Arthur stepped around the trees, watching his steps to avoid anything more than the crunching of branches and leaves below his feet. Spotting Tolys leaning against one of the trees at the edge of the clearing, Arthur picked the tree across and mimicked his position, leaning against the back of the tree and looking out into the clearing.
In the bright morning glow of dawn, on the shore of Lake Virside, stood a stone castle. The only trace of life around it was Naktakė, flying circles around the structure to look for any signs of life. At the moment, Naktakė seemed preoccupied by the window at the top of the tower, on the third story above the ground.
"What is she doing?" Arthur asked, "Do you think she found something of interest?"
"I'm not sure, she really is dallying though," Tolys answered, "We don't have time for this, we must leave for Tark by midday at the absolute latest."
"You're right, we have at best a couple hours," Arthur agreed, "Hardly enough time to cause Francis much trouble if anything."
They had already done a brief lookout just before dawn, both visually and with Madeline's magic, and determined there were three people in the castle, which meant Francis had company. While they sent Naktakė to scope things out, they discussed what they might be able to do. As the vision of Francis's death includes fire and a dagger, Madeline's ice alone cannot kill him just yet. Once they confirm who else is in the castle, she can at least freeze him in place for a while, perhaps long enough for Francis to miss the wedding entirely.
After another minute, Naktakė finally left the castle tower and flew back in their direction, holding back her cawing until her descent into the trees just above them. Arthur and Tolys both stepped back from their trees, Tolys's arm outstretched for Naktakė to land on. As she landed and cawed away with her reports, Arthur looked behind them and saw Madeline approaching with the twins.
"The horses are tied up back there, everything is packed," Feliciano reported, "As soon as we're done here, we can head out towards Tark."
"A swan?" Tolys suddenly said, "Why would a swan be locked in the tower?"
"What?" Arthur muttered quietly, glancing over to see Naktakė finish her reporting to Tolys.
"We should be able to break her out as well, then," Tolys judged, "Good work, Naktakė."
"Well, what are we walking into here?" Lovino asked, "What's this about a swan?"
"Naktakė was able to find two girls in the castle along with Francis," Tolys interpreted, "The first girl is a servant named Lenka, who was kidnapped and brought here from Inasdiff. She is in the kitchens on the first floor preparing everything for the day. The second girl is named Lilli, she has lived here her entire life. She's under a spell that turns her into a swan every day, and human again each night. She's the one locked in the tower right now."
"That's why Naktakė took so long?" Arthur realized, "She was able to talk to Lilli in her swan form?"
"Yes, it was Lilli who gave Naktakė all that information," Tolys confirmed, "Lilli said that Francis usually sticks to the second floor of the castle through most of the day, that's where he would be right now."
"So I can concentrate my spell on the second floor," Madeline determined, "Once Francis has been frozen over, we go in to collect the girls."
"We don't have much time to work with," Arthur reminded, "Whenever you're ready, Madeline."
Madeline walked forward past the group, leaving the cover of the trees to approach the castle. A few steps out, she knelt to the ground, only on the one knee this time, and summoned magic to her hands. The moment her hands touched the ground, the ice magic shot out towards the castle, and Arthur could see how the ice gradually coated the stones in frost. While the stone walls for the first floor did have some freezing, the magic made the stones of the second floor nearly turn white as ice.
"That's enough for today," Madeline finished her spellcasting and stood up again, "The second floor is a block of ice, with some residual effects on the ceiling and walls of the first floor."
"We better go check on that servant then," Feliciano noted, "Let's move!"
The group ran across the clearing, not worried about Francis spotting them anymore. As they ran, Arthur thought about the names of the two girls. He certainly did not know of any Lilli's in his world, although Lenka was definitely familiar for some reason. Nonetheless, Basch will be disappointed to learn that neither girl they found here is Erika.
Arthur was the first to reach the door, and he turned the handle to open it. He tried to push it open, only to find that the frost had made the hinges stubborn.
"The door is stuck," Arthur reported, "We might have to break it open."
"I'm coming," a familiar voice inside called, "Just let me unlock it, you fools!"
Arthur turned back to the door, now hearing the lock shift from inside the door. Moments later, the door swung open, revealing a very familiar brunette on the other side.
"Of course, I should've known," Arthur recognized, "Lenka is the human name of Czech Republic!"
"What are you talking about?" Lenka immediately chastised, "How do you know my name, what are you all doing here, and do you know anything about the castle being frozen over?"
"We're a party of rangers from Prathage, on a journey that's difficult to explain," Madeline intervened, "It was my ice magic that froze the castle over. I did my best to avoid you, I hope I didn't hurt you in any way."
"No, I'm fine," Lenka replied, "Not sure my captor is, though, you turned him into a block of ice."
"As long as you're talking about Francis Bonnefoy, that was the intention," Madeline affirmed, "You say he's your captor, that means he's holding you here against your will?"
"Yes, he kidnapped me from Inasdiff a few weeks ago," Lenka confirmed, "Why did you freeze him over?"
"The shortest answer I can give right now is vengeance," Madeline said, "I'd say more, but we're short on time and need to leave here quickly. You're welcome to join us if you wish, and we can share our stories later today."
"I'd love to, but I can't," Lenka declined, "Francis took advantage of my birth spell, and made it so I can't leave."
"Your birth spell?" Feliciano noted, "We might be able to work around that, if you let us read your spell."
"Lilli should still be in the tower," Tolys pointed out, "We need to release her as well."
"You're breaking Lilli out too?" Lenka checked, "The key to the attic is right here!"
Lenka backed away from the door, allowing Arthur and the others to enter while she grabbed a key from the hook.
"I'll go upstairs with Tolys to check on Lilli and Francis," Madeline instructed, "You three figure out how we can get Lenka out of here."
"Lenka, let's go into the kitchen," Feliciano suggested, "There's more space in there."
Lenka immediately followed Feliciano's suggestion, dropping the key on the ground and walking into the kitchen. Noting the abrupt movement, Arthur picked up the key and handed it over to Tolys, who immediately went up the stairs with Madeline. Arthur then went into the kitchen, and watched as the twins approached Lenka.
"We just need to touch your arms please," Lovino instructed, "Our birth spells allow us to see what spells another person is subject to, and what can be done about them."
Lenka held out her arms, and watched curiously as the twins held them and worked their own magic.
"That's quite the birth spell you have," Feliciano observed, "Anytime someone gives you a command, beginning the sentence with your name, you have to obey that command?"
"Is that why you dropped the key?" Arthur caught on, "Feliciano used your name when he told you to come into the kitchen, so you had to obey that command instead of giving Tolys the key."
"It's a curse," Lenka denounced, "Even if it's a subtle suggestion, I must do as I'm told."
"And Francis has been abusing it," Lovino noted, "He's commanded you to never leave the castle."
"That's right," Lenka confirmed, "He kidnapped me, brought me here, and now uses my birth spell to keep me from running away."
"We might be able to work with this," Lovino suggested, "It's only out of your own free will that you're not allowed to leave the castle. If we found some way around breaking you out, it might be possible."
As Lovino spoke, a rather foolish idea came to Arthur's mind, an idea that would definitely work.
"I think I know what to do," Arthur took over, "Lenka, cooperate and do not fight me."
Before anyone could ask what he was doing, Arthur immediately bent down so that his shoulder was level with Lenka's waist, before reaching around to grab her knees. He immediately picked her up off the ground, draping her over his shoulders in a fireman's carry. He held her leg and arm tight to his chest as he proceeded to spin and carry her out of the kitchen.
"You have got to be kidding me!" Lenka groaned as the twins laughed behind her.
As Arthur reached the door, Tolys suddenly appeared at the bottom of the stairs, a swan sitting on his arm. Pausing to watch in surprise, he immediately backed up the step, allowing Arthur to carry Lenka out of the castle first. Noting no magical resistance as he stepped through the door, Arthur picked up his pace to a march once outside.
"Lovino, Madeline wants your help upstairs," Arthur heard Tolys direct behind him, "Feliciano, what's all this about?"
"Francis abused her birth spell, making her unable to leave of her own free will," Feliciano summarized, "Arthur is countering that by removing her from the castle by force."
"I can't believe this is actually working," Lenka complained, "Then again, it could be as far as the lake or the clearing."
"We have horses waiting for us just within the trees," Tolys explained, "We need to ride out to Tark immediately, if you don't mind tagging along."
"I suppose I can make do," Lenka agreed, "Inasdiff is home for me, if I can get back there somehow."
"That can definitely be arranged," Feliciano promised, "We'll have to return to Prathage eventually, and we'll be meeting with another party from Inasdiff."
As they rushed through the clearing, Arthur was delighted to find no sign of physical exertion from carrying Lenka for such a distance, perhaps a side effect of only having his mind in this realm. While Arthur may have been stronger in his pirate days back at home, he would struggle physically in modern times. If he dared carry anyone across a room like this, he'd be subjected to America's laughter the entire time.
Nonetheless, Arthur was managing just fine here, and was even able to glance up at the sky to see that the swan was now flying around above them with Naktakė.
"Will we need to restrain Lenka to a horse as we leave?" Arthur brought up as they finally reached the trees, "Feliciano, will you be able to tell if it worked?"
"Let's find out," Feliciano said, "I'll need to touch your arm again, Lenka."
Once they were back at the horses, Arthur finally released his hold and lowered Lenka to the ground. Feliciano immediately found his position between her and the castle, to prevent an escape which did not occur. While he touched Lenka's arm and read her magic again, Arthur glanced back to see that Madeline and Lovino had just caught up to them.
"My spell wasn't strong enough," Madeline confessed, "He'll defrost before the wedding."
"It's not Madeline's fault, to be clear," Lovino amended, "Francis's own magic is working to defrost him, he's healing himself from being frozen over. He'll be back to himself sometime tomorrow, we need to get as far away as we can before then."
"Well, at least we got the girls out of there," Feliciano assessed, "Arthur's strategy worked, Lenka is now free to leave with us of her own will. The only problem is that she'll have to share a horse with someone."
"I'm fine with whoever I ride with," Lenka complied, "Just don't let me fall off the horse."