Hours ticked by.
It had been some time since Ishtore had been sent off to defend Melgen. Arthur couldn't help but feel terrified for what might've happened. Even though Blume had told him not to worry, he didn't trust Blume. He knew Ishtore wasn't safe, not there.
Ishtore told him he would be fine, but Arthur had trouble trusting others' words. So why trust his own cousin's? That didn't mean he wanted him to be in trouble, he just...didn't want Ishtore to die. He knew the power of the Liberation Army from the little he had heard about them; they managed to make it through the Yied Desert in the span of a month.
At the same time, if Ishtore were to die, he could use that to his advantage and escape from the wretched place called Alster and join the Liberation Army too. He would take Tinni with him too, he needed to get out of there!
All those thoughts piled on him at once. He was so distracted that he couldn't even focus on his magic studies. Which made Tinni worry about him.
"Arthur...please calm down, I'm sure Ishtore will be fine. We must trust him!" Tinni said. Even though she was scared as well, she didn't want to alarm her brother further. Despite all that, she seemed calm.
"You don't know that! Have you heard the news about that Liberation Army? He's going to die if he tries to fight them off!"
"I saw...but Ishtore is a good person, they wouldn't kill him! I've heard about Seliph...he would try to reason with him!"
"Uh, Tinni? Do you not know the saying? 'Looks can be deceiving!' Though...I suppose I'd rather join him than stay with our family here."
"Yeah me too...just please think about this, Ishtore will be safe. What if he even joins Seliph! We could escape with him!"
Arthur sighed and looked down at the floor, shaking his head in frustration. "It's easier said than done! I just want to know if our cousin is safe, he's the only one who-"
"I know, Arthur, I know...but please, stay calm for me. I'm sure we'll find out more in the morning. We must stay calm..."
"If you say so. It's just, Ishtar... she stays in Belhalla all the time, plus her being Prince Julius's betrothed now. I'm unsure if I can trust her anymore either, that's why I need…" He paused for a second, thinking of a way to change his sentence, "I want to have faith in Ishtore. It's just hard," He said, looking back at his sister.
Tinni tried to force a smile. "B-But-" Tinni cut herself off, she knew it was no use to continue the conversation. Arthur just wouldn't listen. "It will be fine...I can assure you that." She sighed.
"I still don't believe you, but I suppose I can't protest much longer," He replied and then he yawned. "Let's just go to sleep," He bluntly stated.
"A-Alright, goodnight…" Tinni said, to which Arthur just turned around under the blankets of his bed. Tinni sighed again, making herself comfortable in her bed and fell asleep shortly after.
She could only hope what she said would end up being true.
I_
It was early in the morning of the next day. Tinni and Arthur had to wake up early as always thanks to Uncle Blume. He was glaring at them, causing Tinni to shiver and Arthur to grunt in annoyance.
"You two, get outside now, I need you to protect Alster! The Liberation Army is heading this way!" He demanded. Though his tone was harsh, Arthur noticed it was more...cowardly than normal. What would this mean?
"A-Already? What happened with Ishtore? Is he safe?" Tinni asked, her heart pounding fast in her chest. Though, she tried to hide the fear from her voice.
"Ishtore is dead. But I need a way to protect Alster from the invaders! Hurry up!" Blume said.
Arthur didn't even hear what his uncle had said about Ishtore at first since he was already rummaging through the room to find his Thoron tome. His mind went in circles as he thought of a way to join the Liberation Army, without conflict. Though he would engage in combat as a last resort.
It wasn't until he finally got out his tome that he realized what Blume had said.
Ishtore was...dead?
Fuck.
Arthur was shaking, how could Blume allow that? He didn't seem sad at all! Oh man he wanted to murder him straight then and there. But that was impossible, Blume had the Mjolnir tome on hand, so even if he tried, he would die instantly.
Tinni, on the other hand, couldn't help but cry, despite all of her efforts to remain calm. She couldn't believe Ishtore died, were Seliph and his army really as Arthur had said? No, that couldn't be true, but why did they have to kill him?! All of those thoughts made her feel even worse. She couldn't let Arthur see her like this, so she quickly turned around and looked for her war clothes and her tomes, doing her best to hide her face and wipe her tears.
"Why are you two taking so long? Go already!" Blume shouted, pointing at the door.
Both of them jumped at the sudden yell. With an anguished growl, Arthur obliged and Tinni, who barely managed to dissimulate that she was crying, kept an eye on her brother so he didn't attempt anything dangerous. Soon enough, both of them headed outside, ready for battle.
Once they made it outside, it was humid, just like every day. But something felt different, for both of them.
Arthur scanned the area and it looked like some of Blume's men were out fighting as well. Blume wouldn't have sent his personal army unless the battle ahead was dangerous, even for him. He didn't like his uncle but he respected his combat abilities. He knew that this was dangerous. But that didn't matter to him, he just needed a way to get the hell out of here, even if he had to take more than a few risks.
With that in mind, he made his way directly to where the army was fighting. He didn't care anymore, he just had to find a way to join Lord Seliph. Tinni, meanwhile, was more careful than her brother. But she still followed him, she couldn't let that guy go on his own, she knew something bad would happen.
When Arthur finally got close enough, he realized that the mage sisters had disappeared. That should have been a sign for him to stop before he got himself in a battle. But he kept on going, until he eventually encountered a black haired myrmidon who didn't hesitate to attack him. He was fortunate enough to dodge the attacks and land a hit of his tome on her. Not bad for his first time on the battlefield.
"You won't get rid of me that easily," The girl said, getting ready to continue the battle. He saw her sword glow a bright green then she attacked him again, this time many consecutive attacks were about to hit him.
Fuck, that wasn't good, how was he supposed to dodge all of those? He tried to dodge them, but it wasn't easy. Thankfully he only got hit twice and he could still keep going. It was now his turn to counter attack, he prepared a powerful spell with his Thoron tome, but before he could shoot it, he heard a familiar voice.
"Arthur! Is that really you?"
Wait, he knew that voice, albeit vaguely. He saw a green haired mage approaching behind the myrmidon. "W-Wait, Amid?"
"Do you know this person, Amid?" The myrmidon asked, confused.
Amid laughed at her confusion. "Do I? Of course I do! He's my cousin!" Moving past her, he went toward Arthur. "You are still alive! Is Tinni with you too? She has to be, right?"
"Yeah she is, she's uhhh-" Arthur paused and looked behind him. Tinni stood a few feet away from him, hiding away from the battle. "She's over there." He pointed at her.
"Wonderful! I heard about Aunt Tailtiu... I was terrified you two ended up with the same fate. I am so glad you two are okay!" The wind mage cheered. "Now, you and your sister should join Lord Seliph and his cause! Surely you two aren't having a good time with Uncle Blume."
That was just what he wanted, it was his chance! Finally he had an option to escape that hell!
"Yes, take me with you, cousin! Let me look for Tinni, I'll come back as soon as possible!" Arthur said and ran back to get his sister.
"Try not to get yourself killed on the way there!" Amid sarcastically shouted back, and for a moment he thought he heard him laugh too.
He took a moment to breathe once he reached her. "Tinni! We have an escape route, Cousin Amid is in the army!" He said and took her hand.
Tinni was surprised that Arthur came back so quickly, "C-Cousin Amid? So he's okay! We are finally going to be free!"
"Yeah! We need to hurry before Blume finds us!" Arthur exclaimed, tugging on her arm.
"O-Okay!" She agreed and they both went back to where the Amid was. Tinni and Arthur finally felt safe for once.
Once they both made it to the camp where Amid was, they stopped for breath and Arthur shouted, "Amid! We are here!"
"Thank goodness! I should probably have you two see Lord Seliph, so he knows you're actually good people." Amid laughed again. "Okay, kidding, but seriously, go see Lord Seliph, he's a nice person, promise!"
"L-Lord Seliph…" Tinni breathed. "I-Is he really as good as you say?."
"He's probably the nicest person I've ever met!"
"So it's just as I thought!" Tinni exclaimed, she was relieved.
"But…he, didn't he kill Cousin Ishtore…?" Arthur felt the need to ask.
"Well, he wanted to spare him. But he couldn't get there in time and someone else had already killed him...It's sad, really."
"…Ishtore…" Arthur muttered under his breath. Naga, he wished he could've done something to stop it. "…Blume will pay…for EVERYTHING he has done, both he and his horrible wife. He didn't even care about Ishtore either."
"We will, brother. We just need a bit more time…and it will finally be done. At least we are finally away from him..." Tinni told him, holding his hands and squeezing them tightly.
Amid sighed. "Blume…he never changed I suppose. Both our mothers died because of him and him and Hilda…"
"Did Aunt Ethnia get captured as well…? What about Linda? Is she with you?" Tinni asked, she was worried and it showed in her voice.
Amid shook his head. "She got taken away too...I've been looking for her as well, that's the whole reason I'm here. I thought she was with you in Alster."
"Oh…no we hadn't seen her nor Auntie...I mean we have been isolated all this time, so we wouldn't know if she was here with us...sorry," Tinni said.
"Well shit. That better not mean what I think it means. She can't be dead, she just can't be!"
"If Linda is still alive, she might still be under Blume's torment. I don't know what we should do!" Arthur said. "Or even worse, she could be with Hilda...we must find her!" Arthur said, feeling a surge of anger flow through him again. He couldn't wait to murder the hell out of his family, that was all he could think of at the moment. Vengeance was absolutely needed. Linda was taken away and he didn't even know? Ugh, it was all so excruciating.
"Then stop standing there and let's get going, idiot! Nothing will change if you're just standing there. Lord Seliph will help us. We should go see him!" His cousin told him, waving his hand toward Arthur's face trying to get him to pay attention.
"Exactly, we must see Lord Seliph!" Tinni exclaimed.
Amid hummed in agreement. "Right."
They went deeper into the camp looking for Lord Seliph. Arthur hoped he would welcome them well, despite what they were forced to do. Even with reassurance, he had struggles trusting others. At least Tinni was willing to trust him.
Soon enough, they had reached where he was, he looked to be sharpening a sword of sorts. He looked to be lost in thought.
"Lord Seliph!" Amid called out to him, causing Seliph to look back at him. "I found some survivors during the battle, they're my cousins! Arthur and Tinni!"
"Arthur and Tinni, huh?" The lord stopped sharpening his sword and looked at the two thunder mages. "Well, mind telling me your stories?"
"Uh...yeah, of course.." Tinni said, fidgeting her thumbs. "We were sent to defend Alster by our uncle, Blume. He forced us to fight, we were lucky Amid came in time. He freed us from that horrible place..."
"Blume…" Seliph said, as if deep in thought. "I've heard he is a horrible man, I never thought he'd go as low as abusing his own family. We must stop him as soon as we can."
"Let me kill him, no one else is allowed but me! You hear!?" Arthur shouted suddenly. Tinni punched him in the arm and gave him an angry look, to which he calmed down. "I-I mean, I was planning to fight off Blume. You see, he has tormented my sister and I for years...he even went as far as to killing our mother..."
The Lord nodded. "I see, I have gone through something similar, I totally understand that feeling. I'll trust you with him, but I advise you not to go alone. Either I, or perhaps Diarmuid could help. Just don't go on your own, I doubt you three could take him on by yourselves."
"You underestimate us, but just to be safe I'll do as you say. I don't want to embarrass myself," Arthur replied and dragged his cousin closer. "I thought you said he was nice, he sounds dead inside."
Amid glared back. "Well he is, maybe it's just how you're acting like a-"
"Ugh. Shut up." Arthur pushed the wind mage away and turned back to Seliph, talking in a more sarcastic tone than before. "Well, of course! But I want to kill my Uncle myself! No eeeexceptions." He finished.
Seliph grunted. "Okay, I already told you you could do as you want."
Arthur merely ignored him and walked away. "My apologies, Lord Seliph. My brother's...a little stressed right now." Tinni said and bowed.
"It's fine, I'm just a little tired right now. No energy for him at the moment," He replied and picked up his sword again.
Bowing, the Frigi mage replied, "Just, let us do the work. I think we'll be okay, I have some skills with healing. Again, I am sorry for my brother's current behavior. He's a lot to handle. I'll try to talk to him."
"You seem like a good sister, please take care of him. Just be careful. I don't want anyone to die."
"I will!" Tinni exclaimed and walked away, looking for her brother who was nowhere to be seen. "Ohhh where'd he run off to this time?" She continued and went outside the camp. Amid followed her.
With the cockiest mindset, Arthur made his way toward Alster again. In hopes of finally killing Uncle Blume. In hindsight, he shouldn't have done that right as he escaped from his clutches. 'But fuck that.' He thought. He was going to do it anyway.
He kept running, but once he reached the border, he heard the voice of his sister calling him. "Arthur!"
'Well here we go again,' Arthur thought and turned around.
"Arthur, what in Naga's name are you thinking?" Tinni asked, she looked angry.
"I'm going to Alster to kill Blume. What's it look like I'm doing?"
"Didn't you hear what Seliph just said?! You know you can't do anything against Blume! He'll kill you!"
"Whew, Tinni, you're fast," Amid, who just caught up, commented, taking a moment to breathe. "Arthur, you do realize you're taking things a bit too far. I know I'm one to talk, but this..." He paused, and took a deep breath. "This is just too much."
Arthur glared. "Too much? I'm just doing what I need to do!"
"Yeah, and going all in with no preparations is going to work?" His sister yelled at him.
"Yeah, and not doing anything is going to help what?" he quipped back, turning away and continued to walk. His cousin and sister still followed him.
"Brother, just listen to me! We need to plan an attack with Seliph's army! He already told you that you will be the one to kill him!" Tinni said with an exasperated sigh.
"Ugh, Tinni, stop being so overprotective. It's getting tiring. I'll be fine on my own, I trained all my life for this!"
"But this is your first time in a real battle! It doesn't matter how much you have trained, you will never beat him!"
"Excuse me?" Arthur argued, pushing his sister away. "Do you think I'm weak!? Just let me go and take care of this!"
Tinni remained silent and only gave him a deadly glare as he continued to walk. Why was he acting like this? How in Naga did he get set off like this? Just a few moments ago he agreed to Seliph's plan. Did he just lie? Knowing him, he probably went out of control knowing that he had the Liberation Army's support, he wasn't thinking at all! 'Why is my brother so dumb?' Tinni thought. She was really getting frustrated.
Tinni turned to Amid, she knew something bad was going to happen, "Amid, please go tell Seliph. Arthur doesn't look like he's going to stop…"
"I will, Tinni. Please take care...hopefully Arthur understands before it's too late." He said and ran off the same way they came from.
Once she looked back at Arthur, she realized that they were very close to the castle now, and Arthur was way ahead of her. Not even shouting would be able to save him, should she attack him? No, that'd leave him vulnerable. There was nothing to be done, Arthur was a lost cause. Her only choice was to try and catch up to him.
Surprisingly she managed to catch up to him just in time. She grabbed his arm and pushed him back in an effort to stop him. "Arthur, please stop!" She shouted. But Arthur kept trying to advance, even with his sister hugging his arm.
She wasn't going to give up that easily, though. She grabbed his other arm with her other hand in an attempt to take away his tome, it was hard as he kept struggling. Thankfully it got him to stop walking.
This went on for a while and Arthur was getting annoyed. He didn't want to do this, but it was the only way to get rid of Tinni. Using his free hand, he casted a small thunder spell, but enough to make Tinni let go of him.
"ARTHUR!" Tinni shouted as the spell hit her, and fell to the ground. Perhaps he exceeded himself, but no matter, she wasn't dead at least and he could finally go inside the castle.
Arthur huffed, and he made an attempt to enter the castle. Attempted. Because as soon as he got to the entrance, he felt a sudden powerful thunder-shock course through him. Thankfully it didn't kill him, but by the power of it, he knew what just happened. He got hit by the tome Mjolnir. Tinni was right in the end, he didn't even get the chance to fight. How foolish of him, he hated how his sister was always right.
"Ah, so you are alive, Arthur. Here I thought you got killed, but surprisingly you made it alive despite how weak you are! You are lucky to have escaped!" Blume said. Arthur was infuriated just by the sight of him, he needed a way to escape, but it was hard to move. "Don't worry, I will not kill you. I still need you for something."
Arthur could barely stand up, but he didn't want to waste anymore time and tried to attack his uncle. However he was stopped and he grabbed him by the wrist. "What do you think you are doing? Just come with me, don't try anything else or it'll be worse for you!"
Blume...Damn that stupid bitch. Arthur thought, unable to do anything more than that. He was knocked out by Blume with another hit of Mjolnir, and then all went black.
"A-Ar...thur" Tinni cried, still on the ground. She wasn't able to move, she could only hope Arthur didn't end up killed. She stayed on the ground for a while, she was lucky that no one from Alster had seen her. 'Amid and the others should be here at any second.' She thought and soon enough, she heard horse steps approaching her.
"Tinni! What happened? Where is Arthur?" A voice that seemed to be Amid's shouted. Tinni couldn't respond as she was on the verge of fainting. Not long after, she felt someone pick her up and before she knew it, she was in bed back in camp.