It was almost surreal to see the princess standing this casually in front of the bars, observing her would-be murderer with a look of detached amusement. Beruka stood up and leaned against the cold stone wall, trying to look as intimidating as possible. The princess's short laugh indicated that this didn't quite work out, as did the way she casually opened them with her key before entering, confidently stepping closer to the person who had attempted to murder her a… certain amount of time ago, she wasn't aware of just how much time had passed.
"Are you fine?" She asked, observing her fellow Nohrian. Beruka shook her head to the side and Camilla frowned. "Why?"
"You're alive." Retorted Beruka, before attempting to lunge at Camilla. "Attempt" being the keyword given her state. No longer having to dine on whatever scrap of food she could get her hands on had made Beruka forget just how weak someone could be if they forgot to feed themselves for a certain length of time. Her attack was so pathetic that King Garon's daughter acted as if the assassin had tripped, casually grabbing her by the shoulders and holding her in place even as the recently "orphaned" prisoner trashed against her restraints. Despite her age and build, Camilla's grasp was harsher than the thug's, even when she wasn't trying to restrain her anywhere as hard.
"Aw come on now." Said the princess, pouting a little and letting the prisoner go. Beruka took a few steps backward but lashed out with a furious kick… that one of the slums' sicker inhabitants could react to in time. As a result, Nohr's young yet already freakishly strong princess easily caught her foot. She stared blankly at the prisoner but simply pulled on the foot to make Beruka fall, and then held her up in reverse, raising her arm a little to prevent the young girl's face from dragging along the cold floor.
"… I don't think you understand what's going on." She quipped, before simply, gently, letting her down. Beruka's answer to this was to get up once more and attempt to hit her with a strong jab. The seemingly-superhuman royal easily dodged the blow though, and concluded the fight by lightly tapping Beruka in the ribs with the palm of her hand, sending her flying into a corner of the room, with the gathered straw doing little to cushion the impact. With the fight completely taken out of her, Beruka simply resigned herself to her fate as two heavily armored guards ran in.
"Milady!" Said one, before turning his eyes to look at Beruka. "Is this little rat giving you troubles?"
"No no no!" Retorted the serene princess, wagging her finger at her foe. "I'm just teaching this little commoner brat a lesson for trying to spill my noble blood! You should go fetch some friends though!" She warned. "You might need to be sent out on royal orders very soon to intercept whoever sent her!"
"Y-yes, milady!" Articulated one guard, before backing away with his friend. Beruka watched them go and looked at the princess, who knelt close to her adversary with an interested look on her face. She said nothing for a few seconds, calmly tilting her head to the left. Her contemplation ended quickly once some tears began to filter out of Beruka's eyes, though her actual face didn't change. Confused, yet interested, the purple-haired youth moved to wipe away the tear with her armored thumb. Beruka tried to prevent her from doing so, even using both her hands, but as with her previous attempts, this proved to be a fool's endeavor.
"Why are you crying?" She eventually asked, the imperious voice used on the guards having made way for a more regular tone of voice.
"I can't return until you're dead." Answered Beruka, and she would've resumed her attack if it weren't for her sheer exhaustion. "Please, just… just die... So I can live free." Camilla pouted and got up. "Sorry, but I read that killing oneself is bad." She said. "… Are you from the slums? I get why you want to be freed." Beruka got herself in a more comfortable position.
"Do you know Goulet?" She said, and Beruka, who didn't see much interest in professionalism, simply retorted with a quiet "Yes."
Camilla's neutral expression vanished rather quickly and made way for anger intense enough to let Beruka feel fear, though the young girl quickly calmed down and bent forward. "Where is he now?"
"Dead." Answered the blue-haired assassin. "I murdered him. He would've prevented me from enjoying my freedom." She explained. Camilla looked a little disappointed but didn't comment on it. "Then, why did you attack me?"
"A noble-woman intercepted me, and asked me to do it." Said Beruka. "She mentioned losing a daughter recently." Camilla put a finger on her chin and began to ponder. "Hmm, did you see her face?" Beruka shifted a little before replying. "Yes. I could even describe her."
"Good!" Said Camilla. "You'll do that, and as for your fate… Well, I've got one question now, and then we'll be done." She emphasized the done, and Beruka closed her eyes, resigned to her fate. "What's your name?"
The prisoner looked up at her initial target in surprise and blinked several times, having expected something else. "I'm Beruka."
"Well, Beruka. Two things! First, I am Camilla, nice to meet you!" She then held out her hand, with a bright smile. "Secondly, I've got an offer: Come under my employ!" Beruka took a few seconds (or perhaps she was just too exhausted to acknowledge what was happening around her anymore) to realize the nature of the question and then chose to deny it by shaking her head, though she was quite aware of just who she was offending. "No. I'm sorry, but I want to be set free."
Camilla pouted and lowered her hand. "Well, you tried to kill me, I don't mind…" She shrugged when the assassin blankly stared. "Force of habit… Well, I don't mind but daddy does, and a lot of people too. So if I let you go…"
She slashed her throat and made an overly long (but frighteningly accurate) death moan. "You're gonna die."
"… Why would you even want to recruit me? I've tried to kill you, and you obviously don't need me…"
"You're pretty talented." Said Camilla. "And having an assassin around me keeps me sharp… Also I just think that you look cute." She casually pinched Beruka's cheeks. "I don't want to see you killed by some dumb brute with an axe."
"I… I could escape." Said Beruka. "I want to see the world outside though… I've been someone else's tool for longer than I can remember. Please, I just want to be free."
The princess sighed but eventually smiled. "Alright then, but there's one condition to fulfill. You're going to see the outside world, and then you're going to have one more occasion to make up your mind, alright?" She held out her hand but when Beruka proved a bit too slow, she just grabbed it and even hugged her with enough force to lift her off the ground. "Wowee, you're so light! Hihihihi!" And Beruka prayed for the soul of her lost dignity before looking down at the princess.
"Let us see the outside world, then…"
…
She had heard of Nohr's outside awfulness for a while. Wendel had warned her, Goulet also advised his star pupil about the actual appearance of the countryside… But until now, she had remained blind to the truth somehow. Her optimism, refusing to accept the idea that the fabled land beyond the walls could actually be as bad as what was inside the walls, had convinced Beruka that those words were the manipulations of bitter people who had yearned to keep her inside.
But until now, the idea that things could really be as bad as they were described was absurd to her, though she never bothered to check things out when she was allowed to shop at Windmire. Out of fear, perhaps, that the pull of window would prove too strong if she were to see the "Black Gate" leading out of the city. Or she simply wanted to avoid taking a peek that would reveal that there was truth to the words spoken by Goulet and Wendel.
Now that she was "outside" of the city (with quite a few bows pointed at her back), though, Beruka realized that they did lie. Nohr's appearance was even more disappointing somehow. She knew that the sky was messed up, but the land outside was barren and cold. She could, vaguely, see a bunch of dead trees on the road outside, and there was little "grass" near the paved road leading towards Windmire. A cold wind blew, and she paced her head back and forth, desperately attempting to see something in the grey horizon that stood before her.
"Nohr suffers under the Qliphoth blight." Said Camilla, emotionless. "I thought you'd know…"
Beruka laughed mirthlessly and sat down. It was a quaint vision, but one that broke her somehow. She had lived her life hoping that it would go smoothly once she'd leave the slums, but she now knew that the world outside was as ugly as the place she grew up in. And perhaps more pleasant lands awaited beyond, but would she even enjoy them considering all that she had seen? And with the numbers of people that would be sent after her, would she even make it? Beruka's laugh continued without ceasing and she didn't even register Camilla's hand on her shoulder. She had killed so much, earned the wrath of so many people, and lost her soul… for nothing. That idealized freedom was never within reach, and she would probably remain under Camilla's orders until the princess had deemed that she no longer needed to.
She knew that she would need to fight again even after leaving Windmire. She just never thought that she would need to become another hired knife so soon after getting rid of her mentor. That's what was making her laugh: While she was out of the slums, Beruka now knew that she would never escape her old life. To her credit though, Camilla had a worried expression on her face when she approached the young girl, and seemed aware of just how messed up she was because of the news.
"So… do you want to join me? I promise that you'll get a good life." Beruka looked up at her slightly. "Why?" She asked. "Why do you keep trying to hire me? A-are you pitying me?" And Camilla's reply was a blunt "Yes." The sheer bluntness of it caused Beruka to actually smile a little, and she grasped her hand before moving to stand on her two feet. Camilla smiled but Beruka couldn't appreciate the triumph of the moment. Her freedom had been for nothing and she was right back under someone else's employ, after all.
But then again, it didn't matter anymore. Fate had apparently deemed that she would never escape Nohr's shadow. For all her life, she would need to use the prodigious strength and skills gifted unto her to work for someone. From here on now, her goal would be Camilla's, and that would be that.
"I hereby accept your offer… Lady Camilla."
…
Beruka's eyes opened and she slowly got up from bed, holding her hand and groaning in confusion. After taking the time to rub her eyes, she glanced down at her body to notice that she was clad in an average short-sleeved brown tunic, though her two arms were covered in bandages. Her whole body was covered in bandages to be fair, to the point where she, in her stunned state, almost felt like they were choking her.
Checking her forehead revealed that her bandana was still present, though a bandage was underneath. This made her upset enough to rise out of her bed, throwing the blanket away and putting her bare feet on the wooden floor. The room around her was surprisingly agreeable to be in: A large fireplace at the corner gave it a certain warmth, and there was a certain color to the room that contrasted heavily with the more stern architecture that she was used to. The nearby round table, for instance, was made out of wood and was painted red. Her eyes weren't drawn to it only because of that, however. She could see an open book, which she approached carefully.
On it there were two drawings. One of them represented Selena, and was actually drawn very nicely (as dull as her fashion sense was), depicting the retainer, arms folded, with a confident smile on her face. Above the drawing, some text had been written in red: "Get well soon, Ber!"
Next to Selena, Camilla had been drawn as well, though it was much more horrible. It looked like a stick figure with a purple cloud on her head, two black dots for eyes and a crescent half-smile, with a little axe in its spindly arms. A purple text had been written above the figure: "Don't die, or else I'm dragging you out of hell myself!" Turning the pages to spare herself the sight of the stick-woman revealed more texts, with Odin's filling about half the original page. She was actually surprised to see that even Prince Xander had managed to write down his own little encouragement. And was even more surprised to see that Corrin had also left his own message, though it seemed that he corrected himself multiple times while writing it.
Multiple empty beds, each with an accompanying table and a book on it, were present in the room. Her own was close to the fireplace, and now that she was a bit farther from it, it felt like she was already getting colder.
Closing the book, Beruka swung her left arm a little and saw that it was apparently fully healed, since it didn't snap in half on her. She saw a wooden cane, perhaps in case she had troubles walking (and she did), but she just walked past it and escaped the room, entering a wooden hall. The sun peered through a window above, and she looked up at it in curiosity before looking aside. To the left, there was a red door leading to a platform. To the right, there was some kind of odd half-fish, half-dragon stuck on a little floating orb.
She looked to the left then sharply turned to look at the right, raising her fists to prepare to defend herself. The beast approached her, unfazed, and she could see that it had a little maid-like hat on its head, as a way to fit with its cutesy appearance. It didn't do much to convince Beruka that the being standing in front of her wasn't going to try to devour her though, even as it spoke gently.
"Oh, hello Lady Beruka! I'm glad to see that you are well!" She said. "Should I fetch Lord Corrin?"
"… Yes." Replied Beruka. "What are you?"
The dragon giggled. "I'm Lilith! I'm Lord Corrin's servant! I'll tell you more about this later if we can!" She said, before promptly flying away, dashing past Beruka. The confused assassin headed out to see where she'd go, and widened her eyes when she spotted the landscaped outside.
It was illuminated by the sun, like Mokushu, but its architecture was closer to Nohr's, all sharp, dark, and teeming with a dark aura. She could spot some soldiers walking down the grass, or coming in and out of various buildings. A few were training or were simply laying down and enjoying something that they only saw in drawings until then: peace and quiet underneath the sun. She could see tall walls around the structure, and some soldiers walked on said walls to get from a part of the castle to another.
Beruka herself was standing on a little wooden platform with a railing and apparently emerged out of a large cabin in the woods. There were three floors to it, with the top being pretty small by the look of it. She would've followed more, but a shadow got her attention in time for the young woman to turn around, moving as if she had a weapon in hand, and yet again, she allowed surprise to briefly creep on her face when she noticed that he was flying with the help of two massive black wings, and casually discarded them when he managed to land. He turned to look at her, with a look of relief on his face, but Beruka couldn't quite accept the "hug" that he was offering with his spread arms, too confused by his casual use of flight, as well as the wings that he used to do just that, of course. She knew that he was a dragon but she was somehow surprised to see him just sprouting wings.
"Beruka! I've been so worried!" He said, dropping his arms eventually. "How are you feeling?"
"… Fine." She lied. "Where are we?"
He scratched the side of his head, apparently figuring out that she was lying. "We're in Lilith's world. She keeps asking me to say that it's "my castle" but I think that it's a bit egocentric. It's the, erm, world inside the crystal ball." He sounded confused about it. "It's a bit weird, I know."
"Yes." She cut him off. "What happened ever since I was unconscious?"
"I'll tell you everything. But would you like to have something to eat first? You've just awoken. I'm surprised you're even going by without your cane." He winced a little, but refrained from telling her just how bad her injuries were. Beruka still looked annoyed, since he could so easily figure her out now apparently. Her body had recovered, without a doubt thanks to the magic of staves, but her pride wasn't going to be repaired so easily. At least, she told herself, her enemy was just as bloodied. She certainly wasn't in a state where she could've contended with her fellow retainer at least.
"Yes. I'd like something to eat."
"There's a mess hall nearby. I could get you some food." He said, pointing at a nearby building. She glanced at it and, figuring that it very likely had what she needed, nodded. "Thank you." Said Beruka, before heading towards the ladder that would bring her on ground level. It would certainly harder to climb down than usual, since even after all that rest she still felt a little sore, but she refused to show weakness. Be it in front of the soldiers that could be watching or Corrin himself, for some reason. He did seem to be aware of her predicament since he promptly laid a heavy hand on her shoulder.
"Beruka." He said, in a worried yet serious tone of voice. "Are you sure you can climb down that ladder? You look a little unsure on your feet."
"Don't pity me." She replied, almost defiantly. "I haven't led this violent life to cower in front of a ladder." Perhaps knowing that there was little that could refrain Beruka from doing something when her mind was set on it (and also not willing to use a royal order for something as simple as climbing down a ladder), Corrin just decided to leap down near the ladder, with his superhuman abilities allowing him to easily make such a leap. Beruka felt a tinge of envy but managed not to show it as she began to head down in a manner that decidedly wasn't quite as fancy.
Corrin stood at the end of the ladder, seemingly to catch Beruka in his arms if she were to fall. This made it all the more tempting for her not to give up, or even show signs that the descent was giving her some troubles. She could feel the pain somewhat lessening as she went down, but the mere fact that she would feel pain while doing something as menial as this stung her pride even further, and Corrin's attempt at cheering her up once she was done didn't help matters.
"Erm, good job, Beruka!"
"Quiet." She retorted. "Lead me to the mess hall, if you please."
…
"Oh hello you guys!" Waved Peri, the madwoman had seemingly been put in charge of handling the shop, to Beruka's horror. Corrin grinned a little when he saw it though, and turned to look at Beruka. "We're in luck, Peri's a really good cook!" Exclaimed the prince, sitting down at a table. The assassin doubted such, but sat down as well, in front of him.
"What has happened since my… defeat?" She said, struggling to say the word. Her fists clenched slightly as she thought back of Kagero. Beruka had only ever missed one target in her entire life, and while the fight against the retainer had not been a contract, she was still an enemy. The possibility that Kagero had escaped haunted her, along with the fact that she had to be rescued from the jaws of death by Charlotte, of all people, and Selena.
Somehow this fact annoyed her more than the others. Obviously, Beruka wasn't suicidal, and was very much content to be allowed to live on to potentially have another shot at defeating the ninja, but somehow, being bailed out not by her own means stung. It was… weak, and all her life, she had tried to be the very opposite of that. She had sworn that she wouldn't be in a position where she would need to be rescued by someone else again, and yet, here she was, only alive thanks to the intervention of some part-time seductress.
She identified that burning feeling in her lungs as anger, though it wasn't as intense as she heard it was. She was grateful for that, though, for it would mean that she wouldn't lose her grasp on her emotions, as she did in front of the enemy. She also wondered if the others had seen her scar… Beruka frowned. Lots of questions to be asked, and she wasn't sure if Corrin knew or would be willing to answer them.
"So the fight ended in a victory for us but Hoshido meant to damage the town." He said. "We captured a few ninjas along the way, and it was apparently a trap from the beginning. The squad that bought that woman…" His eyes peered down and he noticed that Beruka's grip on her cutlery had tightened. "… The squad that captured Kagero was made out of Hoshidan soldiers, and they had slowly infiltrated Mokushu in preparation for a raid. They've attacked some other towns at the same time, but some of the towns that had Nohrian ships arriving were spared."
"It must've been an important operation."
"Ye, I-" Before he could continue, Peri sneaked behind Corrin and prepared to yell something. Beruka immediately leaped to the action. "I will take today's menu." She said.
"Huh… same for me." Corrin said, smiling. "How is it going, Peri?"
"Well, I'm cooking! It's similar to what I do on the field but the meat doesn't scream when I cut it, teehee!" Peri giggled happily, and Corrin's awkward smile grew.
"Y-yes, this is a wise observation, Peri."
Unfortunately, Peri failed to read the writing on the wall and turned towards Beruka. "Oh, Ber! How are you doing? Did you notice the message I wrote to you on that book? I wanted to draw it in my blood but it would've made the page super stainy!
"… I am more interested in your food than I am in talking with you." Said Beruka, bluntly.
She prepared to defend herself in case Peri decided to tackle her in a rage, but the crazed woman just had a good laugh. "You recovered real fast, Ber! I'm gonna make you a big welcome chili then! Onwards!" And before Corrin could mumble a farewell, she was off behind the counter. A few Nohrian soldiers, who had kept quiet, then started talking again.
Corrin leaned in and whispered. "I think she's crazy." He said, causing Beruka to roll her eyes. "Oh, about the book though, did you read some of it?"
"Yes." Answered Beruka. "It is… corny." She admitted. "I am surprised that you even managed to get people to sign it."
"It wasn't that hard. Well, Selena and Camilla volunteered, and Kaze also did, though he nearly wrote it in Hoshidan, and Laslow also wrote something, so Odin got on it and convinced Niles, and because he kept trying to find an appropriate message to type down the others saw and approached… Everyone just seemed to care about you. Even Nyx left a small thing. Er, and so did I but I didn't know what I could put. I'm not a very good writer and I didn't want to leave something cheesy."
Beruka looked away. "You didn't need to. I'm just a mere retainer." She studied the mess hall. It was rather large, though fairly empty at the moment, and was warmly illuminated by several lanterns, giving it a welcoming vibe. She briefly wondered who built it, since it looked Nohrian but didn't quite have the same ambiance as the buildings in the dark country. "… And in a war, one is expected to be wounded fairly heavily."
"I know, but I didn't want to just ignore you while you were unconscious." He retorted. "You're not just a mere retainer. You're my… friend." He said, having switched words. "Well." He chuckled. "Only if you accept it."
She almost wished she could interrogate him further on that, but in her little funk, she found herself not caring much about it. "I'm a retainer and you're a royal. We can't simply be friends… but if it pleases you, then yes, we are friends." She said. "Though I request that you still treat me as a warrior first and foremost."
"Of course" He retorted. "But just know that no matter what, I'm not letting you, or even Selena, or Peri, or Laslow just get wounded and not care. It's a little cheesy, I know." Corrin pulled on his collar. "But it's from the heart."
"Yes, the heart…" She briefly acknowledged the end of his sentence. "How did you gain the ability to fly?"
"Oh, well, I was trying to chase Saizo." He explained. "And I… guess it just manifested itself. It's a conscious change. Like I will it and I can transform part of my body without the need of the stone."
"You sound casual about it." Answered Beruka, and Corrin shrugged. "It just felt natural. I mean, I was pleased about flying butthenicrashedintoabuilding… but after that, it just felt… I can't say it easily. Breathing, walking and all that, it just comes to you easily, right? Well, once I made those transformations, I just think about it and it happens easily. So far, I can transform my arms, or cover my head, or grows wings. I think it's tied to Yato's evolution but I'm not sure…"
She observed the shadow sword briefly. "So, you trained in that ability while I was unconscious… regardless…"
"Chili served!" Peri almost slammed the bowls unto the table and skipped away. "… Regardless, what has happened afterward?"
She dug carefully into the food and then began to quickly eat it. The heat could be unbearable to some, but she didn't mind it at all. Corrin watched her in amusement and only took a few bites of his own food, while Beruka was seemingly challenging herself to devour it whole in the span of a minute. He put his fist on his cheek and just stared at her eating session before talking up. "We wanted to help with the repairs, but we were told not to, since we had a route to take. We still tried to help with what little time we had before leaving. I think we're on time, though, since only another Nohrian unit has reached Izumo in advance."
"Hm… Why was I placed here?" She asked, wiping her mouth.
"Well, I guess that it's easy to put you in the orb. It can host a lot of people, so placing our wounded here prevents them from being attacked, and since it's a peaceful place, it's easier to recover." He said. "Lilith's worked on her magic, and you can come out at any time by walking out, but it goes a bit awry if more than three people try to leave. Just in case."
She nodded, and Corrin sighed. "Sorry for not helping you, by the way. I was distracted, had I knew, I would've flown in to help." He said. "Well, I guess that's a little selfish to say though."
Beruka moved her hand over to his, and he froze for a moment… and then continued to stand in silence as she swiped his bowl, still being a bit hungry. He didn't mind though, and allowed her to do so with a quiet nod.
"… Don't worry." Admitted Beruka. "That admission of selfishness reassures me." And she began to eat again, trying her best not to make too much noise as she devoured the chili. He tilted his head, either in amazement at her eating skills or because he couldn't figure out what she meant. She cultivated his curiosity, only speaking up after spending some more time eating. "You spend too much time trying to be some sort of selfless icon. Like you're trying to put forth a mask. When you admit to having selfish thoughts, it makes it easier for me to trust you." She looked up at him. "No one is selfless, and a man who is trying to be completely selfless is deluding himself. Don't be afraid of sharing your weaknesses, especially since you're talking to a friend." Beruka felt an odd aftertaste on her tongue after she said the word. Either it was some sort of feeling or the chili was actually burning it.
"Alright…" He said. "I guess you're right, but at this point, I don't want to show my, huh, lesser side to my troops. I'm kind of afraid that they'll lose their respect or will stop following me otherwise."
"Nonsense, they will follow you because it is their duty." She said, using a wooden spoon to clear whatever remained of the chili. To her sorrow, Peri was actually a great cook. Then again, the young psychopath was a noble, and could probably learn from the best easily if she wanted to. Her culinary meditation found itself most rudely interrupted when a shadow peered over the table, and she turned her head to greet Shura. Beruka grimaced, remembering the manner in which the man had left her behind when he found himself outnumbered. Of course, she would have done the same if Kagero had somehow decided to target him, but she wasn't ready to acknowledge her hypocrisy.
"What are you doing here?" She said, rising from her seat. Even in her weakened condition, the man still took a few prudent steps backward. He was wearing a Nohrian uniform but saw fit to customize it (which isn't frowned upon as long as the uniform remain identifiable amid a fight) with an armband and a few decorative objects from Kohga. He also had a magnificent pair of boots, but that came in second.
"I'm just delivering the latest news." Retorted Kohga. Corrin got between them before things went ugly though. "He's an ally. He went to me specifically when he could have easily ran away."
"Which he did." She accused.
"Hey now." He said. "I'm sorry for ditching you, but she defied you to a one-on-one. It's not like I was going to gawk and watch you fight."
Beruka frowned but backed off a little, to Corrin's relief. "Alright. Shura? What is the reason for your visit then?" In answer, the newfound Nohrian soldier made a lazy salute.
"Lord Xander would like to see you. We're about to reach the capital of Izumo and that's gonna require some… diplomacy." He said. "He wants to ensure that the entire royal family looks at its best to visit Izana. I don't think this guy care particularly about whatever clothing you're wearing, but hey, I'm not foolish enough to contest a prince of Nohr."
"Alright… well, Beruka, it was a pleasure but I guess diplomacy calls." Corrin looked at her, somewhat regretting to depart. "I hope you won't mind."
"I won't, and you shouldn't care about my opinion anyway." She sighed. "We'll meet again, Corrin."
The prince nodded, and walked out of the mess hall. She stared at him for a few long seconds, prompting Shura to cough. As a result, she turned towards him, preparing to dismiss him.
"Sorry to interrupt ya, but that woman asked me to send you to her immediately if you ever find yourself in a good condition." She explained. "Something about ensuring that her dear Beruka…" He smiled a little mockingly. "Is healthy. And judging by those bowls, you are."
"Hmph." She answered. "I will visit Lady Camilla, thank you for your message. I am glad to see that you've discarded your identity as an outlaw to become a messenger boy."
He grumbled something but went to a different corner of the room to eat. Beruka left the mess hall, prompting Peri to wave away at her, and reached the outer areas of the castle. Luckily, the gates that should've led her outside were very close, prompting the retainer to begin to make her way. Annoyingly enough though, she was intercepted once more when a shadow dropped from the sky in front of her, revealing Kaze. He admittedly wasn't the worst person to (literally) drop by in that case, though.
"Beruka. It is good to see you back on your feet."
"Kaze, it is good to see you inside the castle". She said, suspicion present in her voice. He chuckled lightly.
"You're fully awake, good." He said. "I was about to leave the palace. We're no longer in Mokushu and I would quite like to see the land of Izumo with my own eyes… And while this place is quite ideal, I dare say that I wouldn't miss the chance of taking a walk outside!"
"You've had your chance before, I'm quite sure." She retorted, suspicious. His smile dropped for a fraction of a second but then he chuckled again. "No. Miss Beruka, I am hardly lying! Once I've entered this sphere, I never took a single step outside. I think that I know this place better than Lord Corrin by now." He jammed his thumb towards a temple-like structure with a tree on it. "Lady Lilith knows it better than I thought."
"The beast has a name?"
"Yes. Her name is Lilith. She's the draconic keeper of this world." He explained. "Or so I've been told by Corrin. Lady Lilith tends to the wounded in the sickbay but she also rests in her temple. I've seen Lord Corrin bring her a… certain amount of food every day. In spite of her size, I can guarantee that she eats about as much as a full-sized dragon would!"
Was she somehow related to Corrin? She was a dragon after all, while he obviously had draconic properties.
"Hm… I see. Regardless, we will leave together, then."
"Very well. The gates serve as the entry point but they can also be used to leave… Oh, never mind, you've probably been told such by Lord Corrin already." Beruka answered with a rapid nod. "I apologize. I guess that I'm eager to share the knowledge that I've gathered of this place with someone else." She didn't answer, so he continued. "Unfortunately, the other Nohrians here don't trust me…"
"That's fair. I do not trust you either."
"And that is understandable." He said, a bit hurt. "But I just wish to prove myself to you."
"Then may the coming battles allow you to do just that." She concluded, before leaving the castle. She was hoping that Camilla would not accidentally cover herself in ridicule while meeting her… Hm, no. She was gearing up to meet a head of state, surely she wouldn't actually do that.
…
"Awww my poor little Beruka! I'm going to personally take care of the brute who put you in that state, and then I'll allow you to finish them off, oww, my dearie!"
Camilla would actually do that. But the saving grace was that she would only do that in front of Selena, who was leaning on a corner with her arms folded and a little mocking smile on her face. Beruka would've gouged out the eyes of a person of lesser importance by now, but Selena's position made it difficult for her to do that. But if she couldn't engage in atrocious displays of physical violence against a sworn ally, she could at least attempt to salvage her pride by breaking away from the hug.
"Thank you, Lady Camilla. I am glad to know that you care about me." She lied, dusting off her uniform. It had been made in preparation for the trip, and was thankfully "normal" in contrast to the more opulent outfit worn by Camilla. It was naught but a black-and-purple shirt with long sleeves, black pants, boots, and even some black gloves, in addition to her bandana. Speaking of it, she didn't know who was now aware of the gaping wound on it: It was a small detail, and one that she didn't realize at the moment, but she wasn't very happy at the thought of people knowing about what the ninja accurately (to her regret) called a "chink in her armor".
However for now, she had bigger things to deal with.
"However, I need to have the order repeated. We need to give the Izumians our weapons?"
"Yes! It's a token of confidence after all. They won't be doing anything to mess with them though! It's just a matter of honoring our hosts! And preventing their gods from damning us all to eternal damnation or something bad like that. I'll have to admit that this is quite the diplomatic encouragement!"
There were reasons for Izumo to be able to so easily impose its trade on Nohr. Outside of the talk of the gods taking their revenge on those who would mess with the tiny country, Izumo's willingness to trade important materials (medicine, magical pages, and the likes) with Nohr made it an important ally to the dusk country, and both countries were somewhat friendly to one another (a source of jokes for many. The idea of the brutal dusk country being friendly with the land of the gods was apparently hilarious to some). Wherever Izumo found itself dealing with a problem that the gods wouldn't take care of, such as bandits, Nohr was ready to move in quickly to help with the problem.
Of course, the usual Nohrian warhawks recommended that Nohr eventually just plain invade the neutral country, in the hope of acquiring its precious resources, but Garon had been wise enough to block it. Some say that Qliphoth themselves, ruthless conquerors that they were, wouldn't have dared to invade the country. This is why a lot of Nohrians nobles ran away to find shelter in the peaceful country, perhaps explaining why the country is so amiable to a warring empire.
"… What if Hoshido attempts to assassinate one of us?" Said Beruka. "Without our weapons, we would be defenseless against ninjas."
"Well, that'd be quite rude! And Izumo would stop trading!" Answered Camilla. "Regardless, girls, we're going to stay only one night. I would loooveee to spend more time here but unfortunately, we do have a lot of eager Hoshidan soldiers to massacre! And we suspect that there's a lot of them waiting for us near the frontier, so you better rest up, because we're going to be getting into the gritty side of things real soon!" And she pinched Beruka on the cheek. "Understood, my adorable little Beruka?"
"Yes." Replied the ever-stoic assassin.
"Alright. I'll be going. We'll need you to be present for a huge feast in the evening but you're allowed to leave and wander around the town! Just don't get too drunk! We wouldn't want one of our own to vomit on the lap of a diplomat now, wouldn't we?"
"H-huh… yeah." Said Selena, weirded out by the choice of words. Camilla clapped her hands together and walked out of the wagon.
"See you, girls!" Concluded Camilla, before leaving, probably to meet up with the other royals. This left Selena and Beruka alone in the room, and the former was already approaching the latter, with a friendly smile on her face. The assassin, deciding not to let things drag out, held her hands up, as if to tell her to wait, and gathered herself a bit before speaking.
"Thank you… for saving me." Spoke Beruka, attempting to look directly into Selena's eyes. Once that was done, she crossed her arms and looked to the side. Her cheeks reddened. She was just hoping that Selena wouldn't drag things out now, for the sake of her dignity. Luckily, the redhead was too surprised to reply at first.
"W-well, you're welcome." She said. "Hey, don't look so glum, though! I just saved my partner and reluctant friend from that Hoshidan hag. No biggies!"
"… Yes, speaking of her, did you somehow defeat her? I managed to leave her in a state where she couldn't possibly be a match for you." Spoke Beruka, eager to retrieve some of her pride. Selena's grimace didn't quite reassure her.
"A bunch of ninjas attacked right afterward. I fended them off but she fled."
Beruka blinked. "Why? You could've killed the retainer with ease."
"Well, if they managed to get to you, I wouldn't have been able to forgive myself." Answered Selena, leaning back against the wall. "I'm not really in the business of just letting my friends die, you know?"
Beruka frowned, but found it hard to fire back. A few months ago, she would've just replied "I would have let you die if it meant neutralizing the woman"… But something was holding the words back, and preventing her from leaving her throat. "… Why?"
"Why would I defend my friend and stop them from getting butchered by some ninjas? Geez, that's a tough question isn't it?" Fired Selena back, with her eye closed and a sly smile on her face.
"I… I insulted you before the battle." She said. "I don't understand why you still yearn to call me your friend. I am an assassin."
"Well, I'm used to hanging out with quirky people and…" Selena looked outside, with a wistful look in her eyes. "I've sworn that I wouldn't let my companions die ever again." The seriousness that was in her voice vanished instantly with the next words that she spoke though, and she turned to point at Beruka with a mischievous look on her face. "Even when they're kinda jerks! But you're my jerk!"
Beruka didn't answer, so Selena sighed and put her hands on her hips. "Alright. Look, I'm kinda surprised by what you did the last time, and I know you still think I'm shifty… So here's a deal. We're going to visit Izumo, and we'll buy something together, as friends, hm?" She held her hand. "And I'll tell you everything. The whole truth. Though I'm quite sure that you're going to dismiss it."
The assassin didn't bother to grasp the outstretched hand but she did nod. "Very well. I shall… shop." She said.
"Yeah! Besides, we couldn't actually get to do it because of the whole war thing."
"… But. Still, why do you partake in such wide shopping sprees?"
"Hm? Oh, well. Err, that's sort of tied to my dark and mysterious past." She waved her hands and deepened her voice in the last part. "See?"
"… Yes, your dark and mysterious past. Regardless, since we have yet to reach Izumo, I will go back to Corrin's castle." She said. "I need to quickly build my strength back, and I yearn to master spear-fighting."
Selena nodded. "Oh, by the way, err, what did you think of my drawing?" She said.
"… It is good." Said Beruka, raising an eyebrow. Selena sighed. "Errr. Unlike what you may think… I drew Lady Camilla, and she drew me."
"Oh." Beruka went silent. "It was mediocre." She said, allowing a small, small smile to creep unto her face. Selena grimaced but seemed pleasantly surprised, and she playfully bumped Beruka in the arm.
"I'm glad that you're back on your two feet, Beruka." Affirmed Selena. "Even if you're as grumpy as usual, but that's a sign of good health."
"Hm, thank you. Likewise, I'm glad to be alive and in good health."
"Well, duh!"
…
Izumo was a country that was "built by the gods". Settlers from a far-away land, persecuted for their religion, fled to Dreiz a long time ago and settled on the south-east, according to the instructions of the higher beings they believed in. The legends said that their kingdom would be small but prosperous, and they shall remain under the protection of the gods as long as they kept to themselves, without invading other countries. As a result, it is a particularly small country, comparable in size to a province.
While neutral, Izumo was greatly influenced by Hoshido, and over the ages, changed its aesthetic to match the greater nation's own. However, its ties to Nohr are well-known, and the country is quite happy to provide for all of Dreiz when it can. Tellingly, Nohrian garrisons exist over the territory, but they tend to be in a small number and lack the numbers required to perform an all-out invade on Hoshido.
However, more than the garrisons, invading foes should fear the wrath of the gods. The leader of Izumo, the Archduke, is granted the gift of communicating with deities, and it is said that they will not hesitate to use their great powers to smite those who would harm the countries. The gods themselves are mysterious and seemingly not really involved in mortal affairs, preferring to lounge on a far-away mountain, apparently providing Izumo with riches and the likes. It doesn't appear that the Archduke has any divine blood in them: They age like any mortals, whereas those gifted with the blood of dragons tend to live longer than most, and while they obviously never had to fight before, it is indicated that they lack the enhanced physical power of the descendant of the dragons. They do appear to possess a special talent in their bloodlines, which is the communication with the deities.
The Archduke like is a dynasty, and the child is thoroughly trained early on to never abuse their power to become evil. They are the central figure of Izumo and speak to the gods directly. Will the gods are apparently rather apathetic to the suffering of the average inhabitant of Izumo and do not constantly watch over the Archduke, it is said that they are quite angry when their "voice" goes missing or is hurt in any manner, and devastation is likely to occur for the poor soul and, depending on the mood of the divine, their entire country. Some disbelieved that, but the clear existence of the supernatural in Dreiz meant that few were willing to try their luck and accidentally invite divine wrath upon them.
Xander had repeated the latter part quite often, to emphasize the importance of etiquette in the conversation. Even as the six siblings, in their best attires, were already gathered in a wooden room, patiently waiting for Izana to emerge and greet them. Corrin tugged on the fabric of his black shirt, restraining his annoyance. Without his armor, and especially his sword (that he opted to leave behind at his castle, out of fear that it could be stolen), he felt… a bit defenseless. His newfound draconic abilities would be very useful in fending off a daring assassin, obviously, but he had fought so many ninjas at this point that he was constantly looking over his shoulder. It didn't help that they seemingly acquired weaponry that could hurt him: His bare skin didn't fear steel weapons anymore, but the slightest touch of those odd barbed weapons that the Hoshidans wielded almost sent him into a frenzy at times.
"Big bro? Are you okay?"
Corrin looked down at Elise, who looked quite impatient herself. "Y-yeah. It's just that I'm meeting an archduke and someone who speaks with the gods, so it's a bit stressful, you know?"
He did encounter Kotaro, but the circumstances were less… officious, and the man had been killed. Corrin wondered how Mokushu was going to do in his absence, but he found it harder to care as he got deeper into enemy territory. While what happened was evidently tragic, he had his own problems to solve. That was a pragmatic opinion to have on the matter, and one that Beruka would likely hold, but he feared that he was slowly losing his altruism as time went by.
He still wondered if she would have gotten as badly hurt by Kagero had he been there to save her in time. Of course, knowing Beruka, she wouldn't have appreciated the save out of pride, and the crops would probably have burned without his rapid intervention via flight, but somewhere… Somewhere he regretted making the right choice, and that was vexing him.
Eventually, a man walked into the room and coughed. "Hear hear, princes, and princesses of Nohr! Most glorious Izana will welcome you with his presence! Hail The Voice! Hail the ones who speak to the gods, and may most wondrous words fall into his ears so that he may repeat them to the divine beings in the sk-"
The rather bombastic man was interrupted by a slap in the back, courtesy of a white-haired man who casually walked into the room, though some guards ran after him. He was rather androgynous thanks to his pretty face and long, silky-smooth white hair. Of thin build, he still stood pretty tall and wore refined white clothes. The dragon prince had to admit that he would've probably mistaken him for a woman if it weren't for his voice.
After his remarkable entrance, the Archduke waltzed in, ignoring the very confused look of the royal family. "Heyah Lord Xander, how's the day going?" He said, holding up his hand. When Xander held his hand for a handshake, Izana shook it and then held his fist forward. The crown prince, somehow understanding the gesture, lightly tapped the archduke's hands with his own fist, causing Elise to giggle a little.
"The day is… well." Said Xander. Izana smiled and moved on to Leo, holding his hands up. When Leo failed to properly identify the gesture, the archduke decided to lightly clap him on the palm of his own hand. Were he of lesser ranker, Corrin was pretty sure that he would've been rather easily blasted in the face by a magical spell.
"Heyah Lord Leo! How are things going? You're going to be happy with the coming feast! I planted a lot of tomatoes just for you! You like those, right? I saw it in a vision! And I like tomatoes myself!"
"… Yes." Replied Leo. He briefly turned to look at Xander, who shook his head and, of all things, shrugged. Camilla, the next to meet Izana, actually identified his gesture and properly clapped his hand with her own.
"Nice Lady Camilla! We're going to bring you to an onsen quickly once we get this diplomatic stuff out of the way! You're going to love it! It's really relaxing!"
"Oh, I'd quite love it!" Answered the princess, pleased with the eccentric demeanor of the white-haired ruler. The man chosen by the gods then moved in front of Corrin and the blue-haired man awkwardly high-fived him.
"Nice one too, Lord Corrin! Hey, long time no see, hey?" Spoke the man, cheerfully winking at his host.
"With all due respect, milord, this is our first encounter." Affirmed Corrin, cocking his head to the side in confusion. Izana's smile froze.
"Ohhhh wait, I saw you in a vision too! You had that super cool sword and that long flowing hair! It was pretty cool, I'll tell you! So technically, we did meet each other already, but in the future!"
"T-that make sense." Lied Corrin, discreetly brushing his hair. Izana then moved on to Elise, who also managed to correctly hit his hand. "Yeow, you pack a mean punch, Lady Elise! I hope that your brothers and sisters are shielding your eyes from the sights of war, it's not very pretty!"
"Haha, don't worry, they did!" She said. Finally, he moved on to Azura. The songstress, however, simply remained immobile for several seconds, quietly staring at the Archduke and only slowly tapping his hand before things went past awkward. Xander sighed in relief. "Oh, don't worry, I know that all this stuff is off-putting, Lady Azura! But you know how standard diplomacy goes! Very boring stuff!"
Izana walked back and observed everyone briefly. "Well, you're all finely dressed! And you obeyed the rules too! Don't worry, your weapons are stashed somewhere safe! And you won't be needing them for the feast! I've spoken with the gods and they told me." He took a deep voice. "There won't be any troubles today, Izana! Promised!"
He eyed a reaction, and most of the royals (bar Elise, who found the guy hilarious) chuckled, though Camilla managed to make her laughter a bit more genuine.
"Anyway. So! I've gathered you guys for a very special reason!"
Izana began to walk out of the room and they followed. Xander and Camilla led, Leo and Corrin were in the middle and both Azura and a curious Elise formed the tail end. On their right, they could see a garden, where servants of the Archduke were lazying about in the sun. Occasionally, one rose from their spot before waiting near the entrance: At this point, a soldier would enter the garden, hand their weapons and armor to the departing soldier, and then go and laze about.
The garden themselves were beautiful outright. A small artificial river flowed through them and there were some trees to provide some shade against the sun. Corrin found himself wishing to go there once he's be done with the diplomacy.
"The Archduke is… quirky." He whispered to Leo.
"I've been told of that." He said. Leo couldn't quite keep his composure like Xander, who had quickly retrieved his stone-faced demeanor after nearly losing it during the initial introduction. The young man's eyebrows were raised in both suspicion and interrogation, and he could even tell that the Archduke's rather relaxed manners were irritating Leo, though diplomacy prevented the prince from using his typical bluntness on the cleric. Well, that, and Izana would probably not pay heed to criticism. "But it is still somewhat disconcerting to see…"
"Anyway! Before we go diving into Lake Tanuki or visit the streets of my beautiful town, let's get down to business!" Said Izana, concluding his path by standing near a wooden door. "War is a very troublesome business! So troublesome that I've decided to try to see if we couldn't talk things out!" The prince leaned against the door. "It's a little hopeful but, ah, I guess I just can't ignore all the tragedies happening outside my kingdom! So, today, I'm going to try to have peace negotiations happen!" He spread his arms wide. "Surprise!"
Xander smiled tiredly. "Milord, I am an advocate for peace but unless the whole Hoshidan Royal family happened to stand behind that door, I doubt that we could engage in negotiations."
Izana's grin widened, and opened the door wide open, leading to a wide wooden room. He did it in sync with a subordinate of his, who opened a door at the end of the room at the exact same time as his lord. Corrin entered it with the others but stopped when he noticed just who was walking in the room.
Four people walked in the room, and he could've recognized any of those four immediately. After all, could he ever forget the faces of his other "family": The Hoshidan royals? Ryoma, who led the group, stopped upon noticing Corrin.
"Ryoma?"
"Kamui?"
Izana went over to a bar and grabbed a piece of sushi before nibbling on it. "Oh boy, family drama incoming. Impeccable sense of timing on my part, I must say."
…
N/A: And we go straight to chapter 18 and leave Beruka's flashbacks behind! She didn't quite become Camilla's retainer straight away but that might be for later.
We get to see My Castle and we catch up with the characters! How will they deal with the events of this chapter? What kind of calamity will soon befall Nohr if nothing is done? That's for you to see in five days!
The Izumo "arc" might take a bit longer than Mokushu, thanks to a little addition of my own that's kind of foreshadowed at the end of this chapter!
As usual, don't forget: Reviews and the likes are very appreciated! I love 'em, keep 'em coming!
See ya!