Welcome peasants! I didn't expect to see you here. Or did I? Perhaps I should asks myself why I'm saying all of this. Answer is because I can. Do I need any better reasoning?
Guest: Well here it is.
Chapter 30: The Pain In Her Heart
"Y-you know that I wouldn't have done any of that if I wasn't under that potion's effect. Right?" Louise asks nervously. She is trying to save her pride, but it is not easy for her. Mostly because she is only making herself more embarrassed.
"Of course I know." Yuudai replies to her.
Louise looks to the ground wanting to ask him something. "Yuudai...why didn't you do something to me? Like that night when you tried to scare me. N-not that I wanted you to! I just want to know." She says blushing even more.
Yuudai laughs at the question for a moment. "First of all, you are like the little sister I've never had." He answers unknowingly punching her in the face metaphorically. "If I ever did something like what you are insinuating, I don't know what I'd do."
Her mind then remembers his vow back at the Ragdorian Lake. The one to protect all that are dear to him. "Back at the lake...when you made the vow...am I one of those that are dear to you?" She asks looking into his eyes.
"Much to everyone's surprise, yes. I just called you my little sister. You are one of the most dearest to me in this world of magic." He admits to her. To her, he had given her the verbal present she thought she'd never have. "Don't get used to hearing that though."
She laughs despite her embarrassment. This is the nicest he has been to her in a long time. "Speaking of the lake, I remember when I first went to the Ragdorian Lake." Louise says to her familiar.
"You too?" Yuudai asks without thinking. Louise narrows her eyes causing Yuudai's own to widen. "So...what if we were to forget I said anything?"
Louise points her wand at him. "Explain yourself."
Yuudai sighs knowing this had to happen eventually. "Alright then Wales. You can show yourself." Yuudai tells the soul. Her eyes widen in shock as Wales shows himself to her. He is stand by Yuudai's side giving Louise a smile.
"It's good to see you again Louise Vallière." He greets.
"Impossible!" Kirche exclaims jumping of the hole with Tabitha right behind. Wales, Yuudai and Louise look to the two with raised eyebrows. "I just saw Wales the other day! He was heading towards the capital of Tristain!" She continues.
"What?!" Wales and Yuudai growl out while Louise only is more shocked.
"Henrietta! She's in danger!" Yuudai exclaims suddenly realizing why Wales has been unable to rest. "We need to hurry!" Yuudai states using his ring's power to put streaks of light blue in his hair and eyes. "Let's go!"
Two Hours Later At The Castle
Before Sylphid can hit the ground, Yuudai jumps off landing on the ground with the streaks still in his hair. The same guard that had threatened him the first time here walks over, so he meets the guard halfway. "Where the hell is Henrietta?" Yuudai demands to know. "And don't give me any crap because I see this entire damn place in an uproar."
The guard sighs recognizing the teen. "I am not required to tell you anything, so leave. This place is off limits." The guard tells him.
Sylphid finally lands on the ground as Yuudai grits his teeth. He goes to release his anger on the guy, but Louise walks over showing her official paperwork. "I'm one of her majesty's court ladies, so in her name, I demand you tell me what happened." Louise states handing the paper to the surprised guard. After reading over it, he sighs.
"Two hours ago, someone enticed Her Majesty away. One of the guards was knocked down as they escaped with horses. The griffon squad is chasing after them. We were searching around here to find some evidence." He explains handing her the paper back.
Louise and Yuudai look at each other then back to the guard. "Which way did they go?" Louise questions.
"They went south over the highway. Apparently they escaped towards the district of La Rochelle. Without a doubt, Albion has a hand to this. Though the instruction to block the port was sent at once. Dragon Knight corps were almost annihilated in the last war. So the only way we can catch up with them are either by griffons or horses." He answers.
"Let's get going Blanc, we have no time to lose." Yuudai tells her getting back on Sylphid. As she does, Yuudai glares at the guard. "I'll kick your ass next time if you try holding us back." Yuudai threatens as they take off into the air.
After awhile of flying they finally see something bellow. "Oh no...drop down! I see bodies!" Louise exclaims shocked at this.
Yuudai stares in shock as well. All those magic knights...they are all dead. The shock then turns to anger. He jumps down to the ground before Sylphid can land again. He looks around the unit only growing angrier every second these people are lying dead in his sight.
"Hey everyone, I found a survivor!" Kirche tells them having jumped off right after Yuudai. The group, minus Tabitha who is still in the air on Sylphid, run over to her finding a guy with a deep wound in his arm. "Are you alright?" She asks him.
"I'm alright. Who are you?" He questions.
Yuudai grits his teeth. "That doesn't matter! We came to save Henrietta from the fake Wales!" Yuudai yells at the man. "Now where the hell did they run off to!?"
The man faints before he could answer though. Suddenly an attack from all sides was launched from the tall grass. Before Yuudai could react, Tabitha uses her wind magic to disperse the attacks. Everyone gets ready to fight seeing figures of dead noble from Albion rise from the grass. It seems they have been revived by the Ring Of Andvari.
Wales walks into sight angering Yuudai to the end of reasoning. "How dare you show yourself?!" Yuudai roars at Wales.
"Don't you remember me Yuudai?" Wales asks.
Wales, the soul version, appears by Yuudai's side in everyone's view. "This is who I remember!" Yuudai states trying to keep his anger under as much control as he can.
"Wales?" Henrietta asks seeing the one beside Yuudai again.
"Henrietta!" Louise calls out in relief. "That isn't the prince! This is!" She tells her talking about the one that is beside Yuudai.
"I'm sorry Louise. I believe you, but this Wales is alive." Henrietta states. "In my room, when this Wales and my lips met, I knew one hundred times over this wasn't the real one. However, still, I do not care. Louise, you haven't loved a person so strongly yet. When you really are in love you are willing to throw away everything. You want to follow him anywhere. Even if it is a lie. You cannot do anything else but believe. I swore, Louise. I made an oath before the water spirit saying 'I swear eternal love to Wales'. Even if the whole world says it is a lie, my feelings alone are not a lie. Therefore, let us go, Louise."
"Princess!" Louise pleas.
"It's an order, Louise Françoise. My last one, from me to you. Please, step out of our way." She orders.
"LIKE HELL I'LL LET THAT HAPPEN!" Yuudai roars finally letting go of the lid on his full hatred. Throughout the entire night, birds and animals start to flee away from that area. His voice echoes even to La Rochelle. "Your love is nothing more than garbage! In a trance that you think that he has your heart? You lie even to yourself!"
"Leave! That's an order!" Henrietta shrieks.
"Your orders mean NOTHING to me!" Yuudai then grabs his sword activating his other rune. In his other hand appears his gun of darkness. "SO DIE YOU FAKER!" Yuudai roars again as Wales jumps at him. Yuudai avoids the prince only to see water come at him from Henrietta's wand.
Yuudai shoots the water feeling the tranquility of the water flow through his mind. Anger still seethed inside him, but it became much more contained. His hair proceeded to lose the rest of its black as an aqua blue added itself in while his eyes only became much more blue. He looks to the queen expressionless while keeping Wales in the corner of his sight.
"I won't let you lay a finger on Wales!" She yells.
"How cute." Yuudai says in his tranquil state. "You think you have a choice in the matter." He jumps over another attack from Wales. As soon as Yuudai lands behind the fake prince he impales him. Yuudai then pulls the sword out kicking Wales in the back sending him flying right next to Henrietta.
That is when everything truly starts. The enemies start sending wind attacks only for failure. The group of teen mages and Yuudai start the game of defense. To Yuudai this is only a fluid dance. Every movement has a purpose and should be precise while each attack should be well place, but be able to flow with his dance. Truly, he has become similar to water.
Kirche throws a flame attack at a couple of them noticing that they are slowly being cornered. Immediately, the enemies start to burn leaving them truly dead. "They can be burned!" Kiche informs her group getting a nod from all of them.
Enemy after enemy begins to fall to Kirche's flame while Yuudai forces them into the flame. Once they realize the advantage they have, the enemies fall back to regroup. Yuudai finally stays still to look at them.
"Are you backing away?" Yuudai asks. "Well too bad." He flashes over to them in a mere second and starts slashing away.
The enemies unleash all their wind magic on him causing them their utmost downfall. Yuudai shoots all the wind magic absorbing it all. The very moment he does this, water starts to pour down. Yuudai ignores it slowly floating himself into the air. All the wind magic he absorbed has allowed him control over wind magic as well as his enemies.
"I can see that you don't need me right now partner, but unless we have that flame, we won't likely win without the other dying. Please, throw me over to Louise. I must speak with her." Derflinger tells Yuudai.
Yuudai does so allowing Derflinger to speak with her. He then returns his attention to the now fearful Albion soldiers. A grin forms on his face. The teen boy creates a giant axe made from air float behind himself easily making it bigger than a tree.
"You've caused so much trouble. Your crime is about to be parted by my giant axe." Yuudai says dropping his grin. "Was it worth going against us?" He swings the axe using the power he has over it cutting them all in half from the midsection.
Their bodies hit the ground in a bloody mess. Unfortunately, for them, their bodies pull themselves back together. The look of fear doesn't leave their faces though. Upon seeing them start to get up, Yuudai decides to replace the axe with a giant hame.
Yuudai feels a light tap of hardened rain start to hit him causing him to look at his surroundings. He looks to Henrietta and Wales chanting a spell. The spell creates a giant tornado tsunami mix that towers above him. It has the force to even destroy an entire castle if it was to hit.
"Can my bullets absorb all of that at once?" Yuudai asks himself. He steadies himself and creates a sphere of lashing winds around himself taking one look at his ring. "Wales...I promised to make sure you will rest in peace." He looks to his friends seeing Kirche and Tabitha waiting and Louise chanting a spell. "For you and my friends…"
Without thinking, he shoots towards the tornado of water pressing against the water tornado with the sphere while he is in the middle. Suddenly he jumps back to grab Derflinger letting the energy flow into the sword. "If this doesn't work then you will have to use your body to hold it back." Derflinger tells him.
"So you've assumed the same thing." Yuudai says holding Derflinger above his head now. "That the shot might not absorb it all in time to save them." Yuudai brings the sword down letting all of the wind and water magic into the attack creating the same thing as the tornado except meant to cut it in half.
He sees a temporary opening and decides to take it. "Don't do it!" The soul Wales exclaims already too late.
The moment he was in the middle of it all, the tornado becomes one again catching him inside it. His eyes widen in pain, but pushes through the pain trying to endure it. He grips Derflinger harder with both hands getting ready to cut his way out. Yuudai has already taken tons of cuts from it already in the mere moment he has been in it.
He spins around with the sword cutting the water for not even a moment before it becomes one again. Seeing this failed attempt, he bites his tongue to keep from screaming. With a little more effort, he pulls the trigger of the gun absorbing all the water making the tornado mostly wind now. This creates an opening for Louise to use her new spell, Dispel Magic.
She takes the chance and fires it at Wales. The moment it hits, his body crumbles to the ground losing his strength. This forces the tornado to disappear allowing Yuudai's bleeding body a reprieve while Henrietta falls to the ground unconscious from the strain of the powerful spell she helped unleash. His gun disappears and so does his power from the ring making him fall to his knees.
"That...hurt so much." Yuudai says panting. He drops Derflinger to the ground letting go of the last thing keeping him from feeling all the pain inflicted on him. This makes him nearly pass out from the pain that hit him much more potently than what it already was.
"Yuudai…" The soul of Wales trails off seeing what he has done to protect. "Thank you so much." He thanks standing in from of him. "Please allow me to take her to the Ragdorian Lake after this. That is my final wish before leaving this world."
Yuudai chuckles at his wish. "Sure. Why not?" He replies.
After some time has passed, Henrietta awakens from her unconscious state. She looks around finding Louise walking to her followed by a limping Yuudai. "What have I done?" Henrietta asks the two.
Yuudai sets a light glare on the queen giving her the feeling of more guilt. "Something stupid." Yuudai tells her bluntly. Louise looks at Yuudai giving him a silent look for him to back off. He sighs letting her handle this.
"Are you awake now?" Louise questions.
Henrietta nods in confirmation. "What should I say to apologize to you? What should I say in order to ask for forgiveness from the people hurt by me? Please tell me, Louise." She says looking for anything to apologize for all the trouble she caused.
Louise points at her familiar. "You may start with healing Yuudai. As you can see, he isn't exactly looking good right now." She states.
"Doesn't help that I have as much blood on me as a Charles Manson murder victim." He mutters. "Well actually he skinned them so...why am I thinking about this?" He wonders out loud. "The blood loss is getting to me I think."
Henrietta walks over to Yuudai and uses her magic to heal him of all of his wounds. "Sorry for inflicting so much pain on you Yuudai." Henrietta apologizes while Yuudai decides to sit on the ground.
Yuudai gives her a smile. "Don't worry about it. I know why you did what you did. Speaking of which, you have a visitor." He then looks to his side to find the soul of Wales standing there.
"Wales…" She says seeing the real him again.
"It's nice to see you again, dear Henrietta." Wales tells her lovingly.
"So you weren't just a vision I saw that day." She walks to Wales smiling happily at him.
"I have one last request for you. Please, let us visit the Ragdorian Lake." Wales says. She only nods knowing that he will be leaving soon.
Later At Ragdorian Lake
"How nostalgic." Henrietta comment seeing the beautiful lake after so long.
Wales looks around the lake nodding in agreement. "When we first met, I thought you were a fairy." He admits. He then points to a spot around the lake. "You were bathing around that area."
She nods at the statement remembering that moment as if it had only happened. She then looks to his smiling face. "Hey, I always wanted to ask you. At that time, why did you not say those kind words? Why did you not tell me that you love me? I have always waited for those words." Henrietta tells him (Seriously, I couldn't tell if Henrietta or Wales said this in the novel, so I figured it was her after some analyzing).
"I could not speak those words, knowing it would make you unhappy." He replies.
She gives him a look of surprise and sadness. "What are you saying? It would have been my joy to be loved by you." She says desperately wanting to be held in his warm arms.
He gives her a smile that could defy any unhappiness that would cross his path. "Well you are loved by me. Now I want you to swear for me."
"I'll swear anything for you!" Henrietta exclaims with her fist clenched in determination.
"Isn't that what got her kidnapped in the first place?" Yuudai asks himself from the treeline some yards away.
"Swear that you will forget me and find another man to love. I want to hear those words. At this Ragdorian Lake. In front of the water spirit, I want to hear you pledge that." Prince Wales tells her.
Henrietta shakes her head. "I could never do that. I can't swear a lie." She replies not wanting to swear such a thing.
Wales still keeps smiling at her. "Please do this. I don't want to continue living in another's body for the rest of their days unhappy knowing you won't ever be happy either." He reasons.
She thinks about it a bit coming to a decision. "I will only if you swear that you love me." She compromises smiling in victory.
He nods accepting the terms. "Then please, swear."
She takes a deep breath getting ready to say the one thing she never thought she'd never say. "I swear...I swear to forget about Wales and find someone else to love." She swears. "Your turn now."
He walks to the water edge while his smile fades into a sad one. She looks over the lake as well with the same sad smile. A few seconds pass by in silence. Henrietta turns to her side to see the crowned Prince Wales finish dispersing into small particles signaling his final resting place is at the lake.
She closes her eyes letting a stray tear fall down her face. "To his final moments...he never made the oath." She says out loud falling to her knees.
Yuudai walks over to the queen laying a hand on her shoulder. She looks up to him through her tears watching as he kneels and wraps his arms around her. His attempt at comfort don't go unneeded as she wraps her own around him. Henrietta continues to weep into his shoulder while Yuudai holds her knowing that he can only comfort her from her heartbreak.
He picks her up to stand up himself looking into her eyes. Yuudai doesn't say anything though. The boy may know what to do in many situations, but in this one, he can only be silent and supportive. He knows he'll have to comfort Louise soon, but Henrietta is his main concern right now. So he keeps hugging her without saying a word.
In the water, the water spirit watches this with interest. It has seen its fair share of romance and and whatnot, but this is something that it doesn't see. A male with the intent of protecting all those that are dear to him. The spirit thought only of the Louise girl, but it seems he isn't shallow minded. It then is reassured that the ring will be returned one day. By Yuudai, a magicless commoner. How poetic.
End
Finished the volume! That was a short volume in the books. And it seems the same for the next too. Oh well. I know you all love these adventures. Or at least I hope you do. Why else would you be on chapter thirty?
So I added a lot of lines from the story itself if you're wondering why a lot seems familiar. I may come back and fix up the mistakes in this chapter if I ever get back to doing that sort of thing. If I do, I'll start back at chapter eight or nine where I left off.
This has been Chsisanialation with the end of volume four of Fear Of Mages. Thanks for reading, favoriting, following, reviewing and have a great day/night/morning!