Warning! This story may contain potentially triggering content. I will be adding warnings before updates on my AO3 mirror (same username). If you would like to know what type of content may be in this fic, check this fic out over there. Warning may contain spoilers. If you don't care about content warnings, feel free to stay right where you are!
The bullet shattered the wine bottle, narrowly missing the guests and scattering shards across the table.
Camilla dropped her fork into her now ruined meal and produced a handgun. "Looks like someone's come out to play."
Beruka, Selena, and the rest of Camilla's company stood. They readied their guns, poised and prepared to blow at the slightest hint of movement.
Amongst the customers noisily scrambling for safety stood several men dressed in black, one aiming a rifle in Camilla's direction. There wasn't enough time to register anything else as the other men raised their weapons and started to make a move.
"Ugh, this is the first time in months! Why now?" Selena and the rest began to shoot.
Glass continued to shatter all around as Camilla maneuvered away from her group. Quickly dodging a bullet, she fired multiple shots at one man. His body tumbled to the ground.
Camilla ducked underneath a table and aimed for the men's' legs. It was difficult to tell whose legs belonged to who, but Camilla was fairly certain that none of them belonged to her party. Though she was careful to avoid everyone except the men, the bodies of men and bystanders alike dropped rapidly.
Momentarily stopping to reload, she noticed Beruka's feet dashing towards one of the men. A second later, both Beruka and the man were on the ground, the former with her hands around the latter's neck.
Noticing a man coming from the side, Camilla flipped the table onto him and shot until parts of his clothes were barely distinguishable from the burgundy carpet.
Camilla had little time to breathe as a man lunged at her with a Bowie knife. He failed to make contact as she seized his hand and thrust him to the side.
A bullet grazed the side of Camilla's head. Ignoring the mild burning sensation, she seized the man she'd just thrown before he even had time to react and shielded her body. As the man absorbed the gunshots, Camilla charged at her assailant and shoved the two men. Putting her handgun back into its holster, she took the assailant's rifle and shot him dead.
She fired a warning shot. "Who's next?"
It didn't take long for Camilla to realize how still the room had gotten. Bodies lay strewn across the floor, wholly unmoving. The sound of a muffled alarm reverberated. Shadows covered the walls from all directions.
Camilla smirked. "Don't tell me you're afraid of little old me."
Beruka was visible from the side of her eye, making a signal with her hand. A signal meaning, behind you!
Camilla looked behind herself to see a lone man racing towards her, brandishing a machete.
She pulled the sniper's trigger, but nothing came out. Avoiding his swing, Camilla reached into her pocket. It was a good day to bring brass knuckles.
With a single blow to the head, the man slumped. His machete skidded across the floor.
Camilla struck him once more with the butt of the rifle before tossing it aside. She kneeled, pinning him beneath herself.
Struggling, the man moved to no avail. "P-Please…"
"You're so rude, interrupting my dinner party like this," said Camilla. She drew a switchblade from her inside pocket. Dry, cracked blood coated its edges.
The man trembled as the knife edged closer to his neck.
"What a brave fellow you are, coming all the way here. I can just imagine the face you made when your employer assigned you to take care of me."
The man's eyes widened as blood began to trickle from beneath the knife's blade.
"Yes, like that," said Camilla. "Silly boy. Don't you think you should've let your fellow associates shoot you when you were first assigned, rather than come all the way to me?"
With a swift jab of the knife, the man let out a sharp, gurgling scream.
Camilla removed the knife before kicking the man onto his front. She stomped on his neck until a large pool of blood had formed. His cries gradually grew weaker before stopping completely.
Holding up the bloodstained knife, Camilla hissed, "Any more takers?"
There was a shuffling sound. Shadows retreated hurriedly as Camilla glanced around the room.
Moving her gaze to Beruka as she approached, Camilla grinned. "My darling Beruka…do you detect any more of these fools?"
"…I think they're gone," said Beruka. "That was the last of them."
"Already? That's a shame." Camilla played with the switchblade. "Good work, ladies. You performed well."
"Of course we did well! It was the fastest shootout we've ever had! Those men had no idea who they were dealing with." Selena, walking towards Camilla, stared at her foot as she stepped in the blood. She covered her eyes before making a noise and turning away. "Eww!"
Camilla knocked the body aside with her foot, blood sticking to her stiletto. "Well I had to make sure he'd lose enough blood to die, didn't I?"
Selena met Camilla's gaze and forced a smile. "That's true, I guess..." She tried to wipe some blood off her pants. "Who were those men, anyway?"
"They were…" Stowing her knife, Camilla considered it for a moment. "…You know what? I'm not entirely certain. These men don't look Magvelian or Hoshidan. Tellian, perhaps?"
Beruka opened the closest man's suit and pat him down. "We need to check more bodies, but I can't find any ID. Their way of fighting was too rigid and slow. I would say that they're probably a new group that wanted to try their luck at attacking a notable mob."
"Perhaps," said Camilla. "Sounds like something Leo would say. I'm impressed."
Selena stared at Camilla's side. "Uh, Camilla? You've got a little thing…"
A shard of glass stuck out of the back of Camilla's hand. She found herself smiling at Selena's mortified face as she removed it and snapped it in half.
"It takes some time to get used to," said Camilla. "Now, let's see…are we all accounted for?" She scanned the room, noticing most of the other associates standing in a circle off to the side.
One woman turned towards her. Her voice was hoarse. "No, Camilla, we're not."
Camilla felt her stomach drop. It wasn't unusual for an associate to become hospitalized or even killed after a shootout, but the thought of one of her beloved guests being injured was too much regardless.
Beruka and Selena were the first to move. They peered into the circle, then looked back at Camilla. Though Beruka's face was stony as usual, Selena seemed to be using all her strength to mask something grimmer.
Please be alive, thought Camilla, dragging her feet as she drew closer to the circle. Only the best guests had come to dinner that night. If whoever lay in the middle still breathed, perhaps they could be healed. Camilla would ensure the most suitable doctor in the country would be there immediately. If the doctor couldn't make it, then she'd ensure that he or she or whoever the doctor was would be confined to the hospital for a long, long time. The last practitioner that had failed to revive an associate had been found dead in their office several days later.
Everyone stepped aside to allow Camilla access to the center. Her heart caught as she noticed the woman lying in front of her.
Anna. Modest, moody Anna. The half-sister Camilla hadn't seen in nine years. After all this time, was tonight their final meeting?
Anna's pale face was frozen with shock, her chest drenched in blood. Her limbs lay limp.
Camilla tentatively reached out and touched Anna's arm.
It was cold.
The bright, blazing mid-late afternoon sun stung Camilla's eyes. Not a cloud sat in the sky as cicadas chirped. The tombstones' shadows steadily grew longer, some touching the edge of the newly created grave. It was as if the dead were welcoming their new companion to their holy ground, their sanctuary. Associates lined the lawn, sitting and watching as the eulogist stepped up to the mahogany coffin. Some had passed out; whether the stifling heat or grief contributed more to their state was difficult to say. Both were probable in some cases.
It was suitable, Camilla supposed, for an early day in September.
The eulogist cleared his throat and began to speak. "A sincere thank you to everyone who is attending this event. Today, we are here to mourn the loss of a dear friend, miss Anna Krakenburg…"
Camilla's suit was borderline soaked, though her eyes remained dry. She hadn't found herself particularly attached to Anna, let alone know much about her compared to her other siblings. They hadn't spent much time together during their youth; Camilla often found herself amongst her younger siblings and Xander, while Anna hardly spent time at home in general.
Her chest ached at the loss of family the all the same. She'd been looking forward to forging a closer bond with her now-deceased sister. Camilla knew her grief would be far more prominent, had she managed to do so.
"…a tragedy, given her recent return from overseas, of where she spent the last five years of her life…"
"I never got to know her," whispered Elise, leaning next to Camilla. Her eyes were full of tears, sniveling as she clutched the ends of her dress.
Taking a handkerchief, Camilla wiped the side of Elise's face. "Cry as much as you'd like, dear," she whispered back.
Elise sniffed. "I want her back."
"We all do," said Camilla, wrapping her arm around Elise's shoulders. Suddenly she felt thankful that Elise was so young. Her innocence was still intact. "We all do."
"…the third eldest of seventeen children fathered by Garon Krakenburg…"
Camilla moved her gaze to her brothers. She'd grown used to Xander and Leo being her only male siblings. Neither of them had been close to Anna either. Xander was on Camilla's other side, face a mixture of composure and discreet pain. Leo, though even further detached from their formerly eldest sister, was completely silent and focused.
"…Good sir, we are deeply saddened by your loss…"
Camilla glanced at her father. He stood near the front of the group, close to the coffin. His hard, wrinkled face was stoic as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. Garon cried increasingly less at funerals, ceasing completely after the last three of his children had perished. It was difficult to imagine tears endlessly sliding down his face at this point; they existed only in memory.
Camilla missed it.
The eulogy seemed to go on for hours, Camilla's mood becoming more and more somber all the while. She didn't know how much more tearful associates taking turns at talking about how much they loved Anna, depressing memories, and thoughts of missed opportunity she could take; she immediately dismissed this thought.
It was almost an insult to the attendees, how sunny it was out. Her thirst was reaching dangerously high levels.
"…Thank you once again for attending. May Anna rest peacefully in our thoughts and in our hearts," ended the eulogist.
Camilla sluggishly stood, waiting as the other associates filed out.
Elise wiped the remaining tears from her eyes. "I think I cried all the water out of my body. Can we get something to drink?"
"Of course, darling." Camilla took Elise's wet hand and led her as they followed Xander and Leo to the food area.
Elise sighed. "I wish our family wouldn't keep getting smaller. It's only you, Xander, Leo, Corrin, and Dad left."
Camilla rubbed her thumb into Elise's palm. "Me too, Elise." It had been quite some time since a family member had died in action. Neither Corrin or Elise had yet to participate in mob activities, something that Camilla felt relief over.
The relief would not last, however, and Camilla knew it. Corrin was a late bloomer, having met very few associates outside of the Krakenburg family. She was not yet aware of the true nature of the Nohr syndicate. A huge part of Camilla wanted to do nothing but protect her youngest siblings, to hold them close and slaughter anything that may come between them and their happiness. She knew they'd have to start throwing themselves into danger sooner rather than later, though, and there was little she could do about it. Such was life in the mob, after all.
Only two sisters remained. Four siblings overall.
Please, Camilla thought. Don't let anything happen to them.