Alright, I will for sure get this chapter out in a more timely manner!
Louise: I'd like to see that happen. It's getting awkward talking to everyone with all the tension.
Neb: And aggravating that it hasn't been dealt with.
7: You two keep your opinions to yourself, you're not co-writers!
Louise: That's why we live in the dorms with the other casts. I don't care how nice they are, you and the editors get a house each!
7: We're arguing about housing that doesn't exist, are you that upset about how things are going?
Louise: Not angry just… frustrated at waiting.
7: I've said it before and I'll say it again, I have school! If I could, I'd write until I ran out of ideas, but that's not how things work and there are other things I like to do.
Neb: You're preaching to the choir, literally in my case. Just get on to the story and I won't give you the details about what happened this morning.
7: Yeah, I really don't want to know how you guys managed to spread singing skulls all over the place without someone noticing.
Anyway, to the story!
Reality Check
It was only a moment after they started down the hallway to find the Count that Guiche slowed, tilting his head up as though listening to something. The others slowed, waiting for him, before he turned his attention back to them. "It would appear that my marvelous Verdandi has just returned, and that I am required outside." He glanced between the party, an apologetic look on his face. "Would you all mind if I took care of him now? I know we still have another to meet, but..."
Montmorency sighed, stepping over to join him. "But now that we're meeting a nobleman, rather than noblewoman, you would rather coo over your familiar than socialize?" She accused, getting a nervous laugh from Guiche.
"Non, non, my dear," he quickly protested. "Only, Verdandi has been working hard, and if I do not reward that quickly, what sort of Master am I? And, it is not as though all of us are needed to listen to what information the good count might have. Truthfully, only one or two of us would even need to go, with Louise as one for having gained our audiences through her family's name."
Louise arched an eyebrow, before shrugging. "That's true enough. I would like at least one or two extra sets of ears to see if they can catch anything I might miss, and it might insult him for only one of us to come meet him, but we hardly need the entire group. Ta-"
Siesta quickly tapped Louise's shoulder once more. "I should be present, even if simply in the background," she quickly interjected, before leaning in to whisper. "We don't know for sure that we are safe, and an attacker is more likely to discount me than a mage."
Louise nodded. "Alright, so the two of us-" and was promptly interrupted once more, this time by Kirche.
"Well, I'm certainly not going to leave you to deal with whatever stuffy nobleman the count might be alone," she proclaimed, smiling as she started forward, ahead of the group. "Tabitha, why don't the four of us leave Monmon and Guiche alone. To take care of his familiar, of course."
Montmorency jerked in place, her face flushing lightly as she glared back at the retreating redhead, before turning and grabbing Guiche's sleeve. "W-well then, let's go. I'll help out, if only to look the gems over. I doubt that you'd be able to bring yourself to look away from Verdi for long enough to even do a basic appraisal of them."
As the two of them started off, Louise looked back to share a small look of amusement with the rest of her friends, only to see that Kirche and Siesta were glaring daggers at one another, and only Tabitha seemed to be looking back to catch it. Still, the other girl nodded, quirking her lips up faintly for a moment, before Louise moved back to catch up and take the lead. Hopefully, she thought, the tension would break with something to distract them.
She opened the door to the Count's room, stepping in, before stopping, stunned. The room was... ostentatious, to be frank. Louise had spent a good bit of her childhood in and out of the palace thanks to her friendship with Princess Henrietta, so she was usually rather inured to such displays of wealth. Many nobles enjoyed having nice things around them, and tended to put their most impressive shows of wealth where others would inevitably see them.
Yet, there was still a difference between the more tasteful displays that her father favored, and the gaudy absurdity which she was assaulted with on entering their meeting room. The man had a throne all his own, with rubies set into gold-leaf arms – or what Louise honestly hoped was merely gold leaf – in front of a table with modest wooden chairs for supplicants. The table itself was likewise plated in gold and framed with silver, and the ornately decorated edge was studded with pearls and opals.
Yet despite how tasteless the effect ended up, all of that somehow paled in comparison to the fact that he had a portrait of himself, younger and in dress uniform adorned with jewelry, painted as a mural on the ceiling to look down at them. The artist had clearly been skilled, too, as the painting created an effect of the ceiling stretching higher, and the man towering above the room and looking down into it from above, like some richly dressed giant.
All of this in the same building as a Duchess who had favored a simple, if large and well made, padded wooden chair. It boggled the mind that anyone would think to attempt to show off so much in a room given to them within the home of a higher ranked noble.
She looked back to meet Tabitha's eyes, before slowly glancing to meet Kirche's. Though Tabitha's expression was more hidden, Louise knew her well enough to read the tightening around her eyes and the twitching of her lips. Kirche didn't bother with hiding her look of displeasure. They all shared a look that spoke volumes about how little they were suddenly looking forward to speaking to the man. Siesta, of course, kept a polite smile and a look of demure professionalism drilled into her from her time as a maid at the academy, stepping smoothly to the side of the door on the inside to watch.
Louise turned back to look for the Count, finally noticing him in his throne. It should have been the first place that the eyes were drawn to, yet somehow, he was nearly invisible against the rest of his room. Perhaps it was the fact that his stately robes had enough red and gold in them to look like part of his throne, or perhaps it was simply that Viserio just didn't command the sort of presence that his portrait held. Either the artist had taken some creative liberties, or age had simply divested him of much of his aura of command and strength.
He was clearly advancing in age, though not so old as to look frail, with his eyes sunken and his face lined by stress until it was set in a permanent scowl. His lips strained on his face, presenting a razor-thin mouth that looked constantly like the lord was sucking on a lemon, or considering something distasteful in front of him. His eyes were a dull looking gray, much as his eyebrows above them, leaving no doubt that his elegantly styled golden-blonde hair was dyed or a wig.
He was silent as the three of them walked up to the table, waiting until they had seated themselves in the shorter chairs below him before he finally acknowledged their presence.
"...And?" he rasped, showing a glint of gold teeth among yellow. "What are you here to waste my time with?" His eyes jerked in their sockets, zeroing in on Kirche to Louise's left, before dismissing her with an even more pronounced scowl. He turned back to Louise, and the dull gray was suddenly far more alive, glinting with a sort of hate that nearly made her flinch.
Still, there were courtly manners that she could rely on to allow her to ignore everything, at least until she was out of the Count's hearing range. She dipped her head, before looking back up at Viserio with a calm expression.
"Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to meet with us, Lord Viserio. My friends and I were passing through Galton when it was attacked, and did not wish to leave without doing all we could to repay the arsonists for the trouble they caused us." She opened her mouth to continue, only to be interrupted mid-breath.
"Then go. Get on with it." The count lifted a hand to flick at the air in a shooing motion. "You're not so incompetent that you can't even catch a few brigands, are you? And I do hope you're not expecting a reward for it."
Louise's mouth hung a half-inch open at the sheer gall of the man. Who did this puffed-up nobody think he was!? She was a Valliere, for Brimir's sake!
Before she had even properly recovered her wits, Kirche was slamming her arm on the table, shouting. "What is wrong with you? The Duchess sent us to you for our answers, has already approved of our presence here, and you're acting like we just killed your familiar or something! For trying to help with your problems!"
The man's hateful gaze snapped to Kirche again, and Viserio's lips pulled up in a snarl. "Oh? My problem, is it, Von Zerbst? Yes, that's right, I recognize your blood, just as I am sure Jessamine did – and it is only through her mercy that I have not ordered you and all of your little friends arrested for daring to come into my lands! I've heard the reports already: Bandits with a fire mage in their ranks, showing up and harrying us while fleeing into the Germanian borders to escape. And then who should come to offer to 'help' than the spawn of the devil himself."
He opened his mouth, making an absolutely disgusting wet hacking sound, before spitting a glob of filth directly at Kirche. She flinched back and away, face crinkling in revulsion and shock at the man's sheer venom, allowing the spit to fly past her and splatter onto the floor.
"I know how this goes," he continued in the stunned silence. "You come, you kill my men, you make me look a fool for not being able to catch these brigands... and then you swoop in to deal with all my troubles, taking the glory and the money your own minions have robbed from me. Maybe even forcing the Duchess to reward you for it as I am brought to task for my failures. Give me one reason I shouldn't send your father a demand for your ransom if he wants you back with all your limbs in one piece, you Germanian piece of filth!"
Things were suddenly escalating far faster than either Louise or Tabitha had been prepared for. The blue-haired girl's mask of calm was starting to slip, her hand clenching at her staff with the desire to come to her friend's defense, while Louise desperately tried to rally herself to react to the situation. She knew that, while some might be cowed by such threats, or try to deescalate, Kirche... wouldn't.
A glance to her side was enough to see that her fears were quite well founded, and that Kirche was seconds away from hurling vitriol and hate back with equal intensity. She couldn't let that happen.
"Stop!" Louise cut in, the force of command in her voice momentarily causing both Viserio and Kirche to freeze. "Lord Viserio, I am Louise François de la Valliere. I have been with Kirche the entire trip thus far from the Academy, and we have only just reached these lands. Unless you are implying that I am complicit in these attacks, and that the Valliere have allied themselves with the Zebst against the crown? Do keep your threats to yourself."
Her glare could have melted steel as she stared him down, and though the Count looked to be fuming, he at least realized that making such a claim so openly could very well ruin him when her mother heard of it. He would make an enemy of one of the most powerful noble families in the country if he pushed further against Kirche now that Louise had attached her family's name to their journey. Though, she didn't look forward to explaining why she was with Kirche in the first place to her mother when it came time.
Still, despite that, it didn't seem Viserio was going to let things drop completely. "Very well, she may not be the mage leading the bandits, I will give you that. I think my men would have commented on it if they were led by a fire mage of such... impropriety." None of them relaxed with that insulting concession, knowing more was coming. "However, the timing of her journey, to the very place that they chose to attack? That is still quite suspect. Even if she is not the one killing my men, it could be a brother, a cousin, an uncle, or even her father. I doubt that you know every correspondence that she gets – she is using you as a shield for their plot, and I will not allow her to interfere, risking the escape of whatever foul cretin it is who she's working with."
Even if he couldn't attack Kirche, he was still more than capable of shutting down their chances of getting information, and making it even harder for them to go off on their own to retrieve the axe. Louise grimaced internally, refusing to let her frustration show on her face. She could hardly tell him that she was reading all of Kirche's letters or something – there was no way he'd believe it, and it would cast herself in an ill light for no gain.
But should she tell him that she trusted Kirche implicitly, especially after already telling the Duchess that she was only abiding by her presence for the sake of her grade... that would end up just as badly, if not worse. There would be questions, and possible detainment while a letter was sent to her parents.
No, as long as the Count was thinking that Kirche was probably working with the bandits, there wouldn't be any way to work with him. All that was left was to use... at least a portion of the truth.
"Lord Viserio, this is not a Germanian raiding party. The reason that they have proved so dangerous isn't that they have a fire mage – it's that they have come into possession of a powerful relic of fire. That is why we were traveling here in the first place. You know of how Fouquet struck at the Academy some time back..."
She let herself trail off, allowing him to draw his own conclusions from the two facts she had given. She hoped that would be enough. The Count slumped back into his throne with a more thoughtful look and Kirche fell back into her chair as well, still fuming and clutching her wand. At least she looked less like she was about to fireball the other side of the table.
Louise breathed a sigh of relief along with Tabitha, sharing a quick look with the quieter girl. Tabitha nodded, before standing from her chair to give a bow to their host. "Apologies. The exact nature... of our mission... should not be spread. We do not need any reward. Only help to find. We will retrieve the item... and stop the attacks. The stolen gold... shall be returned. No need for glory, either."
The Count's look of rage cooled further, replaced by a considering look between Louise and Tabitha. "...I see. I'll admit, that would change things some." The concession looked to be physically painful for him to make, but he made it all the same. "...If you're being honest, that is."
Frankly, Louise could have kissed Tabitha for helping her defuse things. That could wait for later though – she still had to finish getting what they needed form the Count.
"We are," she assured, hand over her heart. "I swear it: we want only to help, and to complete our mission. All we need from you is any information you have on these bandits, for where they might be and numbers we can expect to face. Perhaps we could track them on our own, but I am not so prideful that I would discount the value of those who have already been fighting them. Nor am I too proud to ask for help when time is as essential as it is. The weapon that they have stolen is dangerous, and the longer it takes to stop them, the more we put innocent people at risk." She looked to the Count, gaze imploring as she met his sunken eyes and tried to make him see how earnest she was. "So please, will you aid us?"
Viserio stared at her, evaluating her for a long, painful minute, before he rolled his eyes, looking away. "I suppose. As long as it gets that Zerbst out of my lands faster, I'll give you what information I have."
A palpable sense of relief spread through the three girls at the statement. That... could have gone much, much worse. It very nearly had, at that, but somehow, it looked like it was going to work out.
"I haven't had any further reports about them since Galton's blaze," the Count informed them, looking as though he was trying not to sneer at Kirche again. "But my men have determined that there are somewhere around thirty of the bastards. Perhaps less, given how often lowlifes turn on each other and kill themselves off. We found their hastily abandoned camp, with tracks moving to the east towards Germania. We already have forces mobilized and ready to hunt for the bandits, too, so you can try to join with some of them if you want, or just have one show you the abandoned camp on a map. I'll instruct my men to cooperate, or to look the other way if they can."
The man's eyes twitched slightly as he leaned back in his throne again, before he pointed to his door. "Now, if that's everything, get out. I have important work to do, and I can't do that in front of the lot of you. Leave me."
Though still phrased quite rudely, all of them were more than happy to obey that particular order of the Count. Soon, all four of them were walking away as the doors shut behind them, Kirche looking as though she was gasping for fresh air the moment they were away.
"Well, that man was unpleasant," she commented, looking over to Louise. "I almost wish you hadn't stopped us. If he had attacked first, and I was merely defending myself..."
"You'd have possibly started a war, or left us having to fight our way out through several soldiers, guards, and other mages, none of them responsible for their Lord," Louise retorted. She softened the rebuke with a small smirk. "Not that I wasn't still tempted. Now, shall we find the others?" she asked.
She looked back to Siesta, risking a small smile to the maid. She just caught Siesta finishing with re-securing the knives that she had been silently readying for in case it had come to a fight. Though, she was a bit too slow to catch Siesta's smirk at Kirche being chastised. As they continued forward, Siesta even started to close back in to walking with them, more than behind them.
Tabitha shifted to the side fairly quickly, making room for Siesta, and moved over to Kirche to give her a silent pat on the arm. "Wouldn't need to kill. And his attack, would reflect poorly on him. Might have gotten someone... more agreeable."
"Well," Siesta chimed in, now that they were far enough from the door, "There's also always claiming that the bandits managed to get an assassin in. Though with their belief that this might be related to Miss Zebst's family, such a thing happening could be... unfortunate." Her voice lilted softly at the end, holding a smile all the while.
"Either way," Louise quickly cut back in, not liking the odd feeling of the conversation, "it's a good thing that nothing happened. And hopefully, since I implied the axe was from the Academy, even if he's interested in it, he would simply send it to the Academy in hopes of a favor from Headmaster Osmond."
She turned her attention back in front of her, and the rest of the trip back was made in relative silence as they reached more traveled halls. But Louise was keenly aware that the pressure on their group that Neb had warned her about was still there, still smoldering, and that she still had no idea how to take care of it.
– – –
With the meeting done, the group reconvened in the courtyard to begin doling out tasks. They still needed to see if they could get a decent amount for the gems that Verdandi had collected, for one thing. Montmorency had already had some time to determine how valuable they should be, but that didn't mean anything if they couldn't find someone willing to pay that much for them, and willing to pay in the right time frame to be useful. A brief discussion had Neb suggesting that Louise and himself go with Montmorency and Guiche for it.
Tabitha, of course, would have to wait for Sylphid to return from her hunting, where she could clean and dress any game that the dragon brought back with her. That left Siesta and Kirche to do the shopping. Given how they had been acting around each other lately, there was no way that Louise or Neb were sending the two together without supervision.
Kirche, after being given a carefully counted amount of gold and a list, was sent to refill their provisions. Siesta started to protest the choice, citing Kirche's well known propensity to buy unnecessary items, but Louise quieted her with her own list of supplies and bag of coins.
The group took their tasks and split, wanting to get things ready as quickly as they could so that they could begin planning and other preparations. Siesta had taken a moment's pause to watch Louise leave, clearly tempted to follow... before she headed off for the task she had been trusted with. It wasn't as though Louise would be undefended, and she also wasn't with anyone who the maid would consider... an unsafe choice to leave her with. Neb had chosen rather well on that.
Around a half hour later, Siesta was walking down one of Roer's many streets, looking at her list. "Two lengths of rope, a cast-iron skillet, extra-large canteens for everyone, a hairbrush for Louse, and…scale polish?"
She huffed at the last item. It was rather obvious who had pushed for that to be added as a 'necessary item' for her to pick up; if Neb was vain about anything, it was his scales. Especially the ones on his belly. Shaking her head with a smile, she continued down the street until she found a general store. "Here we are."
The door opened with a pleasant jingle, and Siesta found herself in a quaint room full of all the essentials. "Wow, it's nice in here," she whispered under her breath, glancing around.
There were a few people inside and Siesta had made sure she wasn't in her maid uniform, so she settled for blending in. It was easy to find the rope, skillet, and hairbrush but it looked like she'd have to find her other items elsewhere. There just didn't seem to be much demand for scale polish in the common populous.
"Still, to think she'd trust someone other than the cook with picking up food." Siesta mumbled after paying. "Kirche wouldn't know restraint if it slapped her ass."
Siesta quickly covered her mouth, glancing around to see if anyone heard her. She heaved a relieved sigh when no one so much as glanced at her. "I really must be more careful. I don't want to go and make a mess of things before my Lady picks me."
Siesta knew that threatening Tabitha had been a foolish idea, but it had the unintended effect of distancing Tabitha from Louise. Add on the unconscious conviction Louise had used to denounce Kirche earlier that day and Siesta knew it was only a matter of time before Louise gave up on them.
Then it would be down to her, ready and waiting to take Louise into her arms. A wicked giggle tried to push past her lips, but Siesta suppressed it. Not yet, she told herself; she could celebrate in private.
"Siesta?" a hateful voice called. "I thought you'd have found everything by now. What's up?"
Siesta snapped out of her reverie, her cheerful mood gone like so much smoke in the wind, and just barely held back a snarl when she turned to see Kirche. She slapped on a clearly fake smile for her, and gave a nod of deference so small as to be insulting. "I am simply going to find another store, Lady Zerbst. What of it?"
Kirche sighed at the cold tone. "I was just curious, sheesh. Besides, I needed to ask you a question."
Siesta remained cool, even as anger bubbled in her breast. You have no right to ask me anything you cruel cow. I don't care if Louise lusts for your form, you will not have her so long as I breathe.
Kirche cringed back at the heat in Siesta's eyes. "So, uh… I was just going to ask if Louise had any preferences for something special. The grocer was having a sale, her birthday's soon…and…"
Siesta felt her anger rising and spilling onto her face, Kirche's face growing pale as Siesta began to snarl.
"…You know what? Never mind. I think I'll just get whatever looks like the best deal."
Kirche turned and walked away as quickly as she could. Siesta held her glare until Kirche was long out of sight before scoffing. "She doesn't care. She's using her body to seduce Lady Louise just to hurt her. I know that's her plan, and I won't let her manage it." It was Her fault that Louise was hurting even now, after all – hating herself and unable to be faithful to the true feelings of her heart. Just the thought of it was still enough that Siesta had trouble holding anything resembling her professional mien when talking to Kirche.
It never crossed her mind that Kirche was truly regretful or in love with Louise. All she knew was that Kirche was Louise's most unrelenting bully and tormentor in the past, and that meant any attempt to be nice was part of an elaborate plot to destroy the already emotionally wounded girl.
Siesta pushed her anger to the back of her mind and returned to her search. She couldn't ignore the canteens, since Louise and Neb wouldn't allow it no matter the reasoning, but she could drag Louise away from the others while they were in town.
She just needed to distract them for a bit, and then Siesta could work her own sort of magic on her dear, sweet, innocent Louise…
A dreamy grin crossed her face as she began to fantasize, ignorant to the pair of men watching her. "That the one?"
The other nodded. "Yeah, no way she's a noble. I know her friend's the Zerbst, especially with hair like that, so we've found the mark."
"Good," his friend smirked. "And they ain't chums either. You want this or should I work my charm?"
The man gestured his friend forward. "Have at her, Lars. You've always been better with these angry broads than I."
His friend's smirk straightened into an easy smile, losing its feral edge. Fixing his posture and adjusting his clothes, Lars approached Siesta looking quite a bit more approachable than he had mere moments before. "Excuse me, ma'am. You look like someone that needs to take a load off."
Siesta glanced to him, taking in his average clothes and sandy blonde hair at a glance. "What are you trying to sell me?"
Lars held up his hands in surrender. "Nothin', just thought you looked peeved. There's a nice bar down the street if you fancy a drink, and the baker two doors down is to die for. Great place to go if you like sweets."
Siesta huffed. "I have no interest in such things, nor does my employer. However… do you know where I can purchase large canteens and scale polish?"
Lars blinked before his grin returned. "That I do! Canteens are at the edge of town by the gates while you'll find scale polish over in the noble district. Good restaurants there from what I've heard too – would like to take my lady there if I can ever scratch up the cash."
Siesta's face scrunched in thought. "I see… thank you, sir. I appreciate the help."
Siesta bowed and bid Lars farewell, her gait steady despite the twisted grin that had settled on to her face.
Lars shivered and Jens joined him. "Cold one, eh?"
Lars shook his head. "Yeah, but I think we got her an idea. Let's get back and tell the others to watch the bakery and bar. The Zerbst will be there before long."
Jens slapped his friend' back. "Look on the bright side. It's not like the others can find the Zerbst before the ransom shows up."
"If her family doesn't do us in." Lars muttered. "Or the boss."
– – –
A bit later, Siesta found herself finally thinking something she hadn't expected. I really must thank Lady Zerbst, Siesta considered, walking down the street with the last of the supplies in hand. I'd almost forgotten Lady Louise's birthday was coming up. The idea that something good had come from Kirche, even if it had taken her time to calm down and realize it, made her feel... a bit off.
She shook her head, pushing the thought away for the moment to think instead of much more pleasant things. Mostly Louise, and how she might could finally free her heart to follow the path it clearly desired most.
That the party had set out from the Academy only a scant couple of weeks before Louise was due to turn eighteen just gave her the perfect timing for things.
Siesta was quickly making her way back to the palace to meet up with the others. She'd taken her time on this last leg, though, playing with an idea of how she might be able to make Louise hers as soon as possible. It wasn't all that complicated, really. The biggest problem was Kirche, after all.
But with a party, she could get the redhead to drink a bit of wine. A bit too much, even. Kirche clearly hated Siesta at least nearly as much as she hated the Germanian at the moment, from how she had been acting. It would be so easy to bait her, to get her to pull out her wand for just a little wisp of flame, she was sure. Maybe a threat, or a taunt. And then she'd react as though struck, cry out in fear to Louise, and allow herself be dragged off to be comforted.
She could claim easily that she was still traumatized by her memories of the pain from the fire in Galton, and that being threatened with magical fire without being mentally prepared had caused a flashback. She could leverage that and Kirche's lack of graces to quickly put the final nail in Louise's crush on her, and have Louise agree to spend the night with her, to hold off any nightmares.
There was still Tabitha, of course, and Siesta had been regretting her threat to the other girl. She hadn't quite been thinking, at the time, and even beyond making her more difficult to work with, she just kind of felt... bad about it.
Still though, she was fairly sure she could manipulate the stoic girl through her crush, convincing her that once it was just down to the her and Siesta, it would be the kindest thing to Louise for Tabitha to bow out. It may have been cruel to manipulate Tabitha's emotional deficiency, but it was far crueler in Siesta's eyes to have done nothing to try and save Louise from her tormentors back at the Academy.
All would be made right, and Siesta's conscience would be clean.
With her mind set, Siesta had sped her pace until she reached the palace courtyard, only slightly out of breath. "Hello!" she called to the group.
Neb's head rose from the shade, Guiche and Kirche stepping into the light as well. "Ah, Siesta, I see you're back. Do you have everything, then?"
Siesta nodded as she reached the group. "Yes, and I came across some... interesting information. Something for us to think about."
Neb perked up, eyes shining as Siesta handed her spoils over to Guiche to store. "So? What did you find? Any information on the bandits, perhaps?"
Siesta shook her head, sheepish. "Sorry, no. I just realized, thanks to Lady Zerbst, that Lady Louise will be turning eighteen in a few days. I was thinking, while we're in town, we could celebrate her birthday tonight! I found a bakery that specializes in her favorite sweets and there are many restaurants to choose from within our budget."
Neb hummed at the idea while Kirche stared at Siesta in open shock. "What's with the change in attitude? When I tried asking about it, you looked like I had kicked your dog!"
Siesta plastered false apology on her face. "Forgive me, Lady Zerbst, I had a difficult time with one of the shop keepers before we spoke. I let my anger at them affect me, so again, I apologize."
She threw in a bow and internally smirked at the relief on Kirche's face. If only she knew what was coming.
"Well," Guiche said as he finished stowing Siesta's purchases, "I think it's a splendid idea, over all. Though there's little we can do for planning without Tabitha or Monmon. I know Louise is off tracking down a blacksmith for oil, but Tabitha and Monmon should be back soon."
"And why do we need to be back?" Montmorency asked as she and Tabitha entered the courtyard, a great piece of iron in hand. "Before you ask, Siesta, Neb asked us to get this so we had something to work and replace nails and such. Cheaper to give the smith the iron."
Siesta shrugged and repeated her plan. She knew Tabitha was suspicious, of course – the girl's stance simply radiated it to her – but everyone else looked fairly agreeable to the plan.
"I think we can do it," Neb finally decided. "But I think we should pool our resources to get her something besides dinner and a cake. …You do use cakes to celebrate here, right?"
Kirche nodded. "That we do, and I know exactly the cake we need! I'll head to the bakery and get it, so I'll leave the gift and such to you guys."
Guiche shrugged. "I know a good place to eat when I see it. I'll scout out the restaurants."
"Not without me you won't." Neb snorted. "You lot still need to learn the meaning of frugality and I refuse to blow everything we managed to acquire on some absurdly priced meal."
"Then we'll get the gift." Montmorency sighed, walking over to Tabitha's side. "Though getting her something fancy is probably a bad idea right now. What do you think, Siesta?" she asked, turning her head towards the maid.
Siesta shrugged. "Something practical would be best. If you want to try for something big, she could use some actual armor."
Neb hummed in thought. "Nothing heavy or hard to travel in. Truthfully, all of you need honest armor under those cloaks. It may always be best to avoid an attack, but sometimes you need an extra layer of protection."
"…Says the one with armored scales," Tabitha noted.
Neb chuckled. "Traveling with people that insist on covering every inch of their body with steel shows you how hard it is for those not blessed with natural defenses. She won't mind some iron, but try not to go overboard."
Tabitha smirked slightly. "No promises."
Neb sighed at the flippant response, but noticed Siesta and Tabitha glare at each other again before the group split up.
After he was sure they'd left, Neb tapped on the ground. "Verdandi, I need a favor."
The mole popped out of the ground and saluted with a squeak.
"Stop calling me captain," Neb groaned. "Look, can you keep an eye on Tabitha? I have a feeling she and Siesta are getting to the point of no return, and we need to be ready."
Verdandi squeaked and gestured where Siesta had been.
"I'll be sending Flame after her." Neb answered. "If she does something out of line, I'll know about it. Go for now, we'll meet up later."
Verdandi squeaked and tunneled away, Neb calling over Flame and explaining his role before standing with a groan. "Alright, let's go make sure Guiche doesn't choose something that will beggar us again."
He began to walk away when he heard someone call for him. "Sir Neb, wait a moment!"
Neb paused and looked back to find Carol running towards him. "Ms. Carol? What's going on?"
The woman panted as she came to a stop, panic clear. "I think the bandits are in the city! Some of the city patrol were talking about activity over by the docks last night, but no boats docked yesterday and the next to leave is three days from now."
Neb's maw twisted with a growl. "I'm assuming you don't have a specific location?"
Carol shook her head. "No, I'd have stormed them already if I did. Rather, I'm heading to the docks to investigate the rumors. Considering your group has a stake in this, I thought you should know."
Neb sighed through his nose. "I see… thank you for informing me, I'll be sure to tell everyone before the end of the night."
Carol nodded. "Thank you. The sooner they're dealt with, the sooner everything can get back to normal."
Neb hummed as she walked away, suspicious at the lack of soldiers accompanying her. "Don't do anything reckless, sergeant. Last thing we need is to have to go mounting a rescue.
– – –
"…This is hard."
Montmorency rolled her eyes at the rather obvious comment. "It's not my fault every armorer's ready-made pieces are sized for full grown men. Besides, you're the one that said we can't try for a custom order."
Tabitha gave Montmorency a half-hearted glare. "…No time to wait on new one. Armor takes time. Re-fitting something close would be best. Try the next one. Maybe the gauntlets, if nothing else."
Montmorency bit her lip; that wasn't a bad idea. "Well, I see one more up ahead. We'll go with your idea if they don't have a breastplate."
Tabitha nodded and silence fell between them. Neither were the closest of friends, even after Neb's training, so there was little for them to talk about.
Tabitha, oddly, came up with a topic. "Do you think... we'll actually go into Germania?"
"Unless we get another lead, probably not," Montmorency replied without pause. "If the bandits have the axe like Neb thinks, then all that paperwork was useless."
Tabitha's lips quirked up a bit. "Kirche... should be glad." She knew that the redhead had been dreading the idea of having to introduce Louise to her family. She wasn't great at hiding her feelings, and her family would at least realize that she cared about Louise as a friend, if nothing else. A discussion about that would likely get... heated.
Montmorency waved the words away. "Well, we're here, so let's see if they can help or we'll have to fall back on perfume."
Tabitha grimaced at the thought of having to head to a perfumer. Those places always made her head spin, even when she was a child.
Montmorency ignored the grimace and pushed open the armorer's door. "Excuse me, we're looking for some armor."
An extremely average man perked up from behind the store's counter. With his brown hair, muddy brown eyes, and slightly tanned skin, he very nearly faded into the scenery around him. Then again, to Montmorency, most commoners seemed to do that when they wanted to. "What kind? You ladies got a bodyguard that needs some new plate or chain?"
Montmorency sauntered up to him, putting on an air of authority that being a noble granted her. It normally helped her get better service and deals, save for with a few less savory sorts who clearly didn't understand their place in life. Or those who just had enough money sense to try to gouge any noble who didn't know to haggle them down. "We're looking for a gift. A friend of ours will be joining a knightly order soon, and we're looking for something…useful."
The man scratched his chin. "I see… Alright, milady, if you need something useful for the knight orders, I'd choose brigadine with some faulds. If you want to go the extra mile, gauntlets and greaves are good with it too."
Montmorency did the math in her head, slowly nodding. "If we make a purchase or not will still depend on whether you have the pieces in the size we need, though," she warned. "Our friend is not of… great stature."
She pointed to Tabitha. "Think her, but more muscular."
Tabitha didn't appreciate the comment, and her glare showed it, but the man smiled. "Well, you're in luck. I had a custom order come in last month for someone around her size, but they never showed. Give me a moment and I'll retrieve it for you."
Montmorency and Tabitha exchanged surprised glances before settling in. It wasn't long before the shop keeper came back with a package in his arms. "Here we are. Milady, your friend can try this on."
Montmorency looked to Tabitha, who was shaking her head. "Come on Tabitha, we won't know if it fits if you don't try it on. Blame Louise or yourself for having such a similar build."
Tabitha glared again, but sighed when presented with the package. "…Fine."
She took the package and opened it up, starting to pull out the pieces to examine and check the fit. They'd still likely need some adjustments for Louise, but if they were close enough, they might do in a pinch even before.
She barely had it halfway on before Montmorency was starting to hammer out the price for it with the smith.
– – –
"Thank you!"
Kirche skipped from the bakery, a beaming grin on her face. Not only had she been able to get a cake, the owner had thrown in a frosted cinnamon loaf after Kirche had worked her charms on him.
Now they had sweets for everyone!
Humming down the street, Kirche looked to the sky. "My but it's getting late. I should get back before anyone starts to worry about me."
She turned for the castle, keeping a firm grip on her prizes as she went. It was nice to be the one to get Louise's cake, especially since she'd noticed Louise had never celebrated her birthday while they'd been at the Academy. All she did was study.
So, in the interest of giving her a good night, she'd gotten Louise her favorite cake.
Gingerbread.
The Academy didn't see that kind of cake until the fall months when the necessary spices became available, but Kirche always noticed Louise take as many as she could carry when they were served. It was a stroke of luck that the bakery had the ingredients on hand.
Hopefully the cinnamon loaf would get Siesta to mellow out, too. Kirche was fairly sure that she had been a bit too hard on the maid after... what she overheard, and clearly, Siesta had picked up on things. So, this could be something of a peace offering as well, since she vaguely thought she remembered that Siesta enjoyed cinnamon. Probably. It was the thought that counted though, right?
She still didn't plan to bow out of the race even if it looked like someone else had already beaten her, but she could at least be a good sport about it and not let her feelings hurt the group as a whole. Especially since she was honestly starting to suspect she had ruined any chances she might have had with Louise long ago.
Kirche was so caught up in her own head she never noticed the alley she walked by. Or the rock aimed square at her head.
Kirche's head rang as the rock collided with her temple, vision going sideways and blurring immediately. "Wha-?"
Her hold on the cake and loaf loosened, but she didn't drop them. Even as she fell to her knees and nausea flooded her sense, Kirche pushed the packages aside so she wouldn't vomit on them. "What… hit me?"
Muffled voices reached her and she felt hands rifle through her pockets. "Hey!"
More voices, the sound of snapping wood, and Kirche felt hands grab her limbs and shoulders. "Let… go of… me…"
Nausea took over and she lurched forward, bile spilling onto the street. The blow to her head must have been worse than she had thought, if she wasn't recovering yet. It was almost like what happened when Louise had used too much force in a sparring match.
Rope soon bound her and Kirche knew she needed to call for help. The breaking wood earlier must have been her wand and she didn't have her weapons on her. Not that she could have used them, with the bindings holding her arms tight.
Her vision steadied slightly, and the ringing in her ears started to quiet. She took the momentary chance and shouted into the street. "Help!"
The people grabbing her immediately shoved something into her mouth. Kirche didn't know what it was, but she did her best to spit it out. "Helphw!"
A shadow appeared at the entrance to the alley, Kirche realizing she'd been dragged from the street and out of sight. In fact, she recognized the shadow. Siesta!
The maid stared into the alley, her face… shocked, before quickly going still and passive as she looked up at Kirche's captors. Kirche felt a pit open in her stomach at the look, especially with most of her captors continuing their work. She worked the gag out of her mouth fully for a moment, pulling against the attacker's arms to try to reach an ally. "Siesta, help me!"
Siesta was fingering her sleeves, at the knives that she always seemed to keep there, when one of the other men stepped forward.
"Ya don't wanna be doin' that, lady. Just move along and pretend ya didn't see anythin'."
The voice was accompanied by a growl from another of the men – just how many were there in here with her?
"Look, we'll not be damagin' her too badly. She's worth a lot to ol' daddy dearest intact. But you? Yer's a pretty face without anyone ta ransom to, against all o' us. Besides, we've been watching ya – wouldn't life be so much easier, without this one nasty noble?"
Kirche's face twisted in shock as she saw the maid slowly take a step back, her hands leaving her sleeves without a glint of steel. "Siesta… this is no time to be kidding! We're friends ri-!"
Another blow to her head sent Kirche to the realm of dreams, and Siesta watching the captors finish binding Kirche's mouth and eyes before fleeing.
Shaking, and without a word, Siesta leaned down and picked up the packages. As she'd thought, Kirche had gotten the gingerbread.
It had been simple fortune that the captors had come for her right as Siesta walked by, but as confident as she was in her skills... she wasn't so confident that she was sure she could fight six large, armed men in a small alley. For Louise, she wouldn't have hesitated, of course, but...
Well, wasn't the thug right? Wouldn't her life be easier if Kirche wasn't there for a bit?
Perhaps Kirche would even end up with that pretty face of hers ruined, left unable to keep attempting to seduce Louise away to hurt her. Or even better, even without any permanent damage, it would be enough of a scare for the Zebst family that they wouldn't allow their daughter to return to the group, or even the Academy.
Louise would want to save her, of course... but without following them, Siesta wouldn't be able to help find them. And... rushing in without thinking would be dangerous, even for a group as skilled as theirs had become. Especially with that axe. Really, keeping quiet and helping Louise focus on preparing to do things right would be for the best. Hopefully taking long enough for Kirche to have already been sent back to her father.
Turning on her heel, Siesta set out for the castle, breathing out shakily as she reached the lip of the alley. Her eyes widened as she spotted Flame staring from the other side of the road, clearly having seen her. The Salamander turned and started fleeing towards the group, and she let out a curse.
She didn't think, simply dashing forward to follow, a knife falling into her hands and her own personal sedative poison coating it with a deft movement. She reached the other alley, moments before Flame would turn past the wall, and steel flew.
The wet thud of knife meeting flesh didn't make her flinch, but she swallowed softly as she realized that she was going to have to try to hide him for a bit. Maybe keep him sedated after he was found, at least until she could explain things...
She closed her eyes as she heard the unconscious body slump to the ground, wondering just how badly she had possibly screwed up in her panic.
– – –
"What the hell?"
Carol cursed under her breath as she silently followed her quarry. The two drunkards had stumbled out of a tavern right as the sun set, laughing to each other about their 'secret base'. Carol would have barely paid it any mind, but she noticed their stumbling gaits going towards the docks.
On a hunch, she'd followed them and it had led her to an unused section of the docks, home to many warehouses that sat on ledgers for little more than formality.
Now, she'd seen a group of about six or seven march into one of the warehouses, a familiar curtain of red hair carried between them. A short glimpse inside when the doors opened for the group showed a lot more.
Carol cursed again as her quarry went beyond her reach. There was a large stretch between her hiding spot and the warehouse Lady Zerbst had been taken to, and trying to cross it when sentries sat on the roof was suicide.
"What I wouldn't give for Lady Tabitha's dragon." Carol muttered. "Even Sir Neb would be useful to distract the sentries." Distract, eat... she wouldn't be complaining either way, honestly. She wasn't feeling very generous for the men who had set Galton ablaze.
Unfortunately there was nothing she could do. If it helped, she had the bandits location. The problem was whether they'd be able to rescue Lady Zerbst while she was still relatively intact. If they took too long...
Carol shivered, not wanting to think on what could happen. Instead, she gathered herself together and began to retrace her steps.
After several minutes of cutting through dark alleys and scaring off drunkards with her spear, Carol came into sight of a lively street.
"Thank the Founder," she sighed. "Once this is done, maybe Jessamine will forgive the debt."
"I highly doubt that, Lady Carol."
Carol had enough time to gasp before a hammer of wind slammed into her ribs and sent her into the wall of a building. Coughing, she staggered to her feet and glared at the dark figure. "What… are you doing here?"
The man chuckled. "Why, saving your life. Those mercenaries have served their purpose, but I'd rather not have the rightful heir to Roer dead by that maniac's hand."
A wand-sword glinted in the low light, the point leveled squarely at Carol's face. "Goodnight, Lady Carol. I'll be sure to inform your cousin that the bandits captured you before removing her."
Carol snarled, her attacker's name flying from her throat before the wind slammed into her and destroyed her hope for release.
"Wardes!"
– – –
Louise huffed and wrapped her cloak tightly around her, grumbling in the chilly night air. "That... took way too long," she muttered. Who would have thought that going to a butcher and apothecary would take so long? She'd left the castle again after getting the oil, looking to track down jerky and replacements for the herbs they'd used to heal Siesta. She had expected it would take her a couple hours at the most. She had her choice of butchers to get the damn meat, but finding an apothecary worth their garden had been torture.
Now it was past sunset and the darkness of night had wrapped Roer in its embrace. Lamps lit the streets still, and people walked among the shops and roads in nearly as thick groups, at least for the moment. Louise found the noise a tad stifling, especially since she'd slept in near silence for so long, but seeing so much life in a city was pleasant in of itself she supposed.
Shaking her head, Louise sped for the castle. Everyone was likely there by now, so she needed to get there and catch up on the day.
Weaving her way through the crowds, Louise swore she spotted a familiar face just before the castle. Was that… Sir Wardes?
She looked around to be sure, but didn't see the grey hair and goatee she remembered. Shrugging it off, Louise bowed to the gatehouse guards before entering the courtyard. "I'm back!"
Louise was greeted by several happy faces, though she noticed Neb's was strained just enough for her to spot. "What's going on?"
Guiche gave an extravagant bow. "Why, dinner awaits the guest of honor."
Louise tilted her head, not sure what that meant. "Dinner? What's the occasion?"
Tabitha stepped forward. "…Birthday, Louise. Hard to celebrate on the road."
"And we won't take no for an answer." Montmorency said, interrupting Louise's attempted denial. "You're going to be eighteen this week! Of course we should celebrate a friend reaching such a milestone!"
Siesta walked up to Louise, a warm smile on her lips. "We may not have been together long, milady, but we'd like to do this now. Oh, and uh... don't worry about Kirche. I think she was... going to be late trying to get you a surprise of some sort."
Louise smiled too, overjoyed at the prospect of an actual birthday party. "That's… thank you, all of you. I... probably wouldn't have thought of it even with the stress of hunting the bandits. But, if you all insist, I'll agree."
Siesta looked away, hands pressed together at her side as Neb stomped forward, his grin eased if only a smidgen. "We quite insist. It's unlikely we'll be able to celebrate anything for some time, so why not now?"
Louise's smile widened. "Okay… well let's get over there. Guiche, can we trust Verdandi to let Kirche know where we are?"
Guiche gestured to the ground and Verdandi popped out with a squeak and a pose. "He will leave post-haste!"
Louise nodded and looked to Tabitha. "Is Sylphid not back yet?"
Tabitha shrugged, lips only slightly tightened by worry. She had been expecting Sylphid back a while ago, but despite everything, she was still a dragon. It wouldn't even be the first time she had gorged herself and fallen asleep somewhere she really shouldn't have. "…Be fine, knows how to find me."
Louise chuckled and almost spun in place. "Then what are we waiting for? Let me put these with our things and we can go!"
Louise hurried to their pile of things and Siesta naturally gave chase. Neb, seeing them out of ear shot, snaked his head down next to Guiche's ear. "Tell Verdandi to seek out Flame. Call it a hunch, but I don't think he'll find Kirche without our favorite salamander."
Guiche glanced at him, clearly alarmed, but Neb quelled any words. "Do not panic, let me worry about it. Enjoy your time at dinner, we can worry about business afterward."
Guiche masked his alarm and nodded. "Alright, Verdi, go find Flame."
The mole bowed and disappeared, shortly reappearing to deposit a small emerald before going for good.
"You never did tell me how much his haul was worth," Neb mused as Louise and Siesta returned. "I guess I'll ask later. Shall we?"
The group cheered and went off to make merry, Neb silently hoping Verdandi could find Flame. There was simply no way Kirche would ever just hand over a cake and cinnamon loaf to Siesta as things stood.
Something foul was in the air, and it wasn't just the horse manure.
– – –
When she came to, Kirche found herself shoved into the corner of a room. She tried to wiggle, but her arms and legs were bound tightly, while a leather bit was tied around her mouth. Why she could see was a mystery, even just moving her head a little sent the world spinning for her.
Holding in a sick burp, Kirche breathed deeply. The noise caused some movement to her left, so Kirche knew she wasn't alone
A voice chuckled in her ear and Kirche soon beheld a man with a head far too small for his body. "Lookit that, the Zerbst awakes. You got some fortitude girl, wasn't expectin' ya to wake up for a few more hours."
Kirche glared at him, bit holding her tongue in place.
"That's the fire your family's famous for." The man cackled. "But even drakes'll bow when you have their eggs hostage. You'll net me a lot of gold girl, enough for me to retire after our next raid."
He stood and unhooked something behind his back. "Then again, I do so enjoy using this thing. 'Dane Fire Axe' they'll call me. I don't even need to fear nobles with this thing, not like that coward Fouquet."
Kirche's eyes finally focused and she gasped around her gag. The axe he was holding had burning blades and what looked like magma filled veins running through the black steel.
It had to be the Mountain Cleaver!
Dane noticed her gasp. "Oh, you recognize this axe? Shouldn't surprise me, those priests in the Fire Mountains liked to boast about it. Well, at least they did until I killed them to get it."
He cackled again and sheathed the axe. "Anyway, you'll be with us a few days, 'very least. Daddy dearest won't kill us with you here, but he'll pay more if you're in good condition. Don't struggle, and you'll be fine."
Kirche's glare intensified, but she couldn't speak and her nausea was still there. Besides, everyone was looking for these bandits and Flame probably felt her panic when they captured her. Unless these bandits were thorough, she'd be rescued before long.
Then she could crush these bastards under her own axe before confronting Siesta. Her head hurt as she tried to remember the details, and her mind felt slightly fuzzy on it still, but what she remembered had her fuming silently.
The maid had just sat there as Kirche had been taken away, completely ignoring her! She'd outright refused to lift a finger to help as she was abducted and dragged off!
Kirche didn't know what she'd done to slight the maid to the point of such a betrayal, but by the Founder she would have answers.
And depending on what Siesta said, perhaps blood, too.
– – –
"Oh, I needed that," Louise sighed out happily, walking with the group from the restaurant. It was a place that prided itself on food that was hearty and filling, as well as delicious and affordable, making for a nice compromise between Guiche and Neb. Guiche had still complained about how little class the place had, and Neb probably would have glared a hole through the bill if he had seen it, but it had been good, and even if not cheap, it had been fair. Now they were walking down the street, and Louise was eager to see the surprise Kirche had been willing to miss supper to finish.
The walk back was pleasant, the night air's chill fought off easily by the closeness of Louise's friends around her. Once they had managed to get back to the castle, she was led to their supply stash, where Tabitha quickly moved forward to pull out a decent sized crate.
Montmorency placed a hand onto Louise's shoulder, grinning as she motioned for the group to quiet down from the last few jokes and chuckles.
"First," Montmorency proclaimed once she had silence, "we have a gift for you. We pulled out some of our gem funds courtesy of Verdandi... and got you this!"
Tabitha presented the crate with a smile, though she appeared just a bit embarrassed. With a gesture of her staff, the top pulled away so that Louise could look inside. "…Hope it fits."
Louise leaned in with an amused grin on her face, though she paused with a lifted eyebrow when she got through the wrappings. "Uh… what is this?"
Montmorency had the proudest grin on her face, posing as she tilted her head up into the air. "It's armor! We thought you could use some – we all could, really – but since it was your birthday it seemed only appropriate that you be the first to have the honor."
Louise chuckled, not wanting to sound ungrateful. "Well, I mean, it looks like it will probably fit... at least well enough. But, uh… what's with the... embellishments?"
Tabitha shrugged. "…Custom design, order didn't get picked up. Only thing in our- in your size that we found."
Louise hummed for a moment, looking over it. Finally, she smiled back again, before nodding. "Thanks, this is great! I'll look like a real Chevalier with this! Though, honestly, I'll probably get rid of the extras when I have time."
Siesta giggled at Louise's exited tone. "Well, I don't mean to intrude, but why don't we find a spot and split the sweets? We can give Kirche her slice... when she arrives." And if there was a bit of hesitation in her statement, everyone knew Kirche and Siesta had been a bit snippy at each other, lately.
Louise looked unsure, but nodded. "Alright… but I refuse to call this a night until she's back."
The others agreed, and after some brief discussion, they walked back out with the sweets, moving to the outer courtyard to eat under the stars. That it would let them watch the street and spot Kirche the moment she got back was just icing on the cake. After getting settled, Siesta pulled out the cake along with one of her many knives. "I assume Sir Neb will not be partaking?"
Neb shook his head from the side, laying on the ground with his bulk near a tree. "Sweets do not agree with me. Let's simply leave it at that."
Siesta moved to start dividing the cake, leaving one slightly smaller slice remaining in the package for Kirche as promised. Siesta internally mused that Kirche may very well never touch it... though it was more than likely that the bandits would be ransoming her back to her homeland, rather than killing her, at least. She... she'd be fine, and there was absolutely no reason for Siesta to be worrying about her, she assured herself.
She passed the slices around and they raised a salute. "To our dearest friend, Louise. May she forever devastate the countryside and remain good humored!"
Louise glared at her guffawing friends. "Alright, who came up with that?"
Tabitha shyly smiled, and raised her hand. "Thought... I'd try to make a joke. Explosions are... a signature for you. Enemies would try to keep you happy, if they were more intelligent."
"It's called Implosion, not Explosion," Louise muttered. Though she was actually rather pleased by the clear sign that Tabitha really was getting a bit more comfortable with them. She couldn't have imagined the Tabitha she knew back at the academy in her earlier days making any sort of joke. "Anyway, cake time!"
She was about to take the first bite when a shrill screech sounded above her, the sound coming from Neb's throat. "Flame!"
Louise whipped her head to the entrance of the courtyard, following the sudden twisting of her familiar's head. There, a tired Verdandi was guiding a bleeding and lethargic Flame towards them. "What the hell?!"
Verdandi squeaked something and Neb ran towards him, his steps shaking the earth. "You couldn't find Kirche?! Did you try to follow a scent?"
Verdandi squeaked tiredly, obviously exhausted from supporting Flame's bulk. The Salamander gave a weak whimper, eyes unfocused and drifting.
"Damn it," Neb spat. "Louise, Flame's been drugged! I need you and the others to go see whoever you met with this afternoon and tell them Kirche's missing. I'll go with Verdandi and try to track her scent."
Lousie nodded and took off, orders flying from her lips. "Monmon, get an antidote together! Flame can shed some light on what happened if you do! Guiche, I trust you to speak with Viserio. I don't care what you have to do, just get that information!"
She looked to Tabitha, who was keeping pace with her. "Get Sylphid back here and search the skies! Look anywhere kidnappers would prefer to hide, but don't engage. We're all going in for her."
Tabitha nodded and Louise looked to Siesta. "Help Neb track them down, you know what to look for. Follow his orders like they're my own!"
Siesta nodded, slowed down, and raced back to find Neb with a complicated expression on her face. In the meantime, Louise started messing with the bag of armor. "Monmon, don't you dare laugh after I get this on. Once you've got that antidote, we're going to find Ms. Carol."
Montmorency allowed a rueful smile. "No promises, but I'll keep it short. Let's just hope our friend isn't in the hands of savages."
Louise shivered, knowing such a thing was possible. "They touch her, we end them. I care not for judgement, or even rule of law at this point."
Her face twisted in a snarl.
"This is personal."
– – –
As expected, Neb had laid Flame onto his back with Verdandi for ease of movement and to let the familiars rest.
Siesta jogged up to him, all business. "Lady Louise has instructed that I help you in locating Lady Zerbst. I... will do all I can to help." She looked almost as though she was about to say more, but a glance at Flame had her bowing her head once more, silent.
Neb nodded. "Good, I'll need you on the rooftops. Verdandi gave me a starting point, so try to keep up."
Siesta nodded and clambered up the wall of a nearby building. The gaps between the buildings weren't very large, so she was able to leap between them without issue. Neb kept pace with her easily, his loping strides shaking gravel from the road.
They journeyed through the city with as much grace as they could, even as Neb's bulk forced him to dodge around carts and plow through crowds only just starting to consider turning in for the night. He was very careful not to step on anyone, but more than a few angry shouts followed them.
Thankfully, they arrived at the alley where Kirche had been taken with no more trouble than necessary. Siesta hopped from her vantage with a sigh, eyes glancing over the area. "Sir Neb... I think-"
Her words were cut off as Flame leapt from Neb's back, eyes narrowed to slits and flame leaking from his mouth as he hissed at her. Siesta barely had a moment to think about it before Neb's claw came around and slammed her into the building she'd just been on.
"You do not deserve to call me that." Neb hissed, voice calm. "Flame worked off that sedative faster than you thought he would. He told me how you entered this street right as Kirche was struck. How it was your knife that poisoned him. He watched you, as you stood there and watched Kirche get taken!"
His last words were a screech that hurt Siesta's ears. Neb's head came down until Siesta could see both of his eyes, pupils narrowed in rage. "You will tell me what happened in Galton. You will tell me what caused you to hate her enough to betray us..."
His claw tightened around Siesta, enough to make her choke, but not to crush her ribs. Yet.
"Answer, servant. Do so and you may yet see the dawn. Heaven, Kirche, and Louise willing you may even sniff redemption."
His tongue lashed out and ran the length of the terrified girl's cheek.
"Do not, and I will taste your blood."
Ch. End
Well that's happened.
Siesta: I don't want to be the bad guy! Do you have any idea how hard it is to do these scenes and talk to people afterward?
7: You're a great actress, that ability to sell it is wonderful! Besides, it's all part of the plan!
Now then, before she tries to murder me, review responses!
Sazq: All things come with time, and Siesta's sneaky in general since I'm making her into the local assassin. Not exactly feeling great right now though, and neither is Kirche! Mt. Louise's eruption will be all kinds of fun ?
OBSERVOR01: We're not going full on Yuno Gasai, Kirche wouldn't be alive if we did.
Dragonnargus: It got worse! We'll get through, just have to work at it.
Luna's Meow: The height, seriously? I made her grow all of a half-inch! It's not like she's suddenly Kirche's height with Cattelya's knockers, just because of a diet change! Anyway, that aside, they're human. If humans actually talked about their problems rather than bury them we'd have a lot less of them. And no plot, so there's that too.
Woeful Indeed: You mean necessary angst? Look, I'm not a big fan of the sad stuff either, but I do my best to make the characters mostly human. Jealousy is a common factor in life and it's led to some truly horrendous events. If anything, I'm going the light route with this.
Zealous specter: The max's all sit at one-hundred, which makes that character a certified expert in that particular field/skill. The average person in terms of skill tends to lie in the thirties with nobles are a little higher with mid-forties most of the time along with access to the magic skills. Louise's skills in magic are considered low for a mage while her book knowledge is extraordinary. Hope that helps!
Chaosrin: I'd call her current situation over her head.
Primrosered: This is, believe it or not, the third iteration of this chapter. I believe that NPC did a wonderful job toning Siesta down and I hope that both his edits and my writing convey that. As discussed over PM, we're aware that she was going nuts, but hopefully this shows that she's not insane, just deluded.
That's all I got people, so I'm going to run from Siesta. Hope you enjoyed!