Rebellion...
Gil and Mattie, the two people he thought he knew best, are plotting against the King...
A King he thought he knew too...
But before he has time to properly process this, the brown haired man from before walks in.
"Ah, there you are." He smiles, either not noticing or not caring for the heavy atmosphere surrounding the trio, "Come, the Mistress is waiting." He states, coming to stand by the side of the table.
"Well she can keep waiting, we're in the middle of explaining things here." Gilbert grumbles, waving the other off.
"You can explain things later, she want's to see you now."
When Gilbert makes no move to get up, the other frowns.
"Gilbert-"
"I said-"
"It's fine." Matthew cuts in before a fight can start between the two, "We can go with Antonio now and fill Al in on the rest later, he'll need time to process all this anyway."
"Fine. Let's just get this over with." Gil huffs, finally standing.
Still very much confused by all this, Al gets up and follows after the trio, Arthur only getting up once he sees that Al is.
Again, they're lead outside and through the city. The scorching sun still hangs high in the sky, beating down on the sand and stone of this desert Kingdom, and Alfred wonders how anyone could live here. All the buildings here are made of an off white stone, reflecting the sun and heat, along with small windows built high in the walls helps to keep them cool, making indoors somewhat bearable. But there is no stone paths or roads between them, only the red sand in which they sit, with foot prints trailing where the people walk.
They travel down what Al guesses would be the Main Street —simply from all the buildings lining it and the more compressed sand creating what can barely be considered a dirt road— to a slightly larger building at the end of it that kind of looks like a three tiered pyramid with the top cut off.
By the time they get inside again, Arthur is panting heavily and Al feels like he needs a bath again from how much he's sweating.
"It's way too hot here." He complains, sighing in relief as soon as he gets in.
"You'll get used to it." Mattie tries to reassure him, but he too looks about ready to collapse.
They follow Antonio up to the top floor and down a corridor to a set of large stone doors. Though the hallways are wide, the roof is low, so the place is a bit of a squeeze for Arthur, the wolf having to crouch and shimmy his way along the narrower places. Al want's to ask if he's okay, given how tight of fit some of the places are, but ever since the bath, Arthur has been oddly quiet, so he decides to let the wolf be for now.
Up front, Antonio gives the door two sharp knocks, then waits to be called in.
"Enter." A female voice calls and the brunette pushes the doors open.
Inside is a single spacious room, with a large rectangular table in the centre, covered in papers and maps, and a desk at the back, filled with even more piles of papers, books and scrolls.
They all pile in, the room thankfully large enough to hold all of them easily, even Arthur, but Alfred doesn't care about that right now, as he stares at the rooms only occupant.
Seated at the desk is a long brown haired woman, with slightly tanned skin and green eyes, dressed in, from what Al can see, a dark green loose tunic with a breastplate over it.
But that's not what catches his attention.
No, what he stares at, is the two, large, folded, leathery winds behind her back.
As the doors swing shut behind them, she looks up and immediately frowns.
"So your here then." She grumbles, putting down the scroll she was reading.
"Nice to see you too." Gilbert drawls back full of sarcasm.
"Hardly." She glares, standing and rounding the desk, "What the hell Beilschmidt, what happened to the plan? You said six years. It's only been two." She demands angrily, wings twitching with her rage.
"Hey, don't blame me." Gil huffs, crossing his arms as he meets her steely gaze, "You should be asking Sadık that, he's the one who should have been keeping the kid in check."
"No you idiot! This is why I said not to rely on him, he can't be trusted! But did you listen? No! You just went ahead and gave a key roll to a man who's only loyalty is money." She shouts.
"It was necessary!" Gil shouts too, both getting caught up in their argument, "He's the only one who can cross the Borderlines without detection. I've seen it, he has to be involved."
"Then involve him, but don't rely on him! Now because of your fuck up, we're screwed!"
"We're not screwed! We can still pull this off!"
"Oh really? Then that must mean you got your power back, because that's the only way we'd be able to salvage the fucking mess you've made."
"You know I don't." Gilbert growls lowly, eyes flashing.
"Then what the hell are you playing at?!" She screams, wings and arms spreading, "I don't even have half the men we need, and we haven't even begun to work on the alliances!" She shouts, before suddenly calming, "Face it Gil, the plan's dead in the water. It's over before we even started."
"It's not."
"I know you want revenge as much as I do, but we can't win anymore, the plan's done. I'm pulling out."
This makes Gilbert's anger fizzle out to be replaced with shock.
"What? Liz, you can't."
"I don't have a choice. We've gone off track, I can't provide the assurance of knowledge anymore, not when you can't See."
"That doesn't matter." He shakes his head, grabbing Liz by the shoulders and stares at her with eyes filled with determination.
"Even if the plan's a bust, even if I can't Foresee anymore, this is still our best shot, and we have to take it. For them."
Silence passes through the room as the pair stare at each other.
"Alright," She finally agrees, smiling, "Plan or no plan, let's do this. For them."
She continues to grin as she pushes his hands off her, turning to look at Alfred.
"Now that that's sorted, I assume this is him?"
She asks curiously, walking up to Al, as if they hadn't just had a screaming match.
"Yup." Gil grins as he too, turns to look at Al, while Matt moves to the side, leaving only Antonio standing next to him and Arthur.
"Allow me to introduce you," Toni smiles sunnily at him, as if what had just happened was completely normal, "This is the Mistress of the Kingdom of Daská, Lady Elizabeta Héderváry, Demoness of the Four Sands."
Alfred's eye's widen, looking between the two brunettes. Despite the grand title, Antonio had said it with such a casual air, Alfred could hardly believe it. As his mind whirs, Al realises he's technically standing before a Queen, though she wears no crown or robes to distinguish her as such, the title is certainly telling of it, so he hurriedly kneels.
"M'lady, it is an honour." He voices, bowing his head in respect.
There's a beat of silence in which Al worries he's insulted her is some way, but he most certainly doesn't expect the raucous laughter that follows. He blinks, looking up to find the demoness doubled over in laughter, holding her stomach as she tries to contain herself, and looking around, the others are all grinning too.
"Uh..."
"Liz ain't no Queen dummy, there's no reason for you to be bowing like that." Gilbert explains, grinning at Alfred's quickly growing embarrassment.
"Pffff, Despite the title, I am, hahaha, of no royal blood." Liz gasps out between laughs, slowly getting herself under control, "I ask no man to bow for me, though it is nice to see that chivalry is not dead yet."
She grins down at him, offering her hand and pulling him to his feet, then releasing him.
"All I ask is for their sword and vow to fight by my side. The King of Talmeré is a power hungry fool, and it is time we cut off the head of the snake." She looks at him seriously, offering her hand out to him once more, "Alfred Feral Jones the third, will you lend me your strength and fight to end King Momarîs' reign of terror?"
Alfred blinks at the sudden request, having only just learnt of Gil and Mattie's goal, now he's being asked to join it?
Then, he realises something else.
"Wait, how do you know my name?"
It's Elizabeta's turn to blink, lowering her hand and looking to Gilbert.
"You haven't told him yet?"
"We were getting to that, before Toni dragged us here cause you were so impatient to have a screaming match with us."
"Told me what?" Alfred's getting the feeling that whatever 'it' is, he's not going to like it.
The demoness looks to him and shakes her head.
"Alfred, you are the Ordained Key, the Path Forged, the Blood Bond to sever the Hold of Ages. You are the Sword by which the Snake shall be felled."
There's a heavy air as she tells him this, but it all goes over Al's head.
"Am a what now?"
The group sigh as Alfred clearly doesn't understand what they're trying to tell him.
"Your power Al, the Domino bestia, is a unique type of Magia passed down a family bloodline. It's extremely rare, and expression of it by those that carry it only occurs under very specific circumstances." Matt explains, coming to stand beside him.
"Wait, wait, wait. How do you know about my power, and more than I do?"
"From Dad's journals, I pieced together his hidden writings, but it was Gil who told me how it works."
"Huh?"
Alfred is now even more confused by all this.
"How does Gil know?"
"Because I was like you, not a Domino bestia, but I had a bloodline Magia, theHaruspicem, the Soothsayer."
"Gilbert was able to foresee the future, and act accordingly to change events to create a new one, one that better suited our wants and needs." Liz adds, moving to the table to look over a map.
"Was?"
"I could before, but I can't anymore, my power is gone." Gilbert grumbles sourly, looking away.
"It's complicated." Mattie adds, shaking his head.
The group falls silent again, clearly all thinking about something, leaving Al to process all this new information.
They all know about his power, which does explain why no one here has freaked out about seeing Arthur, other than a quick glance, not a single person has given much of any kind of reaction.
Because Gil told them... 'cause he knows about it already...
Suddenly it all clicks in Alfred's head and his eyes widen.
Gilbert knew... before he did.
He knew when he through him in a cell not meant for mages, knew when he arrested him, knew that he was coming back to the Capital. He knew before he met Arthur, before his exile.
He can change events, alter the outcome to be...
He must have known back then too...
No, he didn't just know he made it happen...
Poor Randull...
The mistake he made and has been blaming himself for, for the past two years, it was never a mistake...
Specific circumstances... changing events...
Gilbert... who has always been there... guiding him...
No...
Manipulating him...
"Gaarrhhh!" He screams in anger as he launches himself at the albino, tackling him to the ground, "You Bastard!"
"Argh! Al! Ah! Fuck!"
They roll on the hard stone floor as Al tries to punch Gilbert in the face and knee him between the legs, while Gil tries to push him off.
"Randull! My exile! It's your fucking fault!" He screams, getting a good jab in on the red eyed man's side.
The others look up surprised, before quickly moving to break up the fight, or they would, if not for Arthur jumping in, biting down on Gilbert's right arm as he rolls to be on top of Alfred, and roughly pulling him back.
"Argh! Fucking!" Gil swears in pain as he's pulled back into an awkward sitting position before Al lunges at him again, punching him as he's held in place by the wolf's jaws.
"You fucking Bastard! You ruined my life!"
Despite having one arm trapped and about to be ripped off, Gilbert is not one to sit still and take a needless beating. He leans back as Alfred jumps for him, quickly lifting his legs and kicking Al in the stomach, sending him sprawling backwards. He then twists and rotates around his trapped arm, getting into a kneeling position facing the wolf and uses his magic to temporarily blind the wolf. In the moment of confusion and panic by the blinding, Arthur lets up the pressure on Gil's arm, and the albino Commander uses that split second to free himself, prying the wolf's jaws open with his magic and rolling away to safety.
'Al?! Al where are you?!'
Hearing Arthur's panicked voice for the first time since the baths, snaps Alfred of his anger at Gil, as he scrambles over the floor to the wolf.
"Am here, am right here."
'I can't see...Al... I can't see...'
The only sound the others are able to understand from Arthur is the panicky whine he makes as he desperately presses his head into Alfred.
"What the hell did you do to him?!"
"I only blinded him, it'll wear off in a minute. Fuck! That hurts..." The albino grumbles by way of explanation as he holds his bleeding arm.
"You. Fucking. Bastard!"
Alfred makes to lunge for him again with renewed anger, but is stopped by both Matthew —pushing against his shoulders—and Arthur —wrapping a paw around his body— holding him in place.
"Al don't!"
"Why?! It's his fault! He's the one who made sure I'd be on patrol that day! He's the one who cause Randull to lose his arm and leg! He's the one who made me have to leave you all alone for two years! He made me get exiled! He ruined my life!"
"I know." The calmness with which Mattie says this causes Al to falter.
"Wha- you do?"
"Yes, he told me everything, the day you were exiled. He explained it all, and, I agreed with him."
"What?"
"You had to be exiled. In order for you to awaken your power. And so that you would be safe."
"Safe? Arthur tried to eat me the first time I saw him! I almost died!"
"Don't be so dramatic, you weren't going to die."
"Easy for you to say!"
"It's true, Gilbert foresaw the future and altered the events that would have happened to save you and in the process meet a beast you would Bond with."
"...Save me?"
"If I hadn't done anything, you would have died on your third patrol to the west." Gilbert explains, glaring, annoyed at Al, "Your death would have just been as pointless fodder for the King, and he wouldn't have even bat an eye at it. Like so many others, like Ludy."
All of Alfred's remaining anger disappears at that.
"I didn't ruin your life kid, I saved you."
Authors notes: Welcome back to Who's dead? This week it's Ludwig!
Sorry Germany fans, but it's Plot, evil, evil Plot.
And there you have it folks, from the very start, Gilbert has been behind everything. Well, up until Sadık messed with the plan that is.
And Hungary's here! The devil girl herself, basically she looks the exact same as normal, only with demon wings, because Plot. She and Spain are working together in the South, and we'll touch more on Spain's role later.
Job interviews are stressful, thus, this chapter is my decompression.
Maybe I'll get this one... maybe not...
R & R people.
Until next time, stay awesome!