more. She's like a shy little sister who is kind and forgiving even to those who does not deserve it.
"Carter… I'm hungry…"
Carter clicks his tongue. "So am I princess. Please be patient, if there is something safe for eating, I will give them to you."
This reminds him of the survival training that all knight trainees must do in order to become full fledge knights. They would round up the trainees into one caravan, before dropping them off in a random forest somewhere far away from the Kingdom. They had their ears, eyes and other senses blocked, so that there's no way for them to tell the direction they came from. With only their swords and clothing, they have to survive the wild and make their way back to the Kingdom. Out of the one thousand trainees that were sent, roughly half of them made it back alive, some were even injured and were relieved from training immediately. He was one of those trainees that survived, and it was well.
As soon as they realized that they are lost, people started to form groups with leaders who promised to lead them all back safe and sound to the Kingdom. Carter was not proud to admit it, but his not one for camaraderie. He blames his younger years as a street orphan for that. In the end, he entered a group of other trainees just like him. All of them were older than him, and he was the youngest out of all the trainees sent. Of course, he suffered a different treatment, being treated more as a pack mule instead of a person. Despite that, he didn't fight back. He saw no reason trying to beat some sense into rocks, he'll only hurt his arms. Hours became days, and days became weeks; by the end of the first week, they were all starved.
Those who were skillful enough died early, those who couldn't keep themselves sane succumbed to the fear and insanity of being loss and committed suicide. It was not a good memory. His group, dubbed the Lionhearths by their so called leader who came from a noble house, was no different. They were constantly hungry, tired and fighting. It's not strange if they don't argue in each day they're out in the wilderness. Fights happened too, with everyone in the group threatening to kill each other. That experience taught Carter something. Humans, when they've had their sense of pride and safety crushed, are nothing more than savage beasts. They'd kill, steal and destroy everything for their own selfish desire.
A particular example was when they had to divide food portion. Apparently, they all sucked at hunting, and the best result that they'd get was either rabbits or grubs. As in only one of those, not four or six rabbits, but only one. Him being the youngest, he only gets the smallest piece. The others would brawl for the better portion. Long story short, it wasn't long until one of them started to murder the other. It got bloody quicker than a young maiden during her moon cycle period.
He was the only survivor of his pathetic group. He's alive, but still out in the wild. It took him four months to return to the Kingdom and he remembers fainting the moment he entered the front gates.
So, lesson learned, he now hates forests. Period.
The sound of his metal armor clinking and clanking echoes the forest's eerie background. A man in a suit of armor, leading a young girl through a creepy and possibly haunted forest would make a good bedtime story… the problem is now, they have no way of telling whether or not that it'd be a happy ending.
Carter's nose smells something cooking from the distant. This sudden action causes him to stop, setting up a chain reaction for the girl behind him. He looks around, armor clinking as he does so.
Katharina looks at her guard confusedly, her head tilted. "What is it, Carter?"
"Do you smell that?" Carter says, questioning. "It smells good."
Katharina looks doubtful, but she is reminded of the person who she is talking to. She trusts her bodyguard/friend's words and sniffs the air. Her bright carmine eyes widen when the smell of something delicious is registered by her smell receptors.
"There must be people, if not someone ahead." Carter says a little bit determined from before. "But we still need to be careful, there's no telling whether they're friendly or not." The both of them hope that it is the former, because their stomach is getting unbearable now.
The two ventures onward, deeper into the forest, their sense of fatigue temporarily lifted up due to the smell of something delicious diffusing in the air. As they walk, the smell gets even stronger, this acts for fuel for their feet to move faster than before. It doesn't take long until Carter spots something glowing from within the tree lines. He slows down his walking pace, causing Katharina to do the same. Carter gestures for Katharina to stick close to him, as he peeks through the shrubs to observe their point of interest.
He raises his helmet's visor for clearer view, and immediately, both joy and nervousness fills his heart.
Before them, in a small clearing somewhere in this forsaken forest, is a group of people with tents erected and a fireplace keeping them warm and food cooked. Carter sees that there are men and women in the group, the women preparing the food while the men are chopping woods and erecting more tents. He'd be lying if he says that his gaze isn't fixed to the foods being cooked. It seems that Katharina has joined him in peeking too, but she's less subtle in hiding her hunger. After several more seconds of surveying the area, Carter and Katharina retreats back to discuss their plans.
"Alright princess, here is what we will do." He clears his throat. "We will walk in there with our arms raised and we will do it slowly. I can't really hear what they were saying but there is a high chance for them speaking a different language than ours." She nods attentively. "If they are nice people, then let me do the talking." His expression turns grim. "But if they aren't… I'll take care of things from there."
The light from the girl's eyes slowly fades away at hearing Carter's words. No matter how many times she's seen it, she can never like killing. Killing is just… bad. It is cruel and it's something she detests so dearly. Her heart aches with the very mention of the word kill. However, she is not dumb. She knows that the brave knights and soldiers of her Kingdom needed to sacrifice their life for the safety of their home. And it is her sin and weight to bear the moment she becomes an Empress.
Incapable of saying anything, Katharina can only nod stiffly. She feels a rough leathered surface touching the crown of her head, messing her golden waterfall like hair.
"Good girl." Carter holds his sword tight, before releasing his grip from it. "Now, let's go."
Moriyama Daisuke has been a caravan leader for about twenty years now. He is now fifty six, and is due for retirement this year. Despite that, he's not keen on letting his lazy son take over his position of a caravan leader. Not if he wants to see his people dead, starving and complaining. There's no fighting old age, but let a man fight for as long as he wants, until Shinigami-sama Himself take his life.
The caravans of Gensokyo are headquartered in the Human Village, obviously because it is originated there. The caravans' main purpose is to act as delivery carriages in order to deliver supplies, people and sometimes special items to all parts of Gensokyo. It's a dangerous job, hence the strict requirement for joining the group. Every male who wished to join must at least serve as a guard in the village for a year of their life. For the women, it is required for them to know a little thing or two about medicine. It seems like a fair requirement.
They are in the middle of the journey back to the village. Their job was a simple job of sending a month worth of supplies to a smaller settlement further away from the village. It usually takes about one or two days, depending on the safety of the roads in order for a depart and return journey. Luckily, the roads were safe for them to take, so this trip will be quick. Currently, Daisuke is sitting down accompanied by his men, holding on to a bowl of warm stew that one of the women in the caravan had kindly offered him.
They're telling stories, mostly about their wives who are waiting for their return back at home. For those whose wives are here, they are quietly eating their stew like tamed pets under the watchful eyes of their wives. He's mighty glad that his wife isn't here…
"So let's take a break for this month, eh chief?" one of the men, dressed in a grey kimono and hakama, nudges the older leader with his elbow. "There's bound to be a full moon this month, right? Them yokais are gonna get scary if we make trips out of the village."
It is true. Though youkai threats are not that often as it is before, it'd be unwise for them to make a journey right in the middle of a full moon. Daisuke remembers what his father used to tell him, the story of his own experience as a caravan leader. There was a time where the caravans had to take trips out of the village to make delivery runs to multiple settlements under a night of a full moon. Everyone would turn up sick the next day, asking for leave. Those who stayed were either cold feet or shaky like a can full of beans. The departure was as early as possible in the morning, so that they could make their journey under the light of the sun, but since it they were dealing with not just one settlement, they had to face the night eventually.
When night descended, it became dangerous. Everything is alive. The trees, the ground, the animals and even the wind itself would act as if they are active.
Daisuke remembers the horrified, pained and guilt filled look that his father would make whenever he'd tell him the story. At the end of the journey, they returned with the bodies of the men who died protecting the caravans from yokai attacks. His one armed father could never sleep after telling him that story, now that Daisuke is old; he knows why his father told him that story over and over again despite the haunting experience.
It's so that he could let that feeling out. All that guilt, trauma if not released will eventually combust into something negative.
"HEY! WHO'S THERE?!"
A shout snaps the old caravan leader out from his inner thoughts. Instinctively grabbing the hilt of his katana, Daisuke runs with light but lighting fast steps, arriving at the scene. He keeps his eyes fixed on the two figures identified by his men as they come out from their hiding spot. Daisuke's grip on the hilt tightens when he sees a tall, dark armored figure emerging from the trees. Yet at the same moment, his eyes falter when he sees a young, terrified girl with both of her hands raised in the air.
"What are your intentions here?!" A man shouted, sword already pointed at the two strangers.
It's as if the past, present and future have walked in at the same time. It got tense.
Daisuke notices that the armored one also has his hands raised, showing no hostility. Daisuke steps forward, taking his place as a rightful leader. His stare turns into a stern glare, watching the two for the slightest bit of move that they make.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Daisuke begins first. He cannot see the expression on the armored individual's face, but the young girl's face expresses confusion.
The armored one steps forward, raising a few alarms. The caravan people hear him talk, but they cannot make out what he is saying. Daisuke comes to a quick conclusion, one that makes him let go of the hilt of his sword entirely.
"Outsiders." The old leader states loud enough for everyone to hear. "It's okay everyone, they are outsiders." But he is not telling them to lower their guard even a bit. "Takumi, Akio; with me."
With the company of two men, Daisuke approaches the pair who has now lowered their hands. The humans in the Human Village are taught of methods to communicate with outsiders should they ever encounter one. Basically, it's sign language that does not require any speech skills.
"Helmet. Take off."
The knight seems hesitant, but a look from the young girl reassures him. He takes off his helmet, showing Daisuke and his two men his face. Daisuke takes note of the young man's short but shaggy blonde hair, sharp blue eyes and angular jaw. Definitely an outsider.
"At ease. Not enemies."
Seeing the gesture, the blonde haired man who is in armor lets out a sigh of relief. The old caravan leader notes that the girl is now hiding behind the armor wearing man, are they related?
"You two. Names?"
The knight steps forward. His mouth opens, saying, "Caa-taah." He then gestures to the girl who is hiding behind him. "Kaa-taa-rina."
"Caa-taah…?" Daisuke tests the name with his mouth, definitely an outsider's name. He doesn't bother repeating the girl's name. "You two. From. Where?"
The hesitation returns, and it seems that the both of them can't really say anything.
"Kingdom." Carter replies back in sign language. "Not. From here."
So his name is Carter, the girl's Katharina and they come from a Kingdom? This is the third time that they've confirmed to him of being an outsider. It is then when Daisuke's eyes notice the metal hilt on Carter's hip.
"Sword. For what?"
Carter turns his head to look at his sword he has strapped to the sheath on his hilt.
"Knight."
"Naaiito…?" Natto?
"Warrior. Code. Of. Chivalry."
"Samurai…?"
Carter blinks several times at hearing the unfamiliar word. "What?"
Daisuke shakes his head. "Nothing. Now. What will. You do?"
Carter and Katharina look at each other.
"Hungry. Food. Allowed?"
Daisuke sighs. He gives his two men a look. "Ask them to prepare two more bowls and two seats in the caravan, my cart."
The two men leave to do what they are instructed to do.
Daisuke sighs, this day is getting even more troubling. What's next, youkais attacking?
"Come. Follow. Eat."
Watching someone eat has never been so intense. It must've been days ever since Carter and Katharina ate, judging by the way they're wolfing down the rice, soup and veggies that are served to them. Especially in Katharina's case, since she's so small and young. The men in the caravans watch with intent as the armor wearing man finish his third serving of stew, he wipes the trail of smudges and stew from the corner of his lips with the leather part of his gauntlets.
The girl finishes her food the moment the older blonde finishes his, they both simultaneously let out a sigh of content and satisfaction after having eaten the food that was served.
Carter knows his manners, and so does Katharina, but the girl has no way of expressing them.
"Thank you. Delicious."
Daisuke laughs. "You're welcome."
Carter is glad that these people are not a bunch of savages or barbarians. They are kind enough to have shared some of their food to them, and receiving nothing in return. The knight cannot help but admire the large wooden cart. It is like the one that Katharina used back at home outside of the castle, but less fancy and way larger since it managed to fit about fifteen men inside.
It is moving too, dragged by many strong steeds.
"Where. Are we. Going?" Carter cannot help but ask.
"Village. Return. Home."
Oh. It seems that these people are making their journey back home. Now he feels bad for delaying their return. Regardless, what's done is done. He can only be thankful to these people.
Daisuke's eyes are fixed on the man's armor. He's seen a few shares of armors in his life, but none were as fancy as the one Carter is wearing. The material alone is different, and must be a lot heavier from the looks of it. But Carter is not even sweating, doesn't he feel hot wearing that thing?
"Armor. Special."
"O-Oh…" Daisuke blanches at being caught staring. "Is that so? How?"
"Metal. Blessed. Magic. Makes. Harder."
So the metal is apparently blessed and magic makes it harder… wait a minute.
"Magic? You. Use?" Daisuke asks back.
"Yes. Protect. Katharina."
So Daisuke's not wrong to assume that they are related. But how related, specifically?
"She. Who?"
Carter looks puzzled.
Daisuke corrects his signs. "She. Relation. You."
"Katharina. Princess. Me. Guard."
So the little girl is a princess and the man is her guard?
"And…" the knight continues. "Friend."
"I see…" Daisuke mutters in Japanese. "Wait. Need. Talk. People."
Carter gives the older man an understanding nod.
Daisuke gathers his men, huddling up in a group.
"So here's the deal. Basically, these two came from a kingdom that is definitely not from here, their relationship is of a princess and her personal bodyguard, he's apparently similar to a samurai, he can use magic and we're going to have to bring them in to Keine-sama when we reach the village." Daisuke summarizes the conversation he had with the knight from earlier. "Kato, tell my wife that I'll be coming home late."
"Alright." Daisuke claps. "Everyone out from my cart and return to your posts, don't want to leave them emp-
The horses neighed in alarm as the caravan stops along with it. Screams can be heard following the chain of events, soon later, everyone is out of their carts.
"YAMABITO! THE YAMABITO ARE ATTACKING!"
Daisuke's blood freezes cold instantly as he swiftly grabs his sword, jumping out from his cart. He runs straight ahead towards the front of the caravan. He is joined by several of his men, all of them equally as ready as him. "Everyone, protect the people and don't let the Yamabitos attack our caravan! And be careful!"
Yamabitos are a constant threat for caravans, just like any other yokais. Rumor has it that the Yamabitos are actually aboriginal people who have been driven away to live at the mountains by the inhabiting Japanese who was quickly growing in numbers, hence their name. They are tall and heavyweight people, taking on the appearance of oversized, ridiculously tall humans and towering over them like giants. They care little for clothing, the only thing they're wearing are bone necklaces as well as hand wraps made out of long leaves and vines. Their strength is impressive, really nothing to be trifled with; some say that they could even rival that of an Oni's. However, the Yamabitos are rarely seen bare handed, as they prefer to have the company of their trusty rock or wooden clubs with them to be used as a bludgeon or hammer.
"Masao! Hiro!" Daisuke begins shouting orders as the approaching horde of Yamabito is stampeding in. "Arrows ready!" his plan is to try and damage them as much as they could, maybe even scoring several lucky hits, crippling some of them. He believes in the strength of his men and their skills at the same time.
The incoming stampede draws nearer and the archers are already at full draw.
Daisuke sees the opportunity and releases the order.
"FIRE!"
Hiro and Masao along with several other archers with arrows, let loose of their grip in order to rain flint and feather into the incoming horde of Yamabito. Yamabito are known as looters, they steal and will kill in order to get what they want. The arrows proved to be useful, as several of the running giants topple over when small arrows began piercing their heads, face, limbs and chest areas.
Daisuke feels relieved. "We did it!" but it's not the time to be celebrating just yet. "The rest of you, finish them!" now that the giants are crippled, his men will finish the deed and kill the wounded in order to prevent. A squadron of men with swords raised marches forward, planning to do their task as quickly as possible. Killing is one thing, but no one wants to be near a horde of raging Yamabitos, regardless of being wounded or not.
"Chief! Bad news!" a cry comes from the back. "They're attacking from the back!"
"WHAT!?" The coldness returns and Daisuke momentarily freezes. His mind is close on shutting down. The caravan is a long line, there's no way for him to gather up forces and set up defense there in time.
"By the Gods! They have a giant among them!"
A giant is the term used to refer to Yamabitos who are as tall as a two storied building, they are larger, faster and way stronger than the rest of the smaller ones. Forget the ones they just took out, if there's a Giant amongst the attackers, they're screwed all the way to Sunday. In his frozen state, Daisuke sees a fast, dark shadow sweeping through his vision.
His mind regains itself, as he shouts, "Wait! Don't go there!"
Carter, the armored warrior, ignores Daisuke's cry. Daisuke sees the armored man, despite wearing something as cumbersome as his suit, running through the roofs of the caravan carts with great speed and finesse. Carter has his sword drawn, black metal glinting darkly underneath the sun.
The giant Yamabito lets out a deafening and frightening roar as it topples trees and boulders that stand on his path of destruction. His minions, the smaller Yamabitos, are nearing the caravans. It's a nightmarish sight, a scenery of certain death playing out before the caravan people.
"Einhänder: Schrägstrich."
Daisuke and his men, who have arrived at the scene, watches with great amazement as the knight in black armor delivers a diagonal slashing motion with one hand. A torrent of invisible air sweeps the dust, rocks and branches in all directions; but the most damage are done to the Yamabitos. The earlier stampeding horde is no more; no more than pieces of flesh and chunks of meat bleeding away to rot as the crows peck on them for food.
The mix of grotesque and disgusting display of blood and gore drenching almost the entire forest's floor in the area is interrupted by the sudden action from the giant Yamabito. Carter does not move when the giant swings down an equally large stone club at him.
"GET OUT OF THERE!" Daisuke shouts, seeing that it is too late.
But what he thought might happen, does not happen. In fact, what happens is something he did not expect even a little bit.
The knight in black armor dances his way around the blow, away from impact. Everyone is at lost, but they spot him running up on the giant's arm, sword still held in one hand. The giant's slow thinking registers this fact too late, but Carter is already at its shoulder. The knight jumps high to the sky above, creating a breathtaking display of a figure in shining dark armor, looming over the giant with his sword raised in a stabbing motion.
The caravan people watch in silent amazement, they notice the cuts that appear on the giant's arm. Carter must have made them the moment he ran up!
Carter gathers magic from his center, steadying the flow before ultimately channeling it into his sword. The black long sword is covered in a golden miasma, shining even brighter than the sun. Yet the same time, there's no missing the sparks of electricity that courses through the blade. It makes for a dangerous and an even more frightening sight than the giant itself!
"Einhander: Flammenblitz!"
Like the will sent down by the Gods from the heavens above, he became both lighting and the sun themselves.
The attack tears through the giant's thick skull, simultaneously frying and burning every single cell in his body. It lets out a pained and agonizing roar of being incinerated and electrocuted at the same time, while feeling the physical stab of the attack. The giant's skin turns coal black, scorched from both inside and out, the knight that did the attack jumps off, landing effortlessly on the ground and when he fully sheathes his sword back to its scabbard, the giant beast collapses. After the echoing resonance of the giant's humongous form hitting the ground, the forest is left with the silence it is famed for.
"CARTER!"
Everyone's eyes are drawn to the running girl who latches herself to the armored knight, hugging him despite the blood that stains her blouse. The knight responds by returning the embrace with one of arm, as his other one is too bloody to use. Carter is distracted when he sees Daisuke approaching with several of his armed men, looking tired yet relieved at the same time.
"You. Okay?" Daisuke begins using sign language, but the concern still shows on his face.
"Me. Fine. People?" Carter returns the gesture, a hint of questioning at the last sign.
Daisuke nods, letting his answer known. "People. Fine. Some. Injured."
Carter does not respond for a moment, and Daisuke can't really tell what he is thinking since he's wearing his helmet. Then the knight begins using sign language again, saying, "Bring. Wounded. Here. Heal." He makes rubbing gestures with his gauntlet hand, rubbing the armor plating as if imitating a healer rubbing ointment to a wound.
Daisuke seems unsure at first, then he is reminded of what the knight just did to that giant. Speaking of which, its corpse is still littered there as if nothing has happened. He would ask his men to discard it, but there is really no point, since they have injured people to take care of.
The old caravan leader nods his head, accepting Carter's proposal of healing the injured. There are not many injured, but some might be vital if not treated correctly. The furthest cart had been damaged, and it conveniently contains several of their first aids equipment. His men have scavenged little of what's left intact, but the result is not much. It's still a long six hours trip to the Human Village and they will reach home right at midnight, it will be unbearable for those who are injured if they have to wait that long.
"Okay. I. Depend. You."
Carter's armor clinks as he nods. "Understand."
Just a while later, the caravan proceeds with their return journey once again. Inside a bigger cart, Carter, Katharina, Daisuke and several women and men who are knowledgeable in healing are busy tending to the injured. They have used up most of the salvaged medical ingredients in healing less than half of those who are injured. Carter has left his helmet under Katharina's care, and the princess is watching while occasionally cringing at the sight of blood and wounds. However, she still desires to help.
Daisuke has just been informed of the shortage of medical ingredients. He approaches Carter who is tending to an injured caravan folk, dressing the man's wound. "You. Heal. Now?"
Carter takes his attention off the moaning man, nodding his head as he gives Daisuke his answer. "I. Can." Daisuke steps aside as he watches the knight approach his little company.
Carter kneels down, matching his height with Katharina's. He places a hand on the girl's head, indicating her that he wants to speak.
"Princess, I need your help." He speaks in a soft voice. "I need you to supply me with magic so that I can heal these people, think you could do that for me?"
Without hesitation or doubt, Katharina nods her head vigorously. "Yes! Please, let me help!"
A gentle smile tugs its way across Carter's normally stoic face, he gives the girl's head several soft pats before bowing. "Thank you for the assistance, princess."
With the amount of mana he has with him right now, he can't afford to heal all of the injured without suffering from exhaustion. That final technique he used when fighting the giant is something careless, he shouldn't do that again, unless if it's really necessary. Now that he thinks about it… maybe it is necessary. There is something that makes Katharina special, it is the very reason why her mother died in the first place. Though the fact is hidden from her, it is no secret that the Princess of Burganlicht has a very large mana pool with potent magical energy flowing in it. It makes every spells she performs ten times as powerful. If she is to cast a small and simple fireball spell, it will be an equivalent to the power and heat of a small sun. It's that dangerous.
She is learning hard to control her powers, but seeing as they are no longer in their home, there's no telling if the princess could progress more in harnessing her innate power.
Carter returns to the injured man he was tending just moments ago, now with the company of Katharina and Daisuke who is more interested to watch rather than help, since he lacks medical knowledge. Katharina positions herself on the opposite side of Carter, occupying the empty space right beside the injured man's side.
Carter slowly lifts his hand, palms opened and directed at the patient's body. The two foreigners have both of their eyes closed, facial expression relaxed and mind calmed down.
"Dämmerlicht: Heilen." The effect is almost instant. With her palms over his, Katharina is directly supplying Carter with her own magical energy. Carter does not have to use his own reserves; his job is to direct Katharina's energy into the application of the spell. She supplies him with the fuel, and he is the machine that gets the job done. The bruises, gashes and other physical scarring that may leave any marks are healed and no traces of them have been made possible of having existed.
Daisuke's eyes could not contain the amazement that's building up inside. Folks of Gensokyo are no strangers to things like magic, supernatural powers; heck it's what this place's all about! However, this is his first time seeing someone performing a magical spell up close. When the spell dies down, the healed patient has already fallen into slumber. It is just a side effect of being subjected to that particular healing spell, though there are others that does not have any side effects at all, this one's the most effective for treating a patient with an injury of this type.
The pair begins working to heal the rest of the injured, it takes them not even hour until everyone is resting peacefully. Carter's opened arms are already there to accept Katharina's fallen form. She has grown exhausted, a common predicament to those who has overused their magic. He lets the tiara wearing princess sleep in his opened arms.
"Thank you princess."
In her slumber, Katharina drifts off to a pleasant dream.
Introduction between Carter and Katharina to the Touhou characters will be done in the next chapter, and if you like fantasy adventure, RPG styled story, I can guarantee that you will like this one. I am accepting ideas and suggestions as well, so please review or PM me.