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Ch.14- "Casual Lies"
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Despite all the risks involved with breaking into a Nohrian palace, Macarath had been a blessing, with Flora and Felicia smuggling them supplies they desperately needed. After weeks of wearing wet, filthy clothes, they were able to find spares and wash their own, though many of the Hoshidans still groused about the Nohrian garb they had to wear, how uncomfortable and constraining it was. Nerr had just been grateful to put on clothes that weren't crusted with dried blood and offal and just disgusting filth in general. After stewing in the putrid combination for so long, she had been unable to notice just how bad she smelled. The day before they were scheduled to leave, Flora had led her through the back halls and ushered her into another room, it's tiled surface almost too bright.
"I thought you might appreciate a proper bath, milady." It had been so long since the princess had even seen a proper bathtub that she had to rub her eyes to convince herself that it was not an illusion. But no, the entire room was filled with warm, sweet-scented steam that wafted around her, coaxing her.
"Is this-? I don't think I should..." Was it really fair for her to indulge in such luxuries while the others had to make do with washbasins? It was funny how she never thought about things like that when she lived in the Northern Citadel; while there were more tubs in the fortress that her servants used, it never occurred to her how people of lower status and less wealth lived. Even though what she had was considered middling for royalty, it was so much more than what most people could dream of... And even though she had even less at the moment, that realization still made her feel very guilty. Perhaps seeing the turmoil behind her mistress's eyes, Flora laid a hand on her shoulder.
"I think you should, milady. This is technically your palace as well, remember?" Nerr laughed weakly, humorlessly.
"Somehow, I doubt Father would agree with you..."
"Then he should not have claimed you as his child. To me, and many others, you will always be the second princess of Nohr. Besides," Her expression darkened slightly, a small frown tugging at the corners of her lips. "You look exhausted. Even worse than you did after your endurance training. I think the reason you're not healing well is because you're too stressed. If you relax a bit, we may be able to do something about that gash on your leg. Not to mention your hair..." She muttered that last part under her breath, though Nerr's keen ears picked it up easily, the acoustics of the room helping greatly.
"What's wrong with my hair?" She reached a hand up, knowing at once that the sight of it was probably driving the blunette woman up a wall. Flora never could stand anything that wasn't neat and tidy- it was part of what made her such a wonderful maid. The sight of the matted, stinking, filthy rat's nest atop the princess's head must have been a thorn in her side. Honestly, though, despite her protests, Nerr was almost desperate to jump into the warm water. The thought of casting off the mantle of being a traitor, a killer, for just a few minutes was too tempting to pass up.
She undid her armor and set it aside, folding her clothes as she removed them as well (though probably not to Flora's exacting standards), and began undoing the bandages on her leg. The bruises had healed a bit more, and her skin was almost back to it's original hue, though the lower portion of her right leg remained blue and scaly. There were a few sporadic patches of navy hide on her left arm as well- it didn't seem like that was ever going to go away. Still, she didn't know what Lilith meant about it being damaging- the thick skin didn't even itch. Deciding she'd think about that later, if ever, the princess dipped her toes in the water for a moment before lowering her entire body into the steamy bath with a slight hiss. She wouldn't be able to stay in very long- she could feel the heat stinging her wounds, almost unbearably so. Breathing through her teeth, she carefully unclipped her hairpin, setting it on the tile behind her. After she was done bathing, perhaps she could scrub the grimy brass as well. Flora approached, carrying a bottle and a comb. She paused, looking down at the hairpin, an odd expression on her face, before it reverted back to her usual, pleasant mien.
"Milady certainly cherishes her belongings..." That had probably been a gentle prod, an invitation to get her to open up a bit more, or perhaps to just get flustered. The maid had always been so good at teasing her over her foolish infatuation with her retainer. But Nerr was in no mood to play that game at the moment.
"Yes." She responded simply, her tone making it clear that the subject was dropped. Flora had also always been good at not pressing her boundaries... She knelt on the tile and began untying the princess's hair. It wasn't exactly tightly bound- she wasn't very deft with hair- but the tangled detritus in it had seemingly glued it in place. Though it tugged, the blunette was very gentle in her ministrations, just as she always had been.
"I'm a bit surprised you managed to take your armor off by yourself. I suppose it's quite a bit simpler than your practice armor, but still. You seem to be growing up, milady." Growing up... even though she was a grown woman, having reached her majority five months ago. Even though she was older than Flora herself (only by a year or so, but still). Surely, that was how everyone had thought of her- as a child. Not that they could be blamed, however- it wasn't as if she had been able to do anything for herself. She couldn't cook or clean, or get dressed or do her own hair, or even leave her home without an escort holding her hand. She had been completely dependent on others until she was forced to take care of herself. Had circumstances not been as they were, she probably still wouldn't know how to put her armor on or take it off without help.
"I had to learn." She replied honestly. "After all, it's not like I could ask someone to take it off for me..."
"Except Jakob." Flora said quickly, almost as a reflex. "Why would you not ask Jakob; that's his duty, after all. Besides, I'm certain he'd flip with joy at the notion of you asking him to help you with such an intimate task..." There was something almost bitter about her voice that Nerr did not understand. Did the other girl perhaps think it untoward for a man to help a woman with her armor? But it didn't matter either way. The princess shook her head.
"He used to volunteer, but... then he stopped. He clearly doesn't want to waste his time on such tedious chores anymore, so I can't really bring myself to ask him." Nerr fell silent for a long moment, the only sound that of the water gently lapping against the sides of the tub as she shifted occasionally. Suddenly, she drew her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, a chill overtaking her despite the warmth of the room.
"...Flora?" She asked in a small voice. "Am I a bad person for being upset that Jakob has other friends now...?" Saying it aloud was really all the answer she needed; what kind of monster felt that way? Only a horrible person would resent their friend for having other friends, for having a life outside them... Even though she knew that, she could not help the way she felt, and it made her sick. Flora seemed to be mulling over the question in her mind, because when she answered, her words were slow, carefully thought out.
"...I don't think that makes you a bad person, Lady Nerr. People are intrinsically like that; we want the people we care for to notice us, to pay attention to us... to love us. ...I don't know if I ever told you this, milady, but I was always terribly jealous when my father praised Felicia. No matter how much she deserved said praise, it always made me angry, as though that meant he loved her more than me. That's foolish, of course; I'm sure he loved us the same, but... even though my mind knows that, my heart still wishes he had paid more attention to me."
That was... unexpected. Flora rarely, if ever, opened up about herself to her mistress. Nerr never tried to force her to spill her guts, not sure if the other girl felt that was a boundary that shouldn't be crossed between them, or if she was just a secretive person, but didn't want to impose on her either way. Now, however, it seemed that maybe the maid felt much the way she herself did, and thought that her innermost thoughts and feelings were shameful and wrong... Her heart ached for the blunette, and she turned around slightly so she could look back at Flora. Her face was tight with pain, a pain that stemmed from her heart, judging by the tears dripping from her closed eyes. Nerr reached out, laying her hand over the other girl's, the water from her fingers leaving wet spots across her knuckles.
"I always thought you were the best." She whispered earnestly. Gray eyes opened wide, staring at her for a moment, before they screwed tightly once more and the maid sniffled, bringing her other hand up to wipe away the tears coursing harder and faster down her cheeks. Nerr quietly turned away; had she been in Flora's position, she would not have wanted an audience as she tried to regain her composure. After a moment, the sniffling stopped, and the maid went back to work untangling her hair. There was silence, but only because nothing else needed to be said.
000
Leaving Macarath had been like waking from a beautiful dream and finding oneself passed out in a ditch. Though as they began heading west, Flora assured them that very few soldiers ever came out this way. It soon became evident why. Being winter meant they had snow to contend with nearly everywhere they went, but it was nothing compared to what the lands around Freesia were like. Only cold lived along the vast stretches of what, at one time centuries ago, may have been fields. It was only snowbanks at present. And while their feet did not sink in very far, the ground beneath the thick, powdery snow was frozen solid. Felicia explained gleefully that since the snow never fully melted, it always froze every subsequent winter, resulting in the land being raised up. It had felt like they had been traveling over a gentle incline. The old Nerr would have been horrified to learn that it didn't warm up enough to even melt snow in this frozen hell, but the current Nerr was too busy trying not to succumb to hypothermia to care about such things. Though she had procured new, warmer clothes in the palace, even taking Flora's advice and putting on a pair of high, leather boots, she could not stop herself trembling violently.
"Gods damn it all, I'm freezing my ass off out here. Quite literally; I think my ass succumbed to frostbite and rotted off a few miles back..." Flora, who along with her sister, was leading the group of soldiers, laughed slightly.
"I can imagine. You've always been weak against the cold, Lady Nerr. It feels great to me, but I know it's not for everybody... or even most people. Just hang tight; there will be a warm cabin waiting for you at the end. I may even turn down the sheets for you, for old time's sake." Nerr smiled a bit at those words. She was well aware that, as a traitor to Nohr, she had no right to expect anything from anyone, but that her once-maid would offer these small luxuries made her feel like perhaps not everything was going to be as terrible as she had begun expecting it to be.
"Thank you, Flora. I have to commend your navigational skills as well. I know you said troops don't often come out this way, but I was still expecting Father to cover all his bases just in case. But somehow, we've managed to avoid running afoul of any soldiers." Even though the blunette woman was facing away from her, the princess could practically see the smile slip from her face.
"No... I suppose we just got lucky..." Felicia nodded, turning around so that she could face her liege as she walked backwards.
"She's right, Lady Nerr; this was just the most direct route. I would've chosen the same route if I was leading us." Flora shot her sister a withering glare, her eyes narrowed, her voice as cold as the snow at their feet.
"Why must you always do this, Felicia? What do you get out of one-uping me; does making me look stupid make you feel better?" The peach-haired girl cringed away from her sister, her chipper expression melting into one of abject misery.
"I didn't!" She whined, tears evident in her voice. "I wasn't trying to make you look stupid; I was just pointing out a fact! How can I one-up you; you're the one who's perfect. That's why you're Lady Nerr's lady's maid. That's why you're leading us." She sniffled, wiping her nose on her sleeve. At once, all the animosity disappeared from Flora's face, replaced with guilt. She reached out, wiping her sister's cheek with her own sleeve.
"I'm sorry, Felicia. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. I don't know what's come over me..." Blinking away the last traces of her tears, Felicia frowned slightly.
"I don't either. You've been like this for a while now, sis. Why won't you tell me what wrong?" The other twin shook her head slightly as she mumbled.
"It's nothing..." Nerr could not help her own sigh as she watched the argument play out between her maids. Clearly, something was on Flora's mind, but she didn't feel it was something that could be shared. The princess knew exactly how she felt. She wondered, if she had been home, if nothing had changed and she still had her family- the family she knew and loved- around her, would she have opened up to any of them? Probably not; she didn't like them knowing her weaknesses. The only person in all the world she might have willingly poured her heart out to was mouldering at the bottom of the Infinite Chasm. She sighed again, deeper- it felt like her lungs weren't inflating enough to provide her with relief. It was a sign of how caught up in her melancholy she was that she didn't notice Ryouma catching up to her until he fell in step alongside her.
"What's wrong, Nerrida? You haven't seemed like yourself, lately..." Those were the first words he had spoken to her in days. Between Takumi's illness and Scarlet's injuries, he had been too preoccupied to waste energy having a one-sided conversation with his reluctant sister. Truth be told, she had been grateful for the fact; Macarath had been a time of rest for her, and she could not rest when that overgrown lobster was breathing down her neck. Even now... she sincerely wondered at times if he was actually concerned about her, or if this was all an act to get her to lower her guard around him for whatever reason. She honestly could not tell, and it peeved her to no extent. Regardless of his true motivations, her defenses rose whenever he came near on sheer instinct alone by this point.
"You wouldn't know 'myself', Ryouma." The man had known her for all of two months (and a week), and they had barely exchanged two dozen words in that time. She couldn't say when he wasn't acting like "himself", so how could he think to know what she was like normally? After all, all he saw of her was sullen and foul-mouthed; a complete stranger compared to the person she had been before waking up in Hoshido. The high prince crossed his arms over his chest, a ridiculous sight given that he was still walking, but actually nodded to her surprise.
"You're right. You've grown into a very different person from the sister I remember... but I've been around you long enough to know that you don't sigh that much, or that deeply, unless you're under some sort of mental strain. You were like that when we crossed the Chevois border, and again when we made our way down the mountain. Sometimes it looked like you were about to sigh yourself unconscious." He paused, looking away from her, turning his attention to the star dappled sky. "...Mother did that, once. About a month after you had first been taken, when she was still trying to sort out her duties as empress dowager. She kept sighing, heavier and heavier, until her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed."
"Gods above..." Nerr didn't know what bothered her more about that anecdote- the thought of her mother passing out from the strain of losing her child and husband in one day, or the knowledge that she knew what that was like. She had felt herself get lightheaded sometimes when she breathed too deeply, felt the world sway and felt that, no matter how much she inhaled, she simply couldn't breathe. Ryouma smiled grimly, still in his memory.
"Fortunately, Yukimura was nearby and managed to revive her. I was terrified to be alone with her for a while after that. I understand now what happened, but when you're ten, you just think that at any given moment, your mother might keel over and die..." Ten... ten? So he had been ten when she was taken, when he had come to Chevalier and seen his father cut down in cold blood... She'd been about four at that time (maybe three going on four), so he was... six years older than her. That was a strange realization to have; to only now realize that all this time, she hadn't known how old her older brother was. Xander was twenty five- no. Twenty six. She had been in Hoshido during his last birthday. She had been working on a new tabard for him, it was still in her drawer back in the citadel... She could have wished him a belated "happy birthday" back in Cyrkensia...
"Nerrida?" He probably would have stabbed her had she done that... A heavy hand on her shoulder, further weighing down her pauldron, pulled her from the mire of her thoughts. Ryouma was frowning slightly as he looked at her, though it didn't seem that he was mad at her directly. "...even I can see that something heavy is weighing on your mind..." He wasn't going to let this drop. Then she would have to tell him something just to make his stop pestering her. She scanned her mind for something she could say to the older man, some reason she could give for her despondence. She settled on the latest irksome thing to happen.
"Well, to be honest... our last encounter with Iago is still bothering me. I'd hate to think I can't trust anyone anymore, but I've been burned too many times before." There. That was good. It wasn't a complete lie; Iago's grim warning about the spy in their midst did bother her to some extent, but the fact of the matter was, she really didn't trust anyone enough to lower her guard down around anyone in their retinue. If the sorcerer knew as much about what was happening as he claimed to, certainly he would have known that. This time, it was evident that the high prince's lour was because of her directly.
"That's not your style, Nerrida. You're on your way to becoming a great leader, and you lead by example. Hinoka and Sakura often told me how you took charge while you were searching for Takumi and myself. If you don't trust your own people, how will they trust you?" As if perceiving her retort, Ryouma cut her off immediately, adding, "That goes for Hoshidans and Nohrians. ...don't let what happened with this 'Zola' shake your confidence." His speech had almost been rousing, right until the end. Just hearing the dark mage's name left a sour taste in her mouth, and her disgust was compounded by the fact that it was Ryouma saying it. She scowled at her blood brother.
"You weren't there- you were yukking it up in Chevalier when everything with Zola happened. Don't talk about things you don't understand, Ryouma. And that's NOT my problem! This isn't about my confidence; this is a legitimate issue that needs to be dealt with. Someone in our little tight-knit group is relaying information to... someone, who is then relaying it to Iago. And by extension, to King Garon. Which means that, regardless of how much we plan ahead, they're always going to be two steps in front of us because they'll already know what we're planning." Which honestly made it even more suspicious that they hadn't run into any soldiers. Suppressing a shudder, Nerr looked around, as though soldiers might simply pop up out of the snow at any moment. "Since you're the leader here, you need to sit everyone down, and interrogate them until whoever is the spy cracks."
"Before we start mentally breaking our companions, let's take a step back, shall we? Do you trust me, Nerrida?" The princess looked up at the taller man. The snow appeared to glow in the darkness, the white of Ryouma's robes seemingly absorbing the light and refracting it back even brighter. The effect would've almost been angelic on someone less... pointy. She cast aside such silly thoughts, and looked deep inside her to find the answer to his question. Her lips turned down slightly.
"...no. Not really." Her voice was quiet. Even though she spoke the truth, even though it was something she had been preaching all along, telling her brother to his face that she did not trust him felt... shameful. A small part of her wondered if Takumi felt like this due to his distrust of her. No, probably not... "I know you're my flesh and blood and I'm supposed to love you, but it doesn't feel like you're my flesh and blood. I have to remind myself we're even related. The truth is, I rather disdain you, actually. That doesn't lend itself to trust." For a moment, Ryouma's stoic countenance slipped away, replaced with... Pain. Misery. Torment. It seemed that this was the closest she would get to seeing a grown man cry.
"...why is that?" Nerr wanted to look away, she didn't want to face him knowing that she had hurt him in such a way, even though she only spoke the truth. But looking away was imply that she was lying, that perhaps she didn't mean what she said...
"So many reasons! First and foremost, I don't know you. I had a brother- I have a brother- whom I love and cherish. I lived my whole life believing you were the enemy, being raised to see you as inhuman, wanting nothing more than to help cut you down. The first time I met you was after I had been stolen away from everything I knew and loved. My whole life had been shattered at that point, and I was dragged before you like a prisoner. Tell me, Ryouma; do you really not remember your words, your attitude, during our first meeting? I thought I was there to be executed, and you ordered that like it was nothing!"
"I never would have let anyone harm you, sister. I was just-"
"You were just what? Trying to scare me into believing you? That's exactly how King Garon raised me; every time I saw him as a child, he was just there to threaten and terrify me. Everything you've done thus far is just like him! You held me against my will, you wouldn't let me go back to the only home I knew, and even now, you're constantly trying to guilt me into staying. If you were in my place, would you trust you?!" Silence fell, not just between them, but over the entire valley. It seemed her voice had carried, and probably everyone had just heard her rant. Breathing hard and shaking slightly, Nerr twisted her sweater between her hands, trying to fight the urge to bury herself in the snow. Just because what she was saying was true didn't mean she wanted the whole world to know. Ryouma's voice did not carry; she had to strain to hear it, and she was walking right beside him.
"...if I'm just like King Garon and you're so desperate to get away from me... why are you running back to him?"
"I'm not!" She cried desperately. "I'm going back to my brothers and sisters, my family... They weren't like that. They never intimidated me, or threatened to have me executed, or set guards outside my room to keep me from running away!" Granted, she had never wanted to run away, but the fact still remained.
"So you trust them. You wouldn't believe that they could be spies. All right... How about Sakura and Takumi? They had nothing to do with how you were treated when you returned to Hoshido. Neither did Hinoka. Think about Azura, even Silas too. Are you going to sit them down on the off chance that one of them might 'crack'?" Nerr shook her head, picking up her pace to try and get away from him. Of course, she couldn't outrun the high prince unless she broke into a full out run,what with his legs being so much longer than hers.
"Don't lump Silas and Jakob in with the rest of you. They're not-"
"Hoshidan?"
"...strangers. They didn't waltz into my life out of the blue and demand I give up everything I had to love them. I believe in them."
"Really. How can you be so sure?" It seemed that Ryouma was growing more and more agitated by her continued distrust. Honestly, she preferred the prince angry-upset to sad-upset any day. "From what I heard, you hadn't seen Silas in so long, you couldn't remember who he was. What makes you think he won't betray you?" Gods, that was almost exactly what Iago had told her. Had he been giving her a hint as to their mole's identity? She thought of her smiling friend, always quick with a pat on the back or funny memory whenever she was struggling to keep walking forward, laughing in her face as the Nohrian army closed in around her, asking Garon if he could deal the killing blow... Nerr could not stop the strained whimper from leaving her throat, hands reaching up to tangle in her hair, undoing all of Flora's hard work...
"...nothing..." She whispered, feeling as though her chest was too small for her lungs again. "Nothing does; he could turn on me at any second...!"
"Nerrida." A deep voice barely cut through the haze of panic in her mind, but she could feel Ryouma's hand gripping her arms tightly, shaking her slightly. "Calm yourself, sister. All this time, you could have suspected him of not being who he claimed he was, yet you didn't. Why is that?" Mostly because if she had to doubt the only two people she actually trusted, she'd probably have lost her mind long ago.
"I- I don't know... I just... didn't. I just... know I can trust him. I have to trust him!" Xander would have shaken his head, exasperated by her naïve way of thinking. Gut feelings were not reasons, he would've told her, and despite not wanting to hear that, she would've known her brother was right. This brother, the Hoshidan one standing in front of her, did not chastise her for thinking like a silly child rather than a soldier. He nodded, as though she had said something sage.
"Precisely. This is both your weakness and your strength. You have a keen intuition and a natural charisma. ...Father knew that even when you were a child..." An odd bitterness laced his words, but they quickly reverted back to normal. "Yet you lack the years of experience needed to make calculated decisions. That is why I make them." Her breathing had slowly been returning to normal, but Nerr had to laugh at his words. He probably wasn't trying to make a joke, but he seemed to have a natural sense of humor.
"You? Make calculated decisions? Oh, that slays me! Playing rebel while your country prepared for war, charging headlong into a swarm of soldiers, or breaking into a castle swarming with guards; which of these was the calculated decision? The only reason you have not died so far, Ryouma, is because you were apparently born under a lucky star. Charisma and intuition are fine and dandy for winning people over at court, but actual lives are at stake here. So I'm going to pretend that your point was 'Believe In Yourself' or something, and make a mental note to grill you extra hard when we get to Flora and Felicia's village, because that whole conversation was suspect."
"Gods damn it, Nerrida-" It seemed that wasn't the point he was trying to make, but she didn't care. She could not tolerate another minute of their talk.
"Still, thank you for reiterating that absolutely no one is to be trusted. I'll carry that in my heart until the day I die. Now, if you don't mind, this conversation is over." Before he could argue that it wasn't if he continued speaking or some such, the younger girl put on a burst of speed, running past him, even past the twins. She could hear Felicia calling out to her.
"Whoa! Hey, Lady Nerr, slow down! We're almost there!" Even so, she didn't slow her pace until she reached what seemed to be a spire made of ice. Flora and Felicia often made such lovely sculptures in the winter, but this one was crafted with far more skill than what either of them could produce. The ice itself was so pure, it absorbed all the colors around it. She was tempted to brush her finger along one of the delicate spirals wrapping around it, but was both afraid she might break it, and wary of such a piece of ice. She could feel the cold radiating from it even from where she stood. She didn't want her finger to freeze solid and shatter.
"Lady Nerr!" Tearing her gaze from the sculpture, she looked up to see Flora approaching. The rest of the group was further behind. The blunette doubled over slightly, trying to catch her breath. "You- you still run like a bat out of hell... don't you?"
"Sorry. I wasn't trying to get ahead of anyone; I just wanted Ryouma to leave me alone." Straightening, the maid shot her a sympathetic look.
"You don't seem to get along with him... It strange, isn't it? That it's sometimes easier to connect with people who could otherwise be strangers than with your own flesh and blood?" Nerr linked her fingers behind her head, looking up at the stars. They seemed brighter than they had at the Norther Citadel.
"...even before I knew I wasn't actually related to my Nohrian siblings, I never really thought blood mattered too much. You and Felicia and Jakob and Lilith... you're all my family just as much as Xander and the others... more so than Ryouma and them..."
"I- ...I'm honored you'd think so fondly of me, Lady Nerr..." Silence, broken only by the occasional breeze howling across the plains, fell between them as they watched the other draw closer. "...Lady Nerr, there's something that's been bothering me for some time, now... But I haven't known how to broach the subject, or if I even should at all..." The princess looked over at her, frowning in confusion. Flora seemed ill at ease, digging the toe of her boot into the snow packed at her feet.
"You know you can talk to me, Flora. What is it?"
"Where is Sir Gunther?" The maid's words were blunt and to the point, like Azura's usually were, and they stabbed into her heart like an ice pick. The worst thing was, the blunette didn't even seem to realize the pain she was causing, as she was still looking at her feet. "I didn't see him when we were reassigned to Krakenburg, so I assumed he stayed in Hoshido with you, like Jakob did. Only, he's not marching with you. I noticed that when you all settled in at the palace in Macarath; that's unlike him. I can't imagine he would take your betraying Nohr-"
"I didn't betray anything, Flora." Her voice was a harsh whisper; it hurt to speak any louder. Flora glanced at her from the corner of her eye.
"...well, even if you had, that wouldn't matter. Sir Gunther would follow you to the ends of the earth; his loyalty to you knows no bounds." Hadn't that been one of the things she had so loved about him? Hadn't he always reiterated to her as a child when he whispered lullabies to soothe her nightmares, If all the world should hate you, let me shield your eyes; for as long as I live, I'll be evil by your side...? Would he have stood by that promise, she wondered? Would he have stayed in Hoshido with her as eagerly and willingly as Jakob and Silas had? Would he then drift away from her too, leaving her all alone...?
"Lady Nerr?" The cold of Flora's hand penetrated her quilted sweater much faster than the wind did, and the princes shook her head.
"I'll never get the chance to test that loyalty. Gunther died some time ago, Flora." The unfeeling tone of her voice disgusted her. She should've sounded sadder; being sad on the inside didn't feel like it counted in this situation, especially given the maid's reaction, how she gasped, how her eyes widened in shock, in disbelief... Nerr wanted to emote like that too, but she suddenly felt like she was centuries old.
"W-what?! How, when?!"
"When we were at the Chasm. He was murdered. By Father's personal guard. On his orders, apparently." She turned towards the maid, hands balled tightly into fists though her face felt stiff. "Do you see, Flora? Do you see now why I 'betrayed Nohr', why I was reluctant to return home, to heed the beck and call of such a man? He took my father, my mother, my-" She stopped herself. Flora knew exactly how she felt about her deceased retainer, but it was still something she wasn't comfortable saying aloud to her. The blunette girl was blinking rapidly, and it took Nerr a moment to notice the tears streaming down her cheeks, freezing as they coursed down her chilled flesh, forming little icicles.
"I... I'm so sorry, Lady Nerr... I- I'm so sorry...!" Unable to say anything more, she buried her face in her hands, sobbing quietly. The air around her grew colder as flurries began kicking up, the snow growing thicker until it resembled a mini blizzard. Despite the fact that she was quickly loosing feeling in her extremities, the princess could not move, too taken aback by everything. Not the self-contained snowstorm- those had been a constant in the Citadel, a calculated risk when living with people who had ice magic in their veins. No, the fact that someone other than her... was crying over this. Even Lilith, despite her obvious lament, did not shed tears. Perhaps she cried in the solitude of her astral plane, but Nerr could not witness that. An actual display of grief outside her own... she'd honestly never expected that. She wanted to thank Flora, for being sad about this, for being a reminder that something important had been lost, but that sounded as disturbing as it did macabre even in her own mind. Fortunately, she was saved from having to say anything by the arrival of the others. Azura shivered so violently, they could hear it, wrapping her new cloak as well as her long hair around herself to ward off the chill.
"Goodness, it's so much colder here than it was back there. Is a blizzard coming on, should we be worried?"
"That's not a blizzard; that's my sister." Felicia dashed up, frowning as she noticed the frozen tears and her sister's red eyes. "Flora, what's wrong?" Sniffling, Flora quickly brushed away the ice on her face, forcing herself to smile, though it did not conceal the sadness she felt.
"Oh, it's nothing, Felicia. Lady Nerr and I were just... reminiscing..." It was clear the other twin did not buy into that, her blue eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"...well, maybe don't reminisce so hard next time, okay? We don't want anyone to freeze before we get home." She turned to the other, her smile coming back. "It's just about half a mile from here, everyone! Come on!"
000
The Ice Tribe's village was surrounded by a forest of firs and pines, their greenery the only color not in shades of white and blue to be seen. As they approached the tall, wooden gates, the pair of sentries standing guard immediately raised their weapons, but lowered them, lowering themselves into bows as Flora stepped forward. Nerr wondered if Freesians treated all their people with such respect, but it seemed unlikely, given that neither Flora nor Felicia bowed in return. A wind kicked up, and the princess shivered, drawing her mantle tighter around her.
"Brrr! Wh-where's that warm cabin you promised us, Flora?" The blunette smiled slightly at the other woman, stepping past the threshold of the gate.
"Just a minute, Lady Nerr. I need to check with the village elders; we're usually suspicious of outsiders, and I don't want anyone mistaking you for enemies." Azura's thin limbs were shaking, and she reached up to rub some feeling back into her cheeks.
"Oh, please hurry back. We're freezing out here!" With a quick nod, the maid dashed off towards the village, kicking up snow as she ran. Nerr groaned, the mere sight of snow making her even colder.
"Ugh, how can anyone actually live here?" Felicia giggled slightly as she looked back towards those shaking from the cold.
"Heehee! You're just sensitive to chills, Lady Nerr. Your family seems to be, too. When you're born here, you don't even notice how cold it is."
"The ice magic in your veins probably doesn't hurt..." She muttered. Hinoka pressed herself against her steed's flank.
"I could live here all my life, and I'd still get hypothermic. We need some blankets and a roaring fire before we freeze solid." The peach-haired girl's smile dimmed a bit, and she looked back towards the village, biting her lip slightly.
"Well, hopefully, Flora will be back shortly. I don't want anyone to think that the Ice Tribe doesn't know how to treat it's guests... Oh! Speak of the devil, here she is now!"
Indeed, Flora had returned, flanked by several large, muscular men carrying axes and swords. Nerr's stomach sank at once, but she tried to convince herself that things probably looked worse than they were. After all, people couldn't just approach the castle without being checked out by guards; why should she assume it was different here? They probably just wanted to make sure that the soldiers entering their land weren't going to be a threat. Needless to say, the Hoshidans were not working to make themselves look less threatening, immediately reaching for their weapons. The blunette Nohrian's eye narrowed as she noticed that, but Felicia stepped in front of her, smiling, apparently oblivious to the ominous atmosphere that had descended on them.
"Flora, everyone is freezing; it's adorable! But we should really get them inside so they can warm up. We wouldn't want Lady Nerr getting chilblains on her toes again!" The calmer twin closed her eyes, a brief expression of something, either pain or sorrow, flitting across her face.
"Felicia... I'm sorry..."
"Huh? For what?" The words had just escaped her lips when the wind kicked up, colder and biting, cutting into them like knives. A cry went out amongst the Hoshidan and Nohrian soldiers as they tried to make themselves as small as possible to present less of a target for the blizzard. Despite not wearing more than a few strips of leather and thin shirts, the Freesians didn't bat an eye as the snow dusted them.
"Gods, what the hell is going on?!" Takumi's long hair was coming undone in the strength of the wind, blowing into his face and obstructing his view too much to aim his holy yumi.
"This is her doing!" Ryouma spat bitterly, hand on the gilded hilt of his Raijinto. The snow blinding him would not stop him from charging forth, but Felicia did, jumping between the high prince and her sister.
"Stop it! Leave her alone! It's not her fault!" She turned back to Flora, a desperate, pleading look on her face. "It's not your fault, right, Flora? I-I don't know why you're so upset, but you need to knock it off!" Opening her eyes, their gray depths as cold as the wind around them, Flora gripped her sister's arm, tugging her into the village and towards the guards.
"I can't. Felicia, get inside. Now!" She reached into the depths of her own dark cloak, pulling out a long misericord, it's silvery surface frosting in the cold. "I can't allow Lady Nerr to live. She betrayed our king and kingdom." Felicia's jaw dropped, a look of incredulity overtaking her face.
"You can't be serious! Since when have we ever cared about what King Garon thought!? We're autonomous!"
"Our land is still within Nohr; Nohr's traitors are our traitors."
"Why you little-! Flora, this is madness!" Jakob pushed forward, his dark eyes blazing with rage. The blunette cringed away from him slightly, but otherwise, would not be deterred.
"No.It is our king's will. Stand aside Jakob, or I'll be forced to kill you as well."
"How dare you...?!" Gritting his teeth, the steward pulled out one of his knives, gripping the handle between three fingers and hurling it towards his former colleague. Felicia screamed as the blade turned over in the snow, drawing ever closer to Flora's face. The other girl didn't blink, simply raising her hand. The gleaming steel shattered suddenly, as though it had been made of spun sugar, broken pieces of the blade falling harmlessly to the snow. It was clear Jakob was not expecting that.
"Even steel balks in the face of the cold." Inhaling deeply, Flora looked up, her face hard. "Very well. I offered you an escape. If I have to kill all of you... then so be it." Nerr had been silent the whole time, her ears hearing what was being said, but her mind refusing to accept it. She shook her head, mindless of the cold burning her ears and nose.
"No... no, this can't be happening... this isn't happening!" She ran forward, ignoring everyone's cries for her to not dash into the arms of the enemy. She gripped Flora's hands, paying no mind to the dagger she still held as she looked into her maid's eyes. "Who's making you do this, Flora; Iago or Garon? Are they threatening you!? I can keep you safe, I promise! Just let me help you!" For a second, it seemed that her plaintive cry had gotten through to the other woman, it looked like her expression was softening... But just as quickly, she turned to ice once more, ripping her hands away and pushing Nerr back. Caught unawares, the princess stumbled from the force and fell backwards in the snow.
"I don't need your help. I am doing this of my own volition, because it's the right thing to do."
"Flora, what is wrong with you?!" Felicia pushed past her sister, grabbing her mistress's hands and pulling her back to her feet. "Lashing out at your liege; have you no shame?!"
"She isn't my liege, Felicia, and she's not yours either! We are heiresses to the Ice Tribe, proud warriors, not gods damned servants! Open your eyes, you silly twit; she doesn't even like you! You're nothing more than her laundress, but you'd turn your back on your country, your people, to defend her!?" Doubt, fear, and misery all played out across Felicia's face as she looked back to her sister. Nerr was tempted to push her forward towards her people, back where she belonged, lest she end up on the wrong side of this altercation, but the maid surprised her by stomping her foot in the snow, fists clenched at her sides.
"Yes! Yes, I would, because I took an oath! I know damn well who I am, Flora, but I still swore my loyalty to Lady Nerr. I'm not going to turn my back on her because the dastard who stole us from our home in the middle of the night doesn't like her! In fact, that should give us more incentive to stand up against him!" Flora's eyes widened in shock, her lower lip quivering for a moment before she regained her resolve.
"...You're brave, Felicia. You follow your heart, consequences be damned... but I do not have that luxury. I must do what is best for our people, and that's killing the traitor. Soldiers! To arms!" The houses within the confines of the border opened their doors, men and women armed with everything from swords and bows to shovels and pitchforks, poured out. Behind her, the Hoshidans were readying their weapons as well, not intending to back down from this new threat. Nerr shook her head.
"No... no! We're not fighting here! We have no business with you people! Ryouma, Hinoka, lower your weapons." They made no effort to do any such thing, the elder princess's grip tightening on her nageyari as the flames lapping at it's blade grew brighter. "Lower them! Draw back!"
"We can't do that, Nerrida. These people are clearly in collusion with King Garon. If we back away from them, they'll probably hunt us down themselves to spare him the trouble." Ryouma's voice was grim, his eyes hard. Gritting his teeth, Takumi summoned the bowstring of his Fuujin.
"I knew we shouldn't have come here. Nohrians are never nice for no reason!" Flora, who had been pulling back, further into the throng of warriors, stopped for a moment to glare at the prince.
"No, what you shouldn't have done is come to Nohr. If you had just stayed in your own damn country, none of this ever would've happened!"
"Flora! Flora, come back!" Nerr tried to push forward, narrowly avoiding getting her arm cut off by a burly fighter as he swung his ax. "I know this isn't your doing, Flora, I know Garon is making you do this! I can help you! Flora! Are you listening to me?!" The blunette stopped, breathing hard.
"...no. I'm done listening to you... Nerr." And with that final, cryptic message, she vanished in the throng of people. Between the howling wind and her pulse pounding in her ears, Nerr could barely hear the people behind her. Sakura's timid voice wavered.
"Wh-what do we do, nii-sama?" Hinoka answered in her brother's stead.
"The only thing we can do; make damn sure these people know who they're messing with so they don't try selling us up the river again." The Hoshidans cried out their agreement, and charged forward, weapons raised. The Freesians, however, would not simply fall on their blades, and met the onslaught with a show of force of their own. Blades clashed as battle cries were caught and lost on the wind. The Nohrian princess continued shaking her head; this wasn't right, the Ice Tribe wasn't their enemy. She needed to find Flora and set this right.
"Felicia!" She reached out, grabbing the maid's arm and pulling her closer. Her cheeks were damp where tears were, even now, running down them, freezing into slush against her chilled skin. "Where is your sister, where would she be?"
"I- I don't know! Pr-probably with Father- he- he's probably the one who ordered this attack. Father always hated outsiders..."
"Well, where are they?!"
"Um..." Biting her lip, Felicia glanced around at the fighting going on before them. "Uh... On the other side of the lake. That's where our meeting hall is. It's on the other side of the village..." Inhaling sharply, the princess let go of the other girl, pushing past those fighting to force her way into the village.
Within the borders of the settlement, the blizzard raged even stronger, making it so that a haze of white covered everything. She could hear the battle raging behind her, the clang of blades striking each other, the cries of pain as people were injured, but she could not see anything. Fear tingled up her spine, making her shiver more so than she already was, and Nerr unsheathed her blade. She didn't intend to use it, but holding the ridged hilt in her hand made her feel a little better. Every step she took was slowed considerably, not just by the strong winds pushing her back, but also by the snow she trudged through. Occasionally, her foot would meet no resistance and she'd stumble, falling through snowbanks up to her knees, even hips at one point. It was impossible to tell where she was going, only that the sound of fighting were growing fainter with every step. A hand reached through the haze, grabbing her arm, and she screamed, heart racing as she tried to get away from the disembodied limb.
She hadn't taken half a step before she was no longer on solid ground, her weight continuing to pull her down. Nerr couldn't even hear the splash as icy water engulfed her. The cold burned her, overwhelming her nerves and setting them aflame in agony. Everything was dark and murky, but she could make out something thrust into the water before her face. She did not know what it was, but her mind, already growing sluggish from the cold, told her to reach for it regardless. Weakly, she scrambled for the shadow, feeling as though she were moving her arms through molasses. Fingers curled around her hand, and she could feel something pulling her up, out of the water. As cold as the lake had been, the air above was even more unbearable, and Nerr wished that she could sink back below the surface to spare herself the cutting chill, but several pairs of strong arms wrapped around her, heaving her onto the snowy bank of the lake. Felicia was beside herself with fear and misery.
"Oh, Lady Nerr, I'm so sorry! I was trying to warn you that the lake was there, but I scared you right into it!"
"I-i-i-it's... I-it's f-f-fine..." She tried to keep her teeth from chattering, but was unable to. At least now, she knew she was going in the right direction, but... "H-h-how do we g-g-get p-past it...?" Flora was somehow on the other side.
"Our father usually freezes it when he needs to get past." Well, that didn't do them any good. Nerr tried to get back to her feet, stumbling and falling back to the ground as her legs gave out from under her.
"Th-the others..."
"They're making their way over here." Silas's voice was even, though his head seemed on a swivel, looking to and fro, waiting for another threat to come from the nothingness that surrounded them. "I don't know who they'll be able to; I can't see a damn thing, and people are jumping out of nowhere."
"Nearly everyone in the Ice Tribe is a trained warrior. Ohhh, why is Flora doing this...?" The girl moaned, rocking back and forth on her knees. Nerr was about to say she didn't care either way, when the faint sound of crackling cut through her addlepated mind. She looked down at the lake. Given the severity of the blizzard, she could only see about two feet in front of her, but she was certain the dark surface was slowly growing lighter, whiter... Ice branched across it's surface, locking together to freeze it solid, the frost eventually reaching the shore. This time, she was not alone in her screaming as a group of people erupted from the blizzard, their weapons raised. Felicia curled into a ball, hands thrown over her head as the wind picked up even more around her, enough to stop even the other Freesians. It gave them enough time for Silas to grab the princess by her elbow, heaving her to her feet and over to his steed.
"Get on, get on!" That was easier said than done when her clothes were frozen to her skin and sapping her of what little strength she had left, but Nerr managed to unceremoniously pull herself up. The cavalier climbed up behind her, applying the spurs and driving Plavo onwards.
"Wh-what about Felicia?!"
"They won't hurt her; she's one of them. I'm more worried about what they'll do to us!" Silas was correct in his worry, for a pair of arrows shot through the flurry, one lodging in his arm, the other in the destrier's upper leg. Whinnying in pain, the horse reared up, dropping both it's riders. The knight cried out as well, as the arrow in his arm was driven in even deeper before the shaft was broken off.
Faint shadows, growing darker and more defined, drew closer, until Nerr could see the archers, their cloaks buffeted by the gales. They were pulling arrows from the quivers on their backs, but she would not afford them the chance to notch them, redoubling her grip on the Yato as she forced herself to move forward. Her swing was wide, and had she been aiming to kill, would have been grossly ineffective, but as it were, she was simply trying to stop them. As the Freesians ducked out of the way of her wild swinging, they had no time to ready a counter attack, nor avoid the arrows whizzing through the snow. Both hit the closest archer, sinking deep into his chest. With a pained gurgle, he hit the ground, steam rising from his wounds. Whimpering in fear, the other turned and ran, only for the massive blade of a naginata to come swinging through the white like a demon's scythe. A bright red mist caught on the wind as his throat was slit, and fell as well. A pair of feminine voices reached her.
"Oh... did I do good? I think I did good..."
"Damn straight you did good. Fucking Nohrians, think they can lead us into a trap. I can't wait to find that blue-haired one and give her a piece of my- Oh, hi, Nerrida-sama!" Oboro's rant was cut short as she nearly walked headlong into the princess, who was currently glowering at her, her own hateful expression replaced by one of fear. Perhaps it was because the sounds of fighting were still rather far off, and Hinoka's absent-minded retainer was the backup she had. But Nerr didn't have time to terrify her tentative allies.
"Where's Jakob?" She asked, bitterness creeping into her voice. "Since you and he seemed glued at the hip, as of late..."
"Uh... he's back there, with Takumi-sama." The lancer jutted a thumb back towards the expanse of white. That did anyone little good. As much as she wanted to call out to her retainer, she refrained, remembering the way the steward had attacked Flora (or at least, tried to) without warning. She needed to talk to her once maid, not incite a riot against her. That was already being carried out behind her. Turning away from Oboro and Setsuna, the princess headed back in the direction of the lake. Silas was tending to his mount, and looked up at her.
"Nerr? Where are you going?"
"Flora's over there. I have to talk to her."
"You'll be ambushed!"
"It wouldn't be the first time. I have to talk to her." Ignoring the knight's continued protests, she approached the lake, putting her foot atop it's frozen surface. The ice cracked slightly- either it was quickly melting, or else, it hadn't been frozen well to begin with. Breathing deeply to calm herself, the princess re-sheathed her blade, reaching instead for her dragonstone. When her bones had broken and reformed into their more draconic form, she stepped onto the ice once more. No creaking reached her sharp ears this time, though she could see the ice continuing to melt. She didn't have much time. Taking off in a canter, she made use of her wings, hoping that when she flapped, the extra lift they provided would help her get across faster. Another, albeit, smaller group of Freesian warriors appeared from the blizzard, mages and fighters. One of them dropped his weapons as he looked upon the dragon before him.
"What the fuck is that?!"
"It's dead, is what it is!" A mage flipped open her tome, the pages glowing, illuminating the haze around them and not much else as balls of bright lightning were hurled at her. Flapping hard, Nerr managed to lift herself enough to leap over the spells, momentum carrying her forward. Rather than wait to touch the ground once again, the princess instead reached for the heads of the nearest warriors, kicking off of them. There was a loud crack as the ice suddenly broke, unable to withstand the force, and the Freesians screamed as they plunged into the lake's depths. It was likely that the cold wouldn't kill them... but the water certainly could. Still, as the draconic girl continued flapping, trying to stay airborne until she could reach the opposite bank, she did not have time to feel sorry for them. After all, they were trying to kill her... She shouldn't have felt anything.
Once her scaled knuckles touched solid ground once more, the princess let go of her dragonstone, shrinking back to a more familiar form and tucking the rune back into her bag. On this side of the lake, the blizzard seemed less intense, enough so that she could see more than a meter in front of her. There were in fact more warriors, who raised their weapons and charged at her the moment they noticed her, but Nerr would not let them deter her. Pulling the Yato free once more, she ran forward, slashing at those who got too close, though never aiming to kill. She could see Flora up ahead, standing in the alcove of a large structure. She clutched a tome to her chest, her eyes closed, hair whipping around her, free of it's confining pigtails. She was too busy controlling the blizzard to pay much attention to her surroundings, or so it seemed. As Nerr drew closer still, the blunette opened her mouth, her voice carrying above the howling wind, though her eyes remained closed.
"...are you here to kill me, Nerr?"
"No!" She called out, sheathing her sword and hoping her former maid didn't notice the blood staining it's blade. "I just need to talk to you! Flora... why are you doing this? There has to be a reason..."
"I told you already! You betrayed Nohr... betrayed us all..." Getting closer, the princess held her hands out.
"I didn't! And even if I did, that shouldn't matter! I'm not your enemy; can't you see that? You need to call this off, Flora. I know you say you're doing this for your people, but they're getting slaughtered out there by the Hoshidans!"
"...the Hoshidans that you led here...!" Gritting her teeth in frustration, the blunette woman finally opened her eyes, the wind dying down around her as she cast her tome aside, the dark leather covers falling open, exposing the pages to the snow. She tightened her grip on the knife she still held and dashed forward. All the practice she had deflecting blades, both in theory and on the battlefield, did her no good with so short a cutting edge. She was used to dealing with long, heavy swords, and Flora knew that, ducking below her blade and getting in close. She swung, not at the princess's chest which was covered in armor, but at her soft, unprotected belly. Curving her spine allowed Nerr to dodged the majority of the blow, though the dagger's finely hewn edge still managed to cut through the padding of her sweater, the ice cold tip scraping against her skin, drawing a thin line in her flesh that stung. Wincing slightly, the princess looked up at the other girl, reaching out with her free had and grabbing the maid's wrist to keep her from attacking again.
"I know this isn't you, Flora! This isn't the real you..."
"You don't know the 'real' me." She hissed, twisting in the other woman's grip and raising her leg, driving the sharp, metal heel of her boot into the princess's stomach. Caught off guard, it was easy enough for Flora to pull her hand back, raising it high, ensuring there'd be enough force behind her blow to kill. An arrow shot through the night gloom, glowing a pale green and striking her palm before dissipating in a gust. Crying out in pain, the bluenette dropped her weapon, and Nerr wasted no time reaching out and grabbing one of her arms, forcing her to the ground. As Flora fell into the snow, the other woman followed suit, digging her knees into the back of the girl beneath her and grabbing her other arm, pulling them both back at a painful angle. She cried out in pain, but Nerr ignored her.
"I'm sorry, Flora, but I need to hear it from you; what is Father threatening you with?"
"Nothing!" She screamed slightly as her arms were pulled even further back, the tendons and muscles of her chest and shoulders twisting painfully.
"Stop trying to get answers from her, Nerrida." Takumi sneered as he approached, kicking one of the maid's flailing calves. "She's just in league with the rest of Nohr- she's probably the one who told that Iago freak we were in Macarath."
"Shut up, Takumi!"
"Sister!" Felicia's voice called out from farther back, flurries kicking up around her as she ran towards them. Breathing hard, she collapsed in the snow beside her twin, her cheeks flushed from exertion. A large bruise covered the left side of her face, and Flora gasped as she noticed it.
"Felicia... h-how did that happen? Who hurt you?"
"Um... I-I think it was Sven... I couldn't be sure, but I remember that bully..." The blunette bit her lip, turning her face away as best she could in the snow. Nerr released her arms slightly.
"Is this really protecting your people, Flora? Letting them turn on your own sister? Who will they turn on next; you?" The girl beneath her shook her head, mumbling something under her breath. "How can you trust King Garon more than me? You know I'll do everything in my power to protect you, Flora-"
"You have no power; you can't protect me! You can't protect us. You can't protect anybody! You're just as weak and worthless as I am!" Flora wrenched her arms free of the princess's grip, rolling over onto her back and pushing the other girl off. At once, Takumi readied his bow, but the maid made no move to attack. She simply sat there in the snow, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed quietly. "Garon said he'd destroy our entire village if I didn't cooperate..." Felicia reached out, gripping her sister's shoulders.
"Don't you see, Flora? He's evil! That's even more reason why we should stand against him. Lady Nerr's not our enemy." The older twin pushed her sister away, anger flaring up on her face beneath the tears.
"How stupid can you be, Felicia?! There is no standing against him! That's what our father tired to do, and what did it earn him? A traitor's death!" Both girls present gasped at the revelation. Felicia trembled slightly as she stared at her sister with wide eyes.
"Wh- what are you talking about, Flora...?" She looked away, over to the tome still lying in the snow. The anger slowly faded from her face.
"...After we were called from the citadel... when I was supposed to head to Macarath, I broke away from the entourage I was traveling with and went home instead. Father... he was readying a rebellion, he said he would tolerate the king's tyranny no longer... But they always say, if you speak of the devil, he will appear..." Sniffling piteously, Flora wiped her eyes on her sleeve, her breath coming in sharp gasps. "Someone in our village must've told him what Father was planning, because Garon was already waiting for us at the gates with his soldiers. Father was so strong, I thought nothing could stop him... he couldn't even get a hit in! It wasn't even a battle, just a- a slaughter!" By that time, the blunette girl had broken down completely, weeping bitterly as she covered her eyes. Felicia remained silent, dumbstruck, as tears surged down her own cheeks, dripping onto her dark mantle.
"Father... Father's dead...?"
"...and you're working with his killer to try and stop the people who would make him pay for his crimes?" Even though his voice was quieter than usual, Takumi's usual disdain had not been tempered. Flora looked up at him, hatred showing through her sorrow.
"...don't you dare criticize me, Hoshidan... Garon said if I didn't kill Lady Nerr and all the traitors that stood with her myself, he'd finish the job and burn my village to the ground with everyone alive to feel it! I had to think about my people, my sister! But you wouldn't understand that, you wouldn't understand having to sacrifice a few for the good of many, you stupid, selfish byak savage...!" Nerr could definitely see why someone would think Hoshidans didn't understand the concept of sacrifice, but she certainly did. It was exactly what she should've done, had she not been such a coward herself; she should've come back and risk death rather than let those she loved suffer... Reaching out, she took her former maid's hands into her own, not certain if her minimal warmth was comforting or not, but hoping the contact at least was.
"I commend you for your choice, my friend, but... do you really think he'd keep his word? Do you truly not believe Father wouldn't just come back and finish the job once I was dead?" That was exactly what the king would do, and as Flora nodded, it seemed she was well aware of it herself.
"I know the word of a murderer means nothing. I just... I just thought it would buy us some time. That it would buy me some time. He gave me thirty seconds to make a decision, and I knew what he would do if I didn't go along with what he wanted; my father's body was still warm. ...it's no wonder he was always so disappointed in me; if I were a stronger warrior, I would've chosen death rather than shamefully betraying someone who showed me kindness...!"
With those words, she began sobbing again. Sniffling loudly, Felicia reached over and pulled her sister into a hug, rocking her back and forth even as she spluttered on her own tears. By that time, the others had reached them, their clothes covered in a red blotches that seemed to be from their own injuries in some cases, the blood on their weapons slowly freezing as it dripped into the snow, leaving a crimson trail behind them. Takumi was filling his siblings in on what he had overheard, but Nerr had no interest in hearing the story again. She gingerly picked the abandoned tome up, brushing the snow from it's pages. The heavy parchment was damp in places, causing the ancient ink to bleed slightly, but other than that, it seemed fine. She brushed her fingers over the worn, leather cover. Given the way Flora had clutched it, it had probably belonged to her and Felicia's father. Yet another one of Garon's victims. How many families did he have to tear asunder before he was satisfied? The older twin's voice was muffled by her sister's shoulder, but snippets of her laments could still be heard.
"...all my fault... I deserve to die...!"
"Oh, Flora..." The princess reached out, tucking an errant lock of hair behind the other girl's ear. "This is not your fault. There was nothing shameful about what you did."
"Personally, I disagree." Jakob was pressing a wad of bloody rags to a cut on the side of his head, and scowling down at the maid. "You have been beyond foolish, but..." His expression softened ever so slightly. "What's past is past, and there's no need to dwell on it. We survived, as did most of your villagers, so now, it's time to regroup."
"Now that you all see first hand what kind of monster King Garon is, perhaps you can lend your aid to our cause." Ryouma said quietly. Beside him, Scarlet nodded fervently.
"Yeah, in Chevalier we've already got one resistance. Nohr's soldiers might've taken down some of us, but where one falls, two more rise up. And if every duchy rises up against him, we can bring his despotic reign to an end!" Slowly, Flora looked up at the Hoshidans.
"...what resistance in Chevalier? Are you stupid, do you think any scraps of your hobby group are actually left? All the rebels there are dead, all of them, as are most of the civilians. There are no remnants left, and no one would be idiotic enough to even think about resisting now. Iago bragged about that to us, how he went house to house, personally extracting anyone rumored to be sympathetic to the resistance... Men, women... children..." She pulled away from her sister, reaching out and taking the tome Nerr held, tracing her fingers over the runes on it's cover. "And it'll be the same here. Resistance or not, we failed- I failed- and now he's going to come back and make good on his promise. There's no standing up against Garon's might... All you can do... is not give him the satisfaction of killing you, and go out on your own terms... That's what I should've done the moment he threatened me. ...I'm so sorry, Felicia..." With that final whisper, she pushed Felicia back, getting to her feet and flipping open the tome. Arcane symbols filled the air around her, which began growing hotter, shimmering and distorting until...
"GYYYAAAAAA!" It was impossible to tell which came first, the ear-splitting scream or the flames, but they quickly melded together.
"FLORA!"
"Oh gods, put it out, put it out!" Scrambling to her feet, Felicia rubbed her hands together, frost spreading over her gloves as a small blizzard kicked up. But it did not put out the flames, rather, only served to fan them and blow away the smoke that might have offered a quick reprieve of suffocation. Jakob grabbed her hands, pushing them down.
"Stop it! You're making it worse! We need water! Gods, won't someone bring water?!" Drawn out from the trance set by the flickering flames, Scarlet and Hinoka set off on their respective mounts towards the lake, hopefully in search of buckets as well. Azura rushed forward, the stone set in her pendant glowing as she attempted to use her own water magic, but the flames simply sputtered and crackled as the water touched them.
Flora's dark cloak had burnt away completely, and the skin beneath would smolder as it was doused in water, only to reignite. Nerr ripped off her own cloak, wishing it was larger, and threw it over the girl, trying to smother the flames. Though the former maid's hair was completely burned away, the potent stench it left behind remained. She tried to wrap Flora in the dark cloth, tried to ignore how the flesh on her legs blistered and popped, the thin line of fat between the skin and muscle sizzling like bacon in a hot pan. But the flames would not stop, she already knew that. She had seen enchanted fire back in Krakenburg, when her father had burned that Hoshidan soldier alive. She knew it did not stop until it's caster ended the spell... or it's target was reduced to charcoal. But still, even though she could feel the flames eating through her cloak, beginning to singe her own flesh, burning away the fabric of her sleeves and gloves, Nerr did not release her hold on the writhing girl, pushing her down into the snow, hoping that the melting water might at least help. Her palms were beginning to blister as well when a pair of strong hands pulled her away.
"Nerrida, get back!"
"NO! I have to help!"
"You can't!" Ryouma was holding her back, just as he had done when she'd tried to run to Xander back in the Hoshidan plains months ago. She wanted to yell at him that, instead of stopping her, he should be helping, but no words would come; her throat was choked with tears as she watched Flora's writhing slow to the occasional jerk and twitch... before stopping completely. At once, the flames went out, leaving behind a charred husk amidst the melting snow, smoke wafting up and carrying away on the icy wind. Felicia screamed, pulling at her hair in anguish as she fell to her knees.
"NOOO! FLORA! Sis... please, wake up! Tell me this is just a bad dream...!" Of course, the blackened body remained voiceless, ash crumbling from it's scalp and fingertips to meld with with melting snow. Someone was retching violently, but the sound of it, as well as the sound of murmurs and wailing, all seemed to fade into a staticky drone in Nerr's ears.
She could still hear flames crackling and popping, though there was no fire to be seen. The sound wedged it's way between her ears, growing louder and louder until she could hear nothing else. It wasn't the flames she'd just seen, lapping at her mind; it was the flames she had deflected from Kaze as the king tried to immolate him the same way he'd killed the other Hoshidan. Flames that singed her hair and blistered her knuckles. Her father- no. No, he was her father no longer. Garon... he was so similar to flames. So powerful, so capable of doing good... but utterly destructive when left unchecked. Destroying everything in his path, and leaving nothing but death and ash behind. Flora had been absolutely right; she had no power. She couldn't protect anybody. She only brought death closer to them, like the carrier of a plague who was cursed to never be afflicted by the sickness they spread. But, as the gods were her witness, she could get their revenge. She no longer cared about going home. The heart of her home had been ripped out and set aflame. No, all she wanted now was to pay Garon in kind for all the suffering he'd wrought.
000
A/N- Whoo, another rout chapter. That's my favorite thing to write -sarcasm detector explodes- Seriously, rout chapters are the most boring thing on the planet to describe, so I didn't and instead, I turned the Ice Tribe village into the original Silent Hill, because imagine how freaking awesome that would've been to fight in an Fog of War map. There's never any mention of Garon killing Kilma in the game (it's strongly implied, however), so I threw that in, too, and really; why would Flora be a maid when she's no longer working for the castle? She can reclass into a sorcerer, why not let her be one to honor her dad? And also, my gawd, could anything screw with my suspension of disbelief more than Flora's heartfelt speech while she was on fire?! Man, I don't know if it's because I dislike this chapter in game so much or what, but I just wasn't feeling it. I mean, I've also been kind of ill and was pretty much sleep-typing this, but still- I've sleep-typed other things, and they came out okay. Hopefully, the next chapter will get me back on track