"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
~Flashback~
[...] Black Bulls base, Noelle's room.
The human body is highly adaptive to sleeping cycles as long as it's consistent. It remembers its schedule, and as long as it is not under any inhibiting substances it is able to ignore all types of weariness in order to maintain said schedule.
The silver-haired owner of the room laid in her bed with her eyes closed but conscious.
'What time is it…' - she wondered, but she didn't attempt to find out.
She didn't want to move. Her body was too enamored by the loving hug that her bed and sheets provided.
She remained there for a moment longer. The thought of her needing to get up and face her duties crept in. She pushed it away and remained motionless for another moment until the invading thought resurfaced. She pushed it away once again.
It continued, her sense of responsibility coming on stronger each time until she could no longer ignore it.
She turned around and looked at her clock, not even able to fully open her eyes.
'5:42' - she adjusted her pillow. 'I got an hour…' - she closed her eyes and attempted to savor every second she had.
Falling asleep was difficult now, the unprocessed event of the night before and what was informed to her lingered in her subconscious. Even though she couldn't sleep, her tired body was melting from the feeling of the soft cushion beneath her. She was stuck in the tug of war that was pleasure against responsibility.
'I need to tell the captain so I can report to Nozel' - she tried to get up, she imagined applying the necessary effort for her limbs to move, but that only made her body feel heavier. She didn't move at all.
'A few hours won't matter, right…? Yeah… if I was needed today he would have told me' - her mind was desperately trying to find a convincing reason to allow what her body was asking for.
'But what if I am… I would look bad by not showing… he said as soon as possible'
She imagined scenarios in which she was embarrassed by her brother because of her late response, or worse, that he faced embarrassment because of her absence.
She remained in her bed, her body gradually edging closer to a state of slumber.
'Why is it that it feels much better to stay in bed when you know you have things to do, and not when you're free' - her mind wandered away from reality each second.
'I have an hour… someone will wake me up anyway…' - she settled on ignoring it for now.
Minutes passed, she was in a restful state while random thoughts entered her mind which she unconsciously ignored.
~You will be representing our family~ - her brother's words appeared without warning and her entire self forgot she was tired.
'I said yes without knowing anything. What if I fail…' - thoughts of her disappointing her family assailed her. The image of her standing in front of her siblings as they belittle her, this time for good reason terrified her.
'Am I ready for this?' - she thought about her imagined team as they ignore and mock her.
'No, I'm royalty, they would probably be glad I'm there' - she remembered Nozel telling her that her reputation and felt much better.
'But what if they mock me in secret like they always do' - memories of her believing that she was needed and important when in reality, she was being made a fool of without her knowledge angered her.
'What if I fail…' - breathing heavy, eyes half-open looking at nothing, deep in a trance. Old memories of being ridiculed and not being able to do anything about it didn't stop.
'Those assholes' - she grits her teeth and scowls heavily, imagine scenarios where she exacts revenge by humiliating them verbally or harming them physically.
Deeply entranced, her revenge fantasies lifted her sense of worth. Each image of her abusers terrified, crying, begging, regretting, and hurt providing her more satisfaction than the last, bringing her relief. Her facial muscles relax and she loosens some pressure in her jaw. Once the thoughts cease, her breathing slows and deepens.
After finally feeling satisfied she closes her eyes as her hateful high it is replaced by a regretting and shaming low. The former slowly dissipates in intensity, the latter grows stronger in turn.
'No… no, no, no… I wouldn't do that' - she began to fix her self-image desperately.
'I'm not like that' - she fervently denied her previous fantasy.
'I've been in missions beyond my capacity all the time. I've always been able to handle them' - she remembered her accomplishments and began to feel more confident.
'I've always known how to conduct myself properly as royalty' - she continued her mental pep talk and relaxed more.
'Yeah… I've shown that very well in Heart. It was even more difficult since I was an outsider' - she could now picture herself performing admirably as a member of the SIlva household.
'Yeah… the royal families are respected here, and Nozel said my reputation was better now' - her breathing regulates. 'Or not as bad'.
'It'll be fine' - she was feeling much more clear-headed.
Having successfully calmed herself her eyes closed and she was able to rest for another few minutes. The mental resolution against her insecurity allowed her to enjoy it to the fullest until a slamming sound woke her up. She recognized it as the front door.
'What time is it' - she remained in her bed. Her sense of time was warped, she felt like had slept for a long time.
She analyzed the room. The intensity of the light coming through her window was almost the same and she didn't hear any activity aside from the front door. 'Is it Asta?' - she wondered.
"Oops, the door slipped, I hope I didn't wake anyone" - a voice was heard from outside her window.
'It is. Good' - she deduced that it was still early from the lighting in the room and that he's the only one who gets up at that hour for his routine, which meant she didn't have to make the effort to look at the clock. She was happy about that.
'Back to sleep…' - she hugged one of her pillows closely for comfort.
"As long as it's not Yami that you wake up it's fine" — another voice was heard.
'It's Finral' - she recognized. She closed her eyes, half of her trying to sleep and the other half trying to listen in.
"Are you going to Hage today Finral? Cause if you are, could you give them this letter please?" — Asta said.
"Yeah sure"
"Also, about what we talked about, I'm not sure if I can do it" — Asta said.
"Okay, what part exactly?"
"Chapter three, compliments…" — he said in a lower voice. "I've done it before and it never ends well for me so I thought I should probably skip that one, what do you think?"
'What did… skip what…?' - Noelle couldn't hear very well from her elevated room. She was now much less interested in her bed but still didn't get up.
"Ah yeah, I can see that being the case with the type you're dealing with. Hmmm" — Finral responded. "Listen, for now, stop doing anything and take this time to relax, I should be back for breakfast if there's no lines, so we'll look into that after we work on your travel document, okay?"
"Thanks, I'd like to get this all figured as soon as possible" — Asta replied.
"We will, you've been progressing I'm sure. For now, I want you to focus on paying attention to details in general like you've been doing, forget about the other things until we get to talk, okay?" — Finral instructed.
"Yes sir!"
Noelle felt the mana spike of Finral's portal, then everything was silent.
'Travel document… so it was about that…' - she came to the most logical conclusion based on what she knows and could make out from their conversation
Her eyes opened suddenly. 'The letter of responsibility, I forgot to tell Nozel about it' - she rolled onto her back.
'I messed that up for him… I have to get it today for sure' - she stared at the ceiling.
~You are of age to choose a partner who you deem worthy~ - her subconscious took the opportunity to throw her the next issue on the list.
Her face flushed and her heart sped up. She covered her eyes with her arm.
'There's no way…' - she was trying to deny the thought of her bringing Asta to meet Nozel.
She erased Asta from the thought and replaced it with a prestigious noble. Various issues arrived with it. She couldn't put a face on the noble, she didn't feel any emotion when imagining him beside her, she couldn't think of how they would interact in and out of public. She couldn't imagine how to make such a decision correctly, she didn't know the criteria for such a thing.
'How can I appraise others if I don't even know what I want…'
"Urrgh!" — she slammed her arm on the bed out of frustration.
'That's the least of importance right now, just forget about it' - she turned to the side and forced the issue out of her worries.
'I have to perform well for my family, I have to get Asta's letter, I have to prepare for the royal ball and…'
'The dinner with my siblings' - mixed feelings of worry and excitement came over her.
"Oh! I think I can test this, it's the same way she reacted too..."
'Asta…?' - she heard his voice coming from outside.
She desperately tried to remain in her bed, but the shifting and mumbling of her squadmate was too much for her curiosity to ignore. She decided to go and see.
She slowly got up and walked over to her window. She carefully opened it further, trying to keep the sound from alerting him of her spying. She looks down to see the young man in question.
'Why is he not training? And… is that a book? He's reading!?' - she was wide-eyed and mouth opened.
Asta was sitting on a bench right below her. The angle made it clear that he was indeed reading, but the distance made it impossible to see what it was about.
'What could be so interesting for him to replace training with it' - she needed to know more than ever now. Aside from satisfying her curiosity, she would have a piece of information about him that was on a deeper level.
'Damn, I can't see anything' - she squinted her eyes and lowered herself further below the window.
She pulled herself back, thinking of a way to catch a good glimpse of whatever she could about the book. She paced back and forth deep in thought.
'Right!' - she quickly walked over to and opened a cabinet. 'Yes! It's here!' - she took out her glamour gold opera theater glasses.
She paced over to her window. Again she carefully peeked out as she placed her glasses. She couldn't contain a huge smile that formed moments before and the excitement she felt grew immensely as she focused closer on the young man's item.
The intense emotions betrayed her, as Asta lowered the book and looked to his sides then upwards.
"Noelle?" — he asked.
The young girl didn't answer, her hand covering her mouth as she was sitting on the floor flat on her rear from the force she pulled herself with before he looked up.
'Did he see me!? He called my name, didn't he!? Even if he didn't he must've felt I was there, I forgot about his stupid ki thing!' - her heart was racing.
'I'm sure he didn't see me, and even if he felt my presence it doesn't mean he knows what I was doing right? - she argued.
'Let's go with that, just calm down and go back to bed' - she settled down and proceeded to do as she thought.
She buried herself in her covers and there was a brief silence before she heard him resume his shifting and mumbling. She remained that way and was thankful that he didn't call out to her again. After a few minutes, he heard the front door open and close and everything went silent, she sighed in relief.
'Oh, my head…' - she took deep breaths. All of the emotions coupled with her exhaustion were enough to knock her out of reality.
'I'm done. Too tired for all of this crap' - she relaxed her grip on the pillow.
'I didn't even get to see what the book was about…'
She closed her eyes and drifted to sleep with no fear or worry of what might happen.
[...] Silva Mansion, Living Room.
'Oh, my head…' - Lord Nozel Silva had just woken up to the distant but very loud hammering and yelling coming from around his household.
Realizing his state he quickly sat up and looked around in panic, then stopped when he noticed someone on the far side.
"Berened..." — he called out.
"Here, sir" — the man replied as he turned around.
"What time is it..." — Nozel groggily asked, still not attempting to get up from his spot.
"8:57 sir, would you like us to reheat your breakfast and prepare a bath?" — Berened replied calmly.
"Who else is here?" — he lifted his head to look around the room.
"In this room, just you and I, my lord. The servants and workers have been delegated to other areas since their arrival, and lady Nebra and lord Solid have not returned yet" — years of servitude gave him the insight as to what his master wanted to know without having to ask.
Nozel relaxed and laid back into a comfortable position. He remained like that without replying to his chamberlain.
"Strenuous night with the young madam, sir?" — Berened asked politely while he served a glass of water.
"I am satisfied with the result" — Nozel replied defensively.
"Marvelous. I say that is an appropriate excuse for sleeping on the living room sofa, your mother would be proud"
"Don't start with me Berened, I'm not in the mood right now" — he glared slightly.
"I much prefer when you are, and so do your siblings since they no longer get a glimpse of it anymore" — he walked over and offered the drink.
"That's enough out of you. There's just not enough time, I'm already occupied enough by keeping the nobles from swarming all over her" — he snapped back, getting up from his ever so cuddly and expensive sofa, and accepted it.
He visibly calmed as soon as the liquid entered his body. The cool sensation washed away all his discomfort like a miracle panacea.
"Steady progress is the key sir, just know that the steps you take in one direction will lead you away from another"
Nozel was unsure of what he meant. He took a moment to analyze whatever meaning he could gather from it.
'Nevermind that, I need to prepare for the meeting' - he stood up slowly, getting ready to go about his day.
"I'll have your bath and breakfast prepared sir" — he sighed. 'You have a long way to go to catch up to her my dear boy'
"Yes, do so and bring the information on the witch to my quarters. Also, have the Vermillion's acquired any new members yet?" — he rubbed his temple, the transition to a standing position made his head remember just how badly he was pushing himself.
"They have only called back lady Mimosa and is now staying at her residence instead of her order"
"Anyone from outside their family?"
"No, sir, not yet"
"And what of house Kira?"
"Although I cannot confirm, there have been no movements from them yet, sir"
'Alright, too early to jump to conclusions' - Nozel nodded many times as if assuring himself.
"Speaking of witches, miss Unsworth was here quite early wanting to see you, sir"
'Not good' - he tensed, the thought of Dorothy seeing him in such a deplorable state would be an endless source of amusement for her on his behalf. His head was thundering.
"Yes, sir, she did go around me and let herself in. She said she would see you at the meeting today" — he informed calmly.
'Very so not good' - he walked back and sat down on the sofa.
"Berened, bring my breakfast here and some headache medicine, and bring me the profile too" — he held his head with his hand as he laid down.
"Of course, but I must also inform you that lord Solid is on his way here, he should be arriving very soon"
"And Nebra?"
"Just lord Solid, sir"
He sighed in relief. 'Very good, Solid will be easier to deal with' - he took a deep breath. "Thank you Berened, I will handle things from here, and cancel the bath"
"I shall take my leave then" — he left promptly after.
Nozel shifted into a sitting position and remained resting, minutes passed and the servants came in one by one until he had all he needed.
He picked up and began to look through the profile slowly. 'This might be unnecessary'.
He turned the page. 'I would be putting our reputation on the line for nothing. Success or failure, nothing in between'.
He remained motionless, looking at the picture pinned to the page. 'I could just delegate her to a smaller team and forget about it if that happens' - he frowns at the thought.
'She might complain, she looks like a complainer' - he stared into nothing in particular. 'I would just be adding an unnecessary problem for no benefit'' - he sighed.
'No one ever targets them, so I should wait' - he turned the page. 'But this magic is just too notable' - his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening.
"Nozel?" — Solid called out.
"I'm here" — he put the papers back in the cover.
"I thought you might have left already" — he walked over and stood a good distance to his side.
"Almost. What is it that you need?" — his serious personality took over.
Solid remained silent, and he began to shift his weight from one leg to another. "I wanted to ask for permission to stay at the headquarters instead of the second estate and..."
"Granted" — Nozel cut him off as he got up and began to pick up his things.
His abruptness was unwelcoming and dismissive. Solid increased the pace of his shifting. "And Nebra is still a bit upset about what happened…" — he was cut off again.
"I do not care if she is" — his volume increased.
"I think you overreacted, she was just being herself, she's always been like that and you've never had a problem with it" — Solid said quickly.
'That's exactly the problem'. "All I asked of her was to behave for one night and she refused, this is on her" — he elevated his tone and turned to look at his brother.
Solid wrapped one arm across himself and held his opposing arm tightly. "This is all because of Noelle isn't it" — he looked down with a visible scowl.
"No, Solid, it's not because of her, it's because of all of us including her!. There is something very important I need to say and I need both of you to cooperate!" — he yelled in frustration, his arms moved about forcefully with each sentence.
Solid swallowed, regretting his decision and wanting to be out of there immediately.
"You both keep asking how is it that you can help me, that I should rely on you when I need it, and when I do, this is what I get" — the disappointment was made clear and he turned around. "Tell her that if she is willing to cooperate then to come talk to me herself. Now, is there something more important than this? Because if not, then I have things to attend to, and so do you" — he said calmly.
'I want to be in charge of the missions…' - Solid tried to gather the courage to speak, but he was slightly shaking, he didn't know it but he had already given up.
"I can behave" — it was all he could muster.
Nozel kept his back to him. "Can you?" — his tone unbelieving.
Solid frowned and clenched his fists, his breathing got heavy. "Yes I can, I was always willing but you never asked me…" — he unclenched his fists. "You just assumed I didn't because of Nebra"
'That's your own fault' - Nozel took a deep breath. He remained silent for a few seconds. 'Now is not the time to tell him why'. "You are right, I did not give you a say in the matter. Very well, thank you for your cooperation" — he said calmly.
"I'll let Nebra know" — Solid turned around and left quickly as soon as Nozel finished. He closed the door and walked over to a pillar and leaned on it.
The tension remained. Frustration and contempt on one side. Regret and guilt on the other.
[...] Black Bulls base, Lounge Room
It was an unusually louder morning for Noelle as she was standing in front of her captain with an agitated look on her face trying her hardest to drown out the chaos behind her while dealing with the events of the previous night that kept creeping up in her mind.
"Vanessa said you wanted to see me, captain?"
"You don't look too good, are you alright?" — Yami asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine, I'm just really tired from last night and I overslept" — she said tiredly. 'Why didn't anyone wake me up?'
"I gave you time off, so you can sleep in as much as you want"
"I know but I need to ask you about something Nozel said, and I gotta go see him again today" — she closed her eyes and pressed her sinuses.
"I wanted to ask you about that too before I left, but before that I want you to tell me why you didn't tell any of us whether you were coming back or not" — he asked casually.
She was reminded of when Nozel used to scold her for coming back late when she was with Mimosa as children.
"I was really busy, besides, I didn't think I needed to since I was coming back earlier than expected" — she took a defensive posture.
"That's another thing, you could have let someone know when you got here" — he pushed once again.
"Everyone was sleeping so I didn't want to be a bother" — she said more forcefully than she had intended.
Yami raised an eyebrow. "I can sense you're lying, why?" — he stood up from his couch and turned towards her.
His tall and muscular frame now towering over her was intimidating and she felt small, but unknowingly to her, it was the type of smallness that she felt back when nobles used to try and bully her knowing that she would not get any help from anyone.
'That damn ki thing, I hate it so much' - she huffed. "That's because it's only part of it, I also just didn't want to, I was tired and didn't want to talk to anyone. Are we done with this? It hardly seems important to discuss" — she maintained eye contact and her brow furrowed.
Yami sensed her increase in frustration, it was different, it was almost hostile.
"No, we're not. It doesn't matter if we're sleeping, make sure to do it next time so we know you're okay, you understand?" — he replied with the same force, hoping to end the small confrontation right there and avoid whatever damage could happen.
But Noelle wasn't having any of it. Her mind had already regressed, and she was in a trance once again.
"I can take care of myself just fine, and it wasn't even work-related so I can do what I please when I please" — she frowned as she uncrossed her arms and stood defiantly.
Now Yami was angry that she made such a simple thing so complicated. All she had to do was nod and say yes.
"Yeah you're strong, but that doesn't mean you're safe. As long as you're in my squad I'm responsible for your well-being whether it's work-related or not" — he tried to reason with her.
"So I can't even go out of the base without telling you about every detail even when it's my own time?" — Noelle wanted to stop but she couldn't, her mind was jumping all over and her pride was pushing her to defend herself.
"That's not what I said. I said to let us know if something comes up and you're coming back late or not at all, you need to listen to what people are telling you better".
"I told you where I was going to be if I didn't come back, there was nothing to worry about"
'No choice then' - the back and forth wasn't going to stop and he knew it. He needed something unexpected.
"There is something to worry about. Remember how you feel when the kid just goes off on his reckless adventures without saying a word and you're always taking care of him in the hospital afterward" — he lowered his aggression and sat back down.
She was slightly stunned by his change in tactic, she now had two things to deal with. She looked over to Asta and saw that he was looking at them, in fact, they were all looking. It then hit her, she was making a spectacle of herself.
"That's by far not the same thing at all, Asta actually throws himself into danger, I was just out late at night meeting my brother who happens to be a captain, in one of the safest parts of the kingdom. You're exaggerating this way too much" — she looked to the side, away from the onlooking eyes of her friends.
Yami felt her ki much more pacified but still upset.
"Maybe I am but I don't care, I make the rules around here not you. Now go eat, looks like you need it, you look like crap" — he looked at her before he began to pick up some scattered papers.
"Before that, I need to ask you something…" — she said calmly and turned to him.
"I'm heading out so save it for when I get back" — he didn't look at her and simply got up and walked away.
"Wait! Nozel told me that I would be going on missions with them, I kinda already accepted but I told him I would check with you first, what do you say?"
That caught his attention. 'That braided bastard doesn't waste time does he?' - he sighed.
"Wait, what's that about missions?" — Asta began to walk over to them.
'Shit' - Yami noticed that the rest we're now fully paying attention to them. "What else did he tell you?" — he asked, completely ignoring Asta.
'No… Asta's coming, I don't have the patience to deal with him right now…' - she worried.
"The royal ball and things related to that and my family" — she closed her eyes and put a hand on her forehead. "He said you already knew about the missions, that's why I'm asking" — she said with slight annoyance.
"I don't like that attitude you're giving me. I don't know if it's because of your brother or because of what I said but you'd better calm down" — he said, trying to prevent any potential argument.
"I would if you just tell me what's going on and what else you're not telling me" — she softened her tone also wanting the same as her captain but remained in the same state.
"The hell are you talking about?" — Yami was surprised, wondering how much she knew.
"That little talk we had yesterday? You said a lot of things that made me think that something was going to happen, and that same day I find out I have to represent my family on missions and that you knew about it and didn't tell me, what else are you hiding from me?"
Yami sighed heavily. "Alright, everyone get your asses over here, fast!" — he yelled without warning causing Noelle to jump slightly.
Everyone having watched what went on, walked over to end up in awkward silence. Noelle felt as if she was the center of attention, and maintained her composure as much as she could, wanting all of this to end.
"Miss royalty here is asking about something you've all been asking about too. Missions" — Yami said as he looked at her.
'Just keep your mouth shut' - she told herself, if she wasn't the center of attention before she figured she would be now.
"Long story short, since the kingdom is low on active magic knights there's going to be a lot of joint missions. I haven't said anything because we're getting the full details today so I expect you all to be here and be ready" — he looked at everyone as he talked then looked back to her. "As for you, the situation is the same, the only difference is that you already have a set order you're going to be working with" — he paused for a moment.
"Everything else he told you I don't know anything about, you happy now?" — he said annoyed.
"Yes sir..." — she clenched her jaw.
"Yes! We're going back on missions! I didn't know what to do anymore, I was getting so bored, I can't wait!" — Asta said immediately as he jumped for joy.
"I'm with you Asta, nothing beats going around kicking ass and saving lives" — Magna wrapped his arm around him.
"I like the kicking ass part!" — Luck also put his arm around Asta.
The three celebrated loudly, not helping Noelle's throbbing headache in the least. "Can you three be quiet!" — she yelled with a very angry scowl.
"Hey, calm down" — Vanessa held her shoulders softly. "Come on, let's go eat, just the two of us and then you can go back to bed, okay?" — she pulled her to the dining hall.
"No. Noelle, you're coming with me, we're gonna settle your situation with your brother today so this doesn't happen again. Go eat, and do it fast, we leave as soon as you finish" — Yami ordered.
"Yes sir" — she sighed and headed toward the counter. 'I don't want to but have to go see Nozel anyway' - she reasoned.
She sat down and began eating, slowly her head cleared and she noticed that she was trembling very slightly, she didn't know why, but didn't pay it any attention, her mind was still dwelling, each replayed scene making her feel more self-conscious.
'Why did I do that? I looked really stupid and childish' - shd focused on maintaining a straight face and composed posture.
'I should be better than that already' - she thought back to her time in Heart. 'It was so different there…' - she stopped eating. "I was so different..." — she whispered.
"Hey, you looked like you were gonna tear someone's head off back there, are you in your time of the month…?" — Vanessa grinned as she whispered the last part closely.
"What? No! Leave me alone" — she frowned at her.
"Okay, sorry, I just wanted to cheer you up, come on laugh a little" — she laughed slightly.
'Please, just go away…' - Noelle simply stayed silent and continued eating.
"It's okay you know, sometimes you just wake up cranky, it's no big deal"
"I didn't wake up cranky" — she sighed. "I don't like being treated like I'm a child, I think I've proven myself already" — she said seriously.
"Of course you have, I mean look at you, you're all grown up now, why don't you tell me what happened like the big girl you are" — Vanessa smiled as she leaned forward.
Noelle did not like the way she said that. It sounded like she was mocking her. 'I guess that's just how she is' - she decided to ignore it and continued to eat in silence.
"Look, don't beat yourself up about it okay, let's talk when you come back, I wanna know how it went with your brother, and you can let off some steam too" — she stood up and patted her on the back before leaving.
Noelle stopped eating. 'If only you were a bit more serious right now…' - she actually wanted to talk to her.
After a few moments, Nero sat down next to her and began to eat too. Noelle looked over and saw a very small portion of food on her plate. She waited for her to talk, but Nero never said a word, she simply ate very slowly.
"Thanks…" — Noelle said.
Nero smiled at her and continued to eat until they both finished.
"I'm ready captain" — Noelle said.
"Alright then let's go, use your valkyrie dress and haul ass, I don't wanna get lectured by Julius"
'Doesn't feel good huh? I hope he does anyway' - Noelle smirked.
Nero turned into her bird form and perched on top of Noelle's head. Noelle smiled and followed her captain.
"Noelle, wait!"
She turned to see Asta sprinting toward her.
"Here, some headache medicine" — he handed her a box and a small bottle of water then smiled at her. "Don't worry, I'll handle your chores today so you can rest when you come back"
"No. I can take care of my own things, I'll do it when I come back, so don't bother" — she stated bluntly.
"It's no bother, it'll give me something to do, so take care" — unphased by her previous retort, he walked closer.
"I'll wait for you" — he softened his smile and whispered.
Her breathing failed and she felt the familiar rush of heat travel through her face, but it abruptly faded as she felt a stabbing-like feeling in her gut.
~You are of age to choose a partner whom you deem worthy~ - she stared at the box and bottle in her hands as if in a trance.
"Ow, ow! Nero, why!" — Asta moved a few steps back as he flailed his arms and head about.
Noelle looked up to see her pecking at his face and head wherever she could. She stared as it went on, and the more she observed, the more it seemed to her that the pecking was being delivered with much more fervor than usual.
"Hurry up and get your asses out here!" — a thundering voice came from outside.
The bird stopped and returned to her friend's head and shot Asta as much of a look of disapproval as she could in her current form.
Noelle took a deep breath and had a pensive look, she waited for him to recompose himself from the assault, and gave her his usual toothy grin.
'The same… again...' - she relaxed and furrowed her brows very slightly. "Asta, I forgot to ask Nozel about your letter but don't worry, I'll get it today without fail" — she said formally.
She looked slightly to the side. "And thank you, I'll leave things to you then" — she said calmly and pocketed the box. "I'll be going now" — the same pensive expression remained as she turned and left without waiting for his answer.
He brought his hand to his chin as he watched her disappear behind the door. 'Her ki was nothing like before...' - he went to sit so he could analyze the result. He noted he wasn't splashed or yelled at, but also that she didn't look too happy either. 'She thanked me though' - he wondered.
"Good going Asta! You managed to calm her down and saved us a huge pain in the ass. And the medicine strategy was a genius move haha!" — Magna sat down beside him and slapped him on the back.
"That was very thoughtful of you Asta, thanks, she looked like she was going to explode, I wonder what happened with her brother" — Vanessa sat on his other side.
She picked up her bottle. "Well, let's leave that for later" — she said as she took a long drink.
Asta's evaluation of the event was halted for the remainder of the day by his friend's chatter.
[...] Clover Kingdom Capital, Wizard King's office
"I'm telling you that you should put a stop to this right now, it's already a nightmare re-organizing the profiles and adjusting the finances of each order, not to mention calculating them within the repair budget" — the wizard king's aide desperately argued.
"I'm not sure about that, there are already movements made and if we reverse them I fear it will be worse for the people involved" — Julius kindly replied.
"There's an official process for these things, the way they're doing things just creates division among our magic knights".
Julius remained patient behind his desk. "Marx, it will be much worse for them if they are forced to return to a squad that they've abandoned".
"That's why there's an official method so they can state their case. We're still on time to negate the movements and we can gather the squads and explain things and minimize any infighting".
His worry was understandable to Julius, but he knew more about the workings of a squad than just from observation and word of mouth. "With Spade defeated, Diamond severely weakened and Heart on our side we now have the strongest military in the continent, individually and collectively, those with knowledge and cunning will attempt to take advantage for their own benefit" — he got up and walked over to the window.
He looked outside with a wistful smile. "This is a first, Marx, we're entering an era where we can truly achieve a lasting peace, and as the strongest kingdom we cannot afford to make a mistake" — he looked at Marx.
"Instead of changing a flawed but stable system, we need to stop the ones who want to establish their own to the detriment of our goals as a nation"
"Why not do both then. We have the time and it's only a matter of bringing it to attention with our captains" — Marx asked. As much as he was inspired by the speech, he still had things to say.
Julius took his time to answer while he looked back outside.
"Think about it, it's practically why there's always been this unhealthy rivalry between them" — Marx walked over to the window.
"It's also been a source of motivation to improve and produced some of our strongest magic knights. We can't lose that right now. If they change squads then that discontent can be turned into a source of motivation, not so if they change kingdoms" — Julius said.
Marx sighed, knowing well when he's beaten. "We do have some spectacular magic knights now".
"Oh! This is a surprise, it's Yami and he's early!" — Julius looked surprised.
Marx looked at the burly captain walk through the rest of the captains without addressing them. "So, what about the situation with Heart, and the ranking changes, I think this should be made known as soon as possible".
"The rankings perhaps, but nothing about Heart yet, honestly I can't see how this will unfold, nor the end result, it's very exciting!" — he began walking towards the door. "I'm heading over too, if Yami made an effort to arrive early then so should I".
"You just want to avoid your duties..." — Marx said bluntly.
"Ah, not this time, I'm spending the day with miss Swallowtail. I can't have one of our arcane stage mages get exiled now can I".
'Not this time...' - his disappointment was evident on his face.
[...]
The two Black Bulls were standing in front of the entrance to the meeting room, the young Silva behind her captain.
"Aren't you going in captain?" — Noelle questioned.
Yami's attention was focused on the nobles behind his youngest squad member looking at her and whispering to themselves. "Hey, you two go buy some toilet paper in the meantime, it's just info about the missions so I should be out by the time you come back"
"Eeh? No!, I'm not going to be seen carrying around toilet paper" — she crossed her arms in indignation.
"Why not? Everybody needs toilet paper, including royalty" — Yami scratched his head.
"There's hierarchies for those tasks, but I wouldn't expect commoners to understand" — she flipped back her ponytail. "Besides, you could have just told us when we passed the market district, we can get it when we head back"
Nero looked behind her while Noelle defended her royal privileges. She looked at her captain and then the nobles again. 'Gossiping nobles?'.
"Yami! It seems we both made it on time today, and you brought guests, how wonderful!" — the opened door revealing Julius with his inviting smile.
"Sir Wizard King, it's good to see you too" — Noelle greeted politely.
Nero took flight and changed form beside Noelle. "Lord Julius, greetings and salutations" — she bowed. "I hope I did not arrive too early".
"Of course not! I will be with you once this meeting is over. Come, sit with us" — he moved out of the way and signaled with his arm.
Noelle glimpsed the room slightly, he saw a few of the captains gathered and waiting on them. "Is it alright? This is a captain's meeting and I don't want to intrude, I'm just here to speak with my brother once the meeting is done".
The gossiping nobles increased their mumbling notably, Yami glanced over to them, Nero took notice of her captain and glanced as well. They both stared, and the nobles seemed to catch on then dispersed slightly.
"You are more than welcomed to join us lady Silva, you've more than earned the right, even if you're not a captain" — the unexpected voice of William Vangeance sounded as his frame appeared through the door's opening.
"That is correct, we would be honored if you joined us" — Charlotte Roselei appeared right behind him.
"Captain Vangeance, captain Roselei" — Noelle was taken aback, the warm welcome she received was invigorating. The satisfaction and joy she felt was overwhelming, she felt that she was finally beginning to receive the rewards she deserved. 'They recognize me...' - she held her head high and saluted. "I'm the one that's honored, thank you for your recognition".
"Oh ho!. No need to be so formal, right Nozel?" — Dorothy appeared pulling the disgruntled Silver Eagles captain with her.
Nozel composed himself quickly. "Do not listen to her Noelle, you are behaving appropriately, continue to do so" — he said, then gave a piercing stare at the nobles who once again had increased their chattering.
Noelle was too flustered to pay attention, but it was not unnoticed by Nero as she looked back and forth from him to her captain, both of them seeming to have the same idea. What that idea was she did not know. 'This can't be a coincidence...'' - she maintained her stoic expression.
"Well, let's not keep the rest waiting, come" — Julius motioned for them to enter.
Noelle stood in place waiting for everyone to enter but she was met with everyone making way for her to go in first. She mustered her nervousness away and walked in with grace and respect.
'This... feels nice...' - she inwardly smiled.
[...]
"Picking up where we left off, the missions will be by teams of three to five people depending on the danger assessment, composition, and experience. There are many variations, so we have prepared this quick-guide document to make things readily clear" — he placed down a stack and passed them on.
"As you know, all missions with the exception of dungeon investigations will require the presence of a member of royalty, if there's none available then a high ranking nobility member will be required, in the very rare event that both conditions are unmet, then an emergency case will be deployed" — he looked to Yami.
"You're kidding me, right?" — Yami said, looking at the paper with a stupified expression.
"No, I'm quite serious, I'm sure she can handle it, and if not, then she'll just have to surpass her limits" — Julius smiled.
Noelle and Nero were sitting on a side wall, listening with great interest.
"It makes sense, she has a type of shapeshifting magic" — Kaiser commented.
"Yes, I can see where this is going, is she up to the task though?" — Fuegoleon added, looking to Yami.
"As long as she doesn't have to replicate their magic she can do it"
"Good, we'll make sure she receives adequate support should it come to that" — Julius finished.
"Now, as I mentioned before, the missions will be joint ones, all of them, there can be more than one member of the same squad but there will always be at least one that isn't. They will be delegated the same way as before but it is up to you to decide who will lead the team, I'm sure there will be no issues with it" — he addressed everyone.
"Who will have authority over the teams then? In cases where decisions are to be made in the heat of the moment, which one of us will have the final say?" — Nozel asked.
"Whichever squad is the team leader then that squad captain will have the final say, they will give a group report only to the commanding captain, the rest will receive reports individually from their members, and the commanding captain must report it to Marx"
Noelle was intently focused on the exchange, she was taking in everything she could. From their words to their body language and tone, everything else was nonexistent.
"Does everyone agree?" — Julius asked.
Everyone acknowledged.
"What about when someone gets outta line, do we get to punish members from other squads too?" — Jack asked with interest
"No, in the case of conflict it depends on the severity. In minor cases the issue will be reported to their own captains and they will handle it, in major cases the individuals involved and their captains will discuss the matter here. Needless to say, I expect there to be no major cases"
"There will be none at all, at least from my order you can be assured" — Charlotte stated formally.
Julius let out a small laugh. "I'm confident that everyone will perform well, which brings me to the last topic. There have been talks about mission cooperation with other kingdoms" — he paused and waited.
Everyone remained silent, surprise evident on some of them.
Noelle was the most surprised. "With Heart most likely" — she said naturaly.
Everyone turned to look at her and she realized what she just did. A rush of panic set in. "Oh, I apologize for interrupting"
"You are correct miss Silva, good deduction" — Julius praised and maintained eye contact.
"Well, it's quite obvious, they're our ally since before the war began. I wouldn't be surprised if Spade asked for assistance too" — she was consciously keeping herself from fidgeting.
"Correct again, Spade has mentioned cooperation" — Julius said with surprise.
Everyone looked over to Julius.
"Would you elaborate on your line of reasoning please" — the interest in his words was very evident and everyone turned back to Noelle.
Their gazes unnerved her, even if they acknowledged her, she still felt very out of place there. She pretended to think and used the time to calm down. "Many reasons, one is that the resistance is now the leading faction which we are in good terms with, then the fact that their economy is in chaos, no, I would go as far to say that they are struggling on all aspects" — she paused and thought more about the situation.
"The last thing would be that one of our magic knights that played one of the most important roles is their bloodline prince, they have all the leverage to establish good relations, and they must or they could very well risk disappearing from the map, and..." — she hesitated as she thought about what she was about to say.
"I don't like the thought of this but… they could also just be afraid of further retaliation for revenge coming from other kingdoms, us included"
"Correct again, excellent deduction miss Silva" — he clasped his hands in approval.
She felt the attention move away from her, she took a deep breath, the adrenaline slowly leaving her system left her with a feeling of intense satisfaction that left her dizzy and she wobbled slightly.
'My prince, you would be proud' - Nero observed her friend with a warm smile, deciding not to spoil the moment she looked on to the rest of the meeting.
"As was said, Heart is currently in negotiations with us to engage in cross-kingdom missions, there is still much to be discussed so this will most likely not happen until long in the future, as for Spade, negotiations will begin once the situation with Yuno is resolved"
Julius sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. "Diamond might also extend the truce to some sort of alliance, or a longer-lasting agreement at least, the problem with that is that we have no relations as with Heart and Spade, as such, we will maintain the ceasefire for now. If you encounter Diamond mages then be careful" — he stood up.
"That is all the information on the matter, any questions?"
"Will Asta be able to go on missions?" — Yami asked.
"Ah yes, Asta. He can, but the condition is that he cannot use his black or demon form"
'Good, I'm glad he'll be able to get out of the base now and move forward' - Noelle smiled.
'Good, he should have something to keep him busy now and stop his idiocy' - Nero didn't smile.
"Any other questions?" — Julius asked again and no one responded.
"Alright, dismissed then, miss Swallowtail, please come with me"
"You can call me Nero if you please" — she stood and walked over.
[...]
"Nozel, I need to talk to you about Noelle" — Yami looked around and saw that the nobles had left.
"What happened?" — Nozel asked immediately.
"Nothing, she was asking about the joint missions as your representative, so how are we gonna do this" — he asked bluntly.
Noelle was beside her captain observing the exchange.
"Since she will be required for all our missions she will report to me from now on, and it would be best if she stayed with us" — his cold persona activated.
"Whoa there braids, this isn't a squad transfer, you're gonna have to give me something to work with" — Yami said calmly.
"What do you propose?" — Nozel questioned.
"She keeps staying with me and I get to see those reports of hers too. Overall you can call the shots unless I see something I don't like"
"Like what?" — Nozel asked defiantly.
"Bad treatment" — Yami replied in turn.
"Impertinent foreigner, you know nothing so do not assume that you do" — Nozel frowned visibly.
"I know enough, that's my deal, take it or leave it"
"Stop this! Both of you!" — Noelle stepped in between them. "Don't I get a say in this?"
"Actually you don't, but I can compromise" — Yami responded.
Noelle was slightly irked at her captain's answer, but let it go because of his previous statements.
"What do you propose Noelle" — Nozel calmed down.
"I want to freely go between both headquarters as I wish" — she turned to her captain. "Freely" — she emphasized.
"Of course, I'm willing to stay in either place when required to" — she said before either of them could speak.
"You still pissed about that huh. Fine then, I got no problem with it" — Yami said.
She looked to her brother.
"It is reasonable" — he accepted.
"Good then, I'm happy we got this settled" — she rubbed her head.
"Do you have a headache Noelle?" — Nozel asked.
"Yeah, since this morning" — she held her forehead.
"I have some leftover medicine, here" — he extended his hand.
"No thank you, I have my own, I took one when I arrived" — she reached to her pocket and pulled out a box.
She looked at it, and she froze, forgetting her throbbing headache from the fear creeping up on her.
Yami grinned and covered his mouth.
It was a box of cigarettes.
"Noelle, are you...?" — Nozel's mana was beginning to seep.
"This isn't mine! I just picked it up, I never used it, I… I don't smoke I swear" — she was shaking and growing more nervous by the second.
"Noelle, tell me the truth" — Nozel asked forcefully.
"It's not mine! Captain, tell him!" — she pleaded.
"I dunno, I stopped smoking since I got released from the hospital" — he scratched his head.
Nozel's mana was growing. "Captain please!" — she was seriously considering putting on her armor and punching the truth out of her captain.
"That's not hers" — a female voice came from behind Yami.
Now it was his turn to freeze, a cold sweat starting to run through his forehead.
"Roselei, what do you know about this" — Nozel asked impatiently.
"Noelle is helping me make sure that Yami doesn't sneak any cigarettes, and it looks like she's doing her job just fine" — she said very threateningly as she made eye contact with the black bull's captain.
"I never used them, it's an old box that was lying around there" — he said as calmly as he could looking straight ahead.
"Is that true Noelle?" — Charlotte looked to her.
Noelle's face went neutral and kept her eyes on her captain. 'I have you by the balls now' - she thought. Yami said nothing but he knew, he knew that she did and worried, because out of all of them, she was the only one with the guts to give him crap ever since they returned from Spade.
She sighed. "It's true, I found this on a table outside the base"
"Don't cover for him Noelle, he looked unwilling to do so for you" — Nozel said.
"Believe me I don't, but it's the truth" — she pocketed the item. "I'll get rid of it" — she made her way to a trash can.
"Well then, I'm glad you're following the healer's instructions" — she quickly said
"So we done here right?" — Yami asked.
"Yes" — Nozel turned around and left.
"Brother wait!" — Noelle called out and he turned.
"I heard that you volunteered to make Asta a letter of responsibility, do you have it?"
"Ah… yes… that. Not yet, but I can have it by the end of the week, maybe less if I can take care of some things soon"
"That works, thank you, let me know as soon as you have it please" — she smiled and they both went their separate ways.
Noelle walked back to see her captain gone. "Where's captain Yami?"
"He said he would wait for you outside" — Charlotte replied. "Noelle, I apologize for almost ruining your reputation with my absurd request, you can stop if you want" — she looked down.
"No, it's not your fault, I was just careless, besides, I also want to make sure he gets better even if he is a big oaf" — Noelle pouted.
Charlotte laughed lightly. "Thank you again, and what about you? Have you noticed anything new?"
~I'll wait for you~ - she blushed slightly. "I have actually… but I'm not sure anymore" — she looked to the side.
"Well then, how about we talk about it tomorrow at noon, at the central square" — she offered warmly.
"I would like that, thank you"
The two women bid their goodbyes and Noelle went outside.
"I'm ready to go captain, you wanna stop by and get that toilet paper?" — she asked in a good mood.
Yami noticed her change in attitude but decided to not address it. "Nah, I'll get Finral to get some later" — he smiled at her.
An unmentioned agreement was made right there and they made their peace. "Race ya to the base" — Yami challenged.
"You're on" — Noelle laughed and they both shot up to the sky.
[...] Black Bulls Base
A sudden force crashed right outside the base's entrance, startling those inside. The door opened and Yami entered followed by Noelle.
"We're back" — Noelle greeted tiredly then yawned as she received greetings in return.
"Where's the kid?" — Yami looked around the room.
"He's with Finral in his room" — Luck said.
"Go tell them to get down here, I got news" — he turned to Noelle. "You already know, so go get some rest" — he patted her head.
"Thanks captain, I will" — she smiled and headed to her room.
The closer she got to her room, the heavier her body felt, it was worse than what she felt last night. She reached her room and opened the door slowly. She dragged her feet through the floor and shut the door, she reached her bed and threw herself on it.
'I should thank Asta again, for doing my chores, I would have died if I had to do them right now'
She slept through the whole day and night, while the rest of the black bulls went about their business.
Notes:
Took two weeks more than I expected, but there's good news, I have a whole other chapter ready, bad news is that it's not the next one, but hey, two 7000 to 9000 word chapters are pretty good progress.
I'm sorry for taking so long, but I had some trouble with this one, I think I managed to progress the story but it feels like it's more of a reveal information one. I wanna get to the later ones but the setup is important, it will make the later ones super satisfying, I hope… Also, eventually, the rest of the story will shift mostly to the Silva siblings, leaving some other characters not as important anymore.
Thank you, everyone, for your comments, whenever I see one pop up on my alerts it makes me so happy and motivates me so much. Let me know what you think, I'm really feeling the mass dialogue anxiety on this one.
I might retract my statement of 12-15 days chapters, I'll try to keep on it, but I found out that writing a monstrous 9000 word chapter is not fast.
Again thank you, I love this project, and I can't wait to get to the Silva siblings
'-')b