I do not own Rising of the Shield Hero or any of the characters.
Hiding
Fenris watched the demi-humans work. They were hiding out in a region where the lord supposedly treated demi-humans well, and to be fair, that same lord, after sneaking up on them, had been very polite and welcoming, but so far, all Fenris had seen were demi-human servants and farmhands. Maybe not outright slavery, but definitely not equality. Fenris wasn't sure if he liked it or not. He felt no true kinship to the demi-humans just because he was one. And yet, he couldn't deny the unfairness of their treatment either.
He looked toward the forest they had been in the night before. The smoke from the fire Mein had started was still rising. The psychotic bitch had burned down damn-near the entire forest trying to smoke them out. They had checked in a village for an easier way through Siltvelt, but all passage was blocked at every gate, and all were heavily manned. Instead, Naofumi decided to accept the request of a surprise visitor the night before, one of the Queen's Shadows. The Queen wanted to meet Naofumi, so they were on their way there. But first, they were resting in this lord's home.
"I wonder how thick the walls are here," Fenris mused.
"Not nearly thick enough," Sofia smirked. "Of course, that's never stopped us before."
Fenris chuckled. "Probably better not to push our luck."
Sofia nodded. "So, when do you think we'll leave?"
"Probably after we get caught here," Fenris said. "Gotta say, I'm going to miss the food."
"I agree," Sofia nodded. "That meal he gave us when we got here was delicious."
"Maybe he'd let us live here," Fenris said. "I'm sure there's a wet nurse here that could help with the tumor, I mean the baby."
Sofia swatted him on the chest, laughing. "I don't want a wet nurse. I want to be the one to raise our child."
"Alright," Fenris smiled. "So that you two will be safe while I'm away working, then."
Sofia smiled. "We'll see. That's still a long ways away."
"You realize that as soon as you start to grow you're getting benched, right?" Fenris asked. "I'm not going to have you anywhere near any fighting while you're pregnant."
"I'm already pregnant and I've been fighting just fine," Sofia said.
"And as soon as this all blows over, you'll be done fighting," Fenris said.
Sofia sighed. "Alright. Deal. But you have to stay with me, barring Waves."
"You know I can't," Fenris said.
"Then I'll be travelling with you," Sofia smiled. "Just accept it."
Fenris smiled and kissed her, then looked back out at the demi-humans.
"This place is going to burn when Mein gets here," Fenris said. "She'll hate it just on the princible of us demi-humans being anything more than slaves, or corpses."
"We won't let her hurt them," Sofia said. "I promise."
Fenris nodded. "Yeah. Come on. Let's go explore before dinner."
Sofia smiled and nodded snd they headed inside. The lordb Van Reichnott, had an impressive manor. A huge library filled with all kind of books, including spell books, a few of which Fenris "borrowed" for his girls, an very well-stocked armory-style room where he stored weapons and armor of apparent value, though none that were useful to Fenris, and an entire floor of empty bedrooms.
After a few hours of exploring and the girls reading the magic books, Fenris and the others had dinner before heading to bed.
"So, what kind of magic do you have besides Familiar Magic?" Riley asked. "You didn't bother to read any of the magic books."
"I honestly don't know," Fenris shrugged. "I've never really cared about magic. Given Sadow, however, I'd guess darkness."
"That's good," Sofia said. "It's good for illusions, and quite a few powerful attacks."
"Yes, but I fight primarily with a sword, then with all of you as support and now with Shadow, too," Fenris said. "Magic is unnecessary."
"What is it you always say?" Naomi asked. "Better safe than sorry?"
Fenris sighed. "Point taken. I'll think about it."
"Good enough," Sofia smiled, cuddling into him, the other three doing the same. "Shadow, you're sure you don't mind taking watch?"
"I'm a living shadow, Boss," Shadow said. "I don't sleep."
"Alright," Fenris nodded. "Then wake us up if anything happens."
Shadow nodded and Fenris closed his eyes, he and the others all drifted off to sleep.
"Master Fenris! Master Fenris!"
Fenris's eyes flew open and he grabbed the hilt of his sword, only to freeze. There was a fox-type demi-human maid standing beside the bed. She had orange hair, ears, and tail, and bright amber eyes, currently shining with terror.
"What's wrong?" Fenris asked, getting up quickly, the other girls stirring and also quickly getting up when they saw he was grabbing their things.
"Lord Reichnott was arrested by Melromarc soldiers!" The maid said. "Their searching the house for all of you! You need to leave!"
"Understood," Fenris nodded, glancing to the side where Shadow was sleeping by the window. "Damn useless pigeon." He snapped his fingers and Shadow was sucked back into his shadow. "Do you know a way out?"
The maid nodded and turned, hurrying out of the room, Fenris and the others following. They moved quickly, passing through hallways in silence before the maid skidded to a stop, shoving them all through a door and shutting it, locking it and throwing the key under the door. Fenris grabbed it and was about to unlock the door when he heard a sword stab someone and heard the maid choking before a body collapsed against the dokdoor, blood leaking under the door.
"Damn demi-humans," a voice grunted.
"Was that necessary?" another asked.
"No," the first snorted. "But it sure-as-hell felt good. Besides, she had a knife. You saw it. Right?"
"I suppose," the second voice sighed.
Fenris grabbed his sword but all four of the others caught him, Sofia hugging from the front, Naomi from behind, and Eileen and Riley each holding an arm. The soldiers walked away and the girls held him still for another full minute before releasing him. He slashed the door's latch instantly, yanking it open and dropped to a knee, holding a hand to the maid's wound in her chest.
"Eileen!" Fenris said.
Eileen quickly cast a healing spell on the maid, and the wound slowly sealed before the maid gasped for breath, looking around before staring up at Fenris in awe.
"Not me," Fenris said. "Eileen's the healer."
The maid nodded and stood, turning to Eileen and bowing. "Thank you, Lady Eileen! Thank you so much!"
"It was nothing," Eileen said. "Help us get out of here and we'll call it fair."
The maid nodded and they all quickly hurried through the hallways again, this time reaching a concealed door behind a bookcase in the library. Fenris skidded to a stop instantly, memories of the last such tunnel he had taken entering his mind.
"No," Fenris snarled, ears standing up. "No way."
Sofia glanced at him, then nodded. "We'll hide inside the mansion. Please, there must be somewhere safe."
The maid hesitated before nodding. "This way."
They followed her again, this time to the armory. She pulled one of the sword stands on the back wall and a door opened, revealing a small open space.
"What'd we just say?" Fenris growled.
"This is the safest room we have," the maid said. "It was designed for hiding more valuable items, or people. Please trust me."
Fenris opened his mouth to argue only to go silent as several voices sounded from ohtside the door. He grabbed the maid, covering her mouth and pulling her into the room with them, pulling the false wall closed. The maid reached up and swung a small circle of stone aside, forming a peephole. Fenris looked through and fell silent as three guards walked into the armory, upending everything, taking a couple of the fancier swords. Then, they left.
Fenris uncovered the maid's mouth and they waited, hearing the sounds of fhe house being ransacked for hours. Finally, hour later, Fenris pushed the door open and they left into the destroyed house.
"This is aweful," the maid breathed as they were walking down one hallway. "We must find the others."
Fenris nodded in agreement just as Naofumi shouted to Filo, giving her an order to stop hiding. A moment later, she screamed in pain from above them. They all headed toward the top floor, reaching the dining room on the top floor just as the other three walked into it.
"There you all are," Naofumi said.
"What happened?" Fenris asked.
"A noble from the next land over accused Van Reichnott of harboring us, so Reichnott was arrested," Naofumi said.
"Then Melty allowed herself to be taken prisoner in order to save us," Raphtalia said, one hand clenching on her sword's grip. "She's on her way to Idol Rabier's mansion."
Fenris narrowed his eyes as he watched Raphtalia. He knew that look. He had once worn it. He nodded once. "Yup, he's dying today."
"What!?" Naofumi demanded, Fenris ignoring him and hesding for the door. "Stop!"
"Let me explain something to you, Naofumi," Fenris snarledb teeth clenched. "I know the look Raphtalia's wearing, because I once wore it, back when my hair and ears were still black. A nobleman, whose name I never learned, tortured me for years and eventually cut off my tail. You may have noticed its absence. I eventually got free and killed that man. If Raphtalia's wearing that expression, it means that this man tortured her for being a demi-human. And for that alone, I'm going to kill her. Not because he was wrong, not because he took Melty, or turned us in. Because he hurt a friend of mine, and I'm going to take revenge, for both of us. You can either join me and save Melty, or you can stay here and I'll try to, but one way or another, I'm going to kill this Idol Rabier."
"I'm coming," Naofumi said. "I have a promise to keep."
Fenris nodded snd turned, walking out of the room, all of the others who had been traveling together following in silence.
Leave a review.