Attack to La Rochelle:
Louise and I were both looking at Kirche in shock.
"You're what?" Louise asked.
"Married." Kirche replied without a seconds beat.
"Since when?" I asked.
"Hmm." Kirche held a finger up to her chin in thought. "A little bit before I came to Tristain? Yes, that seems about right." Kirche nodded.
"Why didn't you say that sooner?" I said frantically as I began to wave down Shin, but Louise grabbed and lowered my arm.
"Why didn't you say so sooner Kirche?" Louise asked in a much calmer manner.
"I do believe I made a case before we left." Kirche said dismissively.
"Not a very clear one." I grumbled. "You could've mentioned already being married. That might have changed my siblings minds."
"I think Shin made it quite clear he wasn't changing his plans." Kirche said. "I made my case as vaguely as I could to not go. It's not like I want people to know I'm married. I would lose all of my entertainment. Though" Kirche sighed, "I guess that's one of my problems to deal with."
"So, could you elaborate on this marriage?" Louise asked. "I mean, no need to keep it a secret from us now."
"There's not much to elaborate on. I was just having my usual fun when one of my chasers wouldn't take no for an answer. The only way to not start a blood feud between our families was for me to marry him." Kirche looked up at Shin. "Sigbert is a lot like Shin, he was an excellent general and very influential throughout a majority of the Germanian Empire, though a bit more expressive than him."
"That doesn't sound like such a bad deal." Louise commented.
"But he was so controlling!" Kirche whined. "'Kirche stay here.' 'Those men are a bad influence.' 'They all look at you in weird ways.' It's like he didn't even remember he was one of them before." Kirche groaned. "When I was told I was transferring to the Academy, I was actually glad to get away from him."
"But what are you going to do when you have to back?" I asked. "It's not like you can stay in Tristain forever."
"And who says I can't?" Kirche gave me a quizzical look. "There's no envoy meant to bring me back to Germania. For all my family cares, I could stay here forever."
"That seems a bit harsh." Louise said, concerned. "Are you sure-"
"That my family would leave me here? Yes. In all honesty, my parents don't exactly like Sigbert, and the less they have to see of his family, the better. I still think my father resents having to marry me because of Sigbert's order to do so."
"Ew." Louise grimaced. "He actually ordered you to get married? That just seems…wrong somehow."
"Like I said, Sigbert is controlling. And if I hadn't married him, he would have started doing everything to discredit my family until I did."
"Creating a political war on both sides until one side gave in." I concluded. "Still, this can be a thorn in our plan."
"Well, I'm not telling any more people about my life." Kirche said. "And I would appreciate it if you two don't either."
"Sure, no problem." Louise nodded.
"I don't see why Shin shouldn't know." I stated.
"Shin shouldn't know because what he doesn't know can't hurt him." Kirche gave me a menacing look.
"I don't think a group should have secrets though." I counter pointed.
"Then start spilling your secrets for all to hear. I'm glad to listen." Kirche gave a knowing smile.
"Not telling Shin it is then." I said quickly as I looked forward to avoid Kirche's gaze.
"Oh? I think that agreement was a bit fast, don't you Louise?" Kirche asked.
"Leave him alone Kirche, he's agreed not to tell Shin." Louise said in my defense.
"Hmm." Kirche gave an unsatisfied sigh before looking forward. "I guess it's fine then."
As we continued along the trail, the rocks on the path began growing larger and an incline began forming. From what I remembered of La Rochelle, a majority of its city was carved out of the side of a mountain with a well-defended ancient carved out tree for the airships to dock. Being one of the most traveled airport cities, it made sense that there would be thieves patrolling the outskirts for an easy foreign merchandise grab. The rocky terrain would make ample amounts of hiding spots. I made sure to scan the surrounding area to make sure there was no ambient movement, even noting that Flame was doing the exact same.
I looked up to see if Shin was also keeping an eye out, but with him being above us, I could only see Godrick's underbelly. I gave a small sigh of annoyance, but I guessed he was doing his job.
"Don't be so worried Saito." Louise looked up at me. "We're not carrying anything of value with us, we're on a lesser trail, and there's a griffin directly above us. I don't think there's going to be any trouble with thieves."
"You might be right Louise. But you never know exactly what a thief wants until he tells you." I said, protectively getting closer to Louise. The ride was silent except for the noise from our horses and Flame's cart, yet I couldn't help but feel anxious. When a few pebbles slid, I jerked my head to see who moved, but there was nobody there. I relaxed a bit, Louise had been right; there was nothing to worry about.
That was until an arrow dug itself into my left arm. I couldn't help but scream in pain.
"Saito!" Louise looked up to see what was wrong, but I was already looking to see who had shot me. I saw a line of archers, all aiming down at us, but with a sudden increase of heat from behind, I looked back to see Flame's cart ablaze, Kirche was looking back frantically, and a group of mages with fireballs were at the ready. I grabbed for my wand, but as I fumbled for my pouch, another arrow pierced my arm again. I twisted to see another row of archers with bows ready. I even saw a band of men with swords ready heading over the rocky terrain toward us.
There was no other option, Louise and I were surrounded and we needed to escape. I grabbed my wand and pulled it out, but before I could cast my spell one of the enemy mage's spells burned my hand, making me lose my grip and dropping my wand. I went for my sword, but as soon as my hand hit the hilt, one of the ground troops was on me with a steel grip on my left arm. He pulled hard, and with my other hand burnt, I fell off easily.
I hit the ground hard, the arrow's in my arm digging in deeper and snapping off. I grunted in pain and looked up to see that Louise was trying to escape on the horse. But she wasn't there, I looked around frantically to see who had taken her, but I couldn't see through the mass of attackers. I looked to Kirche for help, but she was gone as well, I could only see her horse standing completely still. I prayed and looked up, but I couldn't even see Godrick's underbelly.
I screamed unintelligibly, completely at a loss for the situation. I was unable to do anything and struggled pointlessly against the man pinning me to the ground. His face was covered completely with a scarf obscuring most of his face and his helmet hanging over his eyes. One of the only things I could take in was his uniform, the uniform of the Tristain army.
With one final struggle, I bat at his face with my left hand, catching his scarf, and revealing his face to my horror.
Shin had me pinned down, and he was smiling. With a firm hook, I was out like a candle.
…
I had no idea how long I was unconscious, but when I finally came to, I had a throbbing pain in my head from where Shin hit me. The second thing I realized was the person looking over me.
"Saito! Thank god you're awake!" Louise said with a great look of relief. I couldn't stop myself from sitting straight up and hugging her.
"I'm so glad you're safe Louise." I sighed deeply.
"Me safe? I'm glad you're ok."
"Right, so where are we? Where have they taken us?" I said quickly as I let Louise go and looked around the room we were in. It was sparse, only two beds and a stand. There was a medium sized window with no bars, so our captors had to be confident we wouldn't try to escape that way. I glanced at the door, considering whether or not it was locked when Louise tipped her head to the side.
"Where have who taken us Saito?" Louise asked, clearly confused.
"The men who attacked us." I paused. "Damn Shin." I uttered.
"Why damn him? He saved your life!" Louise said aghast.
"By knocking out and kidnapping us?" I gave an accusing glare at Louise.
"He knocked you out because you started acting crazy, and if he hadn't gotten you here as soon as he had, you would have been useless for longer than a day. He had to knock you out because you weren't talking to any of us."
"It's hard to converses in a battle Louise."
"There was no battle Saito." Louise folded her arms. I stopped to consider what Louise said, but it didn't make any sense. There had to have been a battle, I had the arrow wounds and burnt hand to prove it.
Or so I thought. I looked down at my right hand, and it was completely fine. I felt up my left arm, but there weren't any bandages or fresh scars from any arrows. I touched my head and flinched from the jolt of pain. At least that had been real; Shin hadn't needed to enjoy doing it though.
"He didn't enjoy doing that you know." Louise said as though she could read my mind. "After Flame shot a signal to Shin for his attention, he saw how you were whipping the horse around. And I'll tell you, it was not easy to hang on with you doing that."
"Sorry." I mumbled, a bit embarrassed to be scolded after such idiocy by my familiar.
"Shin had to stop you from hurting any of us, so he had to knock you out and get you here."
"And where is here anyways?"
"We're in La Rochelle, set up for the night in one of it's hotels. The doctor said you would be out for the next day or two, but-"
"Oh no! How long have I been out?" I asked nervously. If it had been to long, Wales might have moved locations or was dead. I didn't even know where to look for him, I didn't even know how long he was going to last. We were on a deadline here! I swung my feet over the side of the bed, but Louise put her hand on my chest.
"You've been out for about five hours, it's no big deal, we missed the last boat out as we got here. Just relax and I'll go get you some dinner." Louise just kept looking at me until I sighed in defeat and lay back down. She smiled and went to the door, but before she left, she said, "For once, your thick head saved you." She smiled and left.
I frowned at the implication, but then again I really had no reason to dispute it. I was being too paranoid; I was letting Shin's and my past get to me again. Finally relaxing, the bed felt way to comfortable to be a confinement bed. I was about to close my eyes for a brief nap when there was a quick rap on the door. I sighed and sat up.
"Come in." I said in the least irritated note I could manage. I stiffened for a second as Shin came in with a tray of soup and bread, still steaming hot, as though it had just come out of the oven.
"I brought you some dinner for when you're ready." Shin said as he placed the tray on the stand and took the seat where Louise had been sitting. "I guess this isn't the best way to make our rescue mission, huh?" Shin had broken from his commanding monotone, trying to be brotherly, but I wasn't going to fall for it.
"Yeah." I said standoffishly as I took the tray and laid it over my lap. I took the bread, ripping it and dipping it in the soup's broth, not wanting to have too much of a conversation with Shin.
"Look, Saito, I'm sorry for hitting you." Shin said outright. "I know that's not the best way to regain your trust, especially after so long, but you have to understand, you were erratic. It was probably my fault for planting the thoughts of an ambush in you. You know I would have made a move if I had spotted anything." I didn't respond, instead opting to keep eating. "Maybe with so much going on, it's finally gotten to you Saito. So, I think we should stay for tomorrow and-"
"No." I cut Shin off. "We already missed out today, and the longer we take, the more opportunities Wales has to die."
"And the longer Albion has to gallivant about it Saito. Look," He said holding out a hand to stop my protest. "Take a day to rest. There's only the four of us on this mission, if any of us falls behind, we lose a quarter of our strength. Having you stressed and tired isn't going to help anyone, especially not Whales."
I considered the possibility, and had to agree. If any of us were to fall behind, it would spell disaster later. I swallowed my bread and sighed. "I hate it when you're right." I grumbled.
"No one likes to be pointed out as wrong." Shin said in an almost comforting tone. "So, take tomorrow off, relax, have a stroll around town." Shin got up and made his way to the door. "And maybe show you're familiar around." And again, before I could protest, Shin was out the door. I hadn't even been able to ask if Shin had told Louise not to get me dinner.
Though, he had to have run into her on his way here. So I guess the question was moot. I sipped the soup to find it had a very meaty, yet slightly sour aftertaste. It didn't take long for me to finish the platter. I then faced a small dilemma, Louise had told me to stay in bed, but I didn't want to leave my tray here. It would be rude of me to make a passing staff member take it, but Louise would be fuming from me disobeying her.
I finally came to the resolve of taking the tray down to the dinning room myself when there was yet another knock on the door, but a bit more casual. I set the tray on the stand and answered, "Come in." Flame butted his head through the door as Kirche followed behind him.
"Well, it's good to see that you're up for tomorrow." Kirche sighed as she took her seat in the chair beside my bed. Flame lied down next to her, apparently going to sleep.
"Well, we're taking a day to stay here actually."
"Really?!" Kirche's eyes immediately lit up.
"Y-Yeah, Shin thinks I should take a break for a day before we go off again." But Kirche was obviously not listening by this point.
"But where should we stop first? The jewelers or the designers? No! Albion cloth, that comes first. Then we can-"
"Um, Kirche?"
"Yes?"
"Who are we?"
"Me and Louise of course." Kirche said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I've been thinking. Louise doesn't have a single thing outside of her old clothes. This would be a perfect time for me to get her some clothes and accessories."
"That's…. very thoughtful of you Kirche." I hadn't the courage to point out that Derf was actually hers. "But I was thinking I could take Louise out tomorrow. You know, alone?"
"Hm? Oh!" Kirche gasped as though the clouds had just cleared. "I understand perfectly. Just make sure to spoil her, but not to much, you understand?"
"Sure?" I had no idea what Kirche was talking about.
"But that just frees my day right up! I wonder who I can make give me the cheapest-"
"No!" I interrupted Kirche's thoughts making her frown at me. "Don't do any of your usual… uh… gallivanting. Remember our cover story for being here."
"Oh, you're no fun." Kirche huffed, crossing her arms.
"Look Kirche, I've already jeopardized this mission enough from my… outburst. And that was caused by me being overly stressed. Could you please not amount any more of it?"
After a contemplative look, Kirche sighed. "Alright Saito, I'll hold off for tomorrow. But when we get on the boat, all bets are off."
I smiled at her proposal. "I'd be counting on it. Who knows how many men would turn to the side with the beautiful foreign girl." I chuckled.
Kirche was silent for a second before standing up and marching to the door, Flame closely at her heels. "I may have to reconsider you." I think I heard Kirche say before she left the room. Flame gave me one last look over before following.
I scratched my head and sighed, suddenly feeling far more tired than I thought I should be. Perhaps three emotionally draining visits were more than enough for me. I settled myself in and waited for Louise to come back, just in case she did bring me dinner despite Shin, but the longer I waited, the heavier my eyes felt. I eventually fell asleep with the lingering question,
What was I going to do for clothes tomorrow?