"Traditionally speaking, there are two paths that a young wyvern knight can go down to further their skills," Camilla begins. Her voice is somber, mournful, quiet, though it's not the hushed quiet of a woman trying to hide her deeds. It's the quiet of a voice who is too tired to speak words that weigh it down too heavily.
"The first is to become a wyvern lord, which involves taking up the lance and training to fly ever higher and faster. The second is to become a malig knight, eschewing those techniques in favor of casting magic. But there's another difference, you know," she says.
"I get where you're going," I reply. "Malig knights have undead wyverns. I've never seen a wyvern lord, I don't think, but it sounds like their wyverns are perfectly alive."
"That's right," she says. "So what must such a young wyvern knight do to become a malig knight? Their mounts must first die in order to be reanimated by some of the darkest magic still in use, of course. And the traditional Nohrian way is that the wyvern knights must slay their mounts themselves, to harden their hearts for the cruel deeds they must commit in their work."
My eyes widen in shock and my mouth hangs agape. "Camil—I mean, Cassandra… that's…"
"Horrible? Of course, you think it would be." She throws back another mouthful of sake, then sighs. "I remember when my mother brought me Morningstar as a hatchling. I had always wanted a pet to dote on as I did my siblings. And dote on him, I did. As we both grew, our bond deepened. It is difficult to explain, since you do not ride a mount yourself, but… we were partners.
"When I had progressed far enough to advance in my training as a wyvern knight, I insisted that I take up the path of the wyvern lord. The thought of doing to my precious Morningstar what those evil malig knights had to do to their wyverns terrified me so. I had even made it a point to practice the lance with Xander, to show that I was more than capable of it. But when I was younger, I had demonstrated an aptitude for magic. Not so great as Leo's, mind you, but still significant enough that it convinced my mother that I must become a malig knight. My gift was not to be squandered."
I don't say anything, as the full weight of what Camilla's said—what Camilla is going to say—sinks in.
"I suppose there's no sense dragging it out any longer. When I was fifteen years old, in accordance with my mother's wishes, I brought my axe down on Morningstar's neck. I killed my beloved wyvern with my own hands, slaughtered him like cattle. He was reanimated soon after, certainly, and we are still together even in his undeath."
Camilla leans forward, and her voice, which was until now deliberate, becomes ever so slightly feverish. "Every time I gaze into those ruby eyes, the eyes of the hatchling I raised, and my partner who I betrayed, stare back into me. They remind me that I am a killer. This is why we cannot be 'friends', Harrison. This is why you should fear me. Because I am a killer, and I will kill anyone if it is expedient to do so. Even those I have done nothing but protect. Even those who have done me no wrong."
I take a deep breath. I remind myself that we're still having this conversation in the lobby of an inn, over a drink or two. But Camilla needs me to be there for her, even if she doesn't realize it. Even if the subject matter is heavy, I can't get heated.
"Lady Cassandra, before I say anything else…" I speak slowly, knowing I don't have the words, but knowing that I have to say something anyway. Hopefully, it'll come to me as I begin. "It means a lot to me that you trust me enough to tell me this. I know it's hard for you. I know it's hard because I've seen you go from tricking me and lying to me to… to this. To being honest. And I can't imagine what it's like to have this happen to you."
"'Happen to me?'" Camilla scoffs. "I don't think you understand. Nothing 'happened' to me. I killed Morningstar. He was the most faithful companion I could ask for, and I buried my axe's blade in his hide. I watched him bleed, watched him die, by my own hands."
"But you didn't choose to," I counter. "You were a child. A teenager. Your mother forced you to do this. It's not your fault!"
"I chose to kill my wyvern and not my mother," Camilla replies.
"That's ridiculous. You couldn't have actually killed your mother."
"I could have. After all," she says, shrugging, "I did almost as serious a crime at a much younger age."
I open my mouth to ask about that, but Camilla holds up her hand.
"A story for another time, I'm afraid," she interrupts. "Perhaps I will tell you later, if you still cling to the foolish belief that you have nothing to fear from me." Her voice takes on an almost taunting edge.
She frowns, and I find I can't make eye contact with her anymore. I bashfully look towards the corner of the room, finding the details of that small potted plant suddenly extremely fascinating.
"I don't suppose you still cling to that hope, do you?"
My shoulders slump. I put a hand on my forehead. How can I argue with her?
"It's difficult to make the truth more plain than I already have."
I sigh. She's too entrenched for me to change her point of view.
"I see it in your eyes. You're beginning to regret working so hard to spare me, aren't you?"
That pushes me over the edge. "That's enough!" I declare, turning back to look at Camilla.
Her eyes widen in surprise, and she begins to speak, but I can't help but continue.
My voice wavers at first, but I quickly find my footing. "I will never regret my choice to spare you, or to have you travel with us. None of what you're saying changes how I feel—what I know. You're trying to convince yourself, and convince me, that you're some kind of monster, but you're not. When I look at you, I see my friend, my friend who is suffering, who's in pain. I stand by what I said. You are a victim of your mother, and the fucked-up system in Nohr, and you don't deserve this."
Camilla sighs and shakes her head. "You don't ever change, do you?" she mutters.
I ignore her remark. "I know you want to be better. I know you want to trust me, and want to let me trust you. But it feels weird, doesn't it? It feels wrong."
"If that were the case, it would only feel wrong because it would violate the most basic lessons I learned to survive at my father's court," she says, laughing bitterly.
"And how happy were you, 'surviving at your father's court?'" My brow furrows. "I didn't do much surviving over there myself. But from what you tell me, it sounds like a pretty miserable experience, all things considered. If you want to make things better, to make things happier, maybe it's time to change tactics."
Camilla doesn't say anything, only pursing her lips. I think I've got her cornered. Not to say everything is magically better now, of course not. But as I take a moment to catch my breath, I can't help but believe, or maybe just hope, that I've broken through some of her more entrenched defenses and gotten her to begin to think reasonably.
The tension in the air is palpable. We're lucky that Ms. Ando hasn't interrupted us—that would be even more awkward than before. But as the pause grows ever longer, it is interrupted by the staccato of footsteps, faded somewhat, but still unmistakable.
And it's getting louder.
"Do you hear that?" Camilla whispers.
I nod.
We both wordlessly turn to look at the entrance.
The sliding door of the inn's entrance opens, and three figures walk in, stopping short just inside. I immediately recognize them as Nohrians. The one in the middle is a mercenary, judging by his shoulder pauldron and drawn sword. On the left is a dark mage, clad in the light robes favored by that class. And on the right is what I would call an assassin—not like I remember what synonym the game used for that class. Adventurer? Let's go with that. He has an arrow nocked in his bow already, too.
Before I begin to think about just how fucked we are, I turn to look at Camilla. "You didn't…" I start to whisper. Was she right? Was she planning to sell us out all along?
The three soldiers seem to be sizing up the situation. We can see them, and they can easily see us. They cast a few glances in our direction, and I can hear them whispering between each other, but I can't quite make out what they're saying. Hearing my heart beat between my ears doesn't help, either. I can't remember a time when I've been as absolutely screwed as I am now—with my weapons upstairs and most of my allies probably asleep.
Camilla shakes her head. "No," she says. "But they can't know I'm here." She reaches behind what appears to be the armor plates on her hips and retrieves a small, rectangular object, from what I can only imagine is a hidden compartment contained therein. A knife?
The adventurer carefully walks around the corner into the dining room, while the merc and dark mage head over to where Camilla and I are sitting. We abruptly stand up to meet them. The mercenary's eyes widen and his jaw drops as he looks Camilla up and down.
"You're not… no way…" he mutters. But he doesn't put down his sword. "Princess Camilla?"
She sighs. "You gentlemen aren't here for me, are you?"
"Not exactly," the mercenary says, as his lips twist into a smile.
"Two deserter princesses in one mission!" the dark mage laughs. "I expect to at least be made Captain for this!"
Wait, two deserter princesses? What is he talking about? I snap out of my thoughts quickly. I don't have time to ponder that. I've got to focus on surviving first.
Camilla's expression darkens. She flicks open the blade of her knife, then glances over her shoulder at me. "Stay behind me, dear. Things are going to get very ugly."
I bite my lip and nod.
Just then, I hear a scream, coupled with the sound of ceramic breaking. "Get down!" a man's voice yells, as a woman's voice begs and pleads incoherently.
Everyone immediately, instinctively, looks in the direction from whence the sound came. I guess the adventurer found Ms. Ando. But it's no sooner that I make that realization than Camilla leaps into action, overtaking the mercenary with her switchblade pointed at his neck, as he scrambles to defend himself. His comrade urgently readies a spell, flipping through the pages of his tome, as the ink-colored magical energy swirls around him.
Despite Camilla's instructions, I need to act. I dive toward the dark mage and go for his legs—a technique Hana taught me in our hand-to-hand combat sessions. It takes a fraction of a second for me to knock the mage off his feet, disrupting the careful concentration needed to cast his attack. The tendrils of dark magic dissipate as his tome hits the wooden floor with a thud.
The dark mage attempts to grapple with me, flailing wildly with his fists. I'm easily able to bat his strikes aside, while I use my own legs and body weight to pin his lower body to the floor—another trick I learned from Hana. When the mage lets up his desperate attempts to hit me, I return the favor, striking back while not giving him an inch of room to slip away from me. I'm not particularly strong, but the mage isn't particularly tough or well-trained, and it doesn't take long for him to apparently give up, resting his head against the floorboards with a frustrated grunt.
I take a deep breath as I glance over my shoulder to see how Camilla's doing. As expected, her foe is a little more adept at melee combat than mine. Still, he's no match for Camilla. She's already managed to disarm him. His sword lays on the ground a few feet away from where they stand grappling. The mercenary manages to get a few good licks in, and dodges the more deadly strikes with her knife.
But all it takes is one thrust to strike true, and that's what does him in. Camilla buries her blade in his chest, and he recoils in pain. Camilla removes the knife and stabs him again. And again… and again.
Camilla finally lets up, and allows the mercenary's body to fall and crumple in a bloody heap on the floor. Blood is everywhere, naturally—on him, on the floor, on Camilla, on her knife.
The dark mage I have pinned down screams at seeing his companion so brutally killed, and thrashes wildly. My grip on him slips for a moment, but I'm still able to keep him immobile.
"Are you all right, dear?" Camilla calls. I hardly have time to respond before she rushes over to my side. She looms over the dark mage, bearing down directly into his eyes, now wide open in panic and terror.
"Please, no, no!" he cries.
Camilla brandishes the knife over his face. "Listen to me very carefully," she says. "There are very important questions that I need the answers to, and if you don't cooperate…" her voice trails off, as her eyes turn to her knife, and back to the dark mage. A practiced maneuver, I can tell.
"I'll tell you whatever you want!" he pleads. "Just… just don't do that to me!"
I can't help but feel bad for the guy. "Camilla, I can handle this," I cut in. "Go upstairs and wake the others. There might be more coming."
She ignores me. "On whose orders are you here? What were those orders? How many more of your comrades are coming?" With each question, her voice rises in intensity and volume.
"The orders? The orders came from… from my immediate superior! Captain…"
Camilla brandishes the knife again wordlessly.
"Okay, okay! Fine! They came from Iago!" I can feel the man shaking as I keep him pinned to the floor.
Camilla's expression darkens. "What were your orders?"
"To find and capture Princess Corrin," the dark mage explains.
Wait, what? Corrin? Isn't she over on the other side of the continent? In Nestra or Nohr?
Camilla evidently is wondering the same thing. "What?" she asks. "You would do well not to lie to me."
The dark mage stutters before he begins speaking, but he's cut off by another voice. "That's enough."
We look towards the sound of the voice to see the adventurer from before. He's standing by the main entrance, blocking either me or Camilla from heading upstairs to get the others. Dammit. With one hand, he holds a terrified Ms. Ando roughly around the neck. In his other is a knife, his bow slung around his back.
"Let him go—let us go—or I slit this hag's throat," he declares.
Camilla looks at me, then to the dark mage we're still pinning down, then at the adventurer and Ms. Ando. "I can't let you go," she says.
"Camilla, please!" I try to keep my voice calm, but I can't. "Don't be ridiculous! Her life is on the line!"
"So are ours!" she fires back. "They're going tell Iago and Hans of my whereabouts. We'll never be rid of Nohrians searching for us!"
The adventurer moves the knife a millimeter closer to Ms. Ando's neck. "We don't have all day, Princess. If you drop your weapon, I'll drop mine."
"Camilla, you know what the right thing to do is," I plead.
She sighs and nods. "Fine. On the count of three."
"On the count of three," the Nohrian agrees. "One…"
My heart pounds. They're only counting seconds, but time seems to slow to a crawl as they do so.
"Two…" they continue simultaneously.
My eyes dart back and forth between Camilla and the soldier, primed and waiting for one of them to break the stalemate and try to get the jump on the other.
"Three."
Both knives fall and clatter to the floor. "You are a woman of your word, Princess Camilla," the adventurer says. "Now tell your friend to back off, and I'll let go of the woman."
I breathe a sigh of relief. Camilla did the right thing. Just as I'm about to release the dark mage, though, I hear a shriek, then a thud. The adventurer has collapsed to the ground, an arrow lodged in his neck. Ms. Ando is shaking. Who could have…
Footsteps echo as someone comes down the stairs. Takumi appears, bow in hand. He looks at Camilla and me, a smug smirk plastered on his face. "You can thank me later."
We barely have time to react to Takumi's sudden intervention. With a rallying shout, the dark mage tries one last desperate attempt to wrest himself free of my grip. He strikes with his fists and his feet, slipping from my grasp and knocking me to the floor. Pain pulses through my back, but I can't focus on it as I watch him run for the entrance.
I scramble to my feet, but I can't catch him. Neither can Takumi, apparently—I see an arrow whiz past the mage and lodge itself in the wall. Camilla is quick enough on the turnaround, though. She deftly retrieves her knife and leaps toward the mage, tackling him to the ground once more.
Takumi nocks another arrow in his bow as Ms. Ando cowers behind him. "Don't shoot!" I cry out. I can't let Takumi do to Camilla what he did to me so long ago in Hoshido. Maybe he's learned enough to not do it.
Takumi studies me and Camilla for a moment, before nodding. Thank God—he has learned something after all. More descending footsteps echo from upstairs as the rest of the group assembles at the foot of the stairway. Luckily, everyone's got their weapons ready. Evidently the noise from downstairs alerted them.
While Azura, Hana and Mozu hang towards the back, Sakura rushes towards Takumi and I. "Harrison! Takumi! Are you all right?" she asks. She holds her festal in one hand, and in the other, a sheathed sword—Polaris. She hands it to me.
"I'm fine, Lady Sakura," I say as I take it and unsheathe the blade. "Thank you."
"Hmph," Takumi mutters with a disaffected sigh. "I'm also fine."
Meanwhile, Selena has raced to her liege lady's side and is helping Camilla to subdue the dark mage, while they try to get any information they can out of him.
"Now we have you again," Camilla taunts. "We weren't quite finished from before, but I'll have you know, I can play this game all night long."
She takes off that silly strap of fabric she wears across her chest and over her shoulder. As she continues to hold the dark mage down, she uses the strap to bind his hands behind his back, quickly and skillfully tying together a secure knot. "There," she says. "That should prevent any further trouble, hm?" I guess for all the grumbling of Fire Emblem fans, that strap can come in handy in a pinch.
The dark mage mumbles something incoherent.
Camilla ignores him and continues. "Two deserter princesses, you said," she recalls. "So your orders were to capture Corrin, but…"
Sakura audibly gasps, and exchanges a glance with Takumi and Azura, who are now listening intently. It seems like no one's sure how Corrin fits into this puzzle after all, but I suppose that can wait until the immediate danger is dealt with.
"Yes, but… with all due respect, Princess, it's no secret that you're an open target, too," the dark mage says. "You went missing in action."
Camilla glares at him.
"Please, I don't know all the details! I'm just telling you what I know! I mean, um, it's not like King Garon has put a bounty on your head, but most forces have been ordered to try to capture you if feasible, so..." the man's voice trails off.
"And you thought it 'feasible' to take me on?" Camilla laughs darkly. She shakes her head and sighs. "You were no problem, but the entire Nohrian army! Lovely. Just lovely. Oh, my sweet Corrin, the things I do for you…"
"What else do you want to know?" the dark mage asks. "I'll tell you whatever you want as long as you don't kill me."
"How many more of your comrades can we expect?"
"There were ten of us on the mission," he says.
"So that leaves seven," I muse aloud.
Hana interrupts. "We can't just stand around and interrogate this guy," she says, her hand on the hilt of her katana. "We've got trouble on the way, or already here. We've got to get a move on."
For a moment, all is quiet. I can swear I hear the floorboards creak ever so slightly. There is trouble.
"Yeah," I reply, keeping my voice quiet, but confident. "Alright. Mozu, Lord Takumi, and Lady Azura—you guys head upstairs and sweep the area. Stick together. We'll hold off anyone who tries to come in the front door."
"Yessir," Mozu says, pulling her naginata closer to her chest.
Takumi grumbles as he nocks an arrow in his bow. "Don't get yourself killed without us," he says.
The two start making their way back up the stairs. Azura wordlessly nods, though in typical Azura fashion, the look in her eyes tells me that she has something to say that she won't let herself. She turns and follows Takumi and Mozu.
"There's eight left, actually," Camilla says.
"W-what do you mean?" Sakura asks. A look of realization crosses her face. "O-oh…" she mumbles.
"Princess Sakura, even in a situation like this, you remain ever so adorable," Camilla says. At that, Sakura shrinks away, but Camilla quickly turns her attention back to the Nohrian. "That's right. We still haven't dealt with our little informant here, of course."
"Please! Don't hurt me!" the dark mage pleads. "We had a deal, didn't we?"
"A deal we are under no obligation to keep," Camilla counters. "You would do well to remember that we are the ones with the power in this situation, not you. And that you reporting our whereabouts to your superiors is something we cannot accept."
The Nohrian winces, as if expecting the knife to come at any moment.
For a moment, I'm transported back to the events of a few weeks ago, when Camilla literally dropped out of the sky into Hoiyoto and lied about an armed Nohrian force ready to invade. This isn't the first time she's pulled this kind of trick—this isn't the first time she's taken advantage of the power imbalance to get whatever use she wants out of someone. Maybe more accurately, it isn't the first time I've seen her do it. I have no doubt it's a technique she learned a long, long time ago.
But then I remember my own words to her—that I think she can be better. That I know she can be better.
I've got to push her to do it.
"Lady Camilla, let's… not be so reckless," I say.
"Reckless?" she repeats, cocking her head, her purple hair swinging as she does. "What's reckless is letting him live with what he knows."
"We'll be out of here by tomorrow," I counter. "Maybe even earlier if this shit keeps up. And we don't really know what's going on with the Nohrians searching for Lady Corrin. However they managed to track us here, I don't know, but they can do it again. He won't make the difference."
Camilla sighs, apparently considering it.
"Come on, Lady Camilla," I continue. "I told you you can learn to be better. And I believe that. So let's start here. Let this unarmed, handcuffed, surrendered guy go. He's held up his end of the bargain. Let's hold up ours. Let's not give Lord Takumi any more talking points about honor, you know?"
"U-um," Sakura cuts in hesitantly, "if I could s-say… I think Harrison is right, Princess Camilla," she says. "Think about what C-Corrin would want you to do."
I nod. "You know she's right."
Camilla laughs quietly. "Oh, you two, you're devious. Using my darling Corrin against me like that…" She backs off from the dark mage, and motions for Selena to do the same. "Alright. Get on out of here. Do it fast, before I change my mind," she says.
The dark mage nods eagerly, profusely thanking us. "Your mercy knows no bounds, Princess Camilla," he says, before awkwardly running out the entrance door. I don't know if he'll be able to get out of the city, or what he'll do once he's out, but I can't really think about that right now.
"Huh. That was… not like you, Lady Camilla," Selena observes. "You're usually pretty quick on the stab."
"You can blame them," Camilla rebuts, pointing two fingers, one at Sakura and one at me. She laughs again. "I would never have expected mercy, of all things, to be associated with my name. But I suppose coming one step closer to earning Corrin's approval is worth trading in my fearsome reputation… and that fabric strap." She runs her hand along where the strap used to run along her chest. "I did like that strap."
"Respectfully, Princess Camilla," Hana interrupts, "we can debrief about your… chest strap later. The current situation is that we're back down to seven enemies left, right?"
"Seems to be the case," I reply.
"So what's the plan, then?" Selena asks. She scowls at me. "You're the one who's always got the bright ideas."
I furrow my brow and shake my head, as I try to string together such a plan. "Alright. Well, we've got those three taking care of the upstairs floor. So Hana and I will head outside and scope out the perimeter. Selena and Lady Camilla, stay back here with Lady Sakura and Ms. Ando."
As soon as I say that, I immediately realize that Hana's going to object to leaving her liege lady alone with the two Nohrians. But she doesn't. After a moment of hesitation, she nods. "Okay, let's go."
Hana and I step outside the sliding door into the cool night air. Hana confidently rounds a corner, as she scans the area for Nohrian assassins, katana at the ready. I follow at her heels. The darkness makes it difficult to see, but I don't perceive any movement here.
We round another corner of the building when Hana stops, holding a finger up in the air. I pick up on the signal and stop too.
I still don't see any movement. All I hear is the ambient noises of the night. Crickets chirp softly, and a gentle breeze rustles some leaves. But then I hear it—the distinct sound of movement.
The Nohrians are on us before I have time to react. An axe fighter leaps forward at me, his poorly aimed swing narrowly missing me. I duck out of the way and glance over at Hana, just a few feet away. She's being confronted by a spearman and another dark mage. She's outnumbered, but she's more competent than I.
I turn back to my own opponent and ready my weapon. This should not be a difficult fight. Axe wielders tend to be disadvantaged against swords because their broad, wild strikes are easily dodged and sidestepped by comparatively agile swordfighters. Axes can be deadly in skilled, precise hands—like Camilla or Beruka's—but this Nohrian isn't passing muster today.
He lunges forward and takes another dramatic swing—easily dodged again. I quickly advance towards him and slash with my sword. I don't hit him, but I've forced him on the defensive. As he tries to step back and create some more distance between us, I continue my pursuit. I'm close enough where he's frantically trying to use the shaft of his axe to block my assault.
And I can see the fear in his eyes.
Despite everything, my momentum is still too strong to be stopped. One final strike of Polaris to his chest does him in. The fighter cries out as he collapses, dropping his weapon as his body drops to the ground. Even in the dim nighttime light, his terrified expression etches itself into my mind. I'm convinced it's somehow more painful than any wound from the axe could ever be.
But that might just be because I didn't have to suffer one.
Still, there's two enemies to be defeated. I wheel around to look at how Hana's doing—not very well. The soldier has been able to use his weapon's greater reach to keep Hana at bay, allowing the dark mage to blast her with magic all the while. She's reeling, presumably from the last attack, as the mage readies another one. The magical energy swirling around him is somehow darker than the night sky itself. I don't know if Hana can afford to take this hit, and I don't want to find out.
I practically leap to insert myself between her and her attackers. The dark mage launches his projectile, and before I can duck out of the way, it sails right into my chest.
I've never actually been hit by dark magic before. I got hit a few times by Hoshidan spirit scrolls, and that one time by Brynhildr when Leo faked my death in front of Garon. But that doesn't describe the sensation I feel. A tingling, chilly numbness somehow couples with a pulsating pain, creating a wholly unnatural sensation that ripples through my torso. I cry out in pain as I stumble backwards.
The dark mage, now aiming for me, is readying another spell. I turn to Hana, looking to her for guidance. She readies her katana and gives me a nod before looking back to the enemy. The spearman's reach is formidable, but I can't let him hold us back forever. There's two of us and two of them, and we've got one shot to take them down.
Hana charges forth towards the spearman as I make a break for the mage. He fires off another dark magic blast in my direction. I weave out of the way and curve back around towards him as he hurriedly tries to create more distance between us. It isn't enough. Polaris goes cleanly through his torso, his robes providing no protection whatsoever. He's down for the count.
I whirl around towards Hana and the last soldier. Despite her wounds, she seems undeterred, advancing quickly. She's forcing him to retreat and focus on blocking her strikes, which gives me another opportunity. I lunge forward, attacking the spearman on his side. I'm not close enough to actually hit. But he looks over towards me, hefting the shaft of his lance—and that gives Hana the opening she needs. With a bound forward and a katana slash of surgical precision, the Nohrian is dead. His light armor clinks as it hits the ground.
Hana and I look at each other and share a sigh.
"Nice going there," she says. "We should get back to Lady Sakura."
"You should get healed," I reply.
We head back towards the entrance of the inn. Sure enough, the whole group is gathered there. I do another head-count just to be sure—Sakura, Azura, Takumi, Camilla, Selena, Hana, Mozu, and Ms. Ando.
"Harrison! Hana!" Sakura calls out as we approach. "Oh, no! You're wounded!"
"It's nothing, Lady Sakura," Hana says, bowing to her liege lady and best friend. "Harrison and I engaged and defeated three more Nohrians," she explains.
"That's right," I say, taking a deep breath. "What's the situation over here? Did you clear out the upstairs?"
Takumi nods proudly. "Nohrians tried breaking in through the windows, but we took care of them easily," he boasts, folding his arms with his bow slung around his back.
"Four, was it?" Azura asks.
"Yes'm, four it was," Mozu replies. She looks down at her fingers a moment, apparently counting something out. "And, between those four upstairs, three down 'ere, the three Harrison 'n Hana took out… well, I never did learn much math 'sides countin' on my fingers 'n toes, but I'd reckon that's the ten soldiers that mage said were on their mission, yeah?"
"Yeah, that is right," I reply. I take another deep breath, and exhale in relief.
"Let's not be too hasty," Azura says. "For all we know, that mage could have been lying to us."
"It certainly wouldn't be the first time a Nohrian has lied," Takumi cuts in.
I groan and shake my head. "Now is not the time, Lord Takumi," I reply. "Everyone, stay on alert, but I wouldn't be surprised if that was all of them, either."
A temporary, hesitant quiet descends over the group. Sakura heals my and Hana's wounds quickly, but after that, time seems to slow down. Seconds feel like minutes, and minutes feel like hours. Everyone remains on edge, waiting for another Nohrian to make a break through the main door or try to climb in through the windows once more, but nothing comes. Maybe there really were ten, and we defeated them all.
Suddenly, the sound of approaching footsteps reaches our ears once more.
We all brace ourselves for the arrival of more Nohrians. But it's odd. They're not being subtle, at all.
Takumi nocks an arrow and aims it at the front door. It sounds like they're about to walk right through it
The sliding door opens. I wordlessly thrust out my hand to signal Takumi not to attack—at least, not yet. We ask questions before we shoot. And thank God he listens, because who strides through the door but the fucking town guard. The same people we lied to just to get into this place.
Three men walk in, all armed with bronze naginatas and the most basic armor I've seen. They scan the area, mouths agape, as they take in the surroundings.
"Gods…" one of them says. "Ms. Ando, what the hell is happening here? We had heard a disturbance coming from the inn, but..."
The inn's proprietor, who I haven't heard speak since before the Nohrian attack, sighs. "It appears some Nohrian thugs were after my guests," she says calmly, her mild-mannered demeanor recollected since the end of the violence. "I believe they've taken care of the issue."
The guard frowns. I recognize him as the guard who let us into the city, and accepted our cover story. "I recognize you all… you said you were cloth merchants," he says. "Not even a night here and you're causing trouble. Nohrians are after you." He spits the words bitterly.
"With all due respect, sir, the Nohrians are dead," Azura cuts in. "There is no need for concern."
"No need for concern?" the guard slams the blunt end of his naginata against the wooden floor with an emphatic click. "How did they get in? Why were they pursuing you? And who are you, really? You lied to the town guard, and, I presume, Ms. Ando herself. Tell us your true identities at once, or we will have no choice but to detain you!"
A hush falls over the group. This isn't good. I had been too focused on surviving the attack to focus on what would happen if we were caught—I hadn't even been thinking about what to tell Ms. Ando. But it's obvious that no excuse could get us out of this—and no matter what, we can't tell them the truth. If Takumi's right, and we are in solidly-West Hoshidan territory, we can't let on to the guards that the rightful royals are in tow. And even without that consideration, Camilla's not exactly welcome, either.
Compensating for my hesitation, Takumi is the one who speaks first, actually. He lowers his bow, but keeps his glare fixed on the three men. "I can't believe you fools have the nerve to claim that we owe you anything," he begins, his voice rising with indignation.
I cringe. He's just making things worse! And I wouldn't be surprised if he tries to sell out Camilla or Selena. What am I going to do then? Still, I don't say anything, because I don't have anything coherent to offer instead. Rambling would just make us look even more suspicious.
Takumi continues. "What you are conveniently ignoring is the fact that your town's paltry security force couldn't stop those Nohrians from slipping inside. Why they're here doesn't matter. We eliminated the threat, and you, the town guard, didn't. You're lucky we were able to step up to the plate, otherwise Ms. Ando, and gods know who else, would be dead already. And you call yourselves Hoshidan…" He shakes his head. "You should be ashamed."
My jaw drops. Takumi's righteous anger is being directed not at me or Camilla, but in our defense, against someone else? I'd better check the window to see if pigs are flying.
The guard levels his naginata at Takumi. "Are you insulting my honor?"
Takumi doesn't budge a goddamn inch, his stubborn nature proving ever more valuable. "It's hard to call someone who can't fulfill his duty to his fellow citizens honorable," he says. "You ought to get to work disposing of those bodies, and thinking of a cover story of what happened on this night."
"I've an even better idea," Camilla interrupts. Takumi glowers at her, but lets her continue. "You all can pretend like you were stalwart defenders who valiantly protected the Ando Inn—guards doing their jobs. We'll keep this a little secret between us if you stop asking foolish questions about who we are," she says with a smirk. "Our business is not with Mizuhara. We are merely passing through, and tomorrow, we will be gone. But you, my friends, you can be heroes."
The guard hesitates, apparently considering it. "What about Ms. Ando?"
Camilla turns to her. "She and her staff can keep our secret as well," she explains. "And don't worry. We'll more than fairly compensate her for the repairs and cleanup."
Ms. Ando just nods politely. "I suppose this is not a disagreeable proposition."
After a few tense moments, the guard nods. "Your point is well taken. Leave Mizuhara at dawn, and never return. Don't speak a word of what happened to the townspeople, and if you're asked about it, say you slept through it. Is that clear?"
"Crystal," Takumi replies.
"I had a feeling we could reach an understanding," Camilla says.
The guard nods again. "Now, we don't have too much time before it's light out. We ought to take care of things quickly."
Along with Ms. Ando's staff and the guards, our group works diligently to clear the Nohrian bodies away from the inn. Camilla insists that we check their belongings and persons for any indication of orders to capture her… or Corrin. I haven't thought about what exactly Corrin has to do with everything yet, and honestly, I just want to go back to bed and get a few hours of sleep before bothering to think about it. For better or worse, we don't find anything helpful.
My heart sinks and my chest heaves as the adrenaline rush fades and the tension of the fight melts away. I can kill for survival. I know this. I'm not breaking down the same way I did way back when. But it's also a little disturbing that it's become easier, and it's a little disturbing how I'm almost secretly happy with how it's become easier. I take another deep breath and steady myself, trying to dispel my thoughts so that they don't run in circles like they so often do.
This is what war means, and if I'm going to be committed to reuniting with Corrin, saving Xander and Elise and Azura, and killing Anankos, I can't let this stop me. What's important is that I'm not cruel. I kept Camilla from killing that one dark mage who we let go. We defended ourselves, without killing unnecessarily. I don't know what happened to that dark mage—we only found nine bodies, so he must have slipped out somehow—but the fact that Sakura and I reined in Camilla's impulses is a victory for us and for cooperation. That's something I can be happy with, at the least.
And speaking of cooperation, we still have plenty of work to do before sunrise, and before we leave. The guards dig a discreet grave for the Nohrians just outside the city's perimeter, and unceremoniously bury them. Hopefully it won't smell too much… but that's not really our problem if we leave the city, is it? I shudder at the thought. Even if killing is getting easier, there's still some parts of the whole business that gnaw at me, sinking in my stomach like a rock.
The rest of us focus on fixing up Ms. Ando's inn, mopping up the blood and sweeping up broken glass and porcelain. It isn't long before the work is mostly done, still with a few hours to spare before dawn. The guards actually thank us for our help, and we bid them goodnight. As things wind down and everyone prepares to get a few hours of needed rest in before the long journey tomorrow, the royals present Ms. Ando with the payment for our stay. They give her double the standard rate it would cost us.
"I… cannot accept this," she says.
"We've caused you enough trouble," Azura says. "Take it, repair your inn, and forget this ever happened."
Ms. Ando takes the money. "Thank you," she says, bowing. She looks around at our group once more. "I should have realized you were not merchants, but you make convincing actors. Do not fear. Your secrets are safe with me. You've brought this old woman enough excitement for one lifetime." She smiles.
With that, our group shuffles on up to bed—really more of a nap, given the limited time we have. I head into the room I'm sharing with Takumi, and I collapse onto my futon. He follows suit not long after. Neither of us says anything for a little while.
"Hey, Lord Takumi," I begin. "I just wanted to say thanks. You helped us out a lot. You were a real team player, you know?"
Takumi sounds like he starts to say something, but his voice wavers, as if he thought better of it. After a moment, he starts again. "You're welcome," he replies. He turns onto his side, away from me, apparently done with the conversation.
That's just as good in my book. I'm exhausted from the evening's events, both physically and mentally. I don't want to begin to consider how these Nohrians found us, or what Corrin has to do with it. That's a problem for tomorrow, for the long journey we have ahead of us.
I think back to my mental image of Mozu's map, and where we are in relation to Izumo...
Oh God, what a long journey it is.
A/N: Sorry for this being ludicrously overdue! I've been having a pretty busy semester so far, but on top of that, I've also been planning a lot for a Three Houses SI that I hope to publish sometime later this year. After a lot of extensive thinking and conversations with others (including TDB, of course), I'm pretty close to a plan that I'm happy with, excited about, and I hope you will feel the same way. Not sure how much I should reveal of it just yet, if anything, hehe. But I've really fallen in love with the Three Houses setting and especially its characters and just can't resist getting my grubby little writer hands on 'em. I don't want to give an exact time range because there are still some blanks and questions around my plan. But no matter what, I assure you that I won't give up or stop EB. In fact, I think having another project to work on will help keep me productive - when I'm stuck on one thing, rather than banging my head against the wall, I can switch gears to another.
Out of context TDB quote for this episode: "If I didn't have several burritos at my disposal, I'd be mad rn lol."
Join our discord at discord . gg / A27Ngyj ! You can also catch me at Narwhal Lord's Fanfiction Treehouse, another server centered around FE fanfiction with a bit of a different vibe and a different crew - discord . gg / 9XG3U7a .
And now for some review responses:
Half-beastdragonsoul2013 - Actually, I headcanoned Camilla at 21 or 22. Harrison's just turned 19, for reference.
Bridd - Who knows indeed what was done for Harrison getting into the world of Fates? It's an interesting question, and the answer may or may not be found, and may or may not be actually relevant. I'll also say I've considered playing with that concept a bit in the upcoming 3H SI.
Boy Knight - Thank you for your review! I saw you mentioned a lot about being interested in how Harrison will grow closer with the characters - I'm curious what you thought of this chapter's events in that context, too.
Call Brig on Over - That's totally fair, but for me, part of the fun of the SI is shipping your SI with a character you like from the game, so it's pretty hard to resist, even if shipping isn't the focus of the fic. Of course, that assumption may (or may not) need to be questioned with the 3H fic...
