I wonder what HiddenXEmotion will think about this chapter...It was a pain in the bum to write down since I was making major tweaks in this! It didn't really help that I had other things going on.
Oh, well, I hope what few followers and readers I have here enjoy this nonetheless.
...Which reminds me, I REALLY need to get a cover picture in here for this story. Maybe that can grab more attention...
Whatever. Enjoy!
I own nothing of FF2 except my OCs.
Read, leave me a review, but no flames allowed!
Chapter 14: Crossing Paths with Failure
When the first light of morning had at last arrived in the town of Altair, the atmosphere of the entire town was quite tense; although it was understandable since word about the potentially destructive power of the airship Dreadnought was certainly something to be truly feared in the world. Already there were whispers among the people with the streets and in the base of the Wild Rose on what manner of deadly weapons might be used against them when the storm of evil rolls in across the sky.
On the part of Telma, though, what she wanted to know is what kind of machine this thing might be since she's never seen airships before, let alone something so colossal that it could easily strike fear into the weak-minded just by mentioning its name aloud in public. Perhaps when they arrive in Bafsk, she might have the chance to see what this thing is like face-to-face. Still, the only thing that hampered such a nerve-wracking anxiety is the dread of what will happen when the party encounters the Dark Knight and General Tristan; something about the two just gives her negative vibes about the whole situation, especially with the latter…
"It's a long way to Bafsk, considering the terrain and all of that. You're probably gonna need a ride all the way there."
Quickly, she snapped back into reality when Mingzhu suddenly said something important.
"Wait, what are we gonna need?" Telma asked.
"You'll find out when we get outside," Minwu answered without looking at her.
None of the young recruits had the faintest idea on what the two siblings were talking about regarding their mode transport until they were led inside a stable located a ways outside of the base. That is, until Minwu opened the door and led them into a stable housing a handful of large, yellow feathered bird creatures with large beaks. Naturally, all four of them were quite surprised at the sight of the fantastic birds that were being cared for and trained in their mobility.
"What are those things?" Maria asked in fascination.
"We call these big cuties chocobos," Mingzhu answered proudly. "These big birds are some of the best beasts we've ever cared for since who knows when. They'll be serving as your mounts on your trip to Bafsk, so when you get there, be really careful."
"Really? We'll be riding these all the way to Bafsk?" Firion was surprised at this, considering he had hardly ever ridden a chocobo in his life.
Nikolas, on the other hand, wasn't too thrilled at this. "Oh, man, I know I'm going to get thrown off their backs more times than I've been thrown into the sea by storms…"
"They not bad. Respect chocobo," Guy insisted.
While Nikolas tried to make an argument about the huge birds, Telma simply stared at the yellow birds with amazement at the creatures. She couldn't believe that she was seeing such things up close and personal, especially since she had never seen such creatures like these before…at least, she thinks so.
"Minwu, how far can these chocobos really go?" Telma couldn't help asking.
"Given how far Bafsk is in comparison to other locations, they will help us reach our destination in nearly half the time," Minwu replied as he readied his mount.
"Believe it, girl. These fellas can certainly make travel much easier than you did the last few times," Mingzhu agreed. "Though, given your situations, you'd better hurry if you wanna keep more lives from being destroyed by those bastards."
"I couldn't agree more on that. We've come this far, so we can't stop and fidget our thumbs now," Firion agreed as he hopped on board one.
Despite her eagerness to end the war like her friends, Telma couldn't shake off the feeling that something was completely wrong about their situation. And no, it's not that she was growing scared; it was more of uneasy, as though they were playing into someone else's hands and heading into something dangerous. Why do I keep getting his notion that something's out of place here? We have a potential advantage against our enemy, but I keep thinking that something has been set up, Telma thought. There's no way they'd know we were on our way to destroy the Dreadnought…is there?
"General, I've just received our reports from our scouts."
Tristan looked from the blueprints on the desk when he heard that he had just been announced, making him wonder what could be important at this hour. Though, he had a feeling that what information will be given will not be anything new for him.
"What is it?" he asked, getting to the point.
"Our scouts have indicated that the rebels have taken the bait, and are sending a party to Bafsk in an attempt to destroy the Dreadnought," the messenger explained. "We have reason to believe that it's the small group of escapees we thought we'd cut down, along with the white wizard under the service of the princess."
Tristan sighed, knowing that the trap is succeeding. "I see. Anything else I need to know?"
The messenger hesitated a moment before continuing. "There's also something else, General. Our scouts have also confirmed that the look-alike has been spotted among the rebel party sent to Bafsk. Shall we prepare an ambush for her?"
That settled it for Tristan. Now that he knows the emperor's plans to set a trap had begun to succeed and that the small party that caused trouble previously was one its way to attempt a futile sabotage, this was his opportunity to meet their adversaries face-to-face and let them know who they are dealing with. Not to mention, since their Telma was on her way as well, this was his chance to see her personally and – if his suspicions and evidence is indeed correct – he'll be able to regain what he had almost lost two years before; the emperor would certainly be pleased to have her back in Palamecia.
"You needn't concern yourself with this matter. I'll see that those imbecilic rebels realize the error of their ways myself," Tristan said as he got up to take arms, "As for the girl, let me worry about it. I know who it could be, and I want to see her face once more before I do anything to those fools who have her under their thumbs."
The messenger bowed swiftly. "As you wish, General. I'll let the commander know of the situation as well."
As soon as the messenger had left to inform Leon (even though only Tristan knows that they only know him as the Dark Knight) about the rebels, the old knight picked up his weapons in preparation for a potential fight if things get out of hands. But he knew that there might not be a need for that, considering how he knows that the airship was just about ready to take flight as soon as there is the possible indication of completion within the machine itself.
Besides, he was more concerned about fulfilling his own agenda. It gave him shivers just knowing that the one thing he wanted most was almost within his grasp. But he had to keep it in line until he crossed paths with the rebels who have dared to make an opposition against his illustrious emperor…
True to the words of the white magic users, the chocobos proved to be quite the valuable transports and were able to cut back their travels on foot by about a half; by the time they got to the entrance to the town of Bafsk, it was already starting to reach sunset and night could be upon them at any moment. But since there were indications of Imperial soldiers keeping watch around the area, they had to be careful not to draw too much attention to themselves unless they wanted to ask for a death wish against the guards overseeing the construction.
Telma could easily notice with the townsfolk that nobody was too thrilled with these oppressive overseers hovering around the entire area like gathered clouds about to storm at any moment, and there were even some that had never left their homes for reasons only they would know. It hurt her to see everyone feeling like this, especially since she knew that there are certain individuals that were far from human in their behavior. It made her dread what would become of the place if the war kept going on like this; plenty of kingdoms and cities had been either decimated or captured and forced into overbearing services that nobody would ever want to be involved with, let alone a slave to the vilest wretches that walk the earth.
"This is just too cruel…I hate to think of how everyone feels about watching a machine of war be made before their eyes," Maria suddenly spoke grimly.
"Those vile monsters…It'd make my day if I could cut them down just as they tried to do so to us," Firion agreed bitterly.
"I certainly understand your anger for these sinners, but you must understand that they are not as mindless as we think they are," Minwu reminded them, "They are under the command of someone who had to be as intelligent as he is powerful. That's the only reason I can make on why these fiends are well coordinated."
Telma shook her head sadly. "That does sound vaguely familiar…but I wish I could recall what it is exactly. It's rather unsettling to be moving along when we know that these creeps are lurking about."
"Guy sees airship… Too imposing, reeks of malice," Guy commented, "Trouble brewing…be careful."
"Oh, man, I'm really starting to hate this right now," Nikolas growled, "I'd like to get out of here as soon as we can."
Carefully, the group stopped at the nearby inn and had their chocobos set up so that they can continue their business on foot. When they did set foot, a few of the folks have noticed them and warily watched them as though they weren't sure whether or not they're friend or foe.
"Could you kindly spare some water and greens for our mounts?" Minwu requested politely.
That helped ease the tension at the moment when one of the stable boys came out to tend to the chocobos.
But then, as this was happening, an elder man peek his head out from the stables to see what was going on and – when nobody else was paying attention – caught notice of Telma, who was simply waiting for any other notifications on what they'll do now. But then, upon realizing that someone was watching, she turned to see the old man and saw him have an expression of déjà vu like she saw previously with Josef.
"You…haven't I seen you years before?" he asked nervously.
Telma quickly felt uncomfortable. "No…I-I don't think so. Excuse me…"
Hastily, she turned away and shuffled herself closer to her friends, not wanting to draw too much attention to herself. Firion noticed this, and turned to her in concern.
"Is there something wrong, Telma?" he asked.
"Not really…but can we get moving quickly? I just want to get this over with and get out of here," she answered vaguely.
Minwu took note of what was making Telma uneasy and caught on where it was going. "Let's keep going. But be careful, and don't let the soldiers see you too openly."
Cautiously, the party moved through the streets to search for any possible clue as to where their infiltrating spy could be and how they're going to reach the Dreadnought. It didn't really help that as they moved further into the streets, more soldiers could be seen giving out orders to their subordinates as they kept moving to try and keep up with the construction going on far ahead of the town.
As they did, though, there were a couple whispers of different topics coming from the soldiers passing around the area. Not many were worth listening to, but there were a couple that didn't miss the rebels' ears.
One of them had to do with their irritation on Borghen:
"…I swear, no one wants to work under Borghen."
"You're telling me. The thought of doing anything for his precious 'glory' makes me sick to my stomach."
But another matter stuck out to the four Fynn refugees:
"Where do you suppose the General has gone off to? Has he found anything noteworthy?"
"Last I checked, he got proof that his child is alive, but has not been found so far. He's been getting pretty desperate, far as I'm concerned."
"Maybe the Dark Knight will help him complete his objective so that the General can rest easier than he normally would."
"Who knows?"
This didn't exactly sit well them, forcing them to quicken pace and finish the job as soon as possible. Even their thieving friend's pacing increased as though he can't tolerate being around the people he loathes for another hour and wants to get out of there right now.
Along the way through town, Telma actually got the chance to notice a repulsive figure in the middle of the square trying to bark orders that don't seem to register with everyone else in the area. The impression she got was that this person looked like a disgusting pig in the shape of a tubby man, warts and porky face and all, and even the fancy garments of black and gold doesn't reduce the ugliness in the slightest. That man must the one they call Borghen…No wonder nobody likes him, Telma thought while making a repulsed frown.
In fact, she could easily hear him barking, "Get back to work! Work, I say! If we finish a day sooner, my glory will be that much greater!"
Man, she couldn't believe that this pig was once someone from Fynn who then turned traitor just to save his own skin. It sickened her just to think that he only got involved with the Empire because he wanted to gain glory, whatever that means! She didn't even want to think of how he treats everyone besides the common folk…
Firion apparently sensed her repulse and gently pulled her along to help her turn away from the sight.
"Just keep going, Telma. Don't pay any attention to him," he instructed her quietly.
She nodded in agreement and kept moving as she was supposed to.
But then, someone's muttering was heard from behind an alleyway. "It's hard to believe Borghen came here in Bafsk a short while ago. Things have gotten much easier than they were under the Dark Knight and General Tristan. It's hard to believe a bumbling idiot like Borghen could become a general in the imperial army!"
Everyone looked around the corner to find a peculiar individual standing there all alone; at first glance, the four youths thought it was another one of the soldiers having a moment alone to secretly bash the person who's come to substitute the actual overseers. But thankfully, the white wizard's clearing his throat gave them a different indication, and reminded them that there was someone they were looking for.
The strange soldier jolted in surprise. "Oops! Um, you didn't heart that…"
"It's alright, fellow comrade. We're not against the empire," Minwu whispered.
"Oh, the Wild Rose? Aha! So you're one of us," the soldier – who is actually a fellow rebel - said with realization, "I had to be careful of what I did while the Dark Knight and General Tristan were here looking over my shoulder. But the 'great' General Borghen is anything but. He's just a domineering blowhard."
"So we noticed," Maria commented, her face showing obvious disgust.
"We were sent to destroy the Dreadnought, courtesy of you know who," Telma explained briefly.
The disguised rebel nodded. "There's an entrance to the sewers ahead. It's a backway leading to the Dreadnought. Be careful."
"Wow, these guys are making this trip way too easy for my comfort," Nikolas commented.
But then the hidden rebel looked around warily. "If they see us talking, they may start to get suspicious, so I'm outta here. Good luck!"
At the same time their spy made haste to disappear before anyone knew what was going on, the six rebels that came to do their job followed the directions they were given to a pathway into the underground sewers that would lead them to the airship all have come to fear. The one thing that they had to deal with was the fact that – well, since it was a sewer – there was strong indications of age within the dismal environment as well as the possibility that there may be creatures living within the place under the noses of the everyday people.
Unfortunately, it didn't really help that there were not only pesky plant monsters making trouble for them, but there was also the matter of the occasional undead that would come out to try and have them for dinner.
"Ugh! What is it with these monsters and showing up in the worst places?!" Telma growled as she shot a Fire spell at one of the undead.
"If you wanna blame someone, why don't ya blame the damned emperor and his heartless followers?" Nikolas answered as he raided the hidden chests for loot. "It's always been said that the fiends that were supposed to remain in the hellish world of Pandemonium have ways of coming out due to the wicked souls of the residents of Palamecia, and the royal family is no exception to this."
Minwu raised a brow at Nikolas's comment. "Am I to assume that you know something about Palamecia, given your rather strong comments against them?"
"Oh, you have no idea," the thief replied.
Though it was no walk in the park navigating through the tunnels with the monsters loose, they were nonetheless able to reach the exit to where the Dreadnought would be. Unfortunately, just as the party was about to head up there, a dark figure suddenly emerged and blocked the way to the airship. The figure was clad in blackened armor from head to toe, the helmet obscuring the face of the new stranger who has come to greet them personally; there was no doubt that this person was the Dark Knight that the princess and Mingzhu spoke about back in Altair.
"You're too late! The Dreadnought is completed!" the Dark Knight announced. "The general and I have been working behind the scenes to see the project through to completion." He shook his head, as though he were disappointed at their efforts. "End your resistance. Kneel before your Emperor. It is the only alternative left to you."
"No way in hell we're going to do that!" Firion rebuked bitterly, ready to draw his blade at any moment.
"Is that you should really be saying? You have no idea what you're dealing with, don't you?"
The instant the weary, aged voice came through the hall, Firion and Telma recognized it quickly and looked up to the next person to greet them personally. Immediately, the younger rebels were able to identify the face of General Tristan; though, this time, he seemed to be a bit distant compared to the last time they saw him, most likely because he wasn't interested in wasting any more time stalling the party.
Minwu took note of him and recalled what his sister had mentioned. "You must be General Tristan. My sister mentioned something about you. What is a poor man such as you doing here, and with the empire at that?"
Tristan hardened his gaze at the white wizard for a moment. "What would you know? You don't know what…"
But then, his voice faltered when his gaze shifted over to Telma, who was watching with unnerved eyes at the scene. In an instant, his eyes widened in shock and amazement, as though he had spotted a familiar face that he knew of all too well. The rebels didn't quite understand, but his expression changed from tired and apathetic to relieved and ecstatic toward the girl before his eyes.
"Telma…! Is it you, Telma? It has to be!" Tristan cried out anxiously, "Where have you been those two years ago? And what are you doing with these peasants? You've had me worried for your life after you ran from home, and made me suffer many restless days and nights searching for you." He shook his head, not caring about the details. "You remember your father, don't you? Please, come back home to Palamecia. Oh, what would Mateus think if he saw you again?"
Despite the excitement in the old general's voice and his open arms indicating that he only wanted to be able to hold his lost loved one again, the effects were completely contrary to what anyone would think. Instead of approaching him, it was noticed that Telma instead had a repulsed look on her face and was slowly starting to back away like she was facing a monster instead of a person. Firion, though, quickly caught on that her face strongly indicated a spark of familiarity to the new person…but this time, it was an extremely negative case, as though she didn't want to look at him.
"No…I don't remember you! I don't even know you!" Telma answered in loathing aggravation.
When Tristan heard this, his face changed to a confounded look. "What are you talking about? You're my daughter. Why don't you recognize me?"
Just as he made one step in an attempt to approach her, Telma's agitation increased to the point where she raised her staff against him as though she were intent on threatening him.
"No! Stay away! LEAVE ME ALONE!" she screamed angrily.
In an instant, she conjured a Thunder spell and shot out multiple lightning bolts at Tristan. But when that happened, the Dark Knight immediately pushed the old general back a bit so that the magic spell didn't directly hit him; though the smoldering spots where the bolts hit showed that it was meant to repel the intruder in a violent manner
The aged warrior looked up at her, stunned that Telma attacked him instead of welcoming him; he couldn't understand why that happened.
"My gods…Don't tell me…you don't remember?" he gasped in horror at the discovery. He tried to move forward again. "No, that never happened to you. You're my daughter! My daughter would never forget about her father. I've spent years searching for you, and here you are, behaving as though you loathe me… Why? Why won't you come back to me?"
Firion, not liking where this was going and fearing further catastrophic retaliation from Telma, quickly got in front of her and drew his blade right in front of the general with an angry warning.
"Leave her alone! Telma is not going with you," Firion demanded harshly, ready to fight at a moment's notice.
Maria and Guy followed Firion's lead and got into a defensive position around Telma, ready to protect her together; Minwu and Nikolas, despite the situation, also readied themselves for a possible confrontation against the two black-armored knights when necessary. Surprisingly, the Dark Knight quickly caught on that they were ready to strike if the old general tried to come any closer and made action to avoid the confrontation.
"General, let's depart at once. This isn't the place to confront them," the Dark Knight was able to persuade him.
Though he wanted to protest, Tristan reluctantly complied with the suggestion. "Very well, then. We have work to do anyway…" But then he turned to Firion with a hard gaze. "I'll be seeing you again one day, boy. You'll regret interfering in the matter."
The two knights departed out of the tunnel towards the location of the Dreadnought, but then moments after, the troublesome Borghen made his appearance, fiendishly laughing at the failure of the rebels.
"Heh heh heh…Looks like you came all this way for nothing! Look for yourselves!" Borghen laughed.
"We're too late, it seems," Minwu cursed.
"Okay, can I seriously kill that pig right now?" Nikolas asked, eager to silence the creep.
But it was too late because Borghen also hurried on to catch a ride on board the airship that they've successfully completed in secret.
From outside the exit of the tunnel, everyone watched helplessly as the gigantic airship started up its engines and slowly made a grand ascent into the skies. Seeing the dark armoring of the gigantic warship looming so high in the skies was intimidating enough as it was, but it only got worse when they watched helplessly as the dreaded aircraft disappeared over the mountains to other destinations…but clearly not to simply be passing through.
It wasn't long until the party could hear the disconcerting sound of explosions and fire bellowing from a long distance, barely drowning out the sound of horrifying and painful screams of fear and agony coming from the helpless human lives caught in the midst of the unforeseen chaos that has come to bring torment in the worst ways possible. All of them – to various degrees – couldn't help listening in horror at what went on from afar, but it was the four youths who were terrifyingly shocked the most; if this was the worst the empire could do to countless lives, then they don't stand a chance unless some sort of miracle could come their way.
"We'd best head back to Altair, on the double!" Minwu ordered strongly.
"All those people…I don't want to think about what happened to them during this horrible attack!" Maria's voice was shaky from trauma.
Immediately, everyone retreated back into the tunnels and followed another route back to Bafsk so they can make a run back to Altair; but not without picking up a couple things along the way.
"Hey, those guys left behind some blueprints," Nikolas noticed as he picked up the papers, "And this little scroll looks like some kind of pass onto the Dreadnought."
"We'd better take them with us. Princess Hilda will need to see these papers," Firion suggested, his voice still bearing bitterness.
"Hurry…Return to Altair," Guy urged them, "Princess…White witch…maybe in danger!"
Minwu couldn't agree more on that. "You're right. If anything happens to my sister…"
The white wizard couldn't say anything else, but the tense frown on his face was a strong warning that he was definitely worried for his younger sister's safety. It's one thing to worry about the princess's well-being, but Mingzhu's life was more on a personal level.
Everyone booked it out of the tunnels to find themselves back in the streets of Bafsk; after that, the party hurried to their chocobos and began riding off back to the town of Altair at full haste, not wanting to waste any precious seconds. Along the way, though, they could see just how much destruction the warship has caused to other unfortunate towns that got caught by the powerful firearms used against the defenseless homes and shops of the relatively innocent towns; it was hard for them to imagine the possible number of casualties that were caused by such mass attacks against the world. It certainly brought one difficult question on their minds as they saw the horrific sights: how far was the empire willing to go just to control the world, and to what gain?
As satisfactory as it was that the Dreadnought was able to launch against the rebellion that has been bothering the emperor, that wasn't the major thing on Tristan's mind. His thoughts kept gravitating back to that moment when he finally saw Telma for the first time. He had anticipated the opportunity to have her back, but instead of a warm reception, she demanded him to leave her be. Why was that?
Perhaps Leon was right about her after all…she wouldn't be able to recognize me in her current state, Tristan thought, but then why did she attack me like that? And for that matter, what was that boy doing with her?
"After two years of dreading her fate and fearing for her life, this is what I am rewarded with? A hatred that I cannot understand," Tristan questioned aloud, "As if having my daughter behave so rebelliously years before wasn't troublesome enough… His Majesty will not be pleased to know what happened in Bafsk."
Leon heard this, and turned to him. "I always knew about her amnesia, but that was rather unexpected. But then again, I had a feeling things wouldn't go so well."
"Either way, I know that Telma is alive. I just need to inform his Majesty about this, and find out what can be done to rectify that blunder I just did," Tristan said as he clenched his fists angrily. "I don't want her associating herself with those treacherous snakes that call themselves rebels, and certainly not with that boy who got in the way."
Though Leon had the feeling that the old general might develop a strong loathing for someone who he believes is an obstacle, he was quite sure that taking Telma would not be a simple task. He suspected that the rebels have her under their protection and, for all he knew, someone might've learned about her and had someone keep her under watch for one reason or another.
But how would the rebels have known about her? The only way that would've been possible is if someone among the rebellion – the princess, maybe, or those who are close to her – have somehow learned about it from Firion and the others, and then chose to have her kept with the group she's most familiar with. Then again, the only way any of those he used to know – either Firion or Maria – would've told them everything was if something gave away her position and her problems. Perhaps they were forced to confess, and now Telma had to be kept under constant watch afterwards so that no one can try and capture her? That just might be. How else would that explain the defense of his old family and the two new faces he never knew?
…Still, it internally shocked Leon to find that his sister, Maria, and Firion and Telma and Guy were alive after the hellish attack they experienced. How was it possible for them to live after what happened? Leon was barely lucky to have been alive when he was taken to Palamecia, but even then, he had to deal with being treated as a lowly maggot before Tristan confronted him and recruited him under the orders of the emperor. For him, he didn't see any other way to keep himself alive; it was a necessary evil he had to dive right into.
Given what he's experienced, it made him wonder if there is any way he can convince at least one of them to give up on the foolish rebellion. He had his doubts that Firion and Guy would want to hear him out; that left either Telma or his sister. Surely, one of them would be willing to hear him out, perhaps consider the futility of siding with the Wild Rose…If only…
"Bah! What's an old man like you care about one little girl? She's with those measly little worms, so she should be called a worm as well!"
The instant Leon heard Borghen's rather reckless insult; he turned and was about to warn him not to speak so rudely while the general is around. But apparently, Tristan instantly grew angry at the oaf, grabbed him by his neck, and was just about ready to strangle him if he dared to say another word in his presence; not to mention, it was quite unnerving to see how an old man like him was able to lift the fat pig so easily without too much trouble.
"Don't talk about my daughter that way!" the general growled furiously, "Compared to pigs like you and the monsters I've seen in Palamecia, she is the only true angel in this world."
Borghen, realizing he was on the verge of death, pleaded pathetically, "P…Please, General! I didn't know any better! I'm sorry! I-I…I won't insult her again! I'll gladly hate the rebels any day, but I promise I won't say anything rude about your daughter again! Honest!"
Tristan lowered Borghen to his level and glared at him for a moment. "You'd better not, Borghen. Because if you say one more heartless word against her, you will have to answer to Emperor Mateus about every word you spilled out of your disgusting tongue."
As soon as a nod of understanding was given from the frightened buffoon, the general lowered him down harshly before leaving him to catch his breath from the near-strangulation that he had experienced.
Leon couldn't help staring wide-eyed at just how hard and cruel his own mentor could get at anyone below him. Though, if that was what it took to keep anyone under their command in place, he shouldn't find that too farfetched. It made him convinced that he'd better be careful himself, unless he wanted to die at the general's – or the emperor's – hands.
Tristan let out a deep breath before turning his attention to Leon. "Sorry about that, my boy. It happens to me sometimes. You've no idea how difficult it is to make sure one knows their place…"
"I never thought you'd be that sensitive about any offense on your own child," Leon admitted, a little rattled. "My late father was hardly ever like that with us…"
"Well, when you've been in the service of the royal family as long as I have, then you'd be used to having to be extremely harsh on those under your command," Tristan explained, "But it makes no difference now. We've come this far on the emperor's behalf. As soon as we're done here, we'll have to report to his Majesty about the rebels that we had encountered."
One thing still bothered Leon, though, particularly with something he had said moments ago: he said that his daughter was an angel compared to other people he had known. What did he mean by that?
"General…" Leon hesitated. "Why do you call your daughter an angel?"
The veteran knight turned to him in confusion. "What brought up that question?"
"I don't know…I guess…" But then, he changed his mind so as to find a second opinion later. "Never mind what I asked. It was a rather trivial question anyway."