It took me a few moments to really grasp the gravity of what I was looking at. An empty dock was not by its own nature something that would inspire fear, but rather confusion. Foolishly, I craned my neck to the left and to the right to see if the ship had changed positions somehow, but alas it wasn't so.
My confusion gradually gave way to mortal terror. Without that ship I had no way home. My mouth dried and I felt my throat begin to close up, as one thought dominated all the others in my mind. I'll never see my family again. My heart thundered in my chest suddenly, its pace quickening and quickening as I desperately searched about, for something, anything that might bear us away. There wasn't even a dingy to be seen...
I was even looking over the edge at the waters of the ocean far below, wondering if there was any way we could survive the fall and swim ashore when a hand grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back. There was the sound of a sword drawn from its sheath and with dizzying speed I was moved behind Raphtalia as she pointed her blade at Wardes.
She shouted something that I didn't hear over the sound of the blood rushing through my ears and the thunderous drums of my heart. Wardes held his hands up defensively, saying something back as Raphtalia's sword began to glow with some kind of enchantment.
She was about to attack him, I realised.
"Wait!" It came out somewhere between a shriek of fear and a command, and sound returned to me all at once. "Raphtalia, Stop!"
"He's a traitor! He's the one that set this up!"
"He would never do that!" I protested.
"Then what has he done, Louise?! Think!"
"He's my fiancé-"
"And?!" Raphtalia snapped rounding fully on me. "Everything he's done has led us to this point! Instead of trusting blindly, just think!" She looked back towards him. "He separated us from the guards by changing the ship we planned to board in the middle of the night! Then he told the captain to wait until we were out of sight before abandoning us here!"
Protests died on my lips as I considered. Wardes would never betray me, that I was sure, but… but… why had he done the things he'd done? What reason did he give to board the ship at midnight?
Neither I or Raphtalia had gotten a chance to speak to the crew before we left, and whether by accident or intent he had led us here. I opened my mouth to argue that it had all just been his mistake, when the words died on my lips.
Wardes wasn't an idiot. I knew him well enough to know that. No matter how I turned it over in my mind, I wasn't sure I could accept that he was really so consistently foolish.
Which left just the other option.
As I looked at him, I noticed his expression begin to change from worried innocence to disappointment. "I can see that she's convinced you." He simply said.
My mouth dried, and I had nothing to say at all.
Raphtalia's ears wiggled, and she turned to look towards the city.
"W-why?" I choked out.
"Why what?" He replied. "Let me ask instead, why not?"
"Louise!" Raphtalia hissed for my attention but Wardes spoke over her.
"We hardly know each other at all, and my alliance with your parents was useful, but secondary to much more important goals. When my masters began to demand I give you to them, there was no way that I could possibly resist."
"Louise, he's distracting you! The-"
"But you- you said I could finish my time at the academy! Father said you agreed!"
"I didn't want to. If I demanded you from him, then of course he would refuse. It was better to follow the river than to swim up it."
"You!" I ground out through grit teeth. "You traitor! What about the princess?"
"What about her? I swore an oath to the crown, not to some foolish little chit who spreads her legs so cheaply."
My knuckles were white on my wand, and I felt my face heating up, no, my whole body.
"Oh, don't pout." He shook his head then looked up. "Ah here they come."
In the distance I simply heard the sound of marching, and along every single city street that could be seen, down came multiple columns of soldiers wearing the distinctive round helmets of the Reconquista.
"Louise, he's just buying time." Raphtalia hissed into my ear and began to pull me away, but I was rooted to the spot.
Meanwhile, Wardes continued. "There's nothing you can do now, but surrender. So calm down and come along, quietly."
"You…" I hissed out. I searched for words that matched my anger. None fit. Something heavy, hot and black coiled in my stomach and my breath came out heated.
"Louise, you're being childish." He sighed. "Let me make my final offer. Surrender now, and your familiar will live." From within his pocket, he withdrew a ring that the system immediately labeled.
CURSED RING.
EFFECT: DISABLE EGO. FORCES THE WEARER INTO A FUGUE STATE WHERE THEY WILL OBEY ANY AND ALL INSTRUCTIONS GOVEN TO THEM BY THE OWNER.
…Evil.
The men of the Reconquista (were evil) surrounded us on all sides (like a tide of scum), standing behind Wardes (the treacherous filth) and clearly aligned with him. They all (dared to) threatened us with their pikes and arcquabuses (and they all deserved to die).
REQUIREMENTS MET!
CURSE SERIES Curse: VOID OF WRATH I UNLOCKED!
"Louise, no!" Raphtalia shouted my name, as tears of rage poured down my face. "That's the curse series, you mustn't use those!"
The betrayal. The intention. All of it was an affront to Brimr.
All of it had to be purged.
"Louise," Wardes scoffed at my raised wand. "We both know you could never do magic. Your little explosions barely have the power to-"
"Explosion."
...
CONGRATULATIONS! 44'377'681 XP ADDED!
YOU'VE LEVELED UP!
YOU'VE LEVELED UP!
YOU'VE LEVELED UP!
YOU'VE LEVELED UP!
YOU'VE LEVELED UP!
YOU'VE LEVELED UP!
YOU'VE LEVELED UP!
YOU'VE LEVELED UP!
YOU'VE LEVELED-
AN:
On a completely unrelated note, did you know that the population of London in the mid 17 century was approximately 300'000 people?
Thanks to Enid the ABSOLUTELY IMMENSE for editing.
