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~Chapter III: The Sign of Victory~


"Alright, alright..."

Estellise grimaced as more Knights charged toward her and Yuri. She was starting to feel exhausted, but she pushed herself to continue when it came to fights. Currently a Knight wielding a spear rushed past Yuri, who had his hands full with a sword wielder, and aimed his weapon directly at her.

She spun around the spear and the man rushed past her, recovering she aimed a few slashes at the man's back. He faltered and fell to the floor as a blue ring exploded out of him. She honestly didn't know what the ring was, but if what Yuri had said was true, it was the Memory Circle shielding the opponent.

When her opponent fell Estellise rushed towards Yuri as the sword Knight pushed him back. As much of a skilled swordsman that Yuri was, he must have been reaching his limit as well. Sliding to a halt Estellise called forth the remaining amount of her power and cast her First Aid arte. The streamers enveloped Yuri, rejuvenating the man enough to finish the Knight. When all was said and done Estellise fell to her knees and began panting heavily.

"I...don't think...I can move anymore..."

She tried her best to form a coherent thought between breaths, but it seemed talking was only making it worse. Yuri, after picking up something called Gald from the fallen Knights, walked over and sat down next to her. The man began scrounging around in his pockets as Estellise leaned back against the wall. She began thinking of why they seemed to be getting nowhere with their movements, they just kept ending up in dead ends with more Knights.

She was starting to think Yuri didn't know the layout of the castle at all. And even despite her tiredness, she couldn't stop herself from voicing her thoughts.

"Yuri...even though you were a Knight, you don't seem to know where you're going. Are you an imposter?"

The princess's eyes went wide as she turned to Yuri. That last part wasn't intended to be said out loud, but it slipped. She didn't want to seem rude to the man, but one smirk from Yuri made her raise an eyebrow.

"You said Flynn told you about me, that should have included what I looked like. And besides, why would anyone imitate a random guy from the lower quarter?"

Estellise then sighed as she relaxed, what he said held truth. It would be extremely improbable for an intruder to claim to be someone they never met. Yet she was still weary, she didn't know who that Zagi person brought with him. Her thoughts were interrupted by Yuri tapping her shoulder.

"You live in this castle, what's your excuse for not knowing your way around?"

"I have only been outside of my study for specific occasions. I was never given a full map to memorize."

One of the things Estellise prided herself on was her near perfect photographic memory. Any time she had nothing to do, and couldn't access her books, she would simply recall what was on the pages. She also found it irritating that a map was not among those pages. As many books as she spirited from the Royal Library, and none of them had schematics.

Yuri nodded at her answer as he pulled something out of a pouch in his shirt pocket. It was a small orange jello-like substance that was in the shape of a small oval. Estellise watched as the man popped the object into his mouth. An eyebrow raised as Yuri quickly chewed and swallowed it. Rocking back Yuri then jumped to his feet. It was like he had his energy renewed.

Yuri then turned to her and tossed another one of the objects to her. She caught it and held it between her fingers, squeezing it lightly as she examined it.

"What's this?"

"An Orange Gel, eat it. You'll get some of your strength back."

Estellise felt her eyes narrow as she closely examined the Gel. Quickly deciding to just eat it like Yuri had, the girl popped the Gel into her mouth. As she began chewing a wave of orange flavoring filled her mouth. The girl shivered as she swallowed the Gel, she didn't particularly like oranges, but she didn't get to complain as she felt energy return to her muscles.

Standing Estellise nodded, Yuri chuckled as he put his pouch back into his shirt. The two then resumed their excursion through the castle.

"You know, it almost looked as if I was going to have to feed it to you myself."

"It wouldn't have come to that, I was just weary of because I have never seen a Gel before."

"Man, aren't you a bit too sheltered, even for a noble?"


The pair finally seemed to have made some progress, they entered a room with a statue of an angel holding a sinister sword in her arms. Estellise only stared at the angel statue as Yuri began examining its base.

"It seems that the old man was right, there was a goddess statue. Now what to do with it?"

"Well, maybe there is a secret passage underneath it? All we would have to do is move it."

Estellise knew that sounded childish, coming from an old fairy tale she read when she was young. When Yuri looked at her, she was beginning to think the man was going to start laughing. Instead however, Yuri simply shrugged and grabbed a fixture that stuck out on the statue's side. He then gave a tug and to both of their surprises, the statue moved.

A section of the floor sank as the statue was moved, Yuri letting it go when it clicked into place. The two then looked at where the statue once sat, and were quite surprised to see a square hole in the floor. Leaning over Estellise caught a glimpse of a ladder descending into the darkness. She felt her heart jump in excitement.

"Well, can't be sure if this leads outside the castle, but it's worth a shot."

Yuri then walked past her, going towards the ladder, but a quick glimpse at the man's left arm made Estellise grab it. Yuri turned around and gave the girl a questioning look, but she ignored him as she inspected his wrist. There was a jagged cut that stretched from his wrist to the back of his hand. Quickly gathering her energy she forced her arte directly into the wound.

The streamers surrounded Yuri's hand and sunk into the wound, causing it to glow white before the skin started closing up. When the task was done Estellise gave Yuri a smile, one he didn't rerurn. Instead as she lowered her hands he grabbed the one that Remus's blastia was wrapped around. His grip was strong, so much so that she couldn't get her hand free.

"Yuri, what's wrong with you?"

"Huh," Yuri blinked as he looked towards her; "oh, sorry, I've just never seen a blastia like that before."

Estellise pulled back her hand and took a step back from Yuri. He gave her an apologetic look as she frowned.

"Are you sure that is all it was?"

"Yeah, won't happen again."

Estellise's frown didn't falter as she then walked to the ladder, she gave one look to Yuri before taking a step onto it. She found it hard to be angry when thoughts of getting out of the castle started swimming through her head. She quickly turned from Yuri, not wanting him to see her frown fade.

She was still mad at him.


Estellise tilted her head as she examined the surrounding area, Yuri quickly dropping down next to her. The two examined the area and to their surprise it seemed that they landed in a storage area. Estellise's head tilted as she examined the ancient walls of the chamber.

If the state of the walls and floor were anything to go by, this chamber was rather old. Shaking her head Estellise made a mental note to find the nearest blueprints for the castle, she hated not knowing everything she could.

Taking a step forward, the sounds of splashing water filled the room. Looking down the princess noticed that the section they stood on was covered in water. Why there was water in the chamber given its location in the castle confused the girl.

She was about to move closer to the edge to look at the water, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She looked back to Yuri as the man glared at something in the distance. Turning her head to try and find what he was looking at she gasped at the sight of twenty white dots. The dots seemed to move closer as Yuri drew his sword.

"Great, there are monsters here. Did you know about this?"

Estellise shook her head as she drew her sword as well, she and Yuri then waited as the dots closed the distance. The first monster to leave the shadows was a round ball that resembled a rat. It opened its fanged mouth and hissed as more of its kind broke away from the darkness.

"What should we do Yuri?"

"Fight, they're small, so they shouldn't be too difficult."

Estellise nodded as she swallowed the lump in her throat. She didn't know why, but these creatures scared her more than the knights, and she didn't know why. Was it because they seemed almost unnatural, or was it that these beasts wouldn't hold back like the Knights?

"Look out!"

Estellise's mind returned to the battle just fast enough to see one of the rats leaping towards her. Gritting her teeth and shifting her grip on her sword she swung at the monster. The sword connected with the hinge of its jaw and proceeded to shear the beast in half. The insides of the monster were an deep purple with glowing yellow lights. She watched as the halves exploded into purple smoke before she aimed at another monster.

A few monsters made it past her and started charging towards Yuri. The swordsman almost seemd amused when the rats rolled up into balls and flung themselves at him. Instead of swinging his sword, the man simply pulled his fist back and punched the beast. His hand was covered in a blue flame as the beast exploded.

Estellise recalled that to be an arte made for pushing away opponents in close quarters, Cerberus Strike. She smiled a little as she realized that Yuri probably had more artes than a typical Knight.

She was wondering if she could get him to teach her some.


Estellise rocked back and forth as she waited for Yuri to open a chest. The two's excursion through the waterway had yielded several abandoned treasures that Yuri took to opening. His reasoning being that if it had been abandoned then it was up for grabs.

Usually the girl would have protested such thinking, but seeing as one of the treasures they acquired had been her new cape, she decided to let the subject go for now. She pulled the edges tighter as if to emphasize that thought to herself.

"I need to thank whoever told you about this passage under the castle."

"And why would you need to do that?"

"I'm trying to get out too you know."

Yuri just shook his head as he popped the chest open, quickly reaching inside he pulled out what looked to be a magnifying glass. He pocketed the trinket as he turned to Estellise.

"That nice and all, but those types of manners aren't usually used for strangers."

"If that person is not yet acquainted, then it is even more important."

"Didn't you try and hit me with a vase?"


The two explorers had reached a dead end with a long ladder rising to the surface. Estellise huffed as she and Yuri pushed some crates out of the way. With their task complete the girl could feel her eagerness return as she eyed the ladder. She was almost outside, and one step closer to assisting Flynn.

"So, I don't know where this is going to lead, stick behind me in case of more Knights."

Estellise nodded, she was starting to once again feel exhausted from the encounters with the rats and the use of her arte, even when Yuri said he was fine. She would never be sure around rats, they could have had rabies. So, the order to stay close meant that she wouldn't have to fight much if they had to, reserve stamina for healing.

The girl then watched as Yuri grabbed onto the metal ladder and begin climbing. After he was a few feet above her Estellise quickly walked over to the ladder and began climbing as well.


The first thing Estellise got to experience when she pulled herself out of the gound, was the burning light of a midday sun. Having spent so much time in the waterway she and Yuri stumbled around for a bit, waiting fror their eyesight to clear. Being the one to exit first Yuri's eyes adjusted quickly, allowing the man to look around.

"Huh, it would seem that exit led to the royal quarter."

Estellise blinked her eyes a few more times before she could see clearly. Quickly scanning the area she found that the two were in the middle of a mansion's courtyard. She smiled as the breeze washed over her.

"It seems like I wasted an entire night in there."

"This is so much more beautiful than being seen from the castle's windows."

Yuri turned to the girl as Estellise wandered towards a group of flowers. She picked one that she had never seen before and sniffed it. She giggled a little as the pollen tickled her nose. Yuri just watched and chuckled as she picked another one.

"Come on, you act like this is your first time out of the castle."

"Well, um...I..."

Yuri frowned a bit as the Estellise turned towards him. She had an embarrassed look on her face, this made him sigh.

"Well, I suppose someone like you couldn't just take a stroll outside whenever she wanted."

"Exactly."

Estellise watched as Yuri's smile returned, he moved closer and raised his hand. She eyed it, but didn't let confusion show on her face.

"At least we got you out of the castle, right?"

Estellise nodded and raised a hand as well, but instead of copying Yuri's hand, she poked the center of his palm with her finger. The gesture must have been hilarious as Yuri began laughing. Estellise then quickly pulled her hand back as she watched the man.

"What? Did I do something wrong?"

Yuri just shook his head and waved his hand. Estellise waited for the man to calm down, inwardly she fumed, she didn't like being laughed at. When Yuri caught his breath, he began talking.

"So Estellise, what do you plan on doing now that you're out?"

"I need to find Flynn."

"Do you have any idea on where he might be?"

Estellise paused as she thought on that, trying to pull something out of the last conversation they had.

"He said he would be going on a knight's pilgramage. So, traditionally they stop in Halure first, I'd start there."

"That would mean you would be going outside the barrier."

"Have you ever been outside?"

Yuri nodded and Estellise started feeling excitement course through her once more. She looked up to the sky and at the rings for the city's barrier. She would never allow herself to think on it, but the attack on the castle had given her what she wanted. Estellise hand unconsciously shifted to her sword, which Yuri took notice of.

"So, the way out of the city is through the lower quarter. I'll show you the way."

"Oh that would be wonderful, thank you."

Yuri nodded as he began walking, the man sighed as Estellise ran ahead of him. He muttered something that sounded like 'excitable nobles' before chasing after her.


The duo quickly made it to a lower section of the city, one that Estellise hadn't seen before. Her windows only looked out to other parts of the castle, so the new scenery was exciting. She bounced around the storefronts and through the crowds with Yuri following closely. The swordsman had a knowing smirk as the girl began talking to a street vendor.

"Come on, I need to hurry back to the lower quarter."

Estellise turned towards him with a painting in hand, Yuri looked like he was about to ask where it came from, but a shout stopped him.

"I say! Stop Fugitive!"

"The jig is up!"

Estellise turned towards the origin of the noise and saw something that caused her to raise an eyebrow. There were three men in Knight uniforms, yet only one actually looked like a Knight. The tallest in the group was spindly and had a crooked moustache. The man's beady eyes and swollen lips bothered her.

The second and third of the group at least looked like people, except one was incredibly short. The man that stood behind the spindly monster and the short Knights was a large man. His decorations made him out to be a lieutenant. The man probably had been yelling recently, for his face was red. She could swear she could see a vein pulsing.

That could not have been healthy.

"What are we going to do Yuri?"

She turned towards the swordsman to see him smiling, almost as if he was holding back a laugh. Yuri then walked past her and bent over. He picked up a rock and pulled his hand back.

"Well I'm going to do this."

Estellise then watched as Yuri tossed the rock, it vanished from her vision as it left his hand. She then heard the banging of metal and pained grunts. Turning to the knights she saw that two of them were now on the ground. She then felt a hand grab hers' turning she saw Yuri run past as the man began pulling her. She quickly complied and the two ran as fast as they could.


Crossing a bridges and going down a few slopes the two found themselves in the lower quarter. Estellise wheezed as she walked ahead of Yuri. She knew she wasn't out of shape, she thanked sword training for that, but this much running was getting to her. Yuri on the other hand looked just fine, and she was wondering how.

"Yuri, where have you been?"

"Oh, well Hanks I got an invitation to the castle. Had the loveliest of times."

Estellise turned to see who Yuri was talking to. It was an old man with spiked grey hair and slightly bent glasses. The two were talking and Yuri just laughed as Hanks started fuming. Hanks then turned to Estellise and gave Yuri a bizarre look.

"Who's the girl?"

Estellise quickly bowed to the man and then straightened herself with a smile.

"My name is Estellise."

"Oh, the pleasure is all mine Miss."

Hanks then quickly bowed, when he stood he returned his attention to Yuri. The two began talking as Estellise walked towards the fountain that sat behind the man. She looked down and saw that there were rocks placed in the water. Looking up she looked at the blastia shell that sat at the fountain's center. The blastia core was missing.

Looking around Estellise watched several of the people who were walking around the area. Most of them wore clothes that looked drenched. Shifting her gaze to the surrounding area she saw residual puddles dotting the area. Returning her attention to the blastia questions started floating through her head.

Had the blastia gone out of control? She certainly never heard of that happening before.

Her thoughts were interrupted when a familiar shouting filled the air.

"YURI LOWELL! You gave my men nasty headaches. Do the smart thing and turn yourself in!"

Turning around Estellise saw the commanding officer of the two Knights from earlier. She took a step back, soon finding Yuri next to her. Hanks gave the two a smile as he gave a silent signal. Estellise then saw every person around the fountain discreetly getting ready.

"Never a dull moment when Yuri is around. Take care of yourself Yuri, I don't want to hear that you died in some ditch."

"Well, looks like I'm not coming back for a while. Take care Hanks, don't party too much."

The old man then laughed as he turned and began walking towards the Knight. He then raised a hand into the air and the citizens began swarming the Knight. Estellise smiled as she turned to Yuri, the man just raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"They must really care about you if they are doing this."

"No, they are just happy to finally be rid of me."

The two turned and began to run, but they too were swarmed by people. Estellise didn't know what was happening but she felt as if she was being carried off somewhere. Looking over to Yuri she saw several people in the crowd hand him supplier. A woman then looked down at her with a smile.

"Don't worry about Yuri Miss. He may not seem like it, but he is a nice guy."

Estellise quickly nodded as the group that had carried them dispersed. They were at the entrance to the city. Yuri had a weird look to him as he reached into his shirt, he then pulled out a coin pouch.

"Hey, who put money in here, I can't accept this."

He turned to walk back into the crowd, but a shout from the Knight made him pause. He shook his head and put it in his pocket as he hurried up to Estellise. Turning towards the crowd Estellise saw the Knight pull free of the bulk of the crowd. She was about to call out to Yuri, but a blue and grey dog leapt from the crowd and tackled the man to the ground.

The dog then quickly hurried up to them and gave Estellise a bored gaze. Yuri chuckled as he leaned down to scratch the dog on the head.

"There you are Repede."

"Is he your dog?"

Yuri nodded as he stood up, turning towards Estellise with a smile.

"From here we go to Deidon Hold. Now I don't know how long we'll be traveling together, but let's do our best Estelle."

"Yes I...Est...elle? Estelle. Okay Yuri, let's go!"

The trio then turned back to the city. Estellise waved excitedly as the group left the city gates.

A quick thought on the nickname Yuri gave her made her smile. She had once read that people give friends nicknames, and if he gave her one that meant they were now friends. She then decided to use that name as long as she was able.

The newly christened Estelle laughed as she ran.


Another chapter complete. I hope you enjoyed.

Have a nice day!