Blue VII: Return Trip
'Say whatever the hell you want about a horse drawn carriage, sometimes a peaceful walk is the best thing to keep your mind off things,' Ragna thought to himself as he traversed the countryside, a slight wind blowing through the tall grass to his right and the tree branches to his left. Ragna gave a soft sigh as he looked at the clear sky above.
"Shouldn't you keep your guard up?" Eric asked from beside him. "We don't have Zeus or the other mercenaries here to keep us safe."
"You have me don't you? Have some faith," Ragna told him without stopping his travel along the dirt path.
"Yeah, and if you die from an ambush arrow, we're next... So, eyes open yeah?" Eric told him, leaving the Reaper to roll his eyes, but focused them ahead. "Anyways, should we slow down? I think our littlest two are starting to fall behind."
"Already? We haven't been on the road that long," Ragna said as he looked to the back of the group. Silvana and Naoto hadn't fallen too far behind and Emily was sticking close by them, but Ragna could see that they were breathing heavily and sweat was starting to form on their brows. "...Alright, I guess we could take a short break if they really need it."
"They might, there's a pretty big tree up ahead that could provide us with some decent shade while we rest," Eric told him. "Probably the best place around."
"We'll stop there for a bit then, but let's try to keep moving soon; we're trying to get Naoto to Arron as soon as we can, I don't want to take him on a whole adventure," Ragna reminded.
When the group finally made their way to the tree, Naoto and Silvana were only too happy to slump its thick trunk and enjoy the shade the tree provided. Wanting to keep the two hydrated, Ragna offered the two the water skin, which Silvana was only too happy to grab first before taking a long swig of it.
"Jeeze, save some for the rest of the trip," Ragna told her as he crossed his arms. "Are the two of you going to be alright?"
"Be fine," Silvana said with a pout after she'd finished her drink.
"I... I can keep up," Naoto told him, trying to be as assertive as he could before drinking from the water skin himself. He held onto his wooden practice sword and tried to keep it close to his person.
"At this rate Ragna's going to have to carry one of you to the inn," Emily noted with a snarky smirk on her face as she crossed her arms and leaned against the tree. "Seriously though, why did you end up bringing that sword with you? Seems like dead weight honestly."
"I... I thought I could defend myself with it," Naoto admitted as he continued to keep the sword close to him.
"Not to make fun of your effort, but Emily's got a point," Ragna admitted with a sigh. "That sword won't do you any good if you're too tired to swing it when someone finally shows up... Then again, I think we'll be fine. The road's been clear so far and it doesn't look like the weather's going to be changing either."
"Good, traveling while it's raining is the worst," Eric muttered.
"To you, anything while it's raining is the worst," Emily reminded as she remembered their childhood. "Farming, hunting, you even hated staying inside the church when it was raining."
"That because we had run all over the church, placing buckets and emptying them so we wouldn't be flooded over," the axe user remembered with a groan. "Normally had to do it alone, because in spite of the weather, a certain idiot would still continue to train."
"I needed to do something to take up that time didn't I? It beat sitting around complaining like you used to," Ragna told him. "...But to be fair, that roof was leaky as all hell before we finally managed to fix it right."
"See?" Eric told the others before sitting back down. It was then that the two heard wagons along the road and footsteps a lot of them. "Sound like there's a group of wagons heading this way."
"Not too shocking, this is a well-traveled road," Ragna told them as he kept his guard up and turned to the road.
A small battalion of foot soldiers led the group, headed by a higher-ranking officer seated atop horseback and adorned in full plate armor. Said leader looked off at Ragna to the side with a harsh glare, probably expecting him and his group to bow to the passing soldiers. Ragna didn't submit and returned a much fiercer glare at the head soldier, who's body turned ridged for a moment at the force of Ragna's stare down before averting his gaze entirely. A few horse drawn carriages then passed the group by, and while the windows were covered with cloth to travel the passengers, the group could clearly see that the crest placed upon the sides.
"Wait, is that the royal convoy?" Emily asked from beneath a tree.
"Looks like it," Eric said as he thought it over. "...Think we could get a ride with them?"
"You're joking, aren't you?" Ragna responded. "That's the prince and princess of the kingdom in that wagon. The guards wouldn't let us walk alongside them, let alone ride in the royal carriage."
"Well, you're with us aren't you?" Eric said thoughtfully. "Winner of Trudalla's Holy Horizon Qualifier and savior of Liette. They'd stop for you, wouldn't they?"
"Won't work," Silvana told him in her usual monotone voice. "Take Ragna... Leave us."
"Silv's got a good point; we should just keep walking for now and focus on getting to Fortune's Step," Ragna told them as the convoy passed by. "Good news is I don't think there will be any bandits looking to pick a fight if we trail close enough behind them."
"And the bad news?" Eric asked before looking at the tree. "You're got to be kidding me." That moment of respite turned out to be all Naoto had needed to pass out from exhaustion. He was leaning against the tree, his eyes closed as he softly continued to snore. "Looks like we're going to have to wait for him."
"Not a chance, I'm not letting us get caught out here while it's dark," Ragna insisted as he picked Naoto up and began to carry him on his back. "Grab his sword and let's go; break's over." As the entire party continued to head out, Ragna caught a glimpse of Silvana glaring at him out of the corner of his eyes. Turning to the young half-elf, he bluntly demanded, "What's your problem?"
"Me next," she told the Reaper as she motioned to the sleeping form of Naoto. Ragna let out an annoyed sigh; this was going to be a long trip.
A Few Hour's Later
Despite Ragna's griping, he did decide he'd honor Silvana's wishes to be carried once Naoto had awoken. This left Emily and Eric to let him know that he was far too softer on the younger ones, a claim that he didn't bother defending himself from (they did have a point). By now though, both of them had managed to get the break from walking that they had desperately needed and now the group was walking as a whole.
"Dang, I didn't think it'd be this far away," Naoto groaned as continued to follow the others. Since Ragna didn't want the youth to tire himself before they reached their destination, he elected to carry his wooden practice sword him so Naoto could focus his energy on walking.
"Well this is going to be the shorter of the two trips," Ragna informed. "Getting to Fortune's Step is the easy part, the long trip starts when we leave the Inn and head south back to the village... We might actually have to sleep in the woods on the road cause we won't make it in one day."
"Doesn't sound so bad to me," Emily told him as she thought back to their childhood. "I always used to love spending the nights out in the woods. It was so calm and peaceful sleeping in the trees."
"Yeah, and I always got in trouble when you did that," Ragna muttered. "Aaron and your father would always blame me when you went outside, something about me turning you 'rebellious.'"
"So... are you trying to say she should thank you?" Eric asked his best friend with a smirk. Ragna groaned as he kept walking, he eyes slowly narrowing as he looked up ahead. "What's wrong?"
"We've got trouble," Ragna said as he stared on the horizon. They appeared as little more than a collection off smudges of in the distance to Eric, but Ragna managed to see them in much greater detail; they were several burly men dressed in grubby clothes and rusted iron armor. The rust on their weapons appeared to be from blood and Ragna could easily see that these men hadn't showered much at all lately. "Looks like I was wrong; we're going to run into some bandits after all... we should-"
"We should stop them," Naoto interrupted. Ragna paused before glancing down at the boy with due skepticism. "I mean... if we don't they'll just attack other travelers. We can stop them... can't we?"
"This isn't something a kid like you should have to wa... Fair enough kid," Ragna muttered as he took his sword out and rested it on his coat shoulder, remembering that Naoto had already seen plenty of death prior to this.
"Whoa, aren't you sending them a message by taking your weapon out?" Emily asked as she noticed that the bandits were starting to tense as they got closer. "I mean, won't you frighten them off?"
"Not with their allies hiding in the tall grass, ready to surround us when we get close enough," Ragna told the as he subtly motioned to the right with his head. It took Silvana and Emily a moment, but they eventually saw where the other bandits were hiding. "Silvana can clear the grass away with her wind magic if she's good enough while Eric protects our flank. Emily will back me up with her bow, and Naoto?"
"Yes?" the young boy asked with concern.
"No heroics," Ragna commanded bluntly. "You're not skilled or strong enough for this yet, just try to stay close to Emily. "
"O-Okay," Naoto agreed, looking a little disappointed. Eventually the group made their way past the bandits hidden in the grass and close enough for those in plain sight to approach them.
"What's this then? A bunch of armed kids with a hired mercenary?" one of them asked. Ragna figured he was the supposed merc in question. "You got any good coin on you?"
"None that you're getting," Ragna told them darkly.
"Well that's too bad, because you need some way to pay the toll to get through," the leader said and the others disgustingly cackled. "How's about you leave your women with us? They might look a tad young, but don't worry; we'll take care of 'em... we'll take real good care of 'em."
"Seriously, if you're going to play to part of a notorious bandit group or whatever the hell you're going for, at least put some effort into the act," Ragna said with a sigh as he readied his sword, holding it backhanded in his left hand like he was used to. The blade was still far too light from what he'd been used to, but he'd have to adapt. "'Sides, you couldn't handle these two; they'd tear your throats out with their teeth before you'd so much as touch 'em."
"Tch, cocky bastard aren't you?" the leader grumbled. "Maybe I'll try to keep you alive, just so you can listen to them scream."
Ragna didn't say anything, he focus on both the bandits before him and ones readying themselves in the tall grass. With no warning at all the red coated warrior gave a harsh smirk. "Silvana... Do the thing."
"Doing it."
While Ragna and the others had seen Silvana use her magic before it had been more easily used to assist her movement, like when she'd used it to slow her fall after leaping from atop the church's roof or when she was dueling Ragna and had used it to increase her speed. This time however, she used it as a full on attack and created a massive blade of her wind magic that she sent out to the bandits hiding in the grass. While her magic didn't cut that deep into the bandits themselves, it did sheer away the grass that was supposed to be hiding them and left them completely exposed.
"She's a mage, we're dealing with a mage!" one of the bandits shouted at the top of his lungs.
"She's still just a kid! She didn't kill you with it did she!?" the leader shouted. "Get them! They're still just a bunch of piss stained brats and an idiot swordsman!"
"You're the only idiots here," Ragna muttered as the rest of the bandits charge forward with their rust swords and axe. He didn't active his Azure, there was no point in wasting it on second rate thugs like this. He swung his bastard sword with great force as the first bandits made his way up to him, taking his arm off in that single swing alone. The bandit gave a great cry of pain before Ragna followed up with a second swing, putting him out of his misery.
As the rest of the group surged forward, Emily let lose an arrow from her bow watching it sail forward before it managed to hit a bandit dead in the heart. As a huntress she was already used to making kills with her bow, she'd need to find some way to help feed her family and hunting usually provided a decent income with their meat to eat and their hides to turn into leather and sell. This may have been he first time killing someone with sentience, but given the circumstances she was able to shake the feeling off rather easily and let lose another arrow, injuring another of the bandits.
Using his twin axes, Eric was managing to hold off his own group of bandits rather well thanks to Silvana's own support and Zeus's lessons. Growing up in a small farming village and having to work in the fields, he'd had to slaughter animals himself and help prepare the meats. Again, it wasn't the same as actually killing a living human being, but he told himself that if Ragna would go this far to protect them, he'd have to return the favor himself... though he was somewhat concerned that Silvana could cut a man from head to toe with her wind magic without batting an eye.
"What the hell!? These kids actually have some bite to them!" one of the bandits shouted before he was cut down by Eric's axes.
By now most of the bandits had been dealt with, now on the ground with severed limbs and fatal wounds. The few that remained consisted of those that stuck close to the apparent leader of the group and the two that Eric and Silvana were focused on dealing with. The bandit leader looked at the enemy group with a clear sense of dread, weighing his options.
"Don't even think of running," Ragna said darkly as his sword once more cleaved through a bandit.
Charging through he stabbed another enemy through the chest while Emily guard his back from another bandit with a well placed arrow, now Ragna stood before the leader. Using a desperation move, the bandit leader tried to cleave through the Reaper with his greatsword, only for Ragna to block the fierce attack with only a single hand on his own blade. Forcing the heavy attack off of him, the Reaper then retaliated with a sudden Hilt Smash to his temple, sending his opponent to the ground.
"Well, that's done with," Eric said as he put his twin axes back on their holsters now that the bandits had been dealt with. "Is everyone alright?"
"Think so," Silvana said as she went up to Ragna and looked down at the bandit leader the Reaper had taken down. "Not dead?"
"No, I just knocked this one out," Ragna told her. "This guy might have some sort of hide out or something he can tell us about when he wakes up. Or we can try dragging him off and collect a reward for his capture."
"Sounds like it'd be a pain to drag him all the way to Fortune's Step Inn," Emily muttered before she looked in the direction they'd been traveling before the bandits had attacked. "Someone's heading this way."
"I see 'em," Ragna told her before he sighed and sheathed his blade. "Looks like they're members of the royal convoy from earlier."
"How can you tell?" Naoto asked as the knights and their horses started to come into easier view.
"Their armored plating has a bit of a shine to it that you can easily see if it's reflecting off of the sunlight," the Reaper explained. "Also, looks like that prince character's riding in the lead."
"...Just don't say anything that'd get us all branded criminals... please?" Eric begged. Ragna rolled his eyes and promised nothing. Eventually the prince and his four knight escorts made their way before the traveling group.
"The Blue Flamed Man," Prince Dante acknowledged, using the nickname that Ragna was quickly starting to despise. "I wasn't expecting us to see each other so soon after the Trudalla ball last knight."
"Well, you did pass us on the road a few hours back," Ragna told him non-chalantly. "So what brought you back this way?"
"I'd been told of bandits attacking stray travelers along the country roads by the bartender at the inn up the road," the prince explained. "I decided to come back here with my men to see if we could put a stop to the brigands' nefarious ways, but it seems you beat us to it. On behalf of my father and the rest of the kingdom, you have our thanks."
"Keep your thanks; they were in the way," Ragna told him, earning a scowl from the mounted knights and a few of his friends as well.
"Well then, will gold be a more satisfactory reward?" the prince asked refinedly.
"...It'd help," Ragna admitted before a low groan was heard from the bandit leader at his feet. "This one's still alive, he's all yours if you want him."
"A lead to his hideout, that would indeed be useful," Dante agreed as his knights dismounted and surrounded the man with their weapons pointed at his throat, save for one which harshly thrust a bag of coins into Ragna's hands. "You're welcome to accompany me to take care of the rest if you wish, I'm sure your skills with a blade would be most beneficial to our fight."
"Sorry, but I'm going to need to hurry if I'm going to make it to Fortune's Step by nightfall, and unlike you I don't have horses," Ragna told them.
"Understood, but still unfortunate. I was truly looking to see how you skills with the sword compare to my own. They must have aided you dearly when you saved the city of Liette from those monsters."
Ragna didn't say anything, but a quick glance to Naoto told him that their youngest member was still deeply scarred by what he'd seen in the attack in on his city and the butchering in the goblin cave. Ragna figured this wasn't anything that'd go away anytime soon, and the last thing the kid needed was someone to remind him of what happened.
"If it's all the same to you, I'd rather not get into that right now," Ragna told him before looking to the fearful bandit that had managed to recover. "'Sides, it looks like you've got enough on your plate as is."
"...Point enough, perhaps I'll see you at the Inn later with my sister," Dante offered. Ragna didn't say anything, rather giving a passive nod as he headed off with his siblings down the road.
"Are you trying to pick a fight with the royal family, you idiot!?" Eric hissed once they were a good distance away.
"For once; no," Ragna told them, confusing them slightly as they didn't realize he was referring to his last life. "Come on, he didn't even look that upset."
"And what if he had been?" Emily demanded in agreement with Eric. "Those knights could have been ordered to take your head off and then what, you'd fight against the crown and kingdom?"
"Ragna doesn't..." their young half-elf began. "Submit... to anyone."
"Well... that's true," Eric had to agree. "But this is different than getting on Ruth's bad side or even the Mutsuki family. You become an enemy of the crown you're an enemy of everyone! And we're stuck with you!"
"Alright, alright, I'll try to be a little more discreet," Ragna promised. "Just don't expect me to kiss any asses."
"Language," Emily told him before looking at Naoto.
"...Sorry kid," Ragna muttered.
Meanwhile, back with Dante and the Knights, the rather quick interrogation was already starting to wrap up.
"So, just to summarize events to make sure we aren't forgetting anything; there are about twenty more of you bandits with in a hide out a few leagues to the east where we'll find your real leader... is that right?"
"I wouldn't lie yer highness, not right now fer certain," the bandit said with fright as sword and spear tips hovered all too close to his neck.
"I know you wouldn't," Dante said as he towered over him. "And of your... captives, what can you tell us about them?"
"We... we have a merchant family in the cells," the bandit admitted. "The boss is holding 'em 'til their guild pays their ransom... but we never touched 'em! I swear to the seven!"
"I'll believe your words when I see them," Dante said before nodding to one of the knights that who ran his lance through the back of the bandit's neck. The bandits gurgled in pain as the spear point sprouted out of his throat causing blood to flow freely from the fatal wound. His eyes were wide with agony and his hands tried to claw helplessly at the spear's point. It wasn't long before he fell to the ground with a sound thud, blood still leaking out as he lie. "And good riddance to a worthless man."
"My lord, should we not return to the Inn for additional forces?" one of the knights questioned. "If this man was telling the truth in his final moments, this bandit group may be of considerable force. "Should we not hurry back and-"
"A waste of time; we don't need additional guards or my sister," Dante told the knight with clear authority in his tone. "The last thing I want is for her to be involved with this mess that I can easily handle myself."
"As. you wish," the guard said as the knights mounted the horses and rode of once more, this time looking for the bandit hideout.
'If my sister is involved with this in even the slightest, she'll take some of the credit that's meant for me,' Dante thought with a scowl as his force road off. 'I'll show the people who their real 'King' is... I'll show them with results no stupid tournament could ever dissuade.'
Later -Fortune's Step Inn-
"...Is it just me or does this look like a problem?" Eric asked as Fortune Step Inn finally stood before them. Surrounding the building were several carts and wagons of the and a large collection of campfires set up by the merchants and other travelers. Despite the large amount of people outside, the inside of the inn still sounded like it was bustling with business with laughter and music as the sun set off in the horizon. The royal convoy's cart was also positioned outside with a few soldiers guarding it.
"Problem," Silvana agreed to Eric's earlier comment.
"Might as well find out what's going on," Emily told the others, leading them towards one of the campfires. The men surrounding it looked like they could pass for farmers from Ragna's home village with their ripped clothing and dirty bodies. "Excuse us, but what's going on?"
"Princess of the Kingdom's here, that's what," one of the men told her. "Prince was here too, but way I hear it he head back west for something, gods know what. Anyways, all of the rooms are taken up by the soldiers."
"Damn knights won't even let us go inside to eat because they're insisting they're protecting the heirs of the kingdom," another man at the fire complained. "But we know what it really is, they just want to eat and drink without having to deal with us common folk."
"You can't even eat?" Naoto asked with worry. Ragna's group might've had rations on them for their trip on the road, but they already eaten part of their stock on the road and what was left would hardly make a meal.
"Not unless you've got some waiting to be cooked, which only a few of us do," a third man sighed. "Damn, and here I was hoping to get a good meal and a good night's sleep before heading south in the morning."
"Wait, you're heading south?" Ragna questioned earning skeptic gazes from the men. "Our home village is that way, what's going on?"
"It's yer village that we're headed to, sellsword," one of the men said, guessing at Ragna's occupation. "We're all builders by trade; walls, houses, shops, it doesn't matter; setting them up is our life's work."
'Ruth was saying about building something before I left the village,' Ragna thought as he remembered... well just a few days ago really. 'What the hell's he trying to pull?' Noticing the concerned gazes from Emily and Eric the Reaper decided that they should probably try to get back as quickly as they could. "We're actually headed the same direction as you, any room in your cart?"
"It'll be a tight fit, but if you've got a fair offer us, we'll make it work for you," one of them told the group.
"How about protection along the road?" Ragna offered.
"Well, that might work, trips along the roads have been more treacherous as of late," one of the builders admitted. "But, are you really sure that you can handle yourself?"
"Better than any one inside there could," Ragna said as he gestured to the inn.
"...The princess of the realm's inside that inn," one of the farmers decided to remind. "Someone's who's supposed to 'ave practiced combat all 'er life, just so she can win the Holly Horizon against the rest of her kingdom."
"That's Holy Horizon and I was including her too," Ragna said passively, not as a brag but as a fact. "Plus we've got Eric with his axes, Emily with her bow, and Silv with magic."
"...I guess questionable protection's better than no protection," one of the merchants admitted. "Alright then, you've got yourself a ride in the morning, but you better not oversleep."
"We;re used to hearing that, our last group told us the exact same thing in fact," Eric said as he looked at the campfire. "Mind if we join you?"
"Plenty of fire for everyone, gather round," one of the builders invited and Eric and the others took their places and enjoyed the warmth of the flames... right before a low growl was heard. Surprised, everyone turned to Naoto who had a sheepish blush on his face. "Sorry kid; food's one of things we don't have much of."
"...Let's see if I can change that," Ragna muttered as he headed towards the door.
"Don't kill us!" Eric shouted yet again, leading Ragna to roll his eyes. The Reaper then made his way to the front door and entered the inn. "Dang... He always has to go and start trouble like this..."
"Well what else do you expect? I mean it's Ragna after all, I doubt whatever power he has is going to change him from that kid that we knew in his youth," Emily reminded. "He's completely in a world of his own."
'More like a league of his own,' Eric said as he thought back to their first fight. 'I'm still trying to figure out how to use the crossbow I got from Emily after Zeus's lessons, so the best I can do is try to keep up with Ragna on the front lines but...' Eric then remembered that he'd manage to hold Ragna back, but that was because his friend had been greatly weakened. 'Am I... slowing him down?'
Inside the Inn, said Reaper closed the door behind him and took a good look at his surroundings. Like he'd expected there were soldiers sitting around the several tables of the Inn sitting around drinking, laughing at crude jokes, and gorging themselves on the food without a care in the world. Ragna also noticed that they were a couple of bards performing music and serving girls being hit on by the soldiers that weren't here last time. Either the convoy had brought servants with them, or there was a select group that they had insisted that could join them. He also saw Heathson Stonejaw's dwarven daughter, Grenda, serving drinks to the soldiers... while a full beard upon her face for some reason.
'Funny, it didn't look like she was growing a beard when I saw a few days ago,' Ragna thought to himself before shaking his head. 'Whatever, that's not the point here. I need to find Heathson or one of his sons and try to get some food.'
"Hey! You!" a guards voice shouted from one of the tables. Ragna let out a groan as he looked to the glaring soldier while the rest of the merrymaking around them continued. "We already told the lot of you to sleep outside! This is the kingdom's bossiness here!"
"Figured as much, just let me pay for some food and I'll be out of your way," Ragna told him nonchalantly as he headed for the front desk. As soon as he'd taken a couple of steps forward, he saw several soldiers moving in and surrounding him. "Now what?"
"All of us here are to guide and guard the prince and princess of the realm and protect them against the dangers of the country road," one of the more sober soldiers told the Reaper and he placed his hand on his sword pommel.
"Yeah, you're real ready for an attack against the princess," Ragna sarcastically mocked, right as one of the guards fell from out of the chairs to the floor, passed out drunk. "Take that guy for example, he's someone who's on the job."
"...You're interfering with Royal Business," the more sober one told the Reaper as several other placed their hands on their sword pommels. "Either you leave here or you'll be charged with treason against the kingdom and crown."
"...Tch, guess I'll go hunting then," Ragna muttered as he headed towards the door.
"Hold just a moment," came a new voice that Ragna had heard only once before. Turning to face the newcomer, Ragna found himself looking at the form of Princess Esther. Currently the potential heir to the throne had changed out of the royal attire Ragna had seen her wearing at the ball and was now wearing a maroon brown traveler's shirt and cloak along with white pants and a pair of leather shoes. "I did not know that you were headed this way."
"...Came across your brother on the road," Ragna told her without any regard to a formal address, earning him a sword at his throat.
"When speaking to Princess Esther, you'll conduct yourself with the respect she deserves or pay the price, peasant," one soldier told him, only to realize a moment later how much Ragna was truly towering over him and how little he felt in his shadow with those glowing blue eyes glaring at him.
"That's quite enough; I'm speaking to him," the princess told of her guard. The man grimaced before shakily pulling his blade away from Ragna's throat. "Now that my guard's display of force is over, I'd like for you to join me upstairs. My guest and I were just about to dine on our supper before moving on and enjoying a spot of freshly brewed tea, I'd very much like to dine with another Holy Horizon contender."
'Another contender's here? Is it someone from the ball, or someone else?' Ragna thought in his mind. 'Doesn't matter; it's not what I'm here for.' "Sorry, but tea would be wasted on someone like me." His declination did not sit well with the guards, who all moved their hands back to their weapons pommels, some of them carrying a elderitch sound as they were touched to signal the blades were enchanted. Ragna gave an exasperated sigh. "That again? I already showed you the first time that it's not going to work."
Esther stared at Ragna the curiosities of the man perplexing her the more she saw of him. Never had she seen a man or woman decline her invitation unless it specifically went against her father's orders, and even then many of them would make promises to see her soon after. There wasn't such case here, as the man before her proved easily that not only did her invitation come across as only that, he was also far from intimidated by her sizable force of guards that could pressure him into accepting the offer.
"Well, that won't do, I'm rather adamant on dining with you," the princess said to him, something in the sweetness of her voice seeming rather off putting to Ragna. "Tell me, is there something that's preventing you from joining us?"
'Is she trying to cut a deal with me? It sounds like it...' Ragna then looked around at the several knights that were still surrounding him. "...It's hard for anyone to eat in this Inn with the soldiers taking up all of the tables."
"...I see," the princess said before turning to the soldiers. "Let those outside into the Inn, there's no reason to leave them to starve, especially if they can pay for their food."
"B-but milady-!" one of the the soldiers exclaimed. "Our position here is to protect you at all costs!"
"Indeed, but I'd think you'd be able to keep me safe even if you let the common people into only the first floor of this building... if you're doing your jobs properly." No soldier dared to speak against Esther's words a few of them did try to shoot nasty looks at the Reaper as they began piling out of the Inn. "Now then so called Blue Flamed Man, if you would?"
'A deal goes both ways, looks like it's time to keep my part,' Ragna thought as he followed the princess upstairs. "Mind calling me Ragna though; those titles are starting to get old real fast."
Upstairs -Main Guest Room-
'Her? Really?' Ragna thought to himself with ire as he entered Esther's room. Sitting at the table already was Tsubaki Yayoi, dressed in the same classic garb Ragna had seen her wearing at the ball the night prior. Tsubaki seemed surprised to see him once more as she sat at the clothed table before them. Esther made her way over to the table and a maid helped pull her chair out to help he become seated.
Taking a closer look at the maid in question, Ragna could see that she was quite clearly an elf; a full one as evident by her large and fully pointed ears as opposed to Silvana's much softer ones. Her hair was a striking sky blue, done up into a bun on her head which was covered by a white maid's cloth. Her eyes were a powerful and deep amber which seemed to be void of much emotion. Based on a her height and figure, Ragna could guess that she was in her mid twenties... in human terms.
"If our guest would give his arm and coat, I'd be happy to take them," an emotionless voice said. Its owner was a butler wearing well made spectacles. He appeared human, but something about him told Ragna he wasn't a normal person. His shounen style hair was as black as midnight and soft as silk while his green eyes looked cold as ice and calculated as a scholar. "Your coat and sword, please?" Ragna didn't offer him either.
"Oh, leave him be Reginald; I doubt he's holding onto them simply to be discourteous," Esther said from the table. "Please sit down, I think our food will be brought soon."
With the Butler giving him a small bow of apology and the maid holding Ragna's chair out so he could be seated, Ragna already felt like he didn't belong here. But he also knew that he'd have to uphold his part of the deal so that the others could get their food, so he decided he'd have to grin and bear it... well the second one at least. The Reaper then took his seat at the table, assisted by the young maid.
"Thanks," he told her. The maid didn't say anything to him, merely curtsying without any emotion on her face.
"Don't mind Cinder, she's never been on to emote at all in the time I've known her since I was a babe," Esther told him, Ragna didn't say anything in response. "I hope that you can at least try to be a little livelier; between you, Tsubaki, the servants, and my brother I've felt as if I've spent the entire day at a morgue."
"I'm terrible at small talk, and I don't really know much about what royalty is interested in," Ragna admitted.
"Then maybe you could tell me about your travels thus far?" Esther asked him. "Between your victory in Trudalla's Holy Horizon qualifier matches and your rescue of the... I'm sorry, Tsubaki told me that it was a subject that you'd rather avoid talking about."
'Why the hell does Liette have to keep coming up?' Ragna thought to himself with clear annoyance. "Well what about you then?"
"Me?" Esther asked. "What could you possibly want to know about me?"
"I dunno, I'm just trying to get a conversation started," Ragna muttered. "It beats eating in silence I guess."
"...Tsubaki was right; you are an odd one," the princess said as she examined Ragna. Tsubaki herself blushed with slight guilt, but Ragna simply waved it off (as he also knew it to be true). "Well if you must know, I've lived in the capital with my brother all of my life and I've been training for this tournament since I my fourth year. I've had countless teachers over the years including my own mother to teach me her magic arts... though I doubt I'm half as skilled in light magic as anyone from the Yayoi house."
"I-I'm sure you could give most of the family a strong challenge milady," Tsubaki tried to tell the young royal somewhat nervously.
"Maybe, but I suppose that will have to wait until the third round of the tournament," Esther said right before the door to the bedroom was opened. A few additional maids entered carrying trays of food and set them upon the table. Looking at the food offered, they were given a bowl of hot soup each along with a loaf of bread and a goblet filled with crimson wine. As the maids parted, the princess raised her goblet, leading Tsubaki and (eventually) Ragna to do the same. "To the Holy Horizon and to the kingdom."
"...Cheers," Ragna agreed, trying hard to hide the reluctance in his tone. The three then drank their wine (which had a rather dry taste to it) before setting them down and beginning the meal in earnest. It was a good meal, Ragna though, but the Reaper knew that he could personal do better. As Ragna was eating he noticed that Esther hadn't begun yet and was casting a strange looking spell that created a large magic sigil over her food. "...You can use magic to add spices?"
"Is that what you think I'm doing?" Esther asked with something of a whimsical smile. "I guess you're not as well versed in magic as I thought you were. Tsubaki, what sort of spell is this?"
"Judging by the magic sigil and it's use, it's clearly either a Poison Detection spell or a Poison Removal one... My guess goes to removal, considering the skill of the caster."
"Exactly, I'm checking my food just to make sure that I can eat without any fear of an assassination attempt on my life," the princess told him with a smile on her face. "Wouldn't want anything bad to happen to a possible heir to the throne would we?"
'Seriously, why is this chick smiling at me so much?' Ragna thought to himself with agitation as the maids exited the room. "Can I ask you something?"
"Haven't you already?" the princess asked him.
"Funny," the Reaper muttered. "Why are you bothering with me in the first place?"
"...Bothering with you?" the princess asked, the sweet smile still upon her face. "I'm afraid I don't have any idea what you're talking about. You're a member of the Holy Horizon's current contenders; talking with you is certainly well worth my time."
'Soon as I'm out though, who'd bother?' Ragna thought to himself as the door opened to the bedroom once more. 'Now what?'
"Men and Women of Trudarian! Your prince has returned!" came the triumphant call of the returned Dante. His armor appeared to have a few stains of blood on it, but given his attitude and the condition of the armor it was easily apparent that it wasn't his. "The bandits have been eliminated, the roads are safe once more, and a family's been rescued from certain peril."
'Someone's excited,' Ragna muttered to himself as he didn't bother looking up from his meal. 'I swear to god, this Dante guy has to be one of the biggest showboats out there.'
Meanwhile in Another Reality
A whiskered silver haired and red coated man gave a moment of pause as he glanced around at the countless bladed rag dolls that surrounded him in the Vatican styled streets of the city. Something didn't rub him the right way and it didn't have anything to do with the foes that stood before him. After a moment he didn't care and he brought out his skeleton-hilt claymore.
"C'mon, I thought you all wanted a piece of me. With all of the attention you've been giving to the kid, I've been starting to feel a little left out," the demon hunter taunted with a shit-eating grin upon his face as the monsters leaped toward him with their rusted arm and leg blades ready to pierce his flesh. "LET'S ROCK BABY!"
Back to Ragna
'What's with this ominous feeling I'm getting?' Ragna thought before shaking it off himself. 'It's probably nothing...' That's when he noticed that the prince didn't appear to have taken his eyes off of him as he took his seat at the table. "...What?"
"I didn't expect to find you here," Dante told him. "Then again I suppose I did extend the invitation while we were on the road, Blue Flamed Man."
"Actually, he asked if we could stop calling him by that name," Esther told her brother. "Apparently he likes the title less than we thought he would."
"Is that right?" Dante asked with intrigue as he seated himself at the table. "Odd, but I don't suppose you'd like to be referred to as Boar Killer either, would you?"
"Not in the slighes- Wait, how the hell did you find out about that?" Ragna asked with annoyance.
"The owner of this place told us about an odd little story when I asked him about a strange wall piece made from four large tusks that I saw on the wall. He told me a story about a young foolish warrior that managed to go out in the dead of night and slay the beast when a full group of hunters could not. He called the character Boar Killer, and the description matched you perfectly. Although..."
"What is it?" Ragna asked with a sigh.
"His description of you made you seem just a bit... shorter," Dante told him. "Maybe those rumors I heard about you from the Trudalla priests were more grounded in reality than I'd thought... though I've never seen magic act this way before."
'Damn those priests; they just couldn't keep their traps shut,' the Reaper thought to himself as he grit his teeth. 'Now I'm on the whole kingdom's radar... They're just going to keep their eyes on me and...'
"At least the ability went to someone like him."
"Eh?" In all of his years between both of his lives, never had Ragna considered that any version Tsubaki, the woman that had blamed every misfortune that had happened to her friends and the world itself on his very existing, was actually coming to his defense... and against royalty.
"Well, I mean he did show that he's quite able; he did manage to defeat Kagura Mutsuki in single combat," Tsubaki tried to explain, a small blush on her face from having to explain her reasoning to the prince and princess. "Also... I know you don't like to talk about it, but Ragna did run to save Liette when he first heard news of the attack... it was thanks to him that anyone was able to be saved."
"...You don't need to make a big deal of it, I was just in the right place at the right time," Ragna told her. He was about to continue eating, before he noticed that Esther was giggling to herself for some reason. "Um... Am I missing something here?"
"No, no, I'm just relieved that not all men are like my brother; you at least don't try to gorge yourself on honor and titles, in fact you're quite the opposite," Esther said as she giggled just a little more, leaving Ragna confused if she was making fun of him or not.
'Keep laughing sister,' Dante thought to himself as he began eating. 'Soon I'll have the only title worth owning in this kingdom. And where will that leave you to be whimsical?'
Later -Princess Bedroom-
"Shame that The Blue- I mean, that Ragna had to leave so early, I had no idea a man of common birth could be so interesting," Esther thought to herself as she undid the covers of her bed and slid beneath the sheets. "Tch, these roadside beds are always so coarse... Tell me Cinder, what did you think of him?"
"...He's a problem," the elf said, finally speaking. "The way he carries himself is far too casual and relaxed, more so that it's in your company. Although..."
"Although what?" the princess asked, seeming interested in her maid's analysis.
"He did seem somewhat agitated when he saw the Yayoi heir," Cinder noted. "Almost like he had a history with the woman..."
"I can't imagine that he did, their homes are nowhere near each other and Tsubaki herself insisted that they had never met before... unless they have a relationship that transcends beyond their times. A love that exist beyond their mortal bodies!" There was a bright twinkle in the princesses eye as she thought about this possibility.
"Well done milady," Cinder complimented emotionlessly. "You quite nearly had me fooled."
"...Liar, you didn't fall for it for a moment," Esther said as she laid her head upon her pillow. "His magic..."
"Is still only the thing of rumors so far highness," Cinder told her master as she blew out the candles. "I will awaken you in the morning when we depart. Pleasant dreams princess." With that the elf left the room and left the princess alone in the darkness.
"...I still want it... all of it..."
Author's Note POLL INCLUDED VERY IMPORTANT
Hey guys, finally got this story updated. Now for the poll... which might leave a couple of people upset, but we'll see.
So full disclosure, in the next few chapters after Ragna returns to his home village I was planning on leaving Emily and Eric there so that I could have more focus on Ragna rather than the OC's I've written in. I've always felt like the focus on this adventure should be on Ragna's part of his travels, but I feel like having him take his group along limits his options. What's also certain so far is after I have him take Silvana to the Mage Guild in the north, I'm going to have them split up as well. These characters won't be completely out of the story since Ragna's left them, but they won't have nearly as much screen time.
So here's what the poll's on: Should Eric and Emily have gone with Ragna in the first place or should they have stayed in the Village? It's a fair question and I feel like I'd sort of be stretching some logic if they gave up traveling with him after only a couple of days. Would it make more sense if I simply left them home at the village and they'd be there to greet Ragna next chapter?
At my story's current state it wouldn't be too hard to enact this change. I'd have to remove their involvement from the story from the ending of Blue 1 and beyond (which was so little that it's kind of the reason I'm doing this) and have Silvana take up the majority of the events like his dance with Emily at the ball (she was only behind by three votes in that poll in the first place) and I could go into the two of them having a more in depth duel after Zeus's training. I could even easily have the merchant Jonathan take care of Silvana or Naoto in almost all of the scenes where they're separated by Ragna or Naoto.
Next chapter would even play out very similar to the story thus far; Ragna returns to his village with Naoto and Silvana while Emily and Eric can react anew to the changes from Ragna's body (there WAS a point to that) and I'd be able to introduce them to Naoto on a much different note.
It's a pretty big change, but Ragna, the environment, and his discovery of the main BlazBlue cast is the main focus of this fic in the first place. The others were always sort of just... tagging along. It'll be easier just to give them more screen time whenever I have Ragna return to his home village from his travels (basically I'll have their relationship growths tied to the village itself).
Anyways the poll will be up until November the 10th and then I'll post a new chapter for another story on the 17th before coming back to fix this if people desire the changes.
Take care everyone!
Ciao!
