HERE IT IS
Let's be clear about this fic, shipping is not the focus of this fic, I prefer to focus on the crazy adventures of our black haired mongrel. But it does not mean there won't be some level of romance.
Anyway I think I did a great job with this chapter, I hope you enjoy it.
As Subaru ended the tale of how he got to meet Priscilla in Vollachia by being ambushed and captured by her, the room fell into an unnerving silence. Until...
"WHAT TH' FUCK?" Exploded Garfiel. The blond demi-human knew that woman was trouble from the first second she stepped out of that carriage, now he learns that she was fighting against his cap'n. In the boy's mind that woman was a bitch and at the same time she was awesome, Garfiel always had an appreciation for strong women.
Thanks to Garfiel's antics those who were lost in thoughts came back into reality, it was as if time in the room was moving once again after being completely frozen; But their lethargy could not only be blamed in their thoughts after all the room was actually freezing.
In the cold room the witch of glaciation directed her attention to the fire princess. "I will not stand idle while I hear of what you've done to my knight. Explain yourself!"
"Hah, Thou are nothing but a jester, do not speak like you're an equal to mine self! Your knight was deeply involved in a rebellion from another country, this fool could've started a war between The Empire and The Kingdom, you all should be thanking mine self for not executing him on sight!"
As realisation struck Subaru could only flinch as the memories of everything he went through to come back home could have led to spreading suffering and pain to those he swore to protect.
Emilia was speechless, she didn't want to give Priscilla the taste of victory, but she knew the matriarch was right that even if it was for his own survival Subaru played a very dangerous hand.
"Lady Priscilla, as the Sword Saint I must also question your reasoning for engaging in another country's matter, after all that could also trouble your position as a candidate for the throne."
The red princess was waiting patiently for this question to arise: "Some fools dared to make an attempt for my life so I simply went there to crush them." Smirking for her surprised audience, she continued: "The world is always in my favor, therefore I was presented with the opportunity to crush all those who wronged me before and those who were still trying to."
"Priscilla-sama pardon my audacity, instead of asking for the aid of the royal guard a candidate decided to go into Vollachia and bring the matter into her own hands? Couldn't that be easily seen as a declaration of war?" interrupted the baffled old butler in an attempt to rescue his troubled grandson.
"Y-yes grandfather is right, the kni-"
"FOOLS, that's why your place is beneath mine intellect, making it public at the time while the Empire was desperate to cover this mess? Your empty commoner heads would've given them the perfect excuse to hide the entire rebellion under the premise of a war against the Kingdom!"
'So the Empire would meanlessy sacrifice the life of their soldiers just to keep their good image nya? Thats…" muttered Felix mostly to himself.
"disgusting." completed Ram making Felix aware that he was sharing his thoughts louder than he expected.
"We... uhum… we are getting side tracked again." Trying to bring the conversation back on the tracks the green minister of internal affairs dared to speak.
"Priscilla-sama while I'm thankful for your thoughtfulness towards the Kingdom I'm more interested about what happened to my friend."
Coming out of her shock Emilia supported her minister, "Yes, thank you Otto we must remember that Subaru is the main topic here."
"Emilia-sama I do understand your preference on talking about your knight but this matter affects the Kingdom as a whole." interjected the duchess
"With all due respect Crusch-sama if it was about your knight, I would support you." responded Emilia, surprising the whole group.
Before the conversation could devolve into arguing again, Subaru intervened once more.I "Guess it's time for me to keep going right? Don't worry about what could've been just listen to what actually happened."
"YESH, 'ts fu-rashi-beku tibe abain!" commemorated Garfiel while spitting bits of food.
Bringing a small cloth to cover his mouth the blond maid who was standing behind him said in the sweetest voice possible "Oh my little brother so these are your manners in front of all those important guests, this won't do."
Feeling shivers running down his spine Garfiel knew he fucked up. "I will make sure to properly educate you my beloved brother."
Putting Garfiel's imminent demise aside Subaru continued "Anyway, I will talk about what happened after the kingdom fully committed to crushing the rebellion, at this point it was not a full civil war yet."
"No, you will talk about what happened after you got captured, I want to know what that woman did to you."
Subaru was ready to oppose the idea but quickly changed his mind when he met Emilia's gaze. She would not budge on this matter.
-Subarus face turns grim as he remembers the horrors of Vollachia-
It was cold, so cold, it hurts, it's cold, it hurts, it's so cold, it hurts so much…
Subaru was chained inside of what seemed to be a barrel filled with cold water in a way he could barely keep his nose out of the water if he stood on the tip of his toes. He has been in this position for the last seven hours.
Unable to see anything he could only squirm in terror as his body was pulled out of the water, only to feel a strong hit against his face. The boy could not discern if all the liquid dripping from his nose was water or blood.
The boy was forced to sit in what seemed to be a wooden chair with straps on his arms and legs.
Unceremoniously his blindfold was removed so his captor could look him deep in the eyes, it was a muscular bearded man wearing a letter apron, he had a huge scar on his forehead that went all the way through his left eye that was covered with an eyepatch until it reached the corner of his mouth.
The room reassembled a badly kept basement, there was mold in the wooden walls and multiple stains everywhere, were those… bloodstains?
"By all means, play it hard, keep resisting, I like it better that way, I'm still going easy on you, we are just getting to know each other, understood?" Said the man with a calm voice and a genuine smile.
Seemingly excited with the toolbox he grabbed, the man continued "So should we step up our game? Or are you still in the mood for some preliminaries?" Just as the man's smile distorted into a vicious grin he pulled a hammer and some nails out of the box "Ah, these are my favorites, simple yet effective."
Subaru's face contorted into one of fear and despair, he thought about pleading for his life, but his mouth was still covered by a thick cloth and his hands were still tied up. He knew that what awaited him was a fate worse than death.
"Well you certainly startled me, you know? trying to kill youself after you woke up, I've never seen anything like it, but I respect that you are determined to keep your secrets." praised the stranger.
Looking straight in Subaru's eyes the man asked the same questions he has been asking for the last hours "Are you ready to talk now? How many men Vincent has? where are they located? What are his plans? Are you a knight from Lugnica?"
The only problem was that Subaru's mouth was still blocked by cloth, so with a cruel smile his captor added "You give me no choice, I will make you talk no matter what." He spoke as loud as he could so people outside of the room could hear.
"So let's begin, please entertain me as much as you can, I don't care about the information I just want us both to have a good time." whispered the vile torturer.
"hmmmmmm hmmmmmmmm" Subaru tried to interject.
As the man aligned a nail against Subaru's leg the door of the dark room opened with force.
"Hey pal, the princess demanded that…"
Before the newcomer could continue, the torturer hit the nail in Subaru's leg forcing it fully inside his flesh.
"HMMMMMM HMMM HUUUU"
"Oh my, I'm so sorry, you scared me, what were you saying again?" mocked the man once again wearing his big smile.
"Fuck pal, just get the hell out of here, I need to talk with him."
"Fine, it's fine," said the man with an annoyed expression. Now looking at his captive the man once again smiled. "Don't worry friend, I will compensate for every second we spend away from each other." his smile changing mid sentence into a creepy grin as he left the room.
After the man left Al locked the door and removed the cloth preventing Subaru from speaking.
Inspecting the many wounds around the boy's body Al gave his sincere opinion "Holy shit pal, it's been only three days, I don't think you can survive a fourth."
"P-please g-get me out of here." pleaded the boy
"Look I don't like this, especially against someone in the same shitty situation as me, but I need you to hold firm."
With a friendly gesture Al rested his hand on Subaru's shoulder.
"To help you I need you to give me something, make the big guys believe I'm better at extracting information from you than this fucker that has been screwing you over."
Subaru felt as if there was salvation at the end of this hell, but just as he felt better the memory of Todd and Jammal doing the exact same play with him passed through his head.
"Oh so that's how it is" Subaru thought, "He's not here to help me at all."
"Why dont you go fuck yourself PAL!" mocked Subaru.
"Oi oi, c'mon is that for real? Have you gone mad? Think straight about it, this man will break you little by little bro!"
"I won't give you anything, I would rather suffer alone than to bring suffering to the people who believe in me!"
"Pal, that's the worst hero's complex I've ever seen, you barely know these people. They are warriors, they kill without mercy, THEY AREN'T INNOCENTS."
"It's enough Aldebaran!" said the raging fire who just barged through the door.
Hearing the full name of his countryman Subaru could only sink into a sea of thoughts, His previous encounters with people who had names taken from stars made him believe it was a bad sign.
"This mongrel is a truly loyal one, we will have to make do with what we already know, release him before that bastard comes back."
"What? What's going on?."
Al quickly moved to undo the straps holding Subaru in place "It's simple pal, your friends are all around this fortress, and we, well those fuckers broke the deal they had with us and…"
"The fools in this fortress awoke mine wrath!" Stated the angry matriarch. "They are disgusting pigs and I will do everything in my power to crush them all. Now will you get up or keep squirming like a vermin?"
"Please cut him a slack, princess, he is injured all over and his leg has a filthy nail stuck in it."
Pushing Al aside, and stumbling back a bit Subaru voiced his suspicions:
"Do you think I will fall for that? I won't be fooled by whatever this is!"
Completely ignoring the boy the matriarch commanded "Aldebaran bring this fool by force if necessary, we need him alive." with a humph Priscilla moved in the direction of the door with a sword in her hands.
Already confused with everything going on around him Subaru could only wonder where that sword even came from.
Lending a random broom from the corner of the room for the boy to use as a cane Al tried to explain the situation "You gotta believe in us if you want to survive pal. The princess may have scorched the noble in command of this fortress, so we are all in the same boat here."
"Eh… weren't you allies?"
"Yeah pal, I'm just as surprised as you are, but that's just the princess for you."
"He doesn't seem to be lying, well guess I dont have much of a choice here, at least there is no way following them can be worse than staying in this fucking room. Yeah I will comply, for now." thought the boy.
Opening the door of the basement the group met with the two guards on each side of a narrow corridor and the torturer sitting on a bench playing with the nails in between his fingers.
Meeting with the princess first the man exclaimed "Finally. I was getting bo-" Those were his last words before a sea of flames engulfed the corridor, disappearing as fast as it appeared leaving no trace of the three men who once stood there.
"Follow." demanded the woman who just erased the existence of three people yet seemed unaffected by their deaths.
Subaru's jaw had fallen as far as it could without dropping from his face, he felt disgusted, before he could blink the life of three people vanished without a trace. Images of when he was burned alive by the hungry horse king flashed through his mind making him feel even more ill.
Unable to move forward, he could only mutter quietly "That's… Madness..."
Gently pushing Subaru in the back the helmeted man said "Move pal, don't stay behind."
The trio led by Priscilla passed through a stone staircase and reached the main corridor that stretched from their left to right, there they could hear the sounds of screams and orders being issued.
"I guess they found the mess we made at their commander's office." stated the helmeted man
Without a single care in the word the fire princess kept her pace moving for the left side of the corridor.
"Ehh… Princess, the exit we prepared is the other way."
"Silence jester, this black haired imbecile will only understand it when he sees it."
Walking in complete silence through the corridors of the fortress their group kept following their matriarch, somehow they haven't been recognized not even once as if by an invisible force that would make the few soldiers in their path to drop their belongings while they were passing near them or would be called immediately by their officers making them move away from the trio's path.
"Maybe the world is indeed in her favor…" thought the boy in awe.
Suddenly Priscilla opens a door to her left and walks in still being followed by both Subaru and Al. Right after the door closed they could hear the storm of feet and armor arriving at the corridor only a second too late from spotting them.
"I don't even have the strength to comment this time." thought the boy with a tired expression.
The room they just arrived in was a deposit filled with all kinds of supplies from weapons to provisions all organized in multiple crates stacked all around the place. A young soldier that looked like a boy in his late teens was checking the crates in the end of the room and was startled by the trio.
He stiffens and gives the vollachian salute "L-lady Priscilla, w-why are you here?"
The young lad seemed completely oblivious to whatever was happening outside the room he was working on.
"Al" the princess responded with a single word.
Her knight approached the boy "Hey pal, you see we were sent here to grab some stuff, oh right we have a list, look here." he pretended to deliver the boy said paper only to take the opportunity to grab to boy by his collar and headbutt him with a loud CLUNK."
The poor kid was dizzy but still not out so the helmeted man had to headbutt him two more times to get him out. When the boy fell into the ground there was blood all over his broken nose and a few teeth missing.
"Have you two gone mad?! That was just a kid!" Exploded Subaru.
"Thou are in a fortress, that is a soldier not a mere child." Said the matriarch while moving over the boy's body making sure to step on his face.
She pointed to a small slit with iron bars on the wall "Look through this window and share mine wrath."
Subaru moved closer and took a look through said window.
Shock, Disgust, Anger, Sorrow, Hate and mostly Confusion burned through his mind as he muttered weakly "W-what am I looking at."
Ahead of the small slit he could see the courtyard were plenty of soldiers near a huge pile of bodies belonging to multiple women and children all naked. They were lifting those bodies into carts.
"Mine self formulated a plan to capture thou and force thy allies to attack this fortress where they would be at the disadvantage." Rising the temperature of the room along with her voice.
With a tone filled with spite she continued "The worm that commanded this fortress was a vile creature. Under the premisse that you weren't enough he used his demented mind to alter mine strategy."
"He and his officers used mine plan as an excuse for their foul sins, they captured and violated these women from the villages nearby your allies territories, now they are using what's left of them to adorn the area around the fortress."
Lost into a sea of rage and pulling his hair out of his head the boy stated in a grim tone "I WAS WRONG, TO THINK ABOUT MERCY, ALL THE MEN INSIDE THIS FORTRESS ARE A DISEASE!"
While the boy was drowning in his feelings the red princess vowed. "I feel the flames of war upon the horizon, this is a Day I... No, Vollachia shall never forget. The day this Sun Goddess decided to use her flames to punish the wicked scourge that dared to spread in MY WORLD!"
Their fates now intertwined by grimm vows, both the red princess and the young knight would change the course of history.
In my objectives for the chapter I wrote "minor flashback about Subaru in captivity", but it was so fun to write that it took the whole chapter and probably a bit of the next.
Anyway, did you guys get the reference in the chapter?
the hint is: A phrase from another isekai
OOOOH last time I forgot to thank my betas so I gotta make up for it.
THANK YOU Oteycri000, R3van and everyone else
MOST IMPORTANTLY THANK YOU FOR READING THIS